Southwestern Magazine | Fall 2019

Michael English , Leander, TX, retired from the City of Austin Water Utility, where he worked as a treatment operations and maintenance technician for 12.5 years. Randy Bowden , Haubstadt, IN, participated in a reunion of mid-1980s Pi Kappa Alpha brothers, little sisters, and spouses that took place in the Dallas–Arlington area on May 3–4, 2019. The weekend included a Frisco Roughriders game, a Texas Rangers game, some bad golf, and a party at the home of Roger Brandt ’85. The other alumni in attendance were Robert Thomas ’79; Tommy Brumett ’83; Carl Shaulis ’83, P’22; Bert Herring ’84; Tom Herzig ’84; Mark Lewis ’84; Kenneth Pool ’84; Wanda Scheler Young Thomas ’84; Steve Heyduck ’85; Jay Nowlin ’85; Sarah Berthold Pool ’85; Brock Curry ’86; Joe Irizarry ’86, P’15, P’23; Laurie Rothhammer Lewis ’86; Chris Speier ’86; Morgan Cawthon ’87; Beth Yandell Driskill ’87; Tracy Mayer Irizarry ’87, P’15, P’23; Dan Johnson ’87; Greg Kirkpatrick ’87; Mike West ’87, P’12; Brian Wieters ’87; Greg Dyar ’88; Johnny Maberry ’88; Peter Soria ’88; and Barry Bain ’89. Amy Louise Smith , Houston, TX, received from the Texas Association against Sexual Assault the Vivian R. Miles Lifetime Achievement Award on May 21, 2019. The award is given to someone who has demonstrated a lifetime commitment to ending sexual violence and to providing support to survivors. Smith has worked for over 30 years in the victim-services field in Harris County, TX. Elizabeth Brashear Floreani , see Sally McMillan Brashear ’59. Frank Leffingwell , Round Rock, TX, has joined Sneed, Vine, & Perry, PC, as a shareholder. His practice focuses on business transactions and tax and estate planning primarily for closely held business owners and 1984 1985 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1994 high-net-worth investors. Leffingwell will earn a master of law in taxation from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC, in 2019. Prior to joining Sneed, Vine, & Perry, PC, he was president at Frank Leffingwell & Associates, PC. Brett S. McClung , Fort Worth, TX, was selected as the new president and chief executive officer of Baptist Health of Northeast Florida, in Jacksonville. Lisa A. Dreishmire , Chicago, IL, joined Seyfarth Shaw as counsel in its Chicago office. Judy Albright Griscom P’22, New Braunfels, TX, was named Teacher of the Year for 2019 at New Braunfels Middle School. This is the second time Griscom has been named Teacher of the Year—the first was in 2015 at Walnut Springs Elementary. She currently teaches seventh-grade math, serves as the Parent–Teacher Association faculty represen- tative, is a teacher trainer for project-based learning, and was recently voted secretary for the local chapter of the Association of Texas Professional Educators. John Styrsky , Lynchburg, VA, survived five years of record growth in the major as chair of the department of biology at the University of Lynchburg. He was promoted from associate professor to professor in May. Eric Mason , Colorado Springs, CO, received his doctorate in December from the University of Colorado. Shawn Pipkin-West , Chatsworth, CA, was elected to the national board of directors of the Directors Guild of America on June 22, 2019. Other board members include Ava DuVernay, Steven Spielberg, and Christopher Nolan. Eric Batch , Carson, CA, was recognized by the University of Southern California Sol Price School of Public Policy as one of 90 pioneers (across nine decades) who embody the school’s mission of improving the quality of life for people and their communities. 1997 2002 2005 2006 Sergey Gordeev , New York, NY, won an Emmy as part of the FOX Sports team for Outstanding Transmedia Sports Coverage for coverage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His FOX Sports and NatGeo team received a prestigious Sportel Award in Monaco for a piece on children with cerebral palsy in St. Petersburg whose lives were changed by playing football. BIRTH : Brooke Moran Samaniego and Isaiah Samaniego, Pflugerville, TX, welcomed Skyler Hope on July 11, 2018. Skyler joins siblings Shane and Sally Grace. Travis Weedn , Oklahoma City, OK, was promoted to deputy general counsel at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission and was elected to serve on the Oklahoma County Bar Association on its board of directors. On October 1, 2019, Weedn became the president of the Kiwanis Club of Oklahoma City. Matthew Barnes , Lubbock, TX, collaborated with Shellsea Miller ’20 and Lauren Muskara ’20 on a talk titled “A Snail out of Water: Apple Snail Detection along Oyster Creek (Missouri City/Sugarland, TX),” which was presented by Muskara at the Texas Academy of Science meeting at Howard Payne University in March. Jacob Schrum , see Will Price ’19. Gus Sterneman , Austin, TX, conducted the “Sleeping Beauty Waltz” by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky for the Austin Civic Orchestra on May 18, 2019, in its annual Paint to Music Spring Concert, which features artwork created by Austin Independent School District students in response to hearing and studying an iconic piece of classical music. 45 SOUTHWESTERN CONTINUED ON PAGE 48