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WOMAN OF DISTINCTION JENI BROWN, ‘00 & ‘03 BY DEBORAH DAWES Many things about being named a 2018 Woman of Distinction by the Girl Scouts of Colorado’s West Slope will stick with Jeni Brown. One memory will always make her smile. When she told her family about the honor, her eleven-year-old daughter said, “Good job, mom. That’s pretty cool.” Brown thanked the selection committee “… for the priceless gift of making this mom, in the eyes of her pre-teen daughter, ‘pretty cool’.” The nomination form secretly completed by Brown’s coworkers at JG Management Systems (JGMS) and company founder and CEO Jerome Gonzales was not short on praise. One of three women honored on November 8, Brown is chief financial officer at JGMS, a management services firm that helps clients manage large-scale ventures such as engineering or infrastructure projects. She is also secretary on the company’s board of directors, chairman for the employee stock option plan and directs daily business operations. “I grew up in a poor community in Rock Springs, Wyoming,” Brown said. “I had a kind of drive. I knew I had to get my college education to succeed.”She earned a BS in business in 2000. “Dr. Vail (Richard Vail, PhD) encouraged me to keep going. He and his wife were both very encouraging, straight forward and motivating.” She took Vail’s advice and completed her MBA in 2003. She began her financial career in the hotel industry which took her to Illinois, Connecticut, Florida and Louisiana. In 2008, she returned to Grand Junction. She remembers she brought her infant daughter to her JGMS interview. Brown and her husband, Glen, are now parents to two girls and a boy.“I tell my girls it’s important to have people and organizations that support you, but it’s really up to you. Be the hero of your own story,” Brown said. Although Brown was not a Girl Scout herself, she thinks her own story aligns “…with core values of the Girl Scouts in encouraging and building tomorrow’s role models through courage and confidence.” • Caitlin Ryan, ‘18 Since graduating in May, Caitlin has really charged into life after college. She launched a wedding planning business called Ivy Aisles and has already been a part of four weddings. She credits her experience with Student Life, the ambassadors and the mass communication program with giving her the skills and confidence to run a business. She is excited to see what the future has in store for her business and hopes that it includes planning many more weddings for fellow Mavs. She also planned and went on her trip of a lifetime. The trip consisted of 30 days in Italy, France, England, Scotland and Ireland. It took a lot of research and saving, as well as persuading a few friends to join her (fellow CMU alums Melanie DiMinno, and Logan and Michelle DeLaCastro). She now reflects that she was naive to think that taking that trip would rid her of travel fever, as it has only made the bug even more present. She imparts to others, “here’s to traveling both in college and beyond, and never losing sight of a dream you once had your freshman year.” • IN MEMORIAM Richard Dewey, ‘40; Jack Bale, ’48; Dean Beck, ’49; George Bevan, ’50; Joan Kruckenberg, ’51; Joseph Gobbo, ’53; Kenneth Coulson, ’54; John Beckley, ’55; John Groneman, ’57; Richard Murr, ’59; Gary Schank, ’63; Thomas Guccini, ’64; Richard Roubidoux, ’66; Eldon White, ’68; Kathryn Hogge, ’69; Patricia Jones, ’71; Eric Hawkins, ’86; Clyde Hancock, ’88; James Slagle, ’94; Adam Trumbo, ’16; Jack Road Correction: We incorrectly listed Bery Tack, ‘12, in the In Memoriam section of the fall 2018 Maverick magazine. Bery, thank you for being a good sport about it. SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTE TODAY Keep your friends, classmates and the CMU Alumni Association up-to-date by submitting a Class Note. Send us a picture of your wedding or new child, or by letting us know about an award you have won. Visit SupportingCMU.org/ alumni/class-notes to tell us what’s new with you.