2018 Board of Directors Biographies
Board of Directors
The membership elects representatives at each Annual Meeting to the Foundation’s Board of Directors, which oversees the affairs of the Foundation. The Board of Directors is presently composed of 24 voting directors and 6 non-voting emeritus directors representing 18 different Acacia chapters.
Current members of the Board of Directors being nominated for an additional three-year term on the board, to be voted on at the 2018 Annual Meeting:
· Dwyte E. Brooks, Northwestern ’69 – Foundation Board of Directors 2015-Present. DMD, FAGD, FADL, ADA Delegate; ADA Council on Ethics, Bylaws and Judicial Affairs; ADA Standing Committee on Constitution and Bylaws; NDA Treasurer; Chair-NDA Council on Ethics, Bylaws, and Judicial Affairs; Clinical Faculty, UNLV School of Dental Medicine; President of the Board, Helping Kids Clinic Charity. Resides in Las Vegas, NV
· Aaron P. Darcy, Indiana ’95 – Roy C. Clark Award, Order of Pythagoras. International Undergraduate Councilor 1996-1998; Foundation Board of Directors 2015-Present. General Manager, Global Sales & Marketing for Microsoft; resides in Raleigh, NC.
· Kris R. Lutt, Nebraska ’90 – Order of Pythagoras. Venerable Dean Nebraska 1991-1992; International Undergraduate Councilor 1992-1994; Foundation Board of Directors 2016-Present. President-Sweeteners, Starches and Acidulants, Archer Daniels Midland Inc.; resides in Decatur, IL
· Amos D. Meyers, Jr., Shippensburg ’66 – Order of Pythagoras, Award of Merit. Foundation Board of Directors 2015-Present, President Foundation Board of Directors 2105-Present. Elementary classroom teacher and administrator (retired); resides in Volcano, HI
· Michael L. (Mike) Rollins, Washington ’87 – Foundation Board of Directors 2015-Present. Account Executive- Midwest, Matson Navigation Company. I am committed to supporting our mission of “Preparing Tomorrow’s Leaders”; resides in Grayslake, IL with his son Luke, wife Colleen, and Black Lab Poppy.
· Dewayne E. (Dewey) Ullsperger, Nebraska ’82 – Venerable Dean Nebraska 1984-1985; Foundation Board of Directors 2003-Present. Roy C. Clark Award, Order of Pythagoras, Award of Merit, George F. Patterson, Jr. Award. Vice President and Actuary, UnitedHealth Group; resides in Minnetonka, MN
New members nominated to the Board for a three-year term, to be voted on at the 2018 Annual Meeting:
· Guy Gebhardt, Illinois Wesleyan ’66 - Guy was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University with a B.A., cum laude, in political science in 1969. Guy was initiated into Acacia Fraternity in January, 1966 and served terms as rush chairman and Venerable Dean. He was social chairman of Interfraternity Council, vice president of the senior class, and a houseboy at Sigma Kappa Sorority.
After completing active duty with the U.S. Army, Guy received his J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1973. Guy practiced law in Atlanta for 17 years prior to his appointment in 1991 as Assistant U.S. Trustee with the United States Trustee Program (“USTP”). The USTP is the component of the U.S. Department of Justice responsible for the supervision of bankruptcy cases. From January, 2013 until his retirement on January 6, 2018, Guy was the Acting U.S. Trustee for Georgia, Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Guy and his wife, Paulette, live in Marietta, Georgia, and have three daughters and three grandchildren. They are members of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. Guy is a past president of the Rotary Club of East Cobb and currently serves as a trustee of the Georgia Rotary Student Program.
· Phillip S. Sutton, Ohio State ’88 Order of Pythagoras. HCB President Ohio State. Phil was initiated into Acacia in January 1988 at The Ohio State University. As an undergraduate he served as Rush Chairman, Senior Dean, and Venerable Dean. Phil was also Rush Coordinator and then President of the Interfraternity Council and served on the Greek Week Steering Committee. He has served on the Ohio State Association Board various times as an alumnus and been awarded the Order of Pythagoras. In 2013, he moved back to Findlay, Ohio and has been serving as the Real Estate Region Manager, until a recent move to his current role as Senior Business Development Advisor in the Asphalt and Petrochemical group. Phil and his wife Crissy have been married 24 years and have twins, Sophie and Peter, who are 15 years old. His biggest passion outside of family and fraternity is college football.
