CLASS NOTES Alumni, we want to hear what you’ve been doing. Mail career, wedding, birth, and death news to Class Notes, Virginia Tech Alumni Association, Holtzman Alumni Center, 901 Prices Fork Road, Blacksburg, VA 24061; email the information to classnotes@vt.edu; or submit the news online at vtmag.vt.edu/submit-classnote.php, where photos may also be uploaded for consideration. For assistance, call 540-231-6285.
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CAREER Fred C. Schwartz, Vonore, Tenn., retired from Chrysler Corp., where he was manager of research and development.
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CAREER Sam L. Lionberger Jr., Roanoke, Va., retired from Lionberger Consulting, where he was president.
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CAREER Frances Cogle Lawrence, Columbia, Mo., retired as professor from Louisiana State University and University of Missouri and recently accepted a position as senior financial consultant at Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group.
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CAREER Yvonne Hyton-Vest Thayer, Christiansburg, Va., co-authored and published “Career Anxiety: Guidance Through Tough Times,” describing challenges workers face during the digital transformation.
COURTESY OF CHIP CARTWRIGHT
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CAREER James A. Mize, Cleveland, S.C., published his third humor book, “Hunting With Beanpole,” which received the Pinnacle Award from the Professional Outdoor Media Association.
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CAREER Robert A. Rapaport, Virginia Beach, Va., was elected chairman of the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission for a three-year term.
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CAREER Howard Keith Hagy, Scottsville, Va., was awarded the 2021 Jerome F. Lederer Award by the International Society of Air Safety Investigators for outstanding lifetime contributions to technical excellence in aviation accident investigations. Thomas N. Langhorne, Salt Lake City, Utah, received the National Association of State Judicial Educators' 2021 Karen Thorson Award and was named 2019-21 outstanding American judicial educator in recognition of his national judicial education efforts and international Rule of Law initiatives.
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CAREER Joseph M. Reilly, New Ulm, Texas, retired from ExxonMobil as chief research geoscientist and was elected as vice president of the Society of Exploration Geophysics.
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CAREER Melissa Hayden Weaver, Cary, N.C., a Brooks Pierce attorney, was recognized by her peers for inclusion in the 2022 edition of Best Lawyers in America.
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CAREER Vernon Randall Tinsley, Summerfield, N.C., earned top ranking in the 2020 and 2021 editions of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business and was recognized by his peers for inclusion in the 2022 edition of Best Lawyers in America.
Charles “Chip” Cartwright
TRAILBLAZER Charles “Chip” Cartwright, a Cornerstone alumnus, was recognized by Virginia Tech earlier this year following a groundbreaking career with the U.S. Forest Service. He received the Influential Black Alumni Ut Prosim Award during the 2021 Black Alumni Reunion held virtually in April. Cartwright, who graduated with a degree in forestry and wildlife from Virginia Tech in 1970, served a stint in the Air Force. He then blazed a trail as the first Black man to serve as district ranger, forest supervisor, and regional forester. Cartwright devoted service to his church, Scout troops, and Habitat for Humanity, and served as a black history interpreter for a historical museum in Arkansas. “I credit the college and the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets with helping me build a foundation for a successful and meaningful career,” Cartwright said. “My dream was, and still is, to make a difference. I believe I am.”
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