The Mountaineer Creed encourages students and alumni to be the very best they can be – to West Virginia University and to the communities in which they live. Six outstanding graduates who consistently practice “civic responsibility and stewardship” will be recognized as the 2014 Chapter and Service Award Winners for Homecoming festivities (Oct. 3-4). The awards are presented each year by the WVU Alumni Association to lift up and celebrate the great work of its alumni and volunteers.

David Baum of Wallingford, Pennsylvania, will receive the John F. Nicholas Jr. Award. This award recognizes a member of the WVU Alumni Association who has given outstanding service and contributions to a local alumni chapter.

Baum has been a loyal and devoted member of the Delaware Chapter where he has served in numerous leadership roles, including chapter president (2010). He has helped recruit future students through the Old Gold, New Blue student recruitment program at WVU, coordinated chapter events and activities, organized chapter food drives and raised money for scholarships for local students. He currently serves on the Chapter’s board of directors and helped to establish the Edna Bennett Pierce Society for members to provide sustaining support to the Chapter’s DJ and Bob Gibson Scholarship Fund.

As a student at WVU, Baum was a member of the Kappa Alpha fraternity and was instrumental in helping to raise funds for the new $3.2 million Kappa Alpha (Alpha Rho Chapter) fraternity house on the WVU campus. He also serves on the Kappa Alpha Order board of directors. Baum was actively involved in the Pop Arts Committee that brought large/small musical acts to campus during the late 1970s. His senior year, he won the “Ugly Man on Campus” contest, which raised more than $2,500 that year for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

A native of Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, Baum graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism (news editorial) in 1980. He previously worked for The Newspaper Guild of Philadelphia and The Scrantonian Tribune. He is owner of The Baum Agency, a media consulting/newsletter agency. Baum, a two-time cancer survivor, and his wife, Kimberly, are the proud parents of two daughters.

Dr. Bruce Berry will be recognized with the David W. Jacobs Lifetime Service Award for his unwavering commitment and service to the WVU Alumni Association.

Berry recently retired as the medical director at Colombo & Stuhr, P.L.L.C. where he oversaw risk management and quality assurance. In 2009 he was appointed to the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, where he currently serves as chairman (2013-14).

For nearly 30 years, Berry practiced medicine at a private practice in Charleston before moving to Morgantown. He also served as a clinical instructor, clinical assistant professor, and clinical associate professor at West Virginia University’s School of Medicine campus at the Charleston Area Medical Center. In addition to his work with WVU, Dr. Berry served as a clinical associate professor with the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine.

Berry graduated with an AB degree in biology (‘64), Master of Science in embryology (‘68), and a medical degree (‘72) from WVU. During his time as a student at the University, he was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa and Mountain Honorary. After graduating from WVU, Berry completed an internship at Charlotte Memorial Hospital and residency at the Charleston Area Medical Center, where he later joined the medical staff, serving on the infection control, credentials and executive committees and as chief of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He also served on the West Virginia Board of Medicine.

He and his wife, Pat, are life members of the Alumni Association and members of the Old Gold Club. They also are the proud parents of two WVU grads, Kevin and Heather, and have three grandchildren.

Sid and Bonnie Grisell of Glen Dale will receive the Paul “Buck” Martin award presented in recognition of a member(s) of the WVU Alumni Association who has worked to preserve, maintain and promote the traditions of WVU. The award was named for Buck Martin, a noted WVU historian who served as president of the Alumni Association.

Grisell received his bachelors’ degree from WVU (‘61). During his time on campus, he was a member of Kappa Alpha Order fraternity, and remains actively involved in with the organization, serving as president of the fraternity’s alumni association and as chapter advisor.

He graduated cum laude from the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science and is a licensed funeral director in Ohio and West Virginia. From 1977-2007 he owned and operated Grisell’s Funeral Service/Crematory Inc.

Mr. Grisell volunteers his time to a number of local organizations, including the WVU Alumni Association’s Graduate Emeritus Board of Directors, Moundsville Economic Development Council (president), and BB&T and Valley Hospice boards of directors, among others. He is past president of the Marshall County Chamber of Commerce where he received the Lifetime Achievement Award and member and past president of the Moundsville Lion’s Club where he was named Lion of the Year. He served as the grand marshal of the Marshall County Christmas Parade in 2009. He also gives of his time and resources to local philanthropic organizations

Bonnie Grisell received her bachelor’s (‘63) and master’s (‘74) from WVU. She was a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority and remains actively involved in the sorority’s alumni association.

