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Eight University of Wisconsin Oshkosh alumni have been selected to receive Alumni Association awards Friday, Oct. 17, during Homecoming weekend festivities.

The awards dinner will begin with a reception at 5:30 p.m. in the Reeve Memorial Union Ballroom, Room 227. Tickets cost $25 per person. Alumni and friends may request an invitation by contacting the Alumni Relations Office at (877) UWO-ALUM or alumni@uwosh.edu.

For more information about the awards, click here.

2008 Outstanding Young Alumni

Theresa (Crogan) Krajnak
earned a Bachelor of Arts in journalism in 1995. Based in the greater Milwaukee area, she is a sales development executive with Home Box Office (HBO).

Krajnak manages all point-of-sale tactics and point-of-sale client relations for the Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications call centers in Wisconsin. She also manages call centers for Insight Communications in Kentucky and Indiana.

As the “face” of HBO to more than 2,000 cable television employees in Wisconsin, she designs and implements training and incentive programs to keep them enthusiastic and informed about HBO programming and to encourage HBO sales.

She has been a key contributor to Time Warner Cable’s success in marketing several award-winning HBO series, such as Sex and the City, The Sopranos and Band of Brothers. In 2002, she also helped launch the first cable on-demand channel in the nation, HBO on Demand, in the Green Bay market.

In January, she led the consumer test launch of HBO on Broadband for Time Warner Cable-Wisconsin, the only location in the country to try out this new product. She was involved in nearly every aspect of the test, including product testing, new product training for Time Warner employees, marketing and market research, and consumer events.

Michele Polfuss earned a Bachelor of Science in nursing in 1996. She is a certified pediatric nurse practitioner for the NEW KIDS Program, part of the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition in Milwaukee. The program promotes pediatric nutrition, exercise and weight management.

In 1999, she became a nurse practitioner after completing a master’s degree from Marquette University, where she is currently working to earn a doctorate in nursing.

Throughout her career, Polfuss has been a prevention specialist and advocate for public health — specifically, the fight against childhood obesity. While working as a pediatric cardiology nurse practitioner, she recognized the need for a systematic approach to weight management for children with cardiac problems and all children and their families who struggle with overweight and obesity.

In 2003, she authored a $114,900 grant to address pediatric obesity. Working closely with a team of healthcare professionals, she developed a reliable, cost-effective, multidisciplinary program for Fox Valley area families.

Polfuss also serves at the local, state and national level in pediatric obesity efforts, including chairing the healthcare subcommittee of the Wisconsin Partnership for Physical Activity and Nutrition since 2007. While in the Fox Valley, she helped develop “Healthy Movement and Active Play,” a 12-week daycare curriculum that was distributed to nine daycare providers in Calumet, Outagamie and Winnebago Counties.

Cheryl L. Stinski earned a Bachelor of Science in human services in 1994. She is owner and founding partner of Alternative Resolutions, a mediation and consultation practice based in Appleton.

As a mediator, trainer, coach and author, Stinski has been providing conflict resolution services for more than 20 years. Alternative Resources, founded in 1995, has grown to be a leader in developing innovative communication and conflict-management solutions for nearly every segment of the population — families, businesses, health care, law enforcement, education and more.

Stinski serves on the mediation rosters of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the U.S. Postal Services and the Wisconsin Special Education Mediation System. She has provided mediation training for Aurora University, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Wisconsin Department of Justice and Wisconsin State Bar Association. She has presented at the National Association for School Counselors Conference and the National Conference on Peacemaking and Conflict Resolutions.

She also co-authored a model program selected for presentation at the National Safe Schools Conference in Washington, D.C., and writes a biweekly newspaper column about conflict resolution in the workplace.

As a volunteer, she facilitates opportunities for productive dialogue and collaborative problem solving in several mediation and restorative justice programs.

Rubin L. Whitmore II earned a Bachelor of Arts in radio, television and film in 2007. He is the owner and manager of Bliss Enterprises in Milwaukee.

Whitmore completed the majority of his UW Oshkosh coursework in the late 1980s and enjoyed a successful start to his filmmaking career before returning to finish his degree. Over the years, he has produced and directed more than 100 film projects, ranging from documentaries to music videos.

For music videos alone, he has received 17 certified gold, platinum and multi-platinum plaque awards from the Recording Industry of America. His productions have aired globally on networks such as BET, MTV and VH1. As an entrepreneur, he has managed staffs, crews and $1-million budgets.

Whitmore was recently nominated for the Rockefeller Foundation’s and Ford Foundation’s 2008 Media Arts Fellowship program by the Renew Media organization.

