Southwestern Community College is now accepting nominations for the SCC Foundation’s sixth-annual Distinguished Alumni Award.
To be considered for the award, nominees must have graduated with either a certificate, diploma or degree from the institution known today as Southwestern Community College and previously as Southwestern Technical College (1979-1988), Southwestern Technical Institute (1967-1979) or Jackson County Industrial Education Center, a satellite of A-B Tech (1964-67).
“Southwestern has so many highly accomplished alumni which is reinforced each year when we review the nominations for this award,” said Dr. Mark Ellison, Dean of Students.
To nominate a Southwestern graduate, click here.
Past winners include Kyle Dowling (2019), Dustin Wilson (2020), John Mattox (2021), Jared Ballew (2022) and Dr. Rivers Woodward (2023).
Dowling was a 2013 graduate of SCC’s Emergency Medical Science program before receiving his bachelor’s degree at WCU. Within two years of graduating, he became a supervisor and training officer for Harris Regional Hospital’s EMS Department, and now he has a list of credentials under his belt.
A 2003 graduate of SCC’s Outdoor Leadership program, Wilson later earned his Ph.D. in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management from Clemson University. Now he holds the title of Outdoor Recreation and Cultural Resources Planner for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in Washington, D.C.
Mattox, who passed away a couple years ago, was a member of Southwestern's first National Park Service - Seasonal Law Enforcement Training program in 1978. He spent 37 years in the National Park Service, starting out as a seasonal ranger on the Blue Ridge Parkway and eventually rose to the role of Special Agent in Charge of the Eastern United States.
Graduating in 2007, Ballew serves as Vice President of Government Relations for Drake Software – one of the nation’s leading tax software development companies. A leader in cybersecurity industry, he’s the current president of the National Association of Computerized Tax Processors.
Also a 2007 graduate, Dr. Rivers Woodward currently works as the lead physician at Blue Ridge Community Health Services in Lake Lure. At the same time, he serves as a physician champion for the North Carolina Medical Society Diabetes Prevention Program, a faculty member for the family medicine residency at the Mountain Area Health Education Center and as an adjunct faculty member at UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine.
Nominations for the 2024 award are being accepted through March 1.
In addition to being recognized at graduation, this year’s recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award will be recognized on SCC’s website, social media, and receive an award plaque along with $250 from the SCC Foundation.
The SCC Foundation partnered with the SCC Foundation Faculty & Staff Advisory Council to create the award.
Nomination forms will remain on file for three years for future award consideration. After three years, nominations must be re-submitted.
For more information about the Distinguished Alumni Award, contact Kathy Posey, SCC’s Institutional Development Associate, at 828.339.4227 or k_posey@SouthwesternCC.edu.
