Burns is also treasurer and a board member of the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
Non-stop CFO
Michele Burns (BBA '79, MAcc '80) handles Delta's financial landing gear in stormy weather
by Jack Pendarvis
|
Burns is also treasurer and a board member of the Elton John AIDS Foundation. |
ichele Burns has always known what she wanted. While her daddy's trucks were delivering kerosene to south Georgia farmers, little Martha Michele sat at the family service station, no doubt pretending to keep the books. Even before she knew the right words to express it, she knew that her father's small business was teaching her about "deadlines, commitments, taxes, and bank loans. You saw how things fit together."
That small spark set off a straight and swift shot to the CFO's office at Delta Air Lines. A less perceptive person might not have seen the path laid out before her, but Burns (BBA '79, MAcc '80) has made all the right decisions. At 15, for example, she elected to charge through high school in an accelerated program. There was one catch—she had to give up her beloved basketball. Goodbye layup, hello logarithm.
At UGA, she declared a major in business administration as soon as the rules allowed, and sought out the Honors Program in order to experience the liberal arts. She was working for Arthur Andersen within weeks after completing her master's.
When the call came from Delta, Burns was not looking for a change—but change was in the air. Leo Mullin had taken over the airline, and he was looking for people with new ideas. Burns had one question: "Do you want people who can move up and around as they learn new things?" She recalls Mullin's answer: "Absolutely. There's no limitation."
Burns joined Delta as vice president for corporate taxes in January 1999. By August 2000, she had jumped three rungs to chief financial officer. Her promotion coincided with the most tumultuous year in airline history—even before the tragic events of Sept. 11. But consolidation concerns, labor problems, potential fuel shortages, and the downturn of the economy suddenly seemed almost ephemeral in the wake of the terrorist attacks.
Delta, like its peers, was forced to take dramatic action. Workforce reductions were particularly hard for Burns to handle, but she approached the unenviable situation with a healthy mindset. "I came to Delta to grow it, not shrink it," she says. "Yet it's critical times like these that give you the chance to really show what you're worth. Responding to the crisis has been both frustrating and exhilarating."
In 1993, UGA's Terry College of Business presented Burns with its Distinguished Alumni Award. Burns modestly attributes the recognition to what she calls "the firstness of it." Before her, Arthur Andersen had never had a female partner in the Southeast.
The UGA award was also in recognition of Burns' numerous charitable endeavors. Since 1992, her primary focus outside the office has been the Elton John AIDS Foundation, where she sits on the governing board and serves as treasurer. She was with Sir Elton the night he won his Oscar, and was even allowed to heft the thing. But she is much more comfortable discussing how Delta has been able to help the cause, such as working out a way for Sir Elton's frequent flyer miles to be transferred to members of the AIDS foundation.
Burns presses a button and a white bulldog on her desk begins dancing to the UGA fight song. Over the musical strains, she points to a sampler on her office wall. It reads in part, "characterized by a tenacious grip and a sagacious attitude." It's a description of the UGA bulldog, but the attitude sounds familiar: "It's in tough times that you can make your greatest mark," says Burns. "Delta will emerge from this challenge stronger. We are still playing to win."
Jack Pendarvis is a freelance writer from Bayou La Batre, Ala. A similar version of this story appeared in Terry magazine, which granted reprint rights.
Fortunately for Delta, so is Michele Burns. She always has.
When in Florence
Shelton Bellew's (ABJ '95) audio tapes are the perfect way to tour the antiquities
by Amy Laughinghouse
n the shadow of the Santa Maria del Fiore at the heart of Florence, Italy, a tour guide expounds on the beauty of the marble cathedral, which took 600 years to complete. In perfect English, he addresses the history of Florence and its palazzos and squares and also dispenses practical advice, such as where to find "a true Italian coffee" or a cheap pint of beer and how to negotiate a lower price for the faux-Prada purses hawked by street vendors. If you didn't catch what the guide said the first time, he's happy to repeat it again and again—or at least until the batteries in your Walkman die.
 Bellew's little tour tape empire is spreading to cities like Rome, Venice, and perhaps Paris. |
|
"We were talking about the fact that on Sunday, everything's closed in Italy, and everyone goes home to eat from 2 until 4," says Bellew, who was reared just outside of Rome—Georgia, that is. "You can't get a guide or any help. We thought, Wouldn't it be nice if there were a way to visit the city on your own?"
Bellew, who lives beside the Arno River near Florence, created an outline of the city's most notable monuments, pored over guidebooks and Internet sites, and sought input from people on both sides of the Atlantic.
By June 2000, "The Cicerone: Walk With Me Self Guided Audio Walking Tour of Florence" was in gift shops and museum stores. Pisa/Lucca and Siena followed in January 2001, and tapes of Venice and Rome are next. The tours are also available at www.bellewtours.com for $16.95 each. Each tour tape package features a map of the city, a historic timeline, and a photo of Bellew decked out like a hip pilgrim in black jeans and a broad-brimmed hat. Like St. Christopher, the patron saint of travelers, he clutches a grapevine walking stick salvaged from a pergola behind his parents' east Cobb home.
