The Women of Northwest University

I am not sure why it is...but, quite often I have heard fellow pastors making fun of the women that they attended college with.  Particularly those who went to a Christian University and trained to be career clergymen.  "Those girls were there for one reason--to find a husband," so the story goes.  I always found it strange, because a large percentage of those flapping their lips are married to one of the "girls" who did find a husband.  My view of the women of Northwest University is a very different take than that.

Firstly, I'm proud to say that I did marry one of the "girls" from NU, and she is the finest person I have ever known.  There is no doubt, I married up...way up!  Jody was only one of the many young women at NU that were impressive.  For me arriving on campus at NU was a very encouraging social experience.  By the time I graduated from high school, there was only one girl in my youth group at church that was my age and she was engaged to my best friend at the time.  The odds were stacked against me that I was going to marry my high school sweetheart, because she simply did not exist.  With the large Mormon population in my hometown of Idaho Falls, it was difficult just to find a girl to be your friend, much less a girl that you would consider for a more significant relationship.

That all changed when I arrived at Northwest!  I remember my first spiritual emphasis week that Fall quarter. Hundreds of young men and women worshiping God.  Many of them already had a ministerial calling and a deep commitment to God.  I was not--I repeat, I was not looking for a wife, but the opportunity to find a quality partner just went up a thousand or so percentage points.  Within the first month of arriving at NU (all of 18 years of age) I started a courtship with the person that I am still married to 35 years later.  I had many great experiences at NU; however, hands down, Jody was the best thing that happened to me during my four years.

I can tell you why I do not make fun of the women at NU--even those that "are" looking for a husband.  As a young man I liked being surrounded by beautiful, vivacious, intelligent, spiritual, talented women.  For the guys who still do not recognize the value of the NU "girls" it is high time that they sign up for some gender sensitivity training.  To the women of Northwest University, both present and past, whatever you pursue in this life, you have my vote!

NU Celebrates First Eagle Hall of Fame Event

Three individuals and one team were inducted into the Northwest University Eagle Hall of Fame – and thousands of dollars were raised for athletic scholarships – at the first annual Hall of Fame Dinner and Sports Benefit on March 25, 2011.


The Hall of Fame inductees were Kristi Brodin, former athletic director and coach; LeRoy Johnson, former coach and current professor and fervent fan; John Brown, former outstanding basketball player; and the national champion women’s basketball team of 1987-88. In addition to the inductees, current student-athletes Lauren Holtz (volleyball) and Greg Peters (basketball) were named NU Female and Male Athletes of the Year. The event was attended by 245 former players, coaches, fans, family, and friends. It was held in the Donald H. Argue Health and Sciences Center on the Northwest University campus.
In addition to honoring athletes and teams, the evening was designed to raise money for athletic scholarships at Northwest University. More than 80 items were donated, and they were sold at a silent auction before the dinner and at a live action during the event.

Former NU basketball player Wes Davis served as the Master of Ceremonies. Gary McIntosh, Athletic Director and Men’s Soccer Head Coach provided a welcome, and John Bacon, Assistant Professor of Business, and Dustin Shirley, Director for Alumni, conducted the live auction. Dr. Joseph Castleberry, NU’s President, shared a vision for the future of Eagle athletics, and a video highlighted the story of Williwu Seifa, a current student from Liberia who is a soccer player and sprinter.

PROFILES OF THE INDUCTEES
Kristi Brodin
Brodin began her career at Northwest in 1970 after graduating from Seattle Pacific University as a physical education major and two-sport athlete. Kristi established and coached women’s basketball and volleyball at NU. Her teams won five NCCAA national basketball titles in seven years, with the first one coming in 1988. Her volleyball teams qualified for the national tournament three times, placing third in 1989 and second in 1993. She was named national Coach of the Year in 1989. She left coaching in 1998 and served as the NU athletic director for six years until 2009.

LeRoy Johnson
Dr. LeRoy Johnson has been a part of the Kirkland campus since 1967, when he joined the faculty. He served 16 years as an assistant basketball coach. After leaving his coaching duties, Dr. Johnson continued to teach at NU and became the public address announcer. He became the Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR) in 1984, and he has served as the FAR for all sports since then. Dr. Johnson has been a devoted Eagle for 44 years.

John Brown
John Brown was a men’s basketball player at Northwest from 1972-74. He came to what was then Northwest College from Ketchikan, Alaska, via Seattle University. He played on the men’s basketball team from 1972-1974, following his service with the armed forces in Vietnam. Scoring 1,048 points and averaging 20.5 point per game, he was named one of the two best players in the Pacific Northwest College Conference. John led the team to the conference championship and to a National Little College Athletic Association tournament in Ohio his last year playing at Northwest.
After his playing days, John coached the Eagles from 1982 until 1989, when he moved back to Ketchikan, Alaska. John was the first inductee into the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame, and he was selected by Sports Illustrated as one of the top 100 high school basketball players of all time after he led his team to four straight Alaska high school state titles from 1964-1968.

