Alumni Awards

The University of Pikeville’s 2018 Alumni Award recipients are advocates, educators and passionate leaders. The honors for distinguished, rising and honorary alumni and the Gary Thrash Outstanding Ambassador Award were presented by First Lady Kay Webb (far left) and Alumni Association President Kay Hammond (far right) during the Homecoming football game on Oct. 20.

Along with the Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations, the UPIKE Alumni Association enhances student life, fosters university pride and creates community engagement.

RISING YOUNG ALUMNI

Charity Burke Walters ’02

Charity Burke Walters graduated from Pikeville College in 2002 with a degree in both biology and chemistry. In addition to her studies, Burke played basketball for the Lady Bears and was captain her junior and senior seasons. She also played softball her junior and senior years. After college, Burke attended the University of Louisville School of Medicine where she graduated in the top 10 percent of her class. After completing her orthopedic surgery residency in 2011, she worked at the Indiana Hand to Shoulder Center during her hand surgery fellowship and continued her training with a second fellowship in children’s hand surgery at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Burke has served patients at Louisville Arm and Hand since 2013. She is passionate about educating the next generation of physicians and being an advocate for her patients. Burke assists abroad with healthcare and orthopedic resident education in Tanzania, partnering with the organization Health Volunteers Overseas. She married Andrew Walters in 2014 and together they have a daughter, Aubrey Grace.

GARY THRASH OUTSTANDING AMBASSADOR AWARD

Danny C. Adams ’71

Danny C. Adams is a 1971 graduate of Pikeville College who has spent 33 years in education. Of his 33 years of service to students, 26 were as a teacher in the classroom and basketball coach at both Pikeville High School and Magoffin County High School. Adams also gave back to his alma mater, serving as admissions counselor and director of admissions and financial aid as well as assistant men's basketball coach. In addition to other accolades, Adams was inducted into the Pikeville College Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994 and the UPIKE Distinguished Educators Hall of Fame in 2015. He was married to his wife Rebecca Ann Sanders for 33 years until her death in 2002. They have three children, Neil Adams, Jayne Fontana, and Hester Hopson as well as four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI

Marcy McClanahan Cassady ’80

A Pikeville native and 1980 graduate of Pikeville College, Marcy McClanahan Cassady majored in piano before going on to earn a J.D. from the University of Kentucky College of Law. Cassady’s legal practice focused on education, policy and advocacy. Throughout her career, she empowered and assisted many clients, including Apple Computer’s K-12 Education Division. Continuing her advocacy and passion for education, Cassady founded Louisville Classical Academy in 2007, a private school where she served as Head of School until 2013. Today, she is president of a home renovation company in Louisville, Turn-Key Design. She and her husband Ballard have three adult children.

HONORARY ALUMNI

Tim Collins

Community advocate, volunteer and Pikeville native, Tim Collins is a 1989 graduate of Prestonsburg Community College. Collins has worked for Food City for 32 years and has served the organization in various management roles at numerous store locations. He is currently the manager at the Pikeville Cassady Boulevard location. Along with Food City, Collins has long supported UPIKE and its students. Collins currently resides in Pikeville and is the proud father of a son, Noah Paxton Collins, who is a sophomore at Shelby Valley High School.