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 • Peggy Johnson ’71

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

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.” Young Alumnus Award • 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.

He is board certified by the American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians in Family Medicine and OMT. He currently serves as a WVSOM Rural Health Initiative Mentor and as a family medicine preceptor for WVSOM students. Mark served as the Resident Board Member for the WVSOM Alumni Association during his last year of residency and now serves on the

CUAA Alumni Council. He is involved with the Athens Lions Club, the Johnston Chapel Baptist Church Missions Committee and has already participated in medical mission trips to Peru, Guatemala, Ecuador and Nicaragua. As this is only the beginning for Dr. Mark Yost, the CUAA is proud to recognize him with the 2020 Young Alumnus Award. Golden Alumnus Award • Tom Bone ’76

The Golden Alumnus Award is given to a member of the CUAA who has contributed their time and/or talents to Concord University and the CUAA with no less than 25 years of service to the University community.

Tom Bone, this year’s recipient, is a 1976 grad who never really left Concord for long after his graduation with an education degree. He has served on the Alumni Association Council on and off since the late 1970s and he was hired in 1979 as director of public information at Concord, a position he held for almost 20 years.

Tom is a founding member of the Athens-Concord Town Social Committee, and performed for 15 years as the Town Social clown. He also worked on the committee that oversaw the installation and dedication of the 48-bell carillon atop Marsh Hall on campus. He walked the entire 162 miles of Concord’s second Quest for Scholars in 1992, helping then-president Jerry Beasley to raise scholarship funds and to promote the institution in seven counties of southern West Virginia.

He was the principal writer and executive producer of a 28-minute video history of Concord, and an animated cartoon, The Legend of Concord Charlie. Tom has been a public address announcer for Mountain Lions’ sporting events since the 1976-77 academic year. He has participated in Concord theatre productions since 1975, including a dozen performances of Shakespeare’s works.

In more recent years, he has continued to cover the news of Concord happenings for the Bluefield Daily Telegraph and Princeton Times. He has occasionally taught classes at Concord and worked in the campus bookstore. This lifelong dedication to his alma mater is why Tom Bone is so deserving of the 2020 Golden Alumnus Award.

Alumnus of the Year Award • Teresa Frey '98

The Alumnus of the Year Award is given to a member of the CUAA who has contributed their time and/or talents to Concord University and the Concord University Alumni Association.

Not only did Teresa Frey spend four years as a non-traditional student at Concord, she’s also spent the last 20 years of her life contributing to Concord as an employee. She has worked in the business office, the Education Division, and since 2011 has served as CU’s Academic Advisor for Adult Students.

As an Athens resident, Teresa has attended and participated in countless campus and community events – everything from sporting events, to plays and concerts, Homecoming parades, even attending and/or volunteering at every Athens-Concord Town Social since it started. Her family hosted CU international students in their home, she was a homeroom mom at Athens School and she volunteered at the CU Senior Dinner for several years. Through her children’s attendance at Concord, she got involved with their Greek organizations and is a proud Phoenix of Phi Sigma Phi fraternity and is an alumnae initiate of the Concord chapter of Tri-Sigma.

In 2014 Teresa became a member of the CUAA and has been a very active member, serving on a number of CUAA committees. Highlights of her committee involvement includes serving as co-chair of the Alumni Day and Homecoming committees, and serving as a scholarship application reviewer for two years. She has been a great recruiter for the CUAA and even keeps membership brochures in her car in case she meets a Concord alum when she is out and about!

Teresa is always there to step up, help out and do whatever is needed to get the job done – not for recognition but because of her love for Concord University. This is what makes her a perfect selection for Alumnus of the Year.