Alumni to be Honored at Homecoming Events
Homecoming 2007 will see several Truman alumni being honored at various events.
This year’s Alumna of the Year is Randa Rawlins, a 1979 Truman graduate. Rawlins is General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Shelter Insurance Companies in Columbia, Mo.
She was appointed to Truman’s Board of Governors in December 1997, reappointed in March 2002 and currently serves as chair of the Board. She is also a member of the Truman State University Foundation Board, the Capital Campaign Steering Committee, the John R. Kirk Society, and the President’s Circle. In addition, she serves as chair of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges Council of Board Chairs.
Rawlins was a Pershing Scholar while attending Truman. She was a member of Alpha Sigma Alpha and involved in Student Senate. She served as an intern in the Washington, D.C., office of Congressman Tom Coleman and in the Jefferson City office of State Rep. Harry Hill.
She received her juris doctorate from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law. In 2003 the Law School presented her with the Citation of Merit, its most prestigious alumni award.
Rawlins is a member of the Missouri Bar Association, Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, the International Association of Defense Counsel, The American Board of Trial Advocates, Association of Corporate Counsel and the Women Lawyers Association of Mid-Missouri. She was recently appointed to serve as a member of the Missouri Supreme Court Civil Rules committee and is a member of the Columbia Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. She is also active in Missouri United Methodist Church in Columbia and recently returned from her third mission in Africa.
Jaime Geer (’00) is this year’s Young Alumna of the Year. Geer received a B.A. in business administration with concentrations in economics and communication from Truman in 2000. While at Truman, she was involved with the women’s golf team and was a four-year letter winner and a student assistant coach during her senior year. She qualified for three Division II National Championships. When not on the golf course, Geer was served on the Student Athletic Committee [Captains’ Roundtable] as its president and vice president as well as the business fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi where she was President her senior year.
Upon graduating from Truman, Geer went to work for Famous Barr Department Stores (now Macy’s) in the Assistant Buyer Management Training Program. For three years, Geer was the assistant buyer for Women’s Accessories and subsequently Junior Shoes. Then, in 2003, she became manager of College Recruiting and enjoyed returning to the college scene, especially Truman where she was able to recruit her fellow Truman graduates.
In 2005, Geer left St. Louis for an adventure in Denver. Moving west without a job, her goal was to be employed “by the end of the year.” Not one month later, she began her career with RE/MAX International, serving as a Franchise Development Consultant for the RE/MAX St. Louis Region – a position that would find her back in Missouri two weeks every month. Now, more than two years later, Geer works for the RE/MAX California & Hawaii Region.
When not booking frequent flyer miles, Geer still enjoys many of the things she did in college including golf, volunteering for Junior Achievement, and serving the University on the Business School’s Advisory Board. Also important to Geer are volunteering for the adoptive services of Bethany Christian Services and leading the Toastmasters public speaking group within her company.
Tom Ballard (’69) and Major General John V. Cox (’52) will be awarded Distinguished Service Awards.
Ballard grew up in Ankeny, Iowa, and attended Truman from 1965 to 1969, graduating with a B.S. in the spring of 1969. While at Truman, he was a member of Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity. Following graduation, Tom spent most of the next three years as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps and served as an infantry officer with the 1st Marine Division in Vietnam. He and his wife Susan met in Washington, D.C., while Tom was still in the Marines, and they were married in 1972. After the Marines, Tom decided on a career in the computer industry that included working for Honeywell, Loral/Rolm and Cordant Systems. He retired from Cordant Systems in 1997 as vice president, Command/Control/Intelligence Programs where he managed all contracts and engineering activities related to the contracts with the various U.S. Intelligence Agencies and other Department of Defense contracts. Susan also retired in 1997 after a 27-year career with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.
Tom also served as a corporate officer with Cordant, a privately held company that provided complex computer systems to the Federal Government and was bought by a major U.S. defense contractor in 1996. In addition, Tom also served on the Intelligence Committee of the Armed Forces Communication and Electronics Association (AFCEA) from 1993 to 1997. While in the Washington, D.C., area, Tom and Susan resided in Falls Church, Va., and later in Great Falls, Va.
