Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients
Patti (Eastgate) Aanenson
Patti Aanenson's outstanding career as an educational leader and athletic administrator includes a significant milestone: being named the board president of the North Dakota High School Activities Association, the first woman in the organization's 117-year history.
The NDHSAA shapes activities from the arts to athletics across North Dakota. Her election speaks to her leadership and unwavering commitment to students and schools.
The athletic director at Larimore, N.D. High School since 2006, Aanenson's membership in the North Dakota Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association and the National Interscholastic Administrators Association demonstrate her commitment to professional development.
Initially a bank employee, she switched to education, first as a public school business manager and coach before returning to her high school alma mater to begin work in athletic administration. That impressive service earned her awards as the athletic administrator of the year numerous times.
Aanenson graduated in 1981 with a B.S. degree in business education.
Rammie (Braaten) Olson
Rammie Olson personifies Mayville State's dedication to “personal service” through exceptional professional achievements, community leadership, volunteerism and commitment to the Red River Valley community.
Professionally she is a significant and highly-respected employee at Gate City Bank, where she has earned the trust and confidence of customers and co-workers for her business acumen.
In the community, her participation and leadership in various endeavors help her enhance community stewardship. She was honored as one of Prairie Business Top 25 Women in Business and the United Way of Cass-Clay Women's Leadership 35 Under 35 Program. She has been involved in a variety of leadership and personal training programs.
Olson's extensive volunteerism includes the YMCA, the N.D. Autism Center, teaching financial literacy to elementary school students and hosting a free neighborhood volleyball camp for youth.
Through many community-focused endeavors, Olson's quality and breadth of commitment are paired with genuine concern as she seeks to improve life in the F-M area.
She is a 2006 MSU grad who majored in business administration.
Kasie (Braaten) Windfelder
Since receiving the “Rookie Teacher of the Year” award in the Navarre, Fla. High School, Kasie Windfelder has exemplified extraordinary excellence and “personal service” in her 20-plus years as a high school teacher and principal.
Her résumé lists a myriad of ways that she worked to improve both student and staff experiences at Navarre and throughout the county. In 2004 she earned the Navarre Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year Award, the Governor DeSantis Florida Hero Award and Florida's Innovative Principal of the Year Award.
She enthusiastically and amazingly sets the standard for high expectations in all aspects of high-school and community life.
Kasie graduated from MSU in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. She earned the Master of Science in Educational Leadership from the American College of Education in Indianapolis, Ind.
Starting in 2026, she will bring her wealth of experience to a new public high school, Soundside High School, in Santa Rosa County.
Distinguished Service Award Recipients
Tom Capouch
Tom Capouch's record of service reflects extraordinary devotion to Mayville State University and represents the very best of what this honor seeks to recognize.
With his banking background, he led the MSU Foundation Board to strengthen the financial stewardship and philanthropic impact that supports the university's mission. More broadly, he brought that expertise through service on the MayPort Economic Development Corporation.
As an MSU adjunct faculty member, he brought real-world financial insights to the business classrooms. He graduated from and was later a faculty member at the Dakota School of Banking.
Capouch was recognized with the Greater North Dakota Association Leadership Award and earned the Mountain Plains Business Educators Distinguished Service Award.
A1984 Mayville State business administration graduate, he later earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Moorhead State University. He also earned his Series 7 Stockbroker License in 1994. He is a graduate of the Dakota School of Banking, the Commercial Lending School, and the Graduate School of Banking Financial Managers School.
Capouch's contributions spanning education, community development, leadership, and philanthropy have made a lasting and positive impact on the university and the broader community.
Lowell Nelson
Lowell Nelson has exhibited “unwavering dedication, exceptional leadership and tireless commitment to advancing the mission of Mayville State University.”
He has embodied the best of the MSU alumni family, as an auditor for the MSU Foundation and a member of the MSU Foundation Board, and as an accounting instructor in the business division. In the past he taught the CPA review course at UND.
As a CPA, he is nationally recognized as an expert in church, pastor, and missionary taxation, serving churches and individuals across the United States and in numerous countries.
