Fall 2024 55 WEINSTEIN: DEVON TREVATHAN; YIN: MATHIEU LEWIS-ROLLAND U P D A T E S ELLEN YIN, ’16 Ellen Yin is the first Asian American in nearly 30 years to be crowned Mrs. Oregon America. She represents the state in the Mrs. America competition — the longest-standing national pageant for married women — at the end of August in Las Vegas. Yin is the founder and host of the Cubicle to CEO podcast, which features weekly case-study interviews with entrepreneurs and CEOs. Learn more about her work at ellenyin.com. COLTON WEINSTEIN, ’14 Colton Weinstein, chief executive officer and co-founder of Liba Spirits and consulting distiller for Corsair Distillery in Nashville, Tennessee, was chosen by his peers as Artisan Spirit magazine’s 2024 Artisan Spirit Distiller of the Year. Weinstein was also named to Imbibe magazine’s list of 75 People to Watch in 2024. lished Black Diamonds from the Treasure State with Indiana University Press about early efforts to bring rail transport to the northeast corner of Yellowstone National Park and the Red LodgeBear Creek coal field. Jim Schwarz, ’69, was honored as the eldest member of William Paterson University’s Class of 2024. Schwarz returned to school in his 70s to pursue a second bachelor’s degree — this time in health studies — after watching his wife of 48 years recover from medical issues. Read more at bit.ly/jim-schwartz. Melanie Spraggins, ’01, and Jamae Hilliard Creecy, ’91, were featured in Hydro Leader magazine as part of the all female executive team now leading the Bonneville Power Administration’s Power Services Department. Spraggins commented, “We are also both Black females, making this truly a historical milestone in the predominately white male energy industry.” Tom C. Veblen, M.S. ’55, co convener of the Washington, DC, Cosmos Club Freethinkers Conversation Table, published Reimagining America’s Experiment in Self-Governance: The Way Forward with Dalen Publishing. To share your good news with the Oregon State community, email stater@osualum.com. time Achievement Award for Historic Preservation. Ali A. Karakhan, Ph.D. ’20, a lecturer in the Department of Reconstruction Projects at the University of Baghdad, was published in the peer reviewed journal, SHIFT. Angela Kargel, ’92, has become the first woman to hold the position of state traffic engineer with the Oregon Department of Transportation. Brent Keeler, ’06, was awarded the Quanta Services CEO Innovation & Entrepreneurial Award for his work as team leader in designing, building and implementing an anti rotation device for the CH 47 Chinook Helicopter. Keeler is a senior pilot and CH 47 “utility hook” program manager for PJ Helicopters out of Northern California. Michael Kondo, ’77, retired head gardener of the Portland Japanese Garden, was profiled by KGW8 for his 40 years on the job and lasting impact on the garden’s beauty. Watch at bit.ly/kondo. Scott Rueck, ’92, MAT ’93, head coach for OSU women’s basketball, was voted Pac 12 Coach of the Year by the media. Rueck guided the Beavs to a 23 6 regular season finish and No. 4 seed in the Pac 12 tournament, after finishing 13 18 the previous season. Robert Schalla, M.S. ’78, a retired geologist, pub
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