Marie Greenwood BA ’35, Denver, celebrated her 106th birthday in November.
Carl Veaux MA ’67, Cape Coral, Fla., was presented an environmental stewardship award from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for his work to enhance the region’s environment.
Save the Date
The Class of 1969 will host their 50-year reunion October 18-19, 2019 during the annual Homecoming celebration.
Loren G. Salzman BS ’73, Rockford, Ill., spent 35 years in the hospitality industry as a hotel/resort controller and received a Certified Hospitality Accountant Executive (CHAE) from the International Association of Hospitality Accountants.
Daniel C. “Dan” Benavidez BS ’77, Longmont, is a member of the Board of Directors and the Vice President of Eco Cycle, the nation’s largest non-profit recycling and sustainability organization. Benavidez also participates with Longmont Chief of Public Safety Mike Butler’s “Belonging Revolution,” in which they do weekly neighborhood walks where Benavidez accompanies him as a team member and as his Spanish interpreter. Benavidez and Butler have walked over 250 of Longmont’s neighborhoods to meet over 3,000 Latino residents to help them feel safe and at home in Longmont. Benavidez is frequently called upon, as a public speaker at the University of Colorado in Boulder, as a guest speaker at Boulder County and Colorado Springs High Schools, Elementary Schools and other Educational facilities in the state. Benavidez’s message to the largely minority classrooms is that they can succeed. He shows them his UNC class ring as evidence. Benavidez also shares with them that he was the first Latino in Longmont history to be elected at-large to the Longmont City Council and then as Mayor Pro Tem by his colleagues. And if all that isn’t enough, Benavidez is currently writing a book, titled For All the Right Reasons.
Donald Paul “Don-Paul” Benjamin MA ’78, BA ’70, Cedaredge, retired from his full-time role as staff writer for the Delta County Independent newspaper in western Colorado to complete three novels: a fantasy, a romantic-mystery and an alternative history.
Martha “Martie” (Minneman) Sullivan BS ’78, Scottsdale, Ariz., celebrated the 25th anniversary of her Sweet Basil Gourmetware & Cooking School. She added the Sweet Basil Market Café four years ago.
Nathan Gerald “Nate” Smith BS ’79, Highlands Ranch, was inducted into the US Army Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame Class of 2018 at Fort Benning, Ga. Smith retired from the Army as a colonel, and served in Operations Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.
Terry L. Vice BA ’79, La Paz, Bolivia, is now serving as the facility manager for the United States Embassy in La Paz.
UNC Board of Trustees Appointments
Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper announced the appointment of Stephen M. Jordan BA ’71, Lafayette, to the UNC Board of Trustees. Hickenlooper reappointed current trustees Janice Sinden BA ’97, Denver, and Richard “Dick” Monfort BS ’76, Eaton.
Diana Walsh MA ’80, Fort Collins, retired from her teaching career in the Des Moines Public Schools. Walsh is preparing to hike through the Appalachian Trail. You can follow her journey at SaunteringwithDiana.com
John Dolan BA ’80, Greeley, retired from the Unites States Air Force in October 2018 as a Lieutenant General and is living back in Colorado.
Robbyn Wacker MA ’82, BA ’80, St. Cloud, Minn., became the first female president of St. Cloud State University. Congratulations, Dr. Wacker!
Gary E. Lewis EdD ’86, Northfield, Minn., was awarded the Legacy Award by the Minnesota Administrators for Special Education (MASE) in recognition of his “commitment to encouraging, developing and mentoring leaders who reflect the MASE mission.”
Sara L. Rapp BA ’86, Delta, retired from Edward Jones and now mentors women in the local jail and at Celebrate Recovery. Rapp also recently assisted with rodeo Bible camp in the Apache Nation.
Lonnie Weis BA ’87, Littleton, appeared on Jeopardy and shared that when he was a UNC student, he helped design three winning homecoming floats. Weis finished in second place on that particular episode of the game show.
Sydney Millage BAE ’92, West Liberty, Iowa, graduated with a master’s degree in Biblical Counseling from Faith Bible Seminary in Lafayette, Indiana. Millage recently wrote the book Sanctuary: Hope and Help for Victims of Domestic Abuse, published by Focus Publishing, Bemidji, Minn., 2018.
Heidi C. Yewman BAE ’92, Portland, Ore., directed an 84-minute documentary titled “Behind the Bullet,” which debuted during the prestigious Slamdance Film Festival in January in Park City, Utah. The documentary is about four individuals who pulled a trigger and shot someone, and the emotional stress, trauma, and moral injury they’ve suffered — an angle into gun violence that goes unexamined. Five years ago, Yewman wrote a book about what it’s like to be shot, titled Beyond the Bullet. She has served on the board of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence for 13 years. Yewman is a 1986 graduate of Columbine High School.
Kyle Holman BA ’99, Eaton, was appointed the North Colorado Medical Center Foundation president and CEO.
