LIA BRIEFS

Congratulations to Kara Hurst, Class 30, and husband, Daniel, on the birth of a daughter, Madelynn, on September 1. Madelynn entered the world weighing 7 lbs. Kara says, “We are all doing great!”

Gary Steed, Class 28, and his wife, Sonya, are just returning home after spending a year and a half as missionaries on a reservation in Pinon, AZ.  They have also been involved in a program that teaches families how to become self-reliant.  A big focus of this program is teaching how to be successful gardeners so that families can provide for themselves.  On the ‘Rez’, where diabetes is approaching 50%, providing people with alternative, healthy food choices and watching them become successful at growing their own food have been great experiences.

Wedding bells recently rang for Wendy Davenport, Class 31. Her new last name is Snyder.  Wendy’s husband is from Kentucky and works in the oil fields in North Dakota. Wendy is still working as a Field Enumerator Supervisor for NASDA/NASS and a Rehabilitation Tech at the Juvenile Correction Center. Between the two of them, their family has grown to seven children. Wendy also reported that she is now a grandmother with a two-year-old granddaughter and a one-year-old grandson. Wow! Lots of life changes in that family!

LIA Trustee Jim Miller, Class 29, was recently elected to the Latah Economic Development Council Board of Directors. The LEDC is a group of business, community and university leaders dedicated to attracting and growing businesses in the Latah County and North Idaho areas.

The LIA family continues to grow as Joe Anderson, Class 22, and his wife, Cherish, announced the birth of a daughter, Rebekah Hope, on August 27. Rebekah weighed 7 lbs. and 13 oz. and was 21 inches long. Joe is employed at Bell-Anderson Insurance Agency.

Changing jobs is LIA Trustee Kyle Woods, Class 32, who is now Sales Executive/Risk Management Advisor for Associated Insurance Services, LLC., in Boise. Kyle will be serving as chairman of the LIA Alumni Auction in February. Joining Kyle will be co-chairmen recently appointed by the LIA board of trustees: Elli Brown, Class 32, and Neil Durrant, Class 34. The first meeting of the auction committee is scheduled for Friday, November 7.

Dr. Charlotte Eberlein, Class 8, has been serving as Director of the University of Idaho Extension System for the past 11 years. Charlotte has recently announced her retirement, effective the first of the year. Charlotte indicates she plans to travel and check in on some children living out of the area.

Thanks to John Zietz, Class 34, who recently shared the following website:
http://www.vox.com/a/explain-food-america

This site consists of 40 maps that explain Food in America. It contains some pretty interesting information and indicates some trends that reflect the industry. Class 34 dealt with Food Security which is addressed in several of the maps. Check it out for some great insights!

Intermountain Community Bank (ICB) was recently purchased by Columbia Bank out of Washington. This will impact many LIA alumni who have been employed by ICB, which is also the bank where the accounts for LIA Foundation are held.