"What's Happenin' With Alumni"

	SBU ACCOUNTING ALUM! Are you missing from our business card display board? Shauna Gillette (01) and Frederick Ricker (98) check the boards out to find themselves and other SBU Accounting graduates. We sure need your business card to help others find you AND to show current ACC majors the great things you are doing. Send your card in TODAY.
	The 2004 SBU Accounting Alumni Homecoming Reunion (annually at 11am on Homecoming Saturday in Taylor Hall) was well attended, including some future SBU Accounting majors. Ryan and Mandy Henry (both '98) asked about early registration for their future CPA).
	Do these Accounting Information Systems class members remember our trip to Sonic to learn "first-hand" about the business processes at "America's Drive-In?" Our own Jennifer Havens (2000) was assistant manager at Sonic then and gave us the "insider's tour" to better understand the information gathered, processed and managed at Sonic to make sure those "chili-cheese coneys with mustard and onion" are delivered right on time.
	Roberta Bledsoe (2002), talks to our Accounting Club about her experiences at the Missouri State Auditor's Office. Representatives from that office regularly interview SBU Accounting majors on the Bolivar campus for internship and full-time positions.
	Daphne Shaffer (2000) shared with our Accounting Club about her experiences as an auditor at the CPA firm of BKD, LLP in Springfield, MO and her new role as Accounting Manager for Skaggs Health Systems in Branson, MO. Daphne strongly urged students to study and take the CPA exam AS SOON AS YOU CAN and to work real hard to learn to creatively use Excel spreadsheets.
	Verna Haun, JD (Attorney), 1981 SBU Accounting graduate--- Verna currently serves as Managing Partner of the almost 100-year-old law firm of Douglas, Haun, Kirksey, and Heidemann in Bolivar, MO. As a member of the Missouri Bar, Verna focuses on Family Law and Elder Law. She also serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Missouri Baptist Foundation.
	David Bolton, a 1979 SBU Accounting graduate, has moved "outside the box" of traditional accounting and serves as SBU's Database Manager. David believes his accounting background and extensive understanding of SBU's operations (he previously served as Director of Accounting at SBU) gives him an edge in meeting the information needs of SBU's faculty and staff.
	Ben Sells, PhD, and a 1984 SBU Accounting graduate, currently serves as the Chief Development Officer for Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE). SIFE was reincorporated on the campus of SBU in the early 1980s and has since moved its headquarters to Springfield, MO. SIFE is a college student organization in about 1600 colleges and more than 42 countries focused on educating communities about the benefits of our free enterprise system. Prior to joining SIFE, Dr. Sells was the Director of the International Centre for Excellence in Leadership at the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.
	Jody Burdette (2002) stands in front of one of two plaques in the Taylor Building on the SBU Campus that displays all the SBU CPAs, CMAs, JDs, PhDs and graduates with other professional certifications (Jody is on plaque #1). Almost 50% of SBU Accounting graduates hold a professional certification with the vast majority being CPAs.
	Frederick ('98), Christy, and Quinn Ricker enjoy some time at Destin, FL. Frederick's been busy since he graduated from SBU. He's one of the "SBU BIG 4 from the '98 Class" who passed the CPA exam the first time (SBU led the Midwest that year and still has an above average rate on "first-time" passing). After stints at Andersen & PriceWaterhouseCoopers, he's now VP - Corporate Tax, Suddenlink Connections in St Louis.
	The 1996 SBU Accounting class hold the percentage record for most CPAs (over 80% of the class has earned the CPA credential).
	Cindy Reilmann, CPA and 1992 SBU Accounting graduate, serves as the Chief Financial Officer of Fort Zumwalt Schools in the St. Louis area. Fort Zumwalt is one of Missouri's largest school districts with over 20,000 students. Cindy is also very active in the committee work of the Missouri Society of CPAs, serving most recently as Chair of the Governmental and Not-for-Profit Accounting Committee.