USA National Alumni Association Honors Alumni, Service Award Winners

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Posted on March 10, 2014

Joy Washington

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Two service leader couples, a NASA executive, an actress, a hotel management entrepreneur and a doctor who leads the University of South Alabama’s Board of Trustees were honored by the University on Friday, March 7, during a dinner for recipients of the USA National Alumni Association’s annual honors, which recognizes the achievements and contributions of alumni and advocates for the University.

Shown prior to the dinner held in the Mitchell Center are, from left, Robert “Bobby” Marks (B.S., Class of ’71) and Gerry Marks (B.A., Class of ’73; B.S., Class of ’88), co-owners of Jet Services, Inc of Mobile, Distinguished Service Award; Laura Cayouette (M.A., Class of ’88), author and actress who has appeared in HBO’s “Treme” and the major motion picture “Django Unchained, New Orleans,Distinguished Alumni Award; Dr. Marshall Porterfield (B.S., Class of ’93), division director for Space Life and Physical Sciences at NASA, Washington, D.C., Distinguished Alumni Award; Dr. Charles Rodning, professor of surgery in the College of Medicine and one of USA’s 50 Outstanding Faculty during the 50th Anniversary celebration, and Mary Elizabeth Rodning, internationally recognized artist of sumi-e, origami and calligraphy, and donors of the Charles Bernard and Mary Elizabeth Rodning Endowed Surgical Education Fund and the Mary Elizabeth and Charles Bernard Rodning Gallery of Art at the USA Marx Library, Mobile, Distinguished Service Award; Dr. Steve Furr, (B.S Class of ’76, M.D. Class of ’81) family physician, faculty appointee in the College of Medicine,  humanitarian and chair of the USA Board of Trustees, Jackson, Ala., Distinguished Alumni Award; and Julian MacQueen (B.A., Class of ’73), commercial pilot, entrepreneur, developer and CEO of hotel management group Innisfree, Inc., Pensacola, Fla., Distinguished Alumni Award.

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