UCM Magazine_2025Spring-ISSUU

PORTALS Through These PORTALS

Alumni Revitalize Mule Barn, Other Iconic Sites Downtown

Alumni Revitalize Mule Barn, Other Iconic Sites Downtown Through These

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From Barn to Brewery

The iconic Jones Brothers Mule Barn is transforming into an alumni-run brewery.

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Popular Fiction

A Warrensburg native wrote in the 1930s and ’40s for pulp magazines and “slicks” like Collier’s before making a name for himself in film and the Golden Age of Television.

Sights on Service UCM alumni are changing people’s perceptions of blindness through their work at Alphapointe, a nonprofit in Kansas City, Missouri.

Do you have a photo taken in front of the iconic mule barn doors or UCM’s barn-door backdrop?

Past Meets Future

Warrensburg Main Street brings together alumni with a shared goal of preserving and reviving the historical downtown area.

Blood Work

The new Law Enforcement Phlebotomy Program through the Missouri Safety Center at UCM saves police officers and medical professionals time and resources.

Whether it’s a graduation, engagement or everyday picture, submit it for possible inclusion in UCM Magazine’s online photo gallery at ucmfoundation.org/photos.

Tied to Track

His love for track and field and the lifelong friends he made during his time at UCM and College High School prompted Mark Pittman to make a planned gift.

photo courtesy of the Johnson County Historical Society

UCM

MAGAZINE

SPRING 2025, Vol. 24, No. 1

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Kathy Strickland

ART DIRECTOR

Linda Harris, ’91, ’24

CONTRIBUTING STAFF

Ryan Anderson, ’11, ’13

Tiffany Cochran, ’05, ’23

Darice Heishman

Jackie Jackson, ’09, ’12

John Kennedy, ’92, ’13

Nicole Lyons, ’13

Andrew Mather, ’12, ’15

Trevor McLanahan

Caitlin Mendenhall

Makoto Narita, ’21, ’25

Travis Seek, ’16

Jessica Tart

© 2025 by University of Central Missouri.

All rights reserved. Views and submitted content do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of UCM Magazine, the UCM Alumni Foundation or the University of Central Missouri.

Find us online: ucmfoundation.org/magazine.

Submit address updates at ucmfoundation.org/update, by email at alumni@ucmo.edu or by phone at 660-543-8000.

UCM Magazine is published biannually by the University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, MO 64093. Printed by Walsworth, 1201 Bluff St., Fulton, MO 65251.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to UCM Magazine, Smiser Alumni Center, University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, MO 64093

To view the University of Central Missouri’s Nondiscrimination/Equal Opportunity Statement, visit ucmo.edu/nondiscrimination.

COLLABORATION AND CREATIVITY BUILDS COMMUNITY

C

ollaboration and creativity are the cornerstones of thriving communities, and our alumni continually exemplify these qualities through their remarkable contributions to UCM and Warrensburg.

At the heart of Warrensburg’s downtown revitalization is the historical Jones Brothers Mule Barn, built in 1915 and famous for shipping mules nationally and internationally during World War I. Now, this iconic landmark will be entering a new chapter as a brewery run by three alumni who first bonded through their passion for music as members of our Marching Mules. Their brewery will serve as a vibrant cultural hub, offering a venue for student ensembles and musical performances that strengthen ties between UCM and the broader community.

As you read through this issue of UCM Magazine, you will also learn how other alumni are actively enhancing Warrensburg’s downtown. Graduates at Warrensburg Main Street secured vital funding through Missouri Main Street Connection to preserve historical buildings, including the mule barn and the Star Theater, ensuring these beloved landmarks continue to inspire future generations.

Additionally, UCM-driven initiatives are making substantial contributions across Missouri. The Law Enforcement Phlebotomy Program, operated through the Missouri Safety Center at UCM, equips law enforcement agencies statewide with skills to perform blood draws crucial to criminal investigations, significantly improving public safety by more swiftly addressing impaired driving.

This issue of UCM Magazine also shares the journey of a nontraditional student who enrolled in a theater class to retell stories written by his father-in-law, a Warrensburg native whose work appeared in pulp fiction magazines, Hollywood films and early TV Westerns.

Finally, we celebrate donor generosity spotlighted at the recent President’s Gala at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Your continued support directly enhances student experiences, fosters educational innovation, and provides transformative scholarships and grants.

Thank you, alumni and friends, for your ongoing commitment to collaboration and creativity. Together, your efforts build a thriving, connected community, greatly enrich individual lives, and shape an inspiring future for UCM.

Roger J. Best, Ph.D. UCM President

UCM President Roger Best and First Lady Robin Best

The Transformation of Warrensburg’s Iconic Mule Barn

By Kathy Strickland

“Open ye gates. Swing wide ye portals.” These were the words Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company President David R. Francis chose to announce the opening of the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. It was there — amid international marvels of civic engineering, science, art and invention — that Johnson County, Missouri, resident Walter Jones made a name for himself.

Walter had been breeding and training teams of mules that excelled in competitions against other draft animals. These massive mules made a big impression on farmers attending the fair. Walter and his brother, Perry, consequently invested $26,000 in building a barn at the intersection of Miller (now College) and Depot (now Railroad) streets for the purpose of selling their mules. When the Jones Brothers Mule Barn opened in 1912, word had

Top: Although the mule’s face has changed over the years, the words on the barn doors have remained the same. Above: Lisa (Kempker) Fee painted the mule barn doors as a student in 1981 and again in 1987 (pictured here) with UCM’s updated mule head. She and her husband, Kevin Fee, are 1986 alumni. At left: Quarry City Properties co-owners Connor Harrington and Jason Elkins and UCM student Brice Triplett are working to restore the barn.

Quarry City Properties earned Warrensburg Main Street’s 2023 Best Historic Preservation Project distinction for their work on the Magnolia Mercantile building next door to Checker Tavern. Beginning in January 2023, they gutted the entire building down to the original brick walls and stamped tin ceilings. In the process of repairing the floors, they discovered an underground storage area that might have been a cistern or ice pit for the saloon that existed there in the 1880s and 1890s.

Instead of a saloon, the building now houses a wine and whiskey bar and adult soda fountain. Customers can grab a drink and shop for upscale women’s clothing, handmade jewelry, blown glass and other work from regional makers and artists. In the back of Magnolia Mercantile, a painting of a mule team galloping away from a steam train looms large over an old-fashioned general store.

Doors to the Future

Jason is a member of the advisory boards for both Warrensburg Main Street and Missouri Main Street Connection, the state regulatory organization that oversees all Main Street organizations in the state. It was through Missouri Main Street Connection that Warrensburg Main Street was awarded funding in the summer of 2024 from the National Park Service’s Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grant Program.

To qualify for the grant, properties must be located in a community with a population of fewer than 50,000 and must either be listed on the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places or be eligible for listing at the national, state or local level of significance.

Jason went through the rigorous process of getting the mule barn listed on the national register in 2011. Contrary to popular belief, not every 100-yearold building can earn this distinction. The mule barn qualified because of its prominence and historical significance to the regional economy as well as the global effort during World War I.

A building across from Warrensburg City Hall, just south of the railroad tracks on South Holden Street, was Jason’s “first true red-brick building restoration,” beginning in 2006.

“I always wanted to buy brick buildings and put my love into restoring them,” he says. “I was willing to take the risk that comes with that. I was always building things with my father, and there was lots of construction on the farm. I even moonlighted as a carpenter in college.”

Above: From left, Connor Harrington, Jason Elkins, Andy Weldon, Dillon Jarrett and Cody Barrier in front of the barn doors when announcing plans for the brewery in July 2023. The doors were removed for preservation.

Above: Connor Harrington, top left, and Jason Elkins, top right, help hoist a painting of a galloping mule team while renovating the building that now houses Magnolia Mercantile on Culton Street. Top right: Mule Barn Brewing has already been selling a few beers on tap at the newly renovated Checker Tavern, a pub next door to Magnolia Mercantile.

Planes, Mowers and Mules

Two innovators in the field of farm equipment hailed from Warrensburg. In 1938, the Goodall Manufacturing Company opened, named after Warrensburg resident Leonard Goodall, who is credited with inventing the rotary lawn mower. In 1945, Swisher Motors opened, named after Max Swisher of Warrensburg, whose innovations include the first self-propelled rotary mower, the first riding mower and a patent for a zero-turnradius mower.

In the mid-1960s, Max donated a 254-acre airport, complete with a hangar and 2,800-foot turf runway, to the University of Central Missouri to serve both the public and aeronautics students. Today the Max B. Swisher Skyhaven Airport sits on 402 acres with 44 hangars, a new 4,200-foot concrete runway and a new terminal/aviation center, thanks to state and private funding. Just something to ponder when you sample “flights” of beer at Mule Barn Brewing.

left: On the wall of Checker

is

garden center.

Jason’s background is mirrored in graduating UCM senior Brice Triplett, who is the youngest member of the Quarry City construction crew working to restore the mule barn. Brice grew up on a farm in Phillipsburg, near Lebanon, Missouri, and started working with his family remodeling and flipping rental homes when he was 15. At the beginning of his junior year in UCM’s Risk Management and Insurance program, he met Jason and was hired to help with the restoration projects downtown.

Construction on the mule barn ramped up in the summer of 2024, and Brice has enjoyed seeing the building open up. The hardware store only used about half of the building, and the rest was boarded up to save

on air conditioning. Opening the 50 windows that had been shuttered around the upper section of the building shed light on the barn’s history and possibilities.

“I think it’s pretty cool to be able to restore a piece of history,” says Brice, whose career goal is to become a catastrophe relief insurance adjuster. “I’ve always liked historical buildings and always wondered what was inside of the mule barn. … From when I first saw it till now, it is a totally different environment.”

Did you know? ?

Highways 13 and 50 were completed by 1922, the same year UCM, then known as Central Missouri State Teachers College, adopted the mule as its mascot. The mule was adopted as Missouri’s state animal in 1995.

Brice’s work on the project has expanded his skill set to include masonry, which is one of Quarry City’s specialties. He also learned the importance of keeping a renovation “period correct” — for example, sourcing upcycled older wood instead of using new lumber in structural repairs.

Above

Tavern

a sign from when the Optimist Club sold Christmas trees at the mule barn, which then housed Cassingham & Son Hardware Store. Above right: When helping to restore the building, UCM student Brice Triplett discovered a ruler to measure the trees on the trim of the door to the store’s

Max Swisher

Leonard Goodall

Brewing in the Burg

the three UCM alumni starting a brewery in the historical mule barn in downtown Warrensburg have big shoes — and a big space — to fill. The town’s first brewery opened in 1865 near where West Pine Street becomes Northwest Division Road. German immigrant Philip Gross established the brewery and used the caves around what is now Cave Hollow Park to store, ferment and age the lager.

Philip was forced to rebuild the brewery after it was set on fire in 1873 by

temperance activists. But just a few years later, business was booming again. In 1876, the local paper raved about the beer being “as fine as any on the market” and praised its “indisputable medicinal qualities.”

That same year, the brewery started a delivery service around town at the rate of $1.25 per dozen bottles.

Philip sold the brewery in 1879 to Franz Murche, who operated it for nearly three decades before closing in 1908.

Music to Your Beers

Fast-forward 110 years to 2018, when Amy (Wardell) Weldon, ’04, ’07, and Warrensburg native Erin (Gregg) Barrier, ’05, ’12, bought their husbands homebrewing kits for Christmas.

