Congratulations 2017 Alumni Award Winners

Darion Jeralds ’10, ’14M; Chad Porter ’98; and Chip Mahan have demonstrated personal commitment to community engagement while achieving outstanding professional success. In recognition of their accomplishments, the UNCW Alumni Association presented them with awards on Feb. 3, 2017. Jeralds was named Distinguished Young Alumnus of the Year; Porter, Distinguished Alumnus of the Year; and Mahan, Distinguished Citizen of the Year.

For Darion Jeralds, the senior sourcing manager for Global Nuclear Fuel, his UNCW experience prepared him for a smooth transition into the corporate world. His career path started with a class in business operations. After the final project, his professor invited Jeralds to interview for an internship with GE. The internship led to an entry-level opportunity. Jerald’s time on the men’s basketball team helped him develop the character, work ethic and determination to thrive during early career roles, he said.

Chad Porter, a motivational speaker and trainer who works with small businesses and Fortune 500 companies across the nation, also donates countless hours as a mentor to students of all ages. Porter earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from UNCW and a graduate degree in physical therapy from East Carolina University. His professional experience includes roles in real estate, at the Coastal Rehabilitation Hospital and as the founder of Porter Financial Group. Today, Porter is a member of the Zig Ziglar International Team, an elite group of highly skilled and knowledgeable corporate trainers.

For more than a decade, Chip Mahan has supported UNCW through service and giving. He has served as a member of the UNCW Board of Visitors, the Foundation Endowment Board and the Cameron School of Business Advisory Board. Mahan, founder, CEO and chairman of the board of directors of Live Oak Bank, is also a founding member of nCino and serves on its board of directors. Prior to his work with Live Oak Bank, he served as CEO and chairman of the board for S1 Corporation and founder of Security First Network Bank, the world’s first internet bank.

Read more about these award recipients at We Are UNCW.

Changing Course & Paying it Forward

Cecil Reynolds ’75 had two desires as a youth – to attend the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis and to play professional baseball. In the summer of 1969, he had to choose between his two passions: He earned a presidential appointment to the Naval Academy and was drafted by the Mets.

Two weeks before Reynolds was to report for duty at Annapolis, he withdrew from the Naval Academy and signed with the Mets. After four years toiling in the minor leagues and making several all-star teams, Reynolds suffered a career-ending injury the year of his first major league contract, which set him on a new career path – research and child development.

It was a psychology course at UNCW that sparked his interest in the field, he recalled.

Today, Reynolds is a leader in the fields of school and educational psychology. He is a distinguished research scholar, and professor emeritus of educational psychology and neuroscience at Texas A&M University. He’s also the editor-in-chief of Archives of Scientific Psychology and associate editor of Journal of Pediatric Neuropsychology. He is the author of more than 300 scholarly publications and author or editor of 55 books.

Reynolds was named the 1984 UNCW Distinguished Alumnus of the Year and a 1998 UNCW Razor Walker Award recipient for his contributions to the field. In an effort to help future researchers pursue their passion, Reynolds endowed a scholarship honoring psychology professor Robert Brown, whom he described as an excellent teacher, mentor and lifelong friend.

“We want to support opportunities for post-secondary and graduate education where and when we can. One of our hopes is that by modelling such support by giving back and not just talking about it, others will be inspired to give back as well. Giving back creates a rising tide, and it is true, a rising tide lifts all boats.”

Read more at We Are UNCW.

Cameron School of Business 2016 Outstanding Alumni

Strong work ethics, integrity and commitment to lifelong learning are just a few qualities
shared by Charles Craft ’79, David Pirrung ’90 and Maurice Smith ’79, this year’s Cameron 
School of Business Outstanding Alumni.

Charles Craft

Craft is a partner at RSM US LLP (RSM), the largest provider in the nation of audit, tax and financial services with a focus on the middle market. Pirrung is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of IAT Insurance Group, a property and casualty organization headquartered in Raleigh. Smith is the president and CEO of Local Government Federal Credit Union (LGFCU), a cooperative serving the financial needs of those affiliated with local governments in North Carolina.

