Dr. Bill Best, ‘50
Distinguished Alumnus Award

Originally from Haywood, NC, Bill Best graduated from Berea College with a Physical Education degree in 1959.   Following graduation, he served at Berea in various capacities for over 40 years as alumni building director, coordinator of social activities, director of Project Torchlight, director of Upward Bound, professor of physical education, teacher of general studies, and swim coach.  He is a founding member and current director of the Sustainable Mountain Agriculture Center, which focuses on maintaining the genetic heritage of vegetables and fruits.  He serves as a consultant to many groups and individuals interested in sustainable agriculture and seed saving and preservation.   He is a charter member of the Lexington Farmers’ Market and founder of the Berea Farmers’ Market where he served as president for 34 years.  He received the “Kentucky Master Conservationist” award in 1997, the Southern Foodways Alliance “Keeper of the Flame” award in 2003 for his work with heirloom fruits and vegetables, and has been featured in several national and regional fruit and vegetable publications including a cover story article in American Vegetable Grower.  He has written several books including The Tragedy of Platitudinous Piety; The Great Appalachian Sperm Bank and Other Writings; 100 Years Of Appalachian Visions  1897-1997; From Existence To Essence—A Conceptual and Mythological Model For an Appalachian Studies Curriculum; and The Appalachian Renaissance at Berea College-1944-1994.  He is currently completing a book on Appalachian heirloom fruits and vegetables.  Bill has also published essays in various journals and magazines and has been featured in articles in the Chicago Tribune, the Louisville Courier Journal and the Lexington Herald-Leader.  Bill holds an M.A. in Physical Education from the University of Tennessee and a Ph.D. in Appalachian Studies from the University of Massachusetts.  He has resided on his family farm in Madison County, KY with his wife Irmgard Best, ’71 for the past 36 years. 

Della Mae Justice, ‘93
Outstanding Young Alumnus Award

Following her graduation from Berea College in 1993, Della received the Watson Fellowship and traveled to study in Scotland and Northern Ireland with her husband, Troy Price, ‘92.  Upon their return, Della attended the University of Kentucky College of Law and earned several scholarships and awards, including Awards for Excellence in the Study of Litigation Skills, Criminal Procedure and Anti-Discrimination, and other general academic excellence scholarships.  She graduated from UK ranked 5th in her class and a Member of the Order of Coif.  Della served as a Law Clerk for U.S. District Court Judge, Hon. John G. Heyburn II in Louisville, Kentucky and worked two years as an Associate in a Lexington law firm.  Della and Troy then made the decision to relocate back to Della’s hometown in Pikeville, KY after Della’s niece and nephew came to live with them.  In Pikeville, Della worked as a sole practitioner and was a member of the Pike County Women’s Bar Association.  She worked to educate voters by creating a published survey where local attorneys assessed the professional capabilities of sitting judges and their opponents.  She also taught a business law course at Pikeville College.  As an attorney for a local artist, Della led a free speech debate that resulted in a production of the Kentucky Cycle being performed at the Breaks Interstate Park in 2004. This production spurred an arts-based non-profit that is still serving the region.  In 2005, Della and her family were featured in a New York Times series about the difficulties and benefits of changing class in America.  Della currently serves as Assistant Attorney General with the Consumer Protection Division of the Office of Attorney General in Frankfort. She greatly enjoys her role as a public servant, and life as a mother to three children - Anna, Will, and Parker.  She credits much of her successes over the past 16 years since graduating from Berea, to the support of her husband, fellow Berean, Troy Price, ’92.

Dr. William A. Laramee
Honorary Alumnus Award

Bill is the Vice President for Alumni and College Relations for Berea College, a position he has held since 2000. The Laramees first joined Berea College in 1972, when he held the position of Associate Dean of Men, followed by other student affairs related positions until 1978 when they returned to Vermont for twenty-one years. While in Vermont Bill held positions of Dean of Institutional Advancement and Dean of Student Affairs at Lyndon State College. In 1999, he returned to Berea as a Major Gift Officer and Assistant to the President.  In addition to his administrative duties at Berea College and Lyndon State College, he has published or taught in areas related to moral development and contemporary issues, leadership theory, higher education, philanthropy, conflict management, student development, and public policy.  Bill holds a M.A. from Dartmouth College, NH, an Ed.D. and M.Ed. from the University of Massachusetts, and a B.S. from Western New England College in Massachusetts. While in Vermont Bill held statewide appointments pertaining to literacy and environmental protection, and served on a local school board. In Kentucky he served as a trustee of the Berea Hospital. He was honored with the Martha H. O’Connor Award for Private Citizen Contribution to Public Education by the State of Vermont, and recognized as a Kentucky Colonel for public service from the State of Kentucky. In 2006 he received The Carter G. Woodson Award from Berea College’s Black Cultural Center.  Monica is a 1977 graduate of Berea College and volunteers at PeaceCraft as the coordinator of volunteers, and plays an important role in the Development operations of Berea College.  The Laramees have four grown children and four grandchildren. They are members of St. Clare Church and reside in Berea, Ky.

