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ETSU Alumni Association honors 2008 Alumni Award winners

The East Tennessee State University Alumni Association announces the 2009 recipients of the annual Alumni Awards, which are presented as part of the university's spring commencement weekend festivities during the association's Awards Banquet and Annual Meeting.

The George L. Carter Award is the Alumni Association's highest honor given to alumni and friends of East Tennessee State University. The award is bestowed only to recipients whose works reflect unselfish support and faith in ETSU's future, much like the example set by George L. Carter. The 2009 recipient is Mr. Thomas J. Garland.

The Honorable Thomas J. Garland graduated from ETSU in 1959 with a bachelor's in English and served in the U.S. Air Force from 1952 until 1956. Garland has pursued careers in business, education, and government, and has contributed to his community by serving on various boards and commissions.

Garland served as chairman of the board of Commerce Union Bank, now Bank of America, in Greeneville, Tenn. He was also a founding director of Peoples Community Bank in Johnson City and served on the board of First American Bank, Tri-Cities.

From 1985 to 1990, Garland served as chancellor and CEO of the Tennessee Board of Regents, the sixth largest public college and university system in the nation. During the 1999-2000 school year, Garland served as interim president of Tusculum College in Greeneville, Tenn. Garland served 21 years in the Tennessee Senate and led a gubernatorial study of the state government.

Garland has served on numerous corporate, charitable, and civic boards and commissions, including the ETSU Foundation, the ETSU Alumni Association, and United Way, to name a few, and currently serves on the boards of Atmos Energy Corporation and the Niswonger Foundation.

Garland is frequently recognized in his community for his efforts and was awarded the Outstanding Alumnus Award by ETSU in 1973. Tusculum College awarded Garland an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree and the Distinguished Service Award. More recently Tusculum named their library the Thomas J. Garland Library in his honor.

Garland and his wife, Pat, live in Greeneville, Tenn.

 The 2009 Outstanding Alumna is Mrs. Evelynne L. Swagerty.

Mrs. Evelynne L. Swagerty graduated from East Tennessee State University in 1969 and is currently an Assistant General Counsel in the Corporate Legal Department of Bank of America in Boston, Mass. Swagerty is a member of the bar for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Massachusetts, and the United States Supreme Court.

Upon her graduation from ETSU cum laude in 1969, she attended the Smith College School for Social Work, where she successfully completed her studies and was awarded a Master of Social Work in 1971.  She was offered her first job as a psychiatric social worker at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Mass., providing direct psychological treatment to individuals, couples, and families. In 1981, she was accepted as a full time law student at Boston College Law School in Newton, Mass., graduating with a Juris Doctorate degree in 1984.

Swagerty's legal career started with the Department of the Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1988, where she served as an assistant attorney general enforcing the state's consumer protection laws in the areas of banking, commercial transactions, education, and housing and real estate matters.  She conducted trials and pursued judgments in the trial courts of Massachusetts and the United States Bankruptcy Court.

Swagerty resides in Sharon, Mass., with her husband, the Honorable Wilbur P. Edwards Jr., and their daughter, Marissa, a 17 year old high school junior.

The 2009 Outstanding Alumnus is Mr. James E. Rogers who graduated from ETSU with a bachelor's degree in 1964 and an M.B.A. in 1966. Rogers has been involved with ETSU for many years; in 1986-1987, he served as president of the National Alumni Association, and served on the board of the ETSU Foundation and the ETSU University Council. Rogers currently serves on the Board of Advisors of the College of Business and Technology and is a member of the ETSU Distinguished President's Trust.

After being discharged from Air Force active duty, Rogers moved to Charlotte, N.C., in 1969. Rogers has been involved in the commercial real estate business his entire career. In 1982, he was founding partner of Cauble and Company of Carolina, a commercial mortgage banking and real estate investment sales company. In 2005, Rogers was a co-founder of Flagship Capital Partners, a company that specializes in acquiring medical office buildings in the southeastern United States. In 1994, Rogers was instrumental in the founding and formation of the Charlotte Commercial Board of Realtors and was named Realtor of the Year in 1997.

Rogers has been very involved in the Charlotte community, serving on several boards of directors and receiving numerous awards recognizing his contributions. He has received the Shelley R. Lyons Circle of Excellence Award from Leadership Charlotte, Volunteer of the Year Award from the American Lung Association, the George Williams Lifetime Achievement Award from the YMCA, among many others.

The 2009 Awards of Honor were presented to Mrs. Bettylene W. Franzus, Mrs. Doris Ladd, Mr. Charles Montgomery, and Mr. Thomas L. Tull.

