Alumni Award Winners Announced

The Fairmont State Alumni Association is proud to honor graduates who bring distinction to the institution through professional activity and community service.

Alumni award winners will be honored at the 2006 Homecoming Alumni Awards Luncheon, which is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 14, at 11:30 a.m. The event precedes the Homecoming game and will be held in the Fairmont State Falcon Center. Advance tickets are $10 or $15 at the door.

Fairmont State 2006 Homecoming activities will be held Oct. 9-14. To register for tickets to the 2006 Homecoming Alumni Awards Luncheon or other Homecoming activities, go to the Alumni link at www.fairmontstate.edu or call the Erickson Alumni Center toll free at (866) 372-2586.

Following are the names of those alumni who will be honored in three categories:

Outstanding Alumni

Eileen DeBellis Akers is the daughter of the late Joe and Sophia DeBellis of Fairmont. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from Fairmont State and received her Master of Education in Elementary Education and Administrative Endorsement from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va. She began her career in 1963 and has taught first and second grade in Charlottesville since 1979.

Akers is involved in several organizations and has received the Distinguished Teacher Award, Elementary Division, from Charlottesville City Schools. She mentors new teachers and supervises student teachers. Her sister, Margaret Acure, and two brothers, Joe and Bobby DeBellis, live in Fairmont. Her brother Larry DeBellis lives in Wilmington, N.C.

Delbert 'Butch' Phillips is a 1965 graduate of Fairmont State with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He was also a member of the Theta Xi Fraternity. He served in the United States Army from 1966 to 1969 as 1st Lieutenant Transportation Corps. Phillips began his career in the financial services industry in 1969 as an employee of First Federal Savings and Loan Association in Fairmont, where he served as Senior Lending Officer until 1990. In 1999, he joined Monongahela Valley Bank, now MVB, and currently serves as Senior Vice President of Lending.

Phillips is active with the Marion County Community and FSU, where he currently serves as secretary and as a member of the Executive Committee for the Fairmont State Foundation, Inc. He has been married to his wife, Rebecca E. Ford Phillips, a librarian at East Fairmont High School, for 41 years. He has two children: Julie Jo Kline of Jupiter, Fla., and Susan Leann Swiger of Fairmont, and three grandchildren: Sam, Shay and Zoie.

Alumni of Achievement

Bobbi Bane Mohrman is the daughter of the late Robert 'Harry' Bane and Jean Wilson Bane. She graduated from Fairmont State in 1966 with a Bachelor of Arts in Health, Physical Education and Social Studies. Mohrman retired in 2000 after 30 years as an educator.

Mohrman has coached the West Virginia University cheerleaders for 16 years. She serves as the WVU Spirit Program Coordinator and oversees two cheerleading teams, a dance team and the Mountaineer mascot. She has judged national and state cheerleading competitions and has been a member of the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission State Cheerleading Committee for 20 years.

Her sister, Becky Bane Johnson, graduated in 1963 from Fairmont State and is a retired school teacher residing in Tampa, Fla. Her brother, Charles E. Bane, is Director of Accident Prevention for Consol Energy. Bobbi and her husband, Albert Butch Mohrman, have been married for 39 years and reside in Barrackville.

Oce W. Smith is the son of the late Oce W. Smith, Sr., and Norma Lough Smith. He is a 1959 graduate of Fairmont State with an A.B. in education. He earned a Master of Arts in Political Science from West Virginia University.

Smith is the longest-serving legislative officer in the history of the state of West Virginia. He was first elected House Sergeant of Arms in 1967 and continues to serve in that capacity today. He is the only charter member of the national Legislative Services and Security Association still in office.

Smith is a political analyst for local television stations, public speaker and lecturer. In addition, he writes "Just Observin'," a popular weekly feature and editorial column in the Times West Virginian. He is involved in several organizations and has a bridge in Barrackville named in his honor. Smith and his wife, the former Carol Ann Burner, are longtime residents of Fairmont. His son, Oce W. Smith III, and grandson, Oce W. Smith IV, live in Morgantown.

Outstanding Young Alumni

Brian Tristani came to Fairmont State on a full basketball scholarship. He is the son of Joseph Tristani of Fairmont and Sheila Claypoole of New Martinsville. He graduated from Fairmont State in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering and earned a Master of Science in Industrial and Labor Relations from West Virginia University in 1992.

Tristani then joined Remedy Corporation (currently BMC Software) in Chicago as Senior Manager, CRM Business Unit. He holds several responsibilities, including managing the design, development and deployment of global professional services methodologies. He is also the Founder and CEO of a software startup, Medical Republic, Inc., which is headquartered in Chicago with regional operations in San Jose, Calif., and Fairmont. He resides in South Elgin, Ill., with his wife, Gina, and their three children: Abigail, Anna and Ella.

Chanda Ranjit Yonzon graduated from Fairmont State in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. She received her Doctorate in Chemistry from Northwestern University in 2006. During her time at Fairmont State, Yonzon was named the outstanding freshman in chemistry, the outstanding junior in chemistry and received the William C. Ruoff Award for the outstanding senior in chemistry. In 2005, she was named the Materials Research Society Graduate Student Gold Award winner and earned the Outstanding Research Award at Northwestern University.

Yonzon has given several presentations and is active in a variety of organizations, including the Graduate Chemistry Honor Society, Phi Lambda Upsilon. She is currently a Senior Scientist with Schering-Plough in New Jersey, where she resides with her husband, Binoy Yonzon, and 1-year-old daughter, Anuva.