2009

WEEK OF C({Qz(tt 19 ) ')Cdj

ECCC Auditorium named for

longtime faCulty

East Central in September 2001. He was a member of Decatur United Methodist Church, . the National · Counctl of Instructional Admimstrators. Mississip– pi Facult) Association for Community and Junior Colleges, ECCC Alumni Association and Gamma Nu Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta at Mississippi State University. Thrash was awarded lifetime membership in the Mississippi Jaycees and the Jaycee International presented numerous Distinguished Service awards during his tenure as Area Vice Presi– dent of the Mississippi Jaycees. He served m the Missis– sippi National Guard and was a member of the Decatur Country Club Board of Directors for more than 30 years. Thrash was a graduate of Newton High School, ECJC and MSL. where he received bachelor and mas– ter's degrees. He completed additional studies at MSU and the Unh ersit) of Southern Miss1ss1ppi. He began his teaching career in 1962 at East Cen– tral. Thrash was married to Senate. He was

SPECIALTO THE TIMES

The naming of a school auditorium in memon of a longtime facult} member was approved at the Sep– tember 2009 meeting of the East Central Communi– ty College Board of Trustees. The auditorium. located m Ne,.,ton Hall, ""ill now be known as the fhomas W. Thrash Auditorium. to naming the facility has been scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday, November 15 in · A reception will follow the dedication program. "It is most appropriate that we name the auditori– um in memory of Mr Thrash," said ECCC Presi– dent Dr. Phil A. Sutphin. "He was an outstanding instructor who lived and breathed East Central Community College, as evidenced by his long and successful career. He also taught many classes in the same auditorium that will now bear his name:· Thra ·h. who died on Sept. 6. 2002, sen·ed as Chairman of the So\,.,al Science. Educa:10n and Business Division in addi– tion to teaching social SCI– ence classes He received numerous awards throughout his career, which began and ended at ECCC He was selected Acade– mic Instructor of the Year m 1987 and received an award for teaching excel– lence at the annual N1SOD (Nationallnstitute for Staff and Organizational De' el– opment) Conference i" 1989 at the Uni\ ersit}• of Texas in Austin. ln 1992, he was selected to participate in the anm• 11 Lamplighter Program, t • t - - __ a __ .... tha the auditorium.

honor his 40 ~cars of serv- ~~:;g~~~ ice on the Decatur campus. A ceremony officially

munttv and junior colleg~.: instructors. He also partici– pated in the Mississippi Community College Fel– lowship Program at Mis– sissippt State University in 1998 In addition, Thrash was recognized as the College's Humanities Teacher of the Year in 1999, an annual program sponsored by the Mississippi Humanities Council in celebration of Arts and Humanities Month. During his lecture, Thrash spoke on "The Impact ofRev. N C Clarke on Ne\\ton Count). Miss." The Rev. Clarke. a great, great grandfather of Mr. Thrash, "as the founder and first pastor of Clarke– Venable Baptist Church in Decatur. Clarke Memorial College in l'.e\\-10n v.as later named in his honor. Thrash also served as campus coordinator for the Smithsoruan exhibit, "Pro– duce for Victory: Posters on the American Home Front. 1941-45," a collec– tion of wartime posters provided by the Institu– tion's Traveling Exhibition Sen ices. The exhibit made Mississippi debut at

the former Jeanette Beev– ers and they ha' e two daughters, Mev and Melis- sa. Mev and her husband SHOBA DEMOCRAT Robbie Knicllt have two ------ childre Kelsi and Logan. OTT COUNTY TIMES __ v___ and the} reside in Mendi- an. Mehssa is married to NSTON COUNTY JOURNAL ___ Robert Carl~ton and they ARION-LEDGER ba\e one ch1ld, Hob, and --------