The Lyon College Alumni Association has selected the recipients for the 2019 Alumni Awards.
Two Lyon graduates are selected annually for the Patterson Decade Awards. The candidates must be members of the 10-year reunion class and must have achieved a notable degree of success in their chosen field, career, or profession.
Lindsay “Charlie” Hodge Brink, ’09, and Dr. Chris R. Middaugh, ’09, will receive the 2019 Patterson Decade Awards. Brink of Wilson has designed and patented products for social benefit in central Africa, trained traditional Zambian midwives on community health and delivery methods and created a program to address malnutrition in children less than five years old.
Middaugh, of North Little Rock, is a research biologist with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and has served as both a teaching assistant and research associate at universities.
The Distinguished Alumnus Award is presented annually to a former student who completed at least 30 hours at Lyon. A minimum of 15 years must have passed since the candidate attended Lyon, and the candidate must have shown active interest and support of the College in the interim 15 years and be distinguished in his or her field or career.
G. Gene Crawford II, ’85, of Batesville, will receive the 2019 Distinguished Alumnus Award. Crawford, president of the trust division for The Citizens Bank, has 33 years of diverse experience in community banking and has been an ordained Episcopal priest since 2017. Crawford and his wife, Terri Pellow Crawford, ’91, are active in the Community Friends program at Lyon and are paired with two students this year, both soccer players.
The Decade of Service Award is presented annually to a Lyon graduate who is a member of the 10-year reunion class and has demonstrated outstanding service to the College.
Jessica Brents Dunham, ’09, of Little Rock, will receive the 2019 Decade of Service Award. Dunham is the director of events for the EAST Initiative, an educational nonprofit headquartered in Little Rock. She has served as the area facilitator and advisory board liaison for the Zeta Iota Chapter of the Alpha Xi Delta fraternity at Lyon College.
The Lifetime of Service Award is presented annually to a graduate or friend of the College who has demonstrated outstanding service to Lyon.
Ann Westmoreland Taylor, ’60, of Batesville, will receive the 2019 Lifetime of Service Award. A member of the First Presbyterian Church since 1959, Taylor has served as both a deacon and an elder in the church and was a member of the Lyon College Board of Church Advocates from 2009 to 2012. She was named Professor Emeritus at the University of Arkansas Community College of Batesville in 1999 and has volunteered at Help and Hope, White River Medical Center, and the Independence County Library.
The Honorary Alumnus Award is presented annually to a candidate who has achieved a notable degree of success in his or her chosen field, career, or profession. The candidate must also have received previous recognition from contemporaries and cannot be a graduate of Lyon College.
Admiral Robert W. Carius, of Cave City, will receive the 2019 Honorary Alumnus Award. Carius served in the U.S. Navy for 34 years, earning the rank of Rear Admiral and earning two Legions of Merit, and was a faculty member of Arkansas College for 10 years. He has been active in the renovation of Main Street Batesville, serving on its board for 11 years.
The winners will be honored at the Alumni Awards Banquet on Friday, Sept. 27, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in the Patterson Dining Hall of Edwards Commons. Tickets are available for $20 each. Register for the event.
“It is always a special evening when we celebrate Lyon College alumni who are excelling in their fields and continue to support their alma mater,” said Cindy Barber, director of alumni engagement. “Homecoming and Family Weekend is the perfect time to recognize the positive differences our alumni are making in the world.”
