Mitchum has been involved in many projects. He initiated a cooperative education program, worked to secure funding for a consortium of six private colleges, and served as director for the combined activities and distribution of funds for a three-year period. He supervised the University Year in Action Program and received federal funds to support the project. He has served as chairman for a group of college representatives who wrote and introduced legislation for the employment of college students as interns in Arkansas state government, and he also developed a special program with area agencies that offered field experience for undergraduate social work students.

Mitchum has been a member of many organizations including the Arkansas Association of Placement Personnel (past president), the Arkansas Association for Continuing Education and Community Service (past president), the Arkansas Cooperative Education Association, the Arkansas Personnel and Guidance Association, the Arkansas School Counselors Association, and the Governor’s Advisory Committee for Cooperative Education.

He is actively involved in his community and has been a member of the Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce, the United Way, and the Arkansas National Guard. He is currently a member of the Batesville City Council (Ward 4, Position 1), a member of the Interlocal Law Enforcement Committee, a member of the Batesville Cemetery Committee, the Arkansas Municipal League, and he is on the Nursing and Allied Health Advisory Committee at the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville.

Mitchum is married to Jimmie Anne Davis Mitchum; they have one daughter, Lynne Mitchum Rhodes ’91, and two grandchildren.

Receiving the Patterson Decade Awards will be Dr. Heather C. Gray of Huntsville, Ala., and Dr. Jeff  A. "Jay" Powell of Sherwood, both of the Class of ’94. This award is presented to a man and woman from the decade class who have distinguished themselves in their chosen careers.

Dr. Gray graduated from Lyon College in 1994 with a bachelor of science degree in biology. While at Lyon, she was the Alpha Chi president in 1993-1994. She received the Coffin Medal, Lyon’s highest academic honor, when she graduated.

For the next four years she attended the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and received her M..D. in 1998. Dr. Gray served an internal medicine residency at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), where she was chief medical resident from 2001-2002, and later received an allergy and immunology fellowship at Saint Louis University. She joined Allergy, Asthma, and Clinical Immunology Specialists in Huntsville, Ala., in July 2004.

She is the author of chapters on drug allergies for WebMD and on asthma for Pediatric Life Support. As a junior medical student, she was inducted as a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society in 1996.

She has been married to Dr. David J. Gray, a plastic surgeon at the Cosmetic Surgery Center of Huntsville, for eight years.

Dr. Powell, a dentist, graduated from Lyon College in 1994, with a B.S. in biology. While at Lyon, he was the president of Kappa Sigma fraternity, the Student Government Association vice-president, the student representative to the curriculum committee, a Student Court justice, a member of the Wesley Fellowship, a Student Ambassador and a member of Chi Beta Phi. He is also a graduate of Sylvan Hills High School.

In 1998 Powell received his doctorate in dental surgery from Baylor College of Dentistry. While attending Baylor, he was a member of the Student Research Group, Psi Omega Dental Fraternity, the Dallas County Dental Society, the Christian Medical Dental Society, and he had an externship in geriatric dentistry. He is now a member of the American Dental Association, the Arkansas State Dental Association, the Central Dental Society, the Rotary Club of Sherwood, and the Sherwood Chamber of Commerce. He has been a family practice dentist in Sherwood since 1998.

Powell has received many awards including the Rotarian of the Year award in 2000 from the Sherwood Rotary Club, and the Rotary Service Above Self Award in both 2001 and 2002.

Powell is married to Kristin Kimball Powell, a social worker and also a 1994 graduate of Lyon. They are expecting their first child this month.

The Friend of Education Award will be presented to Marilynn Chlebak of Batesville. This award honors a person who has made an important contribution to the cause of education in the Batesville area.

Mrs. Chlebak graduated from Lake Forest College in 1958 with a major in English. She continued her education with a master of arts in American studies and ethnic literature from the University of Kansas in 1985. A high school English teacher for 22 years in Illinois, Kansas and Arkansas, she also taught college students at Kansas Wesleyan University and Lyon College. She was the director of the APPLE Project Upward Bound Program at Lyon for 13 years and retired from Lyon in August 2000.

