Christine Doyen Kruse, class of 1975, passed away Tuesday evening, September 3, 2013, at St. John’s Hospice, Springfield, IL. The visitation will be held at the Hurley Funeral Home in Petersburg, IL, on Friday, September 6, 5 – 7 p.m. The funeral will be held at the Salem Lutheran Church, Chandlerville, IL, on Saturday, September 7, 10 a.m. The obituary can be seen either on the funeral home’ website, or in the State Journal Register, Springfield, IL.
On July 17, over 2,500 alumni and friends made gifts to IWU totaling over $450,000. Unless otherwise specified by donors, all the money raised went to student scholarships and financial aid. The “All in for Wesleyan” challenge began when Illinois Wesleyan Trustee John Horton ’82 and his wife, Joann, offered a gift of $100,000 if alumni and friends could raise $50,000 in one day. When that challenge was met, several more challenges followed — and each was fulfilled. Howard ’60 and Sharon ’60 Fricke offered a $10,000 gift if 600 donors participated. Ed ’62 and Lin Phelps then offered $25,000 for 1,000 total donors. Korey ’00 and Heidi Coon offered a $15,000 challenge for 1,200 donors. Dr. Mike Sombeck ’83 offered $25,000 if we could reach 1,500. Finally, at the end of the day, Dr. Randy ’73 & Jodie Reed offered $25,000 and Ed ’62 & Lin Phelps added $10,000 more to match every new gift, dollar for dollar…up to a total of $35,000 in gifts before midnight.
It was an exciting day to be a Titan. The challenge became about so much more than numbers and dollars and donors. It provided our alumni and friends with a chance to share their pride and explain how much IWU means to them. If you weren’t following these conversations on social media, you can click here to read them now. THANK YOU to all of our loyal alumni and friends who made July 17 an incredible day for our school and our students.
Seven-time NBA All-Star Jack Sikma is branching out into the business realm of basketball with Intrepid Sportswear.
Message from Ann Harding, Director of Alumni Relations
Thank you for reading and contributing to your class newsletter. What a great way to build class loyalty and to stay connected. Reading about each other is great, but coming back to homecoming is the BEST way to reconnect with IWU.
This year, homecoming is October 11-13. You will be receiving the homecoming brochure in the mail very soon. Plus you can review all the details and get yourself registered on titanpride.org
Our theme this year is A Class Act. I think you’ll see that everything we have planned this year will offer you a fun filled weekend with most activities free for everyone!! Class years ending in 3 and 8 are reunion years.
Besides registering for homecoming; I have one more request of you. I would like each of our 565 incoming first year students to have a welcome letter in their mail box when they arrive on August 20. Would you please write a note and send it to me at 1001 N. Main St., Bloomington, IL 61702-2900? Offer this new Titan a piece of advice, something to look for on campus or in the Bloomington Normal community or a fond memory you had of your first semester on campus. Be sure to sign it! If you’re able, please make several copies of your letter. I need 565 letters!!!
Lastly, thanks to all of you who made a gift to IWU this year. I’m sure you have read President Wilson’s messages about the increased need for financial aid to attract the best and the brightest to fill our classes. Without your generous support to the Wesleyan Fund, we will lose young people who really want to be a Titan, but need more help, financially.
My best~
Ann
ST. LOUIS – Armstrong Teasdale’s equity partners have reelected Michael A. Chivell to serve a three-year term as managing partner, a position he has held since 2007. In his role as managing partner, Chivell heads the firm’s team of more than 500 lawyers and staff members across eight offices in the United States and Shanghai, China. An experienced corporate finance and real estate attorney, Chivell is listed in The Best Lawyers in America in real estate law and Missouri/Kansas Super Lawyers. He received his J.D. from the University of Iowa School of Law and B.A. from Illinois Wesleyan University.
Janet Hamm, of Jacksonville, IL and her mother recently resurrected the Morgan County Republican Women’s Club. The group had been inactive for more than a decade. Encouraging people, especially those who vote, to seek out more information about current political issues is one purpose of the group, said Hamm, though a more important goal is compelling voters to action. “Our goal is to get people informed and active in voting,” she said. “I want more people to realize that you can’t just sit back and say, ‘I’m apolitical, I don’t want to get involved.’ It is crucial that people listen and get informed and get involved.”
Ham was a student at Illinois Wesleyan University when she first read the novels of Libertarian icon Ayn Rand and was inspired to consider her own political convictions.
Karen Zander, principal and co-owner of The Center for Case Management, was the keynote speaker at a Care Management workshop on July 10 at University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers.
Wayne Messmer’s voice has been proudly associated with the National Anthem in Chicago for over thirty years. Messmer, known as “The Voice of Wrigley Field,” is the public address announcer for the Chicago Cubs. He sings The Star-Spangled Banner before Cubs games. He also has sung as the featured vocalist for the Chicago Wolves, Chicago Sting, Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Bears, and Chicago Bulls.
Messmer was one of four people inducted into the 2010 Signature Sinfonian class of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, which is the oldest and largest music fraternity for men, recognizes alumni members who have achieved a high standard of accomplishment in their field or profession.
Wayne Messmer’s newest CD Release is So Lucky To Be Loving You.
Frankie Faison is the only actor to appear in all four Hannibal Lector films (with the exception of Hannibal Rising (2007)): Manhunter (1986) as Lt. Fiske, and The Silence of the Lambs(1991), Hannibal (2001) and Red Dragon (2002) as Barney the Orderly.
Was nominated for Broadway’s 1987 Tony Award as Best Actor (Featured Role – Play) for August Wilson’s “Fences.”
Frankie Faison is known for The Silence of the Lambs(1991), Hannibal (2001), The Wire (2002), and White Chicks (2004), but is currently playing a role in the tv series Banshee.
Illinois Wesleyan sports information director Stew Salowitz has been selected into the Media category of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He is the 26th Illinois Wesleyan graduate to be honored by the IBCA as a player, coach, media or official.
Salowitz has been the sports information director at his alma mater since November 1988, currently handling publicity, statistics and the web presence for the school’s 18 varsity sports.
