news releases

North Georgia Alumni Association honors alumni, faculty
and students

Contact: Kate Maine, University Relations
706-864-1950, kmaine@ngcsu.edu

	Anne Amerson
	Bob Stein
	Tiffany Hudak
	Martha Merritt

Dahlonega, Ga. (April 18, 2009) - The Alumni Association of North Georgia College & State University recognized Anne Amerson, a Dahlonega native and 1956 graduate of North Georgia, with its Hall of Fame Award at the organization's annual awards banquet on April 18.

"Membership in the Hall of Fame Award is the highest and most prestigious internal recognition that the university and the Alumni Association can bestow upon a graduate," Mark Howarth, director of alumni affairs, said of the award.

Amerson, who grew up on the North Georgia campus, where her father taught from 1933 to 1963, began collecting oral history in 1989, and wrote a column, "I Remember Dahlonega" for The Dahlonega Nugget until 1999. She has since authored Dahlonega's Public Square and four volumes of I Remember Dahlonega. Her most recent book, a historical novel published by the University Press of North Georgia, is called Dahlonega's Gold. It tells the story of America's first major Gold Rush, the Trail of Tears and the Civil War through the eyes of young bride.

Bob Stein, a 1971 North Georgia graduate who lives in Tucker, Ga., received the Distinguished Alumnus Award for his record of service and support to the university. Stein, once a member of the university's baseball team and a volunteer assistant coach, is the sponsor of the Bob Stein Baseball Scholarship. Additionally, the university's new baseball stadium has been named in Stein's honor.

Tiffany Hudak, a 1995 graduate of North Georgia and resident of Bishop, Ga., received the Young Alumnus Award. Hudak, a surgical nurse, was crowned Mrs. Georgia United States in 2008 and used her platform to bring attention to the prevention of lung cancer, a disease from which her mother died.

Martha Merritt, assistant professor in the university's Mike Cottrell School of Business, received this year's Distinguished Professor Award. Merritt, a resident of Gainesville, Ga., began teaching accounting at North Georgia in 1988.

The Alumni Association also recognized two students with the Paul M. Hutcherson Award, which is presented annually to a male and female senior who have shown strong personal conduct, as well as individual accomplishment on campus, at home and in the community. This year's award recipients are Lorraine Villasenor, an English education major from Lawrenceville, Ga., and Earl Porter III, a criminal justice major from Conyers, Ga.