Mrs. Chlebak attended the NEH Summer Seminar for Secondary School Teachers at Columbia University in New York City, and was the secretary for the Arkansas Association of Student Assistance Programs.

She is currently a volunteer in accessions for the Old Independence Regional Museum, a board member for the Independence Country Historical Society, on the Editorial Committee for the Independence County Chronicle, on the planning committee for the annual Community International Night, and is treasurer for the Batesville Symphony League.

She has been married to her husband, George F. Chlebak, a professor emeritus of art at Lyon, for 46 years. They have two sons and six grandchildren.
 

Harlequin Theatre to present 'On the Verge'

The Harlequin Theatre’s fall production is Eric Overmyer’s “On the Verge,” a surrealistic comedy about three Victorian women who trek through a continuum of time, history, geography, feminism and fashion. The play will be performed at 8 p.m. Friday-Monday, October 23-25, in the Holloway Theatre. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students and seniors. For reservations, call (870) 793-1749. All faculty, staff and students are admitted free of charge. However, reservations must be made by calling the above number. This production will be a participating entry in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.

Oquist ’93 elected treasurer of Minnesota bar association

Sarah “Cricket” Oquist ’93 has been elected treasurer of the Minnesota American Indian Bar Association.

The Minnesota American Indian Bar Association is a non-profit organization of American Indian attorneys and law students, non-Indian attorneys and law students who are interested in Indian law, and American Indians who serve as advocates, prosecutors or judicial officers in tribal courts. Ms. Oquist is a member of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.

Ms. Oquist is senior corporate counsel at U.S. Bank. She was previously an attorney in the banking and commercial finance group, Faegre and Benson, where she received the firm’s Pro Bono and Community Service Outstanding Contribution Award in 2000 and again in 2001.

After receiving her B.A. degree from Lyon College, she attended the Creighton University School of Law, where she was assistant editor of the Creighton Law Review. She graduated cum laude from Creighton in 1999.

She has received recognition for Outstanding Leadership within the University and Community and for Outstanding Service to the School of Law. Her community activities include board member of the Hennipin Country Bar Association, Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Clinic, Volunteer Lawyers Network Clinic, Creighton University Alumni Advisory Board member, and coordinator of the American Indian Law Scholarship Golf Tournament.

Arkansas Symphony Orchestra to perform Oct. 31

In a departure due to a Classical Series Concert conflict in Little Rock, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra will not appear as a finale to the LyonFest activities this year. Instead, the Batesville Symphony League, Lyon College and First Community Bank will host the annual event the following weekend on Sunday, October 31, in Brown Chapel.

Featuring David Itkin, music director and conductor, and principal cellist Melita Hunsinger, the Arkansas Symphony tour orchestra will perform Mozart’s Overture from Cosi fan tutte, the Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4 “Italian,” and the Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto No.1 in A minor.

Tickets for the 1:15 p.m. lecture by Maestro Itkin in Bevens Music Room and the 2 p.m. concert in Brown Chapel are available from the following locations: Batesville Daily Guard, Elizabeth’s Restaurant, First Community Bank (Main), Massey Music and The Citizens Bank (Main). Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for students under 18. Lyon College students, faculty and staff are admitted free with ID.

Sports

Soccer

The Scots played Hendrix to a 1-1 tie Tuesday in Searcy. Chris Schmitt scored Lyon’s goal. In the women’s game, Hendrix rallied to defeat the Pipers 3-1. Allison Morrison scored Lyon’s goal in the first half. Hendrix came back to score three goals in the second half.

Volleyball

The Pipers defeated Lambuth University 30-27, 30-28, 30-15 Wednesday in Jackson, Tennessee. Ceca Brckalo led Lyon with 21 kills, Yllen Rosales had 20 assists and Alison Sablick had 12 digs.

The Pipers will play UA-Pine Bluff in Pine Bluff at noon on Saturday.