Distinguished and Outstanding Alumni
2011 Alumni AwardsMaking an impact
On October 28 at 5:30 p.m., during Homecoming 2011's Black & Gold Banquet, Harding University will honor a select group of individuals who are making an impact in their communities and around the world. The alumni selected were chosen for their degree of excellence and recognition in their fields; lives consistent with University ideals; active support of the University; and service to their community, church and God.
Alumni Awards 2011
Distinguished alumnus
Serving as minister for Camp Creek Church of Christ in Atlanta, Dr. Howard Wright (’68) has made it his mission to help those in need. He has preached in churches across the country, including Arkansas, New York and Pennsylvania.
In addition to his ministerial duties, Wright formerly held the position of executive director of Target Youth Centers, a Long Island-based program responsible for juvenile delinquency prevention, court diversion and drug prevention. Wright trained community volunteers and students in mediation and conflict resolution to assist young people in trouble with the court system.
Wright holds gospel meetings and speaks in many regional and national lectureships. He served as coordinator of Crusade for Christ, an evangelistic endeavor sponsored by churches of Christ, when it was held in Atlanta.
He is a clinical family therapist and licensed clinical social worker, facilitating marriage and family workshops with his wife, Claudine. He lectures on human relations symposiums and social work seminars, conducts mediation and conflict resolution workshops, and peer leadership workshops for public schools.
Under Wright’s leadership, the Camp Creek Church initiated a male mentoring program for boys in the congregation and neighborhood schools. With concerned male volunteers, these at-risk boys are receiving precious modeling and guidance at a critical time in their lives.
Wright and his wife have three children and four grandchildren.
Outstanding Young Alumna
Liza Freeman (’02) Wright has worked in various congressional, senatorial and state offices. She is currently employed by The Winrock Group Inc. Wright serves as chair of Harding’s President’s Council and works in coordinating President’s Council meetings, activities and communication with its 1,200 members. The members not only provide scholarships to students but are goodwill ambassadors and recruiters, helping graduates with their professional careers and assisting with the University’s strategic plan.
This year Wright co-chaired the Big Brothers Big Sisters Toast and Roast to benefit children in need of a mentor to fill the role of a missing adult in their lives. She has served on the board for five years and now serves as secretary.
Wright is a graduate of the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership program and serves on the Leadership Greater Little Rock Alumni board where she is past chair. She was selected by Little Rock’s magazine Soiree and featured as a “Woman to Watch” in 2009.
Wright is the corresponding secretary for Daughters of the American Revolution and a member of the Arkansas Arts Center.
She and her husband, Chris, are active at Pleasant Valley Church of Christ in Little Rock, Ark.
Outstanding Alumni
College of Allied Health
Dr. Scott Mills (’84) is an audiologist and owner of Carolina Hearing Doctors, a private audiology practice in Winston-Salem, N.C. The practice provides hearing aids, care and protection for its patients. Mills received his Doctor of Audiology degree in the inaugural class of the audiology doctoral program at University of Florida School of Health Sciences.
In addition to his work within the practice, Mills also serves as president of the North Carolina Academy of Audiology and as a board member of the North Carolina Speech-Language-Hearing Association and American Academy of Audiology Government Relations Board. He also received a governor appointment to the North Carolina Hearing Loss Advocacy Task Force.
Within the community, Mills is a deacon at South Fork Church of Christ where he and his wife, Sue Ann Morgan, attend. The couple has three children, Brittany Sullivan, Emilee and Thomas, all of whom are students at the University.
College of Arts & Humanities
As senior writer for One-Eighty Communications, Dr. Tiffany Yecke (’01) Brooks has been lead writer for a number of books, many of them going on to become New York Times bestsellers. Titles such as Play It Like You Mean It: Passion, Laughs and Leadership in the World’s Most Beautiful Game (with Rex Ryan) and I Beat the Odds: From Homelessness, to the Blind Side, and Beyond (with Michael Oher) are just some of the works she has helped produce.
In addition to her writing experience, Brooks has taught in many university settings, teaching literature, drama and composition. She also makes appearances at presentations across the country speaking on literary topics.
Brooks and her husband, A.J., live in Meridian, Miss.
