The Eller Graduate School of Management held its first Eller MBA Alumni Weekend on October 4th and 5th. Alumni were invited to return to campus to participate in career panels, a networking lunch, mock interviews, the Eller MBA Achievement Awards dinner, and on Saturday, a UA football game and tailgate party.

Eller MBA Alumni Achievement Award Recipients

It is the Eller College of Business and Public Administrationís pleasure to honor the 2002 Eller MBA Alumni Achievement Award recipients for their career success exemplifying the Eller values of enterprise, innovation and distinction.

Bruce Beach, MBA 1973
Managing Shareholder, Beach, Fleishman & Co., P.C.
Bruce Beach is the managing shareholder of Beach, Fleishman and Co., P.C., the largest accounting and business advisory firm in Southern Arizona, and is in charge of the firm's management consulting practices. Beach is a certified public accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Arizona Society of Certified Public Accountants. He serves on the board of directors for Carondelet Health Network, the Southern Arizona Leadership Council, Broadband Laboratories, Alliance Bank of Arizona and the Eller College of Business and Public Administration National Board of Advisors. He is past chairman of the board of directors for United Way and was recently honored as one of the fathers of the year by the Father's Day Council of Tucson.

John H. Davis, MBA 1971
President, Arizona Lithographers
John Davis was a section supervisor in the Ford Motor Engine and Foundry Division when the company sent him to Tucson to earn his MBA at the UA. He promptly fell in love with the city and banished all thoughts of returning to Detroit. After receiving his degree, he joined Security Savings and Loan Association becoming treasurer and then president while company asset grew more than tenfold in five years. In 1978, after two years as executive vice president of Union Bank of Tucson, Davis purchased Arizona Lithographers, a commercial printing business, serving as CEO of the company that was voted Arizona's #1 printing company by Arizona Business Magazine's "Ranking Arizona: The Best of Arizona in 2001."

Rodger Ford, MBA 1967
President, Anthem Equity Group, Inc.
Rodger Ford founded AlphaGraphics in 1970 just three years after receiving his MBA degree from the UA. He was the chairman and CEO of the company for nearly 20 years before selling his controlling interest in 1989. Today, AlphaGraphics offers printing and electronic publishing to consumers throughout the world with 325 locations in 25 countries. Ford is one of the founders of PETsHOTEL PLUS International, LLC, and is president of Anthem Equity Group Inc. and an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

Kenley Jones, MBA 1988
Director, Center for Economic Research, Cochise College
Ken Jones founded the Center for Economic Research at Cochise College in Sierra Vista, Ariz., in 1995 and is the center's director. He established the annual economic forecasts and developed economic publications for Sierra Vista, Douglas, Benson, Bisbee and Cochise County. His research is recognized by political and community leaders throughout the state. In 2001, the Sierra Vista Economic Development Foundation presented him with an award for his contributions to area economic development. Jones was named to Who's Who Among College and University Instructors and Who's Who Among America's Teachers during his successful teaching career at both Cochise College and UA South in Sierra Vista.

Edward C. Long, MBA 1994
Vice President, Lazard Freres, Lazard Asset Management
Edward Long is currently a vice president and portfolio manager for Lazard Freres and Co., LLC in New York City. He is a co-manager on Lazard Asset Management's $7 billion domestic equity portfolio. In addition to his portfolio management responsibilities, Long specializes in the analysis of the aerospace, electrical equipment, machinery, transportation and auto industries. He is a charted financial analyst and a member of the New York Society of Security Analysis. Prior to joining Lazard, Long began his Wall Street career with Merrill Lynch where he helped create the company's first institutional asset management group. He specialized in the analysis of technology companies and served as a research director while co-managing the fund.

Patti Reeder, MBA 2000
Business Manager, Information Services, E & J Gallo Winery
Patti Reeder went to work for E & J Gallo Winery after earning her Eller MBA. Her first project for the company was a $5 million installation of the company's new computer system in the logistics area. Today, Reeder is the business manager for the 170 person information services department where her responsibilities include budgeting and financial control, administration and human resources for the department, and oversight of more than 100 projects, IS metrics, strategic supplier assessments and MBA recruiting. Prior to attending the Eller MBA program, Reeder served with the Peace Corps in the Fiji Islands and founded a software company focused on training and support of financial software. While in the Eller MBA program, she received the Ray H. Johnson Leadership Award and served as MBA Student Association Consulting Group director. She also created the first ever MBA alumni scholarship at Eller.