“Sometimes you meet people in life—just a few– who have a huge impact not because of the amount of time you spend with them, but because of who they are,” said Johnny Walther ’69. “Other than my parents and my wife, I encountered several of them at PC. That’s why I feel like PC is so important to me.”

Walther has served his alma mater throughout the years. This year, the College is recognizing Walther’s outstanding meritorious service rendered to PC and the Alumni Association by naming him the 2019 Mary F. Lehman Alumni Service Award recipient.

“I’m humbled by the award,” Walther said. “I’m a guy who’s trying to give back to a place that continues to mean more and more to me over the years.

“I love PC an awful lot. Graduating and now looking back, I found out how much PC really did prepare me for life. I didn’t even have an idea how much at the time.”

As a member of the Scotsman Club Board of Directors’ Nominations and Awards Committee, Walther has helped identify Scotsman Club members for various awards and recognitions. He has also identified and assisted in the recruitment of new board members.

Walther has spent countless hours reaching out to alumni to encourage them to support the Scotsman Club and our student-athletes. He encouraged and helped to organize a tailgate last fall at the football game at Kennesaw State University. Walther allowed alumni, friends and family to gather before cheering on the Blue Hose.

As a basketball team alumnus, Walther has worked diligently to encourage alumni of the women’s and men’s basketball teams to attend Letterman’s Day on campus. He’s been engaged by attending alumni events in the Atlanta area to support the Atlanta Alumni Chapter. He has also traveled to attend the ceremony for John Gentry ’91 as he assumed command of a significant unit within the Georgia Army National Guard in August.

Walther and classmate Hart Cobb serve as co-chairs of the Class of 1969 50th Reunion Committee. The two regularly communicate with the director of annual giving and the executive director of alumni relations. Altogether, they have implemented plans to drive attendance for Homecoming weekend by the class and solicit gifts from classmates for the reunion gift. Over the past 10 years, Walther has also enjoyed annual gatherings with his PC teammates from their basketball team while at PC.

“Johnny is someone our staff counts on,” Patterson said. “He is always willing to serve to better his alma mater and to connect alumni with the College and with one another.

“And he’s always so positive and energetic about all things PC.”

In 1998, Walther retired as a colonel with the U.S. Air Force after a stellar career. He then worked with Lockheed Martin in Georgia until his retirement in 2013. Walther and his wife, Kasey, live in the Atlanta area and have two adult children and three grandchildren.

Join Us for Homecoming!

Homecoming is Friday, Oct. 18 and Saturday, Oct. 19. Please join us in Edmunds Hall at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 19 for the Alumni Awards ceremony.

Please see 2019 Alumni Award Recipients for more about this year’s honorees.