“Award/Recognition” Class Notes
james lewis (Col ’76)
James Lewis (Col ’76 CM) has been elected to a two-year term as Chief Judge of the Virginia Beach Circuit Court.
Bruce Russell (Col ’97 CM)
Bruce H. Russell II (Col ’97 CM) has been selected as a fellow of the Virginia Law Foundation. The foundation supports projects throughout the Commonwealth that facilitate access to justice, promote an appreciation and understanding of the rule of law, and provide law-related education in support of these ideals. Fellows are recognized as leaders in the profession, not just in their practices but in their communities, and comprise a group of more than 600 of the best and brightest legal practitioners, committed to the highest ideals of the law and to the concept of the citizen lawyer. Nominees are put forth confidentially by their peers, and voted upon by a blue-ribbon panel of distinguished practitioners. Russell has practiced in his native Southwest Virginia for over twenty years, most of which he has spent in private practice in his offices in Abingdon, Lebanon, and Tazewell. Russell currently serves as president of the Russell County Bar and the 28th Circuit Criminal Defense Bar, and is immediate past president of the Virginia Mountain/Valley Lawyers’ Alliance. He is also on the board of the Southwest Virginia Legal Aid Society, sits on the Virginia Bar Association’s Boyd-Graves Conference, and represents the 28th Circuit on the Virginia State Bar Council. He lives in Abingdon, Virginia with his wife, Shannon, their sons, Clark and Eamon, and their four dogs.
Charles EHLER (Educ ’68)
Ed Ehler (Educ ’68) marked the 55th anniversary of the 1968 men’s gymnastics team, which defeated Virginia Tech at Tech. Ehler, a former captain of the West Virginia University team, coached the UVA squad at the invitation of faculty member Edward Ratliff “Butch” Slaughter, while pursuing his master’s degree in education.
Khalil Andraos (Com ’06)
Khalil Andraos (Com ’06), Merrill Lynch Wealth Management financial advisor, was recently named to Forbes‘ 2022 100 Top Next Gen Wealth Advisors list. Andraos is a certified financial planner, a designation awarded by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. He also holds a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor designation.
Willie Jones (Arch ’82)
W. Lee Jones (Arch ’82) has been awarded the AIA Charlotte Citizen Architect Award by the Charlotte American Institute of Architects. The award recognizes the work of architects who serve as elected or appointed officials, public administrators or institutional leaders and establish and contribute to the development of laws, regulations, policies, or initiatives that promote excellence in architecture. Jones serves as park and recreation director for Mecklenburg County, N.C.
In addition, the county’s Park and Recreation Department received the Great Public Space Award for Romare Bearden Park at the City of Charlotte’s Urban Design Awards. The goal of the local awards program is to recognize and celebrate quality urban design in Charlotte, while encouraging continued community discussion around what makes for unique and great places. This is the second year in a row that the department has received an award from the organization. Last year, the department received the Merritt -New Construction Award for the Eastway Regional Recreation Center.
Thomas Majerus-Collins (Col ’83)
Steve Collins (Col ’83) has been named Journalist of the Year by the Maine Press Association. He is the state house reporter for the Sun Journal, in Lewiston, Maine, and a co-founder of Youth Journalism International, a Maine-based nonprofit that teaches and publishes students around the world.
Kern Jackson (Col ’87 CM)
Dr. Kern Jackson (Col ’87 CM) was delighted to return to UVA and be recognized by the Virginia Film Festival for the screening of Descendant on Nov 5. Descendant was awarded the Special Jury Award: Creative Vision in the U.S. Documentary Competition during the Sundance Film Festival. Netflix has acquired the documentary, co-presenting the film with former President and First Lady Michelle and Barack Obama’s media company Higher Ground. In addition, the vision, support and partnership of Participant Media continues to inspire the visibility of storytelling. Co-writing and serving as co-producer for this film elevates the visibility of a collection of Jackson’s archived oral histories and interviews with informants – an accomplishment and sacred honor. As a folklorist, Jackson’s preoccupation is with the nuances, the nooks and crannies of culture, as inspiration for honoring the ancestors and the people of Africatown, U.S.A., in Mobile, Alabama.
Paul Hobby (Col ’82 CM)
Paul W. Hobby (Col ’82 CM), founding partner of Genesis Park and GP Capital, has been inducted into the Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation. The foundation honors the accomplishments and contributions of outstanding business leaders by celebrating and telling their stories.
Craig Sampson (Col ’90, Law ’93 CM)
Craig W. Sampson (Col ’90, Law ’93 CM) has been named president of Barnes & Diehl, P.C. in Richmond, Virginia. Sampson serves on the board of governors for the Family Law Section of the Virginia State Bar and is a coauthor of Family Law: Theory, Practice, and Forms, a volume in the Virginia Practice Series that is published annually by Thomson Reuters. Sampson is the son of Thomas W. Sampson (Col ’64) and parent of Sabrina Sampson (Col ’21 CM).
John Moore (Col ’83 CM)
J. Kevin Moore (Col ’83 CM) has been named to the 2022 Northern California Super Lawyers list for construction litigation. He is an attorney at Bold, Polisner, Maddow, Nelson & Judson in Walnut Creek, California.