Andy Weldon, ’13, ’16, and Cody Barrier, ’05, ’09, ’21, started experimenting separately, then together with fellow UCM Music alumnus Dillon Jarrett, ’05, brewing different types of beer in stainless steel kettles over propane burners.

AluMni tAp into the coMMunitY with Music And MicroBrews

Their setup quickly evolved, and in a year and a half they had transitioned from extracts to all-grain brewing and from bottles to kegs. They joined a local home-brewing club, ZZ Hops out of Lee’s Summit, and later the American Homebrewers Association. It didn’t take long for them to start winning awards at local beer festivals, including “First Place Beer” for their French Toast Stout and “Best Brewery” at the 2019 Festival of the Lost Township in Raytown, Missouri. They came up with the name 7 Degrees

Brewing, after the number of academic degrees the three friends collectively held at the time. All but two of those degrees — Andy’s bachelor’s and Dillon’s master’s — are from the University of Central Missouri.

Dillon, Cody, Amy and Erin met as members of the Marching Mules while earning their undergraduate degrees in Music Education at UCM. Amy went on to earn a Master of Arts in Music while working as the UCM Band graduate assistant, a role Cody took over when Amy graduated and became a band director in the Lafayette County C-1 School District. Amy met Andy when he came to UCM to pursue his master’s in 2008.

All five friends have strong ties to both the university and the Warrensburg community.

“Warrensburg became my home during college and is a place I feel connected to,” says Cody, who serves as the beginning band director in the Fort Osage School District. “When we were first starting this adventure of putting a brewery in Warrensburg, my driving force was connecting to the community, doing something that the community will appreciate and that they will support.”

As student members of the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity, Cody and Dillon remember going to the mule barn to get their Greek letters made. By then, the Cassingham & Son Hardware Store had become a True Value Hardware, but the former name still remained on the brick exterior.

AndyWeldon DillonJarrett CodyBarrier

At left: The brewers toast with three different beers on tap at Checker Tavern.

While cleaning up the mule barn for renovation, the crew found boxes of old T-shirt misprints and overstock from when the building was a hardware store. Inside was a screenprinting pattern (right) the store used to make T-shirts for a CMSU Music contest. Cody Barrier (above) remembers getting his Greek fraternity letters made at the store.

Professor Eric Honour, now chair of UCM’s School of Visual and Performing Arts, was one of the fraternity’s sponsors at the time. He had been his Phi Mu Alpha chapter’s president as an undergraduate and remained involved in graduate school. As UCM’s Epsilon Gamma chapter approached its 35th anniversary in 2005, Eric decided to celebrate by making microbrews representing the fraternity’s colors: black (a German bock), gold (an American wheat) and red (an amber).

“I particularly like making my own recipes because I like imagining the beer that I would like to drink and then sorting through all the different ingredients to put into it,” Eric says. “It kind of scratches the same itch for me that composing does. So much of my work is at the center of sound and technology that there’s a certain amount of spillover into using technology for other things.”

Music Professor Eric Honour had been home-brewing for two years when he created Sinfonian Bach and two other beers to celebrate the UCM music fraternity’s 35th anniversary.

Eric uses “geeky software” to help him predict how a beer with certain ingredients will taste — similar to a composing software that lets you choose the right instruments at the right time. UCM Music was one of the first three National Association of Schools of Music (NASM)-accredited institutions to allow students to declare a laptop as their instrument. The university also has one of the largest Music Technology programs in the country, which Eric helped launch in 2000. The alumni at Mule Barn Brewing plan to tap into their former professor’s expertise when designing a stage in the brewery’s lower taproom and setting up the sound system.

Andy was band director at Holden High School and previously Leeton High before making the career shift to fulltime brewing, becoming head brewer at East Forty Brewing in Blue Springs. He envisions bringing in brass quartets, jazz bands, salsa bands and other small ensembles to give students another performance opportunity while at the same time entertaining patrons.

“UCM Music students and faculty are always looking for creative ways to connect with and perform for the Warrensburg community,” says Corey Seapy, UCM Bands director and conductor of the Warrensburg Community Band, of which Andy, Cody and their wives are members. “We’re thrilled that some of our most industrious music alumni are committed to providing a great space for craft beer and live music in one of the most iconic buildings in town. We look forward to enhancing the atmosphere through music and collaborating on special events as soon as Mule Barn Brewing is up and running!”

While ’90s alternative rock is their go-to “brewing music,” the brewers enjoy listening to a variety of genres. In addition to student ensembles, they plan to invite all styles of musical groups from across the region to perform at the brewery. It’s the same with their beer; while they each have their own tastes, it’s important to them to provide a variety so each patron can find something they enjoy.

“We’re fortunate that we have such an eclectic, wide range of styles that we like making and like drinking,” says Dillon, who teaches middle and high school band in the Raymore-Peculiar School District. “I think that we will find a good balance between having a little bit of everything, but finding what the community loves too.”

choose Your Brews

depot street lAger — Named after what Railroad Street was called when the Jones Brothers shipped mules via the nearby tracks across the country.

dives & lAzArus extrA speciAl Bitter (esB)

— An English-style pale ale named after a movement in Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “English Folk Song Suite” that features the lower brass instruments that Andy (tuba) and Cody (euphonium) play. (Dillon’s instrument is the French horn.)

old druM pAle Ale — Named after Warrensburg’s unofficial mascot, “Man’s Best Friend,” this beer won a gold Brewers’ Choice medal at the 2024 Oktoberfest in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

B-2 Brown — A tribute to the B-2 bomber housed at Whiteman Air Force Base. The base was originally called Sedalia Army Air Field in August 1942, then renamed after George Whiteman, a Sedalia native and one of the first airmen killed at Pearl Harbor.

On the mule’s muzzle there are five lines, the same number as in a musical staff. The bridle of the mule resembles a band conductor’s baton.

shepArd street porter — In 1937, the city of Warrensburg purchased and demolished the old brewery on West Pine Street. Stones from the brewery were used to build a retaining wall on the east end of Shepard Park, named for Charles A. Shepard, a dry-goods shop owner who donated the land. A wading pool had opened in the park three years earlier, dedicated to the youth of Warrensburg and built with funds raised in part from matinee tickets sold during Mickey Mouse Club meetings at the Star Theater. The 1934 pool dedication was organized by Edward Beatty and Mrs. W.C. Morris, with music led by Don Essig.

The Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Scholarship is available through the UCM Alumni Foundation for a junior, senior or graduate student pursuing a degree in music with a 3.0 GPA or higher. To make a contribution to the scholarship fund, visit ucmfoundation.org/sinfonia

By Trevor McLanahan, Public Relations Undergraduate Student

Downtown Warrensburg is home to many different businesses, organizations and restaurants. Housed in buildings dating to the late 19th century, these establishments make for a vibrant downtown with an abundance of history.

Warrensburg Main Street, one of only nine Missouri Main Street Accredited Communities in the state, applied for a Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Subgrant from the National Park Service. In the summer of 2024, three Warrensburg properties were among the 13 projects statewide that were awarded funding for exterior preservation: the building that originally housed the iconic Jones Brothers Mule Barn, a section of the C.W. Cord Building that now houses The Next Door Agents, and the historical Star Theater.

History and Progress

When Revolutionary War veteran Martin Warren arrived from Kentucky in 1833, he established a blacksmith shop located at the corner of present-day College Avenue

and East Gay Street. A few years later, when Johnson County was established, the township became the county seat and was named Warren’s Burg in Martin’s honor. In 1855, it was incorporated as the city of Warrensburg.

Between 1860 and 1890, the population of Warrensburg grew from just under 1,000 to more than 4,700, according to the Johnson County Historical Society. The end of the Civil War in 1865 ushered in a new era for Warrensburg, which the year before had become a stop on the Pacific Railroad as it proceeded westward.

Col. B.W. Grover and Maj. N.B. Holden advocated for the railroad to come through Warrensburg and established plats of land that would facilitate the track and the city’s eastward expansion. As development progressed after the war, Holden Street gradually replaced Main Street as the hub of commerce and extended south to what would become the campus of State Normal

As the turn of the century approached, construction was booming downtown. The building on West Pine now known as the Star Theater opened as Gilkeson’s Dry Goods Store in 1883 and became a theater in 1915.

In 1897, grocer C.W. Cord constructed a building on Holden Street using locally quarried sandstone, and the following year, Johnson County’s new courthouse opened across the street. The original courthouse, built in 1842 and now home to the Johnson County Historical Society, was the first Warrensburg building to earn a place on the National Register of Historic Places. It was listed on the registry in 1970, thanks to the early efforts of a group that would evolve into Warrensburg Main Street.

Since 1994, Warrensburg Main Street has been a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the economic growth and betterment of the downtown area and community. The group is part of Missouri Main Street Connection, which

This ad in Warrensburg High School’s inaugural yearbook, the Arrow, shows that when the Star Theater opened in 1915, the ticket prices were 10 cents for adults and 5 cents for children. The theater’s motto was “Safety First!”

Holden Street in 1900, looking south toward the campus of State Normal School No. 2.

Alumni Revitalize Historical Downtown Warrensburg

encourages communities to revitalize historical buildings in both rural and urban settings. Since 2015, Warrensburg Main Street has logged more than 30,000 volunteer hours, helped open more than 90 new businesses and posted more than 230 new jobs.

“I’ve watched downtown change, especially in the last five to 10 years; it has really just blossomed,” says real estate broker Eva Norton, ’14, who purchased the north section of the Cord Building to house The Next Door Agents in January 2023.

Driving Downtown Growth

When the Star Theater was gifted to Warrensburg Main Street in August 2023, they were not sure what the building would become. Warrensburg locals and alumni may remember previous

names for the space, including the Star Bar, the Warehouse, Club Blue or the Red Carpet Lounge.

“We didn’t want it to become a parking lot, and we wanted that building to have life again,” says Jamie DeBacker, ’16, Warrensburg Main Street’s executive director.

Warrensburg Main Street held open houses where community members could tour the building and give their opinion on what they would like the historical theater to become. Ideas included a community space, event center, arcade, museum or even a skating rink.

“It all revolved around a place of gathering,” says Jamie. “It’s just a place for people to be together.”

Jamie DeBacker (above) has seen a lot of changes downtown while working at Warrensburg Main Street, including the organization’s acquisition of the Star Theater in August 2023. The theater’s marquee (left) was first installed in 1949.

Jamie’s work with nonprofits started while she was a Business Administration and Management student at UCM, participating in the Integrative Business Experience, where students secure a bank loan to start a real business. They have one semester to develop and sell a product to generate enough to pay off their loan, with additional profits being donated to their selected nonprofit. The group Jamie was part of created a MuleNation-branded filtered water bottle to raise money for the Thirst Project, a nonprofit organization that works to end the global water crisis by building freshwater wells in communities that need clean drinking water.

By choosing UCM, Jamie followed in the footsteps of her mother, Jennifer DeBacker, who graduated in 1987. Jamie was involved in numerous student activities at UCM, serving as the social chairman for the Sigma Kappa Delta

Eta sorority, volunteering with MO Volunteers and being part of the Homecoming leadership committee. After graduation, she became the event planner, then assistant director, at Warrensburg Main Street. This January, Jamie celebrated one year as the organization’s executive director.

“I quickly became assistant director because I did have those leadership and management skills of helping, talking to people and doing public speaking,” she says. “Having that business degree, it really helped me dive into helping other small businesses because that’s what we’re here for — to provide them with resources.”

