2000-4 Winter - Northwestern State University Alumni

Campus News
Alumni Board expands
The board of directors of Northwestern State
University’s Alumni Association has again
expanded, and new officers have been elected.
Ginger Wiggins, a 1986 graduate from Jackson, Miss.,
was named president of the Alumni Association, and
Rep. B.L. “Buddy” Shaw was named vice president.
Wiggins succeeds Tommy Chester, who served for 10
years as president. Wiggins was the first female elected
to the board in 1987 and is the first female president of
the board.
Chester, of Arcadia, was reappointed as a board member,
and three members were added during the group’s
Homecoming meeting. The new members are Carlos
Jones of Ruston, F. Allen Horton Jr. of New Iberia and
Jerry A. Brungart of Natchitoches.
Chris Maggio, alumni director, said the alumni board
is continuing to expand “so our alumni will have more
representation. As our alumni base continues to grow,
it is good to have additional board members who are
demographic representations of Northwestern alumni.”
Wiggins, who attended Northwestern in the late
1970s and completed her degree in 1986, has
served on the alumni association board since 1987.
She worked for Deposit Guaranty for 18 years in
investment management, but two years ago she opened
“Absolutely Greek,” a specialty store in Northpark Mall
in Jackson, Miss.
Wiggins decided to sell Greek items because she was
active in Sigma Sigma Sigma Sorority while at Northwestern.
She was also a national officer for seven years.
Her husband, Randy, was a member of Kappa Sigma
while at Northwestern.
Her father-in-law, Parker Wiggins, was also on the
alumni board for many years, and several members of
her family are graduates of Northwestern. Her sister,
Summer Miller, is currently a student at Northwestern.
Dr. B.L. “Buddy” Shaw, Louisiana’s District 6
Representative, was elected to the board in 1999.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in 1955 and his master’s
degree in 1960.
Shaw is former principal of Byrd High School, Caddo
Parish School Board member and senior admissions
counselor at East Texas Baptist University. He served
on the Louisiana School Board Association for six years
and was president in 1993. He was named a Danforth
Fellow in 1982.
Tommy Chester, a State Farm agent in Arcadia for
24 years, was president of the board for 10 years
and served on the board prior to becoming president.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from Northwestern in
1967 and his master’s degree in 1969.
He is a longtime member of the Athletic Association
Board of Directors and served on the NSU Foundation
board as an ex-officio member.
Chester is president of the Lions’ Club and a life member
of the Arcadia Jaycees. He has also been new program
manager for Jaycees statewide, and has served
The Alumni Board of Directors meet during Homecoming activities.
on the board of directors for Cedar Creek School. He
serves on the Chamber of Commerce and has been an
officer on that board. He has also been active in the Dixie
baseball league for seven years and is a deacon in First
Baptist Church.
Chester’s wife, Cindy, is a 1969 graduate of Northwestern,
and all three of his children attended Northwestern.
Jerry Brungart earned his bachelor’s degree at Northwestern
in 1969 and his master’s in 1971.
He is a sales agent for New York Life Insurance Co.
Prior to that, he sold insurance for Lincoln Financial
Advisors, Modern Woodmen of America, Business Men’s
Assurance and Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. He
served as head of the physical education department at
Natchitoches Central High School from 1974 to 1980 and
was wrestling coach and assistant football coach. He also
coached football and track at Springhill High School.
He has earned several awards related to insurance
sales, and he is a member of the General Agents and
Managers Association, the Chamber of Commerce of
Central Louisiana, the Natchitoches Area Chamber of
Commerce and the Bolton Avenue Lions’ Club. He is also
on the Folk Festival Steering Committee and the Jazz
Festival Steering Committee.
Brungart has helped cook food for the alumni tailgating
tent for Northwestern home football games.
F
. Allen Horton Jr. earned his bachelor’s degree from
Northwestern in 1957 and his master’s in administration
and supervision in 1962.
He was a teacher and coach for six years in Terrebonne
High School, LaCache Junior High School and Eunice
High School. He retired as an administrator from New
Iberia Junior/Senior High in 1977, after serving in various
teaching and administrative positions for 14 years.
From 1979 through 1997, he was a sales associate for
Union Camp Corporation of Lafayette.
His late wife, Lelia Elizabeth “Betty” Millspaugh, was
a 1952 graduate. His son, Steve, is former executive director
of the NSU Alumni Association and is head of the
Department of Journalism.
Carlos Jones earned his bachelor’s degree from North
western in 1992. He served as a recruiter for Northwestern
in 1995, and was facilities director for the Athletic
Department in 1997. He has been a claims adjuster
and underwriter for State Farm Insurance and was a
safety director of Willamette Industries in Ruston.
His wife, Yulonda E. Washington Jones, is also a
Northwestern graduate. III
Alumni Columns Winter 2000 / 5