Alumni & Friends

Meet Our Alumni

• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/1751-erick-long"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,612,515/3181_Erick_Long.rev.1518214003.jpg" alt="Erick Long" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="612" data-max-h="515"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/1751-erick-long"><p> Erick Long is a vice president for the Academy of Country Music in Los Angeles.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Erick Long joined the Academy of Country Music in 2009 after many years in the events industry. He currently manages Operations & Events at the Academy including several components of the Academy of Country Music Awards, ACM Party for a Cause Festival as well as ACM Honors. Long oversees the general operations of the ACM, event production, red carpet, talent logistics, sponsor fulfillment, catering, board meetings, security, transportation, the All-Star Jam (official after party), IT, as well as the internship and volunteer programs.</p><p> Prior to joining the Academy, Long spent more than six years in special events at Universal Studios Hollywood where he managed large-scale events including the MTV Movie Awards After Party, the Tahitian Noni International Conference, Lance Armstrong’s Tour of Hope, and New Year’s Eve events, among others. Before Universal, Long spent more than 10 years in event production and operations with the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, Pallotta TeamWorks - Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, Up with People as well as independent contracts with the Grammys, Latin Grammys, and the Inland Valley Humane Society. A Tennessee native, Long graduated from Emory & Henry College in Virginia. He has lived in Los Angeles since 2000.</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/1751-erick-long" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/155-"><img src="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,450,490/27_abe1975e59116cf763b1821b22668003_f74661.rev.1491319536.jpg" alt="Dr. Ken Noe poses with one of his Auburn grad students, Peter Thomas (E&H, '08). In addition ..." class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="450" data-max-h="490"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/155-"><p> Dr. Ken Noe ’79 Writing Book on the Weather’s Impact on the American Civil War</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> When Dr. Ken Noe (’79) was growing up in Elliston he remembers that weather played a huge role in the work done on his grandfather’s farm. “If rain was coming, we dropped everything else to put up hay.” He thinks this experience planted a seed in the back of his mind about the impactful influence of weather. Later, his interest in weather grew when he took a geography course at Emory & Henry with Dr. Ed Bingham.</p><p> But even he could never have predicted that he would now be writing a two-volume book on weather’s impact on the American Civil War.</p><p> Ken is the Draughon Professor of Southern History at Auburn University. He is the author or editor of seven books, and he has published scads of articles, essays and chapters about the Civil War. He is a decorated history professor serving at West Georgia College before heading to Auburn. He was a Pulitzer Prize entrant and won the 2003 Kentucky Governor’s award, the 2002 Peter Seaborg Book Award for Civil War Non-fiction, and the 1997 Tennessee History Book Award. He has won several teaching awards, has served as president of the Alabama Historical Association, and is serving on the Advisory Board of the Society of Civil War Historians. He has even been a consultant for the NBC series <em>Who Do You Think You Are? </em></p><p> But in all his prolific writing and research and publishing even he is surprised that his biggest and most industrious work to-date will be about weather.  “Meteorologists are still trying to work out why the weather during the Civil War was so unusual. They dealt with incredibly snowy and rainy winters and droughts in the summer that affected Southern food supplies. There were dust storms, flooded rivers, and only two hurricanes. It had a profound effect on many campaigns.”</p><p> His research on weather has already taken several years, and he still has a few years left before he publishes. And even he was amazed to realize just how much information he had accumulated. “Very little has been written about Civil War environmental history. It is only now becoming part of the conversation about Civil War history.”  </p><p> Ken says that even in a field of study like Civil War history where so many things have been written, there is still new area for research and a lot of topics that haven’t been covered.  He has grad students asking new questions about the role of religion, the prison industries during the war, the role of friendship, and one young man, who is an E&H grad, is looking into camp life.</p><p> Even though we have just passed the 150^th anniversary of the American Civil War, Ken points out that this conflict still has implications for current events; and he marvels that most conversations over the past 18 months have quickly moved from history to current topics like the Confederate flag, U.S. prisons, and race relations. He says his field has gotten so tangled with politics that there is a declining interest in Civil War history among the public. “But this event still has much to teach us. It was a great turning point in American History and opened up questions that are still being answered about equality of humankind, the status of women, states’ rights. I don’t know how we can answer all these questions unless we go back to the beginning.” He consistently stresses to his students the importance of going back to primary source information rather than depending on how the stories have been told and passed down.