But Jamie would be the first to tell you that Warrensburg Main Street’s successes couldn’t happen without a strong team, which includes Maggie Burgin, ’16. Jamie, a Warrensburg native, was one of the first locals to befriend Maggie when her family moved to town in 2004. Maggie was 10 years old when her father, Dave Slifer, became head coach of Jennies Basketball at UCM. Her mother,

Tammy Slifer, has served as assistant head coach since 2018.

Maggie graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Fashion Merchandising and a double minor in Business Administration and Marketing. After graduation, she left Warrensburg, but only for a short time. When she moved back, she worked at MKT Clothing downtown before taking the position of Warrensburg Main Street’s marketing and event coordinator in 2023. She says she has been in love with her line of work ever since.

“My heart just always wanted to come back to Warrensburg,” Maggie says. “A lot of people think of Warrensburg Main Street and they only think of our events, but there is just so much more to our organization. We do a lot of revitalization and helping our downtown businesses grow and keeping them here, and all the little things we do behind the scenes.”

Waymon Hollister, ’22, ’24, is the newest member of the Warrensburg Main Street team as program coordinator since January. She is from Omaha, Nebraska, and moved to Warrensburg in 2018 to pursue her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. She continued at UCM to earn her MBA with a concentration in Public Relations. Waymon’s love for the farmers market and Warrensburg helped her come into her role with Warrensburg Main Street. She says she already sees that her work is making a huge impact in the community.

“I just love Warrensburg,” says Waymon. “I think the community is the most important part of it.”

Pictured in Warrensburg Main Street’s office are, from left, UCM alumni Waymon Hollister, Jamie DeBacker and Maggie Burgin next to a Mules & Jennies shirt that Maggie designed.

Eva Norton has worked tirelessly renovating The Next Door Agents building, and is currently taking on the project of modernizing the upstairs of the property. Wallpaper wasn’t entirely unexpected while revitalizing the upstairs, but she hadn’t anticipated finding so many layers. The downstairs renovation, which prioritized preserving the building’s original architectural features, earned Warrensburg Main Street’s 2024 Best Downtown Rehabilitation Project Award.

“I love UCM; I loved my time as a student there,” Eva says. “This is the perfect size university where you can really get one-on-one with your teachers. … It gives you the opportunity to experience college life without it being crazy, overwhelming or scary.”

During her time at UCM, Eva studied abroad in China and has lived in several states, including California, Florida, Oregon, Colorado and Arizona.

“Once you experience things from different perspectives, you experience other cultures, you experience other ways of life, it made me so thankful for how I was raised,” Eva says. “I’ve been to a lot of places, and there’s no place like this town … I am very, very happy. I would not raise my kids in any other place.”

Community Collaboration

Warrensburg Main Street hosts more than 50 days of community events downtown

each year. When they were gifted the Star Theater, they held community cleanup days, then opened up the space for events.

Warrensburg Main Street partnered with the UCM Alumni Foundation for free screenings of “The Grinch” in 2023 and “Home Alone” in 2024 after the holiday parade. The building has also served as the venue for MuleNation graduation celebrations for graduating UCM seniors in December and May.

PHILANTHROPY NEWS

UCM Opens Blaine Whitworth Disc Golf Course

UCM celebrated the dedication of the Blaine Whitworth Disc Golf Course on April 12. This 18-hole course is the result of a collaboration between the Office of Student Activities, the Blaine Whitworth “Go Big or Go Home” Foundation, and alumni Barry, ’84, and Diane, ’77, Whitworth.

The course is located on the site of the former UCM Fraternity Complex. The Whitworths said they are happy to sponsor a project that makes use of the green space while honoring Greek Life.

Diane pledged to Sigma Kappa and Barry to Phi Sigma Epsilon while attending what was then known as Central Missouri State University. They have remained involved in Greek Life as alumni and created the Blaine Whitworth Greek Life Community Service Scholarship, one of four UCM scholarships they have endowed.

The disc golf course was funded in part by the Blaine Whitworth “Go Big or Go Home” Foundation, which Diane and Barry started after their son Blaine, a 2009 UCM alumnus, died in 2012.

At the suggestion of Blaine’s friends, they started an annual 5K Race/Walk the following year, which was held during UCM’s Greek Week. To allow for social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, the race became a golf tournament beginning in 2021.

Whatever the sport, UCM Assistant Director of Outdoor Education Jeff Rehm says he just appreciates being outside. Rehm says every Greek chapter on campus volunteered to help clear the land in preparation for the disc golf course opening. Service is a staple of the Greek Life community and one that the Whitworths hold dear. In 2022, they were awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award for Service.

Philanthropic Endowments and Investments

Brian Hughes, professor and director of the Athletic Training program, and his wife,

Hughes, have included UCM in their estate plans to create a scholarship endowment benefiting students earning their Master of Science in Athletic Training.

Charlie Rutt, ’79, ’80, celebrated his retirement after more than 40 years of serving the University of Central Missouri by establishing the Rutt Family Endowed Scholarship for UCM Store Student Employees with his wife, Beth Rutt, ’83.

The disc golf course serves both students and the greater Warrensburg community as a free recreational opportunity. Within two weeks from announcing the project, all 18 holes were sponsored, and more donors continue to step up for future enhancements like picnic shelters and restrooms.

To contribute to the Blaine Whitworth Disc Golf Course, visit ucmfoundation.org/discgolf

Lynn Hicklin ’63, ’83, established the Walter Hicklin Memorial Scholarship Endowment in memory of her husband, Walt Hicklin, ’64, ’76, and his distinguished service to the university. Walt served UCM as an employee for 31 years in many capacities. Following his retirement, he was appointed to UCM’s Board of Governors and served for 12 years, including as president. This scholarship will benefit students majoring in Mathematics Education, which was Walt’s undergraduate major.

Cutting the ribbon at the disc golf course were UCM Alumni Foundation Executive Director Courtney Goddard; alumni and donors Barry and Diane Whitworth; Beth Rutt, director of Student Activities and the Student Recreation and Wellness Center; UCM President Roger Best; and Jeff Rehm, assistant director of Outdoor Education.

Kathy

PHILANTHROPY

Gift Helps Students THRIVE

Excel Expanding College for Exceptional Learners provided significant support to the THRIVE Student Success Fund. This fund helps students with disabilities in their transition to independent living while securing employment that fits their individual goals and abilities.

The gift comes as the THRIVE program is expanding into a four-year comprehensive transition and postsecondary (CTP) program. The new designation unlocks additional Title IV financial aid options for families, including Pell Grants previously

Alumni Fund Ongoing Wrestling

Dan, ’73, ’74, and Shirley, ’80, Power joined Gary and Lisa Ervin in pledging a cumulative $1,000,000 to support Mules Wrestling. Their gifts will help construct a new locker room and student-athlete lounge for the team in the Jerry M. Hughes Athletics Center.

Chris, ’97, and Heather Heckadon teamed up with Jeron, ’97, ’99, and Rebecca Quincy to pledge an additional $250,000 toward the endeavor. These commitments, among others, bring the project within $200,000 of its $1.5 million goal.

A cohort of 15 THRIVE students earned their certificates in May 2024.

only accessible to degree-seeking students. Since its inception in 2010, THRIVE has served 176 students.

For more information about the program, visit ucmo.edu/thrive.

Facility Improvements

Help UCM complete this project by sponsoring a wrestling locker for $5,000 at ucmfoundation.org/wrestling

Denker, ’81, looks on as

and

embrace after the ribbon is cut for the Roger Denker Wrestling Facility in January 2023.

Dedicated Room in Utt Honors Music Makers

UCM’s School of Visual and Performing Arts proudly memorialized Betty Sue Meyer, ’60, ’65, on April 6 by dedicating a practice room in her honor. The room is located in UCM’s Paul R. Utt Building. Betty and Ted both received the UCM Distinguished Alumni Award in 2007. Their business, Meyer Music, has served the Kansas City region and been a proud supporter of UCM Music for more than 50 years.

Interested in dedicating a music room? Contact the UCM Alumni Foundation at giving@ucmo.edu.

Four generations of the Meyer family came to the dedication, including Mike Meyer, ’90, Meagan (Anwander) Neuner, ’15, ’19, Paul Anwander, ’87, ’10, Julie Anwander, ’86, ’88, ’96, Ted Meyer, ’62, ’67, Madison (Meyer) Karscig, ’14, and Alex Karscig, ’10, ’12.

Bob, ’52, and Nancy Blackman’s grandchildren established an endowed scholarship in their honor to benefit students studying music at UCM.

Jim Crane, ’76, made a significant contribution to support the James R. Crane Baseball Scholarship.

William, ’60, ’63, and Martha Foley established a scholarship endowment in their name to support juniors and seniors who are pursuing degrees in History or Social Studies.

Brock Lewark, ’99, ’01, Sarah Cantu, ’02, and Susan Fleming, ’02, ’04, honored their father’s memory by creating the Michael H. Lewark, ’82, Student-Athlete Scholarship Endowment.

Chris, ’86, and Amy, ’87, Liang made an investment in the Liang Family Scholarship Endowment to support students with financial need.

Joe, ’63, and Jane Roop made provisions in their estate to invest in the Joseph Ezra Roop Memorial Scholarship and the Joseph F. Dolecki Economics Scholarship, increasing the endowment for each.

Ted Myer admires the room dedicated to his late wife, Betty Sue Meyer (pictured in frame).

Connie

Dan Power

Gary Ervin

KAUFFMAN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

By Kathy Strickland

Growing up the daughter of a writer in Hollywood, Elizabeth (Cockrell) Coleman had a far-away concept of her father’s hometown, concocted from stories he told of Warrensburg, Missouri. It wasn’t until nearly three decades after his death that the picture came into focus through the stories he put down on paper — tales of a fictional town called Sassoon.

Elizabeth left California to study religion and philosophy at Stephens College in Columbia, where she met Roger Coleman, who was earning his Master of Education in Counseling Psychology at the University of Missouri. Just a few months before the couple’s wedding date in 1972, Elizabeth’s father passed away at age 62 without ever having met Roger.

The Colemans made their home in Kansas City, raising three daughters. Even though Warrensburg was just an hour away, Elizabeth had little reason to visit — until Sassoon showed up at her doorstep in the form of a Christmas package from Liz’s cousin in 1999, setting into motion a quest that would eventually lead them to relocate to her father’s hometown. The box contained several fragile issues of Blue Book magazine from the mid-1930s, stained yellow with age and each containing a short story written by Eustace Cockrell.

Family Ties

Eustace Cockrell hailed from a prestigious Warrensburg family. His father was Ewing Cockrell, a Johnson County prosecuting attorney, then circuit court judge with offices in the courthouse on North Holden Street, next door to the family home at 208 E. Market. Ewing went on to help found the U.S. Federation of Justice and was nominated three times for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Hearst and the party’s nominee, Judge Alton B. Parker. Parker lost the election to President Theodore Roosevelt, who was fond of Francis and appointed him to the Interstate Commerce Commission. In that capacity, he helped negotiate the boundary between Texas and what would soon become the state of New Mexico, then served in the War Department under President Woodrow Wilson until his death in December 1915 in Washington, D.C.

