Last month I attended the 51st Annual Kansas Prayer Breakfast in Topeka. Let’s simply say that I am not a morning person, but God woke me up that day.

Last month I attended the 51st Annual Kansas Prayer Breakfast in Topeka. Let’s simply say that I am not a morning person, but God woke me up that day. While the speaker was good and the emcee outstanding (Jim Turner ’62 shamelessly promoted SC as he emceed the morning and it was wonderful!), it was the actual prayers that God used to awaken me that morning.

“We need leaders that’s [sic] going to profess nothing but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. We need your guidance Lord, there’s trouble in our world. People need to know who you are. Let us stand on righteousness like never before. Prepare our hearts, mind and soul, Lord. We’re reaching up toward YOU because real leaders need you. Leaders of integrity. Leaders of dignity. Leaders of respect. Oh, God, leaders with character, leaders that will be responsible. Let every leader know without God they can do nothing. We represent nothing but the purity of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. So bless us all today. May the hand of God from Heaven touch us and God may you cover us with your blood. In the name of the Father, in the name of the Son, in the name of the Holy Ghost we pray, Amen.” - Pastor Richard Rounds

Pastor Rounds was speaking specifically about all of our Kansas government leaders, but it applies to us all. This prayer woke me up for three reasons. I want to be that kind of leader. I need to pray for our leaders. I want to pray with the fervor of Pastor Rounds.

God answers prayers. It’s not always the way that we like, but he does. There are songs about it, prayers about it, cute sayings sewn on pillows about it, but the truth is God answers prayers. Can I get an ‘Amen?’

Some of you are excellent prayer warriors. I thank God for you and your example to me and others. If you are interested in actually being a part of the Sterling College Prayer Warrior program, email me and I will add you to our quarterly mailing list. You can choose to receive the calendar via the US Postal Service or your email inbox. This is a program that has been going on for more than twenty years and we have seen the fruits of your prayers on this campus. Thank you.

I ask that as Sterling College moves forward with the rest of the semester, with the plans for our 125th celebration, with our Board of Trustee leadership and the College’s new strategic plan that you pray for us and our leadership.

Pray that we have integrity, dignity, respect, responsibility, and above all the truth and character of God.

I pray that all of these things are in your life as well.

Amen.

Amy Thompson '96

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Upcoming Alumni and Parent Events

13 April – Mississippi Valley Alumni Chapter

All people in the Quad Cities area of Iowa/Illinois the weekend after Easter should stop by the First United Presbyterian Church at 801 16th St, Moline Illinois. A potluck dinner at 6:30 p.m. will be followed by a presentation from Amy Thompson ’96, director of alumni & parent relations.

14 April – Missouri Valley Alumni Chapter

All people in the Omaha area are invited to the home of Rev. Bob '54 & Barbara Meanor to meet Amy Thompson ’96, new director of alumni and parent relations, and to celebrate all things Sterling College. Dr. Greg Kerr, vice president for academic affairs, will be joining us via Skype. Join Amy Thompson ’96 to hear the latest news from the College and enjoy refreshments provided by Bob and Barbara from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Please RSVP to the Meanors by this Saturday, March 31 at bbmeanor2@gmail.com for directions.

21 April – Rice Country Ladies Alumni Tea

Rice Country Alumni ladies are invited to join us for a morning tea from 10:00-11:30 in Heritage Chapel on the third floor of Cooper Hall. Invitations will be mailed shortly.

19-20 October – HOMECOMING

“Connecting to the Past, Looking to the Future”

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Sterling College creates Strategic Plan

Sterling’s Strategic Planning Task Force completed five months of work in January 2012. This 25 member group of faculty, staff, students, trustees, alumni, and representatives of the local community focused on recommending some key strategic goals that will allow us make significant steps toward reaching our Vision 2020 of a larger, academically stronger, and more financially secure Sterling College during the next three to five years. These were recommended to the Board at its February meeting. The Board liked the direction of the recommendations and asked the administration to continue to refine the recommendations. The Board will review these again in during their May meeting.

