Class Notes

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Roger Borcherding ’59 retired from DARCO management on Jan. 1, 2021 after serving as CEO for 28 years. Borcherding previously retired at age 55 from Texaco after serving 33 years in oil exploration in many positions including geophysical manager, geological manager, and pathfinding manager. Borcherding was in the final graduating class of the Wisconsin Institute of Technology and said he appreciates the excellent education he received at WIT, and later while pursuing a master’s degree in geophysics at the Missouri School of Mines. Borcherding writes, “I have wonderful memories of my time in Platteville. Friends, please contact me and come by for a visit in Denver.”

Dr. Judyth Kenney Swingen ’66

and ’68 is Professor Emerita at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Lt. Col. Mac Kolar ’69, U.S. Marine Corps retired, is attempting to identify former students and graduates of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville who were killed in the Vietnam War, with the goal of memorializing them on campus. After announcing his search in the February alumni e-newsletter, he received immediate response, and he thanks those alumni who reached out to him.

Those he has been able to identify, to date, are: Cpl Francis Mulvey, Army Fennimore; 2nd Lt Vasilios Demetris, Marine Corps New York; LCpl Daniel Gallagher, Marine Corps Blanchardville; SP4 John Imrie Army Johnson Creek; 1st Lt Wilbur Krueger Air Force Reedsville; WO Ronald Blohm Army Eau Claire; Sgt Edwin Brown Army Beloit; Pfc Louis Zittergruen, Army Monona, Iowa; SP4 Paul Mattson, Army Lake Bluff, Illinois; SP4 Brian Perlewitz, Army Milwaukee; HN Richard Sutherland, Navy Dubuque, Iowa; HN Larry William Knight, Navy Rockford, Illinois. Any information on other students and graduates who lost their lives in Vietnam should be forwarded to Kolar at mackolar @verizon.net.

Mark Kramer ’74 was named Legionnaire of the Year for American Legion Post 306 and for Wisconsin’s Sixth District on May 13. Kramer served as post commander for 12 years. He is now the Public Relations Officer and Historian, keeping local newspapers informed of American Legion activities and accomplishments. Kramer, right, pictured receiving the award from American Legion Sixth District Commander Bob Borszich.

Ryan Berg ’78 is a Consultant at Ryan R. Berg & Associates Inc. Berg has been honored by the American Society of Civil Engineers with the 2021 Martin S. Kapp Foundation Engineering Award for his expertise in geosynthetic-reinforced earthworks, retaining structures, and for his lifelong contributions to the developments and applications of mechanically stabilized earth retaining walls, which helped create innovative solutions for practical problems.

Bob Byrnes ’79 was elected to his ninth term as Mayor of Marshall, Minnesota, in the November 2020 election. He is currently in his 29th year as Mayor and served six years as city councilman prior to being elected Mayor. Byrnes retired in July 2019 following a 40-year career with the University of Minnesota

Paul Chase ’70 had a solo exhibition of his work featured at Nohr Gallery in Ullsvik Hall, in its first exhibition since the pandemic. Chase earned both his bachelor’s degree in art and his master’s degree in communications from UW-Platteville. The exhibit, which included large portraits, paintings, and sculptures was entitled Portrait Visions and ran earlier this fall.

“It was always a dream and goal to have a solo exhibit in

the Harry and Laura Nohr Gallery,” said Chase, who resides in Galena, Illinois, and has his own studio there. “The por-

traits are of fellow artists who have influenced my life and creative endeavors. While the university has evolved greatly over the last 50 years, when I enter Ullsvik Hall and visit Nohr Gallery, it feels like home.”

CLASS NOTES

Extension, where he served as state-wide director of operations. He is currently serving as an Interim Extension Regional Director with the University of Minnesota.

Luann Gebler Radke ’80 retired on Feb. 1, 2021 after more than 40 years at the Monroe Wisconsin Police Department. She was hired as the first female patrol officer and worked 15 years combined as a juvenile officer and detective. The last 21 years, she was the court liaison officer. Radke has been married for almost 38 years, has three children, and three grandchildren.

Al Rommel ’85, Greg Kjos ’85,

Mike Biszak ’86, and Scott Czysz ’86 pictured left to right in lower photo celebrated 40 years of friendship with a two-day reunion in Platteville. They met at UW-Platteville in 1981 and lived on first east Pickard Hall.

The annual UW-Platteville Soil and Crop Science Alumni Golf Outing and Picnic was held Sept. 10 at Apple Canyon Lake, Illinois. There were 45 participants with 31 golfers, including

Jeff Plenty ’88, Kevin Lange

’82, Todd Mau ’83, and Jerry Smalley ’80 pictured left to right. The group also held an informal auction with the proceeds benefiting the Soil and Crop Science Scholarship for incoming freshmen. Alumni are invited to the 2022 gathering on Sept. 9.

Colonel Eric Schadler ’90 retired from the Oregon Air National Guard. During his career of more than 30 years, he spent 10 years in the Navy Civil Engineer Corps Seabees and transferred to the Air Force Reserve where he was a CE commander, emergency triage medical commander, and a medical group commander. In his civilian capacity, he works for the City of Vancouver, Washington, as the Sewer Engineering Program Manager. He oversees the wastewater treatment plants, sewer collection engineering, and operations.

Danielle Westmore ’97 is a Registered Nurse at Carle Health. Westmore graduated Summa Cum Laude from Chamberlain University - Chicago campus in May 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in nursing. She was accepted into the Carle Ambulatory Nurse Residency Program and began her nursing career in December.

Jeff Heller ’01 received Kimberly-Clark’s Technical Excellence Award at the company’s 2020 Science and Technology Exchange Conference this fall. Heller, a Senior Process Engineer, played an instrumental role in the development of a lightning fast way to print colorful graphics and personal monograms directly onto Huggies® Special Delivery and Huggies® Made By You diapers. He is one of only 33 engineers and scientists who have won the prize since 1991.

Tricia Walker ’03 has been appointed by Governor Tony Evers to the Fond du Lac County Circuit Court. Walker will be the third Asian-American to ever serve as a state court judge in Wisconsin.

Megan Kuzminski Miller ’06

is a Reading Interventionist at Whitewater Unified School District. Miller earned her master’s in education from Carthage College in 2012. She was elected President of the Beloit Board of Education in 2021. Miller and her husband have three daughters. She writes, “My goal continues to be to create meaningful literacy experiences for every child and to bring justice to the practice of education. If we don’t educate the most vulnerable of our children, then we don’t properly educate any of our children.” Miller added, “As a student at UW-Platteville, I learned the value of activism and civic engagement. I credit the experiences I had at UW-Platteville with my professors, Alpha Phi Omega, Students for Peace and Justice, and the community as a whole for the work that I’ve done, the achievements I have made, and the changes I have yet to bring to Beloit, Rock County, and beyond.”

Aaron Athas ’10 is the Instructional Technology Specialist for the Sartell-St. Stephen School District. This spring, Athas received the 2020 Kohl Teacher Fellowship from the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation. Athas is also the Chair of the UW-Platteville Alumni Association.

Keena Spencer-Dobson ’11

and ’19 has been recognized by the Society of Women Engineers for her impact on the Society as well as the engineering community with the SWE Distinguished New Engineer Award. Spencer-Dobson, a Senior Civil Transportation Engineer at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, accepted the award at SWE’s annual conference, WE21, in October. “Earning this award validates my place in the engineering world and gives me confidence to lead more complicated projects in the future,” Spencer-Dobson said. “I am honored to be recognized as one of few distinguished new engineers within SWE.”