As an activist and teacher, Whitmore inspires youth to become the best they can be. From 2003 until 2005, he served as a juvenile delinquents case manager for the Running Rebels Community Organization in Milwaukee.

Today, he travels the U.S. as a lecturer, challenging children and young adults to make wise choices about their media use. As part of this program, he also enthusiastically offers youth a wide array of career-planning ideas.

2008 Distinguished Alumni:

Trevy A. McDonald earned a Bachelor of Arts in radio, television and film in 1990. She is the principal and founder of Reyomi Global Media Group.

McDonald continued her education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she earned a Master of Arts in radio, television and motion pictures and a doctorate in mass communication research.

She teaches in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She also has taught at North Carolina Central University and served as an adjunct faculty member and research mentor at Spertus College in Chicago.

In 1999, she founded Reyomi Publishing, now Reyomi Global Media Group, with the goal of self-publishing her debut novel, “Time Will Tell,” which made the cover of Publisher’s Weekly. The company has grown over the years, recently publishing its first children’s book.

McDonald has co-edited a women’s studies anthology, a communication textbook and an inspirational anthology. She also contributes to numerous publications. She recently completed her second novel, “Madness Galore” and her first, feature-length screenplay, “Brandi Surfs the Web.”

Outside of publishing and higher education, McDonald regularly is invited to serve as a motivational speaker. She recently presented a workshop, “Create a New Story,” at the New School in New York, as part of the Bringing in the Light Tour.

Timothy C. Mulloy
graduated in 1976 with a Bachelor of Business Administration. He is senior vice president with the Liberty Mutual Group of Boston, Mass., a Fortune 100 company, and general manager of the Wausau Insurance Signature Division in Milwaukee.

The division provides commercial property and casualty insurance to businesses across the U.S. He also is a chartered property and casualty underwriter, chartered life underwriter and chartered financial consultant.

He began his career with Wausau Insurance in 1976 in group sales. During his career, he has held positions of increasing responsibility with Liberty Mutual, Nationwide Insurance and Wausau Insurance. He has managed sales, underwriting, surety bonding, marketing, loss prevention and field operations.

A U.S. Marine Corps Vietnam veteran, Mulloy started college after he was discharged in 1972, following his tour of duty. He also served in the Army Reserve as second lieutenant while attending UW Oshkosh. After college, he served three years in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve as a staff sergeant.

Mulloy serves as a board member for the Oshkosh-based Center for Innovation as well as VSA Arts of Wisconsin, an organization providing opportunities in the arts for people with disabilities.

Gordon J. Veldboom earned a Bachelor of Science in economics in 1966. He owns Oostburg Concrete Products in Oostburg, Wis.

Upon graduating from UW Oshkosh, Veldboom accepted a position at Control Data in St. Paul, Minn. He returned to his hometown, Oostburg, in 1968 to run the family business, a small construction company. Veldboom grew the enterprise from eight employees to more than 150 today. It is one of the largest poured-wall and masonry contractors in Wisconsin.

In 1982, he started a development and investment company. To date, that company has developed 12 subdivisions and more than 400 residential and commercial lots.

Veldboom’s success goes hand-in-hand with his strong, personal core values, which are visible in the caring way he treats his employees and his employees’ families. Known as an enthusiastic supporter of schools, churches and people in need, Veldboom also has supported the construction of gas stations, physician offices, restaurants, a grocery store and more in Oostburg.

In his personal time, he has served as a football and baseball coach for several area schools, including Lakeland College, Oostburg High School and Sheboygan County Christian High School.

A. John Voelker
earned a Bachelor of Science in political science in 1987. He was appointed Wisconsin’s director of state courts by the State of Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2003. As the chief non-judicial officer of the state court system, he has the authority and responsibility for the overall management of Wisconsin’s unified judicial system.

Voelker has been employed by the Wisconsin Court System since 1992, most recently as the executive assistant to Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson. Prior to his employment in the court system, he worked for the Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau.

Since joining the Wisconsin Court System, he has authored and co-authored numerous publications relating to court lead initiatives, including “Bridging the Distance: Implementing Videoconferencing in Wisconsin,” “Court User Opinions: Incorporating Consumer Research into Strategic Planning” and “Meeting the Challenges of Self-Represented Litigants in Wisconsin.”

Voelker has participated in the development of the Wisconsin Courthouse Security Manual and has served as faculty for the nationally award-winning Wisconsin Courthouse Security Training Program.

In 2001, he received a Meritorious Service Award from the Wisconsin Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs Association. That same year, he was selected as a Toll Fellow by the Council of State Governments, which recognizes emerging leaders in state government.

He is a member of the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA) and began a three-year term on the COSCA Board of Directors in August.