</p><p> Ken actually majored in education at Emory & Henry and still remembers panicking when he realized he didn’t want to be a junior high school teacher. “I had a lot of electives leftover and started taking history classes late in my college experience. I realized what I wanted to be was a historian and teach at a higher level.” A conversation with Patsi Trollinger (’72) reassured him that most alumni do not stick to work within their major. And a conversation with Dr. Gene Rasor in the history department led to a phone call which ended with Dr. Rasor telling Ken he had an interview with the history department at Virginia Tech.</p><p> The rest, as they say, is history.</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/155-" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/842-ken-noe"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/203,60,416,273/744_noe.rev.1507061099.jpg" alt="Dr. Ken Noe (right) with another E&H alum, Peter Thomas ('08)" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="213" data-max-h="213"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/842-ken-noe"><p> Weather can influence more than your picnic: it also affects entire military campaigns.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> When Dr. Ken Noe (’79) was growing up in Elliston he remembers that weather played a huge role in the work done on his grandfather’s farm. “If rain was coming, we dropped everything else to put up hay.” He thinks this experience planted a seed in the back of his mind about the impactful influence of weather. Later, his interest in weather grew when he took a geography course at Emory & Henry with Dr. Ed Bingham.</p><p> But even he could never have predicted that he would now be writing a two-volume book on weather’s impact on the American Civil War.</p><p> Ken is the Draughon Professor of Southern History at Auburn University. He is the author or editor of seven books, and he has published scads of articles, essays and chapters about the Civil War. He is a decorated history professor serving at West Georgia College before heading to Auburn. He was a Pulitzer Prize entrant and won the 2003 Kentucky Governor’s award, the 2002 Peter Seaborg Book Award for Civil War Non-fiction, and the 1997 Tennessee History Book Award. He has won several teaching awards, has served as president of the Alabama Historical Association, and is serving on the Advisory Board of the Society of Civil War Historians. He has even been a consultant for the NBC series <em>Who Do You Think You Are? </em></p><p> But in all his prolific writing and research and publishing even he is surprised that his biggest and most industrious work to-date will be about weather.  “Meteorologists are still trying to work out why the weather during the Civil War was so unusual. They dealt with incredibly snowy and rainy winters and droughts in the summer that affected Southern food supplies. There were dust storms, flooded rivers, and only two hurricanes. It had a profound effect on many campaigns.”</p><p> His research on weather has already taken several years, and he still has a few years left before he publishes. And even he was amazed to realize just how much information he had accumulated. “Very little has been written about Civil War environmental history. It is only now becoming part of the conversation about Civil War history.”  </p><p> Ken says that even in a field of study like Civil War history where so many things have been written, there is still new area for research and a lot of topics that haven’t been covered.  He has grad students asking new questions about the role of religion, the prison industries during the war, the role of friendship, and one young man, who is an E&H grad, is looking into camp life.</p><p> Even though we have just passed the 150^th anniversary of the American Civil War, Ken points out that this conflict still has implications for current events; and he marvels that most conversations over the past 18 months have quickly moved from history to current topics like the Confederate flag, U.S. prisons, and race relations. He says his field has gotten so tangled with politics that there is a declining interest in Civil War history among the public. “But this event still has much to teach us. It was a great turning point in American History and opened up questions that are still being answered about equality of humankind, the status of women, states’ rights. I don’t know how we can answer all these questions unless we go back to the beginning.” He consistently stresses to his students the importance of going back to primary source information rather than depending on how the stories have been told and passed down.</p><p><a href="/live/image/gid/68/height/500/744_noe.jpg" class="lw_preview_image"><img width="450" height="490" alt="Photo: Dr. Ken Noe poses with one of his Auburn grad students, Peter Thomas (E&H, ’08). In ..." src="/live/image/gid/68/width/450/height/490/744_noe.rev.1507061099.jpg" class="lw_image lw_image744 lw_align_left" data-max-w="450" data-max-h="490"/><span class="lw_image_caption lw_align_left" style="width: 450px">Photo: Dr. Ken Noe poses with one of his Auburn grad students, Peter Thomas (E&H, ’08). In addition to the flag of his home state in the background, if you look closely, you can just make out the end of his lacrosse stick from college days.</span></a>Ken actually majored in education at Emory & Henry and still remembers panicking when he realized he didn’t want to be a junior high school teacher. “I had a lot of electives leftover and started taking history classes late in my college experience. I realized what I wanted to be was a historian and teach at a higher level.” A conversation with Patsi Trollinger (’72) reassured him that most alumni do not stick to work within their major. And a conversation with Dr. Gene Rasor in the history department led to a phone call which ended with Dr. Rasor telling Ken he had an interview with the history department at Virginia Tech.