Class Notes

Lawrence Doyle ’53 is active as a commercial and residential real estate agent on the Treasure Coast of Florida. He is always happy to assist fellow alumni with their real estate needs.

Carlos “Erik” Speyer ’58 received two awards for the children’s book he wrote and illustrated. The Spanish version of his book, Kubi Conoce a Rosita, was named Best Children’s Picture Book – Spanish by the 2019 International Latino Book Awards. He also won a first place prize for best children’s picture book for the English version.

Roger Meiners ’61 has released a new book, McLaren: The Engine Company. It is the story of McLaren Engines, the Michigan-based company that built the racing engines for the English McLaren cars and won the Canadian-American Challenge Cup from 1970 to 1972, and the Indianapolis 500 from 1974 to 1976. The book includes details on how the McLaren Engines company became a respected supplier to the automotive industry and created specialty cars, including the Buick GNX and Pontiac Grand Prix Turbo.

James “Jamie” Chastain ’67 recalls when he served as sophomore class president of Saint Leo College Preparatory School until it closed in 1963. He then attended Saint Leo College in 1966-1967. In 2017, he retired as a humanities professor at Polk State College where he also volunteered as a sports announcer for 10 years. Since returning to the Tampa Bay area two years ago, he has been serving as an announcer for Saint Leo baseball and would like to invite fellow alumni to come out to the ballpark and support the Lions next season!

Jack Biggane ’68 served in the U.S. Army for two years following his time at Saint Leo. His professional career included 20 years with IBM in New York City and Verisign, a Silicon Valley startup, where he retired as vice president of sales. He and his wife, Margaret, have been married since 1975 and had four children. After losing their daughter Mollie in 2000 at the age of 20, they established The Mollie Biggane Melanoma Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to melanoma prevention and awareness, supporting patients with education on the latest therapies.

Frank Dwyer ’68 retired from teaching U.S. government and politics in July after 20 years. This fall he enjoyed reconnecting with several former classmates during homecoming weekend and visiting the Abbey Church and the sisters at Holy Name Monastery. He is excited to be working with the alumni office to bring together alumni in the New York City area.

Robert Sully ’70 retired to Virginia Beach, VA, in 1998 after working for Con Edison in New York City. Since retiring, he said he is busier than ever, but loving it. He is a substitute elementary school teacher, softball umpire, high school basketball referee, and grandfather of two. He is always sure to make time to get out on Chesapeake Bay in his kayak a couple of times a week.

Gregory Halamka ’71 teaches pre-calculus at Treasure Coast High School in Port St. Lucie, FL, and is president of GJH & CPV Investments and Q’Tal Cafes.

Mike Scourby ’73 completed the New York City Marathon in 4 hours and 40 minutes in November. While this was Scourby’s 14th marathon, it was the first one he completed in 21 years. He hopes to qualify for the Boston Marathon in April 2021. He works as a teacher in New York City for the department of education and coaches a small group of long-distance runners.

Ann Marie Lombardi ’77 celebrated her marriage of 25 years to Jack Devlin, who retired from the U.S. Navy. Lombardi serves as immediate past president of the Saint Leo University Alumni Association.

Carl Moeller ’79 retired after 37 years in education. He is a substitute teacher and hopes to be working at Roosevelt Lodge in Yellowstone National Park from May to September. He plans on building a retirement home in Star Valley Ranch, WY. His daughter, Heidi, was married in August 2019.

James “Paul” Sinor ’81 has published the fourth book in the Max Maxwell mystery series, That Old Black Magic, and Picture This, the third book in the Johnny Morocco mystery series. Additionally, Sinor was honored by People’s Telly Awards as a feature film producer for Minutes to Midnight, the eighth feature film he has written or produced.

Reverend W. Gregg Elliott ’83 has retired from active ministry after 17 years as a permanent deacon and 20 years as a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma. He is now living in a retirement residence for priests supported by the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. He is blessed to have two sons who take great care of him.

Samuel Watkins ’85 is now a cybersecurity program analyst in the Information Warfare Division of Air Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.

Vernon Czelusniak ’88 was promoted to online program director and coordinator of doctoral of education online programs, graduate, and adult education for St. Thomas University in Miami, FL. In January, Czelusniak’s family grew with the addition of his seventh and eighth grandchildren, Mila and Dylan.

Ursula Kirnes-Maxwell ’86 is deployed in support of Operation New Shield. When she is not overseas, she works for the state of Florida as a correctional probation senior officer.

David Bailey ’98 fully defended his doctoral project in May 2019 to move forward in completing a Doctor of Psychology degree from Ashford University. He was able to attend the graduation celebration and doctoral hooding ceremony held on October 12 and is looking to move into full-time work in higher education, preferably in a faculty or advising position.

Bryan Pitchford ’04 successfully completed the U.S. Army Command and General Staff Officer Course Common Core and Advanced Operations Course.

April Steen ’04 completed her PhD in curriculum and instruction from the University of South Florida and is an assistant professor of social work at Warner University in Lake Wales, FL.

