SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference has announced its 11 recipients of the 2006 Distinguished Service Award – including Elon’s Zac and Dot Walker. Each member institution selects an honoree based upon their overall contribution to the institution.
These individuals will be honored May 31 in Hilton Head, S.C., at the league’s annual Honors Dinner. The Distinguished Service Award program was started in 2002 as a way for the Southern Conference to recognize those individuals from its member institutions who have contributed to all aspects of the university.
In addition to the Walkers, this year’s honorees include F.P. Bodenheimer (Appalachian State), Tap and Jean Johnson (College of Charleston), Tommy McQueeney (The Citadel), Jeff Frank (Davidson), Sonny and Keeter Horton (Furman), Lamar Hennon (Georgia Southern), C. Thomas Martin (UNC Greensboro), Dr. Frank Trundle, Sr. (Chattanooga), Dale and Dianne Hollifield (Western Carolina) and Cleveland S. and Curtis R. Harley (Wofford).
“Whether it’s collegiate athletics or the corporate business world, organizations are only as successful as the people who support them,” said Southern Conference Commissioner John Iamarino. “The Distinguished Service Award honors select individuals who have gone above and beyond the call to help Southern Conference institutions better achieve their goals to the benefit of thousands of student-athletes. We sincerely appreciate their efforts and are happy to recognize the award recipients with this honor.”
The Walkers have been generous supporters of Elon and the Elon Athletics Foundation for over 25 years. A 1960 Elon graduate, Zac received Elon’s Alumnus of the Year Award in 1989. He has served as a member of the Board of Trustees since 1991 and is the immediate past chair of the board.
The Walkers endowed a football scholarship in 1979 in honor of Zac’s uncle, D.C. “Peahead” Walker, who is Elon’s legendary coach, and also endowed the Zachary T. Walker, Jr., Football Scholarship in 2001 in honor of Zac’s father, who played at Elon. The Walkers received the Elon Athletics Distinguished Service Award in 2005.
The athletics director’s office in the Koury Athletics Center and the Walker Lounge of Rhodes Stadium are both named in honor of the Walkers. They have also been major benefactors of the Koury Business Center, which will open in the fall of 2006.
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