Class notes, summer 2024

Alumni, we want to hear what you’ve been doing. Mail career, wedding, birth, and death news to Class Notes, Virginia Tech Alumni Association, Holtzman Alumni Center, 901 Prices Fork Road, Blacksburg, VA 24061; email the news to classnotes@vt.edu; or submit the news online, where photos may also be uploaded for consideration.

1972

Carmine T. Somma Jr., Virginia Beach, Va., published his fifth novel, “Last Lap.” 

1973

Martin J. Helsley Jr., Edinburg, Va., who retired from Shenandoah County Public Schools after teaching middle school for 32 years and who presently operates a century beef farm, completed a term on the Shenandoah County School Board, serving from 2020-23. He served on the Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors from 1979-83. 

Elva E. Tillman, Catonsville, Md., was inducted into the Monumental City Bar Association of the Baltimore City Hall of Fame for outstanding legal work in government and nonprofit pro bono organizations in June 2023. In November 2023, she received the Maryland Legal Service Corporation Arthur W. Machen Jr. Award, which is presented to a judge or lawyer who has demonstrated extraordinary commitment to increasing access to justice and improving civil legal service delivery to low-income Marylanders.

1978

Christopher E. Mandel, College Grove, Tenn., was promoted to assistant professor of practice at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and published his first journal article for the Journal of Risk Management in Financial Institutions, “Risk Appetite: A Crucial Consideration for Effective Board Risk Oversight.”

1979

Wedding: Thomas Nelson Lusk and Cynthia Sloane Croft ’82, Boones Mill, Va., 6/24/23.

1980

W. Chris Wilds, Tucson, Ariz., retired as a B767 captain after 34 years of flying for Delta Airlines. 

1983

Martin A. Payne, Portsmouth, Va., is on the academic faculty at Riverside Regional Medical Center’s Emergency Medicine Residency. 

H. Wayne Carter III, Chase City, Va., retired as the county administrator of Mecklenburg County. He worked for Mecklenburg County for almost 35 years, serving as county administrator for nearly 20 years. 

1985

Catherine Bazel Barclay, Crofton, Md., is the acting James Webb Space Telescope project manager.

1986

Kevin C. Keating was selected as senior vice president for the National Systems Group, effective Jan. 1, following a long and distinguished career in the intelligence community at the National Reconnaissance Office and most recently at the Central Intelligence Agency Directorate of Science and Technology. 

1989

Lynda M. Allen, Manassas, Va., published a novel, “Flashes of Insight.”

1990

Michael P. Maxwell, Hartland, Wis., was appointed by the chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court to serve on the Commercial Court. Maxwell is the presiding judge of Branch 8 in Waukesha County.

1992

Mark C. Popovich, Troutville, Va., was promoted to principal/partner at Guynn Waddell, in Salem, Va.

1993

Kristine E. Vick, Wilmington, N.C., was named editorial manager for the Office of University Relations at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She will guide editorial strategy and support for the university's print and digital platforms. 

1994

Jill L. Vaughan, Henrico, Va., owner of JLV Communications, received an Excellence in Public Relations Award, which recognizes the extraordinary achievements of seasoned professionals in the Richmond region. 

Jennifer G. Bird, Roanoke, Va., has written three books: “Marriage in the Bible: What Do the Texts Say?” in 2023, “Permission Granted: Take the Bible into Your Own Hands” in 2015, and “Abuse, Power and Fearful Obedience: Reconsidering 1 Peter's Commands to Wives” in 2011.

2001

Daniel E. Ruby, Chesapeake, Va., was named a shareholder of Timmons Group. 

2005

Paul N. Bowles III, Park Ridge, N.J., was named to Billboard Magazine's 2024 Top Music Lawyers list. 

2006

LaTron S. Brown, Salem, Va., was named to Roanoke's 40 Under 40.

2007

Andrew C. Goolsby, Durham, N.C., received the AIA Young Architects Award for 2024.

Jonathan B. Murray, Richmond, Va., was named a shareholder of Timmons Group.

2008

Andrew M. Lantz, Virginia Beach, Va., co-owner of Restorative Therapy Co. in Virginia Beach, has written a book, “The Purposeful Present” under the pen name L.M. Andrews, that delves into the practical application of mindfulness in daily life.

Manisha P. Patel, Greensboro, N.C., earned the Legal Elite distinction as published by Business North Carolina magazine. 

2009

Kristy J. High, West Chester, Ohio, is a literacy coordinator who oversees the Imagination Library of Ohio and Reach Out and Read programs at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. She has published seven children’s books and is vice president of the board of Winn Reading, a nonprofit organization that helps emergent readers in Cincinnati.

Children: Kathleen B. O'Brien, St. Louis, Mo., a daughter, 5/11/23. 

2013

Zachary A. Kristofek, West Hollywood, Calif., recently produced “Red Right Hand,” a film starring Orlando Bloom and Andie MacDowell that premiered in February. 

2014

Jeffrey M. Britt, Henrico, Va., was appointed senior vice president and chief government affairs officer by YMCA of the USA.

Joshua T. Smith, Dallas, Texas, a Bell Nunnally attorney, was named to the Texas Rising Stars list and to the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America 2024.

2015

Wedding: Ryan Burns and Lisa M. Hemphill Burns ’16, Arlington, Va., 7/1/23. 

2018

Harrison L. Talton, Richmond, Va., was named the 2023 TAPPI Young Professional of the Year Award in the pulp and paper industry for contributions to the recyclability of consumer packaging.

2019

Wedding: Leah R. Schwartz and Stephen E. Russell ’20, Glen Allen, Va., 5/4/24. 

2021

Gillian R. Barth, Vienna, Va., has been promoted to associate production editor at Amplify Publishing Group.