</p><p> The rest, as they say, is history.</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/842-ken-noe" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/2122-gabrielle-gregory"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,316,316/4237_gg.rev.1529087746.jpg" alt="Gabby Gregory is a 2018 E&H Graduate" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="316" data-max-h="316"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/2122-gabrielle-gregory"><p> Gabby Gregory’s great internship led to a great job offer.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><div> Gabby Gregory is a 2018 E&H graduate who added some additional education to her degree by heading to New York University the summer after graduation. She entered their 6-weeks long Summer Publishing Institute right before heading to Stuart, Florida, for a job with Ocean Media Solutions. She’ll be writing for their Living Magazines. She also did her internship with Ocean Media.<br/></div><div id="m_1151371537258667902yahoo_quoted_8493402470" class="m_1151371537258667902yahoo_quoted"><div id="m_1151371537258667902yiv7151432304"><div dir="ltr"><div/><div> Gabby was an English major at Emory & Henry, earning a degree in Pre-Professional Publishing. She was active in Pi Sigma Kappa social sorority, Blue Key Honor Society, Pi Gamma Mu, Peer Educators, the Frostiana Poetry Society, Sigma Tau Delta, and Phi Eta Sigma. She was also an honors program scholar, student government senator, and writing tutor. She founded A Read of Our Own, which is a feminist activist book club on campus. </div><div><br/> She says her E&H experience gave her the confidence to trust her education and move to a new city and state to start her career. “I learned so much not only from the faculty and staff of the college, but also from my fellow students. I made both amazing professional connections and wonderful, lasting friendships during my time at E&H. Because of the community-minded culture of E&H, I was able to work one-on-one with my favorite professor, and gained incredible knowledge from her that directly led to my successes beyond my undergraduate career. I cannot imagine myself today without my experience at Emory & Henry College. I will always have a deep love and respect for those hills in Virginia, and hope to go to as many Homecomings as possible as an alumna! Emory & Henry will always be my home away from home.” </div><div/><div><div/><div>   </div><div/></div><div/></div></div></div></div><a href="/live/profiles/2122-gabrielle-gregory" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/2593-hans-hobson"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/188,0,827,640/6072_15032937_10210903752006876_1351423552006573066_n.rev.1553104497.jpg" alt="Hans Hobson, E&H Class of 1997, with his family." class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="639" data-max-h="640"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/2593-hans-hobson"><p> Hans Hobson is the Executive Director for the Tennessee State Soccer Association.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Hans Hobson is the Executive Director for the Tennessee State Soccer Association. He is responsible for oversight and management of the not-for-profit organization that governs recreational, competitive (travel), and adult soccer program in the state of Tennessee.  The Association is responsible for state sanctioned events such as the competitive State Cup, recreational tournaments, member governance, liability and accident insurance coverage, and risk management oversight and guidance. </p><p> A 1997 grad, Hans was a Physical Education major who played soccer at Emory & Henry for 3 years. </p><p> He has a strong belief in the role that sports can play in a young person’s life. Hans credits much of his success and beliefs to Fred Selfe, Bob Johnson, Dr. Margaret Hutson.  Hans recalls a story while at Emory & Henry when he and other soccer players were competing in a relay race.  The winners got to leave practice early and avoid further fitness fun.  Hans states, “I remember that our soccer coach was not looking and I cut the corner on a cone to catch my team up.”  At the same time coach Fred Selfe was walking by with the football team and coach stated,  “Hobson you are only cheating yourself.”  In that moment he recalls feeling completely moved to go back and finish because he surely did not want to cheat himself and Coach Selfe. </p><p> “I think about these three individuals in my job daily and how they would handle situations.  I was blessed to be around people that truly cared not only about our mental development but about our personal growth as well. These 3 people influenced me more than they will ever know.  I hope they know just how many people they influence still today as they look down on us from heaven.”</p><p> Hans came to E&H from Martinsville, Virginia, and is a champion for lessons learned in a liberal arts environment. “My college education taught me how to think freely and to interact with those who may have different opinions in a manner that is still respectful and loving.  We don’t seem to do this anymore today.  It is okay to disagree, but how you treat those who disagree can and often does affect your legacy.  That is something that Coach Johnson taught me.  He was a great man who focused on the mission, vision, values, and legacy.  Know where you are going and how to get there.  If you can show others and get them to believe then there is nothing they won’t do for you.”</p><p> Hans and his wife, Erin, and three boys, Landon, Isaac, and Levi, are often found on the soccer field (“Where else, right?!”).   