Pictured, left to right: Joel Kirby (’13), Eian Zellner (’13), Chelsea Lundberg (’13) and David Schatz (’13).
Approximately 125 people attended the Truman alumni and friends reception in January sponsored by the Department of Music and hosted by Dan Peterson, director of bands, during the Missouri Educators Conference annual meeting at Tan-Tar-A Resort in Osage Beach, Mo.
In case you missed it, the Truman Alumni Travel Program recently visited beautiful Costa Rica. The program offers worry-free vacations to breathtaking destinations.Want to avoid hassle? The prices are competitive and include daily activities and many of your meals. Not only that, but you have a representative from Truman there with you, answering questions and helping you prepare for the trip ahead.
“I joined the Costa Rica tour and found it perfect for individual adventure and qualified experienced tour management. Denise Smith, Truman’s director of alumni relations, provided her knowledgeable and confident travel experience, patience and gentle kindness to enhance our group chemistry and comfort. I found it was an exceptional way to see the country of Costa Rica with no hassle or worry. We had first-class accommodations and ample opportunity to individualize our vacation experience. I must add that a top reason for me signing up for the next Truman Alumni Association-sponsored adventure will be the opportunity to meet new Truman friends with whom there is already a common bond and loyalty.”
—DONNA BAILEY (’76, ’84)
Make sure to keep a look out for next year’s trip to France. More information can be found at alumni.truman.edu/TravelProgram.asp, or questions may be emailed to Denise Smith, director of alumni relations, at dlsmith@truman.edu.
Our alumni chapters are more than just socials and sporting events. Chapter members leave lasting legacies by volunteering their time at events and fundraisers, serving as mentors for students and supporting scholarships to enhance the Truman experience for the great students that will someday pursue their own excellence at the University. Being a chapter member is a great opportunity to network with other successful Bulldogs and offers a chance to build personal leadership skills.
Individual memberships are only $20, joint memberships are $30, and recent grads/current students get half-off! Go to store.truman.edu/alumni.
Not a member of your local chapter yet? Joining is easy, and members are privy to some exclusive benefits. Check out the full list online at alumni.truman.edu.
We are busy making preparations for this year’s Homecoming weekend! There’s an even bigger and better Bulldog Tailgate in the works, plus, we will be honoring the Class of 1964 (and prior) as our Golden Alumni. If you would like to participate in the celebration, tickets are now available in the Alumni Store. Just head to store.truman.edu/alumni and click on “Homecoming 2014.” More information will be available in the next few weeks on all of this year’s Homecoming events. Be sure to “like” us on Facebook at facebook.com/TrumanAlumni, and keep checking the mail for more details!
A look at what some of the alumni chapters have been up to and what they have in store. For the latest news on all upcoming events, visit alumni.truman.edu/events.
Chicago Alumni Chapter: Lakeview Food Pantry, March 15
Thank you to all of the incredible volunteers that came to help out at the Lakeview Food Pantry. Chicago alumni packaged more than 130 bags of food to be delivered to homebound residents of the Lakeview community. Each resident received two bags of food containing meat, canned goods, milk, grains, fresh vegetables, fresh fruits and even flowers. Some of the bags were specially packaged for residents with health concerns. What a great way to spend a Saturday morning by helping others and reminiscing about the Kirksville community!
Dallas Alumni Chapter: Spring Banquet, April 26
Bulldogs of all eras joined the Dallas Alumni Chapter at the annual spring banquet. After the meal, special guest, football coach Gregg Nesbitt (’80), updated everyone on Bulldog athletics and the University.
Mid-Atlantic Alumni Chapter: National Zoo Tour, June 28
The Mid-Atlantic Alumni Chapter invites you to a day at the zoo. There will be two special tours offered (more details online) to give an exclusive look at one of our nation’s treasures. The tour is FREE for chapter members, and $5/person or $15/family for non-members. Tickets are available in the Alumni Store. Not a member? Join the chapter for the special discount.
NEMO Alumni Chapter: Golf Tournament, July 11
Golfers of all levels are invited to join the Northeast Missouri Alumni Chapter for their annual scholarship scramble. Entry fee is $60/person or $240/team and includes lunch, soda, sports drinks and a chance to win some great prizes. To register, visit the online Alumni Store, or contact Denise Smith at dlsmith@truman.edu, (660) 785-4133.
