Education ShoutOuts

East Rowan High rifle team places second

The East Rowan High School Rifle Team placed second overall in a competition South Rowan on Oct. 2.

East Rowan’s B-Team Cadet Captain Miranda Harding received special recognition for top standing overall with a score of 75. Harding was also the high team firer for the B-Team.

High team firer for A and C teams were Thor Wright and Hannah Dixon, respectively.

A-Team consists of Samuel Lakey, Wright, Amy Carlton and Alex Owens. Brandon Gardner, Harding, David Harwood and Cody Morris comprise the B-Team. C-Team is made up of Hannah Dixon, Nolan Klutz, Brian Mattox, Austin Harrison. The alternative shooter for this match was Reese Lambert.

Bostian GoodCitizens

The staff of Bostian Elementary would like to recognize the following students for standing out as exemplary citizens for this month. These students have all gone above and beyond what is expected of them at school.

• Kindergarten — Makayla Kennedy, Selene Baltazar, Kayden Hartness, Johnny Dobrican, Meg Bivens, Madison Lemonds, Ezra Biggs, C.J. Guida, Jordan Smith, Elijah Brown, Holly Tucker, Delaney Johnson

• First grade — Abbey Nixon, Myles Vanover, Nick Criss, Kaylee Bynum

• Second grade — Sydney Hardman, Parker Steele, Andrew Beaver, Corie Jones

• Third grade — Kaiya Addison, Brandon Barrera, Thomas Bost, Elise Bost, Grace Christy, Reid Zickafoose

• Fourth grade — Kelsie Ritchie, Austin Helms, Garrett Earley, Amy Taylor, Braxton Black, Hannah Jones

• Fifth grade — Jessica Freeze, Dajuan Clement, Trey Sloop, Kaitlyn Stout, Shaleah Jolly, Luke Sides

Shive Elementary recognitions

King and Queen Bee Recognition Awards given Sept. 30 at Shive Elementary School: Anastasia Andrews, Janie Eller, Felisha Williams, Jacob Hicks, Logan Brown, Kayla Kimball, Seth Mullins, Dieontae Gallmon, Lexy Teuscher, Sabrina Young, Maria Garcia, Martin Marcia, Carolyn Martin, Dakota Culp, Livy Galloway, Damian Brooms, Krista Ridenhour, Skylar Barnhardt, Trey Beaver, Joshua Hicks, Haley Grant, Jonathan Upright, Victor Fowler, Alix Vazquez, Alexis Avalos.

WCU graduates

The following students are recent graduates of Western Carolina University.

• Jennifer Anne Turrentine, Lexington

• Catherine Chandler Crowe, Mocksville

• James Andrew Durant, Mocksville

• Jenna Elizabeth Hendricks, Mocksville

• Tamara Lynn May, Gold Hill

• Erin Lane Shelton, Mount Ulla

Evans recipient of academicscholarship

Patricia Evans of Mocksville, a freshman biology major at York College of Pennsylvania, received an academic scholarship from the college.

Evans, a graduate of Davie High School, received the Presidential Academic Scholarship, awarded to freshmen who graduated in the upper two-fifths of their high school class and have a combined SAT math and critical reading score of 1250 or greater.

Cleveland GoodCitizens

Cleveland Elementary Good Citizens for September:

• Kindergarten: Mason Lee, Kayleigh Dellinger, Nevaeh Barker, Carlos Mancia, Anna Parrish, Dominick Maddox.

• First grade: Brianna Hennessy, Krysten Cline, Jeri Taylor, Trevor Gagean-Dixon.

• Second grade: Noah Rife, Victoria Roberts, Luke Koppe, Desiree Miller, John Allen Ferguson, Brenda Mancia-Lemus.

• Third grade: Steve Wilmot, Mira White, Jackson Gannon, A’Nique Miller, Cheyenne Kennedy, Chancellor Matthews, Daniel Livengood.

• Fourth grade: Sage Staley, Jamie Alviter, Victoria Carleton-Bartell, Ryan Culbertson, Libby Ball, Deven Hach, Thomas Waldo.

• Fifth grade: Angelina Wilson, Dalton Sheffer, Michelle Lloyd, Nahla Mills, Natalie Allison, Luke Waggoner.