Travis McDonald (Arch ’80 CM)
Travis McDonald (Arch ’80 CM) received the UVA School of Architecture’s Distinguished Alumni Award for 2021. The award recognizes exceptional graduates from the School of Architecture who have demonstrated creativity, innovation, leadership and vision in their body of work, as well as in their service to UVA. McDonald has directed the restoration of Thomas Jefferson’s retirement retreat Poplar Forest since 1989. McDonald has also served on the Historic Preservation Advisory Committee for the University since 2007, and his book on Jefferson and Poplar Forest will be published by the UVA Press in the spring of 2023.
William Campbell (Engr ’66)
Bill Campbell (Engr ’60, ’66 CM) of Williamsburg, Virginia, was inducted into the James Blair Society of the College of William and Mary on Feb. 12, 2022. The James Blair Society is an organization that consists of those who have contributed at least $1 million to the College of William and Mary. The funds will be used to establish a scholarship in his name for students who are residents of Virginia and whose major is physics.
Angelo Antidormi (Col ’99 CM)
Angelo Antidormi (Col ’99 CM) has been promoted to director of acquisitions by The Procopio Companies, a fourth-generation, full-service real estate development and construction management firm. In his new role, he will lead the acquisitions team through the acquisitions, entitlement, and design phases, building and maintaining Procopio’s portfolio pipeline as the firm targets continued expansion.
Joseph Brown (Col ’65 CM)
Joseph W. Brown (Col ’65 CM), Of Counsel, Jolley Urga Woodbury & Holthus Attorneys at Law, received the 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award from Nellis-Creech Air Force Base. The award honors Brown’s 32-plus years of remarkable support to Nellis and Creech. This is the first time the award has been presented by the Nellis Support Team.
Brown has been a valued and treasured member of the Nellis Air Force Base, Creech Air Force Base and Las Vegas communities for many years. He is a former U.S. Marine, one of the founders and former chair of the Nevada Military Support Alliance and a former honorary commander and vice commander of the Nellis Support Group to the Commander of the Air Combat Command, and, until recently, had been honorary commander for the 526th Intelligence Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base.
Brown also received the National Guard Association of the United States Patrick Henry Award, which provides recognition to officials and civic leaders who, in a position of great responsibility, distinguished themselves with outstanding and exceptional service to the Armed Forces of the United States and the National Guard.
MONICA EVANS (Col ’89 CM)
Monica Holman Evans (Col ’89 CM), executive director, DC Board of Elections, has been certified as an Elections & Registration Administrator, from the National Association of Election Officials, the highest professional achievement for election officials. Evans is one of the few African American chief executive elections officers in the United States.
Evans brings broad legal experience to the position of executive director beyond her senior leadership role at DCBOE. Prior to her position as executive director, Evans served as the senior policy advisor on election operations and policy implementation. A Certified Elections & Registration Administrator designation is achieved only through a multi-year course of study taught by the Auburn University’s master’s in public administration faculty.
William Wilson (Law ’63)
William T. Wilson (Law ’63) received the 2022 Edward L. Chambers Jr. Award. The award was established in 2020, after Ed’s sudden passing, to recognize volunteers who have devoted significant time to the Virginia State Bar.
Wilson’s service to the Bar began in 1991 when he served on the Committee to Study Mail Ballot Procedures, and he has remained steadfast volunteer for over three decades. He is a past chair of the Conference of Local Bar Associations and a past chair of the Senior Lawyers Conference (SLC). His tenure with the SLC was distinguished by the development of a Senior Citizens Law Day Program which has been a statewide program of the VSB.
He has held various positions with the VSB including as a member of the Judicial Nominations Committee, the Executive Committee, the Bar Council (three times on the Executive Committee), the Professionalism Committee, Professionalism Course Faculty and chair of the Computer Study Committee. He is a former member of the Judicial Candidates Evaluation Committee (JCEC) and is currently (2022) serving on VSB Council. He was appointed by Chief Justice Donald W. Lemons to the Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee (JEAC) and is serving presently (2022).
Wilson has been practicing law in Covington since 1963, when he joined Senator Michael Hale “Hale” Collins. He was senior partner in the law firm of Wilson, Updike & Nicely until December 31, 2018. In his legal career, Wilson has served as a substitute judge for the County Court of Alleghany; president of the Alleghany-Bath-Highland Bar Association; president of the Virginia Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA); and was a member of the Boyd Graves Conference. In 2016, he was awarded the “Champion of Justice trophy” by the Virginia ABOTA Chapter. Additionally, Wilson served in the Virginia House of Delegates for 16 years (1974-89). As a delegate, he served on many committees and commissions, including the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission(JALARC).
Helen White (Col ’69 CM)
Jean White (Col ’69 CM) is again president of the American News Women’s Club, Washington, D.C. She retired from U.S. Department of State – class of 1997 – under the auspices of Secretary Madeleine Albright.
Michael Steger (Col ’89, Grad ’93, Law ’93 CM)
Michael D. Steger (Col ’89, Law ’93, Grad ’93 CM) has been appointed co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Solo & Small Firm Litigation Committee. He practices intellectual property, entertainment and business law in New York City.
Peter Curry (Grad ’74 CM)
Peter L. Curry (Grad ’74) has been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© 2023 for Economic Development Law.
Edward Coleman (Col ’04)
Ed Coleman (Col ’04) has been included in the Best Lawyers in America 2023 edition for his practices in Insurance Litigation and Personal Injury Litigation-defendants. Recognition is by peer review. Only 5% (approximately) of U.S. lawyers are selected for inclusion in the publication.
Top