Paul Bloodworth, (BA Spanish, ’98) has been named the teacher of the Year at Columbia Middle School.

Brett Gunn (BS Kinesiology ’10) has received the Excellence in Research Award at the Graduate Research Day held in March at Georgia Health Sciences University.

Katie West (BS Biology ’03) has been named the Academy of Richmond County Teacher of the Year.

Heather Metress (BBA Marketing ’89, MBA ’96) was recently awarded the Women of Distinction in Professions award from the Girl Scouts of America.  Heather is currently the registrar at Georgia Health Sciences University. 

Arthur Erik Snead (BBA Finance ’07) received an award from Mississippi College School of Law during its annual Law Day ceremony. Snead was the recipient of the John B. Farese Memorial Trial Advocate Award, given to a student selected by Professor Pat Bennett based on trial practice tendencies.

Tony Martin (MBA ’11) has been hired by Visix, Inc. to be the Chief Operating Officer.  Tony will oversee all technical operations for the company including implementation, support, development, quality assurance, production, technical documentation, support escalations and internal infrastructure.

Patricia Burau (MED Reading Education ’79, EDS Reading Education ‘83) was recently awarded the Women of Distinction in Education award from the Girl Scouts of America.  Patricia is currently the special assistant to the superintendent with the Richmond County Board of Education.

The Honorable Louisa Abbot (BA History ’79) has recently become President-Elect of the Council of Superior Court Judges.  Previously she served as Judge of Superior Court of Chatham County, Eastern Judicial Circuit, having been appointed to that position in October 2000 and elected in 2002, 2006 and 2010.

Shannon Stephens (MS Clinical Psychology ‘94) was honored by the Georgia College Counseling Association (GCCA) with the 2012 Advocacy for College Counseling Award.  Shannon currently practices as a Licensed Professional Counselor and coordinates the graduate internship training program at Augusta State University’s Counseling Center.  She also serves on the GCCA Executive Council as the Augusta Region Representative.

Four graduates of Augusta State University have recently been chosen by the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce to be part of 2012’s Top 10 in 10 Young Professionals to Watch.  Congratulations to all four of you!  We wish you the best of luck in the upcoming Georgia Trend’s 40 under 40 2012 Competition!  The recipients are: Summer Bell (BBA Accounting ’06), Brian Coursey (BBA Accounting ’01), Elizabeth T. Finch (AS Nursing ’09), and Lynthia Ross Owens (BA Communications ’03).

Cher Best (BA Sociology ’90) was recently awarded the Women of Distinction in Community Service award from the Girl Scouts of America.  Cher is currently serving as the marketing and production manager at Clear Channel Media and Entertainment.

Lillian Wan (BA Art ’84, AACC Criminal Justice ’90) recently received an award as the top platelet donor for 2011 from Shepeard Community Blood Center.  Lillian has also recently surpassed the 32-gallon mark in donations!

Shane Pangle (BBA Marketing ’03) is a 2012 graduate of Leadership Columbia County.  LCC is part of the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce, a non-profit, membership driven organization that seeks to advance business in the CSRA.

Erica Steed (BBA Marketing ’03), David Coly (BBA Management ’85, MBA ’95), Michael Duckworth (BBA Accounting ’91), Jan Jennings (BBA Marketing ’03), Tina Baggott (MBA ’03), and Saundra Plunkett (MBA ’85) are all 2012 graduates of Leadership Augusta.  Leadership Augusta is part of the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce and is a professional development program with the goal of identifying and educating current and potential community leaders in the CSRA.