Mark Flatau – ’75

Source: Alumni eNews March 2011

When Mark came to Northwest University, he knew he wouldn’t be staying long. He felt that God was calling him into higher education and Northwest had not yet developed a program that would help him accomplish this goal. So Mark did what he thought was the next best thing – he came to Northwest and graduated with his Associate of Arts degree and transferred to another school for further educational training.

But don’t get me wrong, Mark is an Eagle through and through. He wanted to start his college career off right; full of spiritual growth and surrounded by friends that wanted only to honor God with their lives. Mark found that and more at Northwest.

Mark was one of the 400 floor “Red Dogs” with Rick Enloe and Jim Heugel, played on the basketball team with John Brown and under Assistant Coach LeRoy Johnson at the national tournament, and served as the sophomore class president. He somehow found time to meet and marry Gayle (maiden name Baltrusch), who is also an NU grad from the LEAP program in 2003 with a degree in Organizational Management.

Today, Mark continues to serve in leadership as the Superintendent for the Cle Elum / Roslyn School District, where he impacts students, teachers, and parents on a daily basis. The advice that he gives to his teachers, that he would also like to share with NU students seeking to get into education is, “Never lose sight of the impact that you can have in the lives of kids as their teacher.” As a father of three, school-aged children, I couldn’t agree more.

Remembering Randy Clark

Randy Clark was my friend, teammate and colleague at Northwest University.  When I reflect back on my friend's life I would describe him in the following terms: "He was one of the good guys!"  He was a fantastic athlete, an inspiring teammate, a morally upright man of God, and a faithful friend.  (Someone, who did not know Randy back in the day, might think that I'm overstating my case, but trust me, Randy was all that I have alluded to and more)

I finished my time at Northwest in the spring of 1977 and was traveling and singing in churches immediately after graduation.  The news of Randy's tragic death did not reach me in time to make it to the funeral.  I would have liked to have been there to honor my friend and to participate in sharing of grief with his family.  As a man of faith, I rarely question the actions or the inaction of God, but Randy's death was not an easy thing to understand or come to grips with.  "Yes," I know that he will be in God's Kingdom and I will see him again, but I have missed him and the conversations we would have had through the years.

I played on Northwest's first soccer team. (1974)  We exceeded everyone's expectations and the next September, we were ready to reach higher goals.  Bill Matson and I began to recruit with permission from Coach Kenney.  We first recruited Ken Dobson to be our coach.  Then we turned our attention to "finding" players.  We heard about Dean Clark's son, who had the reputation of being a star athlete in high school.  (He was a great gymnast)  We recruited Randy and he proved to be worth the effort.  He became a dominate force and the center mid-fielder of our soccer team.  He was a natural, both as a player and a leader on the team.  We had a good year!

I decided not to play soccer my Senior year at Northwest.  I was already "doing" a lot of services singing at churches and engaging in ministry off campus.  For that reason I did not see Randy nearly as often, but we remained friends.  I still remember meeting Randy in the parking lot next to the Chapel.  I was heading to the FiRs from LeRoy Johnson's European History Class and Randy was headed down to a couple of classes he had that day.  We stood in the parking lot and began to talk...and talk...and talk.  Four hours later, I restarted my sojourn to the FiRs and Randy climbed into his car...classes over.  To this day I appreciate Randy's life and what his friendship meant to me.  I can not help but wonder what Randy would have accomplished had he lived.  I already know a part of the answer--he would have done many great and wonderful things, because his potential was incredible.  Let me say it again, for the record: "Randy was one of the good guys!"

The Passing of a Legend

Linfield Crowder passed away this year.  For those of us who grew up in the Southern Idaho District of the Assemblies of God, Linfield Crowder was a legend.  For many of us, who would later try to take up the spiritual mantel of this man of God, Linfield was the apostolic ("yes" apostolic) voice that encouraged us to do so.  Outside of my family, Linfield had the greatest spiritual impact of anyone in my life.  I think that it is safe to say that I am in the ministry, because of both his direct influence and extraordinary example.

I was 17 years old when Linfield took me on as a project.  (I was trouble looking for a place to happen)  I served as his driver, along with two of his nephews, and worked at the youth camps where he was speaking.  It was the beginning of a shift in my mindset, as I observed the difference that Linfield was making in the lives of young people.  God became real to me and the calling in my heart was birthed.  Linfield used to tell young pastors, "Pray that God will give you sons and daughters in the ministry."  Well, I am one of Linfield's sons...I am proud to be one of his sons in the ministry.

