The APSU National Alumni Association presents its highest honors during Homecoming weekend. This year, the Decade of the '80s Reunion Dinner on Friday evening, Oct. 13, culminates with the award presentation.
     Receiving the Outstanding Service Award for 2000 are Don Corlew ('65) and Virginia Quick ('42), both of Clarksville. Recipients of this year's Outstanding Young Alumnus/a Award are Chandra Walker Ford ('93), Anderson, Ind., Jeff Gooch ('96), Tampa, Fla., and Dr. Richard Ribeiro ('94), Clarksville.
     The Outstanding Service Award recognizes those individuals who, through fund raising, recruiting, advocacy or faithful service, have brought honor and distinction to APSU. The Outstanding Young Alumnus/a Award, given to an APSU graduate 42 years old or younger, recognizes outstanding accomplishments in one's profession, business, community, state or nation that have brought a high level of honor and pride to APSU.

2000 Outstanding Service Award
Don Corlew ('65)
     His blood runs Austin Peay red. A fervent supporter of the Govs, Don Corlew serve as president of the Governors Club, as well as a member of the executive committee and board of directors. 
Additionally, he is a member of the selection committee of Austin Peay's Athletic Hall of Fame and a member of the APSU National Alumni Association. 
     A Clarksville native, Corlew graduated from Montgomery Central High School. While attending APSU, he worked at Frosty Morn Meats Inc., Clarksville. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1965 and entered the insurance business-little knowing the success he would achieve.
     The owner of Don Corlew Insurance Agency, Clarksville, and a member of the Clarksville Association of Life Underwriters, he has qualified for the National Sales Achievement Award, National Quality Award and the prestigious Million Dollar Round Table. Added to these professional accomplishments, he has been named Agent of the Year several times.
     He served for five years as president of the Cumberland Heights Civitan Club. A member of Antioch United Methodist Church, he served as the church treasurer for 15 years and secretary/treasurer of the Men's Club for 21 years. 
     He and his wife, Brenda Coke Corlew ('73), have a grown son, Stephen ('94). 
   
2000 Outstanding Service Award
Virginia Quick ('42)
     For years her warm smile and soft Southern accent were an important part of Pace Alumni Center at Emerald Hill. 
Whether answering the telephone or leading an impromptu tour around the mansion, Virginia Quick was in her glory-kindly reminding visitors of the rich heritage of Emerald Hill and Austin Peay State University.
     Named 1987 Outstanding Employee of the Year, Quick was secretary for the Alumni Relations Office during 1979-89. Her extensive knowledge of APSU's history and important traditions made her pivotal to the success in 1987 of the first-ever 50-year reunion of the classes of 1930-37. She also worked behind the scenes of the Miss Austin Peay Pageant during its heyday.
     As an Austin Peay student, Quick worked during the summer as secretary to the president of Acme Boot Co., then Clarksville's largest industry. After earning a business degree, she graduated from the Institute of Organizational Business Management, sponsored by the United States Chamber of Commerce.
     Her first job? She took the sermons in shorthand and transcribed them for the minister of Madison Street United Methodist church. She helped with correspondence and handled financial records for the church. 
     Her career was put on hold when she and her husband, Vernie, started their family. All three grown children are APSU alumni: Linda McCaslin ('73, '81); Nancy Whitfield ('75, '90); and John Quick ('76).
     Quick re-entered the workforce as assistant to the secretary of the Clarksville Area Chamber of Commerce. She was with the Chamber 21 years, the last seven as executive secretary. She also was secretary for the Montgomery County Industrial Board. 
     She was named Secretary of the Year in 1975 by the Clarksville Chapter of National Secretaries Association and the Tennessee House of Representatives passed a resolution recognizing her many contributions. 
     Since retiring from APSU in 1989, she continues to work as a volunteer for the alumni association, willing to assist as needed. She also volunteers for the Safe House for Abused Women and Children and remains active in her church. 
   
