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Class Notes:
Sping 2008
Rick Rayford (B.B.A. 1976) has been named
chief executive officer of Brookshire Grocery
Co. Rayford will oversee all areas of the
company, including retail, distribution,
administration and manufacturing. A 35-
year employee, Rayford joined the company
as a warehouseman and served in many
capacities before being promoted to director
of distribution in 1988. Since then, he has
served as vice president-distribution,
senior vice president-distribution, executive
vice president-distribution/manufacturing
and executive vice president-corporate
development. He also serves as president of
the East Texas Food Bank’s board of directors
and has been involved in the United Way
and other nonprofit organizations. Rayford
and his wife, Bonnie, have two daughters
and three grandchildren.
Norton Rusty Nowlin (B.A. 1980, M.A. 1992) is working as a paralegal for Decision Team
– 4 of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals in
Washington D.C. Nowlin also has completed
one year of law school at the Thomas
Jefferson School of Law in San Diego,
Calif., and a post-baccalaureate ABA approved
advanced paralegal certification at
Edmonds Community College in
Lynnwood,Wash.
Darlene Marshall (B.S. 1981, M.Ed. 1988) has been appointed director of elementary
education for Tyler Independent School
District. In her new leadership role, she will
oversee the operations of elementary schools
and supervise elementary school principals.
Marshall began her career in 1981 as a
teacher at TISD’s Andy Woods Elementary
School. She continued to build her career in
education in Alief for 15 years, serving as
assistant principal and principal at several
elementary schools.
Stephen P. Rydzak,M.D. (B.S. 1982) entered
The University of Texas at San Antonio
Health Science Center School of Medicine
in 1985 and received his medical degree in
1989. He has been practicing medicine in
Tyler for about 17 years and has established
a reputation as a leader in the Smith
County Medical Society. His specialties
are internal medicine and hyperbaric
medicine. In 2006, Dr. Rydzak was named
one of the first of three Distinguished
Alumni for UT Tyler.
Stacey Sullivan (B.A. 1985, M.Ed. 1998),
director of curriculum/communications at
Henderson Independent School District,
was chosen as Region VII Principal of the
Year. Sullivan, who served as high school
principal prior to being promoted in 2007,
will next be considered for the Texas
Principal of the Year award. Under her leadership,
Texas Monthly magazine selected
Henderson High School for its 2006 list of
“Best Public Schools inTexas.” In 2005, she
was named Principal of the Year by the Texas
Association of Journalism Educators, which
is made up of advisers of student publications.
She was the first HHS administrator
to receive the honor. Sullivan also has been
recognized with Gold Performance
acknowledgements for the accountability
ratings of high schools. She was selected for
the Texas Business and Education
Coalition/Just for Kids Honor Roll and
served as a mentor in the program.
Her research results on “The Gifted
Underachiever” were published in Tempo, a
journal for educators and parents.
Clare Nelson Davis (B.B.A. 1989), vice
president of client services for the Dallasbased
MLink Technologies, an agency
specializing in interactive marketing and
custom e-learning programs, co-authored
an article that was featured in a national
publication for technical communication.
“Designing Successful E-Learning Courses’’
by Davis and co-worker Melissa Haughton
was the cover story for the June 2007 issue
of Intercom, a magazine for the Society for
Technical Communication.’’ Davis has 15
years experience designing performance
solutions.
Deborah A. Tinsley (B.S.N. 1993), owner of
Exceptional Home Care in Tyler, received
the 2007 Outstanding Incubator Graduate
Award from the National Business
Incubation Association. She received the
award in the manufacturing and service
category. Tinsley also was named Business
Person of the Year 2006 by the Dallas/Fort
Worth District Office of the U.S. Small
Business Administration. The city of Tyler
honored her by proclaiming a day in
November 2005 as the Deborah A. Tinsley
Caring For Exceptional Children Day.
Tinsley’s previous employment positions
include assistant administrator with Jordan
Health Services; director of nurses and
director of compliance/nursing, Grace
Visiting Nurses; charge nurse, Watson Wise
Dialysis Center; and emergency room admit
clerk, East Texas Medical Center.
Jason T. Williams (B.B.A. 1994) decided it
was time for a career change after practicing
law and accounting for several years.
Williams and business partner Ken Faught
co-founded Pole Position Raceway Inc.,
which operates indoor racetracks for electric
go-karting. They opened their first track in
2005 in Corona, Calif., in a 5,000-square foot
building. The company’s Oklahoma
City location – at 83,000 square feet –
opened in 2006 in a former store.
For Williams, it was a homecoming of sorts.
He was born in Hugo, Okla., and grew up
in Tulsa before earning his accounting degree
at UT Tyler. Williams received his law
degree at California Western School of Law
in San Diego.
Ruby J. Brewer (B.S.N. 1996, M.S.N./M.B.A.
2003) has been appointed vice president
of the Good Shepherd Health System,
where she has worked for 18 years. As vice
president she will oversee care management
and quality, chaplaincy, education,
outpatient therapies, social work, trauma
and the new Wellness Center. She is the
recipient of the 2006 Innovation in Case
Management Service Award.
