December 2020: Brittany Puckett '07
Congratulations to Concord alum Brittany Puckett '07 on recently being elected Prosecuting Attorney for McDowell County, WV! This is a position that has been a goal for the McDowell County native ever since she decided to pursue a career in law and that goal became a reality during the November 3 election.
To read about Brittany's journey to the position and what she hopes to accomplish in this role, please visit:
https://www.register-herald.com/news/state_region/no-more-slaps-on-the-wrists-brittany-puckett-eager-to-work-as-mcdowell-countys-new/article_d93364b4-43bb-5de8-9793-79dade8f0adb.html
We wish Brittany the best of luck as she takes on this new role!
November 2020: Allen Smith ‘05
Congratulations to Concord alum and employee Allen Smith on recently being named the 2020-2021 President-Elect of the West Virginia Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (WVACRAO)! Allen currently serves as an Associate Director of Admissions at Concord and has worked in the Concord Admissions office for the past 14 years. The mission of WVACRAO is to serve and advance higher education by providing leadership in academic and enrollment services.
We wish Allen the best of luck in this professional leadership role!
October 2020: Robert “Ben” Crawford ‘58
Congratulations to Concord alum and longtime member of the CU Alumni Association Alumni Council Ben Crawford ’58 for recently publishing a book about leadership and volunteerism. “Volunteer Development and Leadership: The Fun, Joy and How of Volunteering” is an instructive and entertaining book of value for anyone interested in improving their leadership and organization effectiveness. Ben spent much of his career in volunteer service and leadership with the Boy Scouts, Ruritan and AARP, among others. To order a copy of the book you can contact Ben at ben.crawford@vt.edu
September 2020: All Concord Alumni Working in Education
We know the COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on everyone and has created a lot of uncertainty for many of us. One profession we know that has been through a lot of ups and downs this year is all the teachers out there. The month of September means back to school for most students so this month we wanted to spotlight all our alumni teachers. Whether you are teaching in-person, online, at home or virtually we commend you for what you are doing to continue to educate our students under these unusual circumstances. We wish you and all your students a great year and thank you for being the ultimate example of what a Concord-trained teacher is!
August 2020: Andrea Bertrand Richter ‘14
This month we wanted to spotlight an alum who is a great example of resilience and perseverance in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. After being laid off from her job at the end of March, Andrea Richter decided to focus her efforts on growing and promoting her small business. Through many hours of hard work and dedicating more time to her business she’s increased her sales by as much as 300%, recently signed a lease on a warehouse due to the need for more space for her business and was featured in the “How to support Black-owned businesses in Charlotte” article in June on the www.charlotteagenda.com website.
We are so proud of alums like Andrea that put their education to work and keep pushing forward to pursue their dreams!
July 2020: Wes McKinney ‘13
Congratulations to Concord alum and employee Wes McKinney on recently receiving the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Excellence in Communication Award for Division II! Wes has been the Sports Information Director at Concord for 6 years and was a four-year athlete on the CU men’s track and field and cross country teams while he was a student at Concord. He is the first Sports Information Director in the Mountain East Conference to win this award.
To read the full story about Wes’ recognition visit: https://www.wvnews.com/prestoncountynews/sports/preston-hs-alum-wes-mckinney-receives-national-award/article_94720706-7536-54df-864f-ff35079f1945.html
Concord is lucky to have alums like Wes who give of their time and talents to their alma mater!
June 2020: Laura Lucas Messer ‘12
Congratulations to Concord grad Laura Messer for recently being named the recipient of the National Service Award from the WVU Center for Service and Learning! This award is one of the Excellence in Community Engagement Awards that the Center gives out each year across the entire WVU system. Messer is the Coordinator for Service and Outreach at the WVU-Tech campus in Beckley, where she has been employed since 2017. She has been working on community service projects and community partner building since starting at Tech.
To read the full story about Laura’s award visit:
https://www.wvutech.edu/news/2020/05/21/national-service-award?fbclid=IwAR0P9RGVHVy8rxdT30VMIfjlWV8SetoLYeLWgqiIDGWGXwC-OomWu_LkSUY
We are proud to have alums like Laura who are able to live out Concord’s motto, “Come to Learn. Go to Serve.”, in their everyday lives!
May 2020: Melissa Powell '90, '92
Melissa Powell '90, '92 and her husband, Tim, along with the Jonathan Powell Hope Foundation recently established the Jonathan Powell Scholarship at Concord University. This scholarship is named in memory of the Powell's son, Jonathan Powell who lost a courageous battle with Neuroblastoma in October 2002 when he was four years old.
Knowing firsthand the challenges faced by families with a child battling cancer, Tim and Melissa set up a foundation in Jonathan’s name to aid families struggling financially as they care for their loved ones. In the spirit of the foundation’s work, the new scholarship at Concord is dedicated to assisting childhood cancer survivors, or parents or siblings of a childhood cancer survivor or cancer victim financially as they pursue a college degree.
April 2020: All Concord Alumni Working in Health Care
This month we are doing something a little different and highlighting all of our Concord alums who work in the health care field. As our nation battles the COVID-19 pandemic, these alums are on the front lines putting their own lives at risk in order to take care of the sick. They are working countless hours, under high-stress conditions with limited supplies because they care about their patients and the health of their communities.
To every doctor, nurse, EMT, paramedic, respiratory therapist, pharmacist, PA, NP, CNA, dentist, optometrist, physical therapist or other health care worker who is a Concord grad we applaud you, we salute you and we thank you for what you are doing during this uncertain time for us all!
March 2020: Katrina Kappen '10
.jpg.aspx?width=300&height=416 "katrina-kappen-(2).jpg")
Congratulations to Concord alum Katrina Stewart Kappen on being named Mrs. West Virginia America! Kappen was crowned in Charleston at the Civic Center on February 29, 2020 and advances on to the Mrs. America competition in Las Vegas this August. She is formerly Mrs. Putnam County and spent her year in that role raising awareness for Alzheimer’s disease and its impact on affected individuals and their loved ones. She will continue this work during her time as Mrs. West Virginia. Kappen has a BS in Education from CU and a MS in Communication Disorders from Marshall University.
We wish Katrina the best of luck at the Mrs. America competition this summer!
February 2020: Andrew Wright '04
Congratulations to Concord alum and former CU head Baseball coach Andrew Wright on taking his baseball talents to the next level! In 2019 Wright left WV and his head baseball coach position at the University of Charleston to work for the New York Yankees. He currently serves in their Development Department as the Director of Dominican Republic Baseball Operations and is based in Tampa, FL.
Coach Wright had a very positive impact on the baseball programs at Concord and at UC and we are sure he will continue to do great things in the major leagues!
January 2020: Virginia Martin ‘89
We wanted to kick off a new year and a new decade by recognizing one of our alums who embodies Concord’s motto, “Come to Learn, Go to Serve.” Virginia “Jenny Ann” Martin ’89 has been serving the WV county she grew up in since she graduated from Concord over 30 years ago. She has served in a variety of roles in the school system and currently serves as the child nutrition, anti-drug, wellness director for Wyoming County Schools. And in 2018 Virginia took on another role of service when she became the mayor of her hometown of Mullens.
You can read the full article about Virginia’s journey by visiting
https://www.register-herald.com/news/martin-working-to-improve-child-nutrition-hometown/article_66ba3b20-d87f-54e3-83d9-3b655c538e3c.html
We want to say thank you to Virginia for her service to her community, her county and her state—we are proud to call her a Concord alum!