NEWS NOTES / OCTOBER 1999

1962

Beverly Haygood Benjamin (B.S.) has been a real estate broker in south Florida for 26 years and works with Arvida Realty Services.

1969

Linda J. Kotowski (B.S.), recreation superintendent for the City of Boulder Parks and Recreation Department, is president-elect of the American Park and Recreation Society. She received the 1999 Woman of Distinction Award given by Alpha Xi Delta Fraternity, a national women's fraternity founded in 1893.

1970

Barbara J. Palmer (B.S., M.S. '74) was inducted into Leon High School's Sports Hall of Fame. Palmer was Florida State University's women's athletic director from 1977 to 1985. Now she is president of Smart Child, a company working to incorporate technology into kindergarten though fifth-grade classrooms.

1971

Thomas L. Sechrest (B.A., M.S. '73) received the Ph.D. degree in human resource development from the University of Texas at Austin in August 1999. Sechrest works at Advanced Micro Devices Inc. in Austin.

1975

Col. William L. Cool (B.S.) is a career fighter-bomber pilot. He is assigned to the Air Force Intelligence Center at Kelly Air Force Base, Texas.

Michael J. Durham (B.A.) C.P.A. has been appointed chief financial officer for DSAtlantic Corporation, a leading full-service consulting and contracting firm with 350 employees. He and his family live in Advance, N.C.

1976

Cdr. Douglas J. Allen (B.S.) is the naval attache for the U.S. Embassy in South Africa. He previously flew the F-14 Tomcat in various squadrons.
Chris L. Griffin (B.S., J.D. '78) has been elected chairman of the Outback Bowl Board of Directors for the 1999-2000 year. Griffin is a partner in the Tampa law firm of Annis, Mitchell, Cockey, Edwards & Roehn P.A.

1977

Marshall R. Cassedy Jr. (M.B.A.) was named board member of the year in Florida by the Florida Area Council of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Cassedy is president of Western International Securities in Tallahassee and won the award for putting his financial and managerial expertise to use as a two-term president of the local Boys & Girls Club organization.

1981

J. Thompson Biggers (Ph.D.) is president of Schreiner College in Kerrville, Texas. He will be included in the 2000 Millennium Edition of the Nationwide Register's Who's Who in Executives and Business.

Richard F. Walton (M.S.P.) has moved to Blue Springs, Mo. (Kansas City Area) to become the community development director.

1983

J. Layne Smith (B.S., J.D. '87) was inducted into Leon High School's Sports Hall of Fame.

1984

Bonnie Barrett Phillips (B.A.) has been the Courtney Junior High School science department chairman in Nevada for two years. Phillips is treasurer of the Nevada chapter of the FSU Alumni Association.

1985

Scott Gowan (B.S.) will be the boys' and girls' track and cross country coach at the new Chiles High in Tallahassee. He has been with Port St. Joe for 13 seasons.

1986

David M. Benjamin (B.S.) is an executive with Kraft Foods, living in Birmingham with his family.
Joni Taterka Bierwirth (B.S.) is market manager for Towers Perrin's Cincinnati office. Towers Perrin is a human resources and general management consulting firm.
Maj. Shannon P. Meade (B.S.) has been reassigned from Navigator AC-130U Gunship at Hurlburt Field, Fla., to Headquarters Pacific Air Forces Hickam AFB HI as chief of aircrew management.

Gregory L. Parkes (B.S.) was ordained a Roman Catholic priest for the Diocese of Orlando in June. He will return to Rome to complete studies for his JCL (Licentiate in Canon Law) from the Pontifical Gregorian University. Parkes will be assigned to a parish.

Gabriel L. Petre (B.S.) is regional director of claims with Managed Care USA in Atlanta.

1987

Patrick C. Knowles (B.S.) has joined CommerceQuest Inc. in Tampa as a senior account manager. CommerceQuest is a provider of Internet Application Integration software products and services to the Fortune 1000.
Carla Dollinger Rosenthal (B.S.) produced television commercials for a Tallahassee and Palm Beach station. She managed the construction of the Melting Pots in Knoxville and Nashville and now handles the administration and marketing.
Melanie J. Swallow (B.M., M.M.E. '90) is a touring singer, dancer, keyboardist, percussionist with a 3-girl, 3-guy showband. They play a wide variety of music from the '30s to '90s.

1988

Carlene Thornton (Ph.D.) has joined the Citrus County School District as one of the system's seven psychologists. Thornton worked with the FSU Askew School of Public Administration and Policy until taking the job this year.

1990

David P. Campbell M.D. (B.S.) completed a fellowship in glaucoma at the University of Florida and will return home to Sarasota to join a group practice.

1992

Kimberly R. Smail (B.M.) was on USA Networks, "USA High" and will be seen on NBC's new show, "One World," which will air in the fall.

1994

Tana L. Duden (B.S.) was a summer law clerk at Gray, Harris & Robinson P.A. in the Tallahassee office.
Cpl. Josh A. Hinson (B.S.) returned on ship after conducting an amphibious landing on the coast of Litohoro, Greece, as part of the NATO/U.N. peacekeeping effort in Kosovo with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, home based in Camp Lejeune, N.C.

1995

Michael J. Ciaccio (B.S.) is now an associate in the Real Estate Department at the law firm of Proskauer Rose in New York City.
Melanie E. Kools (B.A.) ran in a marathon as a "Team in Training" member of the Leukemia Society of America in Dublin, Ireland.

1996

Steven R. Flynn (B.S.) graduated summa cum laude with a master's degree in telecommunication from the University of Georgia. Flynn was promoted to senior analyst at Specifics, Inc.
Carson D. Hicks (B.S.) works for BNI. He has worked on projects such as the new football locker room at the Moore Center, new concession stands and bathrooms at FSU stadium. He has also done work on the new football stadium for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

1997

Mitch D. Gans (B.S.) works in the FSU Office of Technology Integration. He graduated Aug. 7 with an M.S. in management information systems from the College of Business.

1999

Arleshia R. Davidson (B.S.) was hired to lead Chiles High's new girls basketball program. She will be a part-time mathematics teacher at Chiles High and Deerlake Middle School.
Ellen F. Rosa (M.F.A.) has taken a job with the Chattanooga Ballet Company, where she will perform, choreograph and teach.

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