Seven ETSU alumni were honored at the 2024 ETSU Alumni Awards on Nov. 15. The event is an annual tradition that highlights the work of the alumni community.
The award categories were Outstanding Alumni, Award of Honor, Distinguished Alumnus in Education, Distinguished Alumnus in Service, PRIDE of ETSU and Honorary Alumnus. The honorees are selected by the Alumni Board of Directors. Executive Director of the Alumni Association Whitney Goetz shared information on the awards and their recipients.
The Outstanding Alumni Award was given to Dr. BJ King and Juan DeAngulo. King recently retired as ETSU’s chief financial officer and DeAngulo is a former ETSU tennis player and current technology businessman.
Craig Charles, a former ETSU football player, was given the Award of Honor. This year, Charles was named Tennessee Small Businessperson of the Year for his business, Crown Cutz Academy. Distinguished Alumnus in Education was awarded to Dr. David Stout. “He was very involved in Greek life while a student at ETSU and has spent his career working in education,” said Goetz.
Bishop Ken Carder was given the Distinguished Alumnus in Service for his time serving various communities through ministry and volunteer work. The Honorary Alumnus, Dr. Larry Calhoun, is the founding dean of the Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy.
This year is the second time the PRIDE of ETSU award is being given out. “The way that we categorize it is a rising star, early to mid-level career,” said Goetz.
The recipient this year, Dr. Sean Ochsenbein, is a physician who received a medal for acts of valor from the White House. “He was one of the physicians who was leading the rescue efforts on the roof of the Unicoi hospital during the recent flood,” said Goetz.
Goetz recalled calling the honorees to inform them of their awards. “Every single one of them is humbled and speechless and shocked,” said Goetz, “because they are all such humble, selfless individuals.”
The event’s goal is to celebrate alumni and their work, shared Goetz. “We just have a lot of really impressive alumni in our ETSU community,” said Goetz. “This opportunity is a great one to get to celebrate the accomplishments of these individuals.”
