Profiles - About Alumni for June 2009

Featured Alum: Dr. Sam Downing, Prescott Area Leadership's Man of the Year

MAN OF THE YEAR - Downing Praised by Peers

As written up in The Daily Courier, Monday, April 6, 2009 by T.M. Shultz. Photo: Matt Hinshaw.

Prescott Area Leadership's Man of the Year for 2009 award goes to Dr. Sam Downing, a former family practice doctor here from 1989 to 1998.

Downing also was medical director for Yavapai Regional Medical Center's Hospice and Home Care Services and for Northland Cares HIV Clinic.

This isn't his first award.

Downing received YRMC's Nate Goff award this past December. YRMC established that award to honor staff physicians who consistently demonstrate excellence in providing end-of-life care.

Downing said receiving both awards has been an honor.

"And I'm thrilled for the other award winners, too," he said of the Prescott Area Leadership awards.

Downing is the medical director at the Good Samaritan Society Prescott Home Health and Hospice, a staff physician at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Wellness Center for students, a part-time instructor at Yavapai College's Gerontology Department, and he also fills in for a local pediatrician.

"The variety is wonderful," Downing said.

Downing said his favorite population to work with is seniors, although "clearly college students are the most unpredictable."

Downing said the two greatest health problems in the Prescott area are smoking related illnesses and dementia. "We still don't have great treatments (for dementia), and it puts immense pressure on caregivers," Downing said.

Colleagues say Downing is a consummate professional who is a pleasure to work with.

"He has a great sense of humor," said Sandy Palmer, director of the ERAU's Wellness Center. "He's great to work with, and the student's love him and respect his judgment."

Palmer said Downing is passionate about his work.

"You learn a lot from his experience, and when he's with a patient, they feel like they're the only person on earth," she added.

Paula Kneisl, executive director of the Good Samaritan Society, agreed that Downing is deserving of the Man of the Year honor. "He's very committed to his profession and his patients and to the folks he works with," Kneisl said.

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Dan Kuch, 1994, Cross Country Athlete

Dan Kuch Repeats as Whiskey Row Winner

As written up in The Daily Courier, Saturday, May 02, 2009 by Doug Cook. Photo: Matt Hinshaw.

As Dan Kuch sprinted toward the finish line of the 31st Annual Whiskey Row Marathon Saturday morning in downtown Prescott, he glanced briefly to the heavens above and blew a kiss to his father.

For the second straight year, Kuch, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound police officer from Lake Havasu, won the grueling race and once again paid tribute to his dad, Dave, who drowned in a tragic hunting accident nine years ago.

"He's the one who got me into running," said Kuch, 35, who completed the run in 2 hours, 54 minutes and 25 seconds, shaving nearly two minutes off his victorious pace of a year ago. "Every time I get a win, I do that for him."

Kuch's finish was quite a feat, particularly when one considers he fell ill with the stomach flu a few days ago. Last weekend, Kuch won a 31-miler in Nevada's Lovell Canyon and is now riding a bit of a hot streak.

He was helped by the weather, which primarily cooperated with cool temperatures in the 60s under mostly sunny skies and a slight wind.

"It's a challenging course, and to win once is an honor, but to come back the second time and do it, I can't put it into words," said Kuch, who left immediately after the marathon to get home for work. I'm just very thankful that I got the opportunity to race and win."

He still refers to sons Evan, 4, and Emerson, 21 months, as his "training partners," because he pushes them in a double stroller while doing practice runs near his home.

Next October, Kuch said he hopes to qualify for the Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, a race that consists of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile marathon.

Kuch does some cross training, including biking, running and lifting, but he has cut out the latter to keep his weight down.

"Ultimately, I'd like to complete the 100-miler in Utah this September," he said. "As a long-range goal, three years from now, I'd love to make it to the Olympic U.S. men's marathon trials."

He will next run four miles into the Grand Canyon - heading down its south rim before chugging up the north side and back. A cross-country runner for one season at Yavapai College in 1994, he trained for the Whiskey by running every day and taking part in a 20-miler at least once a week.