Ewing’s father was Francis Marion Cockrell, son of Johnson County’s first sheriff, Joseph Cockrell. Francis practiced law in Warrensburg with Thomas Crittenden, who would become famous for rounding up the James Gang as governor of Missouri in 1881. Francis served as a brigadier general in the Civil War and also served five terms, 1875 to 1905, as a U.S. Senator from Missouri. The year before he retired, Francis ran for president in the 1904 Democratic National Convention, coming in third behind newspaper magnate William Randolph

Sassoon Stories

The 1904 presidential race is the time setting for a short story titled “Slow Train Through Sassoon” about a man named Jack, whose job was to lower the crossbars whenever a train came through Sassoon, Eustace’s pen name for Warrensburg. He worked out of a small shed next to the tracks and slept on a pool table in a saloon nearby. Local children would play marbles near the tracks and listen to Jack’s fantastic

During his first term, President Teddy Roosevelt attended the Feb. 14, 1903, wedding of Sen. Francis Cockrell’s daughter Marion Cockrell to Edison Gallaudet. An article in the St. Louis Republic quoted the president saying he was glad he did not live in Missouri because he liked Senator Cockrell so much that it would be hard to refrain from voting for him, even though he belonged to a different political party.

Left: Eustace Cockrell’s “My Brother Jake” was published with this illustration in a 1943 issue of Collier’s magazine. The short story tells of an 11-year-old boy who is left to run the family farm by himself after his older brother dies from wounds suffered in the war.

Eustace Cockrell’s father, Judge Ewing Cockrell, is pictured second from right with several lawyers from Johnson County, Missouri. Judge Cockrell wrote “A History of Johnson County, Missouri.”

Eustace Cockrell

Teddy Roosevelt’s.

One day it was announced that President Roosevelt would be on a train pulling through the station. When the president stood on the train’s platform, waved and called Jack by name as he passed, the children and other onlookers were surprised that what they assumed to be a tall tale might actually

Roger Coleman, Eustace’s son-in-law, chose this story to adapt as a one-act play for Professor Aaron Scully’s Playwriting class at UCM. At age 82, he is taking advantage of Missouri’s tuition waiver for senior citizens, one of many ways for non-degree-seeking students to take classes through UCM’s Open University.

The 10-minute production was part of the Central Missouri Playwrights New Play Festival, performed and directed by UCM students Oct. 31–Nov. 2, 2024, in the Black Box Theatre in Nickerson Hall.

“Few people will read stories written in the 1930s and 1940s,” Roger explains, “but they might attend a play. The UCM Theatre department is a collaborative program built around a great deal of student-led participation. I feel very fortunate to be included.”

The feeling is mutual, says Scully, who is UCM’s Meridith Harmon Sauer Distinguished Professor of Theatre and just completed seven years as the National Playwriting Program Chair for the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Region V. In his Playwriting class, students progress from writing a 10-minute play to a one-act and ultimately a treatment for a full-length script. Scully says it was a pleasure seeing Roger progress from editing Eustace Cockrell’s work to writing original adaptations.

“There’s no better motivator for a student than to know their work is going to be seen by a bunch of people,” Scully says. “The idea that Sassoon is Warrensburg — you can picture it, the feel of it.”

After Warrensburg’s original train station burned down in 1889, the existing station was built using native sandstone. Until a crossing gate was installed in the 1920s, a flagman, like the character Jack in “Slow Train Through Sassoon,” would guard the Holden Street Crossing. Note the flagman’s chair at far right.

Betty and Eustace Cockrell raised their four children — from left, Leacy, Frederick, Elizabeth and Geoffrey — in Hollywood. The couple worked as screenwriters, along with Eustace’s older brother, Francis.

Pulp Fiction

Like his grandfather and father, Eustace was born and raised in Warrensburg. His experience living the first 27 years of his life near UCM’s campus formed a foundation for his writing. When he was 22 years old, Eustace and his older brother, named Francis after their grandfather, co-wrote a story about a young man who became a boxer to save the family farm. The story was published in Blue Book magazine in 1932.

“Many of Cockrell’s early stories were sports-oriented with the boxing ring and the college gridiron among his most common settings,” explains Roger. “Writing during the Great Depression of the 1930s and the World War II era of the 1940s, Cockrell’s tales presented everyday heroes able to escape the confines of poverty and become role models of hope and integrity.”

“It was inevitable … that I end up a writer,” Eustace wrote. “My sister married a writer; my brother was a writer, married a writer; another sister was also a writer.”

Eustace himself married a scriptwriter, Betty Barnett, who was working as an extra in Hollywood. The two met when Eustace moved there from Warrensburg to work with his brother in film. They married in 1939 and raised four children: Leacy, Geoffrey, Frederick and Elizabeth, the youngest.

Screen Time

Eustace’s boxing protagonist Refugee Smith was among the first African American heroes to be featured in a work of fiction published in a mainstream magazine like Collier’s. In 1942, MGM bought the movie rights to the Refugee Smith series, and producer Arthur Freed hired Eustace to edit the script for the 1943 MGM film “Cabin in the Sky,” based on the hit Broadway musical.

“ ”

Cockrell was a gifted writer for whom everyone, even the most hardhearted and downtrodden, received a second chance.

– Roger

Race-related issues were common themes in Eustace’s writing, and his protagonists were often people who had slipped through the cracks of society — including children orphaned during the Great Depression, criminals on the run and veterans struggling to reacclimate to civilian life after returning from war.

“Cockrell was a gifted writer for whom everyone, even the most hard-hearted and downtrodden, received a second chance,” says Roger. “Hope came not from the power of wealth or prestige but from the innocence of children, the integrity of women and the insights of those often on the fringes of society.”

At the dawn of the Golden Age of Television in the early 1950s, Eustace

Eustace Cockrell edited the script for the 1943 film “Cabin in the Sky,” featuring an all-Black cast that included Ethel Waters, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, Lena Horne, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington.

Eustace Cockrell and his brother, Francis, co-wrote an episode of “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” titled “You Got to Have Luck,” starring John Cassavetes and Marisa Pavan.

Coleman

wrote for Westerns like “Cheyenne” and “Sugarfoot.” He also wrote for “The Loretta Young Show,” “Philco Television Playhouse,” “This Man Dawson” and “Naked City.”

In fall 2024, Roger gave a presentation to UCM’s Cinema Club about a 1956 episode of “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” co-written by Eustace and his brother, Francis. The episode starred John Cassavetes, who would go on to play the title role in the NBC detective series “Johnny Staccato” in 1959 and 1960. Cassavetes directed the main feature shown at the Cinema Club’s meeting that night, a 1974 film titled “A Woman Under the Influence.”

“[Roger] was a fantastic guest,” says Eric Newsom, club adviser and associate professor of Digital Media Production and Communication Studies at UCM. “He brought copies of the script for the students to read and compare with the work on screen, talked on a functional basis about the nature of television writing and

Did you know? ?

Entrepreneur Ewing

Marion Kauffman, namesake of Kansas City’s Kauffman Center and former owner of the Kansas City Royals, was named for Francis Sr.’s third wife, Anna Ewing Cockrell. Daughter of Judge Ephraim Brevard Ewing, a justice with the Missouri Supreme Court (1859-1861, 1873), Anna was Ewing Marion Kauffman’s grandmother.

Mr. Cockrell’s approach to working in that industry … the students learned quite a bit from a glimpse inside the TV business in its early days.”

Coming Home

Cockrell only published three short stories after 1951, one of which was titled “The Long Way Home,” published in Collier’s in 1957. An excerpt from the tale sums up what Elizabeth Coleman described as her father’s underlying affection for his hometown. A young woman and man who had lived in Sassoon their entire lives shocked the town by selling the man’s shop and eloping. After a month of traveling, they returned to Sassoon to raise a family and settle down.

“You go away from where you live,” she said, “full of hate for people, and then you get to remembering them and you remember the good about them, and you want to come back, to have a place to come back to where

… where people are interested enough in you to talk about you.”

In 1953, while serving as managing editor of Fortnight Magazine in Los Angeles, Eustace was part of a team nominated for an Academy Award for a documentary about Operation Blue Jay. Other than that, he did not receive much recognition, and many of his stories remained unpublished as the public’s attention drifted from magazines to television. They were lost to history until Roger and Elizabeth uncovered and republished them.

Whether writing for magazines, film or TV, Eustace Cockrell’s “bread and butter” was always his heartfelt stories of small-town life. Although he never returned to Warrensburg, he wrote many stories about his hometown, which he called Sassoon. This illustration appeared with “The Long Way Home” in a 1957 issue of Collier’s.

SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS

MULES FOOTBALL

The Mules posted an overall record of 9-3 and finished tied for third in the MIAA with a conference mark of 6-3. UCM advanced to the postseason for a second consecutive year and defeated the University of Texas Permian Basin in the 2024 Heritage Bowl Powered by RIOT, 39-37 in double overtime Dec. 7 in Corsicana, Texas. The day before the Heritage Bowl was High Five Friday, where players greeted local elementary school students on their way to school.

The Central Missouri offense paced NCAA Division II in passing (394.6 yards per game) and first downs (351), and ranked second in total offense (526.1 yards per game). Gabe Clark and Cale Miller both earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-America honors for their work in the classroom and on the field, marking the second straight year both have earned the honor.

UCM quarterback Zach Zebrowski won the Harlon Hill Award as the NCAA Division II National Player of the Year for a second straight season. He is just the fifth repeat winner in the award’s history and the first-ever MIAA football student-athlete to garner multiple Harlon Hill Trophy accolades. Zebrowski was once again a consensus First Team All-American quarterback. Offensive lineman Gabe Clark also received All-America honors during the 2024 season.

At right: Zach Zebrowski wins the Harlon Hill Award, the highest honor in NCAA-II football, for the second consecutive year. Top right: Gabe Clark embraces the Mules’ postseason Heritage Bowl win. Bottom right: Players greet local elementary students on their way to school in Corsicana, Texas, before the Heritage Bowl.

JENNIES SOCCER

The Jennies compiled an overall record of 17-5-2 and went 9-2-1 in the MIAA in 2024, finishing in third place in the final regular-season league standings. Caroline Cole and Ashleigh Martin both garnered All-America honors.

The Jennies won the program’s seventh MIAA Postseason Tournament Championship after posting a 1-0 win over the Central Oklahoma Bronchos Nov. 16 in Wichita, Kansas. UCM earned the top seed in the NCAA Division II Central Region and hosted a portion of the regional tournament in Warrensburg. Jennies Soccer fell to second-seed Minnesota State in the regional title match Dec. 1, 1-0 in double overtime.

Andree Orcutt and Caroline Cole

ATHLETICS

JENNIES VOLLEYBALL

The Jennies finished their season with an overall record of 11-15 highlighted by two All-MIAA performers in Rachel Ziesman, Elinor Engel and Maya Fergerson.

The Jens also boasted 13 MIAA Academic Honor Roll recipients, including three winners of the conference’s prestigious Academic Excellence award. Tiffany Little and redshirt junior Grace Winkelmann

were College Sports Communicators Academic-All District Team selections.

Jennies Volleyball also became just the fifth program in all of NCAA Division II to have a Taraflex Sport M Plus playing surface, which reportedly prevents injuries by up to 35% due to its shockabsorption qualities. This was made possible, in part, by donations from alumni and friends.

MULES AND JENNIES CROSS COUNTRY

The Mules Cross Country team had Top 5 team finishes in their first five meets of the season, highlighted by a fifth-place finish at the Roy Griak Invitational hosted by the University of Minnesota before taking fifth at the 2024 MIAA Championships. Warrensburg native Cooper Palmer and freshman Cosmas Kiprop both qualified for the national meet, with Palmer placing 87th overall.

