Alumni Profiles
A Thousand Miles and Counting
Cook continues peace work in Northern Ireland
Zebedis' job combines sports, children's charities
A Thousand Miles and Counting
By Kim Walker
When Bennett Natatorium opened in 1972, Dr. Elbridge Mackenzie ’38 stood in line among the first faculty members to enter the water. Thirty-one years and 1,000 miles later, he continues to stand in line under a small plaque in his name, ready to enter the pool.
Although Mackenzie retired as an education professor from Anderson University in 1980, he hasn’t retired from the things he loves most — exercise, his church and interaction with the faculty and students at AU. Even now, at the age of 87, he and his wife, Marie, come daily to the natatorium for a swim. In fact, their cumulative swimming miles have earned them a side-by-side placing on a plaque in the natatorium’s lobby: his for swimming 1,000 miles and hers for swimming 600 miles.
“She hasn’t quite caught up with me,” he laughs. “Still, we’re not bad, considering our age.”
Mackenzie came to Anderson as the second full-time education professor in 1949 and became chairman of the education department in 1958. Although Mackenzie’s 31 years of teaching were interrupted for a few years — in 1951 he served in the Korean War, and in 1968 he left to complete his doctorate at Washington University in St. Louis — his core values have always been the same both here and afar. Except in his absence, he has attended Park Place Church of God ever since arriving as a student in 1934.
Indeed, the desire to form Christian relationships is what initially drew him to the university, and it is what continues to stimulate him today. Even now as Mackenzie heads over to the pool for his daily exercise, he makes sure he leaves a little early to chat with the on-duty lifeguards.
“He’s never in a hurry to rush into the pool,” says natatorium lifeguard Steve Bowers. “He always stops and talks to me and looks for Mr. Scott (swim director) to ask him how his kids are doing. He’s an amazing person to know.”
Although MacKenzie is now somewhat consistent in his daily routines, he isn’t averse to change. To break up his exercise routine, he occasionally walks on the track at the new Kardatzke Wellness Center, seeing different people and stretching his physical limitations.
“I know the day will come when I can no longer exercise,” he says. “But until then, I’m going to keep on moving.”
Cook continues peace work in Northern Ireland
By Deborah Lilly
In the fall of 1997, Sara Cook BA ’99 traveled to Northern Ireland with three Anderson University classmates. She studied conflict resolution at Magee College and interned at a domestic violence refuge. While the experience only lasted a few months, it impacted her life so much that two years after graduation, she left her job as a social worker in Indiana to return to Northern Ireland.
“I really appreciated the time I spent in Northern Ireland,” says Cook. “It ended up being a really pivotal experience in my life.” She decided to return and express her gratitude with actions. “I wanted to walk alongside them and help however I could.” So in the fall of 2001, she joined a Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) team in Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland has struggled with conflict for centuries. While the dispute is more political then religious, the line is drawn between the Catholics who want to remain free of Great Britain’s control and the Protestants who want to continue to be a part of Great Britain. Shortly after Cook’s first stay in Northern Ireland, government officials on both sides of the issue signed the Belfast agreement, which supports, among other things, peaceful means to resolving differences on political issues. Since the agreement, Cook says, “Things have improved, but it’s still difficult.”
Cook signed up for a two-year commitment with BVS. “BVS puts you in places where locals are already doing good work,” she explains. She works in Derry/Londonderry with women and youth through the Peace and Reconciliation Group, an organization started in the 1970s by Northern Irish Catholics and Protestants. The Peace and Reconciliation Group provides opportunities for communities to come together at their own request. Some days she helps facilitate programs for women wanting a better understanding of politics in Northern Ireland. The group also arranges weekends for Catholic and Protestant women to meet and interact. “If they can successfully move past that stage, the women often end up being a local clearinghouse for not only Protestant/Catholic issues but for women’s issues in general,” Cook says.
The organization also works with youth. “A lot of what we do is the same thing you would do with youth groups in the United States,” she explains. They play games, go out to dinner, go bowling — but they’re doing these things with youth from the other side of the political and religious fence.
“There are so many kids who have been taught violence and rioting by watching their parents that Northern Ireland now has a really out-of-control group of youth,” says Cook. “We do things that will give them exposure to each other and a chance to relate on a much less threatening level than they typically experience.”
The steps may seem small, and Cook admits there are people in Northern Ireland who would rather maintain sectarian attitudes. “While these are small things, they speak significantly toward the changes made in these kids’ lives,” she says. “It’s going to take a lot of years. It’s been four centuries in the making and it’s going to take a long time to break down some of those barriers.”
Zebedis' job combines sports, children's charities
By Deborah Lilly
Scott Zebedis BA ’79 has always been a sports fan. After college he combined his favorite pastime with his business degree and worked in professional sports administration. But he’s since added a third element to the equation — children’s charities.
Zebedis’ career in sports administration began in the front offices of minor league baseball teams. During his first 18 years in the business, he also worked with the Denver Nuggets, the San Diego Padres, the Colorado Rapids and the Tampa Bay Mutiny. In 1999 he joined the Teammates for Kids Foundation.
Teammates for Kids was co-founded in 1999 by country singer Garth Brooks to generate funds for children’s charities. “What is unique about the foundation is that we enlist the help of major league baseball players and national hockey league players,” Zebedis explains. The gifts from these professional athletes are then tripled with funds from other donors. One hundred percent of the money raised is distributed to children’s charities throughout the world.
Zebedis’ job is to work with the athletes. He visits teams at their training camps, shares information about Teammates for Kids and invites them to participate. To date, nearly 500 professional baseball players and 90 professional hockey players participate in the program. “They pledge money based on an on-field or on-ice statistic,” Zebedis explains. “For example, a baseball player may donate $1,000 per homerun. And we promise to triple whatever they pledge.”
After the athletes donate to the program, Zebedis lets them know how their money is being used to help children. “We let the players be involved as much as they want to be involved,” he says. Sometimes the athletes are content with knowing where their money is going. At other times, athletes want to go out with Teammates for Kids representatives to visit places where their gifts are being used. For example, this summer Zebedis is traveling to Russia with a National Hockey League player to donate money to a children’s hospital and pass out games and toys to the young patients and then deliver athletic balls to three local schools.
Each year Teammates for Kids receives 1,200 applications from children’s programs all over the world. While the foundation is not able to meet all of those requests, Teammates for Kids has provided funds to children’s charities in 40 different countries, in 47 states of the United States and in 10 Canadian provinces since 1999.
“When we have six or eight players on a certain team participate in the program, we also give money back into that community on behalf of those players,” Zebedis adds. “In three years, we’ve given $2.5 million back to the communities of baseball and hockey teams.”
Overall, the foundation has generated more than $28 million for children’s charities since it began.
“Other than the relationships I’ve developed with professional athletes, the neatest thing about this job is seeing children’s programs all over the world,” Zebedis says. “I’ve seen so many different programs firsthand that help children that I never would have thought existed.” Such as a program that trains dogs to be lifelong companions to handicapped children or the organization that works with motion picture studios to make first-run children’s movies closed-captioned for hearing impaired children.
“It’s a great job,” says Zebedis. “For me personally, it’s very rewarding. At the end of the day, I can feel good about the work the foundation is doing.”
