12 Honorees to be Recognized at SoCon Honors Dinner in May

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference announced today the 12 recipients of the league’s 2009 Distinguished Service Award. Each member institution selects an honoree based on that person’s contribution to the institution. Each award winner will be honored for their contributions at the Southern Conference awards dinner in Hilton Head, S.C., on May 27, 2009.

The Distinguished Service Award program was started in 2002 as a way for the Southern Conference to recognize those individuals from its member institutions who have contributed to all aspects of the university. This year’s honorees include J. Bradley Wilson (Appalachian State), William B. (Bill) Sansom (The Citadel), Robert (Bobby) and Susan Marlowe (College of Charleston), Ross Manire (Davidson), Jay and Amy Hendrickson (Elon), David and Carol Mauldin (Furman), Mike Cummings (Georgia Southern), Gary Cooney (Samford), H. Michael Weaver (UNC Greensboro), Zan Guerry (Chattanooga), Norman A. West (Western Carolina) and Robert D. Atkins (Wofford).

A graduate of Appalachian State, Wilson currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina. As a vital member of the Mountaineer Athletic Enhancement Campaign, he has contributed personally and encourages others to invest in the tremendous improvements to the facilities for student-athletes. Brad and his wife Carole are dedicated to the advancement of Appalachian Athletics. Wilson served as General Counsel to former North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt after 14 years in the general practice of law. He was elected to the University of North Carolina Board of Governors in 1997 and served as the Chair of that Board from 2002-06. Wilson is also a recipient of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest civilian honor bestowed by the Governor of North Carolina.

Sansom is a 1964 graduate of The Citadel and served as the Regimental Commander (the highest ranking cadet). Mr. Sansom is a member of the board of The Citadel Foundation, The Citadel Advisory Board, Campaign Steering Committee and a member of the board of The Citadel Trust. Since 1983, Mr. Sansom has been Chairman and CEO of The H.T. Hackney Co., a diverse enterprise involved in wholesale grocery, gasoline and oil, and furniture manufacturing.  He served the State of Tennessee as both Commissioner of Transportation and Commissioner of Finance and Administration prior to 1983.  Currently, Mr. Sansom is serving as Chairman of the Board of TVA, the nation's largest public power provider, and on several public boards.  He is former President of the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce and was on the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees for 16 years including a stint as chairman.

The Marlowes are both South Carolina natives and College of Charleston graduates who have stayed active in aiding the success of the school. Bobby recently completed a very successful term as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the College of Charleston. During his tenure, Bobby led the College to unprecedented growth in infrastructure and fundraising. He was particularly instrumental in athletic facility enhancements including the golf practice facility at Stono Ferry, the renovation and expansion of the Patriots Point Athletic Complex and most notably, the planning, building and opening of the new 5,000-seat Carolina First Arena on campus. He is President of the Marlowe-Chandler Company, a company that builds custom residential homes. After retiring from her career as an art teacher, Susan now focuses on her painting and has completed over 250 individual portrait commissions. Her work can be seen in private settings throughout the United States as well as CSA Galleries in Charleston and most recently with the Hunley project.

Manire is the chairman and chief executive officer of ExteNet Systems, Inc., a Chicago-based wireless telecommunications company he founded in 2002. Prior to his current position, Manire worked with other companies in the communications infrastructure and networking industry including 3Com and U. S. Robotics. A 1974 graduate of Davidson with a degree in economics, Manire played football and baseball, was a member of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity and Omicron Delta Epsilon, the economics honor society. He later earned his MBA from the University of Chicago. A member of the Davidson College Board of Trustees from 2001 to 2008, Manire chaired the Athletics Policy Committee of the Board from 2003 to 2005 and was a member of the Executive Committee. Manire served on the steering committee for the Chicago Regional Capital Campaign, joined the Board of Visitors from 1998 through 2005, was the national annual fund chair in 2001, served on the Capital Campaign Cabinet and was a member of the Richardson Football Stadium Expansion fund raising committee. In 1997, Manire was presented the Hendrix Award, signifying outstanding accomplishment through lessons learned on the football field.

Jay Hendrickson, Elon class of 1971, was named to the Elon University Board of Trustee’s in August of 2008 and currently serves on the Board of Trustee Athletic Policy Committee. Amy Hendrickson, Elon class of 1969, is Chair of the Phoenix Club Advisory Board, which represents the volunteer fundraising program of the Phoenix Club. Prior to Jay being named to the Board of Trustee’s, they both served on the Elon University Board of Visitor’s, a position Amy still holds,  since January of 2004. The Hendrickson’s were also members of the National Alumni Executive Board from 2000-2003; have served on the Triangle Alumni Chapter committee; and both have been contributing members of the Elon Society Executive Committee – Amy from 2003-2007 and Jay from 1998-1999. In 2000, their generosity created the James A. and Amy T. Hendrickson Engineering Scholarship endowment. They most recently committed significant financial resources as part of the Ever Elon fundraising campaign to assist in the construction of an athletic field house.  With their gift, they have named the Hendrickson Football Center in honor of Jay’s father, Horace J. Hendrickson, one of Elon’s all-time great coaches.

Whenever and wherever there is a Furman event, the Paladins can always count on David (’55) and Carol (’58) Mauldin’s attendance and support, their resources and time. In addition to 50 years of support of Furman athletics, David and Carol Mauldin have served on virtually every athletic board and committee at Furman, including the Paladin Club Board of Directors and the Alumni Association Board of Directors. They have also either chaired or served on the Diamond Classic Committee and the Basketball Support Committee. David and Carol have also endowed an athletic scholarship, and they belong to the highest annual donor organization within the Paladin Club, the Order of the Paladin. Not only do the Mauldins support Paladin Athletics, they also contribute to many academic causes on Furman’s campus.

