December 2019: Christy Martin '90

Congratulations to Concord alum Christy Martin on being named to the International Boxing Hall of Fame class for 2020. Christy is earning this recognition in the first year that women have been on the ballot. The full story can be found at: https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2019-12-04/boxing-hall-of-fame
Congratulations to Christy on a very well deserved honor!
November 2019: Gretchen Reese ‘16

This month we wanted to recognize CU alum Gretchen Reese ’16 for recently completing two years of Peace Corps service in Uganda. Gretchen served in the Agribusiness program in a small community in Uganda. Gretchen is pictured here on the right with Roar and her Concord roommate, Carli Dotson ’16, when Carli visited Gretchen during her time in the Peace Corps. Gretchen is a great example of the amazing things that our alums are doing all over the globe and we are proud to have her as part of the Mountain Lion family!
October 2019: Sherry Hicks-Buckles '97

Congratulations to Concord alum Sherry Hicks-Buckles ’97 on her recent appointment to the General Manager position at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich in Old Greenwich, CT. Sherry has over two decades of experience with Hyatt Hotels and was included in the 2017 Hotel F&B Magazine “Top 50 Women to Watch” list.
To read the full story about Sherry’s appointment please visit: https://www.hospitalitynet.org/appointment/79018803.html
We wish Sherry the best of luck in her new position!
September 2019: Alyssa Morris '16

Congratulations to Concord alum and former softball standout Alyssa Morris on being named the head softball coach at Union College! Morris takes over the head coaching position for the Kentucky college after serving as an assistant coach last season. To read more about Alyssa’s appointment click HERE.
Best of luck to Alyssa and her team in the 2020 season!
August 2019: Monica Oglesby Holliday '10

Congratulations to Concord alum Monica Holliday on recently being named the Young Lawyer of the Year for West Virginia! The award is sponsored by the West Virginia State Bar Young Lawyers Section and was presented to Ms. Holliday in Charleston in April.
Holliday currently serves as the legal director of ChildLaw Services, a Princeton based agency, where she works on protecting the legal rights of children who are involved in any legal process.
To read more about the work Holliday does and her journey to get there, please click HERE.
Congratulations to Monica on this well-deserved recognition!
July 2019: Nicolas Diehl ‘91

Congratulations to Concord alum Nicolas Diehl ’91 on recently being named the Executive Director of the Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport Authority. In this newly created position Nic will be responsible for oversight and marketing of the airport and its many resources.
To read the full story on Nic’s appointment please visit the following link:
https://www.journal-news.net/journal-news/eastern-west-virginia-regional-airport-fills-new-executive-director-position/article_4fb436f5-8f70-526e-8d90-79090d9ae617.html
Best of luck Nic in this new and exciting position!
June 2019: Jonathan Bolt ‘04
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Congratulations to Concord alum Jonathan Bolt ’04 on being selected as one of two 2019 Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award winners! Each year Poets & Writers selects a state to feature in this competition and West Virginia was the state chosen for 2019 so writers from the Mountain State were invited to submit works of poetry or fiction for consideration. Jon’s work was chosen as the winning entry for poetry. This fall Jon will go to New York City for the opportunity to visit with industry professionals to gain insight and advice, as well as to establish professional contacts.
The full release on Jon’s award can be found here: https://www.pw.org/about-us/news-releases/jonathan_bolt_and_lydia_a_cyrus_of_west_virginia_win_maureen_egen_writers
Congratulations again to Jon on such an outstanding accomplishment!
May 2019: Donnie Holcomb '79

The Concord University Foundation was proud to announce the Holcomb Family Presidential Scholarship at its Beckley-Raleigh County Dinner held at The Resort at Glade Springs on April 25, 2019. Concord alum Donnie Holcomb ’79 along with his wife, Linda and their daughter, Dr. Megan Holcomb Walker ’11 were in attendance. The Holcomb’s established this endowed fund to benefit students from southern West Virginia students. Donnie is the Dealer Principal at Mountaineer Automotive. His dealership served as the Reception sponsor of the dinner.
Also pictured are Linda’s sister, Leisa Bowman and Bobby Jones, a manager at Mountaineer Automotive.
April 2019: Ryan Meadows '17
Concord alum Ryan Meadows ’17 has taken his desire to share his faith and turned it into a hot new business. Back in the fall Ryan launched his apparel business, Trust Christ Bro, and the response to his products and his message has been very encouraging.
Click the link below to read a recent article about Ryan, his business and his journey so far:
https://www.ptonline.net/news/local_news/trust-christ-bro-not-just-a-brand-a-ministry/article_af5363f3-e921-5aae-9021-0982c04814d6.html(link is external)
We are proud to have alums like Ryan who pursue their dreams and wish him the best of luck in this endeavor!
March 2019: Nikki Bales Rohrig ‘02
This month we wanted to highlight Concord alum Nikki Rohrig ’02 for the work she is doing to help support military working dogs overseas. Nikki currently serves as President of the Military Working Dog Team Support Association, Inc., a non-profit that supports active duty military working dog teams in combat zones.
Thank you Nikki for all that you are doing to support these amazing animals!
February 2019: Brian T. Arnold ‘09
This month we wanted to feature alum Brian T. Arnold ’09, who is making a name for himself in the field of TV and film writing. Recently, Brian was mentioned on two prestigious Hollywood writing lists: The Hit List, which is a list of the best spec screenplays of the year, and the Young & Hungry List, a list of Hollywood's Top 100 New Writers. He was also interviewed by Creative Screenwriting, an industry magazine and blog. You can check out the lists and Brian’s interview at the following links:
https://launch-pad.blog/2018-hit-list/(link is external)
http://www.tracking-board.com/the-2018-young-hungry-list-is-here/(link is external)
https://creativescreenwriting.com/brian-t-arnold-young-hungry/(link is external)
Congratulations Brian on this recognition and best of luck to you as you continue pursuing your passion!
January 2019: Jada Reeves ‘02
Congratulations to Jada Reeves ’02 on being named the 2019 West Virginia Teacher of the Year! Ms. Reeves is a 5th grade teacher at Bradley Elementary in Mt. Hope, WV. In addition to her degree from Concord, she has a Reading Specialist Master’s Degree from Marshall University. Ms. Reeves is now in the running for the National Teacher of the Year award, which will be announced in April.
To read the full story about her award please click below:
https://woay.tv/raleigh-county-teacher-of-the-year-honored/