CONCORD UNIVERSITY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES AWARD RECIPIENTS
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Sarah M. Pritchett
Concord University
Office of Advancement
PO Box 1000, Athens, WV 24712
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May 17, 2022
CONCORD UNIVERSITY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES AWARD RECIPIENTS
ATHENS, W.Va. – Each year, the Concord University Alumni Association (CUAA) presents awards to alumni for outstanding professional achievements, community service and dedication to their alma mater. The four individuals receiving awards for 2022 were announced on April 23 at the CUAA Alumni Social held at University Point during Alumni Weekend. The awards will be presented during Homecoming 2022 at the “A Toast to Your Generosity” event recognizing donors and volunteers of the University on Oct. 1.
The 2022 CUAA award recipients are: Dr. Brad Lane ’02, ’03, Alumnus of the Year; Jeffrey Pack ’06, Outstanding Alumnus; Margaret “Peggy” Edmunds, Golden Alumnus ’54; and Dr. Emily Fridenmaker ’12, Young Alumnus.
Biographical information and photographs of each award recipient are included below.
Alumnus of the Year – Dr. Brad Lane ’02, ’03
Dr. Brad Lane is a Wyoming County native. He grew up in Mullens, W.Va. and is a proud son of a West Virginia coal miner. He earned his undergraduate degrees in sociology, psychology and pre-professional biology from the Honor’s Program at Concord University in 2002 and 2003.
He graduated from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry with a Doctorate of Optometry in 2007 and joined Dr. Christopher Hansen as a practice owner of Appalachian Eye Care and New River Eye Care. In 2016, he completed an MBA and in 2020, he earned a Master of Education in Instructional Design.
Dr. Lane is a staunch advocate for his profession and serves on many boards that seek to advance Optometry, eye health and patient care. He is a frequent contributor to AOA Focus magazine and is the Co-Chair of the American Optometric Association’s Education Committee. He is a past president of the West Virginia Association of Optometric Physicians and currently serves as Trustee to the Southern Congress of Optometry based in Atlanta. Dr. Lane is also a Diplomat of the American Board of Optometry and was honored as the West Virginia Young Optometric Physician of the Year in 2013 and as the Optometric Physician of the Year in 2017.
Dr. Lane is also committed to his community and his alma mater. For his dedication to Concord University, he was named Philanthropist of the Year by the CU Advancement Office during Homecoming in 2021. He is Chairman of the Concord University Board of Governors, a founding member of Concord University’s White Coat Society, and a previous member of the Concord University Foundation Board. He has created and funded two scholarships for Concord students. He also serves on the board for the Jonathan Powell Hope Foundation, a local charity that raises money for families who have children battling cancer.
His nominee mentions, “Anything you ask Brad to do he will do, and he does it because he truly loves this place.”
Alumnus of the Year – Dr. Brad Lane ’02, ’03
Outstanding Alumnus – Jeffrey Pack ’06
A lifelong resident of West Virginia, Jeffrey Pack is a 2006 graduate of Concord University. He enlisted in the United States Air Force in 2000 and served until 2005 where he achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant. Upon returning home, he enrolled at Concord and graduated in 2006 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science.
In January 2018 he was appointed to fill a vacancy in the West Virginia House of Delegates, representing Raleigh, Summers, and Monroe counties in the 28th district. He was elected in November of 2018 and again in 2020. He served as Chairman of the House Republican Caucus and also served as Chairman of the House Committee on Health and Human Resources. He resigned from the House in July 2021 when West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) Cabinet Secretary Bill J. Crouch announced his appointment as Commissioner of the Bureau for Social Services at the DHHR, effective August 2, 2021.
In this capacity, Jeff oversees the child welfare system in West Virginia. The Bureau for Social Services includes child protective services, adult protective services, youth services, foster care, and adult services. He oversees a staff of over 1,500 and an annual budget of over $500 million.
His nominee mentions, “Jeffrey Pack represents Concord University in the best possible light as he works every day to make West Virginia a better place for us all.”
Outstanding Alumnus – Jeffrey Pack ’06
Golden Alumnus – Margaret “Peggy” Edmunds ’54
Margaret “Peggy” Edmunds has been a steadfast member of the Concord family for many years. Peggy taught at Concord for 36 years (1956-1992) and touched the lives of numerous students during that time.
She was born in Greeneville, Tenn., and moved with her family to Mercer County when she was young. She returned to Tennessee to attend high school, then, came back to West Virginia to study at Concord.
Peggy graduated from Concord in January 1954 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Education. Following graduation, she taught general business and business math at Beaver High School in Bluefield. During the summers, she took courses at Marshall University, working toward a master’s in Business Education. She taught at Beaver until May 1956 and completed her graduate degree that same year. Peggy furthered her education through continuing education courses at Marshall and East Tennessee State University.
While her primary teaching responsibility at Concord was accounting, Peggy also taught business math, business law and communications. Along with her time in the classroom, Peggy dedicated countless hours to campus events and activities. She served on the Commencement Committee and was Grand Marshal at Commencement during her last few years as a faculty member. She was a Phi Beta Lambda sponsor and served as an ambassador for the Admissions Office, visiting high schools to specifically promote the business program. Serving the alumni association, Peggy manned the group’s tailgate at Homecoming with Mathematics professor Mary Edna Beckett.
Along with teaching at Concord, Peggy taught various night classes in the community including a secretarial accounting course and accounting principles which she offered at the vocational school. She was recognized by the West Virginia Business Education Association as an “Outstanding Business Educator.”
Now retired, Peggy has been honored by Concord with the title, Associate Professor of Business, Emerita. Even in retirement, she has stayed in the loop with CU, visiting campus from time to time and always catching up with the Advancement Office when they visited Florida during her time there.
Her nominee mentions, “Peggy is a shining example to me of what a Golden Alumnus is and I can’t think of anyone more deserving than her of this award, something I’m sure she would treasure as this year marks her 90th birthday!”
Golden Alumnus – Margaret “Peggy” Edmunds ’54
Young Alumnus – Emily Fridenmaker ’12
Emily Fridenmaker is a native of Greenbrier County, West Virginia. She graduated from Greenbrier West High School in 2008 and came to Concord in the fall of that year. She majored in Biology/Pre-professional biology. Excelling academically while she was at Concord, Emily graduated with honors in 2012.
Following Concord, she went to West Virginia University Medical School and graduated in 2016. She then completed a residency in Internal Medicine at CAMC in Charleston, W.Va. After her residency, Emily began a fellowship in Pulmonology/Critical Care at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in 2019.
In a matter of months, she would be at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic working endless nights and days providing medical care to the most critically ill patients afflicted with COVID-19. Emily will graduate from the fellowship in June 2022 and plans to return to Charleston to continue to serve her home state. While pursuing her professional endeavors, she has continued to be a wife to her husband Zac (who also attended Concord) and a mother to her 5 year old son, Abe.
Her nominee mentions, “Emily started from humble means, but she used the foundation she received at Concord to start a very successful medical career, fight on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, continue to care for her family, and (be) dedicated to her home state and the state of our institution.”
Young Alumnus – Emily Fridenmaker ’12
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