Founders Award recipient and Hall of Fame inductees announced for MSU Homecoming 2019
During Morehead State University’s 2019 Homecoming Weekend, which takes place Oct. 18 through Oct. 19, there will once again be several successful, notable, dedicated and talented Eagle alumni who will receive some of MSU’s highest honors.
2019 award recipients are as follows:
Founders Award for University Service
Dr. Gerald DeMoss (66)
Dr. Gerald DeMoss was a respected member of the Morehead State faculty for 42 years. He joined the faculty as a professor of biology and served in other leadership roles, including the department chair of Biological and Environmental Sciences, dean of the former College of Arts and Sciences and dean of the College of Science and Technology. After retirement, he returned to the University to assist with administrative positions, including acting provost and vice president for academic affairs.
Alumni Hall of Fame
Annette Graham (85)
Annette Graham is a successful administrator in the culinary industry. From her beginnings in the restaurant world as a manager at the Brass Eagle restaurant, a Morehead historic staple, she has risen through the ranks and is currently the dean of the School of Business and Management at The Culinary Institute of America in New York City.
Steve Inskeep (90)
Steve Inskeep has traveled across the world as host of Morning Edition on National Public Radio (NPR), where he has interviewed presidents, congressional leaders and told passionate stories of everyday people across all continents. He is also a published author of two books, with a third on the way.
Wayne Mincey (79)
Wayne Mincey has had a successful career in strategy, operations, finance, business development, M&A for nearly 40 years in North America, Europe and Asia. His professional experience ranges from start-up ventures to $5 billion public companies. He retired as executive chairman of Market Track, LLC, the last company he personally led in 2017. Currently, he serves as a senior advisor to Norwest Venture Partners, as a board director for multiple PE-backed companies and is directly involved in several start-up endeavors.
Athletic Hall of Fame
Shawn Armstrong (95)
Shawn Armstrong was a vital member of the MSU Men’s Golf team in the early ‘90s. Under the leadership of Coach Rex Chaney, Armstrong was a member of the 1993 OVC Champion team. The following year in 1994, he finished only one stroke behind the winner of the OVC Tournament and, as a result, was named All-OVC.
David Neely (72)
David Neely was an accomplished high jumper in the Morehead State Track and Field program from 1969-1972. The first-ever field-only athlete to be inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame, he represented MSU at the NCAA Championships and the United States Track and Field Federation Championships, and was named All-OVC Conference three times in his career.
Katelyn Barbour Sallee (09)
Katelyn Barbour was a standout member of the Women’s Volleyball team from 2005 to 2008. A record-holder and an All-American, she was one of the best volleyball student-athletes ever to grace the program. She still holds multiple records at MSU and, following her college career, she has gone on to enjoy a successful career as a high school volleyball coach.
Notable Alumni Award
Gena Boyle Burger (04)
Gena Boyle Burger currently serves as the deputy secretary of health and human resources in the Commonwealth of Virginia. She has also served as the health and environmental policy advisor to Governor Tim Kaine.
Jesse Wells (08)
Jesse Wells is an accomplished bluegrass musician who currently performs with notable recording artist Tyler Childers and has previously performed with the likes of Dr. Ralph Stanley, Town Mountain, The Wooks and Dirk Powell. He has been with the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music since its establishment in 2000, where he serves as an instructor, recording studio manager and manager of the center’s Traditional Music Archives.
Rising Eagle Award
Byron Burton (11)
Byron Burton is a screenwriter, songwriter and journalist who works in Los Angeles. He covers film and television for The Hollywood Reporter and recently composed a piece of music that was featured in 2016’s “X-Men: Apocalypse.”
Jessica Farrell (16)
Jessica Farrell went on to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and received a degree in their interdisciplinary technology and policy program. Currently, she is working in Washington, D.C., as an engineer at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).
Jared Ravenscraft (16)
Jared Ravenscraft is the co-founder and co-owner of New Frontier Outfitters, a clothing line that promotes the Appalachian region and celebrates the culture and love of the outdoors.
Eagle Spirit Award
Vicki Collins Blakeman (81)
Vicki Collins Blakeman is a native of Morehead. During college, Blakeman was a member of Chi Omega, a Sigma Phi Epsilon Little Sister, an MSU cheerleader and was crowned MSU Homecoming Queen in 1980. Since graduation, she has been a familiar face at all MSU events. To honor her late husband, Blakeman hosts an annual golf outing and designates all proceeds to the J.B. Blakeman Memorial Scholarship managed by the MSU Foundation.
The Founders Award winner and inductees into the Alumni and Athletic Halls of Fame will be honored at the Homecoming Banquet, which takes place at 7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 18, in the Third Floor Ballroom of the Adron Doran University Center (ADUC). Recipients of the Notable Alumni Award, Rising Eagle Award and Eagle Spirit Award will be honored at the Decades Brunch at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 19, in the Academic-Athletic Center Front Lobby.
For a complete schedule of events and to register for events, visit alumni.moreheadstate.edu/homecoming or call the Office of Alumni Relations and Development at 606-783-2033.