In 2001 Tom and Susan decided they needed a slower pace of life and moved to Iowa, and they currently reside about 15 miles northwest of Des Moines. Tom keeps busy managing farm land that he and Susan own in northwest Iowa, serving as a general partner in an Iowa-based Ethanol plant and a managing partner in a flight-training company where he is a commercial pilot and flight instructor. He also enjoys playing golf and is involved with several charitable organizations. Since 2005, he has served on the Truman State University Foundation Board. Tom says he is “addicted” to sailboat racing and races a sailboat based in Annapolis, Md., that he has an ownership interest in, and he travels to Annapolis regularly in the summer for races. While living in Virginia, Tom raced competitively on the East Coast and is a two-time winner of Key West Race Week held in January at Key West, Fla.
“I consider myself very fortunate to have attended Truman State,” says Tom. “The friendships that I developed while in Kirksville remain even stronger today and are very important to me. The education and experiences gained here have provided me many opportunities over the years. Kirksville is a great place to get a great education.”
Cox retired from the Marine Corps on July 1, 1985.
Cox was born on March 26, 1930, in Bevier, Mo. He attended Northeast Missouri State Teachers College (now Truman State University) earning a B.S. degree in business administration. He also holds a master’s degree in international affairs from George Washington University.
He entered the Marine Corps via the Officer Candidate Program at Quantico, Va., and was commissioned a Marine second lieutenant in September 1952. After completing The Basic School, he reported for flight training and was designated a Naval Aviator in July 1954.
Successive assignments were with all three active Marine Aircraft Wings and with the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing; service on the USS Lake Champlain; duty as an air and naval gunfire platoon commander; duty with Marine Fighter Squadron (VMF)-451, VMF-333, and VMA-324. He completed Communications Officer School, served as Communications Officer at MAG-15, El Toro, and later was Operations Officer of VMFA-513 at El Toro, Atsugi and DaNang (1962-1965).
He graduated from the Armed Forces Staff College in 1967, and after serving as an instructor at the Naval War College, he returned to Vietnam for a second tour of duty, serving as Commander Officer of VMFA-115 and as Executive Officer of MAG-13 at ChuLai.
Tours of duty in the 1970s include Executive Officer of MCAS, Kaneohe Bay, and duty on the staff of the Commander in Chief, Pacific. After graduating from the National War College in 1974, General Cox reported for duty at Headquarters Marine Corps. He was promoted to brigadier general on Nov. 4, 1977. Duty as Assistant Wing Commander, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, Commanding General, 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade, Assistant Chief of Staff at Headquarters Marine Corps, Deputy Chief of Staff for Research, Development and Studies at Headquarters Marine Corps, and Commanding General, MCAS El Toro/COMCABWEST, followed.
He was promoted to major general on April 9, 1981, with a date of rank of Aug. 1, 1978. He assumed command of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro, Calif., in May 1981. In June 1982, he was assigned duty as the Director of Operations, J-3, for the Commander in Chief, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii. He served in this capacity until July 1, 1985, when he retired from the Marine Corps.
His personal decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal; Legion of Merit with Combat “V”; Bronze Star Medal with Combat “V”; Air Medal with Numeral 19; the Joint Service Commendation Medal; and the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat “V” and gold star in lieu of a second award.
Dean Rosebery (‘41) and Amy (Ayres) (‘43) Rosebery are serving as Grand Marshals for Truman State University’s Homecoming 2007 parade.
Dean received his B.S.E. in biology from Northeast Missouri State Teachers College (now Truman State University) in 1941 and then attended graduate school at Virginia Tech for one year. From 1942 to 1945 during World War II, Dean was a Naval lieutenant on a Destroyer Escort and spent most of the time in the North Atlantic. After returning to Virginia Tech, he received his Ph.D. in aquatic zoology. During 1950-53 he was the assistant chief of the Division of Fish for the Virginia Commission of Game and Inland Fisheries. His position with Truman State University began in 1953, and in 1985, he retired as professor emeritus of biology and head emeritus of the Division of Science. Aside from teaching the general education course “Man and the Scientific World” and serving as head of the Division of Science, he taught additional courses in biology. During many summers, he was the director of Institutes for the Teachers of Science with funding of about $900,000 from the National Science Foundation. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and served as president of the National Association of Academies of Science.