Mrs. Bettylene W. Franzus graduated from ETSU in 1975 with a master's degree in microbiology after completing a B.S. in science at the University of Illinois. Franzus worked as a clinical microbiologist at hospitals in Greeneville, Tenn., and then moved on to work with the Internal Medicine department at the Quillen College of Medicine.

Following retirement from Quillen, Franzus traveled to the Atoll of Majuro in the Republic of the Marshall Islands from 2002 to 2007. While there, she taught science, revised and developed curriculum formats, and created a program for students in the Health Academy based on the National Health Care Skill Standards. In 2005, Franzus was named Employee of the Month by Marshall Islands High School and has been featured in publications for her service to the students in the Marshall Islands.

Franzus lives in Johnson City, Tenn., and has three children. Her husband is the late Dr. Boris Franzus of the ETSU Chemistry Department.

Mrs. Doris Ladd graduated from ETSU in 1975 with a bachelor's degree in accounting. She has developed a career in financial management with Asahi Glass Corporation, holding almost every financial management position over the last 30 years.

In 2007, Ladd chose a new career path and is now involved with the Kingsport Housing & Redevelopment Authority. As director of HOPEVI & Redevelopment, she oversees a $30 million housing redevelopment project for revitalization of areas within the city of Kingsport. She also oversees programs within KHRA involving moving families to self-sufficiency and homeownership and providing housing assistance for the homeless and people living with AIDS.

Ladd is also involved in her community, volunteering as a Big Sister, Meals on Wheels, and serving as board chair of YMCA, American Heart Association, United Way committees, and chairing community projects such as Fun Fest, Leadership Kingsport, and participation in Rotary.

The Award of Honor recipient is married to Marvin Ladd, and they have two sons in college.

Mr. Charles Montgomery graduated from ETSC in 1960, the same year he became a 2nd Lieutenant. He began a career in book manufacturing at Kingsport Press and served in almost every position at the company, eventually being named CEO of Kingsport Press, the largest of the Arcata Corporation companies with 3,300 employees.

In 1985, Montgomery founded Southeastern Color Graphics in Johnson City with investors and operating partners. During the 15 years that Montgomery served as CEO and Board Chairman, SECG grew to become a nationally respected book manufacturing firm, serving the nation's premier book publishers and employing 450 skilled and dedicated people.

Montgomery has served on the ETSU Foundation Board as well as on several civic, hospital, and bank boards. He was a founder and is currently a director of TriSummit Bank. Montgomery and his wife, Martha, are members of the ETSU Foundation Bronze Society, a scholarship endowment they continue to support in memory of Montgomery's mother, Lula Montgomery.

Montgomery is married to Martha, a University of South Carolina graduate and elementary school teacher, and they have grown twin daughters.

Mr. Thomas L. Tull received his master of business administration from ETSU in 1995. Currently, he serves as assistant vice president for Washington County Operations and Guest Services with Mountain States Health Alliance. He is currently completing a fellowship with the Advisory Board, a healthcare think tank located in Washington, D.C.

Tull is an alumnus with strong ties to the university; he has taught as an adjunct in the College of Business and Technology since 1997. He received the ETSU College of Business and Technology Horizon Award in 2008 and has participated in the Alumni return to the Classroom program. For the past 11 years, he has been widely renowned for his enthusiastic leadership as Chair with the ETSU PRIDE program.

Tull has remained involved in his community as well, working with the American Heart Association at the Washington County and state levels, as well as United Way of Johnson City and Girls Inc. In 2000, he was recognized as one of the “Forty Under 40” in the Business Journal of Tri-Cities Tennessee/Virginia.

Tull and his wife, Chrisann, live in Elizabethton and have two children.

Three individuals were named Honorary Alumni for their friendship and dedication to the university: Mr. J. Brian Ferguson, Mr. William Jenkins, and Dr. Debra Myers Wilson.

Mr. J. Brian Ferguson was raised in Phoenix, Ariz., and graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering. In 1977, Ferguson began his career with Eastman Chemical Company at its Longview, Texas, plant. In 1989, he transferred to the Kingsport, Tenn., corporate office where he served in business and strategic planning assignments. In 1996, Ferguson relocated to Hong Kong where he served as managing director for business development in Greater China, then moved to Singapore to take on responsibilities for all Eastman Chemical Company operations in the Asia Pacific region. Ferguson retired on May 7, 2009 as the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Eastman and was touted for successfully leading the company to restored financial health.

Ferguson is involved in his community, as well. He is currently Chairman of the Executive Committee for the American Chemistry Council and will be Chairman of its Board in 2010. Ferguson is also a member of the ETSU Foundation and Board of Directors. Ferguson has served on a variety of boards during his career, including the Board of Directors of Florida Power and Light.