The image of the iconic wanderer is fitting for Bellew, who spent his sophomore year of college in Lyon, France, and another six months in Chile on a Coca-Cola internship. He came to Florence in February 1999 after feeling unfulfilled in an Atlanta PR job.
"A friend said, 'Why don't you head to a country you've never been to before and figure out what you want to do,'" explains Bellew, whose radio-ready voice has adopted the lilting tones and elongated vowels of Italian. "I thought, Well, if I do get serious about a job and have a family one day, now's the time to go out and have this healthy adventure."
Bellew was fluent in French and Spanish, but he arrived in Florence not knowing a word of Italian. He quickly picked up the language—and a job teaching English and French to the Antinoris, a well-known family of winemakers. He had been in Florence six months and was ready to return home when he had his epiphany at the Uffizi.
In between working on tours and tutoring, Bellew hosts a daily two-minute radio show called "The Cicerone Break" in which he disseminates information about cultural events and exhibits. He plans to offer his Cicerone tapes in other languages and to include cities like Paris, Barcelona, and maybe even Washington.
He's also working with Scott Shamp, director of the New Media Institute at UGA, to develop alternative methods of distributing the tours, such as MP3 files that can be downloaded from the Internet and played on a hand-held computer or Pocket PC. And—take note UGA students—Bellew would like to recruit college students who are eager to have their artwork featured on a Cicerone map or packaging.
Saving SciTrek
Atlanta's science and technology museum was on the verge of collapse until former Georgia secretary of state Lewis Massey (BBA '84) took control
by Alex Crevar (BBA '93)
here was a Mel Brooks quality about the day Lewis Massey (BBA '84) took over as president and CEO of SciTrek, in that no one told the new sheriff in town that Atlanta's science and technology museum was on the verge of going under.
"I know it sounds a little crazy that I accepted the position and didn't ask questions," says Massey, the Gainesville native who ran second to Roy Barnes (AB '69, JD '72) in Georgia's 1998 Democratic gubernatorial primary. "But the board of directors that hired me didn't know about SciTrek's financial difficulties either."
|
 Massey's political experience has helped increase Scitrek's annual state funding from $175,000 to $425,000. |
The museum opened in 1988, hoping to draw 400,000 visitors a year. Massey, only four years out of college, had at that point already worked on the campaign of Georgia Supreme Court Justice Robert Benham (JD '70), successfully coordinated Gov. Joe Frank Harris' (AB '58) 1986 campaign, and served on the governor's staff. In 1991, Massey began a four-year stint as chief of staff for Lt. Gov. Pierre Howard (AB '65, JD '68). Then in 1996, after Sam Nunn decided not to run for re-election to the U.S. Senate, Max Cleland resigned as secretary of state to run for Nunn's seat. Gov. Harris then appointed the boyish-looking, 32-year-old Massey secretary of state.
While Massey was moving up the political ladder, SciTrek was headed in the opposite direction, attracting fewer than half of its projected annual visitation and never making it out of red ink. When Massey took over, SciTrek—which had run through a half-dozen CFOs in a four-year period—had just $30,000 in the bank and outstanding debts of $200,000.
"The first week I was here, I nearly told the board I didn't want the job
Massey needed to act fast because SciTrek's board of advisors had all but decided that the 13-year-old experiment had run its course.
"I knew it wasn't rocket science," says Massey from his office overlooking SciTrek's "Computer Clubhouse," which was built for underprivileged neighborhood kids. "The first week, I reduced payroll by letting 16 people go from a staff of 42. The board of advisors was also reduced from 48 to 25 and broken into committees."
In addition to raising new corporate support, Massey utilized his experience in government to bring about an increase in annual state funding from $175,000 to $425,000.
SciTrek's goals include attracting traveling exhibits like its current installation, "Prehistoric Worlds," and funding a space flight simulator called the "Challenger Learning Center," which is due to open in September. Another goal is to create an endowment to guarantee SciTrek will be around to educate and entertain future generations.
"But you can't go from broke to an endowment," says Massey. "You have to prove that you are viable. We are on the road to proving that."
|
 Burris, who leaves behind a wife and three young children, was known for his courage. |
Randy Burris (AB '86) lost his life saving a young mother and her newborn from a drunk driver
by Stephen Gurr (ABJ '95)
t was Randy Burris' nature to care about others. He'd strike up a conversation with anyone who crossed his path, and he usually left them smiling.
In November, Burris (AB '86) was standing in his driveway in Athens when he met a woman from Miami, Heather Carlson, who was out for a Sunday afternoon stroll with her infant daughter and her in-laws' black Lab. Burris mistook the dog for his and called to it, then laughed at his mistake. He said hello to the young woman and they struck up a conversation at the foot of Burris' driveway. They talked about kids, and he told her about his family.
