SPC to honor two 2026 Distinguished Alumni on Nov. 5
South Plains College will recognize Russell Vest and Dr. Stefan Kreuzer with the 2026 Distinguished Alumni Award for their noteworthy career achievements. Vest is CEO of Hockley County Credit Union and treasurer of the SPC Foundation Board of Directors, and Kreuzer is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon and founder of INOV8 Orthopedics and INOV8 Surgical in Houston.
Established in 1987, the award honors outstanding SPC alumni who have made significant contributions to their community. The public is invited to honor the recipients at a come-and-go presidential reception at 11 a.m. on Nov. 5 in the Wilburn and Helen Wheeler Science Center on the SPC Levelland campus.
Graduating high school in 1982 as a Levelland native, Vest knew SPC was the next step for fostering a fulfilling livelihood. Earning an associate degree in accounting from SPC in 1984 not only prepared him for Texas Tech University but also advanced the banking career he started while attending the College.
Through the close connections he made during his 12 years of service at Texas American Bank, Vest became the top contender for CEO of Hockley County Credit Union in 1994 after Raymond "Duke" Sonnenburg’s retirement. He has led a growing team of banking professionals, serving more than 4,500 members and increasing the credit union’s assets from $8 million to more than $46 million.
Under Vest’s leadership, Hockley County Credit Union received SPC’s 2010 Pacesetter Award for its ongoing support of SPC students. He continues serving his alma mater as treasurer of the SPC Foundation Board of Directors, helping the Foundation award more than $1.4 million in scholarships last academic year.
“Being an SPC distinguished alumnus means that I’ve been fortunate to be in the right place, be blessed by the people I've been around and be successful in the field that I’m in,” Vest said. “But the most important part of the honor is being blessed by the community and the people whom I work with.”
Kreuzer traveled from Switzerland to the U.S. in 1983 and began attending SPC that
same year on a tennis scholarship. He attended the College until he transferred to
the University of Texas at Tyler in 1985, remaining on a tennis scholarship and reaching
the round of 16 at the NAIA National Tennis Championship. He also spent two consecutive
summers playing tennis professionally in Europe on the Swiss satellite circuit and
in the Swiss National League.
After UT Tyler, Kreuzer earned a Master of Science in molecular biology and biochemistry at Texas Tech University in 1991 and his medical degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 1995. He then completed his orthopedic surgery residency at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, where he served as administrative chief resident, followed by a fellowship in adult joint reconstruction at Baylor College of Medicine.
As a board-certified, fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon, Kreuzer was instrumental in making INOV8 Surgical the first center in Texas to receive the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) Advanced Orthopaedic Certification for total joint replacement. He also co-founded Innovative Orthopedic Technologies, introducing several products to the field of minimally invasive hip surgery.
“South Plains College represents the beginning of my American story,” Kreuzer said. “The tennis scholarship opened the door, but the faculty and college community helped me believe that a much larger future was possible. The discipline, persistence and confidence I developed during those years stayed with me through graduate school, medical school, orthopedic training, surgery, entrepreneurship and teaching.”
Visit the SPC Alumni and Friends webpage to learn more about the Distinguished Alumni Award. For those who want to support SPC students, contact the College’s Development Office at 806-716-2020 or sgoldie@southplainscollege.edu to learn more.