Amy graduated from Truman as valedictorian of her class in 1943 with a B.A. and B.S.E. in English, and she received her M.A. degree from Columbia University in New York in 1949. She taught speech at the Kirksville Junior High School in 1945, and from 1946-48, she taught English at the Blacksburg Virginia High School. During her undergraduate days at Truman, she was active in Alpha Sigma Alpha, Cardinal Key, Alpha Phi Sigma, Pi Kappa Delta and a member of the Debate Team.
Dean and Amy are both active in University events, such as alumni activities, Lyceum programs, and the John R. Kirk Society. Dean also served as committee chairman to raise funds for the Kohlenberg Lyceum program and Magruder Hall, the University’s science facility.
Their immediate family consists of son J. Frank Rosebery (’74) and his wife Wanda (Evans) (’74), and their children, Kristin (’02) and James Jr. (’05) with wife, Virginia; and their daughter Margaret McKinney (’76) and husband Robert (’75) and two children, Trey and Veronica. Dean and Amy celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary this year.
Dwain Horn, a member of the Class of 1950, has been selected as the recipient of the 2007 President's Leadership Award. The award, which originated in 1998, cites select Truman alumni and friends for meritorious service through gifts of volunteerism, expertise and financial resources.
This year’s Alumna of the Year is Randa Rawlins, a 1979 Truman graduate. Rawlins is General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Shelter Insurance Companies in Columbia, Mo.
She was appointed to Truman’s Board of Governors in December 1997, reappointed in March 2002 and currently serves as chair of the Board. She is also a member of the Truman State University Foundation Board, the Capital Campaign Steering Committee, the John R. Kirk Society, and the President’s Circle. In addition, she serves as chair of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges Council of Board Chairs.
Rawlins was a Pershing Scholar while attending Truman. She was a member of Alpha Sigma Alpha and involved in Student Senate. She served as an intern in the Washington, D.C., office of Congressman Tom Coleman and in the Jefferson City office of State Rep. Harry Hill.
She received her juris doctorate from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law. In 2003 the Law School presented her with the Citation of Merit, its most prestigious alumni award.
Rawlins is a member of the Missouri Bar Association, Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, the International Association of Defense Counsel, The American Board of Trial Advocates, Association of Corporate Counsel and the Women Lawyers Association of Mid-Missouri. She was recently appointed to serve as a member of the Missouri Supreme Court Civil Rules committee and is a member of the Columbia Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. She is also active in Missouri United Methodist Church in Columbia and recently returned from her third mission in Africa.
Jaime Geer (’00) is this year’s Young Alumna of the Year. Geer received a B.A. in business administration with concentrations in economics and communication from Truman in 2000. While at Truman, she was involved with the women’s golf team and was a four-year letter winner and a student assistant coach during her senior year. She qualified for three Division II National Championships. When not on the golf course, Geer was served on the Student Athletic Committee [Captains’ Roundtable] as its president and vice president as well as the business fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi where she was President her senior year.
Upon graduating from Truman, Geer went to work for Famous Barr Department Stores (now Macy’s) in the Assistant Buyer Management Training Program. For three years, Geer was the assistant buyer for Women’s Accessories and subsequently Junior Shoes. Then, in 2003, she became manager of College Recruiting and enjoyed returning to the college scene, especially Truman where she was able to recruit her fellow Truman graduates.
In 2005, Geer left St. Louis for an adventure in Denver. Moving west without a job, her goal was to be employed “by the end of the year.” Not one month later, she began her career with RE/MAX International, serving as a Franchise Development Consultant for the RE/MAX St. Louis Region – a position that would find her back in Missouri two weeks every month. Now, more than two years later, Geer works for the RE/MAX California & Hawaii Region.