Craft, a Wilmington native, graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and became a CPA in 1981.  He continued to accrue decades of experience in the industry, including ten years with a large regional firm. Craft ultimately became a founder and stockholder of Lanier, Whaley, Craft & Co. until they joined with RSM US LLP in 2013, where he now serves as a partner and CPA. Along with the leadership he currently provides the Wilmington tax practice, Craft serves on several boards, including the Executive Advisory Board of the Cameron School of Business and the MSA Advisory Committee at UNCW.

Craft credits his success to family, and to surrounding himself with people who challenge him to grow. "Seeing people around me succeed is part of success," he said.

David Pirrung

Like many, Pirrung took a more winding road before he ultimately settled on a school and a major. Originally from Pennsylvania, Pirrung first spent a year on a scholarship at Rochester Institute of Technology as a physics major, and then another year at community college. He arrived in Wilmington in the summer of 1988 to attend summer school, said Pirrung, “in a pick-up truck with a motorcycle strapped to the back.”

Pirrung said it was the magnetism of the faculty that got him really interested in school for the first time. Realizing he wanted to continue his education at UNCW, he worked first in real estate to his establish North Carolina residency, then returned to campus the following spring. He continued to work full-time in real estate while taking a full course load until he graduated with a Bachelor of Science. Not long after graduation he joined Ernst & Young in Raleigh, and was soon promoted to senior manager. He moved to a CFO position at a start-up insurance company, and ultimately landed at IAT Insurance, a global organization with approximately one billion of premiums written annually. Pirrung was named the CFO in 2005.

“Make yourself the expert,” he suggests, particularly to recent graduates transitioning to the business world.

Maurice Smith

Smith’s work ethic began with his family, and advice his father that he took to heart: “Nobody in the room better outwork you.”

Smith grew up on a small farm in Southport. Along with the value of hard work, he knew from an early age that he wanted to go into banking. When it became time to gain his secondary education to help fulfill that goal, he knew that as his parents' only son, he would need to go to college close to home so he could return to work on the farm on weekends. For this reason, UNCW fit the bill.

In 1979 Smith earned his Bachelor of Science degree in business administration, and upon graduation began his career with the State Employees Credit Union. He served in a variety of roles until 1992 when he joined LGFCU as executive vice president. In 1999 he was promoted to president.

His education did not end with UNCW. He earned a Juris Doctorate from the North Carolina Central University School of law and is licensed to practice in North Carolina, the District of Columbia and before the United States Supreme Court. He is also a North Carolina Certified Superior Court Mediator. Smith serves on numerous boards, including the Board of Trustees at UNCW.

His sage advice could apply to anyone: “Learn everything.”

-- Kimberly Falkenhagen

These award recipients will be featured in UNCW Magazine's next issue, coming out in July.

Alumni News & Notes

• John R. Bell, IV '01 was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives and is serving in his first term in House District 10.
• Meredith Causey '09, who works as a nurse in the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital, received the Exceptional Person Award.
• Nancy Carter '82 recently had her landscape and abstract paintings featured in New Elements Gallery in Wilmington.
• Michael Bass '13 and Justin Livengood '13 have been drafted by the San Diego Padres; making 89 Seahawks to play professional baseball since 1960. 
  
• Corey Heitz '99 is one of 20 individuals nationwide selected to be an AAMC MedEdPortal Faculty Mentor and received the 2013 Carilion Clinic/Virginia Tech Carilion Emergency Medicine Residency Scholar of the Year award.
• Brittany Cox '10 has appeared in the recent Microsoft commercial and has been cast in "A Bad Summer for Tomatoes" filming in Kingston, WA this summer. 
• Jessica Maher '01 is the special assistant to the president for legislative affairs and responsible for promoting the president's agenda in the U.S. Senate. She focuses on coordinating with the Senate Energy and Natural Resources, the Environment and Public Works, the Agriculture and Indian Affairs committees. 
• Koyah Rivera '00 was recently promoted to the Graduate Registrar/Graduate Student Support Services Manager at the UNC School of Dentistry and has been accepted into the PhD program in Leadership Studies at NC A&T State University which she will begin in the fall. 
• Jane Howard Crutchfield '03 started a raw food truck and catering business, Triangle Raw Foods, with her partner Matthew Daniels in 2011. They have plans to open a raw, organic, vegan cafe in Durham.

