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2006 alumni award recipients

We are proud to announce the 2006 Alumni Award Recipients. The Alumni Awards Banquet was held Saturday, February 4, 2006 at 7:00 p.m. in the James B. Chavis University Center.

Distinguished Service Award
 Henry Lewis

Henry Lewis graduated from Pembroke State University with a major in Business Administration. He is also a 1969 graduate of Lumberton Senior High. He is married to the former Gayle Phillips, a 1975 graduate of Pembroke State University. The couple has two sons, Henry Glenn Lewis Jr. (Hank), a 2001 graduate of UNCP and Alexander N. Lewis, a 2002 graduate of UNCP. Henry, his son Hank, and his brother, Durham Lewis, are co-owners of Lewis and Lewis CPA of Lumberton. He serves as a volunteer with local organizations, including the Boy Scouts, the Robeson County Humane Society, St. Alban’s Masonic Lodge, and various other organizations.  Henry has served as a Chair of the Chancellor’s Club, and he continues to serve on the Executive Committee.

Henry is a former member of the Board of Trustees, at which time he served as the Board of Trustees representative on the UNCP Foundation Board. After his tenure on the Board of Trustees, he joined the UNCP Foundation Board. In addition, Henry has been Chairman of the UNCP Foundation Board of Directors for four years. During Henry’s term, UNCP assets have grew from just over $2 million to $5.2 million. Much of that growth can be attributed directly to the role Henry Lewis has played in advising the Foundation. During his tenure, he also added two LLCs, and has been the leading force in guiding the Foundation’s investments and re-shaping the investment policy.

Thomas Williams

Outstanding Alumnus Award
William Meier

William Meier is Chief of Staff for the Commanding General of Camp Lejeune (N.C.) and seven other Marine Corps bases. Meier entered the military after graduating from Pembroke State University. He attended the Marine Corps Engineer School at Camp Lejeune, and after graduation was assigned to the Third Marine Aircraft Wing, Wing Engineer Squadron 37, Construction section.

From June 1978 to July 1981, Col. Meier was transferred to a number of
stations including Okinawa, Japan, and was eventually transferred back to Camp Lejeune in March 1982, where he served as Commanding Officer of Bravo Company, supporting the 32nd and 24th Marine Amphibious Units during their Multi-National Peace Keeping Force in Beirut, Lebanon. After a yearlong transfer to Okinawa, he was transferred back to Camp Lejeune’s Marine Corps Engineer School, where he served as the Company Commander for Engineer Equipment Instruction Company and Combat Engineer Instruction Company for one year each.

From June 1988 to 1994, Meier attended the Command and Staff College in Quantico, Virginia, served as a Project Officer for Bridging, and held a position with the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Arizona. In 1994, he attended the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island and was assigned to Combined Forces Korea.

In July 1997, Meier was transferred to 2nd Marine Division as the G-4. In 1998, he became Commanding Officer for Marine Corps Engineer School. In July 2002, he was transferred to Camp Lejeune and served as the Base Inspector until August 2003. During this tour, he deployed in support of Iraqi Freedom and served as the Area Commander, Marine Logistics Command, US Marine Corps Forces, Central Command. In August 2003, Col. Meier assumed his current duties as Chief of Staff, Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune.

Col. Meier’s personal decorations include the Legion of Merit with one gold star, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, and the Navy Achievement Medal with one gold star. He is married to the former Donna Gail Renegar of Jacksonville, N.C., and they have two sons, William Bradley and Shawn August.

Athletic Hall of Fame
Melvin Reid

Melvin Reid is a former Braves basketball standout from the 1977-81 seasons. Reid will join the 63 other members of the Braves’ Hall of Fame.  Reid, who resides in Takoma Park, Maryland, is Pembroke’s only three-time all-conference honoree in basketball. He is currently in sixth-place among all-time scorers with 1,571 career points. Reid also helped lead UNCP to its first Carolina’s Conference Tournament Championship in 1981. Joe Gallagher, a 1968 graduate of UNCP, and a member of the Braves’ Hall of Fame himself, recruited Reid to UNC Pembroke. Gallagher now works for the Philadelphia 76ers and was Head Coach at UNCP from 1975-1978. Reid played his last three years under Coach Billy Lee who now is the Head Coach at St. Andrew’s College. After graduating in 1981 with a degree in Criminal Justice, Reid found his niche coaching basketball. Melvin worked at Georgetown University (D.C.) where he
eventually became an assistant coach for John Thompson, the legendary head coach of Georgetown, in the 1990s.

Currently, Reid, who was a teammate of Kelvin Sampson while at PSU, is the Director of a YMCA in the Washington, D.C. area and is a model citizen and role model for Washington-area youth. He has three daughters: Porscha, Lauren, and Kendra.

 

Updated: Tuesday, November 9, 2010

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