Homecoming 2020
alumni awards virtual ceremony S aturday, O ctober 17, 2020 4:00 p. m .
Program WELCOME Mr. Josh Allen ’05, Director of Alumni Relations
ALUMNI AWARD PRESENTATIONS ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Mrs. Vicki (Vandegrift) Alkire ’74, Osprey, Florida
DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD Mr. Scott Northcott ’67, Walpole, New Hampshire
HU C. AND AVANELLE MYERS AWARD Mr. Daniel Vacala ’89, Savannah, Georgia
LORD AND LADY Mr. David DeLauder ’70, Mrs. Marleen (Wetherbee) DeLauder ’70, Vinton, Virginia
NURSING ALUMNI ASSOCIATION AWARD Dr. Joan (Crites) Propst ’79, Philippi, West Virginia
OUTSTANDING ALLY AWARD Dr. Barbara Sims ’03 (H), Bridgeport, West Virginia
OUTSTANDING YOUNG ALUMNI AWARD Mrs. Katlin (Thorsell) Grantham ’11, Middleway, West Virginia
Alumni Bios VICKI (VANDEGRIFT) ALKIRE ’74 Vicki (Vandegrift) Alkire earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology with an emphasis in social work from Alderson Broaddus in 1974. Currently, Vicki is the president and owner of Viable Alternatives, Inc., a care management organization that has offered professional guardianship, aging life care management, power of attorney, trustee, health care surrogate, and personal representative services since 1992. After moving to Sarasota, Florida in 1983, Vicki was the director of patient services at South Bay Hospital in Sun City Center. There, she was responsible for several functions, including discharge planning, utilization management, patient advocate program, quality improvement, and risk management. Vicki still maintains certification as a certified professional in health care quality. In 1999, Vicki obtained certification as a National Master Guardian by the Center for Guardianship Certification. She is one of approximately 60 individuals nationwide holding this advanced designation. Vicki also received certification as a Certified Care Manager in long-term care management and became a Respecting Choices® Advance Care Planning Facilitator for End of Life Discussion. Throughout the years, she has served in multiple leadership roles on various state and national boards. Vicki was elected as the 2009 President of the National Guardianship Association and later as the 2013 President of the Center for Guardianship Certification Board of Trustees. Currently, Vicki serves as Advisor to the Aging Life Care® - Florida Chapter, Board of Directors. Vicki is married to Charles Alkire, and they reside in Osprey, Florida.
SCOTT NORTHCOTT ’67 Scott Northcott received his Bachelor of Science in social science from Alderson Broaddus in 1967. Scott is from northern New England and, upon arriving on campus, found a home among some of the friendliest folks he had ever met. While at AB, Scott could be found playing ping pong, hanging out at Arden, enjoying time with his Epsilon brothers, or working in the cafeteria under the watchful eye of Mrs. Ratliff. After graduation, Scott spent a couple of years in graduate school at WVU and then returned to New Hampshire, where he wed Judy, his wife of 47 years, and began their family. At the advice of Judy’s father, they purchased a small woodturning company and soon were making wooden pegs for the fledgling timber framing/post and beam construction industry. As the demand for their product spread across the US and other parts of the world, Scott and Judy’s reputation became well-established. They were featured on the popular PBS show “This Old House” as part of a series on the construction of a timber frame home. Forty-plus years later, their business, which now includes their children, is still producing pegs and tunnels for covered bridges, boat construction, restoration, timber frames, and anything else that is pegged together.
Alumni Bios Scott has served on AB’s Board of Trustees and Governors since 2009. For many years Scott has coordinated Epsilon Tau Eta Sigma fraternity alumni events, several of which he and Judy have hosted at their home. Additionally, Scott has been the driving force behind raising funds to endow the Doug Bell/Lowell Cosby Epsilon Scholarship. Through Scott’s tireless efforts, the fund has become endowed and now stands at over $24,000. Scott and Judy are the parents of four and grandparents to five. They reside in Walpole, New Hampshire.
DAVID ’70 AND MARLEEN ’70 (WETHERBEE) DELAUDER
Inspired by his history teacher in high school, David pursued a bachelor’s degree in history at AB. Marleen earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing and participated in the cooperative education program while working at Broaddus Hospital in Philippi, West Virginia. This co-op program is how David and Marleen first met. David was visiting his sick uncle in Broaddus Hospital while Marleen was working her shift. After graduation, David was drafted to the United States Air Force, and he and Marleen relocated to Oklahoma for a time. He was discharged in 1974 and worked as a welfare investigator, spent 11 years in Lowe’s management, and then retired after 24 years of serving as a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service. Marleen spent most of her career in various vice president roles at Centra Health Hospital Systems in Lynchburg, Virginia. She was responsible for an emergency department with 77,000 annual visits, a critical care nursing service, and medical-surgical nursing services. She also served as a professor at the University of Lynchburg. After spending 45 years in the nursing profession, Marleen retired in 2011. David and Marleen attended AB when it was on the quarter system, and they both attribute their AB education with the successes they’ve shared in life. The DeLauders reside in Vinton, Virginia, and together, they enjoy hiking, traveling, and supporting their alma mater. This year, they celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.
