Wytheville Community College issued the following announcement on Sept. 23
Wytheville Community College (WCC) recently recognized Don and Sharon Alexander as recipients of the 2021 WCC Distinguished Service Award. Don and Sharon Alexander are life-long educators who both worked at WCC.
Don Alexander is an Associate Professor Emeritus of Machine Technology at WCC and was employed at WCC from 1968 until his retirement in 2009. He then returned in 2011 as an adjunct instructor and continued to teach until 2017.
Sharon Alexander was a Wythe County K-12 teacher from 1968 until 1973 and again from 1980 to 1988. She then worked as a middle school counselor for Wythe County Public Schools from 1988 until 2000. Sharon Alexander also served as a Crisis Counselor with the Mount Rogers Community Service Board from 1994 until 1999. She came to WCC in 2000 as a Counselor for Student Support Services’ Transfer Initiative. She later became the Recruitment and Retention Coordinator in 2004 and retired in 2008. Sharon Alexander returned to WCC from 2008 until 2019 to serve as a part-time Dual Enrollment Specialist.
The Alexanders received the WCC Distinguished Service Award in recognition of their ongoing support of WCC and the community. In nominating the Alexanders for this award, Linda DiYorio noted that their work at WCC helped to enrich students’ lives by providing the best education and support possible. Don served as a mentor for both students and colleagues while at WCC. He also kept current with the latest technology in Machining to help ensure that students were prepared to meet changing industry trends.
Sharon served WCC students and potential students to make sure they were successful at WCC, as well as successful when they transferred to a four-year college or university. She regularly researched transfer requirements to ensure that students’ credits would transfer to their college or university of choice. Sharon also served as the sponsor of Phi Theta Kappa, the community college honor society, during her tenure at WCC.
In addition to their dedicated service to WCC, the Alexanders are also involved in civic and community clubs and organizations. Don is an active member of the Lions Club and was a member of the Wytheville Jaycees. He has been instrumental in the creation and maintenance of the Evansham Swim and Racquet Club facilities.
Sharon has served on the Wytheville Redevelopment & Housing Authority’s Board of Commissioners since 2012, and has served as the chair of that board. The Alexanders are also active members of St. Paul United Methodist Church of Wytheville.
As recipients of the 2021 WCC Distinguished Service Award, the Alexanders received a plaque. They also received a monetary award that they generously donated back to the WCC Educational Foundation.
The WCC Distinguished Service Award was established and funded by Nathaniel W. Pendleton, Jr. in memory of his father, Nathaniel Willis Pendleton, Sr., to recognize and encourage excellence in teaching and service at WCC. Nathaniel Willis Pendleton was Wythe County’s representative in the Virginia House of Delegates, who, together with State Senator D. Woodrow Bird, introduced the necessary enabling bills in the 1962 General Assembly to establish WCC and appropriate its operating funds.
Original source can be found here.
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