The following Class Notes were received recently in the UW Oshkosh Alumni Office.
’67 Diane Bendickson (EHS) is an interior designer with 24 years of design experience at Chilton Furniture.
’69 Mary Brugman (LS), of Luxemburg, is working as a social worker for Golden Living Dorchester in Sturgeon Bay, after spending 10 years as a social worker for Penfield Children’s Center in Milwaukee. She just returned from a Caribbean Cruise with her siblings and is enjoying time with her grandchildren.
’69 Gary De Master (B), of Oostburg, retired as president of Oostburg State Bank. He was employed in the banking industry for more than 43 years, 39 of those years with Oostburg State Bank.
’71 Geraldine “Jerry” Martino (LS), of Springfield Mo., received her master’s in English from the University of Iowa and worked as the assistant director of the Career Center at Missouri State University. In 1997, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and had to retire in 2004.
’71 William Schumann (LS), a financial adviser in Wheaton, Ill., received the Adviser of the Year Award in 2011 from his broker-dealer, Capital Financial Group/H. Beck of Rockville, Md.
’72 Marsha (Dorow) Lewis (N), of Atlanta, Ga., associate professor and associate dean for education in the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University in Atlanta, has been named dean of the University of Buffalo School of Nursing.
’76 Neil Garfinkel (LS), of Frederick, Md., has worked at ITT in the defense electronics sector for the past 25 years.
’78 Russ Buhr (EHS) was honored as an outstanding educator and volunteer by the Lena Lions Club. During his 33 years at Lena Public School District, he taught biological sciences, coached and served as athletic director and dean of students.
’79 Deborah Kiefer (B), of Abingdon, Md., works for the Department of Defense-U.S. Army and is getting closer to retirement age. She then will move back to Oshkosh after being away for more than 30 years.
’79 Greg Peck (LS), of Janesville, won first place awards in both editorial writing and editorial pages in the Wisconsin Newspaper Association’s Better Newspaper Contest. He is the Opinion Page editor of The Gazette in Janesville.
’82 Casey Edwards (LS), of Mason, was selected to the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference all-time men’s gymnastics team. He was a member of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh gymnastics team from 1976 to 1978 and in 1980.
’83 Brenda (Schuett) Lau (LS), of Venice, Calif., a senior writer/producer at ABC Entertainment in Los Angeles, had her short-action film “Deadbeat,” starring Fancois Chau (“Lost”) and Kim Rhodes (“The Suite Life of Zack and Cody”), featured at the Wildwood Film Festival in Appleton.
’83 Raymond Leaf (LS), of Pine Island, Minn., is the director of sales and marketing at VACAVA Inc., a leading-edge business software development company headquartered in Rochester, Minn. He is responsible for the development and deployment of sales and marketing operations worldwide.
’84 Patrick Durkin (LS), of Waupaca, is an award-winning, free-lance newspaper columnist, general outdoors reporter, and hi-tech police/military writer. He was named contributing editor of the Archery Trade Association in September 2001 and writes for national archery and hunting magazines.
’85 Lora Johnas (N), of Canton, Ohio, joined Sacred Heart and St. Joseph’s hospitals as division associate general counsel, after working in the healthcare industry for more than 25 years.
’87 Richard Gruber (LS), of Oshkosh, has been named one of the 26 members on the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WICA) All-Time Wrestling Team. He has not wrestled a collegiate match since 1984, but is still receiving honors for his remarkable career.
’88 Sally Thompson (EHS) has been hired as the varsity girls’ volleyball coach for Menasha High School. She played volleyball as a student at UW Oshkosh.
’92 Janet (Hatcher) Dankert (LS), of San Antonio, Texas, is a proud grandmother of two and is eagerly approaching retirement age with plans to travel.
’93 Jack Heinemann (MBA), director of the Wisconsin Security Research Consortium-a consortium between UW-Madison and small businesses, serves as a member of the Waunakee school board.
’95 Tracy (Johnson) Fuller (LS), of Baraboo, was named Manager of the Year at The Wilderness Hotel & Golf. She has been the marketing manager since 2009.
