New alumni association officers began one-year terms July 1. Mary Virginia "Prim" Jones (mechanical engineering '62), a technical director at Atlantic Research Corp., is the alumni association's new president; Eddie Hearp (business administration '65), president of National Financial Services is president-elect. Gene James (animal science '53), retired president and CEO of Southern States Cooperative, is vice president.

Jones, who was honored during April's Founders Day ceremony with the Alumni Distinguished Service Award, is a former member of the board of visitors who has also received the College of Engineering Distinguished Alumna Award and the University Distinguished Achievement Award. She has served on the College of Engineering Committee of 100, and as head of advisory boards for the College of Engineering, the department of mechanical engineering, and continuing education. She also was on the steering committee for the Campaign for Virginia Tech completed in 1998.

Hearp, a former president of the Roanoke Valley Alumni Chapter, is on the board of the Virginia Tech Athletic Fund and is a member of the Ut Prosim Society. He is a past president of the Renew Roanoke Campaign for Hotel Roanoke and is on the board of Valley Bank. He co-chaired the Roanoke Valley Regional Campaign for Virginia Tech.

James most recently served as president of the Virginia Tech Foundation, director of the Leadership Council of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and director of the Virginia Tech Economic Development Council.

The five newly elected board members are Scott Cappiello (computer engineering '94), Falls Church, Va.; B. Keith Fulton (urban affairs '89), New York, N.Y.; Susan W. Hensley (home economics '77), Richmond, Va.; Melissa Byrne Nelson (finance '92), New York, N.Y.; and Nicholas Valdrighi (mechanical engineering '57), Richmond, Va. Incumbents elected for a second term are Marcella Arline '74, Gregory Brainerd '83, Marni Byrum '76, Victor Calaman Jr. '83, Gene James '53, David Lowe '63, Nancy Glisson Lucy '93, Nancy M. Moga '76, and Michael Quillen '70. Back to Contents

On June 23 -27, some 130 Tech alumni and their friends and families will be experiencing Tech without the wind, the snow, or the pressure to make the grades-at the alumni association's Summer Around the Drillfield. They'll be celebrating the 10th annual alumni vacation on campus with perennial favorites, including an early day of rafting, a Mountain Lake outing, "no-test" lectures by favorite professors, and tubing and canoeing on the New River.

While the children enjoy parties with the Hokie Bird, crafts, and games, the teens will be challenged by outdoor sports, computer activities, and group social events. Enjoying golf, campus tours, and the annual scavenger hunt in which some of the hunted are Tech personalities, many families return as regularly as robins. Wayne and Claire Horton have attended every year. Cliff Barr's (biology '71) sons have grown up attending Summer Around the Drillfield, missing only one year when the schedule was altered.

For years, four generations of Ray Carmines' (sociology '51) family from Poquoson, Va., have come to Summer Around the Drillfield, and now the grandchildren are applying to Tech. "Dad has us brainwashed. We and our children feel Tech is the only place to go to school," says Debbie Carmines Riggins (chemistry '76). Back to Contents

Friday, October 15

Home | News | Features | Research | Philanthropy | Athletics | Alumni | Classnotes | Editor's Page