Along with their success in competition, the Mules were awarded the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s All-Academic team award with a 3.41 GPA, while Luke Engel and Palmer earned individual accolades.

Jennies Cross Country had a trio of Top 30 finishers during their season in Abigael Kimurgor, Clara Lackman and Chloee Belgum. Kimurgor paced Central Missouri at the NCAA Division II Central Region Meet, taking 85th place with a time of 22:54.52.

UCM ATHLETICS IS MAIN STREET’S NO. 1 VOLUNTEER

In January, UCM Athletics was honored as the Warrensburg Main Street 2024 Community Partner of the Year, having logged more than 300 volunteer hours.

“They have been very, very collaborative and a great partner with us,” says Warrensburg Main Street Executive Director Jamie DeBacker, ’16.

“Having that good connection with UCM is great for our organization.”

UCM student-athletes moved more than 100 fence panels into Warrensburg Main Street’s new office on Holden Street. They also helped with setup and teardown for Burg Fest, which is Warrensburg’s annual fall festival.

Since Warrensburg Main Street was gifted the historical Star Theater building on West Pine in the summer of 2023, UCM Athletics has been working with the organization on cleanup in preparation for a full-fledged restoration.

See page 12 to learn more about Warrensburg Main Street’s downtown revitalization efforts.

Want More Sports?

Tune in to “Sportspage,” a half-hour talk show featuring UCM Athletics student-athletes, coaches and staff. The show is produced by UCM Digital Media Production students who work at KMOS-TV, the university-run PBS station.

“Sportspage” airs live at 11:30 a.m. CDT on Channel 6.1 and on the PBS app. Watch past episodes on YouTube @KMOSTV.

Maya Fergerson

Abigael Kimurgor

MuleNation St. Louis Serve & Socialize, Sept. 11, 2024, at Ballpark Village and Food Outreach

Blake Busateri, ’23, Dylan Berhorst, ’24, and Samuel Atienza, ’23.

Jen Haire, Jon Haire, ’06, Angela Hawkins and Meaghan Hawkins.

Rick Campbell, ’92, Darren Scotti, ’93, Tiffany Cochran, ’05, ’23, Kevin Zirges, ’84, James Boydston, ’82, and Jay Brewer, ’00.

Karen Breden, ’98, James Boydston, ’82, Anita Harmon, ’99, Jennifer Hardin, ’00, Andrew Stallski, ’11, and Brea Parnell.

Robert Donovan, ’72, Jan Donovan, ’72, Shirley Lohmar and Ned Doelling, ’74.

Jason Denen and Jennifer Hardin, ’00.

MuleNation Japan, Sept. 20–Oct. 1, 2024, in Tokyo, Niigata, Hiroshima and Osaka

Mules Basketball Reunion, Feb. 21, 2025, at Fitter’s Restaurant and Pub

Kyle Weymuth, ’08, Adam Bohac and Kim Anderson.

Melissa Anderson, Kim Anderson, Reggie Stallings, ’12, and Angela Stallings.

MuleNation Florida, Feb. 13, 2025, at Margaritaville in Fort Myers

Diane Jenkins, Jim Jenkins, ’69, ’72, Paula Elliot, ’76, Roger Baldwin, ’69, and Connie Baldwin, ’69, ’82.

MuleNation Kansas City Serve & Socialize, Nov. 21, 2024, at The Big Rip Brewing Co. and A Turning Point

Ken McAlpine, ’75, and Marla Rinne, ’75.

Brock Lewark, ’99, ’01, Damyan Tsvetanov Popov, ’21, and Tiffany Cochran ’05, ’23.

Kelly Edmonson, ’85, ’92, Alan Schmelzle, ’83, Damyan Tsvetanov Popov, ’21, and Joe Galetti.

Catie Tomlin, ’99, Haley Martin, ’16, and Joseph Masters, ’23.

MuleNation New York City, Nov. 7, 2024, at the Harmonie Club

MuleNation Arizona, Jan. 17, 2025, at Putting World in Scottsdale

Ruth Fowler, ’69, Janet Gray ’78, and Wally Fowler, ’71

MuleNation Houston Serve & Socialize, Feb. 1, 2025, at the Astros’ Stadium, TEAM Resale Shop and Houston Food Bank

Cheryl Jordan, Kartheek Mummareddy, ’16, Ryan Bowie, ’96, Brea Parnell, and Srinija Amisthapur, ’17.

and John McReynolds.

Q. Olivia Rivers, ’08, and Erica Beck, ’07.

Bob Shoemaker, ’79, Regina Province, Jon Hunt, ’95, Janel Hunt, ’94, and Evan Hunt.

Matt Howdeshell and Stu Rogers, ’82, ’86.

MuleNation San Antonio Serve & Socialize, Dec. 17, 2025, at Casa del Rio and Big Brothers Big Sisters

MuleNation Dallas–Fort Worth Serve & Socialize, Oct. 2, 2024, Alumni Home and HIM Food Bank

Allison Ginn, ’12, and Brett Ginn, ’12, ’13.

Ryan Bowie, ’96, Brea Parnell, Nikhil Pulipeta, ’22, and Tiffany Cochran, ’05, ’23.

Brad Grupe

Chuck Hall and Karla Hall. Ron Jennings, Jim Crane, ’76, and Rob Ruth, ’75.

Roger Verstraete, Janet Verstraete, Julie Moore and Scott Moore.

Teresa Herbic, ’90, Galen Herbic, Billy Ukrazhenko and Tiffany Cochran, ’05, ’23.

UCM Alumni Set Their Sights on Service

Alphapointe Works to Change Perceptions of Blindness

It’s hot.

July-in-Missouri hot, when the heat and humidity make breathing, moving — even thinking — a chore. The only respite is a slight wind that feels like the first wave of heat spilling from an open oven door.

Yet here, just north of Kansas City at Alphapointe Adventure Camp, there is no complaining. Laughter, excited voices and cheers echo through the trees at Heartland Center, near Parkville, Missouri. Young people, dripping with sweat, slowly pull themselves up a climbing wall to a crescendo of encouragement from the ground.

It’s a scene played out all over the country each summer, as teens head to camp to swim, ride horses, practice archery and fling themselves down zip lines.

This camp, however, is different. These campers are blind or visually impaired.

“We want them to have that traditional experience,” explains Jake McLaughlin, ’13, Alphapointe’s senior manager of events and special programs. “This camp helps them

be around people who understand what they’re going through. It also teaches them just how capable they are while developing social skills; this gives them the platform to grow in confidence, determination and independence.”

In Good Company

Jake is one of three University of Central Missouri alumni on Alphapointe’s Fund Development team. He joined the organization right out of college after graduating with a Sociology degree and credits the support he received from his professors and advisors for guiding him to where he is today.

Three UCM alumni are working together on the Alphapointe Fund Development team: Scott Cotter, Jake McLaughlin and Gina Gowin.

“My freshman year, I met with Ken Schueller,” Jake says of his first trip to what was then UCM’s Office of Career Services. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do. He and his staff worked directly with me to explore my passions and interests. They set all of us up for success.”

Jake McLaughlin returned to campus for the retirement celebration of UCM Success Advising Center Director Ken Schueller in August 2024.

Ken retired in August 2024 as director of UCM’s Success Advising Center. He was instrumental in building subject-area success advising teams with a personal success advisor to serve the needs of each student.

A few years after graduating, Jake went back to UCM to represent Alphapointe at a career expo — only this time, he was there sharing his professional experience with students.

to bring change to those in need, just as we had with Old Drum.”

Scott began volunteering for Wayside Waifs in Kansas City and eventually ended up working for the Pet Resource Center of KC. Another factor that influenced his career path was a chance encounter with a blind UCM student named Randy Becker, who now also works at Alphapointe.

“We were in the radio club together,” Scott recalls. “When I saw this job [at Alphapointe], I thought back to how independent and capable Randy was, and I thought this would be a good opportunity to support others in the effort to live life on their terms.”

Changing Perceptions

According to the National Institutes of Health, it is expected that visual impairment and blindness in working-age and older adults will double in the next 30 years due to people living longer and the rising rate of diabetes.

The latest research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that approximately 15% of adults in the United States are living with diabetes, and 10% of that population reports severe vision difficulty or blindness. In fact, diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among Americans between the ages of 18 and 64.

Alphapointe is committed to helping this growing population continue to live full, independent lives. The nonprofit organization is one of the nation’s largest employers of people who are blind or visually impaired, while also serving as a major advocate for changing people’s perceptions about those with vision loss.

“Our mission is to change the way the world sees blindness,” says Gina. “We want the sighted world to know that vision loss does not prevent people from accomplishing incredible things. At the same time, we work to help those who are blind or visually impaired know their true abilities and how to use their talents to succeed.”

Unemployment rates for people who are blind or visually impaired hover between 60% and 70% according to VisionServe Alliance, largely because workplaces either don’t believe people who are blind or visually impaired can do the work, or businesses feel they are unable to make the required accommodations.

Alphapointe employs blind and visually impaired staff at its locations in Kansas City and Queens, New York, in various manufacturing, development, technology and professional service jobs. One KC employee is the stage manager for local theater productions. Another was a commentator for an NBA playoff game. The organization also provides approximately 4,000 children, teens, working-age adults and seniors with clinical services, comprehensive rehabilitation, job placement and skill-building opportunities.

A World of Possibility

UCM student Jordyn “Jay” Walker participated in an Alphapointe Technology Camp in 2019, the summer after an autoinflammatory disease caused her to suddenly lose circulation to her optic nerves and become fully blind. She and other high school students gained experience with assistive and adaptive technology, such as screen readers and braille keyboards.

Alphapointe also brought in guest speakers during camp, and Jay specifically remembers a visitor who taught the group about advocacy.

“She really facilitated my need to be an

advocate for myself, and that changed my whole world,” Jay says. “Being at that camp genuinely changed me — not necessarily because of the technology but because of the interactions that I had in camp.”

Five years later, Jay is advocating for herself and other students with disabilities by working with UCM Accessibility Services and students in the Design and Drafting Technology program to develop a 3D map of campus. The map, initially funded by a donor-powered Opportunity Grant through the UCM Alumni Foundation, will feature 3D-printed buildings that mimic the buildings’ actual shapes, braille signage and differently textured surfaces for sidewalks, grass, streets and accessible entrances.

“If you don’t have a visual impairment, you have a tendency to take for granted the fact that you can look at a building or landmark and know where you are; as a blind person, I just have the sidewalk in front of me,” Jay explains. “Being a part of this project has been so cool. I would go in and check the braille, and they’d ask me to get from Nickerson to the library. If I couldn’t do it with the map, they’d figure out a way to fix it.”

Jay is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in Gender and Sexuality Studies with minors in Anthropology, Sociology and Psychology. After graduating in May 2026, she plans to continue at UCM to earn her master’s degree in Counseling. Her dream career is to fill a niche as a family and relationship therapist for clients with disabilities. She has learned that her vision loss does not define her; neither does it stand in the way of realizing her full potential.

Teens at Alphapointe’s Adventure Camp come to the same realization. As they ride horses, scale a climbing wall and navigate a ropes course 40 feet in the air, limitations drop away, and the sun-drenched Missouri outdoors opens up into a world of possibility.

