Distinguished Alumni 2010

Three area residents were honored as 2010 recipients of the Great Oaks Distinguished Alumni Award.  They were chosen from among a field of nominees who have excelled in their field and contributed to their community.  The Distinguished Alumni for 2010 are:

Jim Brady, a 1976 Laurel Oaks graduate, now superintendent of schools for the Westfall Local School District.  Brady had a career in the U.S.

Marine Corps which included providing security for two U.S. presidents and serving as assistant director for the Naval Corrections Academy.  He invented and patented a towel dispenser and is CEO of KwikWipes.com, and was a finalist on the television show “American Gladiators.”  An award-winning teacher, principal, athletic director, and assistant superintendent, he was named superintendent at Westfall in 2009.

Police Chief Scott Snow of the Reading Police Department, a 1990 graduate of the Great Oaks Police Academy.  He joined the police academy as a 21-year-old, and graduated as president of his academy class.  He started his career as a police officer in Elmwood Place, and joined the Reading Police Department in 1994.  He began moving through the ranks and became Chief in 2009.  He also volunteers throughout the community, and works with the Boy Scouts locally.  For the past seven years, he has also served as an adjunct instructor at the Great Oaks Police Academy.

Dave Spears, a 1981 graduate of the Construction Electricity program at Scarlet Oaks.  Spears was an outstanding student, taking advanced placement classes and winning a statewide electrical trades competition.  He competed with other students nationally in Atlanta in 1981.  After graduating from Hocking College, he became a journeyman electrician, working in Texas and Ohio.  In 1986 he began teaching, and came to Great Oaks as an instructor in 1997.  He was promoted to the Great Oaks Curriculum and Instruction team in 2005.  A business owner and electrical contractor, he began Spearco Incorporated in 1998.  He has also continued to branch out, earning bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in theology.

The awards, which are given to outstanding graduates of Great Oaks’ high school and adult programs, are sponsored by the Great Oaks Education Foundation.