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Five Named
Distinguished Alumni
Five Sam Houston State University graduates who have attained recognition in each of their fields have been selected as Distinguished Alumni for 2000.
They include:
- Arnold A. Allemang of Midland, Michigan, vice president of operations for The Dow Chemical Company, who has been knighted by the Queen of the Netherlands;
- The late Joe M. "Butch" MacKenzie of New Orleans, who had 30 years of service with the Chevron Corporation, serving as plant manager for two of the company's manufacturing facilities;
- Clemon Montgomery of Fredericksburg, chairman of the board of directors for Agriculture Workers Auto Insurance and former deputy commissioner of the Texas Department of Agriculture;
- Linda Quick of Houston, senior vice president for marketing at Foley's, who has been a volunteer to a number of civic and charitable organizations in Dallas and Houston; and
- Wayne Scott of Huntsville, executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, one of the largest criminal justice systems in the world.
Allemang, a native of the Crockett area, earned his bachelor's degree in chemistry from SHSU in 1965. He joined Dow that same year and has held various technical and managerial positions in Freeport, The Netherlands, Switzerland, and currently in Midland, Michigan. He is responsible for manufacturing and engineering, purchasing, and supply chain activities for Dow, globally.
He serves on Dow's Environment, Health, Safety and Public Policy Committee and the Audit Committee, and he is a member of the company's Operating Board, the CEO Council on Diversity, and the Ethics and Compliance Committee.
He is a member of the board of directors for Liana Limited and Dorinco Reinsurance Company, and serves on the Members Committee of Dupont Dow Elastomers LLC. He is an advisory board member of the Center for Chemical Process Safety of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and of Kansas State University's Department of Engineering. He is a member of the American Chemical Society, the Corporate Executive Board's Operations Management Roundtable, National Academy of Engineering's Action Forum on Diversity, and the National Association of Manufacturers' Manufacturing Skill Standards Council Steering Committee.
In 1997, Allemang was knighted by the Queen of The Netherlands in recognition of his significant contributions to the region where Dow's facility in Terneuzen, The Netherlands is located and for bringing distinction to Dow.
He is an active leader in his community, serving as president-elect of the Lake Huron Area Council-Boy Scouts of America, a member of the United Methodist Church, and committee member for St. Brigid's Cardinal Hickey Endowment Fund.
He is the highest-ranking SHSU alumnus at Dow and was instrumental in establishing the Dow Technology Demonstration Center in the College of Business Administration and the Levi Leathers Career Planning Library at Sam Houston State University. He has also supported and approved funding for the SHSU Department of Accounting Grant and Scholarship Fund for the past 15 years, and he has hosted SHSU summer intern students as they interned at Dow in Midland.
He and his wife, Terrie, have two children, Kelsey and Christian.
Born in Sour Lake, Mackenzie earned his bachelor of science degree in chemistry from Sam Houston State University in 1960. He later received a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from Lamar University, and he attended the University of Michigan's Graduate School of Business.
He began his career by supporting himself in college as a roustabout for Sun Oil Company. Following his graduation, he provided technical support for offshore drilling platforms for Zapata Offshore Drilling Company with territory responsibility from Cameron, Louisiana to Galveston Bay. At the end of his 30-year career he was plant manager for Chevron Chemical Company's Oronite Division at the Oak Point Plant in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, just outside of New Orleans.
He led the plant to many awards, including the Chamber of Commerce Corporate Volunteer Action Award, the Louisiana Distinguished Partners in Education Award, the University of New Orleans Business/Higher Education Award, the Governor's Achievement Award for Environmental Leadership and the National Petroleum Refiners Association Distinguished Safety Award. He served as chairman of the Louisiana Chemical Association and was a board member of the Louisiana Chemical Industry Alliance, the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce and MetroVision.
MacKenzie and his wife, Dianne, were active supporters of The Audubon Institute in New Orleans and worked together on a number of fundraising projects for education at the renowned Audubon Zoo.
MacKenzie was a champion of education, and a number of students, schools and programs benefited because of his vision. He was active in many community efforts, including playground construction and landscaping projects at Belle Chasse Primary School, renovating the Oakville Playground, and providing support for the restoration of a boat to transport children who lived on the bayou to and from school.
He was instrumental in the building of the Nature Conservancy of Louisiana boardwalk at the White Kitchen Eagle Preserve so that people of all ages and abilities could view the American bald eagle in its habitat, and for the renovation of the Riverbend Senior Citizens Center. He also provided leadership for United Way campaigns to benefit local agencies.
After his death in 1997, the River Region Chamber of Commerce established an award to be presented annually in memory of MacKenzie to be given to the business or organization that exceeds excellence.
MacKenzie is survived by his wife, Dianne, and four children: Joe, Charles, Marilyn and Stacey.
Montgomery earned his bachelor of science in agriculture degree in 1950 and his master of education degree in 1958, both from Sam Houston State University. He also attended graduate school at Texas Tech University.
