HIGH POINT, N.C., Oct. 10, 2016 – High Point University welcomed nearly 1,600 alumni and guests for the annual Alumni Weekend on Oct. 7-9. Alumni enjoyed a variety of events at their alma mater and also provided an economic boost to the city of High Point.
Alumni Weekend is one of many events held throughout the year that attract visitors and result in a major economic boost for the city of High Point. The High Point Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates the economic impact of this year’s event will be more than a quarter of a million dollars.
The weekend included networking opportunities, class reunions, athletic events and student performances. An awards banquet also recognized the work and service of 13 outstanding alumni:
Anne Kerr Walker, ’60, was awarded Alumna of the Year. Walker graduated from HPU with a degree in English education and was a long-time educator in the public school system where she taught English and journalism for more than 30 years before entering the real estate industry.
She has held positions on many boards and organizations, including president of the North Carolina Association of Educators’ English Teachers and charter president of the Hillsborough Jaycettes. During her time as a teacher, she was named Outstanding Young Educator for Orange County. She was elected to the HPU Board of Trustees in 2011 and is president of the Steel Magnolias, a group of women who graduated from HPU primarily between 1955 and 1965. The group is an active part of the HPU Alumni Association and frequently hosts events on campus.
In the past seven years, Walker has devoted tremendous energy and time to High Point University in what she considers her “third career” and has pledged $1,000,000 to HPU to fund the Anne Kerr Walker Community Event Endowment Fund, which will kick off in December.
Tom Ingram, ’92, received the Alumni Service Award. Ingram graduated from HPU with a degree in business and economics and earned his master’s degree from Wake Forest University. He served in the military for six years and received an honorable discharge after achieving the rank of staff sergeant from the New Jersey Army National Guard in 1974.
Ingram held senior-level engineering and management positio
ns with RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company and Morrison Knudsen Construction Management Company. From 2004-2016, Ingram worked at Wake Forest University Medical Center and served as the Director of Facilities, Planning and Construction, where he led a team that completed the Cancer Center expansion and new health care clinics in the Winston-Salem area.
Ingram has served as a visiting professor for historically black colleges and universities and has served on numerous boards and committees in the Piedmont Triad region. He served on the HPU Board of Visitors and in 2008, became a member of the HPU Board of Trustees where he serves on the Executive Committee and is chair of the Academic Affairs Committee. Ingram is also a proud member of the HPU Panther Club.
Don Haynes, ’55, received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Haynes graduated magna cum laude from HPU with a Bachelor of Arts in history and religion. While at HPU, Haynes was appointed as student pastor of Oakdale Methodist Church and in 1976, received an honorary Doctor of Divinity from Pfeiffer University. Haynes has served as the Western North Carolina Conference Director of Ministries and in 1993 he received the Harry Denman Award for Evangelism.
A columnist for United Methodist Reporter from 2005 to 2014, Don also published a book, “On the Threshold of Grace,” in 2010. He is currently completing a book manuscript, “Reading the Bible and Seeing It for the First Time.” For the last 17 years he has been an adjunct faculty member at Hood Theological Seminary in Salisbury.
A former member of the Board of Visitors and member of the Class of 1955 Reunion Committee, Haynes has been a loyal supporter of HPU and is a lifetime member of the Board of Trustees.
The 10 Under 10 award winners were evaluated on their outstanding achievements in their field of endeavor, their demonstrated leadership and their service to HPU and their communities. The awards banquet recognized the following:
— Patrick Budd, ’13, Communications Manager at Richard Childress Racing
— Leni Fragakis, ’12, fifth-grade teacher at Arts Based School in Winston-Salem and Ph.D. student at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro
— Brittany Harris, ’11, Public Relations Manager at MGM Resorts International
— Brandon Holder, ’16, Founder and Owner of Water the World and current MBA student at HPU
— Alex Nelson, ’15, Financial Advisor at Edward Jones
— Tyler Steelman, ’14, Ph.D. student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
— Stephanie Vrettakos, ’15, Marketing Associate at PERI Formwork Systems Inc.
— Krista Wagoner, MD, ’08, Resident Physician and Assistant Professor at Medical University of South Carolina
— Harris Walker, ’11, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at the National Nuclear Security Administration
— Daniel Wolff, ’06, Director of Learning Resource Support and the varsity football and baseball coach at The Potomac School.
To view more photos from the weekend, click here.