A special milestone for Nelson is celebrating 50 years as a professional accountant, a career which began June 1, 1976, in Mayville.
He earned the B.A. degree in business administration in 1978, then attended Moorhead State pursuing an MBA. He passed the CPA exam in 1981. As part of the full-service accounting firm Overmoe and Nelson, Ltd., he has provided quality, personalized financial guidance to individuals and businesses throughout the Red River Valley.
Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees
Nancy (Johnson) Berg
Nancy Berg was a versatile athlete who lettered four years in softball, two in basketball, and one year in volleyball. She captained the Comet basketball team her sophomore year and was a three-year captain in softball.
Recurring knee injuries ended her basketball career, but she was “first team all-conference” softball player four times, a unanimous choice for the 9-player District 12 softball team as a sophomore and the MVP her sophomore year.
In 1985 the softball team was the WACND champion. The third baseman led the team with 23 RBIs and a .284 batting average her freshman year, upping that to .360 as a sophomore. She was part of the 1984 volleyball team that was inducted into the MSU Athletic Hall of Fame. She played slow-pitch softball in Pierre, S.D., and was inducted into the local Oahe Softball Hall of Fame in 2025.
After graduating with a degree in business administration and accounting, Berg's career has been in the banking industry. She has advanced to the corporate level, writing policy and procedure to merge smaller branches into the BankWest way. Working as senior vice president in loan administration, she oversees five departments and 31 staff members.
She has brought her softball skills to coaching her children's softball teams.
Chuck Bush
Chuck Bush, an accomplished pitcher, was a four-year Comet letterman. He earned all-conference and all-area status as part of NDCAC and District 12 championship teams in 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1991. The 1988, 1989, and 1990 teams are in the MSU Athletic Hall of Fame.
Bush was named the conference “Most Valuable Pitcher” in 1990 and 1991. However, he proclaimed that his proudest accomplishment as a Comet was being selected by his teammates for the “Hardest Worker Award” in those years.
Known as “a gamer,” he amazingly pitched in, and won, back-to-back games in the 1990 conference tournament, advancing the team to the NDCAC championship. In the 1991 Area III tournament he struck out the heart of Bellevue's order to preserve a Comet victory.
The “rubber-armed” pitcher's career record was 24 wins and five losses, with eight saves.
Bush was signed to a professional contract as a free agent and played two years in the Milwaukee Brewers minor league farm system, being promoted twice. During the off season he recruited future Comets.
Bush graduated in 1991 with a degree in business administration and a minor in accounting. His coaching record in Canada and several U.S. states includes coaching his own boys in several sports. He is active in refereeing local football games and umpiring baseball and softball games for the community.
Wade Grinde
During the 1991-93 seasons, Wade Grinde graced the court at the Lewy Lee Fieldhouse as one of the most talented, hardworking, and inspiring players in Comet history. Called “the kind of teammate who elevated everyone him,” he excelled in scoring and rebounding and performing the clutch-time moves that led to victories.
He was named NDCAC All-Conference twice, was NDCAC Player of the Year in 1992-93 and earned NAIA All-American Honorable Mention status. One year he set the Comet record for total points in a season, 658. He set single-game scoring records of 46 and 56 points.
Off the court, Grinde was a leader in the locker room and a role model in the classroom, representing Mayville State at the highest level.
A 1994 graduate who majored in elementary education and minored in coaching, Wade carried his Comet passion, work ethic, and leadership to Spring Grove, Minn., where he has had an enviable career as a teacher and head boys basketball coach. Over decades at Spring Grove, he accumulated more than 500 coaching wins, a record of 566-197, and 18 conference titles.
He earned five Section 1A Coach of the Year awards and one Minnesota Class A Coach of the Year award. His teams finished third in the 2019 and 2023 Class A basketball tournaments. He was inducted into the Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2024.
Grinde is highly respected not only for his coaching achievements but for the values he instills in his students and athletes.
Kermit Johnson
Kermit Johnson was that rare college football athlete who could play on both sides of the ball. He did that for the 1971-74 seasons. He was also the punter and did the kick-off all four years. His average as a punter was 45-plus yards in all four years.