Then they heard the car approaching.
"That car's going way too fast," Burris said.
The car veered out of control as it rounded the corner. Carlson tried to move her baby's stroller out of harm's way, but the wheels got stuck. With not a second to spare, Burris grabbed the stroller, shoved Carlson out of the way, and forced the stroller onto a neighbor's lawn. Unfortunately, he could not avoid being struck by the speeding car. The baby went flying from her stroller—but escaped virtually unscathed. Burris died two days later.
 Heather Carlson says she and her infant daughter owe their lives to Burris. |
|
In recognition of his act of heroism, Burris was honored by his alma mater in January at President Michael Adams' annual State of the University address.
"His selfless act of courage and true heroism has inspired many, many people," Adams told a gathering at the Chapel, before recognizing Burris' widow Lori and their 11-year-old son Nathan, who were seated in the audience. Lori Burris (AB '88) held back tears as the applause thundered around her. "It was touching," she would say later of Adams' tribute, "that he thought enough of this to mention Randy in his speech."
In the weeks and months since her husband's death, Lori Burris has seen her husband's act of courage affect people from one end of the country to the other. She flew to New York to be interviewed on "Good Morning America," where she spoke of the damage that drunk driving can do. For the widowed mother of three young children, the media attention has been mind-boggling. News services across the country carried the story.
"I have received letters and cards from people I don't know, from all over the country," she says. People have written to her from as far away as Korea, and the White House sent a sympathy card. For friends of Randy Burris, a contract specialist with the Georgia Division of Rehabilitative Services, his final good deed wasn't a surprise. "Randy just liked to help people," says his longtime friend Vince Lowery. "He was a family man, and one of the bravest persons I've met in my life."
|
 Lori Burris (AB '88) and Heather Carlson discuss Randy's heroism with Charles Gibson on "Good Morning America." |
In the years to come, the Carlsons will tell the story of Randy Burris' heroism to their daughter—who was born on a day when many American heroes shone brightly: Sept. 11, 2001.
And Burris' own children will have "something they'll be able to look back on" with pride, says Lori. "This was just Randy. I'm glad people have had the chance to understand what kind of person he was. I think this has really inspired some people to think about what's important in their lives."
Senior Olympian
Retired veterinarian Fred Everhart (DVM '55) is now the scourge of Senior Olympic competition
by Dot Sparer
|
 Everhart currently holds high jump records in both the 70- and 75-year-old age categories. |
n 1991, seven years after suffering a heart attack, 65-year-old Fred Everhart (DVM '55) retired from his 15,000-client veterinary practice in Columbia, Md. Then came the inevitable question: What next? He had never been much of an athlete, but decided to try out for the Maryland Old Liners, a softball team in an over-60 league.
"I saw these old men hobbling around," Everhart recalls. "They could hardly move. I said, 'Boy! This is going to be a cinch!'"
But on the ball field, those "old men" forgot all about their aches and pains, "and I knew I was in trouble," says Everhart. "I was lucky to make the team." Initially, perhaps, but luck had nothing to do with the way Everhart moved up in the batting order, quickly becoming one of the mainstays of the Old Liners.
Softball awakened his interest in the Senior Olympics, and over the next 11 years Everhart won 30 gold medals, 14 silver, and 10 bronze in softball and track competition. At the West Virginia Olympics, he entered six track and field events and walked away with six gold medals. He currently holds age-group high jump records in both the 70- and 75-year-old categories.
Everhart became an even better athlete following heart bypass surgery. "That really straightened me out," he reports. Previously, "since I had good legs and the other folks didn't, I'd have to be the designated runner for a lot of folks on our softball team. But before I had that bypass, I had to take two or three nitroglycerines under my tongue every time I ran."
With or without the nitroglycerine, Everhart has always had plenty of energy. He was a single parent to four children for a number of years, and at the age of 40—while maintaining a thriving veterinary practice—he earned a law degree. In the 1980s, Everhart organized 30 veterinarians into a cooperative emergency veterinary service. The venture was so successful that some members of the group established emergency clinics of their own in outlying areas of Baltimore.
 Swift afoot even when he was taking nitroglycerine, Everhart got a new lease on life from open-heart surgery. |
|
"About 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs every year in this country—and half of them are children under 12," says Everhart, who has forged a partnership between State Farm Insurance and the Maryland Veterinary Association to help educate students of all ages on how to protect themselves.
After retirement, he also decided to "do a little payback time with the Maryland Veterinary Medical Association" by joining its PR committee. "Before I knew it, I was vice president," says Everhart, who was elected MVMA president last June.
When he was recovering from his heart attack, Everhart got a preview of what retirement would be like—and he didn't want any part of it. But he says that when he got to 65, "something hit me between the eyes and I knew it was time to hang it up. I wondered whether I would miss my veterinary practice, but I never looked back. It was