TISD honors distinguished alumni at annual luncheon
Texarkana Independent School District recognized two exceptional graduates Friday during the annual Distinguished Alumni Luncheon.
Marvin Abney, state representative for Rhode Island, and Dr. Lanny Chasteen, retired college professor and author of top accounting articles and textbooks, were recognized during a luncheon at the Texarkana Country Club.
“I’m just so glad that I’m back home among people that I love,” he said. “This is a geographical part of the world that has helped me become who I am. That’s really important in life to always understand that. This is an important designation and I accept the award, not for me, but everybody else who has worked so hard in life to do so many good things for our students.”
Abney is a 1968 graduate of Dunbar High School and attended Texarkana College before completing a bachelor of science degree in public administration from Stephen F. Austin State University. He earned a master’s degree in management from Webster University in 1982, a master of business administration degree from the University of Rhode Island in 2000 and a certificate of advanced graduate study in educational leadership from Johnson & Wales University in 2005.
He served 20 years in the United States Army and completed officer candidate school and airborne school and served in several positions, including commanding a U.S. detachment for the NATO headquarters in Belgium.
He’s also served in many elected positions, including interim director of human resources development for the state of Rhode Island’s department of secondary and elementary education.
Abney described his school experience and the positive influences he received at Dunbar.
“It was about learning to think critically, how to think on your feet,” he said. “That’s what this school system gave me and I’ve carried it with me to every major capital I’ve ever been to or worked in. In 1968, when I graduat- ed from Dunbar, it was one of the saddest days of my life because I was leaving a comfort zone. I learned so much about how to operate within a system of people, because that’s basically what we do in life. I miss Dunbar because there was love everywhere.”
Following Abney’s speech, Fred Norton Jr., president of the TISD board of trustees, introduced Chasteen, who then spoke about his educational experiences and how he became a successful professor and author. Chasteen said he estimates he taught between 6,000 and 9,000 students during his career and that he enjoyed sharing his knowledge of accounting with them. He also thanked his family for standing by him for so many years.
“I guess I owe this success to these people not the least of which are the teachers I had in my primary and secondary education experience here in Texarkana,” he said. “I want to thank you again for this honor and I also want to thank the Lord. My cup does runneth over.”
Chasteen is a 1960 graduate of Texas High School and earned a bachelor of business administration degree from the University of Texas at Austin, a master’s degree in business administration and a doctorate degree in accounting from the University of Arkansas. During his 39-year accounting career, he held several college faculty positions at Oklahoma State University, including head of the school of accounting and professor emeritus of accounting. He later lectured at Rice University and was a faculty resident for Haskins & Sells, now known as Deloitte. He’s also served in visiting professor positions at UT Austin, Texas Tech, UT Arlington and the University of Tulsa. Chasteen has written many articles in top accounting publications and co-authored six editions of Intermediate Accounting, the standard college accounting textbook.
TISD established the distinguished alumni award in 1992 to recognize the outstanding personal and professional achievements of its graduates.