Al umn i Ne ws & Update s
PROFESSIONAL UPDATES ANTHONY DOUGLAS (‘00) Athletic Director at Wichita High School North was recently awarded Art Newcomer Promising Athletic Director by the Kansas Interscholastic Athletic Association (KIAAA) BILL HAMITER (‘82) Congratulations to Coach Bill Hamiter and the US Sitting Women's Volleyball Team for winning the GOLD at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games. MELISSA HAMPTON (‘14) Has been hired by the Miami Marlins organization to be their first ever woman Athletic Trainer. JOHNNY KIDWELL (‘21) Southern Nazarene University alumnus Johnny Jack Kidwell was elected to fill the Cherokee Nation’s At-Large seat on the Tribal Council earlier this year.
KENNY MARCHANT (‘73) Texas Governor Greg Abbott appoints former U.S. Representative Kenny Marchant to Texas Dept. of Housing and Community Affairs DR. DAN MARTIN (‘89) Recently became the Vice President of Development for St. Luke’s Foundation in the St. Luke’s Health Texas Division GIB MILES (‘78) Recently elected as Lt. Governor for the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes in Oklahoma CHRISTIAN MORSE (‘20) Piedmont Public Schools welcomes Chris Morse as their new Assistant Band Director and Director of Percussion.
Commander Mellissa A. Walker
COMMANDER MELISSA A. U.S. Public Health Service Officer WALKER Commander(‘97) Mellissa A. Walker retired from the US Public Health Service on 31 March 2021. She served 23 years in the uniformed Retired from the US Public services. Commissioned in 1997 at the University of Central Oklahom CDR Walker entered the Army in 1998 Health Service onUSMarch 31,as a communications office She served 10 years as a US Army Officer before transferring to the U 2021. She served 23 years Public Health Service in August 2008. in the uniformed Sheproject for the Federal She served as the Project Manager for the Risk, Issues,services. and Opportunities LUANN SCHMEIDEL (‘82) Electronic Health Record Modernization (FEHRM) program office. In this role, CDR Walker led activitie served 10become years as adecision-making US Army authority in that allowed the FEHRM Program Office to the single Recently appointed as theimplementing the DoD & VA integrated EHR. Officer before transferring to new president/chief executive CDR Walker worked with thethe National Service (NPS), where Service she supportedin the NPS's Chief of the USParkPublic Health Park Facility Management Division (PFMD). In this role, she managed and coordinated actions of the officer of Oklahoma’s Credit PFMD senior management team, as well as implemented a division-wide organizational review, which August 2008. Union. Schmiedel takes resulted in improved division collaboration, communication, process, and management practices. WEAVER III (‘04) the reins after 35 years Prior to this role, she served JIMMIE as the Program Manager and Principal Advisor for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director's Office of Business Management (OMB), on efforts pertaining t Oklahoma State University with OKCU. planning, budgeting, execution, and implementation of the FEMA Management Directorate Strategic Plan. CDR Walker also supported several majorDr. FEMA programs Weaver with budgets ranging from $50 million professor Jimmie SUSIE SHELLENBERGER $1 billion through multiple levels of the DHS Acquisition Life Cycle process. She also served as a received a more 5-year, Supervisor with the U.S. Army Signal Corps for than 10$1.8 years, million where she led the training, readine (‘78) Recently accepted and maintenance of health, welfare, and safety to more than 500 personnel during peace and wartime grant from the National the role of Senior Pastor atCommander Walker was a member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Incident Institutes of Health (NIH), Management Team. In this role, she is a credentialed Type-3 Safety Officer and has deployed in respo Lakeview Park Church of the to major incidents of concern and several events of national significance in the Washington DC becoming one of only six metropolitan Nazarene in Oklahoma City, OK. area, and across the nation. people in Oklahoma ever to CDR Walker is a graduate of The George Washington University with a masters in organizational scienc Professional She received her bachelor’s degree in compute TODD THURMAN (‘83) She is PMI Project Management receive thecertified. award. information systems from Southern Nazarene University. She is a recipient of the 2020 Tuskegee Airme Todd Thurman was namedIncorporated National Military General Benjamin O. Davis Jr. Awardee, and the 2019 Armed Forces KELLY DIEHL YATES Communications Electronics DR. Association IT Military Leadership award. (‘94) Director of Athletics Dr.consist Yates recently authored Her uniformed services awards of a Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious a Service Medal (x2), at Metropolitan State Commendation Medal (x2), Achievement Medal (x3), PHS Presidential Unit Citation (x2), Navy historical fiction book entitled, Presidential Citation, Joint Meritorious Unit Citation, PHS Outstanding Unit Citation, PHS Unit University of Denver, Commendation Medal (x7), Army Meritorious Award, PHS COVID-19 Rush to theUnitHeartland. ThisPandemic Campaign Medal, a public university in PHS Crisis Response Service Award, PHS Response Award, PHS National Emergency Preparedness Awa intriguing takes place National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forcesstory Expeditionary Medal, Global in War on Terrorism Denver, CO. Expeditionary and Service Medals, DoD Humanitarian Service Medal, Army Overseas Ribbon, PHS Oklahoma in 1889. JOEL MULLEN (‘86) Recently reassigned to Thailand to continue as the Field Strategy Coordinator for South Asia
MARRIAGES
Becca Hollon (‘07) married Jeff Mathis on Jan. 30, 2021
Abby Felter (‘17) married Aaron Kovalcik on Apr. 24, 2021
Bryton Schmidt (‘20) married Riley McGrath (‘21) on May 22, 2021
Trysten Thompson (‘20) married Hailee Thompson (‘21) on May 23, 2021
Valentina Kusanovic (‘20) married Dan Dwyer on May 27, 2021
Noah Truitt (‘20) married Rebecca Morris (‘21) on June 12, 2021
Corey Bieber (‘21) married Rebecca Moore (‘21) in June 2021
Tyler Cook (‘22) married Maggie Pigg (‘22) on June 19, 2021
Jaden Osborne (‘21) married Garrett Turner on Jul. 3, 2021
Sam O’Bannon (‘20) married Taylor Womack (‘21) on July 31, 2021
Mindy Brooks (‘04) married Dan Jenstad on Sep. 10, 2021
Cooper Milford (‘19) married Angie Fonseca on Sep. 10, 2021
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SNU MAGAZINE | FALL 2021
SNU.EDU/ALUMNI