Have some news you would like to share? Send an email to classnotes@uncw.edu with your name, graduation year(s) and contact information and we'll include it in future blog posts!

Discipline and Integrity: Skills from the Ball Field Aid Business Success

How many people do you know that can include teaching actors, Freddie Prince Jr. and Mathew Lilliard, how to play baseball as part of their college experience? If you do know someone, it's likely to be a ball player from UNCW, our camera-friendly university that keeps a lively pulse in the film community.

Former student athlete, Lee Grant '00, can accept this claim to fame, but after the tremendously successful decade he just had, this would be near the bottom of his list of bragging rights.

The grueling schedule of Lee's student years, between practice and classes, taught him discipline and time management. The organization and work ethic, as well as the integrity he infused in every aspect of his business, led Lee to gain fiscal success in his company, Coastal Chemical & Paper.

As owner and president of one of the fastest-growing distribution companies in the Carolinas, he built his business Steve Jobs-style, straight out of his garage. Now with two distribution centers, a sales team and fleet of delivery trucks, Lee sees nothing but growth in the future.

"My goals are to continue on the track I'm on," Lee shared, "adding products and growing until the market dictates otherwise. We're adding two new salespeople in 2013."

Lee, 2010 Young Alumnus of the Year
award recipient and his wife, Sommer 

Beside Lee from the beginning, is his wife Sommer, a 2001 Information Systems graduate who he met at UNCW while they were in their teens. Not only do they work as a team for the business, but they as strive to be role models for their three daughters.

"We know that our kids are watching every thing that we do and say," Lee said. "So we try to show them a good example."

As loyal supporters of numerous community organizations, such as Welcome Home Angel, the Landfall Foundation and the Andy's Foundation, they are role models for more than just their little ones. Lee is currently a member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors and chairs the Awards & Scholarships Committee. His passion for helping UNCW develop student athletes into professionals fuels his on-going support for the Seahawk Club. "The journey of being a student athlete, competing at a very high level and the lessons learned through that journey is something I really believe in," he said.

UNCW's track record of professional training is what led Lee to commit to being a Seahawk, turning down scholarships offers from UNCG, ECU, Elon and Campbell. However, one thing he'll never forget is how much better he ate while acting as a ball player on screen for "Summer Catch," versus their victory feasts while on the road with UNCW.

"If we lost, we got Wendy's, and if we won, Coach Scalf would splurge and take us to Golden Corral," Lee said. "I think that is still the status quo with him to this day."

UNCW Alumni Relations/Crystal George

Congratulations to the 2012 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

The Alumni Association is proud to announce the recipients of the 2012 UNCW Distinguished Alumni Awards. Each award recipient has been recognized by their peers for their hard work and dedication to UNCW and for the Wilmington community.

Shanda Williams Bordeaux ’92 is the UNCW Distinguished Alumnus recipient. Currently a high school counselor at the Wilmington Christian Academy, Shanda received her degree from the College of Arts and Sciences. She is an active member in the UNCW community and has served on several committees and boards, is a past chairwoman of the UNCW Alumni Association and former president of the Seahawk Club Board. Shanda has also been previously recognized as a lifetime member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors. We are proud to honor Shanda with this award for her willingness to give her time and resources back to UNCW.

Justin Queen ’04 is the UNCW Young Alumnus award recipient this year. Upon graduating from the university with his degree in Communication Studies, Justin went on to found Wilmington-based Blu Zeus Interactive Marketing. At UNCW, Justin is a member of the UNCW Entrepreneurship Board of Advisors as well as a member of the UNCW Entrepreneurship Center. He also speaks regularly to classes in the Cameron School of Business and in the Department of Communication Studies.

Ann Sherman-Skiba has been recognized as this year’s Distinguished Citizen of the Year. Ann has devoted her time giving to the Wilmington community as a volunteer on the UNCW Board of Visitors and on the Board of Directors at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. She also contributes hours of support to the Cameron Museum of Art. Ann is an active supporter of the university’s history and music programs.

These three outstanding individuals have shown character, generosity, and devotion to UNCW. They will receive their awards during Homecoming 2012 and will be recognized during the parade and halftime of the Men’s Basketball game on Saturday, February 4.

UNCW Alumni Relations/Zac Allison, Intern