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Wine industry pioneer, engineers
recognized as Alumni Fellows
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OSU Alumni Fellows Pete Johnson, Zelma Long
and Greg Merten (center, left to right) are flanked by OSUAA President
Nancy McCoy, ’65, and OSUAA Director Dwayne Foley, ’67,
(left) and Provost Tim White (right). |
A pioneer in the California wine industry and two engineers
were honored as Alumni Fellows during Homecoming weekend in October.
The Alumni Fellows program, designed and sponsored by OSU’s Alumni
Association, brings back to campus prominent alumni who share their
experiences with the university’s students, staff, faculty and
the public.
This year’s fellows include: Zelma Reed Long, ’65, owner of
Long Vineyards and Zelphi Wines and one of the leaders in the growth
of the California wine industry in the 1970s and 1980s; Gregory Merten,
’68, vice president and general manager of Hewlett-Packard’s
Corvallis site; and Pete Johnson, ’55, founder and owner of Tekmax,
Inc., of Tangent, a worldwide leader in battery plate enveloping and
automated transfer equipment.
Zelma Long received a bachelor’s degree in general science with
a minor in nutrition from OSU in 1965. In 1968, she became the second
woman to enroll in the master’s program in enology or winemaking
at the University of California at Davis.
Long’s career in the wine industry spans more than 30 years. She
is a former winemaker at Mondavi and Simi and CEO of Simi. In 1999,
she retired to focus on new international ventures with her husband.
Their new company, Zelphi Wines, is currently producing wine in Germany
and South Africa.
Long has served as chair of the Wine Industry Advisory Board, president
of the American Vineyard Foundation and director of the American Society
for Enology and Viticulture.
In 1989, Long was honored by the American Institute of Wine and Food
with its first Wine and Food Achievement Award. In 1993, the Wine Spectator
Foundation named her a California Wine Pioneer. She was selected as
Woman of the Year by the Roundtable for Women in Food Service in 1994
and by Wine Sense in 1995. She was named to the James Beard Hall of
Fame in 1996 and as the James Beard Wine and Spirits Professional of
the Year in 1997.
Greg Merten received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering
in 1968. He has risen through the ranks of Hewlett-Packard to become
vice president and general manager of the Inkjet Cartridge Operation,
managing sites in Corvallis, San Diego, Boise, Puerto Rico, Singapore
and Ireland. He is actively involved in an advisory capacity with the
College of Engineering and the electrical and computer engineering department.
In 1999, Merten was inducted into the College of Engineering Academy
of Distinguished Engineers. That ranks him in the top 200 graduates
among the college’s total of 24,000. He has also played a significant
role in helping the College of Engineering secure the recently announced
$2.2 million partnership grant from Hewlett-Packard.
Pete Johnson received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering
in 1955. After spending 15 years in various chemical engineering positions
in California, he went to work for Evans Products in Corvallis and managed
the production unit and designed new battery separator manufacturing
plants.
In 1980, he started a venture with his own new, patented idea for making
battery separators. He founded Tekmax, Inc., a worldwide leader in battery
plate enveloping and automated transfer equipment.
He holds 12 patents on various machine components, and the majority
of batterymakers in the United States use features of these patents.
In 1998, Johnson was inducted into the College of Engineering Academy
of Distinguished Engineers. He has been a member of the Chemical Engineering
Department’s Industrial Advisory Board since 1993.
He and his wife, Rosalie Johnson, recently established the $1.5 million
Linus Pauling Chair in Chemical Engineering. They also funded the computer
room at the chemical engineering department and outfitted it with computers.
The Johnsons have been strong suporters of the OSU Alumni Association
and funded both the library and lounge at the CH2M HILL Alumni Center.
OSU
Souder honored with Graham Award
Lee Souder, who served two terms as president of the
OSU Alumni Association, has been awarded the Jean and C.H. "Scram"
Graham Award for volunteer service to the OSU Alumni Association. The
annual award is named in honor of former OSU Alumni Association director
"Scram" Graham and his wife, Jean. "Scram" Graham
died this September.
Souder, a 1972 graduate of OSU’s College of Pharmacy, is the owner
of Cal-Med Pharmacy in La Canada, Calif.
He first served as president of the OSU Alumni Association in 1993-94
and was asked to serve again in 1994-95. At that time the Alumni Association
was planning for the construction of the CH2M HILL Alumni Center, and
the board of directors said it needed the continuity of leadership, energy
and talents Souder could provide. As president, Souder flew to Oregon
10 or 12 times a year at his own expense for various OSU Foundation and
Alumni Association meetings.
He was a member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors from 1986
to 1993 and during that time missed only two Alumni Association board
meetings, which are held several times a year.
"When I took a position on the board, I decided if I’m going
to make a commitment to do something, I’ll do it right," he
said.
Souder also has been president of the Alumni Center Steering Committee,
chairman of the Clubs and Student Recruitment Committee for the Alumni
Association, member of the Southern California Regional Committee, and
founding member of the College of Pharmacy Practitioners Advisory Council.
His community involvement includes memberships in the Kiwanis Club of
LaCanada, California Pharmacist Association, National Association of Retail
Druggists and the National Association of Eagle Scouts.
While at OSU, he was secretary/treasurer of the College of Pharmacy Council,
vice president of Kappa Psi honorary fraternity in pharmacy and student
representative to the American Pharmaceutical Association.
Souder said that his efforts on behalf of the university and the Alumni
Association are a way of showing gratitude for what OSU has done for him.
"I have always been grateful to OSU for giving me a chance to come
back and serve. It’s my way of saying ‘thanks’ for all
OSU did to help me get to where I am today. Oregon State has been good
to me. I’ll always be grateful for both the education and living
experience I received here."
Souder and his wife, Denise, have two children, Julia and Ryan. Denise
is the registrar and director of student affairs at the Keck School of
Medicine at the University of Southern California. Julia has two degrees
from Oregon State (1998 and 2000) and is now a graduate student in public
administration at USC. Ryan is a junior at Cal-Poly, Pomona.
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