Class Notes

Submit news about your deployments, job and rank changes, awards and honors, family announcements, photos, and other news at vtcc.vt.edu/classnotes. 

1960s

Fred Sanford ’61 is building his fifth plane. He built his first plane in 2005 and three more airplanes since then.

James T. "Tom" Roberts ’62 was awarded “Rock Star” status by the commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division based on his years as a volunteer soldier mentor. Tom was also appointed to serve on the U.S. Army Retiree Council’s Southeastern Region sub-council for a 3-year term.

William E. Thomas ’64 was awarded an honorary associate’s degree from Germanna Community College.

Clyde (Dan) Bailey ’67 was honored as a selectee for the VTCC Aviation Wall of Fame in April 2022.

1970s

George “Les” Bourne ’72 was honored as a selectee for the VTCC Aviation Wall of Fame in April 2023 based on his life’s work in the field of aviation, both as a member of the US Air Force and in the private sector. 

Bruce Simmons ’72 published his first novel entitled “Try to Shoot an Azimuth” this spring. The novel is about a New Mexico Pueblo Indian soldier returning from Vietnam with post-traumatic stress disorder and how he overcomes his challenges. 

1980s

Matt Heffernan ’86 was promoted to Vice President, Broadcast Hub Services with Nexstar Media Group, Inc. 

Steve Sims ’88 and his wife, Caroline, have moved to Flowery Branch, Georgia.

Kenneth Pryor ’89 earned a Ph.D. in atmospheric physics from University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

1990s

Cliff Shearer ’92 Recently retired as a Navy Supply Corps officer and now provides supply chain solutions for Navy and Marine programs as the vice president for business development for Blue Raven.  

Robert Goodson ’93 was promoted on April 1 to senior vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton.

Lee Moore ’95 (right) and Kevin O’Keefe ’97 (left) flew together for the first time at Southwest Airlines. Lee retired from the U.S. Army and Kevin retired from the U.S. Air Force. Both are based in Baltimore. 

Cdr. Jason Darish (HT ’95) retired from the U.S. Navy on Sept. 16, 2022. There was a small HT reunion at Darish's retirement. L to R: Jeff Chow (HT ’94), Pat Palmer (HT ’95), Jason Darish (HT ’95) and Jeff Grant (HT ’91).

John deForest ’97 completed his dissertation “Leader Development of Adaptive Capacity within Complex Situations” and education doctorate in human and organizational learning with George Washington University in 2021.

Brig. Gen. William L. Marshall ’97 became Deputy Director of Operations, Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration and the United States Air Forces in Europe and United States Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA A3/10) AOC Director in June 2021.

Sisters Lt. Col. Kara (Gittes) Miller ’99 and Cdr. Jennifer (Gittes) Zuniga ’99, and Kara’s husband Lt. Col. Derick Miller will be conducting a joint retirement ceremony from the U.S. Air Force Reserve and U.S. Navy Reserve in June 2023. 

2000s

Stacy (Michaels) Uttecht ’00 retired from the Navy after 22 years in naval aviation. She is starting a new career as an overseas Site Operations Manager for Leidos. 

Casey Roberts ’06 was recognized with Virginia Tech’s Influential Black Alumni award. Roberts is the executive director of New Horizons Regional Education Centers.

Ken Mallory ’06 has been appointed as the Director of the Citizen-Leader Track in the Corps of Cadets after having served as Assistant Director since 2021.

Future Hokie Alert! Nick Nelson ’08 and his wife Megan welcomed their son, Thomas Jozef “T.J.” Magnus Nelson, on Aug. 10, 2022. T.J. weighed in at 8 pounds, 15 ounces and 20.5 inches long.

Joshua Waddell ’08 was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the U. S. Marine Corps on April 3.

2010s

Capt. C. Andrew Mitchell ’16 and Taylor Anne Broschat were married at the Sanctuary in Castle Pines, Colorado on Dec. 29, 2022.  Brother-in-law Capt. Liam Garrity ’17 and fellow VTTC members, Maj. Derrick Anderson ’09, Capt. Mike Reilly ’15, Capt. JP Snyder ’16 and Capt. Richard Pedro ’18, participated in the wedding.  

Michael Sherburne ’17 recently separated from the U.S. Air Force as a captain in March 2023. He transitioned to the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory where he is advising and engineering novel radiofrequency (RF) solutions in the Force Projection Sector. 

Lt. Beau Nickerson ’18 and Ensign Alexandra Scarfe ’22 are currently serving on USS America (LHA-6) and had the opportunity to execute this Hokie pride picture while preparing for a formal reception for the president of the Philippines while visiting Manila.