William (Bill) Metzger ’86

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William (Bill) Metzger ’86 passed away on June 9th, 2022. Bill graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in business and was a member of the Sigma Pi Fraternity. While at Illinois Wesleyan, he was a four-year letterman of the track team where he ran the high hurdles as well as throwing the javelin. He was chosen and inducted into the Illinois Wesleyan Order of Titans, by the coaching and physical education staff based on athletic contributions, academic accomplishments, and general citizenship.

Rick Bakewell ’87

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Rick Bakewell ’87 was named chief financial officer of Modern Campus, a leading engagement platform for higher education, in March 2022. Rick will lead all Modern Campus’ financial activities. He brings a wealth of experience to the role, including 25 years in the technology and services industries, where he specialized in financial organizational, operational efficiency, financing and capital raising initiatives, and mergers and acquisitions. Rick most recently served as chief financial officer at Benefitexpress, a cloud-based benefits administration technology and human resources services provider. Prior to that, he held senior finance positions at Fruition Partners, NTT Data Americas and the Revere Group. 

Brenda Lessen Knoll ’89

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Illinois Wesleyan Associate Professor of Nursing Brenda Lessen Knoll ’89 published a study in the International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology with colleague Ehsan Naderifar on involving mothers in the assessment of their own preterm infant feeding skills while in the neonatal intensive care unit. The research is the first part of a larger study assessing the effect of Brenda’s Premature Infant Oral Motor Intervention (PIOMI) on early feeding skills scores.

Jennie Seeling ’89

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Jennie Scott ’89 recently accepted the position of Ticket Office & Showroom Manager with Wynn/Encore Las Vegas. In this role, she will oversee all aspects of the Ticket Office operations as well as oversee both the Encore Theater and Wynn Theater. While the Wynn Theater is being completely renovated to prepare for an exciting new Las Vegas Show, she will continue to supervise all shows at Encore including working with artists such as Boy George & Culture Club, Sebastian Maniscalco, Duran Duran, Lionel Richie, Steve Martin, Martin Short and many more. Congratulations Jennie!

Judy (Thomas) Hannan ’80

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Judy (Thomas) Hannan ’80 recently published an article in Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing. The piece, titled “Improving Hypertension Control and Cardiovascular Health: An Urgent Call to Action for Nursing,” “profiles the critical roles for nurses in hypertension control in the form of leadership, education, research, advocacy, and evidence-based care.” Judy currently serves at the CDC as the Senior Advisor for Million Hearts®, a national initiative to prevent one million heart attacks and strokes. You can read her paper here.

Gary Wester

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Gary Wester of Normal, Illinois, died March 15, 2022. He was 74. Gary taught computer science as a member of Illinois Wesleyan’s faculty from 1985-87. He also taught at Waycross (Ga.) College. He earned a master’s degree and doctorate from Western Michigan University. After his teaching career, Gary went on a long and distinguished career with State Farm, from which he retired in 2010 to pursue passions for watercolor and pastel painting. He is survived by his wife, three children, granddaughter, brother, and several nieces and nephews. You can read more here.

Jeff Lockenvitz ’84

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Jeff Lockenvitz ’84 retired as principal of Bloomington District 87’s Washington Elementary School at the conclusion of the 2021-22 academic year. Jeff’s retirement concluded a 37-year career in education, including the past 28 years as principal at Washington, after also student teacing at the school. Replacing him is fellow Titan Zach Freeman ’07, who also completed his student teaching at Washington School, then taught at Washington for 11 years and now will be the school’s 11th principal in the last 125 years.  Zach will start his job for the 2022-23 school year.

Pictured below is Zach and Jeff.

Brian Balestri ’86

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Brian Balestri ’86 is the creator of “Who Said True?!” an online party game played on phones where players secretly answer fun true/false questions about themselves. Players are awarded points for accurately guessing how many other players answered “true.” The game produces fun conversations and stories and is perfect for nights out with friends, family get-togethers, and even Zoom team meetings. Brian left his position as chief technology officer at GrandPad in order to focus full-time on “Who Said True?!”

Check out Who Said True?!’s website at: www.WhoSaidTrue.com

Mario Mancinelli

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Mario Mancinelli of Bloomington, Illinois, died March 15, 2022. He was 99. Mario served as a faculty member in Illinois Wesleyan’s School of Music for 35 years. He was hired in 1948 to teach strings and chamber music, and conduct the student orchestra. He retired in 1983 with emeritus status. Mario attended Ohio State University, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He was also a faculty member at Brevard Music Center for 25 years. He was a member of the American String Teachers Association, American Federation of Musicians, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and an honorary member of Phi Kappa Phi. Mario was an accomplished violinist and played regularly in Central Illinois orchestras. He enjoyed crossword puzzles, playing and listening to classical music, playing cards, and watching the Indianapolis 500, World Series and the Olympics. He was a longtime member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington-Normal. He is survived by two children and a granddaughter.