They are members of the Church of the City in Franklin, Tennessee, and they enjoy any spare time with family. </p></div><a href="/live/profiles/2593-hans-hobson" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/2554-jess-daddio"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/417,0,1781,1365/6047_53503806_306647530022179_877872142568390656_n.rev.1552061143.jpg" alt="Jess Daddio, E&H Class of 2013" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/417,0,1781,1365/6047_53503806_306647530022179_877872142568390656_n.rev.1552061143.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/417,0,1781,1365/6047_53503806_306647530022179_877872142568390656_n.rev.1552061143.jpg 3x" data-max-w="1364" data-max-h="1365"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/2554-jess-daddio"><p> Jess Daddio, E&H ’13 – always working, but she’s not likely to be found in an office.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p><a href="https://www.ehc.edu/live/image/gid/68/width/1000/6048_54049565_992585280938743_4455543676382216192_n.jpg" class="lw_preview_image"><img width="1000" height="667" alt="Jess Daddio, E&H Class of 2013." src="/live/image/gid/68/width/1000/height/667/6048_54049565_992585280938743_4455543676382216192_n.rev.1552061210.jpg" class="lw_image lw_image6048 lw_align_left lw_column_width_full" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/1000/height/667/6048_54049565_992585280938743_4455543676382216192_n.rev.1552061210.jpg 2x" data-max-w="2048" data-max-h="1365"/></a>Jess Daddio is a freelance photographer, videographer, and journalist.</p><p> She is the former travel editor for Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine. She is a regular contributor to the REI Co-op Journal, and her articles have appeared in Outdoor Retailer Magazine, Elevation Outdoors Magazine, and the Matador Network.</p><p> Some of her most recent commercial clients include IMBA Trail Solutions, Farm to Feet, Harrisonburg Tourism, and Sigora Solar.</p><p> Jess says her mentors at Emory & Henry prepared her for the work she is doing today. “My teachers at E&H taught me much more than their syllabi suggested. Through their unconditional support and guidance, I learned that it’s not enough to dream big. You have to put in the hard work, you have to flounder, you have to fail, and still you have to show up day in and day out in order to make that dream become reality. Without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”</p><p> Jess is a 2013 graduate of E&H. When she’s not behind the camera, she can usually be found playing in the woods by bike or by foot. You can learn more about her at <a href="https://www.jessdaddio.com/?fbclid=IwAR32MgacNSYJLwEFhparqrr0UmbfUBMCB07PSKSbYDh8K2JvLu1XKAqa_oY" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-lynx-mode="hover" data-lynx-uri="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jessdaddio.com%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR32MgacNSYJLwEFhparqrr0UmbfUBMCB07PSKSbYDh8K2JvLu1XKAqa_oY&h=AT25wmqp3vyjyzjMKWiiUY_x5n5o_dIscoK7qbMnii3tDcUkd1LzWh5u-ZQIJ3q0NDC7J17kaNROxXR3WGcTIM0fFbGXzcz7pfo7smkI2PBdEeylIgY2vczfrAEqJ7CDaa0">https://www.jessdaddio.com/</a>. </p></div><a href="/live/profiles/2554-jess-daddio" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/2057-ed-moorer"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/780,339,2681,2240/4139_030.rev.1525893965.JPG" alt="Ed Moorer E&H Class of 1971." class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/780,339,2681,2240/4139_030.rev.1525893965.JPG 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/780,339,2681,2240/4139_030.rev.1525893965.JPG 3x" data-max-w="1901" data-max-h="1901"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/2057-ed-moorer"><p> Ed Moorer is having a second career because he’s not finished learning or teaching.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Ed Moorer (’71) knows how to use his sense of humor to engage people. Having been part of the now-famous “Avis Rent-A-Car” ad filmed on the E&H campus in 1969, he jokes that this television debut was the beginning of his fame: “I’ve also done a talk about bird migration on Christian radio, recorded a CD with my college buddies, co-authored a book, and was an extra in the movie ‘Leatherheads.’  I still have time to do something else…I’m just not sure what it is yet!”</p><p> Ed is the site coordinator for Sassafras Mountain Hawkwatch in Pickens, South Carolina, and was named the 2016 Employee of the Year for Table Rock State Park located there. He has worked there for 18 years.</p><p> This is especially notable because he is retired after teaching and coaching in high school for 30 years – physical education, driver education, and coaching football and basketball (“Thanks, Coach Hutton.”). He built a log cabin and found a new passion: the outdoors. He started working part-time at Table Rock State Park in the northern part of South Carolina. He enjoyed greeting and talking with hikers at the nature center who stopped in on their way up the mountain, and he found that his E&H history degree was coming in handy. “This area is rich in history as well as nature and I talk to visitors about the Native Americans and about the Civil War era – all things that E&H professors lectured on while I was a student. (Thanks, Mr. Neal).”</p><p> He is particularly passionate about raptor migration, and is involved with an annual count that documents up to 15 different species as they fly south over the Appalachian Mountains in the fall. Sassafras Mountain is the highest mountain in South Carolina, and the count runs from Labor Day through Thanksgiving. “I have a small group of fellow birders who assist. Information is then entered at hawkcount.org where it becomes part of a much larger database that tells us how well our birds, and environment, are doing on a national and worldwide basis.”