2017 Outstanding ALUMNI AWARDS Georgia Southwestern honored alumni from each college/school on campus, inducted one former athlete into the GSW Athletics Hall of Fame, and recognized the Leewynn Finklea Alumni Award at the 2nd Annual Outstanding Alumni Awards Banquet on October 20, 2017. The Outstanding Alumni Awards were developed to recognize the distinguished personal accomplishments and professional achievements of Georgia Southwestern Alumni. The Leewynn Finklea Alumni Award recognizes outstanding alumni who have demonstrated exceptional service to the Alumni Association and the University. It is named in honor of the first Alumni Director, Leewyn J. Finklea.
The 2017 GSW Outstanding Alumni Award recipients were: •
Jeff Benton, ’92 and ‘96 School of Business Administration
•
Calvin Rhodes, ’90 School of Computing and Mathematics
•
Allen Fort, ’75 and ‘78 School of Education
•
Greg Slappey, M.D., ’88 College of Arts and Sciences
•
Judy Tingley, D.N.P., ’97 School of Nursing
•
J.P. Griffin, ’14 GSW Athletics Hall of Fame
The 2017 Leewynn Finklea Award recipient was: •
Liz Harpe Ruf, ‘76
Jeff Benton With more than 20 years of experience in the lighting industry, Benton is the vice president of operations for Eaton’s residential and wiring devices division, a $1 billion dollar operation. Immediately prior, Benton was the president of ALP Lighting Components for two years. A U.S. Army veteran, Benton earned a Bachelor and Master of Business Administration from Georgia Southwestern after being in service three years. A member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity while at GSW, Benton received the 25-year Volunteer Service Award at the Kappa Sigma Grand Conclave in Las Vegas, Nevada in July 2017. He is currently the president of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity Alumni Council.
AEOLIAN MAGAZINE 2018 | 33
