2008 Alumni Banquet Highlights

Board of Trustees Present Two Awards At Alumni Banquet
Wayne C. Watson 4W8, board chairman, presented two Board of Trustee awards at the Alumni Banquet on May 31, at the Towne House Restaurant. Matthew S. Farabaugh 9W9 received the C.W. Schrenk 4W9 Young Alumnus Award and Richard W. Lighty, Ph.D., received the Isaiah V. Williamson Award.

Farabaugh has worked many years for Progress Energy, Inc. in Raleigh, N.C., and is now an outage manager. He is working toward a bachelor of science degree in business administration at Averett University and is very active in his church. He serves as his class’ fund chair and has been an assistant high school wrestling coach.

Lighty, a trustee since 1997, was instrumental in the development of Williamson’s horticulture program and has served since 1989 as a charter member of the Horticultural Advisory Council. In 2001, the Richard W. Lighty Chair in Horticulture was established in his honor. He also is an internationally recognized authority in horticulture and a specialist in aboreta and botanical gardens. He earned a bachelor of science degree in horticulture at Penn State and master of science and doctorate degrees in plant breeding and genetics at Cornell University.

He served from 1983 until his retirement in 1998 as the founding director of the Mt. Cuba Center for the Study of Piedmont Flora in Greenville, Del. Earlier, he worked at Cornell University and the University of Delaware.

Three Distinguished Alumnus Awards Presented at Alumni Banquet
The Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumnus Award was presented to William H. Klinedinst 3W7, Andrew D. Keller 6W0, and Stephen A. Del Grande 9W2 at the Alumni Banquet on May 31, at the Towne House Restaurant.

Klinedinst, who was unable to attend the Banquet, ran a successful masonry contracting company in the Washington, D.C., area for many years, which later, under the name Klinedinst Management Inc., became a successful company specializing in building, renting, and managing buildings.

Keller ran a successful paint business for many years in Charlottesville, Va., which, in the mid 1990s, was the largest Benjamin Moore store on the East Coast.

Del Grande, who passed away Feb. 4, 2007, after a long battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, worked many years in the power industry, most recently as operations manager for Johnson Controls in Wilmington, Del. Ever grateful for his Williamson education, Del Grande was his class representative, a member of the ACCT advisory committee for the power plant program, and helped create the weekly Wing Night at Williamson. He is credited as the force behind the creation of the annual Wing Bowl, now in its eighth year. His wife Heather and son Anthony accepted the award on his behalf.

Class of 5W8 Makes Generous Donation to Williamson
Members of the Class of 5W8 and their guests, got reacquainted and caught up on each other’s lives, as they celebrated the 50th anniversary of their graduation from Williamson on May 30 at the Concordville Inn.
Earlier in the day, at the 115th commencement, the class was recognized by President Paul A. Reid during his opening remarks.

The next day, at the Alumni Banquet, the class upheld the long, generous, and impressive tradition of 50th anniversary class gifts to Williamson as classmates Flynn L. Auchey and Jack J. Kavanaugh, presented President Reid with a check for $42,500.

Athletic Hall of Fame Induction
James Edwin “Ted” Meredith 1W1, who won two gold medals in the 1912 Olympics, was inducted into Williamson’s Athletic Hall of Fame recently. Meredith was born in Chester Heights, Pa., and graduated from Media High School before entering Williamson where he honed his running skills under the direction of his father, the track coach. In the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, he won a gold medal in the 800-meter run with a world-record time of one minute 51:9 seconds and a gold medal as part of the 4 x 400 meter relay team that also set a world-record. He later returned to Williamson to help his father coach.

Gerkensmeyer Receives Alumnus of the Year Award
Frederick H. Gerkensmeyer 4W3, a life-long carpenter, received the Alumnus of the Year Award at the Alumni Banquet on May 31, at the Towne House Restaurant. Gerkensmeyer worked as a carpenter for several contractors his entire career, interrupted by an 11-year stint as an estimator. Now, in retirement, he still uses his talents as chairperson of the wood shop at his home at Dunwoody Retirement Community in Newtown Square. He has frequently lent his talents to Williamson and helped supervise students in the renovation of the Old Infirmary into Smith Dorm.

Gregg Trexler 7W8 New Alumni Association President
Matt Lutek 8W9, passed the gavel of the Alumni Association Presidency along to Gregg Trexler 7W8. More information on Gregg will be showcased in a future edition of the Williamsonian.