JOAN (CRITES) PROPST ’79 Dr. Joan Propst is a tenured professor of nursing and the executive vice president for academic affairs at Alderson Broaddus, where she previously served as provost until August 2020. Dr. Propst earned a Bachelor of Science in nursing in 1979 from AB. She then went on to achieve a Master of Science in nursing in 1985 and a Doctor of Education with an emphasis in higher education administration in 1993, both from West Virginia University. Dr. Propst completed the Parish Nurse program, sponsored by West Virginia University School of Nursing in 2004. In 2000, she was appointed as the director of the RN-BSN degree completion program at AB, and in 2006, she became the director of the
Alumni Bios international nursing partnership, a new educational venture partnering with a foreign school of nursing (Arellano University) in Manila, Philippines. She received a gubernatorial appointment from former Governor Bob Wise to membership on the West Virginia Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses from 1995 – 2000. She is a former member of the West Virginia Nurses Association, and she is also a past member of the Nominating Committee of the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing. Dr. Propst maintains instruction through AB’s nursing program for registered nurses to complete a baccalaureate degree and traditional students. She has expertise in working to achieve and maintain regional and discipline-specific accreditation at AB with the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC), and the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). Joan and her husband, Ben, are the parents of two sons, Daniel (wife Jeni) and Samuel (wife Rachel); and, the grandparents of Alan, Arden, and Jo. As lifelong residents of Philippi, they are members of Crim Memorial United Methodist Church.
BARBARA SIMS ’03 (H) Barbara Sims holds a bachelor’s degree in secondary education with double teaching fields in mathematics and speech communications from Fairmont State College and a master’s degree in rhetoric and public address from West Virginia University. Barbara is a professor emerita of communication and led the Alderson Broaddus forensics and speech competitions for over 40 years. Under her direction, AB won the West Virginia Intercollegiate Forensic Association State Championships from 2007-2010, placed second in Lincoln-Douglas debate at the International Forensic Association tournament in London in 2008, and won the overall Collegiate Forensic Association Championship from 2008-2010. In 2011, Alderson Broaddus awarded her with the Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year award. In 2013, she received an honorary Doctorate of Humanities degree from Alderson Broaddus. Barbara served as the executive secretary of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Forensic Association and gained membership with the Eastern Communication Association, the National Communication Association, and the International Forensic Association. A frequent speaker for civic, professional, and religious organizations, she conducted speech and debate workshops for high schools throughout West Virginia. She is a published writer and a panelist at many regional, national, and international conferences. In addition to teaching and coaching, she enjoys traveling, music, cooking, and grooming and showing Irish Setters. She is a native of Clarksburg, West Virginia, and currently resides in Bridgeport, West Virginia.
Alumni Bios KATLIN (THORSELL) GRANTHAM ’11 Katlin (Thorsell) Grantham graduated from Alderson Broaddus in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in recreational sport management. Grantham is currently an agriculture teacher at Washington High School in Charles Town, West Virginia, and the 2018 West Virginia Teacher of the Year. While her main interest is in animal science, she teaches courses in introduction to agriculture, food and natural resources, companion animal care, greenhouse production, horticulture, animal production, and management and leadership. She received her Master of Science in agriculture from West Virginia University, with an emphasis on agriculture and extension education. Through her classroom experiences, she has developed an interest in special education and autism and has received additional teaching endorsements in those areas. Grantham serves her community as a volunteer firefighter and EMT and is currently becoming a National Board-Certified Teacher. Grantham resides in Middleway, West Virginia, with her husband, Joe, and their two dogs, Auggie and Tillie. During her time at AB, Grantham was an outfielder on the Battlers softball team and served as president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council. Grantham hopes she creates a warm and welcoming environment in her classroom and that when her students leave the halls of Washington High School behind, they will always remember that they have someone who truly believes in them.
Alma Mater Far above the winding Tygart, with its banks of green Stands our noble Alma Mater fairest ever seen. CHORUS Swell the Chorus! Let it echo over hill and vale; Hail to thee, our Alma Mater, Alderson Broaddus hail. In our home among the mountains, with our little town, May we ne’er forget the memories that still gather round. Crowning still the verdant hilltop ‘neath the azure blue. Sends she forth her sons and daughters, loyal, loving true.