Alumni Notes
graduating, she worked in Birmingham and Huntsville before eventually making it back to Auburn with her husband, to focus on her career and her children. She is proud to have a senior and a freshman at Auburn this year! J. Don Overton (’92, finance) was re-ap- pointed to the National Association of Home Builders Legal Action Committee for 2024/2025 and to the NAHB Land Development Committee for 2024-2025. Brian Pitts (’94, accounting) worked in accounting for a few years before start- ing ITAC Solutions, a recruiting firm that places accounting professionals, and which will celebrate its 25th anniversary in April 2025. His son is a freshman at Auburn and has pledged to Fiji, his old fraternity. Talitha Kay Ponder (’92, marketing) recently went parasailing for the first time with her 13-year-old son, and they are planning to take a trip to France in 2025. During the pandemic, she was hired as a church administrator for Eastern Shore Presbyterian Church in Fairhope, Alabama, a church which many fellow alumni attend. “My position would be considered a Chief Operations Officer in the corporate world and my Harbert College education prepared me well.” Chris Richie (’92, management) retired as a colonel from the Marine Corps in 2022 following 30 years of active-duty service. He lives in Auburn and recently published the Amazon bestseller, “The Invisible Medal: Leading with a Higher Purpose.” He works at Auburn as the director for human resource development, driving performance and leadership develop- ment efforts to help AU employees achieve their full potential. He is also a leader- ship instructor for the Harbert College of Business, preparing graduates for the leadership and ethical dilemmas they will face in their professional lives.
Ben Sithens (’99, economics) joined SageView Advisory Group earlier this year after 14 years with a similar firm. He is on the institutional retirement team at SageView Advisory Group, working with companies of all sizes and industry focuses to provide a meaningful retirement bene- fit to their employees while protecting the fiduciary responsibilities of the company. Jared Wilkinson (’99, information systems management) has been serving as a senior solution architect at Compassion International since February 2020. His daughter just completed her first year at Auburn. After graduating from Harbert College of Business, he spent a year doing IT support at Blue Cross/Blue Shield and then almost ten years in youth ministry before jumping back into the IT world. He has done several jobs, from system admin- istration to system engineering. 2000s Matt Bracewell (’08, finance) and his wife recently welcomed their first child, Mabel! He works as a sector head cover- ing consumers at a long/short equity hedge fund called Sunriver Management in Greenwich, Connecticut. He has been there for eight years as of June 2024. Walter Bryce (’04, information systems management) is in his eighth year with Cherokee Federal and 13th year overall as an IT contractor with the CDC in Atlanta as a web developer. He and his wife Amanda welcomed a daughter, Shelby, in February 2024. She joins big brother Wesley, born October 2021. He spends days as a web developer for one of CDC’s community health program offices still profiting from skills learned at Auburn, especially those in the Information Systems Management major. “Thank you Dr. Cegielski!”
Artemas Holloway (’99, transportation) has 28 years of experience in the supply chain field. He has held management posi- tions in various supply chain firms such as Kmart Logistics, Trinity Transport, Cowan Systems, and Cobb County Government in Georgia, gaining extensive indus- try knowledge. He is a full-time logis- tics and supply chain technology instruc- tor at J.F. Ingram State Technical College and believes strongly in energizing and educating adult incarcerated learners to a higher level, ensuring they have the skills and knowledge necessary to thrive in the ever-evolving supply chain world. Denise Howell (’98, accounting, ’99, MAcc) shut down her CPA office in 2022 and now works from home, where her remaining clients enable her to enter into a part-time ministry. She serves as a weekend church volunteer, a small group leader, and on the biblical and financial care teams. Steve Mann (’91, information systems management) has been with Coca-Cola Consolidated in Charlotte, North Carolina for 22 years and is currently an IT direc- tor supporting the internal services appli- cations. His daughter Meghan (School of Psychology, class of 2023) recently moved to Wichita, Kansas with her husband Preston (school of Aviation, class of 2024)! Nicole (McKewen) Thurmond (’94, busi- ness administration - human resources management) was promoted to chief human resources officer at Powerhouse Retail Services in Crowley, Texas. She has worked in several industries throughout her career and has been at Powerhouse for more than three years, where she oversees all human resources functions, payroll, and employee training and leads a 12-member team. Martee Moseley (’98, finance) recently became the market president for East Alabama for MAX Credit Union. After
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