News

Dean Flemming, PhD (’75), MNU professor of New Testament, published a book with Lexham Press titled, “Self-Giving Love: The Book of Philippians.” Part of the Transformative Word series, intended as a resource for personal or small group Bible study, Sunday School teaching, and preaching.

LeRoy “Lee” Hammerstrom (’78) retired in May 2020 after serving 40 years as a mathematics professor at Eastern Nazarene College, where he was granted professor emeritus status. He and his wife, Lorie, live in Hingham, Massachusetts.

Joyce (Mitchell ’80) Hobbs retired after nearly 40 years with Southwest Airlines. During her career, she was a customer service agent and worked in the marketing department before being promoted to a national sales manager covering the Midwest.

Rev. Candice Wiley (’80) is the senior pastor of Carrollton Church of the Nazarene, Carrollton, Missouri.

Tammie Jo (Bonnell ’83) Shults was inducted into the International Space & Air Hall of Fame in San Diego for her heroics in landing Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 after the aircraft sustained severe damage. Tammie Jo has leveraged her experience to share her faith with audiences around the world.

Ty Lasher (’86) received the 2020 Buford M. Watson, Jr. Award for Excellence in Public Management from the Kansas Association of City/County Management for his service to the citizens of Bel Aire, Kansas, as their city manager.

Chad Garinger (’95) Pastor of Sciotoville Church of the Nazarene says their compassionate ministry, The Potter’s House, was able to distribute 800 tons (more than double from last year) of food to those in need in their Ohio county. Read more on Nazarene.org/article/ohio-church-doubles-yearly-food-distribution-amid-pandemic.

Mike Birge (’97) was promoted to senior analyst – marketing at T-Mobile after the company’s merger with Sprint.

Troy Edwards (’98) started a new position at RE/MAX, where he is the infrastructure technical lead in the Denver metro area.

Duane Close II (’99) retired from the United States Navy with the rank of commander. He is now a first-year law student at Regent University School of Law.

Kelley (Letts ’00) Denham is a children’s clinician at Johnson County Mental Health Agency.

Matt Rice (’00) led his DeSoto High School boy’s basketball team to a third-place finish at the Kansas 5A State Tournament. Matt was also selected Coach of the Year for the United Kansas Conference.

Steven Vaughan (’00) is now the project manager at B&C Mechanical Services in Kansas City.

Marcos Barbosa (’01) was recently featured in the organizational newsletter for Leadership Council on Legal Diversity in Kansas City.

Sherry (Norsworthy ’03) Elder was recently promoted to staff software engineer at Garmin International in Olathe, Kansas, where she has worked since 2003.

John Miles (’03) is now an insurance adjuster with the Independent Insurance Agency of Texas.

Chris Gilbreth (MHR ’05) was hired as a medical laboratory scientist with Amazon.

Robert Laughter (’08) was recently promoted to manager/marketing specialist for web strategy at Cerner Corporation.

Jennifer Rieck (’08) is now the equipment control manager for Intermodal and Automotive Operations at Kansas City Southern Railway in Gardner, Kansas.

Andrew Davey (MHR ’09) is now the vice president at Jericho Home Improvements.

Lucas Rodriguez (’09) is now the assistant coach/video analyst for the Kansas City Club of the National Women’s Soccer League. Lucas recently retired from playing with the Kansas City Comets after nine seasons.

Tyler Vaughan (MHR ’09) was promoted to department vice president, large group sales at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City.

Micah Klinger (’11) was promoted to store manager at Big O Tires.

Montez Willis (’12) is now a sales executive at JB Hunt Transport Services.

Alayna Chipman (’13) was promoted to vice president, commercial lending at ANB Bank in Overland Park, Kansas.

Gordon Wetmore III (’13) was one of three referees to receive Referee of the Year awards from the All-Kansas High School Soccer Coaches for KSHSAA Fall 2020 Boys Soccer Season.

Colin Starr (’13) recently received his certified financial planner certificate. Colin is a financial advisor at Northwestern Mutual in Kansas City.

Kennedy Conner, RN (’14) became a traveling nurse in summer 2020 to help in COVID-19 hotspots. Her story is told in her hometown newspaper, the Liberal, Kansas First.

Asa Bunnett (’15) is now a software test engineer at Retail Software Solutions Group in Kansas City.

Russell Love (’15) added a new role. He is an adjunct professor at Park University in Kansas City.

Rachel Ukena, LMSW (MSM ’15) is now a mental health therapist at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs in
Des Moines, Iowa.

Abby Felter (’16) graduated from George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC, and was hired by Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville PC, one of the top law firms in the U.S. She serves in the firm’s education practice.

Andrew Sexton-Chavoya (’16) was promoted to senior escalation associate at Acorns, a leading micro-investing company based in Irvine, California.

Britney Lewis (’16) had her young-adult manuscript, “The Undead Truth of Us,” picked up by Disney-Hyperion as part of a two-book deal. The book is expected to hit the market in Summer 2022.

Felipe Abreu (’17) was recently signed as a member of the Kansas City Comets of the North American Soccer League. He will play forward. Felipe is currently the league director with the KC Legends Soccer Club.

Jonathan Babcock (’17) was promoted to project manager at Forsyth Advisors, where he has worked since January 2019.

Alexis Gonzalez (’17) is at PayIt in Kansas City as a marketing & communications content specialist.

Michelle Holland (AOL ’17) earned her Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry from Northwest Nazarene University.

Lydia Reyes (’17, MAC ’20) is now the clinical case manager for People Assisting the Homeless (PATH) in San Jose, California. She is also starting a doctoral program at California Southern University.

Juan Pablo Riesco (’17) was promoted to reporting analyst with DH Pace in Olathe.

Addison Lucchi (MBA ’19) received the KLA Young Professional Award from the Kansas Library Association. Addison is MNU’s instructional and research librarian and is currently pursuing a PhD in educational leadership and English at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Daniel Hendricks (’19) is an ensign in the United States Navy currently stationed in San Diego.

Sam Parrish (’19) was accepted into the graduate program for occupational therapy at Nebraska Methodist Health System in Omaha, Nebraska.

Camry Bradford (’20) is assistant track and field coach at William Chrisman High School in Independence, Missouri. She was the 2020 NAIA national indoor champion in the 60-meter hurdles for MNU.

Chloe Smith (’20) was accepted into the graduate program for school counseling at Kansas State University.