</p><p> “I love to be outside and still feel like education is an ongoing process which should be shared with anyone, especially our younger generation.  Find something that you enjoy and make the most of it!  Emory & Henry started my learning and I hope that since then that I have made a difference in somebody’s life that I have encountered.”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/2057-ed-moorer" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/2655-mark-handy"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,531,531/6281_Mark_Handy.rev.1554843091.jpg" alt="Dr. Mark Handy, E&H Class of 1986." class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="531" data-max-h="531"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/2655-mark-handy"><p> Dr. Mark Handy (E&H Class of 1986) is recognized for unusual personal service as a physician.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Dr. Mark Handy is not a typical physician. For starters…he plays the banjo.</p><p> Dr. Handy is known throughout the region of Southwest Virginia, East Tennessee, and Western North Carolina as an accomplished musician, a fine flat-footer, and he was even in a music video with Zach Galifianakis.</p><p> It’s enough to make you forget that he is also a beloved physician, a decorated medical school educator, and a tireless volunteer for emergency services.</p><p> In 2019, Dr. Handy was honored by being named the 2019 Volunteer Clinical Faculty Awardee by UVA’s Alpha Omega Alpha. It is given annually to a volunteer clinical faculty member for excellence in clinical mentorship. </p><p> The nomination for Dr. Handy might just be the best description of this unconventional doctor that can be assembled: </p><p> “Dr. Handy embodies the commitment to education, compassion and service that Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) society strives for its members to embody. I spent one month working with Dr. Handy during my family medicine rotation caring for the under-served patients of Abingdon in rural Southwest Virginia. Despite a busy practice where we saw 30+ patients everyday in addition to numerous house visits, Dr. Handy provided me the platform to develop my critical thinking skills by giving me  the independence to create plans for patients. At end of every shift, he would assess gaps in my knowledge with the simple statement “tell me about x,” and would spend the next hour filling in the gaps. Furthermore, in a primary care climate where every clinic visit is scheduled to be ten minutes long; he emphasized the importance of compassion by giving me the flexibility in the amount of time I spent with patients listening to fascinating stories about their lives and their lost loved ones. Dr. Handy also ensured that patients treated me with respect. I distinctly remember an occasion when he was quick to provide education to a patient who made a racially insensitive comment in reference to me. Unsurprisingly, the utmost respect in which I hold Dr. Handy is shared by all students that I have encountered who have worked with him. As such, I strongly believe he is a deserving candidate of the AOA Volunteer faculty award.”</p><p> Dr. Handy is also a 2014 winner of the Carl and Ruth Looney Humanitarian Award granted by the Emory & Henry Alumni Association.</p><p> Mark finished at Emory & Henry with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, and graduated from East Carolina School of Medicine and the ETSU Family Residency Program. He is a family medicine practitioner in Abingdon, Virginia. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, Virginia, the ISHN Board of Quality Assurance, is Medical Director of Hometown Hospice, and is Medical Director for Intrepid Home Health. He received the Board of Governors for East Carolina University School of Medicine. He is President and CEO of Abingdon Medical Arts, President and CEO of Triple H Farms of Alleghany, President and CEO of William M. Handy, MD, PC, and Associate Professor of Medicine at University of Virginia.  He is a past winner of the Teacher of the Year Award at UVA, the Resident Teacher Award, and was named Medical Director of the Year for Emergency Medical Services.  He is an accomplished banjo player and champion clogger, and is a member of Mountain Park Old Time Band and Tune Town Band, which won Vocal Group of the Year at Blue Ridge Acoustic Uprising in 2014.</p><blockquote type="cite"/></div><a href="/live/profiles/2655-mark-handy" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/2963-homecoming-contest"/></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p><a href="https://www.ehc.edu/live/image/gid/68/width/650/4903_IMG-1479.JPG" class="lw_preview_image"><img width="500" height="376" alt="Friends reconnecting on Homecoming Day, 2018." src="/live/image/gid/68/width/500/height/376/4903_IMG-1479.rev.1540254881.JPG" class="lw_image lw_image4903 lw_align_left lw_column_width_half" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/500/height/376/4903_IMG-1479.JPG 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/68/width/500/height/376/4903_IMG-1479.JPG 3x" data-max-w="3088" data-max-h="2320"/></a>Homecoming is about alumni coming back to visit friends and see their old college. They want to hear what’s going on at Emory & Henry! They want to see what’s new on campus! They want to know about current students and what they’re doing!</p><p><strong>But how much do you know about alumni?</strong></p><p><strong><a href="/live/blurbs/1269-more-emory-henry-alumni-stories" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CLICK HERE</a> to find a bunch of stories about former students.</strong></p><p> If you will share your favorite E&H alumni story on social media, you’ll be in the running for great prizes: an E&H blanket and more!!