Warrior Magazine June 2020

straight fastpitch championships. They appeared to be headed for the eighth straight in fastpitch this spring before season was stopped be cause of the Coronavirus Pandemic. Brian Sistrunk (’98) of Brandon was recently promoted to Mississippi Sales Manager of Mortgage Lending with BankFirst Financial Services. Justin Chaney (’99), head softball coach at Newton County High School, was named National Softball Coach of the Year by the National High School Athletic Coaches Association. He has won 17 state championships overall, 10 in fastpitch and seven in slowpitch. He was earlier named The Meridian Star’s Premier Prep’s Softball Coach of the Year. Tammy Munn (’99) of the Polkville community in Scott County was recently certified as a volunteer firefighter after attending the Fire Academy in Pearl. She is also prepar ing to take the test to become a na tionally certified Emergency Medical Responder. service the new accounts department at Bank of Forest where she has been employed since 2003. ECCC instructors and alumni Luke and Aubrie Howell (’05) were the subject of a recent feature article by Agnes Russell in the Decatur Com munity News section of the Newton County Appeal . The couple met at East Central as students and now reside in Union with their children, Jacob and Annley. Zach Robinson (’05) was recently selected principal at his alma mater, Union High School. Robinson is a 2003 graduate of Union High School and attended ECCC before transfer ring to Mississippi State University. He earned a degree in educational leadership from Arkansas State Uni versity in 2015. Robinson has been at Union High School for three years, serving as a teacher and a coach. Be fore coming Union, he taught in Scott County. Robinson lives in Union with his wife, Sandy Keene Robinson, and their three children, Sawyer, Catcher, and Preslee. 00 s • Melanie Harrison (’01) of Forest, a native of Lawrence, was pro moted to assistant vice president and will

Robert Westbrook (’08) was selected head baseball coach at Lamar School in Meridian. He previously served as assistant baseball coach at Newton County High School. Dr. Daniel Johnson (’09) of Starkville, a Union native, successfully defend ed his doctoral dissertation titled, “Modeling Micromechanics of Solid Fluid Interactions in Granular me dia.” He received his doctoral degree in mechanical engineering from the Bagley School of Engineering at Mis sissippi State University in December 2019. Pneumothorax in Women” published in the American Journal of Respira tory and Critical Care Medicine in the case abstract subsection. Dr. Channing Bucklew (’12) recently joined the staff of Mississippi Eye Care. He is a graduate of the Univer sity of Alabama Birmingham School of Optometry. A Louisville native, he received his bachelor’s degree from Mississippi State University. Former Diamond Warrior Brock Ward (’12), a native of Louisville, was named pitching coach at the Univer sity of West Alabama. He previously served on the coaching staff at the University of West Florida. He played two seasons for UWA and served three seasons as a graduate assistant coach there. Nathan Powell (’14) was recently pro moted to the position of relationship banker at Citizens National Bank, where he has been employed since 2016. Northeast Lauderdale High School announced the hiring of Hayley Ste phens (’14) as its next head softball coach. A Union native, Stephens played softball at ECCC for two years before transferring to and graduat ing from Mississippi State. She spent two seasons as an assistant at Union before serving as an assistant at Puckett, where she’s been the previ ous two seasons. Alana Knowles (’15) was one of 17 Mississippi State University students who received the university’s Spirit 10 s • Dr. Jared Mullins (’10) had his article “Spo radic Lymphangio-leio myomatosis: A Rare Cause of Spontaneous

of State Award for exceptional per sonal contributions to campus life. Brittnae Smith (’15) was selected interim library director for the Ne shoba County Public Library. She also leads the library’s Reading Academy, which is an after school program to help improve vocabulary and reading skills in elementary. Winston County native Madelon Taylor Flippo (’16) was featured in a Winston County Journal article that highlighted her appearance with her husband, Jonathan, on TLC’s “Say Yes to the Dress America.” The show featured 51 couples from across the United States. Former Lady Warrior Danielle Cole (’17), an MACJC All-State honoree, was named assistant women’s basketball coach at East Mississippi Community College. She previously served as assistant women’s basketball coach at Pensacola State College and is a former graduate assistant coach at her alma mater Delta State University. ECCC alumna and Student Hall of Fame member Reagan Gorgas (’18) of Decatur was recently inducted into the honor society of Phi Kappa Phi at the University of Mississippi. Justin Wilcher (’18) of Philadelphia recently opened J’s Coffee House near Williamsville. They offer everything from coffee to smoothies to hot chocolate, along with house made pastries. Former Warrior football player Ethan McMullan (’19) of Decatur was featured in The Alabama Baptist in an article titled “UNA Lineman Knows What Strength Really Is.” It talks of his role in his family’s fight against cancer, which has affected his younger sister, Alana, his mother, Eileen, and three of his grandparents, and the way the disease has strengthened his faith.

Andrew Weir (’19) of Newton was selected to participate in the Mississippi Rural Dentists Scholarship Program.

ALUMNI NEWS

25