Mrs. Grisell also received a vocational degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1977. From 1965-1996 she served as an educator, department chair and vocational director at Keystone Oaks School District in Pittsburgh.

Mrs. Grisell is active in her community and with many philanthropic organizations. She is a member of Phi Delta Kappa professional education honorary, co-president of Delta Kappa Gamma professional honorary for women educators, the Board of Trustees for the West Virginia Northern Community College Foundation, and a member of the boards of directors for Valley Hospice, Wheeling Symphony, and Appalachian Outreach, among others. She served as past president for the Marshall County Chamber of Commerce and the Western Region of Pennsylvania Association of Family and Consumer Science.

In 2012, Mr. and Mrs. Grisell established the Grisell Hall of Traditions at The Erickson Alumni Center which features sports memorabilia and other artifacts that celebrate the history of WVU athletics.

Since 1997, the couple has owned and operated Bonnie Dwaine Bed and Breakfast. They are members of the West Virginia and Professional Innkeeper’s Association. The couple also serves on the board of directors for Strand Preservation Society and Grisell House. They are the proud parents of five children (three of whom are WVU graduates) and 11 grandchildren.

Ashley Hardesty Odell of Morgantown will receive the Margaret Buchanan Young Alumni Award in recognition of her outstanding service to the WVU Alumni Association and the University. This award, named for Margaret Buchanan – the founder of WVU’s Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority – is presented each year to an alumna or alumnus who graduated within the last 10 years.

Odell is a partner in the Morgantown office of Bowles Rice where she focuses on the areas of litigation, insurance coverage and bad faith defense, deliberate intent and workplace safety, commercial collection, employment law and construction law.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from WVU, where she was an active member of Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority.

An active member of her community, Odell is involved with many organizations, including the WVU College of Law Visiting Committee, the Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia, the Morgantown Area Chamber of Commerce and United Way of Monongalia and Preston Counties. She was a co-founder of Generation Morgantown, and served as chair of the economic development committee for Generation West Virginia. Generation Morgantown and Generation West Virginia are organizations dedicated to recruiting, retaining and advancing young professionals in West Virginia. She also served as a member of the Power of 32 Steering Committee.

In 2014, Odell was named a Rising Star for Business Litigation by Super Lawyers Magazine for Virginia and West Virginia. She was selected as a 2008 “Generation Next: 40 Under 40” award winner, which annually recognizes young leaders in West Virginia for contributions to their communities. She was selected by Generation West Virginia as a 2010 Regional All-Star. In 2007, she served as President of the Monongalia County Bar Association (2007) and graduated from Leadership Monongalia.

Odell earned her law degree from the WVU College of Law (‘03). She is admitted to practice in the state of West Virginia and before the U.S. District Court for the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia.

She and her husband, Shawn, have a 3-month-old daughter named Maggie.

Frank Vitale is an active volunteer and leader in the Morgantown community. He will be recognized for that commitment with the James R. McCartney Community Service Award. This award is presented in recognition of outstanding citizenship, service and community involvement.

Since graduating from Valley Forge Military College, Vitale has been an advocate of continuing education, community involvement, volunteerism, and dedication to country and those who have served it.

Vitale earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology, followed by a master’s degree in business administration, both from WVU. He stays active in the life of his alma mater, serving as chairman of the MBA Advisory Board for the College of Business and Economics as a member of the Visiting Committee for the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences and as member of the Visiting Committee for the School of Pharmacy. Vitale holds appointments as an adjunct assistant professor for both the WVU schools of medicine and dentistry. Vitale is the former chairman of the United Way of Monongalia and Preston Counties annual campaign and currently serves as chairman of the board for the Morgantown Area Chamber of Commerce.

With more than 17 years of accumulated service as a member and officer of the U.S. Army and West Virginia National Guard, Vitale has been recognized for his service with the Meritorious Service Medal and Army Commendation Medal with oak-leaf cluster. Mr. Vitale worked with the Pentagon’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen to develop a grass-roots effort to meet the needs of U.S. veterans and their families as they return to civilian life and require support in accessing health care, education and employment opportunities. In 2010, Vitale co-founded VetConnection.org, a West Virginia based, non-profit group whose primary mission is to ensure that returning veterans and their families are treated with respect and assisted in building a new life in their community of choice.

Vitale is Senior VP of Clear Mountain Bank’s Private Banking group. He and his wife, Ashley, reside in Morgantown with their three children – Maxwell, Isabella and Cecelia.

-WVU-

tec/9.24.14

CONTACT: Tara Curtis, WVU Alumni Association
304-293-0972, tecurtis@mail.wvu.edu

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