Former Teaching Colleagues now have a Kidney in Common
Daniel F. “Dan” Warner MA ’95, Kingston, R.I., made news when he received a kidney from Daniel Wagner BAE ’87, Greeley. Warner and Wagner met as colleagues at the UNC Laboratory School. Warner had been fighting polycystic kidney disease for years when doctors recommended he go on dialysis and start looking for a kidney donor. As the search for a donor began, Warner reached out to Wagner, whose wife also has polycystic kidney disease. Although Wagner was not a match for his wife, he was a perfect match for his old friend. The lifesaving operation took place in December and both men are doing well.
Susan Myllykangas MA ’00, Maryville, Mo., is a full professor at Northwest Missouri State University. Myllykangas coordinates the Parks and Recreation Management and Gerontology programs for the School of Health Science and Wellness.
Margaret “Meg” Cypress BS ’02 Denver, was named the 2019 Colorado Teacher of the Year and will be entered as Colorado’s nominee for the National Teacher of the Year Program competition. The President of the United States will honor Cypress along with the country’s other teachers of the year at a special ceremony at the White House.
Andrew J. “Andy” Kelso BA ’03, Maplewood, N.J., returned to the role of Charlie in the Broadway production of Kinky Boots and remained with the show until it closed in April.
Erica Sweany BA ’03, Thornwood, N.Y., joined the Broadway cast of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. This is Sweany’s third Broadway production.
Anthony P. Reimer BA ’05, Hoboken, N.J., voices a character in the new video game “Red Dead Redemption 2.”
Joshua R. Buscher BA ’08, Sunnyside, N.Y., joined the Broadway production of Kinky Boots.
Talia M. Liccardello BA ’09, Denver, has accepted a new position as the drama director at Littleton High School.
Playing Rattlesnake Kate
Neyla Pekarek ’09 made headlines with her first solo album and a Denver Center for the Performing Arts Center commissioned play, both inspired by Greeley historical figure Rattlesnake Kate. Pekarek, a classically trained vocalist formerly of The Lumineers, debuted her album and play earlier this year.
Valerie Lovato MA ’10, BA ’07, Westminster, received her certification for the National Boards of Professional Teaching Standards on December 1, 2018. The National Board Certification was designed to develop, retain and recognize accomplished teachers.
Emily (Carlton) Mills BA ’10, Franklin, Tenn., wrote and published The Art of Visual Notetaking. Mills also appeared on the opening and closing segment of the daytime talk show Pickler and Ben to talk about life as an illustrator. Mills will be a guest speaker this spring via webcast to UNC typography students with instructor Woody Myers BA ’92.
Armando Silva BA ’10, Greeley, opened Metamorphosis in the Mari Michener Gallery at UNC.
Matthew “Matt” Smiley MM ’10, Denver, has a rigorous performance schedule and teaches at both Denver School of the Arts Jazz Camp and The Gift of Jazz, a non-profit focusing on enriching the community through the creation, promotion and preservation of the art of jazz in the Rocky Mountain region. Smiley worked with a number of diverse and prominent performers and composers including Alvin Lucier, Christian Wolff, Stephen Drury, Jean-Claude Risset, Terrell Stafford and Greg Osby.
Matt Smiley MM ’10, Denver, Alexander “Alex” Nauman BM ’08, Billings, Mont., and Briana Harris MM ’14, Greeley, were part of a quintet who recorded Free Range, thanks to the “Pathways to Jazz” grant program out of Boulder. About the recording, the group said, “We wanted to capture our favorite parts of creative improvisation and invite listeners to come explore with us.”
Tasha Van Marter MA ’10, BA ’05, Thornton, was recognized as a Denver Channel 7 Everyday Hero. Van Marter, a former probation officer, founded Joyful Journeys Community Enrichment. Joyful Journeys has a thrift shop, which raises money and provides food, clothing and emergency supplies to struggling families. It also provides a gym and gives low-income youth the opportunity to participate in sports. In 2017, Joyful Journeys provided support to roughly three families per week and approximately 5,000 Coloradans.
Cody T. Havard Ph.D. ’11, Collierville, Tenn., is an associate professor of Sport Commerce in the Kemmons Wilson School of Hospitality and Resort Management at The University of Memphis. Havard was named an affiliate fellow of the Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Havard researches rivalry in the sport setting, and uses comic strips and cartoons to teach about the phenomenon and appropriate group member behavior.
Kelsey M. Smith BA ’12, Bailey, published her first book describing the journey she has been on since learning that she has a form of Turner Syndrome.
Gena A. Sturgon BA ’13, Loveland, founded PlayEducate, a nonprofit organization in Kosovo, which educates local youth to prevent extremism, conflict and violence using sports, games and dialogue. The program also engages deployed US troops in Kosovo as program facilitators.
Chelsea Hansen BA ’15, Ft. Collins, is busy working an 8-5 job, works as a freelance musician and, as of January 2019, is a published poet in several literary journals.
Rayvon Solomon BA ’18, Aurora, is a licensed finance professional at Prudential.