Kansas City Alumni Chapter: Golf Tournament, July 19
The Kansas City Alumni Chapter invites you to participate in this year’s tournament at the Shoal Creek Golf Course. Golfers of all levels are encouraged to participate in this fun and exciting day. The day starts at 8 a.m., followed by a lunch buffet with hamburgers, brats, chicken and all of the fixings. Entry fee is $100/person or $400/team and can be paid through the Alumni Store.
Mid-Missouri Alumni Chapter: Cooper’s Oak Winery, Higbee, Mo., Aug. 23
The Mid-Missouri Alumni Chapter is headed to Cooper’s Oak Winery in Higbee. This small-town winery is also located on the premises of A & K Cooperage, manufacturer of fine American and French Oak barrels. Their wines are stored in a unique wine cellar, which was built in the historic Higbee City Jail. Come enjoy a summer day in the countryside while tasting the wines.
St. Louis Alumni Chapter: Cards vs. Cubs Game & Tailgate, Aug. 30
The St. Louis Alumni Chapter invites you to a night of MLB action as the Cardinals take on the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium, Saturday, Aug. 30. There are tickets reserved in the Left Field Pavilion, $25 for chapter members and $30 for non-members. Before the game there will be a free tailgate complete with nacho bar and soda; cash bar will be available. Tickets are on sale now in the Alumni Store. Space is limited.
Arizona Alumni Chapter: Bulldogs Visit the Cooler Climates of Flagstaff, August TBA
Join the Arizona Alumni Chapter for a trip to Flagstaff. Members will meet for brunch before visiting the Lowell Observatory for a guided daytime tour, followed by viewing various wonders of the night sky through the famed Clark Telescope. Truman alumni and friends who want to make this a weekend trip can stay overnight and hike the Oak Creek Canyon trail in the Coconino National Forest with the chapter the following day.
Iowa Alumni Chapter: “Battle of the Bulldogs” Truman vs. Drake Football Game, Sept. 6
The Iowa Alumni Chapter wants you to help them cheer on the Truman football team as they battle the Drake Bulldogs in Des Moines. The chapter will host a barbeque tailgate prior to the game with refreshments and door prizes. Chapter members will get a discount on tailgate and game tickets. Help us pack Drake Stadium in PURPLE!
Ray Armstead (’84)
Time might be one of the few things that moves as fast as Ray Armstead (’84). This summer marks the 30th anniversary of his Olympic gold medal win as a member of the U.S. 1,600-meter relay team.
“I can’t believe it was that long ago—I really can’t,” Armstead said. “It makes you a part of history. Being an Olympian is like winning the lottery, but beyond that, I’m still the same.”
Interestingly enough, Armstead nearly missed the chance to become one of the University’s most accomplished athletic alumni. The St. Louis native was primarily a basketball player in high school and was a latecomer to the track. After a successful showing at the state meet his senior year, legendary coach Kenneth Gardner helped steer Armstead to Truman thanks in part to the University’s reputation for academics and its track program.
Armstead is quick to credit the coaches at Truman for helping him improve on the track.
“Everything I learned was from someone teaching me how to run, how to lift weights and basically to be a good athlete,” he said. “I’m a motivated individual and I never wanted to be a failure. I just needed somebody who had the guidance and understanding to make me better.”
In addition to Gardner, Armstead acknowledges coaches Ed Schenider, John Cochrane and John Ware as instrumental in helping him achieve his goals. Cochrane worked with Armstead in the summers, and even drove him to Bloomfield, Iowa, regularly so he could have the opportunity to workout on an all-weather track.
“He saw that I was really passionate about being an Olympian. He gave me the workouts. He put me in the weight room,” Armstead said.
Along with all of his hard work, an injury in the 1983 season might have been equally responsible for helping Armstead reach Olympic greatness. That injury led him to take a redshirt, pushing back his eligibility for the outdoor track season and allowing him more time to workout with the rest of the team.
“If I would have graduated on time, I probably never would have made the Olympic team because then you are on your own to train,” he said. “Because I was redshirted I still had the opportunity to work with Truman.”
