McDowell Technical Community College announced today that nominations are now being accepted for the fourth annual MTCC Alumni Awards Program.
Significant changes have been made to the program this year to allow for participation of all alumni of the college, including current MTCC Trustees, MTCC Foundation Board Members, and faculty and staff of the college. Previous rules did not allow for nominations of these individuals. In addition, to avoid confusion, there are no longer categories of nominations based on degree type or age of the nominee.
Madalyn Gaito, Director of the MTCC Foundation, explained that the Foundation Board, responsible for managing the Alumni Awards Program, aimed to ensure that all deserving alumni had the opportunity to be nominated for an award, regardless of their workplace, volunteer activities, graduation year, or degree type. She noted that over the past four years of the program, they received feedback from individuals who wished to nominate someone but found them ineligible under the previous criteria. In response, the board chose to remove those limitations, widening the eligibility criteria to encompass a larger pool of deserving alumni.
The Alumni Awards program seeks to honor and recognize alumni of the college who have made exceptional accomplishments in their chosen career; who have provided exceptional service in local, state or national affairs; who have given exceptional service in support of the college; or who have had an inspirational impact or transformational experience at McDowell Tech. The nomination deadline for this year’s awards is 5 p.m. on April 11th.
An Alumni Awards Selection Committee will review this year’s nominations and award winners will be honored at an awards ceremony on Monday, May 13th at 6 p.m. in the Crane Resistoflex Auditorium at the college. The Selection Committee will be comprised of a diverse group of MTCC Trustees, MTCC Foundation Board Members, and faculty and staff of the college.
Previous winners of the college’s Alumni Awards were:
- Distinguished Alumni Award 2021: Dawna Ledbetter ‘01
- Distinguished Alumni Award 2022: Joshua Robert Dobson ‘03
- Distinguished Alumni Award 2023: Donnie R. Tipton ’91 and ‘92
- Outstanding Alumni Award (Career and Technical) 2021: Shirley Brown ’85 and ‘88
- Outstanding Alumni Award (Career and Technical) 2022: Andrea Hope Wood ‘20
- Outstanding Alumni Award (Career and Technical) 2023: Marvin L. Hancock ’00 and ‘02
- Outstanding Alumni Award (College Transfer) 2021: Rodney Wheeler ‘00
- Outstanding Alumni Award (College Transfer) 2022: Linda Roth Hamrick ‘09
- Outstanding Alumni Award (College Transfer) 2023: James Arthur Frye, III ‘10
- Outstanding Alumni Award (Health Sciences) 2021: Sharon Davis ‘10
- Outstanding Alumni Award (Health Sciences) 2022: Lauren Sylvia Sparks ’13 and ‘15
- Outstanding Alumni Award (Health Sciences) 2023: Iris Condrey ’08
- Young Alumni Award 2021: Samuel Ray Robinson ’16 and ‘20
- Young Alumni Award 2022: J. Sean Fox ‘12
- Young Alumni Award 2023: Nolan Paul McDaniel ‘16
“There are so many MTCC graduates who have brought distinction to themselves, credit to the college and genuine benefit to their communities, and this program has afforded us an incredible opportunity to give some of these people the honor and credit that they truly deserve” said Ryan Garrison, Interim President at McDowell Tech. “For their vision, dedication, hard work and tenacity, they stand head and shoulders above their peers, both here and throughout the state. They are the leaders others look up to, the movers and shakers who get things done, and the trailblazers who move us where we need to go.”
The awards nomination form may be found at https://mcdowelltech.edu/alumni-awards/. For further information, contact Madalyn Gaito, Director of Development and MTCC Board Liaison, at [email protected] or 828-652-0630.
