ALUMNI AWARDS
CUAA Gets Creative with In-Person Presentation of Annual Alumni Accolades ach year the Concord University Alumni Association recognizes some of Concord’s most outstanding alumni with a series of CUAA awards. Alumni who have made significant impacts on their community, who have had personal and professional success, and who have given back to their alma mater are selected for four different awards. The recipients for 2020 are: Alumnus of the Year, Teresa Frey ’98; Outstanding Alumnus, Peggy Johnson ’71; Golden Alumnus, Tom Bone III ’76; and Young Alumnus, Dr. Mark Yost ’12. “These awards are usually presented at the CUAA spring
Alumni Social, but due to COVID-19, the Social did not take place this year. The Awards Committee still wanted to recognize some alumni for 2020 so after nominations were submitted, selections were made and we had to get creative with how to present the awards to these four deserving alums,” explains Sarah Turner, Director of Alumni and Donor Relations. A decision was made to personally deliver the awards to each recipient. As she visited each honoree for their award presentation, Turner spoke about why they were selected for the recognition. The presentation videos were shared on social media.
Outstanding Alumnus Award The Outstanding Alumnus Award is given to a Concord grad who has made outstanding accomplishments in their professional and civic life. A 1971 graduate of Concord with a home economics degree, Peggy Johnson has spent her entire professional career as a teacher, first in Maryland, and then in a few high schools in Mercer County. She belongs to the Mercer County Association of Retired School Employees, where she is currently serving as Vice President. She is a member of the Alpha Epsilon Chapter of Alpha Kappa Delta and has served in positions on the local, district, and state level. Currently she serves as the State Corresponding Secretary. She is an active member of the CUAA Pine Trees chapter, serving as a member of their Board of Directors. She is active in the Mercer County Quilting Bees and each year she makes a veteran’s quilt to present to a member of Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, where she is a member and officer. She has also completed an Underground Railroad quilt and has published a book on black history in Mercer
Young Alumnus Award
• Peggy Johnson ’71
County. She has also served as a judge with the Mercer County Fair. A line from her nomination form explains why Peggy Johnson is the perfect choice for the 2020 Outstanding Alumnus: “She is always willing to lend a hand to those in need and to help make her community a better place.”
• Dr. Mark Yost '12
The Young Alumnus Award is given to a Concord alum who has demonstrated distinctive achievement in their career, civic involvement, or both and who is no more than 15 years past graduation. Mark Yost graduated magna cum laude from Concord in 2012 with a pre-professional biology degree, then continued his education at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, receiving his D.O. degree from there in 2016. He completed an internship at Bluefield Regional Medical Center in 2017 before heading to Greenbrier Valley Medical Center in Ronceverte to complete a residency in Family Medicine. He served as Chief Resident during his last year there, and then the month following his residency graduation, Dr. Yost began his current position as the Medical Director of the Athens Medical Center.
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SUMMER 2020 CONCORD UNIVERSIT Y MAGAZINE
