Dr. Ken Bowman '70
Dr. Ken A. Bowman ’70 will soon be entering a new season of his life as he retires from Alcoa on April 1, after 39 years of dedicated service to the company.
Bowman, who serves his Alma Mater as chair of the Tusculum College Board of Trustees, began his career with Alcoa in 1976, working in the Physical Chemistry, Ingot Casting, Smelting Process Development and Packaging divisions. In 1992, he transferred to Alcoa’s Rigid Packaging Development Division which evolved to become today’s GRP Center of Excellence for Engineering, Technology and Manufacturing Excellence. At the time of his retirement he was serving as manager of coating technology.
Dr. Bowman holds 17 U.S. patents, and his work has been recognized through several publications, Alcoa Laboratory’s Merit Award for “Job Performance,” and three Arthur Vining Davis Awards for “Team Technical Achievement” (these being the predecessor to the current Impact Awards): 1) The Continuous Melting and Treating System Team in 1986; 2) The Alcoa E-Coat® Team in 1992; and 3) The High Strength Formable Coated End Stock Team in 1996-97. In addition, his numerous distinctions include serving as program chairman for Alcoa’s Centennial Symposium on Electrochemistry and receiving the Sigma Xi ATC Chapter “Best Technical Paper” award.
His varied technical contributions have included aluminum purification, the manufacture of aluminum-lithium alloys, skim and UBC processing, separation of UBC alloys, the electrowinning of rare earth metals and scandium, and most notably, the development and successful commercialization of Alcoa’s E-Coat® process and products at Warrick Operations. Dr. Bowman supported the former Alcoa Smelting Process in Anderson County, TX. Additionally, his technical contributions to Alcoa’s former magnesium manufacturing process in Addy, WA, had a major financial impact on that location.
In recent years Dr. Bowman’s team has led the commissioning and successful startup of three processing lines.
Dr. Bowman and his wife, Jo Ellen, plan to continue to live near Apollo, PA, spending even more time with the families of their four children and ten grandchildren. In addition to his service to Tusculum, he also plans to stay busy with his many favorite year-round outdoor activities including golf and driving his 1999 red Corvette convertible, volunteer projects at Jo Ellen’s Domestic Violence Victims’ Center and Shelter and making maple syrup.
’60s
Allen Rothe ’63 and Carolyn Dyer Rothe ’66 of Mohawk, TN, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on June 26, 2015.
’80s
Tony Feathers ’83 has been named one of the 2016 Teachers of the Year for the Greeneville City School System. Feathers has been selected as the system’s representative for the high school level. He serves as the art and photography teacher at Greeneville High School. He has 29 years of teaching experience, nine of which have been at GHS.
’90s
Karen Richter May ’91 of McDonald, TN, has been inducted into the Old Timers Hall of Fame by the Cleveland Parks and Recreation Department. The Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who had a positive impact on local sports programs, either as a player or a coach. May was inducted for her contributions to local basketball. She began playing basketball at the local YMCA in Cleveland and was one of the top players for the Cleveland Junior High and Cleveland High School teams. She was recognized in high as an All-State player. She chose to continue her education and pursue her love of basketball at Lee College after high school. At Lee, she was the all-time leading rebounder in school history and was a member of the 1986 national championship team. She was also named an Academic All-American team and later continued her academic excellence at Tusculum, earning a master’s degree in education with a 4.0 grade point average. May taught at the elementary-age level for eight years in Bradley County and home-school hear own children. She also helps her husband operate their family business, 3-D Construction. She is also active in her church, Mount Olive Church of God.
Samantha Burston ’97 of Philadelphia, PA, was named vice president of operations for The CMA Group in February. She was previously a sales representative for North American Cable Equipment.
Anthony P. Jones ’97 of Seven Devils, NC, has been named director of student financial aid at Appalachian State University. He will begin his new position on April 1. He will be responsible for the administration of all federal, state and institutional financial aid programs; interpretation, implementation and administration of those programs in accordance with governing rules and regulatory authorities; implementation of scholarship awards within the overall financial aid packages; and the stewardship of the entire financial aid program effort in a manner that supports Appalachian’s strategic plan and enrollment goals. Jones was previously serving as member of the faculty in Appalachian State’s Department of Leadership and Educational Studies. He worked in various capacities with the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Aid Assistance (ACSFA) in Washington, D.C., including serving as director of policy research before being promoted to deputy executive director. Also in Washington, D.C., he was a trainer and regulatory analyst for the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators and a served as a policy analyst/program specialist with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education. Jones also has worked in or directed financial aid offices at his Alma Mater, North Carolina State University, and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He is pursuing a doctorate in higher education from the University of Georgia.
Bert Seay ’98 of Mosheim, TN, has been promoted by the Town of Greeneville to the position of chief building official. Seay has served as Greeneville building inspector for the past three years, providing inspection and other essential services of the Planning, Building and Development Department. Seay is certified with the International Code Council and licensed by the State of Tennessee as a residential and commercial inspector in the areas of building, plumbing and mechanical systems. He was awarded scholarships from the International Code Council to attend Code Development hearings in Portland, Ore., in 2012 and Atlantic City, N.J., in 2013 as a governmental voting representative for this area and the State of Tennessee.