Ferguson has been married for 34 years to his wife, Teri, and they have two sons and two grandsons.

The Honorable William L. Jenkins was educated in the public school systems of Rogersville and Hawkins County before earning degrees from Tennessee Tech University and The University of Tennessee College of Law. Upon completion of his education, Jenkins served on active duty as a second Lieutenant in the United States Army Military Police Corps. This honoree served in the Tennessee House and was held in such regard that he rose to the rank of Speaker of the House from 1969 to 1971.  From 1990 ‘til 1996, he served as a judge on the Tennessee 3rd Judicial District Circuit Court.

Jenkins served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from the First District of Tennessee from 1997 through 2007. He represented the First Congressional District of Tennessee in the 105th through the 109th Congresses, serving on the Judiciary and Agriculture committees, the Subcommittees on the Constitution and Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property. Jenkins also served on the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management and the Subcommittee on Specialty Crops and Foreign Agriculture Programs. In 2003, Jenkins was named Chairman of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Specialty Crops and Foreign Agriculture Programs. This appointment was fitting as Jenkins is a seventh-generation Tennessean and has worked as a family farmer and attorney. Currently, Jenkins owns and operates a family farm with beef cattle.

Jenkins is married to the former Kathryn Myers, and they have four children and 11 grandchildren. He is a member of the First Baptist Church of Rogersville, the Hawkins County Farm Bureau, and a life member of the Tennessee Bar Association.

Mrs. Debra Myers Wilson graduated with honors from The University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy in 1975. She is also a 2001 graduate of The University of Pennsylvania Wharton School Executive Management Program for Pharmacy Leaders.

After graduation from pharmacy school, she held positions in hospital, chain, retail pharmacy and pharmaceutical manufacturing before joining Wilson Pharmacy in 1987. Wilson is now president of Wilson Pharmacy, Inc., Pharmacy Network Services, Inc., and Clinical Management Concepts, Inc.

In recent years, Wilson has helped develop programs that provide pharmacy knowledge-based services. She has been involved with several pharmacy organizations, including National Community Pharmacists Association, Senior Care Pharmacy Alliance, and National Home Infusion Association with particular focus on legislative activity affecting the profession of pharmacy.

Wilson was actively involved in the founding of The Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy. She currently oversees a co-funded college of pharmacy professor position and other student-involved rotations at Wilson Pharmacy and related companies.

Wilson was instrumental in establishing the Guy and Miriam Wilson Nursing Scholarship at ETSU, in memory of her husband's parents, and continues to support this ongoing effort to help nursing students who want to achieve a graduate degree.

Wilson has been an advisor to The Dispensary of Hope project that will provide necessary prescription medication to needy individuals in Washington County, Tenn.

The 2009 Award for Distinguished Education goes to Dr. Dawn Heterick Werner.

Dr. Dawn Heterick Werner graduated from ETSU in 1993 with a Master of Arts in Teaching degree, then in 2005 with a doctorate in education leadership and policy analysis. Dr. Werner was inspired to be an educator by her father, known as Dr. Bob, who had a successful career at Virginia Tech.

Dr. Werner has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including Tennessee Teacher of the Year and the recipient of the YWCA of Bristol's Tribute to Women Award in the education category in 2006. That same year, Dr. Werner was given the honor of attending the State of the State address as a special guest of the governor, and she was appointed by the governor to the Appalachia Regional Comprehensive Center (ARCC) at Edvantia Advisory Board. In addition, Dr. Werner was selected to serve as a member of the Tennessee State Vocabulary Committee and has been a contributor to Scholastic Inc. for a paper on Effective Teachers and Retention of Effective Teachers.

During her 15 years with Bristol Tennessee City Schools, Dr. Werner has taught kindergarten and first grade, as well as served as a Title I teacher focusing on remedial reading. Currently, she is the grant administrator and project director for an eight million dollar Safe Schools/Healthy Students grant for Bristol Tennessee City Schools.

Dr. Werner is married to Mark Werner, regulatory affairs manager for Phoenix Medical Products Inc., in Mountain City. The couple resides in Bluff City, Tenn.

The ETSU Alumni Association Awards are part of an annual program which began in 1970. A complete view of previous award recipients can be found at www.ETSU.edu/alumni. On the campus, the Alumni Gallery in the lower level of the
D. P. Culp University Center displays permanent recognition for Outstanding Alumni, Honorary Alumni and the prestigious George L. Carter Award.

For more details or to submit future nominees, please contact the ETSU Alumni Association by calling (423) 439-4218.