After posting a qualifying time during a meet at Southeast Missouri State University, Armstead was invited to the Olympic trials, where he found himself competing against Division I athletes. The gravity of making the team and representing the U.S. did not set in until that summer in Los Angeles.
“The whole time I was running, I had to prove myself,” Armstead said. “It didn’t hit me until the finals. It was very rewarding.”
After the Olymp
ics, Armstead returned to Truman to finish his degree in art in December. He spent much of the next five years competing professionally around the globe. When his track career was complete, he turned his focus back to his education, picking up a master’s degree in business administration from Fontbonne University and a teaching degree from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Today, the gold medalist still finds time to run. He usually gets in two or three miles before heading to work as an art teacher at Jana Elementary School in Hazelwood, Mo. Armstead has a son and a daughter and lives in St. Louis with his wife of 17 years, Kimberly.
Reinberg enjoys spending time with his wife Christina and their children, Hunter (7), Parker (5) and Emersen (1).
Like most college students, Jason Reinberg (’00) formed a lot of lasting memories during his time at Truman. Between athletics, academics and a social life, he is hard pressed to determine which one is the most memorable.
It could be when, as a member of the 1998-1999 men’s basketball team, he hit two late free throws to secure the conference championship and send the Bulldogs to the NCAA tournament. The jam-packed crowd in Pershing Arena and the celebrations late into the night are a flurry of indescribable feelings for Reinberg. That team would carry their late-season momentum all the way to the final four, the best performance ever by a Truman squad. He still considers his teammates as some of his best friends.
“We have always gotten along and supported each other. I would bet the depth and longevity of our friendships is rarely seen in a college team,” Reinberg said.
Maybe something from all of the hours he spent in class or studying in Pickler Memorial Library stands out as his most memorable moment. In addition to his successful athletic career, Reinberg graduated as a valedictorian with a degree in biology. He went on to study at the University of Missouri’s School of Medicine and interned for one year at St. John’s Mercy in St. Louis before returning to Columbia for his dermatology residency.
Currently, Reinberg works in Washington, Mo., at Mercy Clinic as a dermatologist. Although he treats a variety of rashes, the majority of his patients come in for exams in order to diagnose and treat skin cancer. The visual aspects of this field fascinate Reinberg.
“I like being able to look at a problem on the skin and in most cases immediately know what the issue is and how to treat it,” he said.
During his medical school education, Reinberg never felt at a disadvantage when matched against students who graduated from larger or more nationally well-known institutions.
“My Truman education not only prepared me for medical school, but it allowed me to succeed in medical school,” Reinberg said. “It provided a great atmosphere for learning and growth academically, as well as socially.”
So maybe it is a memory from his social life that stands out among the rest. A member of Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity, he also spent a considerable amount of time at the Catholic Newman Center. Reinberg even enjoyed living in Missouri Hall his freshman year and still keeps in touch with his roommate and former team member Jason Ramthun (’00). To this day, he plays basketball in a YMCA league with many of the same guys he played with at Truman, as well as some younger graduates.
As great as all those memories are, none of them top the list for Reinberg. Despite his many accomplishments in college, whether they were in the classroom, on the court or in the fraternity house, he will say the one experience that stands out the most was meeting his wife Christina (Hunter) Reinberg (’01). They have three children together and Reinberg enjoys passing on his love of sports to them.
Sarah Dance (’05)
One of the most Accomplished careers in the history of Bulldog athletics almost never happened.
Sarah Dance (’05) originally decided to go to school in her home state, and attended the University of Nebraska as a freshman. She did not swim that year, and when she made up her mind that she wanted to get back into the sport, she knew Truman was the place for her.
“My brother, who is three years older, went to Truman,” Dance said. “Through him, I learned about the great swimming and academics of the school. Truman was a natural fit, so I transferred.”
That decision worked out well. During her time at the University, Dance was a part of four swimming team national championships. On an individual level, she was a member of seven national champion freestyle relay teams and earned 28 All-America awards. Academically she excelled too, graduating with a perfect grade-point average while picking up a degree in exercise science with a minor in biology.
