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1960s Don Matheson, IM 69, was elected chairman and CEO of the Institute of Management Consultants. Don is a successful management consultant with a long history of leading 501(c)3, 501(c)6 organizations as well as private sector companies. In addition to numerous leadership roles with IMC USA, he is also the founding chair of the IMC USA Foundation.
1970s Scott Heefner, CE 79, joined Information International Associates as senior vice president and director of national capital region operations in IIa’s Falls Church, Va., office. The company provides innovative solutions in information technology, knowledge organization and management, and data exploitation. In his new position, Heefner initially will focus on contract performance and customer relationships. He will also play a key role in business development as IIa increases its presence in the Washington, D.C. area. Gary A. Smith, IM 79, and his wife, Liz, celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary in June. Gary is vice president of supply logistics for New York City Transit. The couple resides in Manhattan. Rod Westmoreland, IM 74, was honored with the No. 1 ranking in Georgia on Barron’s “America’s Top 1,200 Advisors: 2015 State-by-State” list for the sixth year in a row. Westmoreland was also included on the 2015 Financial Times “Top 400 Financial 0 8 2
GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.3 2015
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Tech Rugby Celebrates 40 Years Bruce Noggle, Arch 75, MS Arch 77
While Georgia Tech obviously provides a superb education, it also leaves you with life-long memories, like finals week, pulling all-nighters, forging deep friendships and, for me, helping start the Georgia Tech Rugby Club (GTRC). Before there was a rugby club, about 10 Tech students—Duffie “King” Matson, Glenn Bunker, Bob Carswell, Ralph Fitch, Steve Frost, Chris Ratcliff, Doug “Mabbet” Moss, Tom “Goose” Sharrar, Chris “Freak” Carville, Dave Bracken, Tom Darnell and others—along with professors Dr. Dan Papp and Dr. Wayne Book, played for the Atlanta Rugby Football Club (ARFC). In fall 1975, enough were playing that they split off to form the Georgia Tech Rugby Club. Our first head coach was “Rugby” Joe Langley. I was the first to show up for the first day of practice, standing in a slight drizzle, on a gray fall day at Burger Bowl Field, now Couch Park. The next two people to show up were the biggest guys I had ever seen. As they both stood beside me that day, I began to wonder what I had gotten myself into by coming to this rugby practice. That first year, the GTRC played other Atlanta teams, including the ARFC, Renegades, Old White, High Country and Emory, as well as Clemson, the hated Georgia Bulldogs, Vanderbilt and
others. We won nearly all of the matches, even breaking Old White’s 31-game winning streak. That first team also journeyed to the Bahamas, for a long weekend of international competition. We’re celebrating the start of the GTRC 40 years ago during Homecoming weekend. All GTRC alumni and current players are invited. GT Rugby Reunion Fri., Oct. 23 Individual get-togethers by decade Sat. Oct. 24 (subject to game time) 7 p.m. Rugby team members from all years will gather at Der Biergarten at 300 Marietta St. N.W. All are invited, including wives, girlfriends, mistresses, friends, etc. 9 p.m. Presentations and “State of the Union” addresses by GTRC President Curtis McPeek and Head Coach Paul Donnan. 10:00 p.m. Beer Chugging Contest: Alumni vs. current team, if the current team is up to the challenge. For more details, contact Bruce Noggle at 216-577-8789.