’00s
Brent Dyson ’04 of Glade Spring, VA, has been appointed as vice president and loan officer for First Bank and Trust Company in Abingdon, VA. Dyson has 11 years of prior banking experience, most recently with Bank of Marion. In his new position he will focus on mortgage and commercial lending, as well as agricultural lending. Dyson is a member of the Washington County Virginia Rotary.
Carla Renner ’05 has been named one of the 2016 Teachers of the Year for the Greeneville City School System. Renner is a fifth-grade teacher at Tusculum View Elementary School, was selected as the system-wide representative for grades fifth through eighth. She has been a member of the Tusculum View faculty for 11 years.
’10s
Ben Spillner ’13 of Greeneville, TN, has named director of stadium operations for the Greeneville Astros. Ben came to the Astros as an operations assistant during the 2012 and 2013 seasons and served as a sales account executive for the past two years. He will continue to assist with group sales, corporate sales, social media, and the layout of the game-day program while overseeing the team retail store, online store orders and facility management during the Astros season at Pioneer Park.
Jarrell and Brittany (Bible) NeSmith ’09 ’10 welcomed Fowler Grey NeSmith on March 21, 2016, weighing in at 8 lbs. and 6 oz and 20.5 inches long. The new baby already has a strong Tusculum connection as the couple announced they were expecting during the ceremony inducting Jarrell into the Tusculum Sports Hall of Fame.
’40s
Claude Galbreath Swafford ’48 of Jasper, TN, passed away March 25, 2016. A trailblazer, Galbreath took over operating her family’s business while starting college at Tusculum during World War II. However, her ambitions soon took her to Knoxville, where she enrolled in the law school at the University of Tennessee over her mother’s objections. She was one of only two women in her law school class. Mrs. Swafford became one of the first 100 female lawyers in Tennessee. Two years after becoming an attorney, she successfully argued her first case before the Tennessee Supreme Court. Although she practiced law, her real passion was improving public education. Mrs. Swafford held a fundamental, core belief that every child, regardless of circumstance, had a right to have an education as good as the education she provided her own children. As a member of the Marion County Board of Education she oversaw construction of several new schools and hand-picked the architects to insure integrity. Of her 20 years as a member of the Marion County School Board, Mrs. Swafford served as chair for 10 of those years and was President of the Tennessee School Board Association for four years. She was an alternate delegate to two Republican National Conventions and honored as the 1999 Tennessee Statesman of the Year. Mrs. Swafford was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to serve on the Board of the National Legal Services Corporation. Following two terms, she was then appointed by Secretary of Defense to serve on the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services. She traveled as a three-star general in this capacity.
Samuel “Sam” P. Roller ’49 of Portland, OR, passed away March 1, 2016, of natural causes. Mr. Roller was a native of Kingsport, TN, and was a veteran, having served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war, he enrolled at Tusculum, where he not only earned a degree in science but also met the love of his life, Nan Jean Thomas ’49. The coupled moved to Oregon in 1949 where they married. Mr. Roller joined the McKesson Co. as a sales representative in Pendleton in 1950 and later moved to Corvallis in 1962. He had a 40-year career with McKesson and received many awards from the company for various sales milestones. Mr. Roller was known as an outgoing, caring individual who developed many friendships with his customers and acquaintances. Some of his best memories were the various travels around the world with customers at McKesson shows. He also enjoyed fishing trips to Alaska. Mr. Roller and his wife were involved with National Garden Clubs. Retiring from McKesson is 1989, he fulfilled his continuing enthusiasm for working with people as a sales representative, selling walking canes around the country, and becoming known as “The Caneman.” Mr. Roller and his wife fully retired in 2006 and moved from Corvallis to the Terwilliger Plaza in Portland where they enjoyed their time meeting new and old friends. He was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Portland. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Samuel P. and Nan Jean Roller Endowment Scholarship Fund at Tusculum College, P.O. Box 5040, Greeneville, TN 37743.
’50s
Zelma Zeller Platz Schroker ’51 of Onancock, VA, passed away on March 23, 2016. Mrs. Schroker was an x-ray technician at St. Peters Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ. She was most recently a member of Belle Haven United Methodist Church and a past member of Harlingen Church. Her survivors include brothers and Tusculum alumni Kenneth Zeller ’60 and Ted Zeller ’60 and sister-in-law and Tusculum alumna Sandra Zeller ’61.
’60s
The Reverend John Edson ’66 died suddenly at his home in Dillsburg, PA, on March 14, 2016. The Rev. Edson was a retired Episcopal priest and served many parishes around the country.
’80s
Fay Duncan Lane ’86 of Knoxville, TN, passed away at her home on March 18, 2016. Mrs. Lane worked at the Y-12 and K-25 facilities and retired after 40 years of service to Martin Marietta. She was a faithful member of Second Baptist Church of Clinton.
’90s
Robert Williams ’92 of Nickelsville, VA, passed away on March 26, 2016. Mr. Williams was an electrical engineer technician at Eastman Chemical, retiring in 2003 after 28 and a half years of service. He was a member of First Baptist Church in Gate City, VA. He enjoyed helping his wife’s family with their farm and was an avid NASCAR farm.