CU Foundation Dinner Features VT Coach Beamer as Keynote Speaker at Hotel Roanoke, Saturday, March 17

Athens, W.Va. – The Concord University Foundation, Inc., is pleased to announce that Virginia Tech Head Football Coach, Frank Beamer, will be the keynote speaker at the premier Roanoke Fund for Concord dinner to be held Saturday, March 17 at the Hotel Roanoke in Roanoke, Va.

Frank Beamer is celebrating his 20th year as the head football coach at Virginia Tech, and finished the 2006 season play with six-straight wins, overcoming two-straight losses and a few embarrassing moments, to make the Hokies one of just two Division I-A teams that have posted 10 or more wins in each of the last three seasons.

When Beamer accepted the job as head football coach at his alma mater in 1987, his goal was for the Virginia Tech football program to reach a consistent level of excellence. The Hokies have come a long way since that day, and along the way, Beamer has become one of the most respected and successful coaches on the college football scene.

Winning has been just part of Frank Beamer’s success story. He and his staff have earned a reputation for getting the most out of their players. Beamer, who was the consensus national coach of the year in 1999, is ranked third among active Division I-A coaches in victories with 198 over 26 seasons as a head coach. His Tech teams have posted a 142-41 record over the past 14 seasons and appeared in bowl games each year during that span, a feat equaled by just three other schools. Prior to winning the 2004 ACC championship, he guided the Hokies to three BIG EAST Conference championships and in 1999 helped direct Tech to the national championship game. Beamer’s Hokies have earned the highest national rankings in the program’s history, spending 77 weeks in the Top 10 of The Associated Press poll over the past eight seasons. During one stretch that ended in 2003, Tech was ranked in 84 consecutive AP polls.

In September 2000, Beamer was invited to the White House where he joined a select group that stood in the Rose Garden behind then-President Bill Clinton as he made remarks on the Conservation and Reinvestment Act. Beamer was one of the keynote speakers at the American Football Coaches Association Convention in 2000, and in April, 2001, he joined former Prime Minister of Great Britain, Lady Margaret Thatcher, as one of the featured speakers at SUCCESS 2001, one of the nation’s most popular business seminars.

In April 2004, Beamer was presented a Humanitarian Award by the National Conference for Community and Justice for his contributions to fostering justice, equity and community in the Roanoke Valley. An avid NASCAR fan, Beamer has been the official starter for races at Bristol Motor Speedway and Richmond International Raceway.

An indication of Beamer’s love for the university came on the night he was inducted into The Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1997. He called it the biggest honor of his entire career. With the induction, he became the first active coach at the university to be honored in that fashion.

The Tech teams in 1995 and 1996 were among the best in school history. The 1995 team swept the BIG EAST Conference championship outright and the 1996 club tied for the title with Syracuse and Miami.

He began as an assistant at Radford High School from 1969 through 1971. Then, after one season as a graduate assistant at the University of Maryland, he went to The Citadel where he worked five seasons under Bobby Ross and one year under Art Baker. His last two years at The Citadel, Beamer was the defensive coordinator.

In 1979, Beamer went to Murray State as the defensive coordinator under Mike Gottfried. He was named head coach at Murray State in 1981 and went on to compile a six-year record of 42 wins, 23 losses and two ties.

The Tech coach was born in Mt. Airy, N.C., and grew up in Hillsville, Va. At Hillsville High, he earned 11 varsity letters as a three-sport athlete in football, basketball and baseball.

Beamer is married to the former Cheryl Oakley of Richmond, Va. They have two children, Shane, a former member of his dad’s football team at Tech and now an assistant at Mississippi State; and daughter Casey, a 2003 graduate of Virginia Tech.

The Concord Commanders are slated to perform “big band style” and swing music.

“Many alumni of Concord University contribute greatly to the lifestyle of the Roanoke and New River Valley communities. Concord graduates are involved in education, banking, law firms, accounting firms and other businesses as well as music and the arts. Our alumni roster also includes a Virginia state senator. We invite you to join us and Coach Beamer for our dinner that is designed to raise funds for a scholarship for a deserving student from the Roanoke or New River Valley communities and for other innovative programs at our highly acclaimed university,” stated Suellen Hodges from Roanoke, chair for the dinner committee.

Committee members include the following: Rose Ann Burgess, Roanoke; Robert “Ben” Crawford, Blacksburg; Sue Foti, Roanoke; Vic Foti, Roanoke: Rosemary Goss, Blacksburg; Bob Goss, Blacksburg; John Jessee, Roanoke; Janet Jeffries, Roanoke; Ross Jeffries, Roanoke; Steve Lonker, Vinton; Jo-Ann Lonker, Vinton; Glenn Lowe, Vinton; Sandra Lowe, Vinton; Linda Scarborough, Roanoke; George R. Shumate, Salem; Jack Thompson, Roanoke; Dee Thompson, Roanoke; Susan Tuck, Radford; Chris Tuck, Radford; and Loretta A. Young, Princeton.

The reception is set to begin at 6 p.m. with dinner at 7 p.m. in the Roanoke Ballroom at the Hotel Roanoke. Individual seating is available at $125 per person and table sponsorships are available. Reservations are requested by Friday, March 2.

For more information, contact Loretta Young, 1-800-344-6679, extension 5257.

-CU-