Three Catawba College alumni were presented Distinguished Alumnus Awards during homecoming activities for their service to the college and the community and for distinguishing themselves in their professions.They are Joey Popp of Charlotte and Sally Whitney of Mooresville, both 1977 graduates, and Bill Hall of Salisbury, a 1966 graduate.
Popp is a broadcast veteran known in Charlotte for his television appearances, radio work, documentaries and marketing projects. He is seen each week on WTVI, the local Public Broadcasting Service station hosting “HealthWise,” and he broadcasts “Weekend Edition” on WFAE-FM radio every Saturday morning. He is also a media specialist for corporations and nonprofits and has contributed articles to the Charlotte Observer. He and wife, Catherine, operate Marketing & Media Resources/Joey Popp Productions.
Popp has emceed galas and fundraisers for Hospice at Charlotte, Leadership Charlotte and the Dowd YMCA. He emcees Catawba College’s Distinguished CEO Lecture Series, sponsored by the Ketner School of Business and Catawba’s Business Hall of Fame. He chairs the business advisory board for the Ralph W. Ketner School of Business.
A native of Lancaster, Pa., Whitney has a bachelor of arts degree in accounting, economics and business from Catawba, where she played basketball and volleyball. She began her career with Duke Power Co., now Duke Energy, upon graduation and has held leadership positions in information technology and information management. She is senior vice president for financial re-engineering and financial information technology. She helped develop and support computerized applications for areas including human resources, financial and materials management.
Whitney directed Duke Energy’s enterprise-wide Year 2000 Program, which was designated “best-in-class” in independent reviews. A certified public accountant in North Carolina, she holds her master of business administration degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and is also certified by and a member of the Project Management Institute. She lives in Mooresville and serves on Catawba College’s board of visitors.
Hall, a Rowan County native, majored in health and physical education and minored in history at Catawba. He earned a master of arts degree in teaching from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He then became an admissions counselor under the late Chub Richards. He has also been director of student activities, dean of students and dean of admissions.
Hall left Catawba in 1983 to work for Jostens Yearbook sales division, where he has won numerous awards for his outstanding job performance, including Jostens Sales Achievement Awards in 20 out of the last 25 years. In 2006, he was inducted into Jostens’ Master Club and Ace Club. His fellow sales reps honored him with the Service Award.
Hall serves on Catawba’s Chiefs Club board and has been its president twice. He and wife, Rosemary, live in Salisbury. They established an endowed scholarship at Catawba last year.