Violet Johnson Farmer, ‘61
Distinguished Alumnus Award

Violet Johnson (Vi) Farmer was born in Laurel County, KY and grew up on a livestock-tobacco family farm.  She earned a B.A. in Elementary Education from Berea College in 1961.  She completed work for her M.A. from Eastern Kentucky University and later received her Rank I and Gifted/Talented certification.  Vi's service to education spanned 29 years, as a teacher, coordinator of the Gifted/Talented program, and as a board member on the board of the International School-to-School Experience, an exchange program for sixth grade students for promotion of world peace, where she accompanied delegations to Guatemala and Mexico. Vi was elected to three terms as president of Berea Education Association and also served on the Governor's Task Force to write guidelines for Kentucky's Gifted Education Program.  In 1983 Vi was elected to Berea City Council where she has served 26 years (13 terms).  She has worked with various committees including Parks and Recreation, Finance, Streets Department, Berea Beautification, Economic Development, and she currently chairs the Human Resources Committee.  She was instrumental in forming the Sister-Region relationship through Madison County International Committee (MCIC) and served on the board of the American Committee for KEEP (Kiyosato Educational Experiment Project).  Vi has been very active in professional associations and civic organizations.  She has received special recognition for her contributions including "Teacher of the Year" in 1970; "Outstanding Women of Madison County" in 1987; Kentucky applicant for "First Teacher in Space" on the ill-fated Challenger mission; and "Woman of the Year" in 1994.  She and her husband, Jack Farmer '53 have 3 sons, Steve, Mike and Jeff, and 2 granddaughters, Leslie and Sarah, and a great-grandson, Aiden.  The entire family lives in the Berea area. 

Dr. J. Dan Pittillo, ‘61
Distinguished Alumnus Award

After spending his boyhood milking cows on a dairy farm near Hendersonville, NC, Dan Pittillo completed his A.B. in biology at Berea, '61, his M.S. in botany at the University of Kentucky, ’63, and his Ph.D at the University of Georgia, ’66.  He married Jean Farr just as he finished his Ph.D. and began teaching biology at Western Carolina College (which later became Western Carolina University). He began advising graduate students in the 1970’s and continued to do so until his retirement in 2004.  Dan’s lifelong interest in botany was sparked during his junior and senior years at Edneyville High School, when he participated in the Carolina Flora Project. French E. Rogers, '49, encouraged Dan to participate in the Project and as a result, Dan collected some 500 plant specimens for the development of the Manual of the Carolinas.  Later, as a sophomore at Berea, he began another collection, which amounted to another 500 specimens by his senior year, and was added to the core collection of Berea’s herbarium.  Conservation has always been one of Dan's major interests.  He served as a member of the Southern Highlands Recreation Study, and helped found the NC Bartram Trail Society.  He served on the NCBTS board for 32 years, holding various offices, including two terms as president, and presently continues on the Society's advisory board.  Dan also helped with the development, and continues as a life member of a conservation group, the Western Carolina Alliance.  He spent several years in research on the Blue Ridge Parkway and in the Nantahala National Forest, and his research and activism was instrumental in the development of the Panthertown Valley recreation area.  He now serves on various boards, including Discover Life in America, Friends of Panthertown Valley, Balsam Mountain Trust, and the Jackson County Planning Board.  In recognition of his contributions to teaching, Dan received the Paul A. Reid Award of Excellence, the H.F. “Cotton” and Katherine P. Robinson Professorship in Biology, and the Governor’s Award of Excellence.  He also received the Esther C. Cunningham Award for efforts in conservation; for contributions to botany, the Elizabeth Ann Bartholomew and the Tom R. Dodd awards.  In retirement, Dan enjoys organic gardening, singing in the church choir, caring for his extended family and twin granddaughters, and, as always, hiking the mountains with family and friends.