College of Bible & Religion
Currently serving as visiting missionary for Oklahoma Christian University, Arlin Hendrix (’70) has devoted most of his life to evangelizing in France. He began his time in the country as a Bible teacher at Centre d’Enseignement Biblique in Lyon, France, and still maintains that post along with maintaining the Bible correspondence courses sent throughout the French-speaking world, whether as a hard copy or online.
Recently, Hendrix has begun marriage seminars in the country. He has traveled to other countries, including Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany and Switzerland, as a speaker and lecturer on many occasions.
Hendrix and his wife, Pamela, together have four children, Jana Johnston, Karen Love, Daniel and Nathan, and seven grandchildren.
College of Business Administration
Upon arriving at T.D. Williamson Inc. in 1987 as tax manager, Bruce Binkley (’80) has held several positions and serves as president and chief executive officer of the company. Binkley was named president and chief operating officer in 2005 and was later appointed as CEO in 2008. He joined the TDW board of directors in 2004.
Binkley has more than 29 years of experience in financial and operations management with companies such as Phillips Petroleum, Unit Rig and Equipment and TDW. His broad scope of experience includes extensive knowledge of manufacturing and service operations, and business development.
Binkley also serves as the president of the Indian Nations Council of the Boy Scouts of America and a board member of the Tulsa Area Chamber of Commerce and the Tulsa Area United Way. He is a founding member of the Broken Arrow Economic Development Commission and past board member of Hope Harbor Children’s Home.
Binkley and his wife, Kim White, have four children, Shannon Grodin Poynot, Taylor, Jordan and Kyle, all of whom are alumni of the University.
College of Education
Since fall 1968, Dr. Betty Work (’64) Watson taught at Harding until her retirement at the end of the 2011 school year. Watson’s focus was on language arts for elementary and early childhood curriculum. She taught courses in emergent literacy; language arts; correcting reading difficulties; family, school and community; foundation of early childhood education; and the course for which she is probably best known — children’s literature.
Watson served as director of the early childhood program at the University beginning in 1997. She was also awarded distinguished professor status for her outstanding teaching abilities. She served as main contributor to writing for the College of Education’s NCATE visits, allowing the early childhood program to achieve national accreditation.
Watson holds memberships in the National Association for the Education of Young Children, Southern Early Childhood Association, and the International Reading Association. She is a regular speaker at state, regional and national conferences for each organization.
Watson and husband, Zearl, have two sons, David and Zac, and two grandchildren.
College of Nursing
For Jennifer Latham (’98) Huntley, her professional journey has taken as many turns as her life has. Huntley began as a nurse at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in the pediatric cardiovascular intensive care unit, moving on to work with InteliStaff travel nursing for adult intensive care. She then diverged into farming blackberries with her husband, Mark.
During the birth of her daughter, though, Huntley’s life changed, and she was partially paralyzed, able only to walk on completely flat surfaces without excruciating pain. She has not let the obstacle hinder her dreams, though. She works as a title insurance underwriter with her husband’s law firm, maintains the couple’s snake breeding business, and operates Jennifer Huntley Photography.
She and her husband have three children, Braxton, Asher and Tennyson.
College of Sciences
After graduation in 1961, Dick Carter began his career serving in the U.S. Army as a research lab technician within the medical unit. He later moved on to become a microbiologist for the U.S. Army biological laboratory where he led investigations to study the growth response of various viral strains. Stemming from his army days, Carter moved into work with the National Cancer Institute, becoming deputy general manager and later facility manager.
Carter has received several awards during his career, including the Federal Energy and Water Management Award and the National Institutes of Health Award of Merit.
He served as elder from 1980-2007 of Fredrick (Md.) Church of Christ as well as on the American Cancer Society and Veteran’s Club of Frostburg State University.
Carter and his wife, Sandra, have three children, Shelley Lynn Sunkel, Troy and Ryan Carter — all of whom are alumni — and five grandchildren.
Here are a few highlights. Annie is the musical. The Heritage Circle welcomes the Classes of '36,'41, '46, '51, '56 and '61 back to campus. visit http://www.harding.edu/heritage/lodging.html.
We hope you will call your friends, roommates and suitemates to come and be a part of the weekend.
