Four Win Development Awards

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION HONORS FOUR WITH N.C. STATE UNIVERSITY 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 of Sunset Beach 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