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CONTACT: Carol Schuler, Director of Communications
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, October 08, 2003
Davis & Elkins to Honor Duke Talbott, Other Outstanding Alumni Saturday
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ELKINS, WV Davis & Elkins College will honor six outstanding alumni during this weekend’s Alumni Awards Banquet, including Irvin “Duke” Talbott, D&E Class of 1935, who will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his service, accomplishments and lifelong commitment to the College. He will be honored Saturday evening along with Randolph County Prosecuting Attorney Richard Shryock, Elkins High School Adviser Robert Beckwith, retired Oberlin, Ohio, obstetrician Ron Rollins, retired Towson University Soccer Coach Jack McDonald, and former D&E Men’s Soccer Coach and former national Coach of the Year Fred Schmalz.
The son of A. Dane and Bessie Jane Jones Talbott, “Duke” Talbott was born in Elkins and was graduated from Davis & Elkins College in 1935 with a major in General Science and a minor in Mathematics. He worked for the Work Progress Administration (WPA) from 1935 to 1941 and then joined E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., where he worked as a Material Control Engineer and Inspector throughout World War II, helping, in part, on the development of the Manhattan Project. After the war, Talbott was employed by the Duriron Company in Dayton, Ohio, until he returned to Elkins to join Talbott Paint and Glass Company in 1947.
Talbott has been an outstanding volunteer in the Elkins Community for more than 50 years, providing leadership to varied service organizations as well as to Davis & Elkins College. He was on the first Board of Directors of the United Way of Randolph County and was named its volunteer of the year in 1996. He was a Board member of the Elkins YMCA for 30 years and served as Director Emeritus. He was a long-time member of the City of Elkins’ Zoning Board of Appeals and was a member of the Board of Directors of Davis Trust Company from 1973 to 2000. He served as Chairman of the Board of the Randolph County Senior Center and was an officer of the Meals on Wheels program. A member of the Baptist Church, he chaired the building committee that constructed the church’s education building and has chaired both the Board of Deacons and the Board of Trustees over the years.
A faithful supporter of Davis & Elkins College since his student days, Talbott served many terms as a Class Agent and as a reunion coordinator, and he was the primary organizer of his 50th class reunion. He played an important role in the creation of the Davis & Elkins College Booth Library, serving on the President’s Advisory Council under Dr. Dorothy MacConkey. He also was active in the formation and development of the Randolph County Scholarship Fund at Davis & Elkins College, which provides scholarship funding to deserving Randolph County students.
Richard Shryock, Jr., will receive the Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, which is given to a graduate of Davis & Elkins College who shows unusual promise in his or her profession and loyalty and commitment to the College.
Shryock graduated from Davis & Elkins College in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in history. In 1997 he earned a law degree with honors from West Virginia University. Today he is the Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Randolph County, West Virginia, where he is responsible for prosecuting both felony and misdemeanor cases.
As an undergraduate at D&E, Shryock served as a representative to the Student Assembly, managed the Ice House, became vice president of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, was elected to Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities, and received a history merit scholarship from the National Society of Colonial Dames.
Shryock is currently a member of the American Bar Association and the Randolph County Bar Association. He is a former member of the West Virginia Trial Lawyers Association and the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys. Until he joined the Prosecutor’s Office, Shryock offered legal advice to participants in the Pro Bono Referral Project, which represents victims of domestic violence, and he was one of five mental hygiene commissioners for Randolph County. Shryock has been an active volunteer for the Randolph County Scholarship Fund and has been a speaker at D&E’s Greek Alumni Weekend.
He is married to the former Hillary Cederberg, D&E Class of ’93, and the father of Richard Harrison Shryock, II.
Local educator Rob Beckwith will receive the Tower Award on Saturday, an award given to an alumnus for outstanding service to the College and its alumni program.
Beckwith has taught in Randolph County for 32 years, at Davis & Elkins College as well as at Elkins High School, with concentrations in botany/zoology and general science. He is the West Virginia Academy of Science’s choice for 2003 Science Teacher of the Year and has been the Randolph County representative as the RESA VII Teacher of the Year. He is the 2004 class adviser at Elkins High School.
Beckwith, who lives with his wife, Margaret, in Elkins, is a 1967 graduate of the College with a bachelor’s degree in biology. He earned a master’s degree in education at West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1978.
During his years at D&E, Beckwith was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity and its chaplain, and he lettered in track. As an alumnus, he has served as a co-founder and charter member of the National Alumni Council and has held various offices and responsibilities in the organization. He became a charter member of the Graceland Guild in 1995, was an alumni representative at the inauguration of former D&E President Dr. Dorothy MacConkey, and has spoken on behalf of alumni at Davis & Elkins College commencement exercises.
Beckwith is a trustee and former Exalted Ruler of the Elks. He has worked in the Mountain State Forest Festival, has coached Pop Warner football and recreational girl’s basketball and softball, and is active in the First Baptist Church. In 1997 Beckwith was inducted into the Randolph County Athletic Hall of Fame.