</p><p> So read a cool story…share that story with your friends…and screen shot it to share with the alumni office: 276-944-3516 or <a href="mailto:alumni@ehc.edu">alumni@ehc.edu</a>.</p><p> And let’s get to know our E&H alumni this Homecoming!</p><p>  </p><p> Please note: This contest is only for current students…not alumni. Sorry! :)<br/> Please include your name and current class year when you submit your entry. </p></div><a href="/live/profiles/2963-homecoming-contest" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/2314-tammy-mcmillan-parks"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/6,0,157,150/4597_Tammy_Parks.rev.1536941020.jpg" alt="Tammy McMillan Parks (E&H '95) is an art professor at New River Community College." class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="151" data-max-h="150"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/2314-tammy-mcmillan-parks"><p> Tammy McMillan Parks is making sure her students see art all over the world: paying forward a gift bestowed by an E&H faculty mentor.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Tammy McMillan Parks (E&H ’95) is taking a page out of the Royce Morris handbook.</p><p> Tammy was an art major at Emory & Henry, and loved classes with E&H’s classics and art history professor, Dr. Royce Morris (deceased). She went with him on his semi-annual trip to Rome, and found the experience to be life-changing. Now that she is an art professor herself, she is carrying on his legacy of sharing the world’s most amazing art with young people.</p><p> She is a professor of art at New River Community College (Dublin, Virginia), and she is committed to offering her students opportunities to see, try, and experience art in every possible fashion.  Study abroad is a huge part of her teaching method. “Travel accomplishes two wonderful things: it makes them appreciate things at home they never really paid attention to before and it makes them consider how their home could benefit from doing things in some of the ways they encountered abroad.”</p><p> Her last trip with students was to the Balkan region of Europe – Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece. She said the experience was great. “This past summer is no different from my many years of taking students abroad…our plane flight back home was filled with their new memories, laughter, plans for future travel and all their ideas for new art projects and trips.”</p><p> She is known as a professor who goes beyond the classroom to serve her students. Right now she is involved in expanding the clubs at NRCC to create opportunities for students to travel more – not only to see the world but also to experience the history and culture of the area. “I want them to see places like Biltmore and museums and festivals that are accessible within our own region and surrounding states.  We don’t have to go to Rome to appreciate other cultural experiences! These experiences can have a strong influence on their understanding of the arts in and around place they study and live.”</p><p> Tammy earned her bachelor’s degree in art from Emory & Henry, she earned a master’s in Spanish from the University of Southern Mississippi, and an M.F. A. in public art from Goddard College in Vermont. She is currently working on a Ph.D. at the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts, Portland, Maine.</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/2314-tammy-mcmillan-parks" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/690-"><img src="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,450,299/340_195154692a4a9ca21aec2fe00c319ccd_f7172.rev.1500309442.jpg" alt="Chris Whitt" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="450" data-max-h="299"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/690-"><p> It’s all Emory & Henry’s Fault</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> “While I was a student, I participated in a teaching abroad program in Brazil that was offered by the college, and I fell in love with the Brazilian culture and people. So I decided to make it my home.” So for 7 years he ran a school that taught English as a second language, and in 2008 he opened his very own such business in Londrina, Brazil, called High School Language Center.  Solving more than one need for the community, his school gives families a chance for constructive child care. “My school offers an alternative to a babysitter for families who think learning another language is important. The kids from ages 2 1/2 and up study 3 hours per day at my school. They have a lot of fun learning.” Look for his school online and you’ll find projects like mystery movies his students produce to practice their English.</p><p> Chris is just one of many alumni who are using their E&H degrees to solve problems. If you know a student who might like to use education to make the world a better place, check out the <a href="https://www.ehc.edu/ampersand/">Ampersand</a> project at Emory & Henry!</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/690-" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/2878-thomas-nelson"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/100,0,500,400/6696_Thomas_Nelson.rev.1565219739.jpg" alt="Thomas Nelson being inducted into the E&H Sports Hall of Fame." class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="400" data-max-h="400"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/2878-thomas-nelson"><p> Thomas Nelson is a coach and teacher at Murphy High School in North Carolina.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Thomas Nelson, E&H Class of 1998, is a teacher and football coach at Murphy High School in Murphy, North Carolina. He is also a personal fitness trainer at Murphy Health and Fitness.