Are you working or networking with other UCM alumni? Share your story at ucmmagazine@ucmo.edu

Scott Cotter and Randy Becker, who first met as students at UCM, reconnected at Alphapointe.

UCM student Jay Walker participated in Alphapointe Technology Camp in 2019.

CLASS NOTES

Alumni News

Patricia Burton, ’65, ’96, was honored by the KC Shepherd’s Center with the 70 Over 70 Award.

Paul Gieringer, ’78, ’92, of Marshall High School in Missouri, received the prestigious 9th Diamond Award from the National Speech and Debate Association.

Mark James, ’78, has been named director of the Missouri Department of Public Safety.

Gene Guevel, ’79, retired from T-Mobile with 43 years of service to United Telecommunications/ Sprint/T-Mobile.

Dom Caristi, ’82, received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program Award in Media and Journalism to teach in Slovenia during the 2024-25 academic year.

Chad Stebbins, ’84, has been named executive director of the Missouri Press Association.

Robin Bienfait, ’85, was named to the Directorship 100 list of most influential leaders in corporate governance by the National Association of Corporate Directors.

Jack Bergfeld, ’88, ’90, was named chief of police for the Ballwin [Missouri] Police Department.

Scott Ehrhardt, ’89, was appointed to the F&M Bank and Trust Co. Board of Directors.

Kelli Feldman, ’90, was named dean of the School of Education at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Amy O’Brien, ’90, was named president and CEO of the Greater Burlington Partnership.

Charles Hausman, ’91, ’93, was appointed adjutant general of the Missouri National Guard by Governor Mike Kehoe.

Troy Marnholtz, ’95, ’02, ’11, was honored as Assistant Superintendent of the Year for the West Central Region of the Missouri Association of School Administrators.

Connie Berglund, ’96, has joined Bothwell Regional Health Center as a nurse practitioner on the walk-in clinics team in Sedalia, Missouri.

Amy Taylor, ’96, has started working as an ombudsman liaison with Healthy Blue Kansas.

Heather Flandermeyer, ’99, has joined the ownership team at Elevate Design + Build in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

Jason Bohon, ’00, was promoted to associate professor of drama at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

Stacie Wild, ’00, was named the 2024 Central Missouri Secondary School Counselor of the Year.

Bryan Pettengill, ’01, ’04, is the new superintendent of the Morgan County R-II School District in Versailles, Missouri.

Janell Pycior, ’02, ’05, earned an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and was hired as an assistant professor of literacy at the University of Southern Indiana.

Amy Wilder, ’03, has joined the editorial team at Aviation International News as a staff writer.

Barry Holden, ’87, retired after a 35-year career as a special agent with the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and is now working primarily in the Middle East with the U.S. Department of State, Counterintelligence/Counterterrorism Unit.

Collin Stosberg, ’96, is the new wealth management adviser for Central Trust Company of Jefferson City.

Paul Orscheln, ’96, ’98, has been named vice president of enrollment and student services at Park University in Parkville, Missouri.

Share Your News

If you are a UCM alum, we want to hear from you! Please submit a headshot and news of your award, achievement, promotion, new job or retirement within the past year at ucmfoundation.org/class–notes.

Harshitha Reddy Vanga, ’23, has become certified in Cybersecurity ISC2 CC, CompTIA Security + and SC-200 and is working with EY.

Allison Zahner, ’23, is the new airport manager of Missouri’s Joplin Regional Airport.

Rachel Salazar, ’24, was hired as a victim advocate administrative assistant for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas.

Denny Hoskins, ’98, of Warrensburg, took office in January as Missouri’s 41st secretary of state.

Capt. Ethan Smith, ’16, who is stationed in Japan with his wife, Brandy Smith, ’17, led the U.S. Pacific Air Forces F16-C Viper Demo Team at the 2025 Australian International Airshow.

CLASS NOTES

CornerBaby

Andrew Stallski, ’11, and Lindsay Stallski welcomed Quentin Jade Stallski in January 2024.

Teresa (Delaney) Pearce, ’84, ’90, and David Pearce welcomed grandchild Violet Kaye Heise in May 2024.

Austin McClary, ’21, ’24, and Claire (Bodenstein) McClary, ’22, welcomed Aubrey Rose McClary in June 2024.

Brandi (Kilpatrick) Boyd, ’18, and Wesley Boyd welcomed Azalea Nicole Boyd in April 2024.

Michele (Gonzalez) Veatch, ’05, and Derick Veatch welcomed Zara Angeline Veatch in May 2024.

Kayla (Meine) Brewe, ’13, and Garrett Brewe, ’14, welcomed Rowen Dean Brewe in October 2024.

Kevin Holley, ’14, and Rebekah Holley welcomed Owen Samuel Holley and Margaret Jeanette Holley in April 2024.

and

welcomed Radley

June 2024.

(Duncan) Jolly, ’20, ’22, and Tyler

’23, welcomed Carter Burke Jolly in January 2025.

Aubrey (Winn) Cala, ’15,

Mark Cala

Tatum Cala in

Myah

Jolly, ’20,

Photo by Ryan Imeson

UCM DMP Professors Partner With Academy Award-Winning Filmmaker

Two UCM Digital Media Production professors have contributed to a film celebrating the life of a regional hero. From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Kevin Willmott, “The Heroic True-Life Adventures of Alvin Brooks” tells the story of a man who has devoted more than six decades to bettering the lives of Kansas City residents.

UCM Film and Editing Production

Professor Mark von Schlemmer served as editor and co-writer of the documentary, his 11th film project with Willmott.

Von Schlemmer found a talented illustrator with just the right style and sense of humor for the film’s visual effects and animation in Eric Newsom, a fellow professor in UCM’s Department of Communication and Digital Media Production.

“Kevin and I were really looking for a way to bring Mr. Brooks’ great stories to life, but of course there’s no footage of him 90 years ago,” von Schlemmer said. “Eric came up with an animation style that captures

Brooks’ storytelling flair.”

Brooks was one of the first Black police officers in Kansas City and the first Black department head in city government. He founded the AdHoc Group Against Crime, advocated for civil rights and earned national acclaim for his work fighting neighborhood crime. Brooks received the Harry S. Truman Public Service Award in 2016 and was named Kansas Citian of the Year in 2019. He continues his activism today at age 93.

The screening this spring, which kicked off UCM’s Politics and Social Justice Week, was

CJC hosts 25th Western District Court of Appeals

In October 2024, UCM’s Criminal Justice and Criminology (CJC) Department marked 25 years of hosting the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District on campus.

The Western District’s jurisdiction includes appeals from trial courts in 45 counties in central and western Missouri. The court hears oral arguments outside of Kansas City to give individuals an opportunity to observe a part of the judicial system they normally do not see.

“Most students know what a trial court looks like, but you usually never get to see appellate arguments unless you are an attorney or judge,” CJC Associate Professor Benecia Carmack explained. “The two attorneys arguing various issues of law before the court always turn around and address the students on what their arguments are and what the particular issues are in their case. The judges also allow time for students

to ask questions of the court.”

More than 4,500 local high school students have attended the Western District hearings on UCM’s campus, along with countless university students. With at least four cases in a typical year, more than 100 cases have been heard on campus over the past 25 years.

by no means the first time Alvin Brooks had been on campus. Brooks served on the university’s Board of Regents in the 1970s under President Warren C. Lovinger. He received an honorary doctorate from UCM in 2006.

CJC Professor and Chair Lynn

presents a 25th anniversary commemorative coin to Missouri Sen. Rick Brattin, who wrote a resolution honoring the occasion.

The 2024 session featured the first all-female panel of judges, composed of Judge Lisa White Hardwick as the presiding judge, Judge Cynthia Martin and Judge Janet Sutton. Also attending were Western District Missouri Court of Appeals Clerk of the Court Kimberly Boeding, Deputy Marshal Robert Agan and Missouri Sen. Rick Brattin.

UCM has a new podcast! “Central Speaks” spotlights the dedicated individuals who embody UCM’s spirit of innovation and service, showcasing the transformative work that redefines what’s possible at the university and beyond. “Central Speaks” is all about hearing directly from UCM’s changemakers as they push boundaries and inspire colleagues and students every day. Subscribe on your favorite podcast app, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or listen directly at ucmo.edu/news/ central–speaks

From left, UCM Professor Mark von Schlemmer, former Kansas City Police Officer Alvin Brooks, former Kansas City Councilmember Jermaine Reed and UCM Associate Professor Eric Newsom attend the March 31 on-campus screening of the new documentary about Brooks’ life.

Urban

Missouri Safety Center Empowers Law Officers

By Nicole Lyons, ’13

Several law enforcement agencies across the state are gaining skills in criminal investigation-related blood draws, thanks to the Law Enforcement Phlebotomy Program (LEPP) and the Missouri Safety Center at the University of Central Missouri.

The LEPP is funded through a Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) Highway Safety and Traffic Division grant to the Missouri Safety Center. A previous grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) provided funding for a LEPP Task Force to develop a program manual and best practices for the Missouri program. Funds from the MoDOT Highway Safety and Traffic Division allowed for a pilot program and continuing training that covers participants’ tuition and travel expenses.

Blood draws have become more prevalent in impaired driving enforcement as drugrelated impaired driving has increased in the past several years, according to Joanne Kurt-Hilditch, senior director of the Missouri Safety Center.

“Starting the program came out of a need for agencies that have challenges getting blood draws on impaired drivers,” Kurt-Hilditch said. “It’s one more tool that law enforcement has to be able to draw blood.”

The LEPP Task Force is composed of representatives from the Missouri Safety Center, law enforcement, prosecuting attorneys’ offices, Moberly Area Community College and highway safety professionals. Participants complete six weeks of online training, followed by three days of in-person laboratory training on the Moberly campus. After that, they must perform 100 successful blood draws at a clinical site such as an outpatient clinic or hospital.

As of April 2025, there were 30 qualified Law Enforcement Phlebotomists in Missouri, who had conducted more than 600 blood draws since April 2023.

Once officers are qualified, the LEPP grant funding provides their agency with a phlebotomy chair and other needed supplies. UCM Public Safety has converted an office space into a phlebotomy room for blood draws using the provided items.

UCM Public Safety Officer Emma Rogers was trained in the summer of 2024. Her position as a traffic officer, which is funded by a MoDOT grant, is focused on impaired driving enforcement.

“Having an officer trained to be a phlebotomist is essential for streamlining the arrest process,” Rogers explained. “It helps

bypass hospitals and ambulances, saving time.”

During the Missouri Law Enforcement Traffic Safety Advisory Council conference in the summer of 2024, the Missouri Safety Center received the NHTSA People Saving People Award for establishing and working on the Missouri LEPP.

UCM College of Education Team Leads Child Care Licensing Study

Karrie Snider, associate professor of Early Childhood Education, served as principal investigator of a study conducted for Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe’s task force on child care. From December 2023 to October 2024, Snider led a team investigating the alignment of child care licensing regulations between Missouri, its bordering states and national bestpractice standards in early care and education.

Project team members included four faculty from the UCM College of Education’s Department of Early, Elementary, Middle and Physical Education: Natalie Tye, Carla Williams, Abby Volmer and Brandy Lynch.

The team also included alumna Jovanna Rohs, ’97, chief program officer of the Children’s Services Fund of Jackson County, and regional and national experts from Moberly Area Community College, the

National Institute for Early Education Research, Child Care Aware of Missouri and the Mid-America Regional Council.

