13 September ICC to honor four with Alumni awards during Homecoming activities, Oct. 6 September 13, 2022 By Thomas, Donna S. General 0 Itawamba Community College will honor its 2022 Alumnus of the Year, Distinguished Service award recipient and Athletic Hall of Fame inductees during Homecoming activities, Oct. 6, at the Fulton Campus. They include Dr. C.K. “Dick” White of Tupelo, Alumnus of the Year; Miss. Rep. Donnie Bell of Fulton, ICC Distinguished Service award; and David Duke of Clinton and Marty Cooper of Fulton, Athletic Hall of Fame. White, who is a native of Fulton, graduated from Itawamba Agricultural High School and from 1969-71 attended IJC where he was a member of the baseball team. In 2020, he retired as chief medical officer of the North Mississippi Medical Center. From 2018-20, he also served as interim chief quality and safety medical officer for North Mississippi Health Services, and since 2016, executive board member of Connected Care Partners CIN. He has an extensive list of honors and awards, including NMMC Surgeon of the Year and Itawamba Agricultural High School Alumnus of the Year. White is a member of numerous professional associations and serves on the boards of several community organizations. They include Antone Tannehill Good Samaritan Free Clinic, CREATE, Community Development Foundation, Health Care Foundation of North Mississippi. BancorpSouth and Tupelo Aquatic Club – Shockwave Aquatics. He is a Sunday School teacher, member of the Administrative Board and past chairman of the Board of Trustees and the Staff-Parish Relations Committee at the Tupelo First United Methodist Church. In addition to ICC, his educational background includes the bachelor’s degree from the University of Mississippi; master’s degree and doctor of medicine, residency-obstetrics/gynecology and Chief Administrative Resident, all at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine. He and his wife, Elsie, have endowed a healthcare scholarship at ICC. The Whites have two children, Shelley Miller and her husband, Jason, of Tupelo; and Tracy Peters and her husband, Silas, of Fairhope, Alabama; and five grandchildren. ICC alumnus Bell was first elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives in 2008. He serves as chair of the workforce development committee and as a member of the agriculture, banking and financial services, universities and colleges and ways and means committees. He has been instrumental in securing funding for multiple local K-12 and municipal projects as well as workforce development for the entire community college system. Bell earned the associate’s degree in agriculture at ICC, where he was a member of the Forestry Club, and the bachelor’s degree from Mississippi State University. His professional experience includes plant manager at International Minerals and Chemicals in Tupelo and teacher and coach. Bell and his wife of almost 32 years, Nina, have three children, Paden, a teacher at Itawamba Attendance Center; Abbie, who is employed by Three Rivers Planning and Development District; and Jeremiah, a junior at Itawamba Agricultural High School. Cooper served as the head basketball coach at ICC from 1998-2012 before he retired from coaching and continued as a faculty member. He coached his team to four league titles and won the league, state and region in 2008, which was ICC’s first in more than 35 years. He is the only coach in ICC’s history to take a team to the national tournament in Hutchinson, Kan., and he did it three times (2002, 2007, 2008). He was named MACJC Coach of the Year in 2008 and NJCAA Region 23 Coach of the Year three times. His overall community college coaching record was 368-219. Cooper also coached at East Central Community College, where he guided his team to the state championship in 1993. He is currently boys’ basketball coach at Belgreen (Ala.), where his teams have been area champions (3 years), region champions (2021) and state runner-up in 2021, the first team in school history to accomplish this level since 1994. His cumulative coaching record is 447-233. Cooper and his wife, Jennifer, who served as his assistant coach at both ICC and East Central as well as a natural science instructor, have one daughter, McKenzie. Duke, who attended IJC for two years beginning in 1983, was an integral part of the college’s first state tennis title since the program began in 1974. He competed both years in the NJCAA championships in Ocala, Fla. and continued his tennis career at Mississippi College, where he played for two years. During his freshman year, he won the no. 2 singles title, and as a sophomore, the no. 2 singles title and with a a partner, the no. 1 doubles title. Since 1994, he has taught at Clinton High School, where he coached the tennis team (2007-19). Duke and his wife, Misty, a seventh grade ELL and Reading Excel teacher at Clinton Junior High School, have one son, Chandler, an accountant at Waring Oil in Vicksburg. He is the son of David and Carole Duke of West Point. The honorees will be recognized during a presentation in the Davis Event Center beginning at 4 p.m. and during pregame of the ICC-Holmes football game, which begins at 6:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend. Related Articles ICC to honor five during Alumni awards presentation at Homecoming, Oct. 17 Itawamba Community College will honor its 2024 Alumnus of the Year, Athletic Hall of Fame inductees, Distinguished Service and Young Alumnus of the Year award recipients during Homecoming activities, Oct. 17, at the Fulton Campus. They include Dr. Lance Evans of New Albany, Alumnus of the Year; Jonathan Van Every of Nashville, Tenn. and Dr. David Rather of Tupelo, Athletic Hall of Fame; Johnny Crane of Fulton, Distinguished Service; and Jamey Logan of Tupelo, Young Alumnus of the Year. A 1998 graduate of ICC, Evans became Mississippi’s State Superintendent of Education, July 1. His educational background also includes the bachelor’s degree from Mississippi State University; master’s degree from the University of Mississippi; and educational specialist and doctoral degrees from Delta State University. He played football at ICC, where he was selected to Who’s Who Among American