BOONE – The Reich College of Education at Appalachian State University inducted Richard Lapish of Concord, Ron Matthews of Statesville and Dr. Jim Reeves of Mount Airy, into the college’s Rhododendron Society at a June 11 breakfast ceremony.

The Reich College of Education established the Rhododendron Society in 1999 to recognize graduates of Appalachian whose service as teachers, librarians, human service professionals or administrators has reflected great credit on themselves, the field of education and the university. Induction is the highest honor given by the Reich College of Education.

Richard Lapish

A native of Concord, Lapish earned his bachelor’s degree in education from Appalachian State Teachers College in 1957. While at Appalachian, he played varsity baseball and was a sports writer for the student newspaper. Lapish received his master’s degree in education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Lapish served 35 years in the Cabarrus County School System as a principal, teacher and varsity football and baseball coach. He served as president of the Cabarrus County Unit of North Carolina Association of Educators. Presently, he serves as legislative chairperson for District 6 of North Carolina Retired School Personnel. He is the past president of the local unit of Retired School Personnel.

Lapish served in the U.S. Army and Army Reserve for 27 years. In 1989, Lapish was inducted into the Non-Commissioned Officers Hall of Fame. In 1985, he was appointed by Gov. James Martin to serve on the N.C. Advisory Committee of Military Affairs.

Lapish is a former member of the Concord Jaycees, having served as secretary, and a former member of the Concord Kiwanis club, having served as president. Additionally, he served as a chairman of the Kiwanis Club Terrific Kids Awards. He is a member of the Board of Trustees at Carolina’s Medical Center North East in Concord. He also is a member of three different scholarship committees and is a former coach of Concord’s American Legion baseball team.

Ron Matthews

Ron Matthews completed his undergraduate studies at Appalachian in 1981, earning a bachelor’s degree in education, with a concentration in special education. In 2001, he received his master’s degree in middle grades education from Appalachian, was inducted as a member of Alpha Epsilon Lambda and graduated Summa Cum Laude.

Matthews has been an educator for 30 years, having served as a teacher at South Iredell High School from 1981-86, as director of programs at Iredell Developmental Day School from 1986-96, and as a teacher at Statesville Middle School from 1996 to the present. He has served as a math department chair, 8^th grade department chair, on curriculum committees and as a mentor.

He has also been involved with the Statesville Middle School Leadership Team and strategic plan, textbook adoption and benchmark test committees.

Matthews has been active in the 1998 Statesville Junior Service League Teacher Grant, 2004 Energy United Teacher Grant in Robotics, 2004 Iredell Statesville Teacher of the Year Forum, 2004 North Carolina Teacher of the Year Symposium, and the 2005 North Carolina Distinguished Teachers Forum.

Matthews’ other recognitions include: the 1989 Statesville Jaycees Distinguished Service Award, the 1999-2000 Ben Craig Outstanding Educator Award Finalist and Statesville Middle School Teacher of the Year, the 2003-04 Iredell-Statesville District Teacher of the Year and Statesville Middle School Teacher of the Year. He is a member of both the North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the North Carolina Association of Educators.

Dr. Jim Reeves

Jim Reeves, a native and lifelong resident of Surry County, served in the United States Air Force from 1956-58. A double alumnus of Appalachian, he graduated in 1963 with a bachelor’s degree in business education and in 1965 with a master’s degree in guidance counseling. In 1977, he received his doctorate in education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

He began his career teaching for one year at Mount Airy High School and for one year at Campbell College. In 1966, he joined Surry Community College as one of its original administrative staff members. In 1994, he was named president of Surry Community College and served in that role until his retirement in 1998.

In 1999, Reeves was named by former Appalachian Chancellor Francis T. Borkowski as executive coordinator of the newly formed Appalachian Learning Alliance, an organization made up of 10 regional community colleges and the university. The goal of the alliance was to provide increased undergraduate degree completion and graduate degree opportunities in western North Carolina. In this part-time role, Reeves has served for more than 10 years as liaison with community college presidents and as an advisor to administrators at Appalachian in the area of community college and university collaborations.

In addition to his work at Surry Community College, Reeves has been active in the community by serving on the board of directors at Mount Airy Community Center, Mount Airy City Schools, Surry County Economic Development, and the Surry Community College Foundation. He also served as a member of the Northern Surry Hospital Board of Trustees and the Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce. On May 1, Reeves was named interim president of Surry Community College.

The Reich College of Education held its 2011 Rhododendron Society induction breakfast during Appalachian’s annual Alumni Reunion Weekend, June 10-11. For more information about the college, see http://www.ced.appstate.edu/.

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