The full report, which addresses more than 400 best practices in early care and education, includes 40 best-practice profiles developed by the study team to help Missouri’s Office of Childhood make informed decisions for licensing requirements.

Darinda Mast, director of the LEPP program at Moberly Area Community College, works with Deputy Frank Richards from the Cole County Sheriff’s Office at an April 2024 training.

Karrie Snider

Abby Volmer Brandy Lynch

Natalie Tye

Carla Williams

Jovanna Rohs

Along with Mark Pittman, these generous alumni and friends were recently inducted into the Heritage Society by documenting a planned gift in support of the University of Central Missouri:

Steve and Cathy Abney to support UCM Athletics

Craig D. Coen, ’97, ’01, and Jeffrey A. Bellamy to support the Central Annual Fund

Brian and Kathy Hughes to create the Dr. Brian J. Hughes Scholarship Endowment for Leadership in Athletic Training

Stephen and Ann Lacey to provide continued support to the John Hess Endowed Chair in Biology or Chemistry for Student Mentorship, as well as the John Hess Health Professions Scholarship Endowment

John, ’73, and Jane Parr to support the Department of Aviation

Barbara, ’74, and Daniel Stoll to provide continued support to the Buchhorn-Ellis Education Scholarship Endowment

Tim Van Zandt, ’85, and Chris Beal to support the Central Annual Fund

Sabrina, ’89, and Matt Wiewel to provide support for the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life to bring speakers to campus for training and events.

James Bruce Appleberry

IN MEMORIAM

Sue R. Crouch

Learn about the Heritage Society at ucmfoundation.org/heritage.

James “Jim” Bruce Appleberry, age 86, was born Feb. 22, 1938, in Waverly, Missouri. He earned bachelor’s, master’s and education specialist degrees from the University of Central Missouri in 1960, 1963 and 1967. He and his wife, Patricia, a 1961 alumna, were awarded honorary doctorates in 2005. Jim served as a member of the UCM Foundation Board and received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1987. He also held a Doctor of Education from Oklahoma State University.

Jim started out as a middle school music teacher and principal in Knob Noster, Missouri, then moved into higher education. He served as director of strategic planning and assistant to the chancellor at the University of Kansas and as president of Pittsburg State University (Kansas) as well as Northern Michigan University. He was tapped to lead the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) in Washington, D.C., where he developed higher education policy at the national level.

Memorial gifts may be made to the Appleberry Endowment for the Visual and Performing Arts at ucmfoundation.org/give/appleberry.

Cortez Jackson Bradley

Cortez Jackson Bradley, age 99, was born Sept. 21, 1925, in Macon, Missouri. He served in the Coast Guard branch of the U.S. Navy during World War II. At the end of the war, he attended Lincoln University of Missouri, graduating in 1950 with a Bachelor of Business Administration and a minor in Economics. He went on to earn his M.Ed. in Elementary Education Administration in 1965 from the University of Kansas and rose through the teaching ranks in the Kansas City, Missouri, school district.

In 1973, Cortez earned his Education Specialist degree in Education Administration from the University of Central Missouri and finally his doctorate in Administration, Supervision and Higher Education from the University of Kansas in 1975, by which time he had become an elementary education administrator. That same year, he was hired for the position of director of the Physical Plant at UCM. In 1988, he became a faculty member in the graduate school of the College of Education and retired in July 1992 as professor emeritus of Education Administration and Supervision.

James William Counts

James “Jim” William Counts, age 81, was born Nov. 3, 1943, in Toledo, Ohio. On August 5, 1972, he married Jeanne Zwyer in Toledo, Ohio, and earned his bachelor’s degree from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. He went on to earn a master’s in Industrial Arts from Ohio University in 1967 and a Ph.D. in Philosophy of Education from Michigan State University in 1972.

Jim began his teaching career at Anthony Wayne High School in Whitehouse, Ohio, before moving to Warrensburg in 1972 to join the faculty of the University of Central Missouri. He served for 36 years, retiring as a professor emeritus of Safety Sciences in 2008.

Betty “Sue” (Robinson) Crouch, age 98, was born Jan. 21, 1926, in Kansas City, Missouri. Her family soon moved to Warrensburg, which was her father’s hometown. After graduating from Warrensburg High School, Sue attended Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, where she earned an associate degree in 1945. She then returned to Warrensburg to attend the University of Central Missouri, joining the Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority. She completed her higher education at the University of Missouri, graduating in 1948 with a Bachelor of Science in Education, and married Garrett R. Crouch that same year.

After Garrett graduated from MU’s law school in 1949, the couple returned to Warrensburg, where Garrett began his law practice and Sue worked in her family’s College Store. Sue became a seventh grade social studies teacher in the Warrensburg R-VI School District and a Founding 50 member of the Warrensburg R-VI Schools Foundation.

As Heritage Society and Founders Society members, the Crouches were avid supporters of UCM. They supported the Jennies Volleyball and Softball programs, for which they endowed scholarships. In 2010, Sue and Garrett Crouch were inducted into the UCM Athletic Hall of Fame.

Dennis Michael Docheff

Dennis Michael Docheff, age 69, was born Dec. 28, 1955. He earned both his B.A. in Physical Education and his M.Ed. in School Administration from Whitworth College and his Ed.D. from the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, in Physical Education, Curriculum and Administration. An educator since 1978, his experience included serving as a middle and high school classroom teacher and coach, elementary school principal, junior high school athletics director, high school counselor and college department chair.

“Dr. D” joined the University of Central Missouri in 2001 and retired as professor emeritus of Physical Education after 20 years of service in 2021. He served as president of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) and on the Society of Health and Physical Educators Board of Directors.

Harriet C. Frazier

Harriet C. Frazier, age 90, was born Sept. 15, 1934, in Wheeling, West Virginia. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of ColoradoBoulder in 1957 and Master of Arts in English from the University of California-Berkeley the following year. Frazier went on to earn her Ph.D. in Renaissance English Literature from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, in 1967 and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law in 1974. She taught English at a community college and four other universities before joining the University of Central Missouri in 1975. She served UCM for more than two decades, retiring in 1997 as professor emerita of Criminal Justice.

David Smythe Lindsay

David “Dave” Smythe Lindsay, age 87, was born June 16, 1937, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He grew up in Texas between the towns of Amarillo, Dallas and San

Antonio. After graduating from Northwestern University in Chicago, he joined the U.S. Army and served in the 101st Airborne, where he did more than 50 jumps.

Dave earned his Ph.D. at the University of Florida on the GI Bill and moved to Missouri in 1966 to begin working at the University of Central Missouri. He taught Political Science and U.S. Government for 29 years, retiring as professor emeritus in 1995.

John Lloyd Nold

John Lloyd Nold, age 84, was born Nov. 26, 1940, in St. Joseph, Missouri. He earned his Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Missouri–Columbia and worked as a field geologist in Spokane, Washington, before moving to Warrensburg to become a professor at the University of Central Missouri in 1975. He served UCM for 36 years, retiring as professor emeritus of Geology in 2011.

John loved poetry, especially poems authored by Robert Service. He loved to regale friends and family with his recitations even in the last months of his life. His wife, Judith Elaine Hawkins Nold, age 83, passed away two days after John.

John Paul Smead

John Paul Smead, age 86, was born Oct. 8, 1938, in Saginaw, Michigan. He attended the University of Michigan and completed his doctoral thesis on the filmmaker and actor Charlie Chaplin. In 1966 he began his teaching career at Boise State College in Idaho.

John moved to Warrensburg in 1970 to join the faculty at the University of Central Missouri, teaching for 40 years and retiring as professor emeritus of Communication in 2010. An avid photographer and videographer, he directed several short films. After retirement he continued as an adjunct faculty member until 2017.

Linda Marie Wade

Linda Marie Wade, age 76, was born Oct. 29, 1948, in Marshall, Missouri. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Education from the University of Central Missouri in 1970 and 1980. She continued furthering her education throughout her life and earned her doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Texas. Her career as an educator took her to Missouri schools in Appleton City, Clinton and Knob Noster and to Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District in Texas, where she served 21 years, retiring as superintendent in 2008. Linda served on advisory boards for the Boy Scouts of America, Harlingen Housing Authority and the UCM Foundation. She was president of the UCM Alumni Foundation Board of Directors in 2014 and a member of the university’s Founders Society.

Mike Webb

Ronald “Mike” Webb, age 80, was born Sept. 16, 1944, in St. Joseph, Missouri. While attending Hazelwood High School in St. Louis, Mike formed a rock ’n’ roll band, playing drums. He loved music and continued to play throughout college at the

IN MEMORIAM

University of Central Missouri. He was a member of Sigma Tau Gamma and remained involved with the Warrensburg chapter after graduating in 1967. He also remained involved with his alma mater by serving on the UCM Foundation Board.

Mike’s father, Earl Webb Sr., a 1941 alumnus, helped raise funds to build UCM’s Alumni Memorial Chapel in 1956. In 2011, Mike helped renovate the chapel, installing an elevator and electric piano in addition to endowing a maintenance fund. He received the UCM Distinguished Alumni Award that same year.

Mike was an innovator and owned a number of patents. He also enjoyed being a pilot, restoring old cars and spending time at a family cabin at the Lake of the Ozarks. Memorial gifts may be made to the Earl A. Webb Chapel Maintenance Endowment at ucmfoundation.org/give/webb.

Deleta Parmley Williams

Deleta E. (Terry) Parmley Williams, age 89, was born Aug. 21, 1935, near Caraway, Arkansas. In 1947 her family moved to Warrensburg, and she graduated from Warrensburg High School in 1953. She then attended the University of Central Missouri, where she joined Pi Kappa Sigma, and returned as a nontraditional student to complete her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in 1984. Deleta’s political career began in 1973 when she won the race for Johnson County Collector of Revenue, serving 18 years. In 1992, she was the first woman elected to the Missouri House of Representatives from what was then the 121st legislative district. She served as chairperson of the Committee on Higher Education and vice chair of the Budget Committee. She secured funding for the WHS Agriculture Education Building, renovation of the Ward Edwards Library and the Missouri Veterans Home. Deleta was re-elected to four more terms as state representative before leaving the House due to passage of term limits in 2002. Soon after, she was appointed by Gov. Bob Holden to UCM’s Board of Governors, serving one year as president. In 2004 she received the prestigious James C. Kirkpatrick Excellence in Governance Award.