Current members of the Board of Directors being nominated for an additional four-year term on the board, to be voted on at the 2018 Annual Meeting:
· Brian R. Durst, Wisconsin ’87 – Order of Pythagoras, Award of Merit, Re-founding Father, Wisconsin Chapter. HCB President Wisconsin; Foundation Board of Directors 2014-Present. District Sales Manager, American Family Insurance; resides in Woodstock (Atlanta), GA
· Robert E. (Rob) Roberson, Illinois Wesleyan ’74 – Order of Pythagoras, Award of Merit, George F. Patterson, Jr. Award. HCB President Illinois Wesleyan; International Council Treasurer 1998-2001; International Council President 2009-2014; Foundation Board of Directors 2014-Present. Compliance Examiner for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; resides in Richview, IL
· Larry E. Schroeder, Georgia ’77 – Order of Pythagoras, Award of Merit, George F. Patterson, Jr. Award. Board of Directors of the Acacia Fraternity Foundation, 1996 – Present; Past Treasurer Acacia Fraternity Foundation, Member of Investment committee, Member Audit committee, Member of committee on new Software. Worked for McDonnell Douglas Automation as a programmer, Worked for General Dynamics as a Senior programmer, Worked for IBM as a software engineer, Working for Unicomsi in software support, live in Cary, NC.
· William A. (Bill) Utic, Cornell ’74 – Corporate real estate manager (retired) for San Francisco-based Pacific Gas and Electric Company. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Civil Engineering and holds professional designations from the American Institute of Certified Planners, the Building Owners and Managers Institute and the Commercial Investment Management Institute. Bill is a founding director of the AFF and served as president from 1998-2010. He is also a past president and director of the California Chapter’s house corporation. Bill is a recipient of the Award of Merit, George F. Patterson, Jr. Award, and Order of Pythagoras. He chairs the finance council of the Diocese of Oakland, is a member of the Congregational Advisory Board for the Dominican Sisters, and is a past president of the Harvard Alumni Association. Bill and his wife Dianne reside in Fremont, CA.
Continuing on the Board of Directors:
· Gerald C. Cook, Shippensburg ’66 – Order of Pythagoras, Award of Merit, George F. Patterson, Jr. Award. Foundation Board of Directors 1991-1994; President Foundation Board of Directors 1994-1998; International Council President 1998-2002; Foundation Board of Directors 2002-Present. Chairman of the AFF Board Development Committee. Past Southern Region Director of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Recently retired as Lead Public Health Advisor for the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Atlanta, GA. Resides in Roswell, GA.
· David L. Ferguson, Indiana ’74 – Order of Pythagoras. Chapter Advisor Indiana 1984-1991, Foundation Board of Directors 2016-Present. Attorney at Ferguson Law; resides in Bloomington, IN
· Mark R. Guidry, Louisiana State ’57 – Order of Pythagoras, Award of Merit, George F. Patterson, Jr. Award. Foundation Board of Directors 2011-Present. CEO (retired), Avasem Corporation, General Manager (retired) Avanti Bufalini, LLC and Avaline Partners, LLC; resides in Henderson, NV
· Ronald T. Hopkins, Syracuse ’69 – Order of Pythagoras, Award of Merit, George F. Patterson, Jr. Award. National Council Treasurer 1985-1988; International Council Treasurer 1988-1990; Foundation Board of Directors 2000-2010; Foundation Board of Directors 2012-Presnt. President, George O. Miller Co.; resides in Fayetteville, NY
· James N. Katsaounis, Ohio ’95 – Order of Pythagoras, Award of Merit. Director of Communications Acacia International Staff. HCB President Ohio. Foundation Board of Directors Secretary 2011-Present. Past director of public relations, Grand Lodge Free & Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania. Update requested.
