Phyllis (Zemanek) Murphy graduated from NIACC/Mason City Junior College in 1950 and is a lifetime member of the NIACC Alumni Association. She has received numerous awards and honors, including the NIACC Shining Star Award in 2003.
Phyllis is an active member of the First United Methodist Church and the Music Teachers of North Iowa (MTNI). She has served on the Board of the Mason City Foundation and is a past member of Beta Sigma Phi. Piano has been a big part of her life, and she has made music an important part of other people’s lives through her Swingen Piano Studio. Phyllis has taught piano for 60 years.
She and her late husband, David (also a NIACC graduate), founded and owned David Manufacturing Company for many years in Mason City. They have given generously to countless local causes. The David and Phyllis Murphy Charitable Foundation, for example, benefits local high school graduates through scholarships. In 1998, the Murphys helped dedicate the Murphy Manufacturing Technology Center on the NIACC campus, which they helped make a reality and which bears their name.
Dr. Meredith Saunders graduated from NIACC/Mason City Junior College in 1949 and completed his undergraduate studies and medical school at the University of Iowa. He is also a lifetime member of the NIACC Alumni Association, and he has been featured in the NIACC First advertising campaign.
Dr. Saunders is a retired ophthalmologist. He spent his career in the Des Moines area, working as an attending surgeon for Iowa Lutheran Hospital, Iowa Methodist Medical Center, and Mercy Medical Center, where he was Chief of Ophthalmology. He also served as consulting physician to Veterans Hospital and Broadlawns Medical Center as well as to the Iowa Society to Prevent Blindness and Iowa Department of Social Services.
Meredith has several honors to his credit and a long record of community service. He is a founding director of the Big Brothers of America, and he has served on the National Council for the YMCA, the Des Moines Center of Science and Industry Board, the Iowa Arts Council, and as Iowa’s Co-Chair of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. His professional affiliations have included the Des Moines Ophthalmological Society, which he founded.
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