2000 Outstanding Young Alumna
Chandra Walker Ford ('93)
     A member of the inaugural class of the President's Emerging Leaders Program, Chandra Walker Ford was a force at APSU, a true student leader. She parlayed her APSU education, leadership skills and charismatic personality into an enviable career with Lucent Technologies-a company on the cutting edge of technology.
     Ford is sales manager with Lucent Technologies, overseeing sales specialists within the four-state region of Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Michigan. Lucent Technologies offers a range of services, from Internet service provider to wireless technology. Her staff supports account executive teams in each state, assists with complex network applications and demonstrations and helps customers design telecommunication networks. 
     She began working with Lucent Technologies in 1996 as marketing manager and account executive for the four-state area. She completed her first year as the top account executive in her region. 
     After obtaining a degree in psychology and public relations from APSU, Ford earned a master's degree in information and communication sciences from Ball State University, Muncie, Ind. She received the AT&T and Indiana Bell Fellowship in 1993-94 and was Indiana's representative to a regional diversity council.
     Active in her church as choir director and committee leader, she and her husband, Eric, have a son, Joshua James, born March 1, 2000.
   
Outstanding Young Alumnus
Jeff Gooch ('96)
     It's a national pastime. Monday Night Football! As millions of fans settle into their recliners to watch, Jeff Gooch slips on shoulder pads and the orange and white jersey of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 
     At 5 feet, 11 inches, 224 pounds, this 60-game NFL veteran is one of the smallest linebackers in the league. But beating the odds is nothing new to him. After playing four years at John Overton High School, Nashville, and three years at Austin Peay (1992-95), Gooch was passed over in the NFL draft. 
     To play pro ball, he had to make it as a free agent. In a 1998 interview for "Austin Peay" magazine, Gooch said, "It's a do-or-die situation if you're a free agent. There are 80-plus people competing for 53 positions to even make the team. You mark off the spots for the number one and two draft picks and other players...you end up with more than 30 players competing for nine jobs." 
     Compete he did-and moved into a starting spot in 1997 when the man ahead of him on the depth chart was injured. In 1998, he started all 16 games for Tampa Bay.
     Gooch credits APSU for helping build the determination and resilience that prepared him for pro football. "I think (my APSU experience) got me where I am in the NFL because we weren't spoon-fed," he says. "The NFL doesn't give you anything; that's hard for some, but at Austin Peay we had to work hard." 
     Gooch's hard work paid off for him and his wife, Tonya, and their son, Lance, born in early June. The family lives in Tampa. 
  
Outstanding Young Alumnus
Dr. Richard Ribeiro ('94)
     After graduating from UT-College of Dentistry at Memphis in 1998, Dr. Richard Ribeiro returned to Clarksville, his adopted hometown, and affiliated with Hillcrest Dental Associates.
     Ribeiro grew up in the heart of the Amazon, where his late father was a physician and missionary. He came to Clarksville to live with a friend during his undergraduate years at Austin Peay, earning degrees in chemistry and health. 
     Consistently named to the Dean's List, Ribeiro also excelled outside the classroom. He was named Outstanding Student Employee in 1994 for his work in the Office of Intramurals and was given a certificate for Commitment to Leadership in Intramurals. 
     Born into a Toledo, Ohio, "medical family" (his father, a doctor; his grandfather, aunt and uncle, all dentists), Ribeiro followed the family tradition. He continued to excel in his dental studies in the UT-College of Dentistry, receiving the Student Achievement Award in Endodontics and the Certificate of Appreciation from the Department of Pediatric Dentistry Headstart Program.
     Ribeiro's spiritual faith has been his guiding light as long as he can remember. In a vignette in the Fall 1998 edition of "Austin Peay" magazine, he said, "I believe in God. I allow myself to go through the doors He opens. I know He wants me to help people."
     True to that calling, he is a volunteer dentist for Christina's Smile, a program sponsored by the Senior Professional Golfers Association for treatment of indigent children at tournament sites. He also volunteers his skills with Good Samaritan Medical and Dental Clinic in Clarksville. 
     He is active the Eighth District Dental Society, Tennessee Dental Association, American Dental Association and the Academy of General Dentistry. 
     Ribeiro is fast becoming a young community leader. He is member of the APSU Governors Club, secretary for the Sunrise Rotary Club and chair of the Sunrise Rotary Soccer Classic. He is a certified referee for the U.S. Soccer Federation and the Tennessee State Secondary Athletic Association. 
     He and his wife, the former Valerie D. Counts ('98), of Woodlawn, are active members of Immaculate Conception Church. Most recently, he served on the church's "Building for Our Future" fund-raising committee.