</p><p> Thomas was inducted into the E&H Sports Hall of Fame in  2011 for his versatile performance as a defensive back, defensive lineman, fullback, and offensive lineman. He was a four-year letter winner and accumulated 16 career interceptions, and has held the ODAC record for interceptions in a season (9) and interceptions in a game (4). He was a two-time All-ODAC First Team, All-State College Division, and All-South Region honoree. Additionally, Nelson was named Second Team Hewlett Packard All-America, as well as to the Burger King, Kodak, and Dan Hansen’s Football Gazette All-America First Teams.</p><p> In addition to his athletic pursuits, Nelson was a member of Habitat for Humanity and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He also participated in the NCAA Youth Education through Sports (YES) program while he was in college.</p><p> After graduating, Nelson remained at Emory & Henry for eight years, serving as assistant football coach, head softball coach, intramural director, area coordinator, and strength & conditioning coordinator, before leaving to pursue a career in secondary education and coaching. In the 2010-11 academic year, he was named Murphy High School Teacher of the Year. </p></div><a href="/live/profiles/2878-thomas-nelson" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/1450-allison-mays"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,30,673,703/2425_am.rev.1516649294.jpg" alt="Allison Mays, E&H '95" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="673" data-max-h="673"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/1450-allison-mays"><p> Allison Mays is Vice-Chair of the Washington County (Virginia) Board of Supervisors.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Emory & Henry is a family tradition for Allison Mays – sixteen family member have attended Emory & Henry, dating back to her grandfather’s generation. But her outstanding reputation for community service she has established is all of her own making.</p><p> Allison is a 1995 graduate of Emory & Henry College and works as the Director of Development at Healing Hands Health Center.  Allison serves as Vice-Chair of the Washington County Board of Supervisors, where she is a Board representative on the Economic Development, Personnel, Community Advocacy and Long Range Courthouse Planning Committees.  She is also active with the National Association of Counties, serving as Vice-Chair of the Arts and Culture Commission and on the Rural Action Caucus.  She serves on the Board of Directors for the Emory & Henry College Alumni Association (Immediate Past President) and Washington County Chamber of Commerce and is a Community Ambassador for Virginia Highlands Community College.</p><p> Allison says Emory & Henry prepared her well for a life of service, and she still references some of the lessons learned in a class about the First Amendment taught by Dr. Teresa Keller. “Being a student at Emory & Henry College provided me with a solid foundation for taking an active role in community service and leadership.  Even now, those Emory & Henry College experiences and connections continue enriching my life and encouraging further <em>Increase in Excellence</em>.”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/1450-allison-mays" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/2881-krista-dover"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/76,0,464,387/6710_Krista_dover_2_2.rev.1565367314.jpg" alt="Krista Dover, E&H '08, standing in a stream." class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="388" data-max-h="387"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/2881-krista-dover"><p> Krista Dover is the executive director for Clean Water for the World.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Dreams of a great office usually include thoughts of a corner view or antique furnishings. Krista Dover got an office where location is key: she’s in Guatemala.</p><p> As the Executive Director for Clean Water for the World (CWFW), Krista loves being near some of the very people who are served by her work. “The people are great and the countryside is beautiful.”</p><p> The story of CWFW is pretty cool: Jerry and Judy Bohl had been doing community work in marginalized communities in developing nations and they noticed volunteers were given bottled water while children living in the community were drinking contaminated water from the tap. This led to the Bohls  developing  a small-sized water purifier that could be used in communities without potable water.</p><p> Krista is now the person in charge of this organization that seeks to provide clean water, and she says her job is part fundraiser, part educator, part sales person. She helps communities understand the need for installing the purifier, she aids in explaining how the equipment should be used, and, of course, she’s always raising money to put the systems in place.</p><p> In fact, in the spring of 2019, Krista worked with then E&H Senior, Brice Quillen (Class of 2019) to organize a “Walk for Water” on the E&H campus to raise awareness for the cause and money for the mission.</p><p> Worldwide, the organization has installed nearly 300 systems in only 10 years, mostly in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Haiti.</p><p> Krista began a career of service to others as a US2 Global Mission Intern through the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries.  In 2016 she wrote a book on farms in Guatemala, and traveled back to her alma mater to do a lyceum on the topic.</p><p> Now she lives in the very place she is working to serve, and she loves the work she’s doing. She  has seen first-hand what a difference clean water can make not only to individuals, but also to a community.</p><p> Krista doesn’t have to walk farther than her own sink to be reminded of why her work is important. “How many times a day do we go to the tap for a drink of water, and think nothing of it. That’s just not how it is for everyone.”