USD Magazine, Fall 1996

and an intern at the Office of the Public Defender in Santa Ana.... Charlie Bush is still selling carpet with Tuftex Industries by day and studying for his M.B.A. at San Diego State by night.... Colleen Cassity is a parale– gal with a law firm in Irvine, Calif. Colleen lives in Corona de! Mar and has taken up running.... Jason Chaffee is a major accounts representative for Telephone Express. He lives in Highlands Ranch, Colo., with his wife. Jason coaches a 14-and-under boys' soc– cer team with fellow alumnus Andrew Kummer '93. ... Kristina Clark graduated from USC with a bachelor's degree in nursing and is a registered nurse at Long Beach Memorial's Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.... Nicki (Hoyt) Harrington is the vice president of academic affairs at Moraine Park Technical College. She published a college nursing text– book that is used throughout the United States. She and her husband, Jim Harrington 'BB (Ed.D.), live in Fond Du Lac, Wis. Jim is a professor in educational leadership at Marian College.... Mark Johnson lives in Newport Beach, Calif., and works in sales for Ingram Micro.... F. Renee Linton graduated from California Western School of Law with a J.D. degree and plans to take the California Bar in February 1997.... Ernest Monliletto teaches U.S. history and coaches football and track at Green Valley High School in the Clark County (Nev.) School District.... Christine Morvillo completed a master's degree in public health at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. She also works at the medical center in Houston.... Eileen Murphy lives in Nashville.... Carolyn (Auday) Primo opened her own law office with an emphasis in estate planning in Rancho Bernardo, Calif. She returned to San Diego from Montana, where she was sworn into the Montana Bar.... Navy Lt. John Sipes partici– pated in operations off the west African coast of Liberia while serving aboard the amphibi– ous ship USS Guam. While spending most of his time at sea during his six-month deploy– ment, John did visit Naples, Italy, and the island of Malta.... Chris Spence graduated from Parker College of Chiropractic in Dallas and has opened a practice in San Diego. He is a member of both the American and International Chiropractic Associations. He is eligible for board certified chiropractic reha– bilitation. ... Kimberlee (Moravick) Spivey (M.A. '93) and her husband, Robert, bought their first home in October 1995. Kimberlee was promoted to sales/marketing manager for Intermag Inc. in Sacramento, Calif.... Allyson Thomas is a sales representative for Rocky Mountain Reflections in Denver. In her posi-

NOT JUST PUTTERING AROUND

m ichael Brower '92 (M.B.A.) learned many valuable lessons at USD's School of Business Administration. But the most important lesson could have been taught in a philoso– phy class. "I remember one of my professors telling us that everyone will be presented with one crucial opportunity in their life,'' Brower remembers. "He also said that most people don't act on that opportunity because they either don't recognize it or are afraid to take the risk." Brower recalled those words three years ago, when he got a call from a former class– mate, Michael Hagerman '92 (M.B.A.), ask– Ing him to join a fledgling company that produced golf putters. "He essentially asked me how little money I could live on," Brower laughs. "But I looked upon it as a great opportunity. If it only lasted 30 days, I would have been happy." Brower is now more happy than he might have Imagined. He and Hagerman helped tum Odyssey Golf into one of the top names In the industry. The company's sales grew from $200,000 in 1993 to $30 million

this year, and Brower was promoted to vice president and general manager. Odyssey had a good product with a unique look - the company's putters are easily identifiable by a black insert in the club face, a patented material called Stronomic. But the key to success, Brower says, was simply bringing a business per– spective to the golf industry. "Rather than paying professionals endorsement money to use the club, as many companies do, we convinced them they could use this club to win,'' Brower says. "Once the professionals won with our putter, we believed the customers would follow." The strategy proved sound, as players using Odyssey putters won tournaments and customers took note.The company's biggest break came this year, when Nick Faldo used one of Odyssey's putters to win the Masters Tournament, one of golf's most prestigious contests. Although Brower gets to try out the company's new clubs, he doubts he'll be winning any tournaments of his own. "I don't have much time to play,'' he admits. "But for me, it's better to be a good businessman than a good golfer."

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