Johnson was named to the all-conference team in 1973 and 1974, was the team captain in 1974, the most valuable player on defense in 1974, and most valuable player in 1974.
He participated in track in 1972 and 1973 and was a conference place winner in multiple events.
He had a free-agent invitation from the Atlanta Falcons, the New England Patriots, and Denver Broncos.
After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and physical education, he went on to teach sixth grade at Kindred (N.D.) Public School for 41 years. He coached varsity football for 27 years, varsity baseball for 18 years, and junior high basketball for about 20 years.
Athletic Coaches Hall of Fame Inductees
Andy Braaten
Andy Braaten has achieved a unique career milestone. Not only has he been lauded as a coach, but he was given perhaps the highest distinction to which a high school teacher can aspire: being named a recipient of the national Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching.
After graduating from Mayville State in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and chemistry education, he began coaching basketball and teaching mathematics and science at Carrington, N.D. He earned a master's degree in mathematics education from Minot State in 2015.
While he has mainly coached girls basketball, he has been an assistant coach in track, baseball, and football.
With a career record of 432 wins and 143 losses, Braaten’s Cardinals played in the Class B state tournament three times. They were the State Class A consolation champions in 2025, were district champs eight times, district runners-up eight times, region champs four times, and region runners-up six times.
He was the assistant coach for the 1995 State B boys basketball championship.
In 2011 he was named the North Dakota Associated Press Sportswriters High School Female Coach of the Year. Additionally, he was the district coach of the year eight times and the region coach of the year seven times. He was named to the NDHSCA Hall of Fame in 2025.
Braaten has been a member of the North Dakota High School Coaches Association and was on that organization's executive council, serving as its president in 2016.
Brad Walsh
Coach Brad Walsh guided the University of Mary, Bismarck, N.D., softball team to the greatest run of success of any athletic program in Marauders history. In 14 seasons as head coach, the team won 13-straight conference titles, made seven trips to the national tournament, and won well over 400 games.
Walsh took over the Marauders program in 1992. After passing 30 wins for the first time in 1998, the Marauders set a school record of 43 wins in 1999 and returned to the NAIA national championships, starting a string of five-straight appearances in six seasons. Walsh wrapped up his softball coaching career after another trip to the NAIA World Series in 2005 to become the Maurauders head baseball coach, a position he held for six seasons during the transition from the NAIA to NCAA Division II.
In two decades on the diamonds for Mary, he won more than 500 games and coached more than 100 all-academic and all-conference student-athletes. He earned conference coach of the year awards eleven times and was the regional coach of the year seven times.
As a player he is in the North Dakota Softball Hall of Fame, and as a player/coach he is in the Mandan Post 40 Baseball of Hall of Fame, and the University of Mary Hall of Fame. As a baseball player at Mayville State in 1983-1984, he earned All-NDAC and All-District honors.
He is now the business development director for Mann Energy Services. He graduated from Mayville State in1985 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education and a minor in recreation.
Jeryl “Murph” Thompson
After graduating from Mayville State in 1978 with a social studies major and psychology minor, “Murph” Thompson began a coaching career that has extended over more than four decades. After being an assistant wrestling coach in Walhalla, N.D. in 1978-79, he moved to Drayton, N.D., where he has coached the highly successful boys track and field team at Drayton and Drayton-St. Thomas-Valley, Drayton-St. Thomas-Valley-Edinburg, and Drayton-Valley-Edinburg co-ops.
He has also been a head football coach for 21 years and an assistant coach for 12 years, a junior high and elementary boys basketball coach, and a junior high and elementary girls basketball coach.
He was inducted into the North Dakota High School Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2019 and was recognized as one of the premier pole vault and hurdle coaches in the state. He was Class B Regional Boys Track & Field Coach of the Year seven times. A lifetime member of the North Dakota High School Coaches Association, he served on the NDHSCA track and field advisory committee.
In 2020, he organized the Drayton “Bomber” 6-man football team that enabled Drayton students to once again participate in football.
