WINONA, Minn. – Winona State will recognize a fire chef and an insurance executive for their career achievements during Homecoming festivities. In all there wil lbe five Alumni Society awards:
Eric Kerska. A 1987 grad in history and political science. Now fire chief in Rochester. He was in the Army and National Guard for 30 years with three combat deployments as an armor officer.
Tyrre Burks. A 2010 grad in professional studies. Founded the company Players Health, which provides commercial insurance to sports organizations and access to free athlete safety services.
Paula Scheevel. A 1980 grad in sociology. Long-time career managing student housing at Winona State. Recent recipient of state college award for outstanding service.
Jay Horne. A 2006 grad in marketing. Now district manager for Federated Insurance. A frequent guest lecturer at the university. A Warrior baseball player for four years.
Joe Reed. More than 30 years at Winona State for student activities. Under university president Darrel Krueger he transormed the university’s Lakefest, which had acquired a regional reputation for drunken excesses, into an indoor spring pop-music concert