October 9, 2006

 
LIVINGSTON, Ala.--The University of West Alabama and the UWA National Alumni Association presented several Alumni Achievement Awards as part of the recent Homecoming celebration at the institution. Established in 1994, these awards recognize outstanding alumni from each UWA college or division and organizations that make valuable contributions to the West Alabama community.

Kevin McKenzie of Tuscaloosa was honored by the College of Business. McKenzie, a 1978 business administration graduate, joined The Moser Group as a partner in October 2005. Prior to joining The Moser Group, McKenzie served for nearly seven years as an Officer and Vice President, Human Resources, for Linden Lumber Company and Medallion Hardwood Flooring. McKenzie has served for over three years as a member of the Board of Directors of Alabama Central Credit Union, where he is also chairman of the Board’s human resource committee. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of Affinity Home Hospice Services. McKenzie also holds a master’s degree in Personnel Management from Troy University.

Frank Stegall of Moundville received the alumni achievement award from the College of Education. Superintendent of the Hale County School System, Stegall earned a master’s degree in education from UWA in 1987. Previously, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from James Madison University. Stegall began his teaching career in Pickens County before he was hired as principal of Moundville Elementary School in 1987.  He served in that position for 13 years, and he was appointed Superintendent in 2000.

The College of Liberal Arts honored attorney and playwright Joseph Musso of Birmingham, who earned a bachelor’s degree in English from UWA in 1984. After completing a master’s degree in English at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1987, Musso returned to UWA, serving as an assistant professor of English from 1988 until 1992. In 1992, Musso completed a master’s degree in journalism at the University of Alabama. He then earned his law degree from UA in 1995, graduating magna cum laude. In 2003, Musso joined his present firm, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak, and Stewart, P.C. in Birmingham, practicing in the labor and employment field. His plays have been produced and performed by theater companies in New York, California, Florida and several other states. Musso is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America, Inc.

Ashley Allen of Oneonta was honored by the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. He earned his bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in geology from UWA in 1992 and his master’s degree in biology in 1994. Allen is credited with discovering that the rocks of the Union Chapel Coal Mine, located halfway between Birmingham and Jasper, contained 300 million year old animal trackways, or tracks made by an animal as it walks. He gained national attention and soon convinced the state of Alabama to declare the mine a state geological preserve. To date, more than 22,000 trackways have been found at Union Chapel, and the site has drawn experts from throughout the United States and the world. Today, it is considered the best amphibian trackway site in the world. The story of the mine and its historical significance has been featured on PBS through the Alabama Museum of Natural History. In recognition of his accomplishments both as a scientist and as a teacher, Allen was also honored as Alabama’s Outstanding Earth Science teacher in 2005. 

Jeffery Herald of Alabaster received the alumni achievement award from the Division of Nursing. He earned an A.S. in Nursing from The University of West Alabama in 1989. He also earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Master of Science in Nursing from UAB, where was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau, an international honor society in nursing. Herald completed the Acute Care Nurse Practitioner boards in 2004. While enrolled in the master’s program, he designed a nurse practitioner-run heart failure clinic that was adopted at Carraway Methodist Medical Center, where he is the co-director. Herald is employed by Cardiovascular Consultants of Alabama as an acute care nurse practitioner. Currently, he serves as a board member of the Alabama College of Cardiology and is director of the Cardiology Care Associates of Alabama.

The Choctaw County Chapter of the UWA National Alumni Association was honored as Outstanding Organization. Each year, the chapter holds a crawfish boil that has become a favorite event among area UWA alumni. Through their fund-raising efforts, the chapter has sponsored numerous scholarships for Choctaw County students over the past 12 years. The Choctaw County chapter is under the leadership of Gayle McPhearson, chapter president.

The West Alabama Community Service Award went to the Sumter County Commission, which has assisted UWA with numerous projects, including the use of the courthouse square for the annual Sucarnochee Folklife Festival and the furnishing of materials and maintenance for the Don C. Hines Rodeo Complex, the UWA softball complex, Tartt Field and the university’s intramural fields. This award recognizes the exemplary town-and-gown relationship cultivated by the Sumter County Commission.

The National Alumni Association also inducted Hattie Kate Bell as an honorary member. Born in Sumterville in 1917, Bell attended Hamner High School until the 11th grade. A sharecropper and a pastor’s wife, she raised eight children. She was an avid reader, and she wrote poetry and essays during her leisure time. A member of Sumterville Baptist Church for 78 years, she was also a member of the Busy Bee Club, and she served as head cook for the local Head Start program to put her children through college. Bell, 89, now resides in Livingston. In addition to eight children, she has 20 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.