Keith Peterson (B.S. 1999), former member
of UT Tyler’s award winning debate team,
has served as speechwriter for Arkansas Gov.
Mike Huckabee. Peterson also has authored
and presented numerous articles in the
National Communication Association and
American Communication Association. As
a published author, Peterson presented
research at the International Debate
Educators Association conference in
Budapest, Hungary, and was the lead editor
and co-author of the Official Public Debate
Textbook (Pearson Publishing).
Joel Adams (B.B.A. 2000), who serves as vice
president and Raymond James financial
adviser for Southside Bank Investment
Services, has been named to the Raymond
James 2008 Executive Council. Executive
Council honors are presented only to those
financial advisers who have demonstrated an
extremely high level of commitment to
clients through personal service and integrity.
Adams has been in the financial services
industry for more than 11 years.
Rita S. Mehta (M.S.2001) was mentioned for
her research in an article featured by
National Public Radio. Mehta is a post-doctoral
researcher in the section of
evolution and ecology at the University of
California-Davis. She is studying the
evolution of diversity in eel feeding
behavior.
Jeremy S. Wysocki (B.S. 2002) graduated
cum laude from Texas Tech University
School of Law in 2004 and completed a
master of taxation degree from Southern
MethodistUniversity in 2005. In lawschool,
Wysocki received the CALI Award in Trial
Advocacy and participated in the Texas Tech
Low Income Tax Clinic, where he assisted
families in resolving disputes with the
Internal Revenue Service. Wysocki practices
in the areas of general corporate and business
law, mergers and acquisitions, taxation and
estate planning. He is licensed to practice law
in both Colorado and Texas.
Michael D.Wysocki (B.A. 2003) graduated
with top honors from Texas Tech University
School of Law in May 2006. He was articles
editor for the Texas Tech Law Review and
was published in Volume 38. Wysocki was a
member of Phi Delta Phi, won numerous
Board of Barristers competitions and was
named an honorary member of the Board of
Barristers for his achievements. He won
CALI and American Jurisprudence awards
for his course performance in Torts,
Legal Practice and Commercial Law. In
his spare time, Wysocki restores 1964-66
Ford Mustangs.
Danah Zirpoli (B.S.2003) is a new prosecutor
in the office of District Attorney Wally
Hatch in Swisher County. Zirpoli graduated
from Texas Tech University School of Law.
Her husband, Robert, is an engineering
student at Texas Tech.
Basima Naser (B.A. 2004) is living her
dream as a junior high school teacher in
Japan. Naser gained employment with the
Yachiyo Board of Education through the
Tyler Sister Cities Program in 2007. She
teaches seventh- through ninth-grade
English at Takatsu Junior High School.
Brian D. Woodson (B.B.A. 2005) is a Wal-
Mart Supercenter department supervisor.
He resides in Longview with his
wife, RaShawn, a medical assistant at
Longview Regional.
Gordon T. Roberts (B.S. 2005) has been
employed with Southside Bank for four
years. After graduating from UT Tyler,
Roberts became assistant branch manager
of the Southside Bank near Lake Palestine
and then quickly moved into the position
of branch manager. He is a member of the
Lake Palestine Chamber of Commerce.
Roberts and his wife,Winter, reside in Tyler
and recently became parents of a baby girl.
Will Walker (M.A. 2005) was named
Outstanding Doctoral Student in kinesiology
pedagogy in the College of Education
and Health Professions at the University of
Arkansas in Fayetteville. He also was awarded
the Donald R. Miller Memorial Endowed
Scholarship. He is in his second year of
doctoral studies. Walker is the son of
Nancy and Tommy Walker of Avinger and
is a 1999 graduate of Avinger High School.
He is married to Ruthie Walker.
Jessie Prestridge (M.S. 2005) has been
named assistant executive director of the
Literacy Council of Tyler. Prestridge began
working with the Literacy Council in
2001 as a GED instructor in the youth
division, a program targeting at-risk teens.
In January 2002 she was promoted to
program supervisor. Prestridge also has
worked with area justice of the peace
courts to reduce truancy. She has served in
the Youth Advisory Group of the
Workforce Development Board since
2004.
Adrienne Graham (B.S.2006), former editor
of the Patriot Talon student newspaper,
served as editor in chief of the Frankston
Citizen for a year after attaining her
bachelor of science degree in journalism.
She then went on to the Tyler Morning
Telegraph, where she serves as city government
reporter. The Tyler resident also is a
photographer. She is a Longview native
and 2001 graduate of Pine Tree High
School.
John Brannon Gary (B.S. 2006) began
doctoral studies in inorganic chemistry at
the University of Michigan after graduating
summa cum laude from UT Tyler with a
bachelor of science degree in chemistry.
His current research, under the
supervision of Dr. Marc J. A. Johnson,
involves computational and synthetic
organometallic metathesis catalysis for
the formation of carbon-carbon multiple
bonds. He was awarded a National
Science Foundation Graduate Research
Fellowship. Gary plans to work in
chemical research after completing his
doctorate.
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