Class Notes

Jack Keen ’68 recently checked something important off his bucket list. He and his wife Sheila ’70 hiked to the rock known as Lover’s Leap overlooking Pikeville during their first few months at then Pikeville College. The couple was married on Aug. 1, 1970. Sheila passed away from breast cancer in 2019 and as a tribute to her, Jack took a trip down memory lane in his ’67 Chevy Corvette, the same car he drove to campus and took Sheila on dates in, to come and stand on that very rock one last time.

Harlan D. Howard ’85 and his wife, Tammy, celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary on June 6. They met on campus in the fall of ’84 and have two daughters, Rebecca and Hannah. Harlan owns Appalachian Insurance, Inc., in Paintsville, Ky.

Phillip Johnson ’91 retired as continuous improvement manager from the Kellogg Company in June. He took the position of senior financial analyst at Beam Suntory, Inc., in Frankfort, Ky., in August.

In September, Stephen Thacker ’92 graduated from Lexington Healing Arts Academy as a yoga instructor. He says it has long been a goal to help people be healthy and feel better about themselves. Thacker works for the Pike County School System and occasionally teaches yoga at Pikeville YMCA where he is gaining experience teaching the physical and mental benefits of yoga as a holistic approach.

Robert Staggs ’92, MBA ’20 was recently ordained as a deacon at First Baptist Church Pikeville. He successfully completed treatment in January 2021 for tonsillar cancer. Besides the care he received at Pikeville Medical Center, Staggs credits his survival to God and the prayers and support of his softball team, UPIKE family and countless friends. This spring will mark Staggs’ 20th year as head softball coach at UPIKE. When he isn’t on the softball field, Staggs enjoys golfing, bicycling and spending time with his granddaughters. Staggs and his wife, Nanette ’96, reside in Pikeville.

This summer, Gary Justice ’96, MBA ’13 was appointed as UPIKE’s dean of admissions.

Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Pikeville Medical Center (PMC) Kansas Justice ’97, MBA ’13 was featured as one of the ‘Top Women in Business’ by The Lane Report. Her primary responsibilities center around ensuring PMC’s more than 3,000 employees have the tools and resources they need to carry out the organization’s mission to advance the health and well-being of the region through comprehensive care in a Christian environment.

The Pikeville Independent School District appointed Kim Clevinger ’99 to the position of instructional supervisor and director of federal programs. She has been a member of the Pikeville Independent team since 2007 in various roles.

Brian Sosnin, D.O., KYCOM ’02 became the president of the Greater Louisville Medical Society and will serve a one-year term as president followed by a one-year term as chairman of the board.

Brandon Blackburn ’04 was named principal of Pikeville High School.

Talbott Elementary School Principal Sandi Ramey ’04 was recognized at the Board of School Commissioners Meeting where the school earned the status of Reward School for the 2020-2021 school year.

After working six years for the Mary Todd Lincoln House, Jon Coleman ’05 has been named the executive director for the Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation. He says it’s an honor to join a team so passionate about Kentucky’s historical fabric and the continuing relevance of our shared past.

Vice President of the Georgia Osteopathic Medical Association Randy Durbin, D.O., KYCOM ’07 was recently promoted to statewide medical director for ReVIDA Recovery Centers in Tennessee. Durbin is also a delegate to the American Osteopathic Association House of Delegates.

Bradley Allen ’08 was named assistant principal of Pikeville High School.

Justin Arms ’08 was named principal of Johnson Central High School. Arms began his tenure in the Johnson County School System more than 13 years ago as a mathematics instructor at Johnson Central High School. He has also served in the capacity of engineering instructor, SkillsUSA advisor, co-chair of the engineering department, assistant coach for both the football and baseball teams, BARR coordinator and assistant principal.

President and CEO of the Southeast Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Jordan Gibson ’08, MBA ’14 was elected to serve as the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Executives president for the 2022 term.

Esther Brooke Tucker ’11 was named Dorton Middle School girls basketball coach.

Lakia Bailey ’12 accepted the assistant creative director position for University of Kentucky Athletics where her primary sports are women’s basketball, volleyball and softball. With such a wide, diverse skill set, Bailey has also been able to collaborate and lead the creative direction on some memorable designs for men’s basketball, football, gymnastics and other sports. She says working in the world of athletics has always been a passion of hers and she’s doing what she loves.

Brandon “B.J.” Hamilton ’12 and his wife, Desteni (Spears) Hamilton ’12, welcomed their son, Maxwell Atlas Hamilton, on January 23, weighing 7 pounds, 9 ounces. Desteni is a pharmaceutical specialist with IBSA Pharma and B.J. is the director of sales with Filtration Parts. The family resides in Atlanta.

Brad Yoder ’14, MBA ’16 was promoted to assistant athletic director for Athletic Communications and associate head men’s basketball coach at Bethany College. Yoder was previously an assistant coach at Bethany during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons. In between his stints at Bethany, he served as the director of basketball operations for Nicholls State University for the 2018-19 season.