I am incredibly grateful for the life of Linfield Crowder.  I will miss my friend and mentor.  He will be missed, but not forgotten.  His work lives on in the lives of those he touched.  One of these days, I'm going to climb into the pulpit on a Sunday morning and cry in a loud voice, "Eternity, eternity, where will you spend eternity, and what will you do with Jesus!"

Tim Ravan & Global Connectors

Tim Ravan attended Northwest University '72-74.  He went into full-time ministry and served as a Senior Pastor before becoming an Assembly of God missionary to Romania.  While in Romania Tim did a significant work, planting a large international congregation in the capital city of Bucharest.  Tim and his wife, Sandy are presently embarking on life's next journey.  Global Connectors is aimed at networking Christians, Churches and resources for the purpose of reaching some of the more difficult areas of the world with the Gospel.

One of Tim's hopes and dreams is to see the Gospel make an impact in the country of Iran.  Iran, like many of the Islamic nations, is hostile and resistant to Christianity.  It is not as much an aversion to the Gospel Message as it is a resentment of the cultural impact of the Western Nations.  We, who live in America, understand the difference between true Christianity and Hollywood Pop Culture--but, many other nations are confused by the movies and music that we are exporting around the globe.  They are upset, because they still think of us as a Christian nation.  It is one of the many challenges ahead.

 If you are interested in participating with Global Connectors--contact Tim.  He has a history of putting some interesting projects and large impact events together. 

My Family - Ron Dugone

Most people are interested to see the changes that naturally occur as we and our family takes shape and ages.  I don't kid myself, I don't look like the Ron Dugone that attended Northwest College '73-77.  The first picture is of Jody and myself at the time of graduation from,what was then called Northwest College.  It was the just after graduating in the spring of 1977.  (If I look clueless--I was)  Before I get ahead of myself, let me start near the beginning of my time at NU.  Life for my family started at NU, because that is where I met Jody.  She arrived as a Freshman at NU the same year I arrived.  I discovered her on a double-date, where she was the date of the other guy...I know...a couple of weeks later we started our courtship.  In the summer of 1975, just before I started my Junior year, Jody and I got married in her hometown of Roseburg, Oregon. 

Short true story: Jody was popular at NU--even though she would say that she wasn't.  Like I already mentioned, I met her on a double-date, and then after "I" started dating her, she already had another formal date on her calendar with still another guy.  I asked her to go to an Andrae Crouch concert with me, but she was slated to go out to the concert with Steve Taylor.  My first conversation with Steve Taylor went well, because he was gracious and kind. He released Jody to go with me.  That was the beginning of a courtship and romance that has held up well through the years. 

Someone mentioned the other day that Jody looked lovely at her wedding.  She did look beautiful, but ask anyone who really knows Jody and they will verify what I'm about to say: "Jody is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside.  She is a giver and enriches everyone's life who has the privilege to know her."  In the last 35 years Jody has proven to be a fabulous wife, an amazing mother (whose children adore her), and a great partner in the work of the ministry.  I was serving as the Senior Pastor of New Life Assembly of God in Idaho Falls, Idaho when "we" started our family.  We have two children:  First there is Gina, followed by her brother, Michael.  Anyone with children should know this to be true.  Our children help define our lives by filling life with purpose and challenges.

 I spent most of the 80's in Idaho Falls, but decided that I wanted to raise my children in Texas.  Why Texas you ask?  Although I was raised in Idaho and attended Northwest University, my family has been a fixture in Austin, Texas.  We have a ranch that has been in the family since 1877.  My great-great-great grandfather sold the original 40 acres that is now known as the University of Texas.  My grandfather graduated from UT. My father graduated from UT.  My son is about to graduate from the UT Pharmacy D program.  I'm the only one who broke the pattern by going to Northwest University. So, what do we and the kids look like now days?

A little information about my kids.  Michael (in blue) and his wife Elisha.  Michael is a talented guitar player and worship leader as well as finishing up his doctorate in Pharmacy.  Elisha is a fourth grade teacher here in the Leander school district.  (She is also leads our worship singers at our fellowship)  Erick and my daughter, Gina.  (Both in black)  Erick just graduated from the Business School at Texas State University.  He is an amazing drummer and blesses us every week with his gift.  Gina is a "stay at home" mom with grandson, Adyen and yet to be named or arrive second grandson.  Gina is a gifted singer working on her first album.  We did not ever have the expectation that our children and spouses would want to stick around, but they did!  We feel amazingly blessed.  Isn't life great!

And "yes," that is what we actually look like today.  This picture was taken this Thanksgiving, 2010.