· Donald W. Solanas, Jr., Louisiana State ’68 – Order of Pythagoras, Award of Merit, George F. Patterson, Jr. Award, Donald W. Solanas, Jr. Lifetime Service to Acacia Award. Venerable Dean Louisiana State, National Undergraduate Councilor 1971-1972, National Second Vice President 1982-1988, International Second Vice President 1988-1992, International Council President 1992-1998. Foundation Board of Directors 2002-Present. Resides in Baton Rouge, LA
· Michael C. Tu, California ‘91– Order of Pythagoras. Foundation Board of Directors 2014-Present. Attorney and Partner with the law firm of Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP; resides in La Canada Flintridge, CA
· Harold D. Zarr Jr., Iowa State '73 - Order of Pythagoras, Award of Merit, George F. Patterson, Jr. Award. HCB President Iowa State 1996-Present. Foundation Board of Directors 2011-Present. AFF Investment Committee Chairman 2012 - Present. Chairman of the Audit Committee. Professor of Business Finance, Des Moines Area Community College; resides in Ankeny, IA
· Andrew Jee, Oregon State ’87 – Order of Pythagoras. Leadership Consultant Acacia International Staff. Foundation Board of Directors 2010-Present. Attorney with Jee Law, PLLC; resides in Dallas, TX
· Roger A. Nealis, Indiana ’63 – Order of Pythagoras, Award of Merit. HCB President Indiana 1997. Foundation Board of Directors 1998-2001, 2016-Present. President RAN Sales Associates; resides in Louisville, KY
· Robert (Bob) G. Travnicek, M.D., Kansas ’59 – Order of Pythagoras, Award of Merit. Foundation Board of Directors 2013-Present. Northwestern Acacia 1960-61; Graduated University of Nebraska College of Medicine 1965; USPHS 1966-68; Private Practice of Medicine Wilber Nebraska 1968-1989; Harvard School of Public Health 1989-90; District Health Officer Mississippi State Department of Health 1990-2013; Felix Underwood Award; Donald Evans Sutter Award; Physician Service Award; retired July 2013. Physician (retired); resides in Long Beach, MS
· David R. Quick, Rensselaer Polytechnic ’93 – Foundation Board of Directors 2017-Present. Past: Director, Ascentium; Development Manager, CommerceServer.net/SiteCore; Co-founder, Renasar Technologies Inc.; Current: Board member at Kingswood-Oxford School (West Hartford, CT); Development Manager in Microsoft Azure. Resides in Bellevue, WA
· Byron A. Tabor, Iowa ’78 – Order of Pythagoras, Award of Merit. Iowa Colony Advisor; Corporation Board member 2001-present; Chapter Advisor Iowa 2017-Present; Foundation Board of Directors 2017-Present. Investment committee chair 2013-present; Kiwanis member 1990-present serving as Lt. Governor six times, President of 3 different clubs, currently Treasurer of one club and Secretary/Treasurer of another club as well as the assistant Nebraska-Iowa District Key Club Administrator; Recently retired as a computer programmer for the Derivatives team in the Investments Division of AEGON Asset Management. Resides with his wife, Julie, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Emeritus Directors:
Six former directors participate in board of directors meetings as non-voting emeritus directors. The Foundation continues to benefit from their advice and participation:
· John C. Barber, M.D. Purdue ’58 – Order of Pythagoras, Award of Merit. Emeritus Director 2017-Present. Ophthalmologist (retired); resides in Pittsburgh, PA
· John F. Beering, Purdue ’88 – Order of Pythagoras, Award of Merit. HCB President Purdue 1994-1996. Emeritus Director.
· John B. Lane, Vermont ’57 – Order of Pythagoras, Award of Merit. Emeritus Director 2017-Present. Professor of mathematics and computer science (retired); resides in Cambridge Springs, PA
· John B. Pugh, Iowa State ’50 – Order of Pythagoras, Award of Merit. Emeritus Director 2017-Present. President, Engineered Timber Sales, Inc. (retired); resides in Tampa, FL
· L. Dennis Smith, Ph.D., Indiana ’56 – Order of Pythagoras, Award of Merit. Emeritus Director 2017-Present. Professor (retired) and President Emeritus of the University of Nebraska; resides in Monticello, IN and Naples, FL
· John W. (Jack) Wedgwood, Purdue ’60 – Order of Pythagoras, Award of Merit. Emeritus Director 2017-Present. Investment manager, DWR Wealth Management; resides in San Jose, CA
Retiring from the Board of Directors:
· William M. (Bill) Riley, Jr., Kansas State ’60 – Order of Pythagoras, Award of Merit, George F. Patterson, Jr. Award. HCB President Kansas State 2002-2006. Foundation Board of Directors 2006-2011, President Foundation Board of Directors 2011-2013, Vice President Foundation Board of Directors 2015-Present. President of The Pathfinder, Inc. (retail outdoor clothing and equipment), past Chairman of the National Trustee Council of the Nature Conservancy and past President of the Kansas 4-H Foundation; resides in Manhattan, KS