1940–1949

Beverly Ann (Miller) Baile, ’48

1950–1959

Bob R. Blackman, ’52

Patricia “Pat” L. (Pettepier) Stewart, ’53

Gloria Rae (Ratz) McDonald, ’55

James “Jim” Oliver Perrine, ’56, ’62

Bonnie Louise (Gallemore) Beissenherz George, ’57

Mary L. (Sullivan) Roper, ’57

LaVerne “Ed” Edwin Bruemmer, ’58

Phyllis E. (Day) Combest, ’58

Roy R. Hubbs, ’58

Betty P. (Moore) McCoy, ’58

Sara “Pat” Patricia (Allison) VanPelt, ’58

David Alma Yahnig, ’58, ’59

Nancy (Binder) Converse, ’59

1960–1969

Mary Evelyn (Pedego) Folkerts, ’60

Alice Marie (Skaggs) Kuenz, ’60

Kenneth Robert Tornquist, ’60

Betty Jane Wagner, ’60

Gertrude Clara (Kisker) Woodring, ’60

Arthur Phillips Lloyd Sr., ’61, ’62

Patricia “Patty” Jane (Thomas) Romero, ’61

Robert A. Wilson, ’61

Stephen Paul Cooper, ’62

Thomas “Tom” L. Herrick, ’62

James “Jim” Joseph Mateja, ’62

Michael “Mike” John Broker Jr., ’63, ’66

Ruth (Clayton) Frye, ’63

Barbara Ann (Sanning) Huhmann, ’63

Anthony “Tony” S. Marshall, ’63, ’66

Anna Lou Tommey, ’63

Patricia “Patty” Lu (Harlan) Bowen, ’64

George Louis Marchetti, ’64

Frank L. Woodfill, ’64

John Joseph Blando, ’65

Paula Rae (Henderson) Gipson, ’66

Kenneth “Ken” Warren Littlefield, ’66, ’67

Linda Sue (McHenry) Milligan, ’66

Gene Ray Moffitt, ’66

Vernon Edward Ohrenberg, ’66

Beverly Sue (Wilson) Christopher, ’67

Mary Ellen (Corder) Molyneaux, ’67

Ronald “Ron” Wayne Sadler, ’67

John Randolph Wolf, ’67

Gerald “Darwin” Brower, ’68

Gaston Oscar de la Torre, ’68

Terry J. Gibbons, ’68

Linda J. Hammett, ’68

Noel Clint Martin, ’68

Gary R. Rahm, ’68

Larry Gene Shideler, ’68

Terrell “Terry” Ray Warren, ’68

Donald “Don” Frederick Blakley, ’69

Miranda Lou (Haskell) Green, ’69

Agnes Marie Hagan, ’69

Kennard Davis McKinney, ’69

Robert “Bob” Lyell Pease, ’69

Theodore “Ted” Michael Adam Plevyak, ’69

Mary “Quinetta” (Katemann) Rutledge, ’69

Gary Lee Warren, ’69

1970–1979

James “Jim” Michael Brown, ’70

James “Jim” H. Colvin, ’70

Ward Earl Francis, ’70

Rodney M. Karns, ’70, ’75

John D. Rodenberg, ’70

Robert “Bob” George Alfred Hall, ’71

Robert “Bob” Lee Hart, ’71

Patricia “Pat” Ann (Adee) Stancil, ’71, ’00

John Sebastian Yerly, ’71, ’74

Janice Pamela (Raby) Breon, ’72, ’89

John “Jack” Frederick Davidson, ’72

Noah Lee Goddard, ’72, ’77, ’88

Elizabeth Mae (Coleman) James, ’72

WillaRuth McGaugh, ’72

Armin William Schannuth, ’72, ’74

Barbara Jean (Massey) Stewart, ’72

Steven “Steve” H. Thomson, ’72

Bobby Lee Wasson, ’72

Janet R. (Miller) Winkler, ’72

Teresia Rosemary (Samuels) Gilyard, ’73, ’91, ’95

Robert “Bob” Paul Hirner Jr., ’73

Bonnie Kay Schroder, ’73

James “Jim” R. Borchers, ’74

Diane Lynn (Bartlett) Hall, ’75

Donald “Don” Ray Hibler Jr., ’75

Larry V. Hopkins, ’75, ’78

Margaret Ann (Quinlan) Hopkins, ’75

Connelly “Mac” Newton McDaniel Jr., ’75

Raymond “Mark” Nitchals, ’75

Larry James Blount, ’76

Alan Kim Cockrum, ’76

Marie Isabel (Jones) Grubb, ’76

James Thomas Hill, ’76

Pamela (Cave) Jaco, ’76

Marvin Bernard Bernskoetter, ’77

Mark W. Davis, ’77

Mary Beth (Wirths) Dicus, ’77

Suzanne “Suzie” A. (Parker) Nichols, ’77

Richard Neal VanCleave, ’77

Robert “Bob” Ernest Austin, ’78

Ann “Elaine” (Guthrie) Berg, ’78

Annette Sue (Duckworth) Clinger, ’78

Sally Sue Ellis, ’78

Carol A. (Schuman) Krider-Martin, ’78, ’86

James “Jim” Madison McMullin, ’78

Robert “Mike” Michael Sanders, ’78

Vivian Louise (Rasa) Murphy, ’79

Barbara Ann Rolfe, ’79

1980–1989

Carl Joseph Capra Jr., ’80

Susan Marie (Thee) Carroll, ’80

Josephine “Jo” Catherine (Burzynski) Dey, ’80, ’84

Carl “Wayne” Dothage, ’80

Winifred Beth (Black) Gaston, ’80

Walter McKinley Leslie Jr., ’80

Leroy V. Swift Jr., ’80

David Lee Jones, ’81

Carl Nelson Neidig Jr., ’82

Judith “Judy” Elaine (Hawkins) Nold, ’82, ’88

Laura Anne (Cravens) Lee, ’83

Larry W. Scofield, ’83, ’90

Rathel “Dick” R. Smith, ’83

Bradley Taylor Brown, ’84

Jay Byron Denker, ’84, ’98

Bret Allen Savage, ’85

Helen Frances (Brungardt) Van Quaethem, ’85

Charles “Scott” Grainger, ’86

Dale Patrick Kessler, ’86

Steven “Steve” W. Mistler, ’86

Nicole Janine (Kuzila) Hinken, ’87

Donna Lee (Click) Davis, ’88

David “Dave” Russell Evans, ’88

David Jay Nicholson, ’88

Robert Earl Jones, ’89

Jill L. (Douglas) Neisler, ’89

William L. Prichard, ’89

1990–1999

Jeanne (Peck) Dick, ’90

Pamela Miriam (Waxman) Garcia, ’90

Ravi Vuppala, ’91

James “Jim” Patrick Henzi, ’92

IN MEMORIAM

Patricia “Tricia” A. (McGaha) Hile, ’92

Craig Scott Horton, ’92

Theresa Ruth (Dotson) Alexander, ’93, ’95

Lynn Elizabeth (Taube) Trendle, ’93

Marla Anne (Billingsley) Trentham, ’93

Joseph “Joe” William Grubb, ’94

Rebecca “Becky” Lynn Willeford, ’94

Janet Lee Blasdell, ’95

Clay H. Glenn Jr., ’95

Sharon L. (Doherty) Safley, ’95

Edward “Eddie” Joseph Wicks, ’96

Diana Carol (Peck) Zugenbuhler, ’96

Michelle D. (West) Cicle, ’97

Melissa Lynn (Partin) Doyle, ’97

Jill P. (Flockencier) McComas, ’97

Douglas “Doug” Charles Nading, ’97

Scott William Rooks, ’97

Craig L. Scott, ’97

Verna “Dee” (Pixley) Singleton, ’97

Linda A. (Griffith) Weaver, ’97, ’99

Robin Denise Gibbons, ’99

2000–2009

Mary “Kathy” (Cross) Parker Rusconi, ’00

Cassandra “Cassie” J. (Todd) Stroot, ’00

Stephen Dewey Armes, ’02

Daniel Spencer Jr., ’03

Matthew “Matt” Robert Caviness, ’06

Julie Erin Kendall, ’06

Natalie Nicole (Butler) Fetsch, ’07

David “Dave” Sennewald Costello, ’09, ’17

2010–2025

William “Bill” Alan Barrick, ’10

Heather Nicole (Brooks) Dabney, ’13, ’15

Brett D. Nowlin, ’15

Margaret “Maggie” Elaine Weir, ’16

Alysha Josephine Burney, ’23

Former Students

Sharon Marie (Kruse) Adams

Carl Philip Beach

Alberta Mae (Tilly) Beissenherz

Patrick “Pat” Brady

Francis Lee Burks

Juanita Tamea Chism

Gail Annette (Meier) Cooper

Marjorie “Margie” Le (Bowen) Corson

Karen Gwen (Bergschneider) Crow

Ronald “Ron” Richard Day

Cyrilla Anna (Tellman) Doerhoff

Jack Dean Easterwood

John Gregory Fry

Charelene Alberta (Flueckinger) Geyer

Kabir Singh Ghura

Sally L. (Parrish) Gilbert

Wanda Fae (Neal) Goedereis

Geraldine “Jerri” Marie (Goemaat) Hall

Alonzo Lee Hannon Jr.

Margaret Nadine (Baker) Harris

Robbie J. Hill-Wolfskill

Thomas “Tom” Lee Hughes

Kathy Christine Irwin

Harold Junior Jackson

Tyler “Scooter” Benjamin Jones

David “Dave” Ray Kammerich

John Steven Lange

Stanley “Stan” Leighton

Lesley “Les” Neil Lile

Judith “Judy” Anne (Holloway) Manning

Doris LaVerne (Masten) Weatherly McNarie

Donald “Don” Ray Merk

Dale Miller

Clyde Warren Moreland Jr.

Timothy “Tim” Shawn O’Dell

Doris “Kathy” Kathryn Williams Odom

Boby Eugene Patton

Linda J. Petersen

Patricia “Pat” Ann (Coit) Rabe

Frederick “Fred” Earle Holmes Rigney

Pamela ”Pam” G. (Lucas) Rue

James Homer Sears

Anna “Anne” Barbara (Wilson) Sheffield

Dorothy June (Rieckhoff) Sparks

Hubert “Lee” Swope Jr.

Shirley L. (Erdman) Tempel

Robert “Bob” Turner Thomas

Samuel “Sam” L. West

John Nelson White

Randal “Randy” Carl Williams

Rita Mae (Ashbaugh) Young

Valerie Lucinda (Tidwell) Zwayer

Faculty/Staff

Stephen Dewey Armes

Harriet C. Frazier

Patricia “Tricia” A. (McGaha) Hile, ’92

Robert “Bob” Paul Hirner Jr.

Carol E. Kellett

Raymond Landis

Kenneth “Ken” Warren Littlefield

Robert “Mike” Michael Sanders

Gary Michael Taylor

Donette Louise (Dandurand) Vick

Friends

Marguerite Lucille Baumgartner

Barbara “Babs” (King) Brooks

Carol Jean (Penberthy) Dennis

Emery Jane (Sunderland) Golson

Glen Rowland Goodwin

James “Jim” M. Jegen

Carroll Glenn Leffler

James “Jim” Ross Mitchell

Neva “Jean” (Moss) Peter

Charles “Charlie” Edward Teter

College High Alumni

Alan Kim Cockrum

Lana P. (Tye) Davis

Jack D. Easterwood

Henry H. Feldman

Linda Sue (Colster) Siegfried

Robert Bruce Wiley

Make a gift to UCM in a loved one’s memory care of the UCM Alumni Foundation, PO Box 800, Warrensburg, MO 64093, or online at ucmfoundation.org/give/in–memory.

PARTING

“I love meeting UCM fans. Tailgating during football games and talking to little Mules and Jennies fans is my favorite part of being a UCM Mulekicker.”

Elaina Burke is a junior from Kansas City, Missouri, earning her Bachelor of Science in Business Management. Her area of concentration is Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise with a minor in Marketing. Elaina has been dancing since she was 5 years old and joined the Mulekickers dance team as a freshman. She has traveled to nationals at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida all three years and has been integral to the team’s record of placing in the Top 10 every year. Elaina will graduate in May 2026 and wants to open her own dance studio and nutrition club. Elaina’s fun fact about herself is that she has no middle name!

Want to show off your photos? Parting Shots are open to alumni! Submit your UCM-related photography to ucmmagazine@ucmo.edu for a chance to be featured.