1975
Stephen D. Locke, BBA, now owns and operates a tax service in Fort Worth, where he not only prepares tax returns, but also performs tax resolution services such as filing delinquent returns, filing amendments, releasing liens, levies, and negotiating installment agreements and offers in compromise. As an Enrolled Agent, Locke has the authority to represent taxpayers before the IRS, the same authority as attorneys and CPAs. Locke was previously a revenue agent with the IRS for over 20 years.
1978
M. Jay Allison, BBA, MS, JD, was named 2009 Entrepreneur of the Year in the Energy, Mining and Chemical category by Ernst & Young. Allison serves as CEO of Comstock Resources, an independent energy company engaged in the acquisition, development, production, and exploration of oil and natural gas properties.
1980
Ed Bratton, BBA, has been named president and CEO of ViewPoint Bankers Mortgage, a mortgage subsidiary of ViewPoint Bank. Bratton joins ViewPoint Bankers Mortgage after more than 20 years at Chase Mortgage, where he served as regional vice president for Texas and other western states. Bratton has also served as past president of the Dallas Mortgage Bankers Association and past board chair for the Dallas Summer Musicals. He is also a graduate of Leadership Dallas.
Mark Stone, BBA, joined Safety-Kleen Systems, Inc. in August 2009 as senior vice president and chief information officer. Stone served as senior vice president and chief information officer of Zale Corporation from May 2005 to February 2009. Stone was with Zale Corporation for 14 years and worked in IT, planning, database marketing, and distribution. Prior to working at Zale Corporation, he served as the director of financial operations for the Resolution Trust Corporation. Stone is a Certified Public Accountant and also holds a master’s in Divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary (2007).
1981
Jerry Elliott, BBA, JD, has been named CFO and chief administrative officer for The Weather Channel Companies (TWCC). In this newly created role, Elliott will have overall responsibility for the company’s finance, legal, administrative and human resources functions. He will be based at the company’s Atlanta headquarters and report to Michael J. Kelly, CEO of TWCC. Elliott was formerly CFO of London-based Virgin Media.
Roland Garcia, BBA, a shareholder and member of the management group in the Houston office of Greenberg Traurig, has been re-appointed to serve a two-year term on the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority Board of Directors. The Harris County-Houston Sports Authority, the “Sports Authority,” is a political subdivision of the city of Houston, Harris County and the State of Texas, created for the purposes of planning, acquiring, establishing, developing, constructing and renovating sports and community venue projects and related infrastructure. The Sports Authority has developed and constructed three state-of-the-art facilities in Houston including Minute Maid Park, home of the Astros; Reliant Stadium, home of the Texans; and Toyota Center, home of the Rockets.
John George, BBA, and Deborah Inge George, BBA, are expanding their Waco, Texas-based business, Award Specialties, by opening an additional store in Harker Heights, Texas, at 420 E. FM 2410, Ste. 106. Their son, Michael George, BBA ’08, will be managing the new store. Award Specialties offers trophies, plaques, glass and acrylic awards, engraving services, gifts and accessories.www.awardspecialtiesinc.com.
1982
David E. Fuller, BBA, MBA, was named to the 2009 list of “100 Most Influential People in Finance” by Treasury & Risk magazine. Fuller serves as head of core commercial executive and treasury and payment solutions division for SunTrust. Fuller helped launch Enterprise Spend Platform, a commercial card management solution that gives organizations greater control over compliance and spending on travel and entertainment, procurement and payables. He has led the effort to bring all business clients onto one online platform.
1984
Jennie McClaren, BBA, has been promoted to Life Care Centers of America’s senior vice president of human resources. She previously served as vice president of people development. Life Care, a Cleveland, Tenn.-based company, operates more than 220 nursing, subacute and Alzheimer’s centers in 28 states.
1985
William J. Miller, BBA, has been appointed senior vice president of strategic partnerships at Travelong, a multi-national company offering travel management, online travel bookings, and technology development for the travel industry.
1986
Doyle R. Simons, BBA, has been selected as the 2009 RISI North American CEO of the Year. RISI is a leading information provider for the global forest products industry. Each year, RISI surveys investment analysts and portfolio managers to make nominations for the award based on such criteria as leadership, vision and company performance. Simons serves as chairman and CEO of Temple-Inland, a low-cost, highly efficient manufacturing company focused on corrugated packaging and building products.
1988
Scott Rule, BBA, was named vice president of planning and analysis for JPS Health Network. Rule previously was associate general counsel for Think Cash Inc. in Fort Worth, and he has also served as associate general counsel for State National Companies in Fort Worth.
1991
Christopher Stratton, BBA, has been appointed chief financial officer for Vertex Energy, Inc., a leader in the aggregation, recycling and processing of distressed hydrocarbon streams in the United States.
Jeff Rose, BBA, the third-ranking member of the Texas Attorney General’s Office, was named by Gov. Rick Perry as a Travis County district civil court judge. As Attorney General Greg Abbott’s deputy first assistant for the past three years, Rose helped manage the 4,200-employee agency and oversaw the consumer protection and public health divisions. Rose joined the agency in 2003 as chief of civil litigation.
1993
George Gaston, BBA, was named a 2009 “Up and Comer” by Modern Healthcare Magazine. Gaston serves as CEO of Memorial Hermann Southeast Hospital in Houston.
1994
Temple H. Weiss, BBA, was named to Dallas Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 List, which recognizes young executives in the Dallas-area who have achieved significant business success. Weiss serves as executive vice president and CFO of LQ Management, LLC (La Quinta Inns & Suites).
1996
Scott Thacker, BBA, MBA, was promoted to director of finance at Dell Financial Services (DFS). Thacker has had multiple roles in his eight years at DFS including head of corporate planning and controller for the consumer business unit.
2001
Chris Collins, BBA, CLU, ChFC, CFP, was honored at the Northwestern Mutual Forum held in Scottsdale, Ariz., for his outstanding year of service, serving the needs of clients throughout his region. With this recognition, Collins joins a distinguished group of representatives across the country who have qualified for this honor. He is a representative with The Texas Financial Group-Dallas, based in Addison, Texas.
Brett Gardner, MBA, has been named director of sales and marketing for Becker Avionics, the U.S. subsidiary of Becker Flugfunk GmbH, an avionics technology leader. Gardner previously served in the rank of a Major on voluntary assignment as an Army Reserve Company Commander with the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command in Colorado Springs, Colo.
2003
Dr. Roland Goertz, MBA, family physician in Waco, Texas, has been chosen president-elect of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). Previously, he served three years as a member of the AAFP Board of Directors. The AAFP represents more than 94,600 physicians and medical students nationwide. Goertz was elected to the position by the Congress of Delegates, the AAFP’s governing body, during the organization’s annual meeting in Boston.
2008
Kevin Henry, BBA, and MBA candidate, has founded Pangea Bottles, a social business venture that produces and sells stainless steel water bottles. The concept is simple: for every bottle sold, Pangea is giving someone in a developing nation clean water for four years. A portion of the revenue from each bottle goes toward drilling water wells in villages around the world. The company is currently partnering with Living Water International, a Houston-based nonprofit who organizes the clean water projects and drills water wells in the countries.www.pangeabottles.com.
Baylor Business Review, Spring 2010