Class Notes

1940s

Santo Formica, BS ’47, Sherwood, Ark., is a member of the Government Advisory Council on Aging and volunteers with Easter Seals and the VA Hospital (Vietnam Vets). He is still active with Little Sicilian, Inc., a food specialties service, and consults about poultry, swine and cattle.

James Mitchell Smith, BS ’47, Liberty, Ind., manages a group of farms that he owns. He is also a writer and has a play in off-Broadway production.

1960s

Terrance P. Riorden, BS ’65, MS ’68, PhD ’70, is the director of the professional golf management program at the University of Nebraska.

Alan Swartz, BS ’65, Buena Vista, Colo., is retired from Colorado State University Extension after 26 years. He is also a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve.

1970s

Robert Thompson, MS ’69, PhD ’74, Urbana, Ill., is the Gardner Chair in Agricultural Policy at the University of Illinois. The endowment was funded by the Illinois Farm Bureau and the Gardner family in honor of Len Gardner, longtime ag policy analyst. Thompson
was dean of agriculture at Purdue from 1987 to 1993.

Rhonda Pinckney, BS ’76, is an associate professor in the Department of Paraclinical Studies at St. George’s University in Grenada, West Indies. She teachs two parasitology courses and public health, conducts research and performs diagnostic studies.

1980s

April Mason, MS ’80, is the dean for Colorado State University’s College of Applied Human Sciences. Mason had been Purdue’s associate dean for discovery and engagement in the School of Consumer and Family Sciences.

Martha (Masteller) Burns, BS ’81, Tucker, Ga., has been promoted from senior case law editor to a training specialist with Lexis Nexis, a legal publishing company.

Frank Riddle, BS ’83, Irvine, Calif., is CEO with Financial Integrity Group, which specializes in meeting the financial needs of small businesses.

Kevin Eikenberry, BS ’84, Indianapolis, renamed his company The Kevin Eikenberry Group and has launched a new Web site http://KevinEikenberry.com and newsletter, Unleash Your Potential with Kevin Eikenberry.

Anthony T. Grossman, BS ’84, Metamora, Ind., married Marjorie I. Schoelles of Richmond, Ind., Sept. 9 at Mexico Beach, Fla.

Jorge Romero-Day, MS ’85, will be relocating to Mexico from Argentina, where he will be general director with Burns Philp, a global yeast, food ingredients and consumer-branded food products manufacturer.
Kim (Holmes) Nicholson, BS ’86, and her husband, Keith Nicholson, BS ’83, live in Middleton, Wisc. Kim is vice president of sales and marketing with Nutra-Park, Inc., an agricultural firm that manufactures and markets products for use in the production of fresh fruits and vegetables. Keith leads the Beck Ag Com Moderator Team. As a certified focus group moderator, he moderates a number of the Beck Ag Com focus groups and leads educational dialogue discussions in small group conferences.

L. Daniel Ploper, PhD ’87, was appointed director of the Tucumán Research Station in Tucumán, Argentina, in January.

Beth (Lasch) Chacon, BS ’88, is product development manager at Xcel Energy. She and her husband, Mike, live in Denver, Colo. They have a son, Ryan, and are expecting another baby.

Jim Prough, BS ’89, Yorktown, Ind., is purchasing manager at The Anderson’s Oakville & Dunkirk Grain Terminals.

1990s

Mark Evans, BS ’90, MS ’95, and his wife, Beth (Bonner) Evans, BS ’92, live in Greencastle, Ind., with their son, Justin Ryan, born on April 21. On Nov. 1, 2003, Mark changed positions at Purdue, leaving the agronomy department to become an Extension educator with ag and natural resources responsibilities in Clay and Owen counties. He is also the Extension director in Owen County.

Antonio Ivancovich, PhD ’90, received one of the American Phytopathological Society French-Monar Group Membership Awards for 2004.

Brent Hoene, AAG ’91, and his wife, Mary Ellen, have two sons, ages 2 and 5, and live in Louisville, Ky., where Brent is assistant manager with New Earth Indoor/Outdoor Garden Center.

John Demerly, BS ’97, Avon, Ind., and his wife, Laura (Lechtenberg) Demerly, became the parents of Andrew “Drew” Richard Demerly on July 7. John is the assistant director for life science education with the Indiana Department of Education, where he oversees agriculture, food, health occupations, biological engineering and biotechnology programs.

Melissa Kasper, BS ’97, Tampa, Fla., is pursuing her second bachelor’s degree at the University of South Florida. Kasper is studying special education, continuing her education and training in the field of therapeutic equestrian sports for disabled children and adults.

Craig Rebich, BS ’99, Franklin, Ind., is the executive director of the Indiana FFA Organization. Rebich will work out of the Indianapolis office of the Indiana Department of Education.

Mark Wilkins, BS ’99, Winter Haven, Fla., recently graduated from the University of Illinois with a PhD in agricultural engineering. Mark has accepted a position as a research associate with the U.S. Citrus and Subtropical Products Laboratory in Winter Haven, Fla.

2000s

Aaron Deckard, BS ’01, MS ’04, Lexington, Ky., married Amie J. Craft, Oakland, Ill., on March 20. He is a development engineer with Lexmark International in Lexington. Amie is the director of Central Baptist Church Preschool and Daycare in Lexington.

Christy (Shelburne) Powell, BS ’01, San Diego, Calif., married Darren Powell on Aug. 31, 2002. Christy is a plant propagator at the Zoological Society of San Diego.

Abby Dougherty, BS ’02, stepped down from her position as program specialist with the Indiana FFA Organization to go back to work at her family’s farm in Franklin, Ind. Her family has 1,500 acres of corn and soybeans and also a retail crop protection business called Dougherty Fertilizer.

Robert Johnson, BS ’03, married Stacey Amundson, BS ’02, on July 17 in Auburn, Ind. They reside in Lafayette, Ind.

David Doll, BS ’04, was the IFC (Interfraternity Council) President of the Year at Purdue. Doll was president of the Triangle Fraternity. Selection was based on 46 fraternities representing approximately 6,000 members.

Eric Perkins, MS ’04, is a production supervisor for Georgia-Pacific in Crossett, Ark. Perkins was Purdue’s Outstanding Graduate Student in agricultural and biological engineering in 2004.

Stephanie Warner, BS ’04, South Whitley, Ind., is the leadership director for the Indiana FFA Organization.