Distinguished Alumni to Be Honored During Homecoming 2009

Six exceptional alumni will be honored at the annual Alumni Awards Brunch on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 10 a.m., as part of Fairmont State University's and Pierpont Community & Technical College's Homecoming 2009, "Expedition Around the World."

The Alumni Awards Brunch will be held in Falcon Center, Gym 1. Tickets are $20 at the door. The event is sponsored by Thrasher Engineering, Inc. A week of Homecoming 2009 events are planned for Oct. 5-10. For more information, click here.

Outstanding Alumna
Cecily McAteer Enos

Cecily McAteer Enos '65, born and raised in Fairmont, attended Fairmont State College and West Virginia University. She began her career working at her family store, McAteer's, and went on to work at Fairmont General Hospital and then later as an elected official on the Marion County Commission.

Elected to the Marion County Commission in 1989, she served for 12 consecutive years. Twice Enos served as the president of the commission. Currently, she is the executive director of the YWCA of Marion County, where she has worked since 1985. In this position she has been responsible for the development and administration of a comprehensive system of programs, services and activities for women, girls and their families. 

Enos has served and continues to serve on numerous boards. Currently, she is a member of the Rotary Club of South Fairmont, Red Cross Board of Directors serving as secretary, member of the Gamma Chi Chi Sorority Alumnae of Fairmont State, St. Peter's High School Alumni Association, Women's Club of Fairmont, Northwestern Area Agency on Aging serving as chairperson and is a member of the WV Fatality Review Team.

Enos has long been involved in the Fairmont musical community and has appeared in a number of plays and musicals at Fairmont State University and other local community events. 

Enos resides in Fairmont with her husband Ken.  They are proud parents of seven adult children and currently have eight grandchildren.

Outstanding Alumnus
Pete Pell

Pete Pell received his associate degree in education in 1963. He later completed his education and received a master's degree from West Virginia University. Following the completion of his education, Pell returned to Fairmont where he served as the associate dean of student affairs. While at Fairmont State, Pell worked very closely with the athletic department and was instrumental in athletic recruiting for both the men's basketball and football programs.  Pell retired from Fairmont State after 20 years of service in 1994. Following his retirement, Pell returned to secondary education and currently serves as the principal of Rowlesburg Middle School.     

Pell serves as the chairman of the Board of Control of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity where he is very active member. Pell recently served as the co-chairman for the 50th year anniversary of TKE which was held at Lakeview Resort on July 18, 2009. Pell is very proud of his daughter Belinda and his grandson Michael.     

Alumna of Achievement
Lorraine Foster Byrd

Lorraine Foster Byrd, D.O. received her bachelor's degree in elementary education in 1966 and went on to obtain her master's degree in education administration from West Virginia University. She then decided to fulfill a lifelong dream of becoming a physician and obtained her osteopathic medical degree in 1990. She practiced as a pediatrician and ran her own practice for 14 years before accepting a teaching position with the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine as the clinical skills coordinator. Byrd's love of teaching and medicine has brought her career full circle.

Byrd's professional activities include Child and Family Services Board of Directors for Roane County, W.Va.; East TN Head Start Board of Directors; Child Fatality Review Committee, regional member; Partners in Pediatrics, PHO, Preventative Care Clinical Standards Committee; Mohave County, Ariz., Board of Health Advisory Board; Clinical Professor, Midwestern University, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Glendale, Ariz.; WV American Academy of Pediatrics Quality Childhood Health Care Improvement Partnership Board member. Byrd also participates in Rotary Club and WNEA professional women's networking group.

She enjoys interior decorating, decorative furniture painting, reading, traveling and collecting antiques. She currently resides in Lewisburg with her husband Richard, where they own and operate Rose Hill bed and breakfast. She has one son and one daughter and four grandchildren, as well as one stepson and one stepdaughter and seven stepgrandchildren.

Alumnus of Achievement
Sam Ellis

Sam Ellis '66 began his educational journey at Fairmont State as a pre-dentistry major, but quickly got a taste of the arts and graduated with a bachelor's degree in theatre. At Fairmont State, he was a member of TBI.

Ellis went on to receive his master's in theatre from West Virginia University and, in 1968, moved to New York City. Ellis has lived there for the last 40 odd years working in the entertainment industry. He has worked in theatre on Broadway and off, sometimes way off and sometimes with Tony award winning shows.

Along the way, Ellis worked at local music clubs with up and coming acts like Bruce Springsteen, Barry Manilow and Melissa Manchester and with established artists like Miles Davis, Tony Bennett, Ray Charles and The Grateful Dead. He also toured the world with Meatloaf on the first "Bat Out of Hell" tour and worked with a fledgling organization on the annual event of Broadway on Broadway, which now entertains 50,000 fans in Times Square every September to celebrate the upcoming Broadway season.

Additionally, Ellis worked with and has been on the board of directors of Jacque D'Amboise's National Dance Institute and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Ellis currently lives in New York City and works hand-in-hand with the Broadway elite. He would like to extend a special thank you to Dr. Ruth Ann Musick for her inspired perspective on the arts.

Ellis has one daughter, Dr. Rosemary M. Thomas.

Outstanding Young Alumna
Heather Gallagher

Heather Gallagher graduated from Fairmont State in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in sociology. Gallagher is a Licensed Social Worker through the State of West Virginia Board of Social Work Examiners. She worked in Youth Services for the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources from 1999-2005.

In 2005, Gallagher became the executive director of Stepping Stone, Inc., a group home for teenage boys, in Fairmont. She currently serves as the secretary of the West Virginia Child Care Association and is a member of the Residential Commission's Out of Home Care Service Delivery & Development Workgroup.

Gallagher has been a volunteer for the American Cancer Society since 1998, coordinating Daffodil Day events and the Road to Recovery Program, as well as participating in the Relay for Life. She currently resides in Clarksburg and has one son, Jacob, who is 6 years old.

Outstanding Young Alumnus
Matt Swain

Matt Swain received his bachelor's degree in criminal justice, with a minor in psychology, in December 2006. Upon graduation, he began working as a police officer for the Department of Public Safety at Fairmont State and went on to graduate from the West Virginia State Police Academy's 133rd Basic Class in April 2008.

Since being employed at FSU, Swain has continued his law enforcement training and works hand-in-hand with other local departments.

While a student at Fairmont State, Swain was a four-year starter for the Fighting Falcons football team and was actively involved in the community. As a Falcon, Swain volunteered with Marion County Special Olympics and acted as a literacy partner to local elementary schools.

Swain currently volunteers with Relay for Life and Cops for Christ and is a member of the Fraternal Order of Police. He resides in Fairmont, where he and his wife Emily recently had their first child, Jeffrey Lee.

Nominate an alumnus or alumna for next year's Alumni Awards by sending a letter of nomination, including a biography and details of the nominee's accomplishments, to Devanna Corley, Director of Alumni Relations and Sponsorship Activities, 1201 Locust Ave., Fairmont, WV 26554. Deadline for nominations is Feb. 15, 2010.