Alumni Association Annual Awards

Judge Blanchard

The ASU Alumni Association recognized outstanding alumni and friends at their annual meeting and awards celebration in February.

Award recipients and their awards included the Honorable James G. Blanchard, Jr., 8th Superior Court judge for the Augusta Judicial Circuit, who received the Distinguished Alumnus Award; Dr. Fred Barnabei, ASU vice president for business and student services, who received the Distinguished Service Award; Mr. Jasper A. Cooke, ASU director of public safety and a 1987 alumnus, who received the Town and Gown Award; Mr. James M. Britt, chief executive officer and president of Refractory Materials International and a 1975 alumnus, who received the Golden Key Award; and Ms. Amy S. Dorrill, chief development officer at University Healthcare Foundation and a 1994 alumna, who received the Young Alumna Award.

Amy Dorrill

Judge Blanchard is a member of the American, Georgia, and Augusta bar associations, the Trial Lawyers Association of America, and the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia. His civic memberships include the Gridiron Society, the Augusta Symphony League, the Columbia County Historical Society, Augusta-Richmond County Citizens for Good Government, the Governor's Club of Georgia, the Columbia County Coalition for Quality Government, the Shield Club of Augusta, and the Hephzibah Agriculture Club. He also serves on the board of directors of Georgia Bank & Trust Company. Judge Blanchard was named an Honorary Kentucky Colonel in 1992.

Ms. Dorrill, chief development officer for the University Health Care Foundation, is a member of the Georgia Hospital Association, the Association of Healthcare Philanthropy, and the Greater Augusta Association of Fundraising Professionals. She is also a member of a variety of civic organizations including Leadership Georgia, Leadership Augusta, the American Cancer Society, the Ronald McDonald House Charities Board, and the Junior League of Augusta. Ms. Dorrill is also a member of The National Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi and is an honorary second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Signal Regiment.

James Britt

Mr. Britt is owner and president of Refractory Materials International and Britt's Roadside Grill. RMI is a materials supplier to the steel industry, and Britt's Roadside Grill is a start-up company with several components: Britt's Barbecue, a line of retail sauces, rubs, and powders; James Lewis Cookers, a commercial and backyard barbecue pit manufacturer; The Ultimate Cooking School, which offers "how-to" classes for barbecue competition and backyard grilling; and a commercial kitchen in Ashville, Ala., which has catering capabilities. Mr. Britt has three patents and one trademark assigned, and three patents in progress. Britt's Barbecue was named reserve grand champion at the Jack Daniels World Championship Invitational in 2003 and took first place in hog in both 2003 and 2004.

Dr. Fred Barnabei

Dr. Barnabei, vice president for business and student services at Augusta State University, is responsible for all business operations, auxiliary enterprises, budgeting, personnel, public safety, procurement, and physical plant, as well as the policies and programs that relate to student life and development. Dr. Barnabei, a professor of education, is also a former counselor. He is a member of the Forest Hills Management Committee and the Italian-American Club of the CSRA. He has served on the Personnel Advisory Committee of St. Joseph Hospital and the Mayor's Commission on Drug and Substance Abuse. He also leads a volunteer group of musicians at the university called the Jammin' Jags.

Jasper Cooke

Chief Cooke is director of public safety at ASU. He is a graduate of the Georgia Law Enforcement Command College, a two-year executive leadership program, and he has been in campus law enforcement for over 25 years. He serves on the executive board of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Association and is active in professional state associations including the Georgia Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators and the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, in which he serves as district vice president. He is past president of both Prevent Child Abuse-Augusta and the Augusta Judicial Domestic Violence Task Force. He is also active in ASU's Adopt-a- School partnership with Lamar Elementary School.

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