National association honors four with CALS ties
Four people associated with N.C. State University won awards recently at the National Agricultural Alumni and Development Association’s annual conference in Lubbock, Texas.
Chris Cammarene-Wessel, director of donor services and departmental fundraising for N.C. State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, received the Professional Achievement Award, which recognizes individuals “for their significant career activities and accomplishments, leadership activities in professional and community organizations, and other awards and recognitions.” She has been with the college since 1996.
With more than 20 years experience in nonprofit development and communication, Wessel manages fund-raising efforts for 20 academic departments, coordinates donor relations and stewardship and oversees information systems, communications and web technologies for the college’s Advancement team.
Dr. Nick Hamon, vice president and head of sustainability for Bayer CropScience North America and an adjunct faculty member at NCSU, received the Volunteer Service Award, which is presented to volunteers who “have demonstrated leadership and organizational skills to inspire and encourage others to further the success of their institution’s agriculture and alumni programs.”
Hamon has devoted countless hours of service in support of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Management. He has served as vice chairman of the N.C. Agricultural and Life Sciences Research Foundation Board; helped coordinate an international research conference at the university that was attended by nearly 500 scientists and research partners; serves on the College of Management’s board; and is a member of the university’s sustainability committee.
This spring, he developed and taught a class on the business case for sustainability for students in N.C. State’s Jenkins MBA program.
Ed and Dinah Gore, among the university’s top donors, received the association’s Ruby C. McSwain Outstanding Philanthropist Award. The award honors individuals for their support of agriculture, agricultural higher education, Cooperative Extension or land-grant universities; their advocacy for agriculture and natural resources; and for their philanthropy in community organizations and religious institutions as well as for the arts, the environment and social services.
The Gores donated $4 million and two tracks of land in Sunset Beach to the university. They also helped create an endowment for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ Landscapes of Opportunity campaign, designed to protect and conserve natural resources in North Carolina by sustaining agriculture and forestry. And they have supported ROTC and 4-H scholarships; paid for the development of Extension’s Cook Smart, Eat Smart curriculum, which is used throughout the southern United States; and funded several university endowments.
The National Agricultural Alumni and Development Association provides education, support and recognition for individuals who work to expand resources for land-grant and other colleges of agricultural sciences and related programs.
–Dee Shore, 919-513-3117 or dee_shore@ncsu.edu
