1966
John J. Godfrey, B.A., "When I started out, I still wanted to get into TV. It had been a dream of mine since I was 6. Purdue gave me the basics in broadcasting. All the shows that I have done, over 2,900, have almost all been done with computers or computer assisted, except the early years after graduation. I've gone to the mountain top --- meaning I have won two National Emmy Awards. I have attended the NAB convention consecutively for 43 years. Anyway, I'm about to retire --- NOT. I'm still having too much fun playing in the industry that I love --- and getting paid for it, too."

1971
Dr. Blanton Croft, Ph.D., is serving as visiting professor in the Speech Division of the Humanities Department at Hagerstown Community College. He will serve as Critic Judge for finalists in the Virginia State Forensics Championships. This was Dr. Croft's 15th year of providing this community service for tomorrow's speech students! "Keep up the great work at Purdue!!! We graduates really enjoy your newsletters!"

1977
Michael J. Hyde, Ph.D., University Distinguished Professor of Communication Ethics, Wake Forest University, will give the Carroll C. Arnold Distinguished Lecture at the 2007 NCA convention in Chicago. The title of his presentation is: "Perfection, Postmodern Culture, and the Biotechnology Debate."

1978
Kathleen J. Turner, Ph.D., a professor of Communication Studies, has been elected president of the Phi Beta Kappa chapter at Davidson College.

1979
Robin Shaffer Russell, B.A., worked for years in corporate PR. She then stayed home to raise three children -- two of whom are presently in college. So, she decided to return to college. She will graduate in June with a teaching credential and hopes to begin a second career next fall as a middle school teacher and teach future generations to write. "I'm guessing I'll be referring students to Purdue's Online Writing Lab (OWL) for assistance. FYI. Graduate students here in northern California know about it and use it. Isn't that great?"

1981
Jon Nussbaum, Ph.D., selected as the recipient of the Distinction in the Social Sciences Award in the College of the Liberal Arts at the Pennsylvania State University.

1983
Betsy Wiersma, B.A., will again host the CampExperience women's luxury educational retreat. This year's retreat will be Sept. 26 – 28 at Copper Mountain Resort, Colo. Last year's inaugural event sold out and raised $20,000 for homeless women and children. For information visit www.CampExperience.com or call 720-200-0271.

1984
Laurie Tritsch Hawes, B.A., CMP, was recently promoted to Director, Corporate Events for the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative, located in Herndon, Va. Corporate events at NRTC handles about 30-40 meetings a year all over the country.

1985

Clyde Bodkin, B.A., President of Bodkin Associates, received the 2006 Outstanding Asian Business Award, presented by the Asian American Alliance of Indianapolis. Bodkin Associates demonstrated corporate and philanthropic leadership in the minority business community by assisting many not-for-profit organizations, including the Asian American Alliance, Indianapolis Black Chamber of Commerce, Center for Leadership Development, Indianapolis Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and others.

1986
Jeff Atwood, B.A., just had a new children's book published by Simon & Schuster. "Our Big, Big God" was released in January 2007 and is available now. "Our Big, Big God" was illustrated by Renee Graef, who also illustrated the recent "Little House on the Prairie." For more details you can check www.jeffatwood.com.

1987
Anthony (Tony) Miner, B.A., is now the Headmaster at The King's Academy, a Christian K-12 school, in Jonesboro, Ind. He functions as school administrator, pastor, and performs other functions in the school.

1988
J. Michael Taylor, B.A., recently took a position with Prairie Quest Consulting in Indianapolis, writing documentation for various departments of homeland security throughout Indiana.

1989
Twanda DeBorde (Duncan), B.A., her search firm CMD and Associates Executive Search has been accepted as a "Preferred Member" of Top Echelon Network Inc., the largest and most prestigious network of independent executive and technical firms. She has over 1,500 search partners all over the country, which will enable her to move her business to the next level. Since 2000, she has enjoyed meeting and helping Purdue graduates all over the country with their job search. "It's always fun to see a resume with my alma mater on it. They always go to the top of my list because I know I'm getting quality!" As a part of her growth, she has also updated her firm's brand by creating a new logo and Web site at www.cmdandassociates.com.

Liz Yamamoto, B.A., and David Wentworth announce the birth of their son, Palmer Yasuo Wentworth. Palmer was born Oct. 30 and weighed 6 pounds, 5 ounces and was 19 inches long. Liz is the vice president for news proposals at ABC Television Network.

Julie A. Preneta, B.A., in November 2006, completed her MBA at Colorado Technical University. This marked the end of her three-year assignment as first the Office Manager and later the Assistant Project Manager on an Ordnance & Explosives Action and Supporting Functions project in Kamuela, Hawaii. Her company, American Technologies Inc., has just appointed her Contracts Manager for their environmental division. The company is looking forward to the opening of its new office in Las Vegas, Nev., later this spring.

1992
Howard Joyce, B.A., and wife Jennifer Cabalquinto had a son on Jan. 21, 2007, in Burbank, Calif. His name is Jack William Cabalquinto Joyce, and he weighed in at 5 lbs, 13 oz. and was 19.5 inches long. Joyce is a partner in Navint Consulting LLC in Torrance, Calif.

