GCU TODAY • 2 5
GCU
Alumni
Class Notes
1964 to 2014
1960s
Norma Mercer,
B.S. in Elementary
Education, ’64,
started a library
at First Southern
Baptist Church in Wickenburg,
Ariz. The library had 500 books
when it opened and now has
more than 3,000.
1970s
Mark Pitts, B.A.
in Religion, ’76,
is
senior pastor of
Village Meadows
Baptist Church in
Sierra Vista, Ariz. In 18 years
there, Pitts has had many roles
and led a church relocation.
Charles Rhode, B.S.
inMusic Education
and Elementary
Education, ’77,
was
named Elementary
School Teacher of the Year in
Chesterfield County, Va., for his
work in the music department
at Watkins Elementary School.
Rhode has been teaching in
Chesterfield County Public
Schools since 1985.
Ronna Jordan, B.S. in
Elementary Education, ’78,
is president and founder of
Houses with Hope,
a nonprofit that
builds homes for
disadvantaged
families and
orphans in Africa and helps
victims of humanitarian crises.
Jordan has started a campaign
to raise money for victims of
the Garissa (Kenya) University
College attack in April.
1980s
Brian Stout, B.S.
inMarketing, ’89,
has been involved
with the Haitian
church for eight
years. Stout founded Florida-
based Thousand Hills Ministries
in 2011 to focus on gospel-based
economic-development projects.
1990s
Eric Christensen,
B.A. in Christian
Studies, ’93,
is
executive director
of The Springs at
Tanasbourne, a senior housing
company based in Hillsboro, Ore.
Christensen has more than nine
years of management experience
in the senior living community
industry and volunteers his time
to housing-related causes.
Daniel Miranda,
B.S. in Justice
Studies, ’95,
and
James Kuzmich
opened the
Miranda & Kuzmich law firm in
Tempe, Ariz. Miranda has been
representing clients in business-
related legal matters since 2003
and focuses on commercial,
business and contract law.
PamelaWatts,
M.Ed. in Secondary
Education, ’97,
is
director of Creative
Bridges and
Discovery Tree Learning Center,
a private, parent cooperative
preschool in Phoenix that
recently celebrated its 25th
anniversary.
Dr. Brian Bucina,
B.S. in Biology, ’98,
is a general surgeon
at Little Colorado
Medical Center
in Winslow, Ariz., and medical
director for its Wound Care Clinic.
He also trains medical students
fromMidwestern University and
the University of Arizona.
Donna Hamill, M.Ed. in
Secondary Education, ’99,
has
released her first book, “Baskets
for Butterflies,” a
novel devoted to
preserving heirloom
vegetables. The
book is based on
Hamill’s garden journal, which
shares the joys of daily farm life.
Aminda
Parafinik, B.A. in
Communications:
Public Relations,
’99,
and her
husband, Josh, published
“The Couple’s Road Trip Guide:
Relationship Lessons Learned
from Life on the Road.” The book
shares tales from their road trips
and discusses the similarities
between a successful road trip
and a marriage.
2000s
Elmer “Bud”
Backer, M.S.
in Executive
Fire Service
Leadership,
’06,
is chief at East Pierce Fire
and Rescue in Bonney Lake,
Wash. Backer has held various
leadership positions with fire
departments throughout King
County, Wash., including chief of
the King County Fire District.
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