Those accomplishments helped Dance secure the NCAA Walter Byers Postgraduate Scholarship. The honor is bestowed on one male and one female student-athlete each year, regardless of sport or division, in recognition of athletic and academic achievement and for the purposes of postgraduate study.
“I didn’t think I would make it far in the application process, let alone win,” she said. “As students and athletes, what we do—working hard in our sport and academically—is the routine. It’s hard to recognize when it might be exemplary. I have my coach, Colleen Murphy, and my parents to thank, because they encouraged me to apply.”
The Walter Byers Scholarship came in handy for Dance, who attended medical school at the University of Nebraska Medical Center after her time at Truman. She finished her final year of anesthesiology residency this June, and while she calls Seattle, Wash., home now, she is currently spending a year in Houston as she completes a fellowship in cardiothoracic anesthesiology at the Texas Heart Institute.
In addition to dedicating the last several years to establishing her medical career, Dance joined the National Guard and spent six months deployed in Iraq.
“I always wanted to do something with the military, but couldn’t find the right avenue until a National Guard member spoke at a med school lunch meeting during the first weeks of school,” she said. “It seemed like a good fit—the opportunity for military involvement, but to still pick my own specialty and where I live.”
Dance worked with the Guard during medical school and her residency, participating in drills during the weekends. She delayed her anesthesia residency so she would have the opportunity deploy to Iraq, where she served as a brigade surgeon for a Nebraska unit and primarily focused on medical administrative work.
“It was a great experience in a leadership role, and I met a lot of great people,” she said.
Dance and her fiancé will be married next year, and they hope to make their home in the northwest.
Matt Helbig (’03)
What started as just an idea between two friends keeps getting bigger.
Longtime acquaintances and former Truman track and field teammates Matt Helbig (’03) and Ben Rosario (’03) were enjoying a run together when they came up with the idea of opening their own store. Following the advice “do what you love,” they formulated a business plan, raised nearly $100,000 from friends and family for start-up funds and opened their first running and walking specialty store in August 2006.
In less than a decade, Big River Running Company has gone from an idea to a multimillion-dollar entity. Today, the company has four locations in the St. Louis metro area, with 35 full- and part-time employees. The initial success of Big River Running has also led to greater achievements for its two founders and their community.
In 2012, Rosario sold his share in the company to Helbig and moved to the running mecca of Flagstaff, Ariz., with his wife, Jen (Tesmer) Rosario (’03). Rosario now coaches and manages Northern Arizona Elite, a professional sports organization with a mission to recruit, develop and produce distance runners to compete at the very highest level of international athletics. His athletes have won national and international events, represented the United States at the World Championships and are considered strong contenders to make the 2016 Olympic Team.
“During my six amazing years at Big River I learned a lifetime’s worth of lessons, but I’d say hard work, the value of relationships and how to create a powerful brand were three of the biggest,” Rosario said. “It’s those three things, above all others, that I think are helping me succeed in the world of professional running.”
Helbig has an additional business venture as well after spearheading the launch of Big River Race Management in 2007. That company helps plan and provide chip timing for races all across the U.S. Its impact can especially be felt in St. Louis where last year Big River Race Management timed more than 150,000 athletes at no fewer than 220 events, many of which they helped sponsor or bring to the area.
“It is really pretty simple. We wanted to share the passion we have for running with others, some of whom share that passion and others who are learning about the sport of running for the first time,” Helbig said. “The goal was always to create a true community of runners and walkers around the stores.”
Getting involved in the community may be one of the secrets of success for Big River Running, and its efforts have not gone unnoticed. In 2009, the City of
St. Louis named it a Neighborhood Business of the Year. In fact, every year since its inception, Big River Running has been named one of the 50 best run specialty stores in the country, and was one of four finalists for the award in 2012.
All of his hard work has earned Helbig some attention too, as this year he was recognized by the St. Louis Business Journal on its “40 Under 40” list.
“Big River Running has been very successful and it’s not by luck. A lot of hard work and care went into building and growing the stores into what they are today,” Helbig said. “I truly believe success comes much easier when you are authentic and passionate. People naturally gravitate towards those qualities, and being authentic and passionate is part of the fiber of Big River Running.”
