Former (Burlington, N.C.) Times-News executive editor Don Bolden, retired physical plant assistant director Stanley Greeson and retired professor Linda Thompson Weavil received Elon Medallions on Aug. 23, 2010, in an annual ceremony that celebrates the highest honor a person can receive from the university.
Elon Medallions recognize individuals who have contributed outstanding service to Elon over the course of many years. Elon University President Leo M. Lambert awards the honor each year at the start of Planning Week, which marks the beginning of the academic year and the preparation for students to begin classes for the fall semester.
Below are brief summaries of contributions by Bolden, Greeson and Weavil to Elon University:
Donald Eugene Bolden
Bolden has provided vital support to Elon University for many years, serving most recently with distinction on the School of Communications Advisory Board, including the past eight years as chair. He has dedicated 51 years to the Burlington Times-News, serving in nearly every capacity, beginning his career in the mail room and retiring as executive editor and building a reputation for fairness and as a champion of the truth.
After serving as the newspaper’s editorial voice for more than 20 years, Bolden was named editor emeritus of the Times-News and continues to serve readers by writing a weekly column on vital issues facing Alamance County. He is the author of six books on Alamance County history, including Alamance: A County at War, which earned him the history medal from the Daughters of the American Revolution and was recognized as the best history book in North Carolina in 1995, the year of its publication.
Bolden has received numerous awards from the Associated Press and North Carolina Press Association, a national citation from the Associated Press Managing Editors Association, and the Freedom Communications R.C. Hoiles Award. In celebration of his faithful service to his community, he has been named the Alamance County Citizen of the Year and the Alamance County Boy Scout Man of the Year and has received the Elon Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award.
Enthusiastic Phoenix fans and generous supporters of Elon athletics, Bolden and his wife, Billie Faye, an Elon alumna, created the Don and Billie Bolden Basketball scholarship to provide valuable annual assistance to deserving student-athletes.
William Stanley Greeson
Greeson served Elon for 28 years as a member of the university’s physical plant staff, modeling hard work and dedication and serving as an invaluable resource during the expansion of Elon’s campus. He first came to Elon in 1979 as an employee of his uncle’s masonry company, helping to build the colonnades and gazebo on the west side of Alamance Building before accepting a position in Elon’s carpentry shop.
Greeson left Elon in 1981 only to return three years later to serve in a variety of capacities, including carpenter, maintenance foreman, and director of maintenance before being promoted to assistant director of the physical plant, a position he held until his retirement in 2009.
His extensive knowledge and experience were vital to operating and maintaining new facilities, including Belk Library, McMichael Science Center, Danieley Center, Rhodes Stadium, Belk Track, the Academic Village pavilions, Koury Business Center, the Oaks residential complex, and the School of Law; and
Greeson built a reputation as the “go-to guy” for staff members on campus, helping to solve problems large and small and working to ensure that university events were executed flawlessly and that facilities were maintained at the highest standards. In 2002, he was named Elon’s physical plant Staff Member of the Year in recognition of his many years of work and commitment to excellence.
Greeson’s devotion to Elon is surpassed only by his love for his family, including his wife, Judy, daughters, Karla and Kerrie, both graduates of Elon, and four grandchildren, Kolin, Faith, Emma, and Madalyn.
Linda Thompson Weavil
Weavil began her Elon career as a faculty member in the School of Business in 1973 and served her students as teacher, mentor and friend until her retirement as professor of business administration in 2001. As the sole faculty member when she began teaching business communications and shorthand, Weavil championed strong writing among Elon undergraduate and MBA students, developing a rigorous curriculum that enabled them to learn professional communication skills and positioned them for success.
Weavil regularly updated her coursework and pedagogy to incorporate new technology and practices, giving students the tools they needed to succeed in a rapidly changing business and communications environment and earning the respect of her faculty colleagues. Students consistently praised her for her excellent teaching and mentoring skills and for challenging them to apply their knowledge to a career, leading Elon to honor her with the Dean’s Special Award for Exemplary Teaching.
Weavil made significant contributions to Elon by serving as chair or as a member of several university committees, including the Women’s Studies Committee, the Physical Therapy Advisory Council and the Investing in Excellence Committee, and she regularly gave of her time not only to her students but also to the larger community, serving on the board of directors of the American Red Cross of Burlington and as a longtime volunteer with Family Abuse Services of Alamance County.
In retirement, Weavil continues to loyally serve the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business by serving on the school’s board of advisors, helping to guide the future of business education, Elon’s largest undergraduate program. She and her husband, Bob, have supported the university, establishing the Linda Thompson Weavil Endowed Scholarship to assist a rising junior, senior, or student in Elon’s MBA program.