Taaron Meyers, B.A., in January, was elected the 77th president of the Indiana Junior Chamber for 2007. The Junior Chamber or 'Jaycees' is a non-profit organization, created for young people ages 18-41 focused on leadership development through professional training and community service projects. The Indiana Jaycees have over 800 members in the state and are part of the United States Junior Chamber and Junior Chamber International. To see how you can become involved check out www.usjaycees.org.

1993
Patricia Amason, Ph.D., has been elected Vice President-Elect for the Southern States Communication Association.

Melanie Doupe Gaiser, B.A., will graduate this May with a Master's of Public Health from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. She has been accepted as a Ph.D. student at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., and continues to work as a news anchor for WBZ Radio, a CBS owned and operated station in Boston. Melanie was awarded the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship last year and is wrapping up the year-long experience now. She and her husband will celebrate their 12th wedding anniversary in May.

1994
Keith H. Dewey, M.A. (B.A., 1992), lost his beloved wife, Eileen Frances Kerns Dewey, 37, of Lawrenceville, N.J., on Aug. 18, 2006, after a long battle with inflammatory breast cancer. Eileen Dewey, also a Purdue alumna, was an avid supporter of organizations working to fight breast cancer, including the YWCA Princeton and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, as well as that organization's annual "Race For The Cure." Eileen and Keith recently established The Dewey Family Fund for Community Service at Corning Community College in Corning, N.Y., where Keith did his Associate of Arts, to encourage faculty and student involvement in community service. Contributions in Eileen's memory may be made to the Eileen Frances Kerns Dewey Memorial Scholarship at the Immaculate Conception Academy (ICA) at 3625 24th Street, San Francisco, CA 94110, or to The Dewey Family Fund for Community Service at Corning Community College (CCC) at 1 Academic Drive, Corning, NY 14830. ICA can also be reached at (415) 824-2052 and CCC at (607) 962-9222.

Did you know you can now donate to the department online? Simply go to the new Purdue e-gift Web site, click on make a gift, and choose "other" from the dropdown menu. Then, type "Communication Department" in the text box and complete the transaction. It only takes a few minutes!!!

1995
Alyse (Holzhausen) Vordermark, B.A., and her husband, Ric, had their second child, Ava Evelyn, on Feb. 12, 2007, in Portland, Ore.

Ellen Chang, B.A., is a freelance business writer residing in Houston. Her clients include Mergermarket, a division of the Financial Times. She is also the founder and president of the Fairy Godmother Project of Houston, a grass roots organization that provides free prom dresses and tuxes to students who cannot afford them.

1996
Angi Hatfield Pechman, B.A., and husband Matt (ND class of '96), and 21-month-old son Will welcomed Max into the world on Nov. 1, 2006.

2000
Jessica N. Willis, B.A., in January was promoted to Senior Account Executive at Ryan Partnership, an interactive marketing agency based in Wilton, Conn.

Melissa (Hurley) Rohlfs, B.A., just returned from an incentive trip to Riviera Maya, Mexico, with celebrity guest, Mario Batali, Iron Chef on the Food Network Channel. Rohlfs was one of 97 independent directors who earned the trip, placing them in the top 1.5 percent nationwide in Taste of Home Entertaining Inc., a new direct sales company focused on entertaining as a lifestyle.

2001
Molly J. Ankney, B.A., has accepted a new position as Director of Development and Communications for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Arizona. She lives in Tucson with daughter Hannah.

2002
Amber Colville, B.A., after leaving Louisiana, due to Hurricane Katrina, she moved back to northwest Indiana. She is currently employed by Valparaiso Community Schools and also teaches dance. She is also engaged to Rob Stegall, Indiana State University '04, and is looking forward to their wedding in the summer of 2008. Go Boilers!!!

Amy Beth Lemire, M.A., accepted a level 4 Learning and Development position with the Boeing Corp. in Everett, Wash.

Swen M. Ervin, B.A., assistant director in the Office of Admissions at Purdue University, was recently admitted to the graduate program in Interpersonal Communication at Purdue. He will begin in fall '07.

Charles Smith, B.A., completed his M.B.A. in 2005 from Purdue University. He recently accepted a promotion at The Times of Northwest Indiana to national/major account executive.

2003
Kelly (Sole) Odom, M.S., 2003, and husband Aaron Odom celebrated the birth of their son, Elliot Baxter Odom, on Jan. 4, 2007.

Lindsay Begley-Roberts, B.A., married Charlie Roberts on Aug. 5, 2006. Both are employed in the athletics department at Purdue University.

2004
Kyle Hjelmeseth, B.A., was promoted to Senior Marketing and Graphics Coordinator of Perkowitz+Ruth Architects in Long Beach, CA., one of nation's largest and most well-known architecture firms. He is very active in the Purdue Alumni Association-L.A.

Laura (Vercler) Lindberg, M.S., married Mark Lindberg of Thomasville, Ga., on Sept. 24, 2006.

Pauline Shiu, B.A., recently accepted a position with Macy's (corporate) and will soon be starting as their Bridal Marketing and Events Manager for the Home Division, based out of New York.

2005
Julie B. Baker, B.A., is one of the top realtors at Keller Williams Realty in the Indianapolis and surrounding areas. Her first year she closed 17 transactions. Her team did $4 million in sales last year.

Brian Edge, B.A., Account Manager for TEKsystems, has been transferred to Scottsdale, Arizona.