Cory Gannon ’14, MBA ’19 was promoted to director of admissions at UPIKE. This mark’s his sixth year with the admissions office.

After graduating from the Elliott School of Nursing, Noah Hamilton, DNP, CRNA, ’15 began working in the medicine and pulmonary ICU at the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center. The following year, while working full-time, Hamilton was able to obtain his BSN degree. This spring, he graduated from the Murray State University Baptist Health Nurse Anesthesia Program and is currently practicing anesthesia at Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital in Somerset, Ky.

The 2021 Appalachian Newspapers Inc., All Mountain Softball Team is composed of players from the 15th Region, the 14th Region’s 54th District and Mingo County, W.Va. All-Mountain Coach of the Year went to Pikeville’s Brandi Jo Howard ’15, MBA ’17. Howard led the Lady Panthers to a 29-11 record after several starters transferred to other programs after the 2019 season. In July, Howard was named Wolfe County High School head softball coach.

Eastern Kentucky native and Critical Care and Pulmonology physician Ashley Thompson, D.O., KYCOM ’15 returned home to treat patients at Pikeville Medical Center.

Mona Jade Branham, J.D., ’16 graduated from the Appalachian School of Law (ASL) in Grundy, Va., earning her Juris Doctorate on May 15. While at ASL, she was a student ambassador and received the Angela Dales Spirit of ASL award in 2020. Branham was also a member of the Student Bar Association serving as an honor court justice her second year and as a senator her third year.

Nissona Hounshell ’16, MBA ’19 was named assistant cheerleading coach at UPIKE.

Trey Rakes ’17 was promoted to associate head coach for the Colby Community College men’s basketball program in Colby, Kan. Rakes joined the Trojans as an assistant coach in 2019. Before arriving in Colby, Rakes worked on the staff at Coastal Carolina University. On the court, the Louisville, Ky., native starred as a guard from 2013 to 2017 at UPIKE, where he was a two-year starter and captain. He became the all-time wins leader as a player (11223) and was a part of two Mid-South Conference championships. His teams qualified for the NAIA tournament all four years, two of which resulted in Elite 8 appearances. He also earned the Mid-South Conference Champion of Character award.

Andrew French, D.O., KYCOM ’18 joined the Holston Medical Group in Bristol, Tenn., as a primary care physician.

Cheyenne Harlow ’19, MBA ’20 was promoted to the assistant director of admissions at UPIKE. This marks her third year with the admissions office.

Justin Bowling ’20 received the Daisy Award for Extraordinary Nurses for the second quarter of 2021 at Clark Regional Medical Center in Winchester, Ky. Bowling had several nominations from visitors and patients, applauding him for his caring demeanor and willingness to reach out to family members to deliver results and give updates in an open and honest manner.

Taylor VanHoose ’20 was named the new head volleyball coach at Shelby Valley High School.

BriAnna Burbridge ’21 is currently pursuing a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling while assisting the women’s basketball team at Spalding University in Louisville, Ky.

Educators challenge, inspire and give unwavering support to their students. To recognize the career commitment made by educators in the region, UPIKE annually recognizes a select group of passionate and service-minded educators in its Distinguished Educators Hall of Fame.

Nominated by their peers, former students or community members, the prestigious recognition honors educators whose contributions to learning have inspired generations of students and made a significant impact in the field. The 2021 inductees include (from left) Kimberly R. Clevinger ’99, ’07 of Pikeville, Paula Baldridge Smith of Pikeville, Mark Gannon ’95 of Belfry, Selena Cochran of Oil Springs, Shauna Lynn Patton ’06 of Stambaugh, Laura Castle of Oil Springs and James Coleman of Pikeville (not pictured).

UPIKE’s Senior Director of Advancement Laura Damron, MBA ’19 and Assistant Provost and Associate Professor of English Amanda Jo Slone, Ph.D., ’07 were selected to participate in Harvard’s Graduate School of Education Women in Education Leadership program. The program empowers women to lead through adversity and provides a unique opportunity for growth and renewal among diverse groups of women.

Film and Media Arts major Kyle Nagy ’19 worked the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards as the audio and video technician. As the only tech on the red carpet, Nagy troubleshot issues in signal feeds. Nagy is currently working on an award show for Pepsi Co., with Total-Media, a company he’s worked with for multiple events such as the Puppy Bowl and Live Nation concerts, in addition to the Emmy Awards. Nagy lives in Covina, Calif., and is a technical director and audio-visual technician for Remote Digital Media, Inc. He also owns his own videography business and is partnered with schools in Los Angeles County to create video content that can be broadcasted to staff and families.

In May, Claudette Enriquez ’20 joined the newsroom at WYMT as their first Latina news producer. As senior producer and weekend news manager, Enriquez determines which stories reporters will be covering, and all the scripts, graphics and the order in which a newscast is aired. She also helps to create content for their websites.