Class Notes

Cheryl Wood* (’77 phys. ed.) will be returning to the classroom and will be teaching second grade this fall. Cheryl lives in Austin, Texas.

William I. Griffith* (’70 civil engr., ’72 MS engr. mech.) is the Democratic candidate for South Carolina’s 4th congressional seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. William lives in Greenville, S.C.

Cynthia L. Nielsen** (’79 ed./hum. sci) is currently living in Houghton, Mich., and is now the K-5 Learning Disabilities elementary resource room teacher at Barkell Elementary School in Hancock, Mich. This fall Cynthia began her ninth year teaching special education students in Hancock, Mich.

Debra J. (Betz) Ciskey* (’79 English) received an M.A. degree in organizational management from the University of Phoenix in July 2006. Debra lives in Normal, Ill.

Diana (Lanham) McElroy** (’77 home ec. ed.) received an MBA from the University of Iowa in December 2005. Diana is a consumer affairs manager for Tone’s Spices in Des Moines, Iowa, and lives in Johnston, Iowa.

Joan Waters** (’76 pol. sci.) recently accepted a position as the attorney for the Charter Schools Division of the New Mexico Public Education Department.

Jim C. Farrell** (’76 speech comm.) is currently living in Omaha, Neb., and has been with Farmers National Co. for 20 years working in the field as a manager in Minnesota. He later worked as vice president of marketing, and today he is president and CEO. Farmers National is a 20-state farm management and real estate company.

Joseph R. Marconi** (’72 dist. stds.) was recently named to the board of directors of the ALFA International global network of independent law firms. While an ISU student, Joe was a member of the 1971 Sun Bowl football team and was selected to the All-Big 8 Academic Football Team. Joe lives in Chicago, Ill.

Diane Henson* (’76 econ.) was elected to a six-year term on the Texas 3rd Court of Appeals. Diane was the only Democrat to win a contested appellate court race in the entire state of Texas. Diane lives in Austin, Texas.

Amy Beth (Sickels) Osborn* (’89 biology) and her husband, Tim Osborn, celebrated the birth of their daughter, Sabrina, in March 2006. They also have a 3-year-old son, Evan. Amy Beth and her family reside in Cypress, Texas.

Mark Schoeberl** (’88 pol. sci.) has been named the new executive vice president of advocacy for the American Heart Association. Mark lives in Plano, Texas.

Susan (Simmons) Hanke** (’87 mktg.) is the new assistant vice president of product marketing for American Republic Insurance Co. Susan lives in Clive, Iowa.

Bill Gahan** (’82 const. engr.) has been promoted to president of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc., Midwest division, headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. Bill is a 24-year veteran of Martin Marietta currently serving as the vice president/general manager of the Iowa region. As president of the Midwest division, he will be responsible for all operations in the states of Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Bill lives in Clive, Iowa.

Steven Ahlers** (’84 trans./log.) has accepted a new position with Performance Food Group as vice president of operations in the southeast region. Steven lives in Antioch, Tenn.

Mark Thedens** (’83 mech. engr.) has accepted a job with Musco Lighting as the manufacturing engineering manager in Muscatine, Iowa, where he currently resides.

Mark Nobbe** (’85 indus. engr.) is moving to Houston, Texas due to a job transfer. Mark received his master’s degree with honors from Webster University in December of 2004. He studied Information Systems and Resource management.

Donna (Evans) Gnidovic** (’83 mktg.) was recently promoted to national account executive for the newly-formed Chicago Sun-Times news group. The group of papers includes the Chicago Sun-Times, Pioneer Press, Joliet Herald News, Daily Southtown, Gary Post Tribune, and others. Donna lives in Chicago, Ill.

Steven C. Allgood** (’83 dist. stds.) was promoted to the rank of Colonel in the Army Reserve Medical Corps. Steven lives in Mason City, Iowa.

Michael Shuba** (’82 const. engr.) has been named vice president of MJ Electric, Inc., an electrical specialty contractor. Michael and his family will be relocating to the Chicago, Ill., area.

Julie Gethmann** (’82 gen. stds. fam. con. sci.) is employed by QCI in Des Moines, Iowa. She is the senior consultant – business solutions, working with business software and systems (ERP) consultation, implementation and training. Julie writes that her oldest son, Dustin Iverson, just transferred from Arizona State to Iowa State. Julie lives in Ankeny, Iowa.

Todd Kruse** (’89 econ. & pol. sci.) married Jaleh Nahvi on Nov. 11, 2006. They live in Apple Valley, Minn. Jaleh is a graduate of the University of Minnesota.

Nate Clayberg** (’97 journalism) and wife, Kelly (Zieser) Clayberg** (’99 dairy sci.) welcomed their second child, Daniel Paul, on July 1, 2006. He joins 4-year-old-sister Rachel Ames. Nate was recently promoted to assistant athletic director for marketing and promotions at the University of Northern Iowa, and Kelly is a perfusionist for Cedar Valley Medical Specialists at Allen Hospital in Waterloo, Iowa. The family resides outside of Independence, Iowa.

Erika Thiem** (’94 chem. engr.) writes that she will complete an MBA degree in April 2007 and is excited to put this knowledge to work, along with 13 years of leadership experience with General Mills and many volunteer and NFP organizations. Erika has received board training through United Way “Boardwalk” program and is also excited to get involved with the ISU Alumni Association Board. Erika lives in Joplin, Mo.

Jason Nielsen** (’94 math) is an assistant professor of physics at the University of California, Santa Cruz. His research group at the Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics studies the properties of elementary particles in high-energy collisions. He and his wife, Stephanie, live in Santa Cruz.

Scott L. Andresen** (’95 history) married Melissa L. Kauffman in Long Beach, Calif., on July 2, 2006. Scott’s boutonniere was cardinal and gold. Scott and Melissa went to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for their honeymoon. Scott is a project manager in corporate communications for Southern California Edison, and Melissa is the editorial co-director for the BowTie, Inc. The couple resides in Orange, Calif., with a dog, Sprey, two cockatiels, Natty and Carlisle, and a guinea pig, Roxy.