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Heather McCreery ’90 announced as new Chair of the Board of Trustees

The Sterling College Board of Trustees has elected alumna Heather McCreery ’90 to serve as the new Chair of the Board. Tim O’Brien was also elected to continue his service as Vice Chair. These decisions were made during the winter board meeting held February 9-11. The terms as chair and vice chair will begin following the spring board meeting held in May.
McCreery was first appointed to the board of trustees in 2002. (read complete story here)

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Heather McCreery Interview

The purpose of this interview is connect alumni with people with whom they may have lost touch.

Sterling College: When did you graduate from Sterling College?
Heather McCreery: 1990

SC: What were your major and minor?
HM: Business administration with a minor in accounting.

SC: What activities were you involved with while on campus?
HM: I played tennis, which we don’t have anymore. I was in choir and a cheerleader for a couple of years.

SC: What residence hall did you live in?
HM: McCreery my first year and Evans the second year. I got married after my sophomore year and lived off campus.

SC: What are you doing now?
HM: I’m a CPA and I was the CFO of Wall Street on Demand for 10 years. It got acquired a couple of years ago by a UK company named Markit, and now I am the Finance Director for the distribution group within Markit. Wall Street on Demand did web design for financial companies. Markit now includes Wall Street on Demand, a group in Amsterdam and a group New York. We service the financial industry with research and data.

SC: Do you have children? What are their names?
HM: I am married to Scott Carter ’88 and we have two kids. Micah is 7 and Kylie is 3.

SC: Where do you live?
HM: Estes Park, Colo.

SC: How did your experience and time at Sterling College shape you?

HM: I would say that it prepared me for my life more than my career. That was probably due to a couple of things. Two strong Christian women, Diane DeFranco-Kling and Kathy Glynn, were amazing to be with and learn from. The other is that I was a freshman when my cousin and best friend Julie Ray was killed in a car accident that happened on a school trip. Being at SC during that time was incredibly helpful because of the community around me. It shaped my view of faith and gave me a desire to continue learning.

SC: What did you enjoy or appreciate most about Sterling College?
HM: The first thing that comes to mind is the community of Sterling and the involvement of the faculty. They really were always challenging me to discover something new – Kathy Glynn, especially. I changed my major because of Kathy, which, looking back, changed the course of my life.

SC: Do you have any children or relatives who attend or work at the College now?

HM: No relatives any more, but many close friends.

SC: How are you remaining involved on the campus?
HM: I have remained involved primarily through the Board. I have been on the Board for 10 years – on the finance committee – and will take the chair in May. My family loves to come back for homecoming and commencement. The kids love the “castle” building.

SC: Do you mind if we include an email address so people can get a hold of you?
hlmccreery@gmail.com

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Why Do an Alumni Directory?

The Alumni Directory is a great opportunity for you to update your information so that you are receiving the most up-to-date information from your alma mater. Please take 10 minutes to call Publishing Concepts, Inc (PCI). Publishing Concepts is one of the top companies in the industry and is happy to assist you in updating your information and offering you the option to purchase the new alumni directory, which will be delivered in October or November of this year.

The price is higher than previous directories because of the work done by this outside company. We want to provide our alumni with a quality product, and we believe this is the best way to do so. The direct number to PCI’s customer service is 800.982.1590 if you have any questions.

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Summer Mission Teams request your assistance

We have a number of students going on mission trips this summer where our students will broaden their worldview as they respond to God’s voice by exclaiming, “Hear am I. Send me!”

If you would like to support our mission teams this summer as they travel to Ghana, Tanzania, India, Guatemala, Nepal, St. Lucia, Thailand, Nicaragua, Philippines, China, and Ukraine, there are two ways to do so. Pray for the teams as they prepare, travel, and minister. You may also contribute financially by designating “Sterling College” on the online donation form that can be found here. If you would like to specify a country, you may do that as well.

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More News

We work hard to keep great news on our website and up to date especially for alumni who are not near campus or receiving the local paper. You can find all the up-to-date news on our Sterling College and Sterling College Alumni Facebook pages as well as directly on our website.

Contact Amy Thompson at athompson@sterling.edu if you wish to no longer receive the alumni eNews. Know that if you select unsubscribe, you are unsubscribing from future emails that include the Prayer Warrior and e-blasts for alumni events in your area.

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