ASU to honor Distinguished
Alumni for 2007

Sept. 28, 2007 -The Arkansas State University Alumni Association will honor four outstanding individuals in its 24th year of recognizing distinguished alumni. The Distinguished Alumni presentation ceremony will be held during halftime of the Homecoming football game on Saturday, Oct. 13, when Arkansas State hosts Louisiana-Lafayette in Indian Stadium at 6 p.m.

Since 1984, the Alumni Association's board of directors annually selects award recipients from nominations submitted by the public. Selection of nominees is based on community service, professional achievement and service to ASU. This year's honorees are:

James W. Callaway of San Antonio, Texas, who has had an outstanding career in the communications industry after graduating with a degree in business administration in 1968. He began with Southwestern Bell that same year, and has held numerous positions in Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, New York, New Jersey, and California. These positions include president of Southwestern Bell's Kansas Division, founding president and CEO of Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems, SBC senior vice president-Strategic Planning, President-External Affairs, and group president overseeing Yellow Pages, international operations, procurement and wholesale operations. In 2005, he led the planning and integration efforts for SBC's acquisition of AT&T, and held the same position in 2006forAT&T's BellSouth acquisition. He is presently senior executive vice president-Executive Operations, responsible for executive support, merger integration, AT&T Alascom and flight operations.

Mr. Callaway currently serves on the ASU Foundation Board of Directors and is a 1924 Sustaining Life Member of the Arkansas State University Alumni Association as well as being a member of ASU's President's Partners, Business Inner Circle, Indian Club and Homerun Club. He has contributed to academic and athletic scholarships, ASU baseball, the College of Business and the Cooper Alumni Center. He has been honored by campus groups including the Lettermen's Club, Athletic Hall of Honor, and as an Outstanding Alumnus of the College of Business.

In San Antonio, he serves on the boards of the Cancer Therapy and Research Center, St. Mary's University, San Antonio Sports Foundation, Free Trade Alliance, and the Alamo Bowl. He and his wife Paula have three children, Colby, Carter and Casey.

William H. Keedy, Jr. of Newport received a BSE degree in 1969 and a masters of science in education in 1990. After teaching and coaching for 38 years, he announced his retirement in 2007, but will not be idle, currently serving as a fundraiser for A-State's Indian Club and as color commentator at ASU football games for the eighth consecutive year.

Mr. Keedy was recently inducted into the Lettermen's Club Hall of Honor as an honorary inductee. He helped spearhead the initial Indian Classic Golf Tournament in Newport to benefit ASU athletics. A member of the ASU Indian Club board of directors, he is also a life member of the Arkansas Activities Association. He was inducted into the Arkansas High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1990, and was the AHSCA Lowell Manning Award recipient for Outstanding Coach of the Year 1995-96.

During his career as head football coach and athletic director, he was named Conference Coach of the Year 17 times, was the Newport Daily Independent Man of the Year 1989 and again in 1991, was the first recipient of the Newport Kiwanis Club's Distinguished Service Award in 1989 and first recipient of the Jonesboro Sun's 'Best Under the Sun' Coach of the Year award in 1991. As a lasting tribute, the Newport High School athletic facility was named the Bill Keedy, Jr. Athletic Training Facility in 1994. He and his wife Jennifer Ware Keedy, a 1971 ASU graduate, have two children, Kathryn Keedy, who graduated from ASU in 1996, and Billy Keedy III, a 1999 ASU graduate.

Dr. Anas Al-Rasheed of Kuwait City, Kuwait, is a 1991 ASU College of Communications graduate who also received an MSMC degree from A-State in 1995. He is currently a professor of journalism and media at Kuwait University, and is respected worldwide for his leadership as former Minister of Information for Kuwait and member of the Kuwaiti cabinet.

As an ASU student, he was president of the International Students Association, and personally contributed books and funding to support the ASU Library. He helped recruit a number of international students to attend A-State, including members of the Kuwaiti royal family.

During his junior year, he joined the U. S. Army to help with the liberation of Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm. After completing his degree at ASU, he served on the faculty at Kuwait University, and was named media advisor to the Kuwait Minister of Education, a post previously held by individuals twice his age. Dr. Al-Rasheed has chaired numerous international conferences on media as well as ethics and women's rights, both in Kuwait and throughout the region.

Under his direction, Kuwait passed a law making it the country with the greatest freedom of the press in the Middle East, allowing the media to discuss issues never before possible. Dr. Al-Rasheed was also instrumental in promoting a gift to the U.S. of over $500 million from the government of Kuwait to assist those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

He and his wife Munerah, who also attended ASU, have three children, Fatima, Latifa and Ahmad. He is A-State's first international Distinguished Alumnus.

Rep. Bobby G. Wood of Jonesboro is a 1953 business administration graduate. He represented Craighead County in the Arkansas General Assembly from 1977-96. The funding for many ASU buildings, including the Library and Convocation Center, was approved with his help.

As State Representative, he served as House Chairman of the Legislative Joint Committee on Public Retirement and Social Security Programs, was on the Joint Interim Oversight Committee on Higher Education Reform, and the Federal Budget and Taxation Committee of the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In his 33 years of military service, he attained the rank of Brigadier General, serving during the Korean War, and was the Arkansas National Guard Commander of the 875th Engineer Battalion, State Inspector General, and Assistant State Adjutant General. He was a charter member of the Northeast Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America, serving as president for two years.

Rep. Wood is a past president of the ASU Alumni Association, was inducted into the A-State ROTC Hall of Heroes, and was honored as an outstanding College of Business alumnus. He is past president and board member of Abilities Unlimited, and a group leader for the United Way of Jonesboro. He retired as business manager and owner of Delta Gas & Oil and Delta Farms, Inc. He is married to Mary Lou Cole Wood, a former ASU College of Business faculty member who received her bachelors degree from A-State in 1960 and an MSE in 1965. They have three children: Dr. Bob Wood Jr., who received a bachelors degree from ASU in 1978 and an MBA in 1990; Rebecca Wood Frederick, who graduated from ASU in 1980, and Dr. Mark Wood, a 1982 ASU graduate.

 

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