Catawba College alumni receive awards

The Catawba College Alumni Association recognized two of their own as recipients of Distinguished Alumnus Awards during homecoming activities on Oct. 9. Gregory M. Alcorn, ’79, of Salisbury, and Thomas E. “Tom” Burdette, ’73, of Clifton, Va., received the awards during a barbecue luncheon held in Goodman Gymnasium on campus.

These awards are given annually by Catawba’s Alumni Association to individuals who have served their community, distinguished themselves in their profession and have served the Catawba College community. College President Dr. Craig Turner made the presentations, assisted by Jolene Miller Henning, ’96, president of the Catawba Alumni Association Board of Directors, and Lynn Shuping Gullett, ’84, who serves the Alumni Association as vice president of the alumni records and recognition committee.

A 1979 alumnus, Alcorn is the CEO and owner of Global Contact Services. He jokes that he grew up on the Catawba campus before he actually became a student here since his family lived in the nearby neighborhood.

While a student at Catawba, he was involved in the Pioneer student newspaper, the coffeehouse on campus and the sales and marketing club. He majored in business as an undergraduate and later earned his MBA from UNC-Charlotte.

Alcorn has served Catawba in a number of capacities. He is a member of the College Board of Trustees and chairs the enrollment committee of that board. He serves as a Board of Trustees liaison to the President’s Climate Commitment Committee that recently developed a Climate Action Plan for the institution. He serves on the Lilly Center Advisory Council and is a past president of the Catawba College Chiefs Club. He has been tapped to serve on Catawba’s presidential search committee, to assist with fund-raising efforts and as a guest speaker at the college.

A member of First United Church of Christ in Salisbury, Alcorn is active in the community. He is a trustee and chair of the First UCC Foundation and past council president of First United Church of Christ. He chairs the board of the United Church Homes and Services and also the board of Salisbury Academy, and is a board member for the Community Bank of Rowan. He is a member of the Salisbury Community Foundation, the AAUW and the American Bankers Insurance Association. He is also an active volunteer with the Boy Scouts.

Alcorn is the son of Edith Alcorn of Salisbury and the late Rev. Ed Alcorn. He and wife Missie are parents of two children, Clark and Eleanor.

In accepting his award, Alcorn said, “I don’t think I’ll ever have a chance to give back to Catawba what it has given me, but I’ll try.” He also recognized the Catawba College students of today that he had had a chance to meet, noting that they have “an eyes- wide-open approach” to their future.

A 1973 alumnus, Burdette is a CPA and managing shareholder of The Burdette Smith Group, P.C.

Burdette came south from his hometown of Hyattstown, Md., to study accounting and play football at Catawba. He was a starter in the defensive secondary during all four of his years at Catawba, coached by Harvey Stratton. He was named All-Conference and All- District as a senior player at the college. While a student, he was also active in intramurals, served as treasurer of the student government association during his senior year, and as treasurer of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) during his junior and senior years. He was a member of the Accounting Club, and, during his senior year, he was named to Who’s Who among Students in American Universities and Colleges.

Several years after his Catawba graduation, he made a name for himself when, at 27, he started his own CPA firm in the Washington, D.C. area. Today, his firm, The Burdette Smith Group, P.C., employs approximately 40 people, and his area of expertise is dealing with high income, high net worth individuals who mostly own their own businesses. His business has been named Best Professional Firm by the Central Fairfax Chamber of Commerce and Burdette has been named Business Leader of the Year by that same organization.

Burdette is on Catawba’s Board of Visitors and has served on its Alumni Board, and has long supported fund-raising efforts related to the institution’s football program. He contributed to the Shuford Stadium construction effort and to the grassroots campaign that raised funds to put lights in that stadium.

He serves on the board of directors for Potomac Bank of Virginia and is past president of Central Fairfax Chamber of Commerce, the Country Club of Fairfax and the Fairfax Rotary Club. He is a member of Burke United Methodist Church.

Married to wife Wendy, the two are parents of four children, Allie, Jeff, Wes and Amanda.

In accepting his award, Burdette said, “I was lucky to have chosen Catawba over the other schools that recruited me. A lot of us could have gone to another school academically and athletically, but I know I made a good choice when I chose Catawba.”

Have good news. Let Salisbury Post education reporter Sarah Campbell know. Send your recognitions and awards to education@salisburypost.com with ShoutOut as the subject line.