Frankie R. Faison ’71 (left) poses with IWU’s Washington, D.C. Alumni Chapter President, Scott Huch ’86, following the matinee performance of Between Riverside and Crazy at Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C., on February 13, 2016. In Studio’s production of this 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Stephen Adly Guirgis, Faison stars in the lead role of Walter “Pops” Washington. Faison is a Tony and Drama Desk Award-nominated Broadway actor also known for his work on film and TV, notably as Commissioner Ervin Burrell on the acclaimed HBO series The Wire. Faison can currently be seen in the hit Cinemax series Banshee as Sugar Bates.
After graduating from IWU Scott Murkin ‘88 went on to attend 
medical school at Vanderbilt University. He was an emergency room physician for 12 years, then switched to hospice and palliative care. Scott and his wife, Mary, have two children, Grant and Alyssa. Scott was recently featured in an article in the March 2016 issue of American Quilter. Scott’s grandmother always made quilts for family as gifts. She passed away before she was able to make quilts for his children. Scott helped his grandmother make the quilts when he was younger. He decided it would be his job to take over making the quilts. Members of a local quilt Guild encouraged him to enter one of his quilts in a local show. It was his first show ever and he won the Best Original Design award and first place in the pieced bed quilts category. He began teaching at a quilt shop and shortly after began judging shows.
Rick Hanna ’81, Global Automotive Leader at PwC, published a column in Huffington Post about the role of trust in industry.
Here is a link to the entire article.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rick-hanna/
From the Phoenix Alumni Connection on January 31 are brothers from Phi Gamma Delta, honoring George Sweeney ’44 for 75 years as a Fiji. Left to right are Rick Hanna ’81, Bill Meister ’57, Jerry Philpott ’59, Marv Bower ’45, Dean Padgett ’58, Greg Gardner ’60, Ben Rhodes ’69, and Andrew Matznick ’97, with George Sweeney in front and center. The Alpha Deuteron Chapter of Fiji at IWU will celebrate the 150th anniversary of its 1866 chartering during Homecoming weekend, October 1. For more information: www.fiji150iwu.com.
Martin McLaughlin ’87, Barrington Hills village president and a small businessman, is garnering support from local leaders in his bid for State Senate in the 26th District.
A link to the entire article can be found here.
Penny Cooper ’87 joined the faculty at the Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso.
Lauri Zumwalt ’85 writes and directs original holiday productions for a Watseka drama club.
A link to the entire article can be found here.
Phi Gamma Delta alumni gathered at Boundary Tavern in Chicago on December 4, 2015, to celebrate the 149th anniversary of the fraternity’s chartering at IWU in 1866. The event also kicked off the chapter’s sesquicentennial year, which will culminate with an event in Bloomington during IWU Homecoming on October 1, 2016. Among those attending, pictured (left to right) are: Vas Zimbrakos ‘89, Jeff Alsen ‘89, Jeff Lambert ’86, Paul Orchard ’88, John Sorensen ’68, Steve Pilipchuk ’88, Todd Torstenson ‘89, and Scott Huch ’86. For more information, visit www.fiji150iwu.com.