When not booking frequent flyer miles, Geer still enjoys many of the things she did in college including golf, volunteering for Junior Achievement, and serving the University on the Business School’s Advisory Board. Also important to Geer are volunteering for the adoptive services of Bethany Christian Services and leading the Toastmasters public speaking group within her company.
Tom Ballard (’69) and Major General John V. Cox (’52) will be awarded Distinguished Service Awards.
Ballard grew up in Ankeny, Iowa, and attended Truman from 1965 to 1969, graduating with a B.S. in the spring of 1969. While at Truman, he was a member of Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity. Following graduation, Tom spent most of the next three years as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps and served as an infantry officer with the 1st Marine Division in Vietnam. He and his wife Susan met in Washington, D.C., while Tom was still in the Marines, and they were married in 1972. After the Marines, Tom decided on a career in the computer industry that included working for Honeywell, Loral/Rolm and Cordant Systems. He retired from Cordant Systems in 1997 as vice president, Command/Control/Intelligence Programs where he managed all contracts and engineering activities related to the contracts with the various U.S. Intelligence Agencies and other Department of Defense contracts. Susan also retired in 1997 after a 27-year career with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.
Tom also served as a corporate officer with Cordant, a privately held company that provided complex computer systems to the Federal Government and was bought by a major U.S. defense contractor in 1996. In addition, Tom also served on the Intelligence Committee of the Armed Forces Communication and Electronics Association (AFCEA) from 1993 to 1997. While in the Washington, D.C., area, Tom and Susan resided in Falls Church, Va., and later in Great Falls, Va.
In 2001 Tom and Susan decided they needed a slower pace of life and moved to Iowa, and they currently reside about 15 miles northwest of Des Moines. Tom keeps busy managing farm land that he and Susan own in northwest Iowa, serving as a general partner in an Iowa-based Ethanol plant and a managing partner in a flight-training company where he is a commercial pilot and flight instructor. He also enjoys playing golf and is involved with several charitable organizations. Since 2005, he has served on the Truman State University Foundation Board. Tom says he is “addicted” to sailboat racing and races a sailboat based in Annapolis, Md., that he has an ownership interest in, and he travels to Annapolis regularly in the summer for races. While living in Virginia, Tom raced competitively on the East Coast and is a two-time winner of Key West Race Week held in January at Key West, Fla.
“I consider myself very fortunate to have attended Truman State,” says Tom. “The friendships that I developed while in Kirksville remain even stronger today and are very important to me. The education and experiences gained here have provided me many opportunities over the years. Kirksville is a great place to get a great education.”
Cox retired from the Marine Corps on July 1, 1985.
Cox was born on March 26, 1930, in Bevier, Mo. He attended Northeast Missouri State Teachers College (now Truman State University) earning a B.S. degree in business administration. He also holds a master’s degree in international affairs from George Washington University.
He entered the Marine Corps via the Officer Candidate Program at Quantico, Va., and was commissioned a Marine second lieutenant in September 1952. After completing The Basic School, he reported for flight training and was designated a Naval Aviator in July 1954.
Successive assignments were with all three active Marine Aircraft Wings and with the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing; service on the USS Lake Champlain; duty as an air and naval gunfire platoon commander; duty with Marine Fighter Squadron (VMF)-451, VMF-333, and VMA-324. He completed Communications Officer School, served as Communications Officer at MAG-15, El Toro, and later was Operations Officer of VMFA-513 at El Toro, Atsugi and DaNang (1962-1965).
He graduated from the Armed Forces Staff College in 1967, and after serving as an instructor at the Naval War College, he returned to Vietnam for a second tour of duty, serving as Commander Officer of VMFA-115 and as Executive Officer of MAG-13 at ChuLai.
Tours of duty in the 1970s include Executive Officer of MCAS, Kaneohe Bay, and duty on the staff of the Commander in Chief, Pacific. After graduating from the National War College in 1974, General Cox reported for duty at Headquarters Marine Corps. He was promoted to brigadier general on Nov. 4, 1977. Duty as Assistant Wing Commander, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, Commanding General, 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade, Assistant Chief of Staff at Headquarters Marine Corps, Deputy Chief of Staff for Research, Development and Studies at Headquarters Marine Corps, and Commanding General, MCAS El Toro/COMCABWEST, followed.
