Leaving on a High Note - Austin Peay State University

Lady Govs volleyball
coach resigns
Corey Carlin, head volleyball coach for the
past two seasons, resigned from his position
in mid-November.
The Lady Govs finished 2006 with a 4-24
record, a year that saw the team battle injury,
illness and other personnel issues.
Carlin officially took over the Lady Govs
program in August 2005 after longtime coach
Cheryl Holt announced her resignation earlier
that spring.
Mark your calendar
6:30 p.m., Thursday, May 17, 2007
Morgan University Center Ballroom
A dinner in tribute to
Sherry Hoppe and Bob Hoppe
On her retirement from the presidency of
Austin Peay State University
Proceeds from the event will benefit the Hoppe Scholarship at APSU.
Tickets are $150 per couple or $85 per person.
If you are unable to attend, you may wish to send a tax-deductible gift to honor
Dr. Hoppe and her great accomplishments as president of your University.
Help endow the Hoppe Scholarship and make it a lasting tribute
that will benefit countless students for generations to come.
For reservations and gift information, please telephone University Advancement: (931) 221-7127
Feedback
Thanks (for) the alumni magazine for
Fall 2006. As a soldier and a nurse in the
U.S. Army, I occasionally come across
wonderful individuals who are related to
the great family of Austin Peay.
Capt. Ngo Anderson … a graduate
of APSU’s School of Nursing … helped
me apply for the Army’s enlisted commissioning
program, where I was able
to pursue a B.S.N. at APSU. She is an
outstanding American, married to a fine
individual (Capt. Travis Anderson, an
APSU School of Nursing graduate) and
a mother of two beautiful children.
(Her) leadership style was simple; she
did what she said and out-performed
almost all of us.
Much to my surprise and satisfaction,
she is now professed to the 28 th
Combat Support Hospital of the 82 nd
Airborne of Fort. Bragg, N.C. She
serves in Iraq, away from her family,
and continues as a fine leader and
mentor of young officers, much in the
same fashion as when she was an outstanding
non-commissioned officer.
Also, to (my) great surprise and satisfaction,
another fine soldier leader,
Col. Ruth Lee, is serving in Iraq. She
and Retired Col. Glenda Thompson are
wonderful nurse humanitarians (who)
have shaped many of my thoughts and
perceptions on caring and service.
Many of these great people influence
the lives of their students and followers
to a much greater extent than
they realize, and often do not receive
the just credit they deserve.
Best wishes to everyone at the
School of Nursing and to all at Austin
Peay.
Lt. Richard Noll, B.S.N.
U.S. Army Nurse Corps
28 th Combat Support Hospital
(This) cartoon* was drawn by a
wonderful, old friend of mine who died
suddenly almost two years ago. He
was a great example of the value of
higher education outside the “flagship”
universities.
Ron Sweeney was the first in his
family to go to college and attended
Austin Peay where I was an undergrad.
Because of family financial pressures,
he never earned a degree.
Nevertheless, education made a
huge impact on his life. He took a night
job at a factory as a student and rose
to be the national creative director for
the same company. His passion for
drawing, painting and graphic design
stayed with him from the first day he
took an art class at APSU. He was one
of the nicest people I’ve known.
Let’s keep in mind the Ronnie
Sweenies out there who take away
something even more important than a
degree.
More of Ron’s cartoons are available
at: http://smilinron.com.
Todd Duren (’86)
Instructor of Graphic Design
Pellissippi State Technical
Community College
Knoxville
*From the editor: In December 2006,
the e-mail above was forwarded to faculty
and staff throughout much of the
Tennessee Board of Regents system.
Accompanying it was a cartoon by the
late Ron Sweeney of Ashland City,
depicting Santa Claus getting a tattoo
on his bare back.
I recently moved back to the Dallas
area (Highland Village) and started a
consulting business. This morning, I
attended a networking meeting, and
the speaker was a successful Dallas
area businessman … who had used
networking to build a very successful
business. One of his networking
resources was his college and fraternity
alumni.
I thought that was a great idea, so
tonight I pulled up the list of Texas
alumni … I sorted the Excel spreadsheet
first by zip code and then by city.
Scanning the list, I noted several folks
living in Highland Village. Then I noticed
someone living on Quail Cove Drive—
the same street that I live on. Then I
noted the house number.
My next-door neighbor is a (‘89)
graduate of APSU—Michael
Castleberry! How’s that for a smallworld
story!
John “Butch” McGee (’69)
Highland Village, Texas
I started a new and exciting career yesterday…
here at Intuit and can say
nothing but good things about the company
and my new role.
I sent my resume to three companies
in the middle of September and
went through the interview process
with them all. After a lot of thought,
research and negotiation and a total of
14 rounds of interviews (phew!), I
accepted the position with Intuit and
feel both the role and the company are
perfect for me.
If you are looking for an inspiring
book … about a company built on outstanding
operating values that is
among the few companies to successfully
beat Microsoft, I recommend
“Inside Intuit” by Suzanne Taylor and
Kathy Schroder. I read (it) on a flight
from New Orleans and found the book
to be a true representation of the amazing
culture at Intuit.
Don Wallar (’97)
Web Marketing Manager
Intuit
San Diego, Calif.
From the editor: According to Dr. Bruce
Myers. professor and chair of the
department of mathematics and computer
science, who shared the note,
above, Wallar established and supports
the Donald Wallar Computer Science
Scholarship at APSU. For more information
about the scholarship and its criteria,
telephone 931-221-7840.
Spring 2007
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