After his graduation from college, Montgomery served as an instructor for the Veterans On-the-Farm Training Program in Sweetwater. He was named area supervisor of vocational agriculture in the West Texas region and was appointed as the Texas Department of Education's State Future Farmers of America Executive Secretary. He worked in the private sector for a short time before returning to public service with the Texas Department of Agriculture. He was appointed chief deputy to the Texas Commissioner of Agriculture and served in that position for 10 years. He continues to support endeavors to improve agriculture and to encourage youth who are interested in that area.
Montgomery has served on numerous boards in presidential or directorship capacities with organizations including: Texas Professional Ag Workers Association, Texas FFA Alumni Association, Texas FFA Foundation Board of Directors, Texas Agricultural Council, Texas Agricultural Forum, Vocational Agriculture Teachers Association, and Texas Weights and Measures Association.
His civic and humanitarian associations include the Admiral Nimitz Foundation, Gillespie County Historical Society, Gillespie County 4-H and FFA Livestock Show Advisor, Pedernales Creative Art Alliance, and Fredericksburg Music Association.
He has been recognized with the award of Outstanding Achievements in Agriculture presented by the Texas Senate and House of Representatives. In 1997 he became the first ever honored with the FFA Hall of Fame Award, and he has been honored with many other awards including the Honorary Lone Star Farmer Degree, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Outstanding Service to Texas Agriculture, the Area Young Farmer Distinguished Service Award, and the Texas Forestry Association Distinguished Service Award.
He and his wife, Carolyn, have five sons: Lee Montgomery, Murl Montgomery, Rod Morgan, Larry Morgan and Lance Morgan.
Quick earned her bachelor of science degree in journalism in 1969, and she began her career immediately with Foley's as the editor of the employee newsletter. While she has spent her entire career in retailing, her experience includes positions in human resources, merchandising and marketing.
In 1973, she joined Sanger Harris as training director and was named director of training and development the following year. She became divisional merchandising manager of cosmetics and accessories in 1978. Quick was named divisional vice president of advertising in 1982 and became vice president of sales promotion one year later.
She was serving as the senior vice president of marketing and public affairs for Sanger Harris in Dallas, when Foley's merged with the Sanger Harris department stores in 1987. At that time, she was named Foley's senior vice president of marketing.
Quick has been active in community service throughout her professional life, serving as past chairman of the board of the Texas Gulf Coast Chapter of the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, and she continues to serve as a member of that board. She also serves as a member of the board of Children's Defense Fund and Children's Assessment Center. She was a founding member of both the Dallas Women's Foundation and the Greater Houston Women's Foundation.
She has also served on the boards of the Houston Grand Opera, Houston Image Group, Texas Gulf Coast Chapter of the American Red Cross, Hermann Children's Hospital, Child Abuse Prevention Network, Houston Youth Symphony and Ballet, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Her husband, Mark, is the executive vice president of Fossil.
Scott earned his bachelor of business administration degree in finance in 1973. He has almost 30 years of experience in corrections, beginning his career as correctional officer I at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in 1972 while a student at SHSU. He rose through the ranks, taking a brief hiatus to work in the private sector before returning to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice almost 20 years ago. He was named executive director of TDCJ in January 1996.
Among his honors are the Texas Corrections Association President's Gavel Award and the Texas Public Employees Association State Agency Administrator of the Year Award. Under his direction, TDCJ recently was presented an award by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs in recognition of the Non-profit Housing Partnership with Habitat for Humanity.
Scott has also led TDCJ to develop programs that have received national recognition. In 1998, the American Correctional Association presented Scott with four Awards of Excellence and one Honorable Mention for "Best Practices: Excellence in Corrections." The Awards of Excellence were presented for TDCJ's Partnership in Community Service with Habitat for Humanity, for its Computerized Maintenance Management System, for the Edmundo Mireles Criminal Justice Training Academy which is the nation's largest facility for correctional employees, and for the Correctional Managed Health Care partnership with two state universities. An Honorable Mention went to the agency's Post Trauma Staff Support Program.
He serves as vice chair of the Standards Committee of the American Correctional Association, chairman of the Legislative and Legal Issues Committee of the Association of State Correctional Administrators, and chair of the Training and Certification Committee of the Texas Corrections Association. He is also professionally affiliated with the Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Advisory Council, the Southern States Correctional Association, and the Texas Public Employees Association. He is a current or past board member of the Community Service Credit Union, SHSU College of Business Administration Advisory Board, Texas Prison Museum, and Walker County Chamber of Commerce.
Under Scott's leadership, a cooperative effort between TDCJ and the local communities in which units are located has developed. The TDCJ community work program provides over 183,000 man-hours of work each month to community work projects. With Scott's support, TDCJ has also partnered with food banks across the state. In Fiscal Year 1999, approximately 2.6 million pounds of vegetables benefited the food banks in Texas. The produce grown by the offenders is distributed by the food banks to more than 500 non-profit organizations around the state.
Scott and his wife, Andrea, have two children, Mika Scott-Spears and Angela.
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SHSU Media Contact: Julia May
September 11, 2000
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