He was promoted to major general on April 9, 1981, with a date of rank of Aug. 1, 1978. He assumed command of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro, Calif., in May 1981. In June 1982, he was assigned duty as the Director of Operations, J-3, for the Commander in Chief, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii. He served in this capacity until July 1, 1985, when he retired from the Marine Corps.
His personal decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal; Legion of Merit with Combat “V”; Bronze Star Medal with Combat “V”; Air Medal with Numeral 19; the Joint Service Commendation Medal; and the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat “V” and gold star in lieu of a second award.
Dean Rosebery (‘41) and Amy (Ayres) (‘43) Rosebery are serving as Grand Marshals for Truman State University’s Homecoming 2007 parade.
Dean received his B.S.E. in biology from Northeast Missouri State Teachers College (now Truman State University) in 1941 and then attended graduate school at Virginia Tech for one year. From 1942 to 1945 during World War II, Dean was a Naval lieutenant on a Destroyer Escort and spent most of the time in the North Atlantic. After returning to Virginia Tech, he received his Ph.D. in aquatic zoology. During 1950-53 he was the assistant chief of the Division of Fish for the Virginia Commission of Game and Inland Fisheries. His position with Truman State University began in 1953, and in 1985, he retired as professor emeritus of biology and head emeritus of the Division of Science. Aside from teaching the general education course “Man and the Scientific World” and serving as head of the Division of Science, he taught additional courses in biology. During many summers, he was the director of Institutes for the Teachers of Science with funding of about $900,000 from the National Science Foundation. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and served as president of the National Association of Academies of Science.
Amy graduated from Truman as valedictorian of her class in 1943 with a B.A. and B.S.E. in English, and she received her M.A. degree from Columbia University in New York in 1949. She taught speech at the Kirksville Junior High School in 1945, and from 1946-48, she taught English at the Blacksburg Virginia High School. During her undergraduate days at Truman, she was active in Alpha Sigma Alpha, Cardinal Key, Alpha Phi Sigma, Pi Kappa Delta and a member of the Debate Team.
Dean and Amy are both active in University events, such as alumni activities, Lyceum programs, and the John R. Kirk Society. Dean also served as committee chairman to raise funds for the Kohlenberg Lyceum program and Magruder Hall, the University’s science facility.
Their immediate family consists of son J. Frank Rosebery (’74) and his wife Wanda (Evans) (’74), and their children, Kristin (’02) and James Jr. (’05) with wife, Virginia; and their daughter Margaret McKinney (’76) and husband Robert (’75) and two children, Trey and Veronica. Dean and Amy celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary this year.
Dwain Horn, a member of the Class of 1950, has been selected as the recipient of the 2007 President's Leadership Award. The award, which originated in 1998, cites select Truman alumni and friends for meritorious service through gifts of volunteerism, expertise and financial resources.
A business education graduate, Horn taught school for two years before beginning a business career that eventually spanned four decades. He served as an actuary in the retirement plans division at Bankers Life and Casualty Company in Des Moines, Iowa, for 17 years. Horn then joined Mutual of Omaha as manager of the retirement plans division and was later promoted to the position of executive vice president, retiring in 1995.
Horn currently serves on the Truman State University Foundation Board of Directors, and as chair of the Foundation's Investment Committee, his leadership and foresight in guiding the Foundation through a change in investment managers has resulted in increased performance, reduced costs and enhanced service. Today, the Foundation's assets exceed $26 million.
Horn also provided significant leadership through charitable giving, organizing the largest class reunion fund drive in Truman State University's history. The Class of 1950 fund-raising project generated nearly $140,000 in financial support to furnish the lobby of the Ophelia Parrish Building.
The father of three and the grandfather of eight, Horn and his wife, Vera, reside in Omaha, Neb., and spend their winters in Peoria, Ariz.
