Oct. 9, 2007The Presbyterian College Alumni Association recognized a group of their own most successful and dedicated members last Saturday at the group’s annual awards ceremony. The event, held during the college’s Homecoming Weekend, highlighted the lives of nine distinguished alumni. The highest alumni honor – the Alumni Gold P Award – was presented to the Rev. Joan S. Gray of Atlanta, Ga., the current moderator of the 217th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA and a parish associate pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. A 1973 graduate of PC, she noted how her alma mater – and the people who have served it – influenced her life and calling. “As (husband) Bill and I were driving here today, I was reflecting on how it came about by the providence of God that a 17 year old girl from South Carolina – a Southern Baptist – would be standing here today participating in this amazing occasion,” she said. “Presbyterian College was the turning point – Tom Stallworth, my advisor; Jim Skinner, who was the first person who ever suggested to me that I should think about going into the ministry; and Bill Gray, who has been my strong right arm for all these 34 years. “I’ve been the one who has been a receiver and God has been the giver and I’m so thankful for Presbyterian College and to this great cloud of witnesses who are here. “ W. Robert “Bob” Floyd of Chesterfield, Va., was presented with the Dum Vivimus Servimus Award, presented annually to an alumnus or alumna who best exemplifies the college’s motto, “While We Live, We Serve.” A 1952 graduate, Floyd is a retired military chaplain with more than 28 years of experience and is currently serving as a chaplain with the Chesterfield Police Department. He serves as the external sponsor of the Powhatan Incarcerated Chapter 682 of the Vietnam Veterans of America, where he provides assistance to veterans incarcerated in two Virginia prisons. Last year, he was presented with the President’s Volunteer Service Award by U.S. president George W. Bush. Floyd asked PC alumni to think not only about the meaning of the college motto – but the man, college founder William Plumer Jacobs, who presented it as a challenge. “When you see this Latin phrase on our seal, it really means something,” he said. “It really represents an individual who was small of stature but a magnificent intellectual and spiritual giant. So, it’s a great honor to receive this award – unworthy though I am – bearing this Latin phrase that should inspire all of us to follow in the footsteps of this great man.” 1950 graduate Ed Timmerman of Greenville, S.C., was presented with the Mary F. Lehman Alumni Service Award in recognition of outstanding service to the Alumni Association and the college. Timmerman, the retired vice president and city executive of Nations Bank, is a former president of the Alumni Association, a member of the Board of Visitors, and a frequent host of alumni socials in the Greenville area. It’s a special honor for me to receive this award,” he said. “It’s even more special because it bears the name of my close friend, (administrative assistant to the Alumni Affairs Office ) Mary Lehman. “In reality, this award is not about me but rather it represents the values that drive PC and make it a special place. We all know that with a dedicated core of alumni that the future of Presbyterian College will remain in strong and capable hands. Thank you, again, PC, for this high honor and for making me the person I am today.” The 2007 Outstanding Young Alumnus Award – for early competence within their chosen field and the promise of future achievement – was presented to John Harvey Edwards III of Monroe, N.C., the president of Site-Prep Inc. and a 1994 graduate of PC. Edwards joked that while his grades may not have reflected his interest in the business world, he nonetheless learned a great deal from his professors. He thanked them, the college, and family for their support in his endeavors. Two retired members of the PC community – both longtime members of the dining hall staff – were named Honorary Alumni. Former “Blue Lady” Eva Mills of Clinton, S.C., and former dining services director Vernon Powell of Laurens, S.C., joined the ranks for those who did not attend PC but always treated the college like their alma mater and brought honor to the college by doing so. Mills called her time at PC a “wonderful experience,” thanking her children for “putting up with all the crazy hours that I had to work.” Powell did what he does best – sharing several funny stories about his days on campus and thanking the college for making him a permanent part of its history. “I am so deeply honored and I’m proud to be a part of it,” he said. The Alumni Association inaugurated a new award at this year’s awards presentations – the Thomas Aurelius Stallworth Award named in honor of the late Rev. Tom Stallworth, a longtime faculty member, chaplain, dean of students, alumni director and coach who passed away earlier this year. The award will be presented each fall to a PC alumnus or alumna who is a “Christian leader with strong, bold character; an individual of integrity, moral courage, and values; and an individual who demonstrates the true meaning of neighbor and friend.” The first Stallworth Award was presented to three of Stallworth’s closest friends – 1955 graduates Jack B. Edmunds of Hartwell, Ga., and John P. Newsome of Decatur, Ga.; and 1957 alumnus Don Rickett of Atlanta, Ga. Speaking for the group, Edmunds said the trio represented more than 150 accumulative years of friendship with Stallworth. Trying to calculate those years with everyone else that Stallworth touched would be difficult, if not impossible, he added. “You all know that if you ever crossed paths with Tom Stallworth, you were his friend and he was yours,” Edmunds said. “If, in fact, the world is made up of givers and takers, then Tom was truly one of the great givers of the world. We’re proud to accept this; we’re accepting this on behalf of the thousands and thousands of PC family and friends he has influenced over the years.” | 
