Drury trustee board, OTC Foundation select new members

The Drury University Board of Trustees and Ozarks Technical Community College Foundation Board of Directors have selected a host of new members.

Drury
The Drury Board of Trustees voted to add six members to the governing board on May 16.

They are:

• Thomas Whitlock, of Springfield, a music composer who studied music at Drury in the 1970s and wrote the lyrics to five songs on the 1986 "Top Gun" soundtrack and has more than 50 gold and platinum record awards;
• Danny Lay, of Hong Kong, China, who earned a Master of Business Administration from Drury in 1979 and now serves as vice president of business development and operations in southeast Asia for Emerson Electric,;
• Teresa Brekke, of Edmond, Okla., a 1983 Drury graduate who has worked in a range of marketing and public relations positions, most recently as development director, special events coordinator and announcer for the radio stations KCSC-FM and KBCW-FM;
• Tim Reese, of Springfield, a 1981 Drury graduate who now serves as managing director of investments and shareholder with Benjamin F. Edwards & Co.;
• Sarah Lewis, of Santa Monica, Calif., who has held senior positions with the likes of Manufacturers Hanover Corp.. (now JPMorgan Chase) and Ernst & Young, and co-founded Aequitas Wealth Management in 2006; and
• Thomas Prater, of Springfield, who currently practices at Mattax-Neu-Prater Eye Center.

Lyle Reed became board chairman after four years of leadership by Lynn Chipperfield. Three trustees left the board: Doug Pitt, Andi Solaiman and George Thompson. Springfield Public Schools Superintendent Norm Ridder, who is retiring this summer, also is leaving the board, according to the release.

OTC
The board of directors of the OTC Foundation, the fundraising arm of the Springfield school, selected Mark Haseltine, partner of Springfield law firm Springer and Haseltine, as chairman of the board.

He succeeds Branson Mayor Raeanne Presley, who served in the position during the 2013-14 fiscal year, according to a news release.

The board also chose John Gentry, president of Positronic Industries Inc., as vice chairman; Jim Towery, owner of Steelman Transportation Inc., as treasurer; and Paul Sundy, restaurateur and entrepreneur, as secretary.

The board also selected four new members:

• Brad Brown, owner of Missouri Eagle LLC;
• Voncille Elmer with Megerian Rug Co;
• Grant Haden, managing partner of Haden, Cowherd & Bullock LLC; and
• Mark McFatridge, president and CEO of Metropolitan National Bank.