Junior Colleges. Over the past 23 years, he has served as Superintendent of Schools for the New Albany School District and in other roles as teacher, coach, assistant principal and both elementary and high school principal. His leadership skills have earned several recognitions, ... ICC to honor five during Homecoming, Oct. 5 Itawamba Community College will honor its 2023 Alumnus of the Year, Athletic Hall of Fame inductees, Distinguished Service and Young Alumnus of the Year award recipients during Homecoming activities, Oct. 5, at the Fulton Campus. They include Ret. Col. Sheldon Morris of Oxford, Alumnus of the Year; Anthony Brock of North Little Rock, Ark. and David Schumaker of Jacksonville, Ala., Athletic Hall of Fame; Donna Thomas of New Albany, Distinguished Service award; and Mari-leen (Linkie) Marais of Fort, Lauderdale, Fla., Young Alumnus of the Year award. Morris, who is the executive vice president for programs at Delta Health Alliance, completed 22 years of honorable service as the Military Deputy Director for the Army Profession and Leadership. He began his career in the 3rd Brigade, 1st calvary Division at Fort Hood, Tex. A 1997 graduate of ICC, he earned the bachelor’s degree from the University of Mississippi and the master’s degree from the U.S. Army’s Command General and Staff College. His activities at ICC included wide receiver for the football team (statistician during his ... ICC to honor Kline, Hill, Nanney during Homecoming, Oct. 18 Itawamba Community College will honor Alumnus of the Year Tommy Kline of Fulton and Athletic Hall of Fame inductees Ron Hill of Ponte Vedra, Fla. and Mike Nanney Sr. of Fulton, during Homecoming activities, Oct. 18, at the Fulton Campus. They will be recognized at an award ceremony at 4 p.m. tentatively scheduled for the Davis Event Center lobby as well as prior to the ICC vs. Southwest football game which begins at 6:30 p.m. at Eaton Field. Aberdeen native Kline, the owner of Kline Heating and Air Conditioning, Inc. which he founded in 1978, attended IJC on an athletic scholarship and played football for coaches Dudley Miller and Ben Jones. He earned a business degree at the Fulton Campus, and later he commuted two nights a week from Aberdeen for 18 months to complete the heating and air conditioning program. Kline serves on the local board of BancorpSouth, as chairman of the Mississippi State Board of Contractors, past chairman of the Mississippi Associated Builders and Contractors and board member of the Mississippi ... ICC Homecoming to feature presentation of Alumni awards, Homecoming Court Itawamba Community College will celebrate Homecoming 2024 on Oct. 17 at the Fulton Campus beginning with a 4 p.m. ceremony at the Davis Event Center. The event will honor the Alumnus of the Year, Athletic Hall of Fame inductees, Young Alumnus of the Year and Distinguished Service award recipients. They include Dr. Lance Evans of New Albany, Alumnus of the Year; Dr. David Rather of Tupelo and Jonathan Van Every of Nashville, Tenn., Athletic Hall of Fame; Jamey Logan of Tupelo, Young Alumnus of the Year; and Johnny Crane of Fulton, Distinguished Service. They will also be recognized during pregame ceremonies beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Eaton Field. ICC’s Homecoming Court will be presented at halftime of the ICC/Holmes football game, which starts at 7 p.m. They include Queen Jasmier Coleman of Pontotoc; King Tanner McCord of Pontotoc; Fulton Campus Sophomore Maids Ashanti Doss of Nettleton and Brandi Deloach of Caledonia; Tupelo Campus Sophomore Maids Gracie Corley of Ecru and Shelby Tigner of Tupelo; Fulton Campus Freshman Maids Shakira Kelton of Golden and Emma Carolyne Wright of Amory; ... ICC to honor military, first responders and healthcare professionals during All-American Heroes night, Oct. 13 Both past and current members of the armed forces, first responders and healthcare professionals will be honored during Itawamba Community College’s All-American Heroes Night, Oct. 13, at Lambert Stadium/Eaton Field at the Fulton Campus during ICC’s football game with Hinds Community College, which begins at 6:30 p.m. Special activities will include a salute during halftime featuring ICC’s All-American Band. Honorary captains, who will participate in the coin toss and be recognized during pregame beginning at 6 p.m., will be U.S. Rep. Trent Kelly of Saltillo, who has spent 36 years in the Mississippi Army National Guard as a Combat Engineer and is currently serving as a Major General; North Mississippi EMS Authority Co-Director Al Wright of Tupelo, who also is an adjunct faculty member for ICC’s EMS Basic program; and North Mississippi Medical Center Safety Specialist Thomas Walker of Tupelo, retired Fire Chief for the City of Tupelo. Admission is free to all past and current armed forces members and healthcare professionals, first responders and their families. For more information on the event, contact Michael Upton at maupton@iccms.edu or ... ICC sets Apr. 1 deadline for four alumni honors Nominations are being accepted through Apr. 1 for Itawamba Community College’s 2023 Alumnus of the Year, Athletic Hall of Fame, ICC Distinguished Service Award and Young Alumnus of the Year. Those selected will be honored during homecoming activities this fall at the Fulton Campus. Criteria for selection for Alumnus of the Year include successful completion of at least one semester as a full-time student at ICC five years prior to the current year as well as merit and achievement which have brought fame and honor to either his/her community or ICC. ICC’s Athletic Hall of Fame honors former athletes, coaches or individuals who have excelled or made major contributions to intercollegiate athletics while attending or employed by ICC. They must have been out of school at least 10 years. Accomplishments and support of ICC also may be considered. The Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to ICC, is open to an individual, group or organization that has made substantial, outstanding and consistent contribution to the college through tangible or intangible gifts or deeds. Nominations should include civic and professional accomplishments as ... Comments are closed.