Anne Gregg ’06 completed her Master of Education degree through the international education program at Framingham State University (MA) in January 2019. Gregg completed the program in 18 months by participating in several face-to-face sessions at the Lincoln School in San Jose, Costa Rica. She is utilizing her degree as a middle school humanities teacher at the Metropolitan School of Panama in Panama City, Panama.

Michelle Witt ’06 is working as an adult case manager with Pine Tree Society in Scarborough, ME, where she provides resources and support to meet the individualized needs of people with intellectual disabilities. In October, Witt and her husband celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary.

Galen Garrison ’08 completed his 300th marathon and more in 2019 (262 marathons and 43 ultramarathons) and is a member of the Marathon Maniacs and Half Fanatics running clubs. He also earned his eighth consecutive USA Track & Field Phidippides Award. Garrison works as a principal solutions architect with NICE inContact, which offers cloud-based customer experience solutions, located in Salt Lake City, UT.

Christopher Martinez ’08 retired after a 27-year career in federal law enforcement as an assistant special agent in charge with Homeland Security Investigations in New Jersey. In October 2018, he completed his PhD in homeland security leadership and policy from Northcentral University in San Diego, CA. Martinez is in a tenure-track assistant professor position in the Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies at St. John’s University in Queens, NY, where he teaches homeland security and intelligence courses. He enjoys time with his family, which includes the birth of his grandchild in 2018 and his daughter’s wedding in 2019.

Sharon McMillan ’09 ’10 is the financial controller at Powers Insurance and Risk Management in St. Louis, MO.

Rodney Brown ’10 ’13 was promoted to chief operating officer for North American universities, West and Midwest, for Sodexo in September. Brown joined Sodexo in 2016 as senior vice president of operations. During the past three years, Brown developed and implemented a go-to-market strategy that delivered strong business results and improved retention. Prior to joining Sodexo, Brown held numerous executive positions, in a variety of industries including health care, technology, and food service.

Erin Head ’11 had an article published in the Journal of American Health Information Management Association. The article is Health Information Exchange Can Play a Big Role in Delivering Integrated Care.

Krystal Cox ’12 ’15 has been promoted to claims examiner for USAA, where she will handle and investigate serious injury and fatality auto and homeowner claims.

Christine Parente ’12 ’15 was promoted to be a behavioral health technician supervisor with Southcentral Foundation in Anchorage, AK, in 2018. She and her boyfriend live in Anchorage with their two dogs.

Jerry Blash ’14 was appointed chief of police in the city of Walthourville, GA, in 2019. He and his wife have three sons and three daughters.

Chelsea DeVries ’15 owns and operates The Smart Cookie Philes, a book blog/publicity firm that identifies fun and creative ways to market books and music. Her clients include fellow Saint Leo alumnus Oscar Redden IV ’11 ’13. In January, she celebrated four years in business.

Jade Jackson ’15 is a teacher, writer, and author of the new fantasy tale, They Call Me Aide. Jackson has been writing poetry and short stories for the past 30 years but her first full-length novel was published this year. She is in her second year of teaching seventh-grade English language at Fairfield Middle School in Winnsboro, SC, and is pursuing her education credentials through the South Carolina Program of Alternative Certification for Educators (PACE). In addition to her professional work, Jackson volunteers with Power in Changing, a local nonprofit organization.

Luckson Abraham ’16 recently joined Keller Williams Realty as a licensed real estate agent in Florida. If any fellow Lions are looking to move within or in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, he would love to help!

Ryan Bahri ’16 is an acquisition solutions specialist for Allstate Benefits and was recognized as the employee of the quarter. Bahri moved into the role to meet the increased need for technical support across the company. In just a few short weeks, he orchestrated the creation of a dozen queries he runs and administers every day.

April Wilson ’16 ’19 is working as the operations and compliance manager for Downeast Shipping, in North Carolina. Her son recently started kindergarten, and she is excited to announce he is doing extremely well.

Erica “Zigs” Zigon ’16 is pursuing her passion for music and has released her first acoustic EP, Note to Self. This past year, she released three singles and two music videos.

Hope Boyce ’17 was promoted to manager, field services, for Change Healthcare in Charleston, SC. Previously she served as team lead for six years.

Tymesha Bland ’18 started a managing service, Everything But Bland, and is working with a family member to expand the social media presence of the business. Shortly after graduation, Bland gave birth to her first son.

Holly Harn ’18 is the director of Human Resources for Peacock Automotive, LLC.

Major Drake ’19 was promoted to sergeant with the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office in Florida. Drake shared that he appreciates all of the people who God placed in his path who motivated and encouraged him to complete his degree, especially his wife and daughters.

Wilton Glenn ’19 is a co-young adult leader and worship team keyboardist at City Pointe Church in Plant City, FL. He also is studying part time in the online beta classes at St. John of Vianney College Seminary and Graduate School of Philosophy.

Tyasia Hines ’19 was recognized by her employer for diligently helping more than 200 sailors maintain and manage their administrative data, while updating policies. Also as a petty officer second class, she received an early promotion from her reserve unit. Hines got engaged in January and is looking forward to planning a memorable wedding for her family and friends.

Bob Windheim ’19 has started a new job with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Tampa, FL, in the tax line of service.