Other honors include being selected as an “Everyday Superhero” by North Dakota United in 2021 and being selected as a recipient of the “Bomber Legend: Above & Beyond Award” in 2025 at Drayton Public School.
“Murph” is recognized as a talented and well-respected coach, one committed to his school, especially his student-athletes.
Jennifer (Hegna) Walsh
Jeni Walsh, who played three seasons of volleyball for the Comets, has had a stellar career both as a coach and a player. She was inducted into the MSU Athletic Hall of Fame as a member of the 1984 volleyball team.
She began coaching volleyball in 1988, as an assistant at several Bismarck, N.D. high schools, Bismarck State College and the University of Mary. In 2003 she became the head volleyball coach at Century High School. In eight seasons, the Patriots accumulated a 237-74 record, and in 2008, a state championship.
Previously her teams were runners-up; West Region champions; and WDA runners-up or third- or fourth-place finishers.
In 2011 Jeni became the head volleyball coach at Bismarck State College, leading the Mystics to a 235-99 record in nine years. During those years the Mystics were variously the Mon-Dak champions, a conference runner-up, and Region XIII champions or runner-up. They were the Northwest Plains District champions in 2019 and the runner-up three times. In 2019, the team placed fourth at the NJCAA DII national tournament.
Jeni and the 2019 volleyball team were inducted into the Bismarck State College Hall of Fame in 2026.
She was coach of the year several times, at both the high school and junior college levels. She completed her college degree at the University of Mary, graduating in 1989.
Performing Arts Hall of Fame Inductees
Teresa (Berry) Agnes
Teresa Agnes is well-known as a songstress in the “Triplicity” trio for 20-plus years, and as a member of the “Drama Queens,” a women's singing ensemble that worked to promote and help fund Mayville State drama scholarships.
As a student she was part of both vocal and instrumental ensembles. She participated in various theatrical and musical performances, initially under Dr. Christopher Jones, and later, Bob Sylksar.
She is a committee member for a group that brings Prairie Fire and Missoula Children's Theater to town each summer.
She was a drama coach at May-Port CG and has been a speech adjudicator at MPCG since 2005.
Previously a teacher at Peter Boe Jr. Elementary School in Mayville for 20-plus years, she is now an administrative assistant in the Education Division at MSU. She has been part of the group of music supporters who work to champion and raise funds for music and drama at her alma mater.
Agnes graduated from MSU in 1996 with a major in elementary education.
Dr. Jane Braaten
Dr. Jane Braaten's astounding history of excelling in and promoting the performing arts has brought the experiences and groundwork she learned at Mayville State to full circle. A 1978 graduate in English and speech and drama, she consistently earned “outstanding” and “champion” honors in theatre and forensics. Because of her overall participation in extracurricular activities, plus academic success, she was named to “Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.”
After graduating, she continued to perform in and direct community, university, and secondary-level theater productions, with ore than 100 plays and musicals. She coached students to national tournaments.
Overmoe earned both the master's degree and the Ph.D. from the University of North Dakota.
Her impressively descriptive résumé lists exemplary experience in teaching at both the secondary and collegiate level in three states. She further supports the arts by serving on boards, judging speech and writing competitions. She is also a poet.
Dr. Braaten is the personification of “outstanding educator.”
Charity Stegman
Charity Stegman has been lauded for her excellence in “behind the scenes” volunteerism for the Empire Theatre in Grand Forks, N.D.
Stegman was involved in speech and drama at Mayville State, where she graduated in 1996. She began her professional life working in a library, but she transitioned to be an eligibility worker for the Northern Valley Human Service Zone in Pembina County.
Answering an ad for volunteers at the Empire opened a door to nearly 20 years of service to the venue, where she excels at making sure that all aspects of managing the house are covered. A measure of that dedication is driving an hour from her home in Cavalier to attend to the Empire's needs.
She also volunteers at the Northern Valley Youth Orchestra and the Greater Grand Forks Community Theatre, and as a stage manager for summer productions at Frost Fire in Walhalla, N.D. She is a member of the Langdon, N.D. Community Band, the Pembina County Pep Band, and the Northern Lights Arts Council in Langdon.