Triangle alumni lead workday to help a fellow Mountaineer
Appalachian Today | Alumni Association
Alumni who assisted Mark Pinney, kneeling, are from left Steve Walters, Bryan Parsons, Kip Edwards, Joyce and Dave Gardner, and Sheila and Terry Culler. Pam Gobel, not pictured, also assisted.
The finished ramp, constructed in large part with the help of Appalachian alumni. (Photos courtesy of Mark Pinney ’96)
When Mark Pinney ’96 needed a handicap ramp built for his ailing father who lived three hours away, he wondered if his Appalachian Family might be willing to assist. The Mountaineer spirit proved strong.Seven alumni in the Triangle area answered Pinney’s request for help, and on March 1 they, along with other local volunteers, constructed a ramp to the first floor of Bob Pinney’s condominium in Cary. Now the elder Pinney will be able to access his home when he is released from the hospital.
“The involvement received from the Triangle ASU Chapter is really beyond what I imagined and was truly a blessing,” Mark Pinney wrote in a thank-you letter to Triangle Area Alumni President Joyce Gardner.
“My dad’s situation is very hard to think about because he went from walking and talking three weeks ago to temporary paralysis and getting assistance to breathe from a ventilator and tracheotomy. What started out as a need for help from one Appalachian State University alumni member to another alumni group turned out to be a great miracle!”
Mark Pinney lives in Chesterfield, Va., and is a member of the Richmond Va., Alumni Chapter.
Word of his e-mail request spread quickly. Besides agreeing to the construction project, alumni offered to bring food for the family and shared Mark Pinney’s request with other community members with construction experience. As a result, a local church group already skilled in designing and building handicap ramps joined the effort.
“We had 20 volunteers… to help construct this handicap ramp for my dad. I will always remember this day, and I am proud to be a Mountaineer!,” he wrote.
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Appalachian sponsors 18 alumni chapters throughout the country. Members get together for socializing, community service and other activities. For information on a chapter in your area, email alumni@appstate.edu.