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Alum Update: David Nenad and Terry Kassien, Former YC Baseball Players

From left to right: David Nenad, Nick Nenad, Troy Kassien, Terry Kassien

Terry gives us this update:

Dave and I coach our sons in the Irvine CA. Pony League 13U Division. What a blast it is to have played at YC together and now coach our sons together!!

David Nenad: Yavapai College Baseball, 1978-1979 (1978 National Runner Up, 1979 National 3rd Place); Vanderbilt University, 1980-1981 (Signed with the San Francisco Giants)

Terry Kassien: Yavapai College Baseball, 1978-1979 (1978 National Runner Up, 1979 National 3rd Place); Florida Southern College, 1980-1981 (NCAA Div II National Champions)

Terry also sent Alumni Outreach this:

Here is a picture taken in December of me and my 14 yr old daughter. She's an opera singer and attends The Orange County High School of the arts in Santa Ana CA.

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In the News: Michael Frost, 2003, Nursing

As written up in The Daily Courier, Sunday, May 24, 2009.

Michael Frost graduated from the University of Arizona Family Nurse Practitioner program with a master of science in nursing and a graduate certificate in rural health this week. Michael also is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, the national nursing honor society and a 2003 graduate from Yavapai College as a nurse, 2003 graduate from NAU with a B.A., and 2006 graduate from Jacksonville University with a B.S.N.

He will continue his education with the U. of A. and anticipates completion of the doctor of nursing practice in 2011. Michael's parents are Jack and Lucy Frost of Alexandria, Virginia, and Michael has been in the Prescott area since 2000 with his wife Elizabeth and has two children, A.J. and K.T.

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Cesar Arroyo, EMT/Fire Science, 2006-08 and Nick Untermann, Fire Science, 2008

Achievers: Fire Academy Grads Blaze Career Paths

Photo: Matt Hinshaw. Left, Nick Untermann, and right, Cesar Arroyo. As written up in The Daily Courier, Sunday, May 24, 2009 by Ken Hedler.

PRESCOTT VALLEY - Cesar Arroyo dropped out of high school in the Los Angeles suburb of Downey during his senior year just 10 units shy of graduating.

"I was a 'D' student in high school," Arroyo recalled.

As recently as five years ago, Arroyo, 30, said he sported the "thug look" with a shaved head and a "mean demeanor" while living in Los Angeles and working as a cashier at a big-box store.

His life changed three years ago after visiting his family, who moved to Prescott Valley from Downey. He passed the high school equivalency exam by attending Yavapai College.

Arroyo also earned an emergency medical technician certificate at Yavapai College, and graduated a year ago from the fire academy at its Prescott Valley campus.

Arroyo, and Nick Untermann, 20, a fall 2008 academy graduate, were stellar students, according to Dave Marshall, fire science program director.

"I would give them an 'A+' because of their test scores, their practical skills, their commitment to the program and the community," Marshall said.

Both Arroyo and Untermann described the fire academy as challenging.

"I saw it as both mentally and physically challenging," said Untermann, a Prescott resident. "What I was told (is) your body could handle the work. It is your mind you are going to have to push."

Arroyo pushed his mind, becoming the first member of his Mexican-American family to attend college. He began volunteering with the Williamson Valley Fire Department - now a district - two years ago.

He currently is a reserve firefighter/EMT with the Williamson Valley district, and works full time as an emergency department technician at the East Campus of Yavapai Regional Medical Center in Prescott Valley.

Arroyo, of Prescott Valley, also teaches part time at the fire academy, and is taking classes at Yavapai College with the goal of attending a four-year college and eventually gaining admission to a medical school.

"I want to become a doctor," Arroyo said. "Right now, I get to do the fun stuff. My dream as a kid was to become a doctor."

By contrast, his former student at the academy, Untermann, plans to stick with firefighting. He joined the Granite Mountain Hot Shot Crew of the Prescott Fire Department in April after volunteering with the Groom Creek Fire District.

"I want this to be my career, just be a career firefighter and serve my country," he said.

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