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/2881-krista-dover" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/675-"><img src="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,960,960/269_1912405_682582264006_8756799307793601402_n.rev.1496850332.jpg" alt="Anne Ryan Driscoll (right)." class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,960,960/269_1912405_682582264006_8756799307793601402_n.rev.1496850332.jpg 2x" data-max-w="960" data-max-h="960"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/675-"><p> Anne Ryan Driscoll ’06 Honored for her Teaching and Research at Virginia Tech</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> A press release from Virginia Tech has announced the 2016 Dr. Carroll B. Shannon Excellence in Teaching Awards presented to faculty members in the College of Science and the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences.</p><p> Emory & Henry’s Anne Ryan Driscoll (’06) was among the honorees for her work in the Department of Statistics.</p><p> Anne majored in Mathematics and Physics at Emory & Henry and played basketball and tennis as a student athlete, and did all this while maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA. Anne was a 3-time ODAC All-Academic selection and a 2-time ITA Scholar Athlete. She and her tennis teammates finished 2nd in both the ODAC regular season and in the ODAC Championship tournament in her junior year, where she played #5 singles and #3 doubles. Anne was also a member of Kappa Phi Alpha sorority and Sigma Mu Honor Society.</p><p> After graduation, Anne went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Statistics and a Ph.D. in Statistics from Virginia Tech. She currently works as an Assistant Professor of Practice at Virginia Tech teaching both undergraduate and graduate level courses in research and statistics. Anne has received other professional awards at Tech that honor her Outstanding Departmental Citizenship and twice was selected for an Excellence in Teaching award. She has published numerous scholarly articles related to research methodology and statistics. Additionally, Anne has collaborated on projects for the Department of Defense and with NASA.</p><p> An excerpt from the press release is listed below, and you may read the entire press release at the Virginia Tech webpage <a href="http://vtnews.vt.edu/content/vtnews_vt_edu/en/articles/2016/08/science-shannonteachingaward.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.</p><p> August 3, 2016 – Four Virginia Tech faculty with the <a href="http://liberalarts.vt.edu/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">College of Science and College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences</a> have received the 2016 Dr. Carroll B. Shannon Excellence in Teaching Award.</p><p> The awards were presented to: Anne Ryan Driscoll, an assistant professor of practice in the Department of Statistics; Michel Pleimling, a professor with the Department of Physics and director of the Academy of Integrated Science; and Gordon Yee, an associate professor with the Department of Chemistry, all in the College of Science; and Marian Mollin, an associate professor in the Department of History, part of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences.</p><p><br/> The award is made possible by an endowment established by Peter and Carroll Shannon, of Wilmington, Delaware, and is given annually to College of Science and College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences faculty members who demonstrate outstanding teaching skills, innovative methods, and dedication to learning. The colleges once formed the College of Arts and Sciences, which split in 2002.</p><p><br/> “Virginia Tech gave me the opportunity to become someone who I would never have become if it had not been for the university,” said Peter Shannon, who graduated from Virginia Tech in 1969 with a general science degree and who named the award in honor of his wife, Carroll, an educator for her entire career.</p><p><br/> “Outstanding teachers have the opportunity to be change agents in the lives of students. They inspire a love of learning, encourage students to reach their potential and discover their career path,” said Carroll Shannon, who worked in education for the state of Delaware. “Most importantly, they guide students in becoming contributing members of society who will impact positively the lives of others.”</p><p><strong>Anne Driscoll</strong><br/> Since joining Virginia Tech’s faculty in 2011, Driscoll has taught eight courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels in the <a href="http://www.stat.vt.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Department of Statistics</a>. She also has collaborated on projects for the U.S. Department of Defense and with NASA, and she chairs the department’s corporate partners program, which is a cooperative outreach venture that links the department with 11 different companies.</p><p> Of Driscoll’s nomination, the college committee said, “The committee was particularly impressed with the strength of your teaching’s impact on your students and their careers.” Her research focuses on statistical process control, health care surveillance, and industrial statistics.</p><p> She earned dual bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and physics from Emory & Henry College in 2006, followed by master’s and doctoral degrees in statistics from Virginia Tech in, respectively, 2007 and 2011. Her awards won at Virginia Tech include the Jesse C. Arnold Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2010-2011, and the Rose Costain Award for Outstanding Departmental Citizenship, 2010.</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/675-" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>