ISSUED: 20 September 2019
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — Shepherd University will honor the 2018-19 Outstanding Alumni of the Year, Jim and Mary “Peachy” Staley and will recognize five Finest Under 40 alumni during Homecoming. Homecoming activities will include a Founder’s Day Parade and Athletic Club event on Friday, September 27, and Alumni Breakfast, Homecoming Parade, and football game against Kutztown University on Saturday, September 28.
The Staleys are both members of Shepherd’s Scarborough Society and Friends of Popodicon, and are avid fans of Shepherd athletics.
Peachy Staley graduated from Shepherd in 1970 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary education. During her 42-year teaching career, she taught first and second grade and special needs children at various levels. While officially retired from Loudoun County, Virginia, schools, she continues to substitute teach in Berkeley County. She is a founding member of WISH, Women Investing in Shepherd, a women’s giving circle with a mission of providing high impact grants to nonprofit groups and educational projects at Shepherd.
Jim Staley graduated from Shepherd in 1968 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in secondary education. Upon graduation, he was accepted into Army Officer Candidate School and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Army Infantry in 1969, serving in Vietnam as a combat infantry officer. Upon returning home, he began a 30-year career as the Jefferson County 4-H Extension agent with the West Virginia University Extension Service. He continues to support Shepherd by hosting the Veteran’s Day ceremonies on campus, helping with the ROTC and Tabler Farm initiatives, and previously serving as Alumni Association president.
This year’s Finest Under 40 alumni honorees are Aaron Combs, assistant director of operations at James Madison University; Aaron Weikle, Mountain State Software Solutions founder/CEO; Maigen Lawson, program analyst for FEMA; Samantha Brown, delegate, West Virginia Legislature; and Todd Cimino-Johnson, program coordinator of business and economics, Blue Ridge Community and Technical College.
For more information and a complete list of events, visit https://www.shepherd.edu/suaa/upcoming-events-2.
— 30 —
