Ouachita Stories

Halftime activities during the Ouachita Tigers’ 26-21 Homecoming victory over Harding University included honoring five Alumni Milestone Award winners as well as recognizing alumnus Rex Nelson, the radio voice of the Tigers for more than 30 years.

The university’s 2015 Alumni Milestone Awards honored outstanding graduates from the classes of 1965, 1975, 1985, 1995 and 2005. Recipients included Larry Kircher, Larry Grayson, Mary Pat (Cook) Anthony, Andrew Clark and Jessica (Gartman) Bubbus.

“I’m constantly amazed at the impact our alumni make in their communities and their fields of work and service,” said Jon Merryman, director of alumni. “This year it was great to honor those in so many different fields: banking, state convention service, education, music and small business.

“It is a great honor to be able to present these Alumni Milestone Awards to not only highlight the recipients’ achievements but to share with others the impact they can make by choosing to attend or support the work and mission of Ouachita,” Merryman added.

The Alumni Milestone Award recipients were selected by a committee of Ouachita faculty and staff to represent their respective classes during this year’s Homecoming festivities. The 2015 honorees’ educational and professional achievements include:

Larry Kircher (OBU Class of ’65): Dedicated to serving his community of Bald Knob, Ark., Kircher founded the White County Community Foundation, co-founded the Bald Knob Public Education Foundation and the White County Single Parent Scholarship Fund and has served nearly 50 years as a deacon and treasurer at Central Baptist Church. He also has served on numerous boards including the Ouachita Baptist University Board of Trustees and Arkansas’ Independent Colleges and Universities as well as the Arkansas Bankers Association and the American Bankers Association. He has served two terms on the Arkansas Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts Foundation Board.

Kircher retired in 2014 from Citizens State Bank in Bald Knob after 45 years of service. He and his wife, Molly (Goforth) Kircher (’64), have two daughters, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Larry Grayson (OBU Class of ’75): After earning his Bachelor of Music Education degree from Ouachita, Grayson studied at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and earned Master of Music Education and Master of Church Music degree from Samford University. He has served churches in Arkansas, Alabama and North Carolina and most recently served 13 years as associate pastor of music and worship at First Baptist Church of Lewisville Texas.

Grayson, a native of Camden, Ark., now lives in Bryant, Ark. He currently serves as music and worship consultant for the Arkansas Baptist State Convention.

Mary Pat (Cook) Anthony (OBU Class of ’85): After graduating from Ouachita, Anthony completed her master’s degree in education in 1986 and began her teaching career at Southside Elementary School in El Dorado, a magnet school for gifted and talented students, where she taught for 16 years. Anthony then served nine years as director of education for SouthArk Community College before returning to the elementary school classroom at Hugh Goodwin Academy in 2011. She has earned numerous awards for excellence in teaching including the El Dorado Public Schools Teacher of the Year Award, NISOD Teacher Excellence Award, Outstanding Arkansas Head Start Award and SouthArk Teacher of the Year.

Anthony retired in 2012 completing 26 years in education. She and her husband, Aubra Anthony, Jr., live in El Dorado.

Andrew Clark (OBU Class of ’95): After earning his bachelor’s degree from Ouachita, Clark earned his Master of Arts in Music degree from the University of North Texas and completed post-graduate work in choral conducting at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, N.J.; and in organ and hymnology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

After serving as a minister of music/organist for churches in Arkansas, Texas and Georgia for 15 years, Clark was named executive director of the Texarkana Symphony Orchestra in 2008 and recently served on the Board of Directors for the League of American Orchestras. He also serves as the parish musician at St. James Church in Texarkana and is an adjunct faculty member of Texas A&M Texarkana.

Clark and his wife, Angela, live in Texarkana, Ark. They have two children, Drew and Preston.

Jessica (Gartman) Bubbus (OBU Class of ’05): After graduating from Ouachita, Bubbus worked in public accounting before moving into not-for-profit accounting with the Arkansas Baptist Foundation. In 2010, she and her husband, Alan, started a restaurant called David’s Burgers in Conway, Ark., which now includes six locations throughout Central Arkansas with plans to open three more by the end of 2016.

Bubbus is a passionate advocate for adoption and foster care, adopting two boys in 2013. She and her husband live in Little Rock with their four sons, David, Evan, Ethan and Moses.

In addition to the Alumni Milestone Award honorees, Rex Nelson was honored for his 30-plus years of service as the Ouachita Tigers’ football play-by-play announcer. Nelson, a 1982 Ouachita graduate, currently is director of corporate communications for Simmons First National Corp. He previously was president of Arkansas’ Independent Colleges and Universities.

Introducing Nelson to the Homecoming crowd, Dr. Casey Motl, the Tigers’ public address announcer, said, “For over 30 years, as you have followed and listened to Ouachita football on the radio, you have heard the same familiar voice. Rex Nelson, the voice of the Tigers, has been a lifelong fan of Ouachita football.”

Noting that Nelson “has given back so much to his alma mater for over 30 years,” Motl announced, “From this day forward in the George Dunklin Family Press Box at Cliff Harris Stadium, the home radio booth will be known as the Rex Nelson Radio Booth” in honor of Nelson’s longtime dedication and contributions to Ouachita football.

“We are pleased to honor Rex Nelson in this way,” said David Sharp, Ouachita athletic director. “His commitment and enthusiasm reflect his strong loyalty to his alma mater and Ouachita football. The Rex Nelson Radio Booth will stand as a lasting tribute to Rex’s outstanding talent and service.”

 

By Trennis Henderson, OBU Vice President for Communications

Top Photo: Ouachita's 2015 Alumni Milestone Award recipients included (left to right): Larry Kircher, Larry Grayson, Mary Pat Anthony, Andrew Clark and Jessica Bubbus. Photo by Grace Finley.