’95 Jim VandeHei (LS), of Alexandria, Va., is cofounder and executive editor of Politico.com, a nonpartisan news media company covering national politics and the federal government. He got his start in 1993 as the editor of The Brillion News.
’96 Jonathan Burns (B) and ‘06 (MBA) is the manager of engineering operations for Comcast Cable in Manitowoc. He also is the current chair of the United Way Board of Directors and a member of the Wisconsin Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
’96 Kelly Franz (MBA), of Green Bay, was appointed vice chancellor for business and finance at UW-Green Bay. He has had more than 25 years of higher education experience.
’97 William Singleton (LS) is a police officer for the Milwaukee Police Department. He helps oversee the S.T.O.P Program (Students Talking it Over with Police). This program is designed to help create relationships between Milwaukee’s youth and the police.
’98 Tim Jorgensen (B), of New Franken, is among seven players and coaches elected to the College Baseball Hall of Fame. He is a former UW Oshkosh shortstop.
’98 Nicole (Chaloupka) Ledvina (B), of Mishicot, was promoted from human resource manager to human resource director for the Green Bay Packers.
’98 Wendy Wangerin (EHS), of Coachella, Calif., was selected to the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s All-Time Team. She played basketball for the Titans from 1993 to 1996.
’01 Ryan Gebhart (B), of St. Cloud, Wis., was promoted to vice president at National Exchange Bank & Trust. He is located in the Mt. Calvary office.
’04 Jennifer (Chitwood) Anfinson (LS) was promoted to sergeant with the Horicon Police Department. She has been with the department since 2004 and is working towards her master’s degree in criminal justice from UW-Platteville.
’04 Jana Hoglund (LS) of Brooklyn, N.Y., is the assistant sound designer for the touring production of “Million Dollar Quartet,” which encompasses the personalities and potential of Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis.
’04 Karri Klemm (B), of Fond du Lac, is the marketing coordinator at National Exchange Bank & Trust in the Fond du Lac office. She coordinates efforts in advertising, consumer education, promotional materials and the Bankers Promoting Financial Literacy program.
’04 Chris Potratz (LS) received his doctorate in chemistry from The Ohio State University and is teaching at Jacksonville University in Florida.
’05 Tammery Perry (MSN), of Rhinelander, provides medical care for all ages, including an emphasis on cancer screening, early detection and prevention at Ministry Health Care as part of the Crandon clinic.
’05 Elizabeth Mayes-Philipp (LS), of Oshkosh, received her master’s in healthcare administration from Ashford University and is seeking opportunities in the Fox Valley.
’05 Lacey (Billington) Wendorff (B), of Lomira, works for Kondex Corporation as an accountant in the finance department.
’07 Thomas Bishop (LS) has been promoted from patrol officer to police chief for the Kewaskum Police Department.
’08 Annie Murphy (B), of Neenah, was promoted to senior financial analyst at Menasha Packaging. She joined the company in 2008 and was most recently risk management/financial analyst for the corporate office.
’10 Leslie Feaman (B), of Waukesha, is a part owner and manager of Integrated Payroll Services Inc., a business that she and her family started in 2010. The company provides payroll processing options to small- and medium-sized businesses nationwide.
’10 Kurt Johnson (B), of Green Bay, is the director of program development at Clarity Care. He is responsible for the development and operations of the Chance program for disabled adults and the Imagine program for teens aged 14-21.
’10 Amanda Munger (LS), of East Dubuque, Ill., won first place for lighter columns in the 2011 North Carolina Press Association Editorial and Photojournalism Contest. It was an entry of three columns in “The Robesonian” in Lumberton, N.C.
ABBREVIATION KEY
COLLEGES
• AAS — Associate of Arts and Science Degree
• B — Business
• CNL— Center for New Learning
• EHS — Education and Human Services
• LS — Letters and Science
• N — Nursing
GRADUATE DEGREES
• GMBA — Global Master of Business Administration
• MA — Master of Arts
• MBA— Master of Business Administration
• MPA — Master of Public Administration
• MS — Master of Science
• MSE — Master of Science in Education
• MSN — Master of Science in Nursing
• MST — Master of Science in Teaching
• MSW — Master of Social Work
Send items for future Class Notes.