The Distinguished Alumnus Award will be given to Dr. Ronald A. Rollins, Sr. The Distinguished Alumnus Award is the highest award given to an alumnus who has made significant contributions to society in his or her career. The criteria for selection include career advancement, service to others, significant honors and commitment to Davis & Elkins College.
A retired Oberlin, Ohio, obstetrician and former Chief of Flight Surgery at Fairchild and McDill Air Force bases, Rollins has served Davis and Elkins College with distinction for many years. Currently a member of the College Board of Trustees, Rollins received his bachelor’s degree from D&E in 1957. He received his M.D. from Wake Forest University in 1961.
Rollins has been a member of the Executive Committee of the College’s Centennial Campaign, chairman of the Funding Committee for the S. Benton Talbot Chair for the Natural Sciences, a member of the National Alumni Council, and a participant in establishing the College’s annual Academic Symposium in support of its campaign to fully endow three academic chairs.
As a D&E undergraduate, Rollins was president of the student body his senior year, president of the German Club, an instructor in the anatomy lab, and a member of the pre-med seminar, among other activities.
After graduating from Davis & Elkins College, Rollins entered medical school and joined the U.S. Air Force while a senior medical student. During his 11-year career in the Air Force, Rollins completed his internship, flight medicine training, and residency in obstetrics and gynecology. After resigning from the Air Force with rank of lieutenant colonel, he practiced obstetrics and gynecology at the Oberlin Clinic in Oberlin, Ohio, from 1970 until his retirement in 1997, during which time he twice served as president of the clinic and board president of the hospital medical staff.
Two standouts from D&E’s soccer tradition will be inducted into the College’s Athletic Hall of Fame during Saturday evening’s banquet. John C. “Jack” McDonald, a former student and coach, and Fred Schmalz, D&E soccer coach from 1972 to 1979, will be honored for their achievements in athletics.
Jack McDonald is committed to athletic competition. A standout athlete during his days at Davis & Elkins, he has remained active – coaching, organizing and competing throughout the more than 30 years since his graduation.
As a student at Davis & Elkins, McDonald was a member of the basketball team from 1956 to 1960 and the track team from 1957 to 1960. He was captain of the track team his senior year as well as the Top Point Scorer. He received his bachelor’s degree at D&E in physical education and went on to earn his master’s degree in physical education in 1965 from West Virginia University and his doctorate in physical education in 1978 from Middle Tennessee State University.
In 1965, McDonald was appointed soccer, swimming and track coach at Davis & Elkins College. He taught kinesiology, anatomy and physiology and also directed the student intramural sports program. That first year, McDonald started the College’s cross-country program and reinstated track. The swimming team, under his direction, had a 14-meet undefeated streak at home.
From 1969 to 1977, McDonald was the soccer coach at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland, and from 1967 to 1986, he was head coach of track and field at Towson. Among other honors from this period, McDonald received the Dr. Donald Mennegan Award for contributions to the sport of track and field in the state of Maryland.
Since 1986, McDonald has been the Director of Track and Field for the Maryland Senior Olympics held at Towson. Over the past nine years, he has competed in the discus, shot put, javelin and high jump events. This has resulted in his qualifying for the Nationals.
McDonald retired from Towson University in 2000. He continues to compete and is a member of the East Coast Greenway Development Group, which is interested in developing a series of greenways from Maine to Florida.
Fred Schmalz led the D&E Men’s Soccer Team to a 91-21-5 record and six trips to the NAIA Final Four during his seven years at Davis & Elkins College. Schmalz recently retired as head coach at the University of Evansville, leaving with 403 career victories, the fifth all-time in NCAA Division I soccer victories.
Schmalz’s career record is 403-196-56 in 33 years as a head coach. His teams competed in the NCAA Division I tournament 11 times and were ranked number one in the nation three times. His 1985 and 1990 teams played in the NCAA Division I Final Four. He was chosen by Soccer America magazine as the 1985 national Coach of the Year, and in 1996, Schmalz was chosen as the Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year. That same year, he was honored as a charter inductee into the Indiana Soccer Hall of Fame.
In 1998, Schmalz received the first Ron Wigg Award from the Region II (Midwest) Soccer Olympic Development Program. The Wigg Award is named in honor of the late U.S. Soccer regional coaching coordinator, and is awarded on the basis of dedication to the game of soccer. A local and national leader in promoting the growth of soccer, Schmalz serves as a United States Soccer Federation national staff coach and as a staff coach for the Region II Boys Olympic Development Program, for which he was director of coaching for 11 years.
Schmalz coached in six U.S. Olympic Sports Festivals, and is the only person to coach Gold Medal-winning teams from different regions. He led the West to the gold at the 1990 Olympic Festival in Minneapolis, and did the same with the North squad in 1991 at Los Angeles. In addition, Schmalz has been a finalist six times for the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Coach of the Year award.
Other events scheduled at Davis & Elkins for Homecoming 2003 are, on Friday, an opening reception, reunions for the College’s basketball, baseball and cross country programs, and a young-alumni party; on Saturday, an Academic Symposium, an all-campus picnic, home soccer games, a lighting ceremony for the College’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the homecoming ball. On Sunday, there will be a memorial service in the College chapel. For more information, please contact the Office of Alumni Relations at 304-637-1351.
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