Cummings has been a long time Southern Booster Board Member, serving as the Southern Boosters’ President from 2005 to 2007. During his tenure, Southern Boosters grew in membership and monies raised. Since the inception of the football program in the early eighties, Mike has been a leader in developing the grassroots efforts to make the dream of football at Georgia Southern possible. He helped raise the money necessary to host a game at Dublin High School in 1981, representing the first time the Eagles took the field. As a father of a former student-athlete, he has not only been a great asset to the athletics program, but also he has served as a member of the Alumni Board of Directors and served as President of the Alumni Association in 2003-2004. In both roles, he served on the Georgia Southern Foundation. Mike has served as a member of the University Presidential Search Committees both in 1998 and 2009. Mike not only has been involved in his university but very involved in his community of Dublin, Georgia. In 2001-2002 he was Chair of the Chamber of Commerce.

Cooney, Samford class of 1974, was a member of the Bulldog’s Division II national championship football team during the 1971 season. A lifelong friend of Samford head football coach, Pat Sullivan, Cooney and his family have generously made the naming rights gift for Samford’s new football field house, which is scheduled to be opened this summer. The Cooney Family Field House will honor three generations of the Cooney family and will be the centerpiece of Samford’s football complex. Cooney is Vice Chairman of McGriff, Seibels & Williams, Inc. and was instrumental in creating McGriff’s Energy and Marine Division and Financial Services Division. He became Vice President of MSW in 1979 and was elected to the Board of Directors in 1981, serving as Vice Chairman and member of the Executive Committee since 1987. In 2004, Cooney was the recipient of the Lloyd’s of London US Broker Award for his outstanding contributions to and support of the market. He was also selected as the 2002 Alumnus of the Year by the Brock School of Business at Samford and serves on their Dean’s Advisory Council.

Weaver is a pillar of the Greensboro community and is involved with numerous charitable, civic and professional organizations throughout the Piedmont Triad region. Weaver is an avid supporter of the Spartans and was one of the original “Big Five” who initiated UNCG’s move to Division I athletics. He was inducted into the Charter Class of the UNCG Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000. Weaver served as Co-chair of the second UNCG capital campaign, and his leadership resulted in a very successful campaign for the University. His personal gift was for athletics and the international program thereby creating athletic scholarships and travel scholarships for international education. Since 1995 the H. Michael Weaver Endowment has provided scholarship assistance for 290 student-athletes. Weaver has served as Chairman of the UNCG Board of Trustees, President of the UNCG Excellence Foundation, Chairman of the UNCG University Investment Committee and member of numerous other foundations and committees throughout the University. Weaver is the Co-Founder/Chairman of the Weaver Foundation, Founder/Director of the Weaver Investment Company, Co-Founder/Director of Franklin Street Partners and Co-Founder/ Director of Quaintance-Weaver Restaurants and Hotels.

An avid tennis player and former collegiate All-American at Rice, Guerry’s generosity has allowed for major advancements within the UTC Athletics Department. A one-time assistant tennis coach at UTC, Guerry currently donates back the small salary he made as an annual gift to the University. His most recent impact on the Mocs is the completion of the Chattem Basketball Practice Facility. Guerry, the CEO of Chattem, Inc, recently orchestrated a gift to the UTC Athletics Department that led to the construction of a state-of-the-art basketball practice facility in the Brenda Lawson Student-Athlete Success Center. Part of a $3.25 million project that also included the Wolford Strength and Conditioning Center, the Chattem Basketball Practice Facility gives the Chattanooga men’s and women’s basketball programs unlimited access to a private practice facility in the middle of campus anytime of the year. Guerry’s commitment to UTC has long been rooted in his family history.  Both he and his uncle, John, currently serve on the UC Foundation Board of Trustees. His late father, Alex, was also a member of the Board of Trustees. His grandfather, Dr. Alexander Guerry, served as president of the University from 1929-38. He has spent the last 30 years with Chattem and has served as the Chairman of the Board since 1990. Guerry has been the company’s Chief Executive Officer for the last 11 years.

West, a 1968 graduate of Western Carolina has been a committed member of the Catamount Club for over 25 years, and he is currently a member of the Catamount Club Board of Directors. West was responsible for the creation of the Catamount Club’s annual Catamount Golf Tour, which is comprised golf tournament throughout the Southeast which benefit Western Carolina University Athletics. He is also the co-founder of the Bob Waters Memorial Golf Tournament, which honors the late legendary WCU football coach and has raised more than $80,000 in its four-year history. The Cullowhee, N.C., native has been a longtime volunteer with the American Cancer Society and a board member for several charitable organizations. He is the owner of Cullowhee Real Estate.

Since 1989, Atkins has funded a full tuition, room and board scholarship for a Wofford football player who also excels in the classroom and college community. A 1965 Wofford graduate and football letterman, Atkins has helped lead the Terrier Club’s efforts to secure fully endowed or annually funded scholarship commitments for Wofford student-athletes. In addition to leading by example, Atkins also has served as a member of the Wofford President’s Advisory Board and will serve as president of the Terrier Club Drive in 2010-2011. Atkins founded Atkins Machinery, Inc., in 1983. He served as president and CEO until turning the company over to his son, Greg. Atkins also passed along his commitment to Wofford’s student-athletes to Greg, who now carries on his father’s legacy of service on the Terrier Club Board of Directors.