ECTC announces 2025 Distinguished Alumni and Lifetime Achievement honorees
Published on Feb 27, 2025
Elizabethtown Community and Technical College will recognize eight alumni and two retired employees for their exemplary work at the annual Profiles of Excellence celebration.
The Distinguished Alumni program has now recognized the academic, professional and humanitarian endeavors of 162 former students. Those recognized this year include Gloria L. Fite, Dr. Phillip ‘Deven’ Harris, Connor Kauffeld, Susan Simmons, Mari Lynne Stein, Raymond ‘Dale’ Streble, Keith Taul and Rosemary Howlett Vance, posthumously. Names and photos of this year’s honorees will join others in the Hall of Distinguished Alumni, on display in the atrium of the Regional Postsecondary Center on ECTC’s main campus.
In addition, retired professors Margaret ‘Jean’ Dudgeon and Pamela Laverne Harper will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for their service to the college. Dudgeon will receive the award posthumously.
The Profiles of Excellence celebration will be held from 6-8 p.m. March 20 in the ECTC Student Center. Details and registration can be found at ectc.us/profiles-dinner. RSVP by March 13.
The 2025 ECTC Distinguished Alumni include the following:
Gloria L. Fite is the co-pastor and church administrator for All Nations Worship Ministries. She’s responsible for daily operations and overseeing the church budget each year, along with teaching and preaching responsibilities. Fite obtained her associate degree from ECTC in 2017 and earned a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Western Kentucky University on the ECTC campus in 2024. She was chosen by the faculty to be the guest speaker for her graduating class at age 60, which reflected her dedication to education and ability to inspire others, regardless of age or circumstance. Fite has served with such organizations as Helping Hand of Hope, where she was selected to join the executive board in 2006. She has earned many prestigious awards for volunteer service, including the 2016 President’s Lifetime Achievement Award, an honor bestowed upon her by President Barack Obama for her extensive efforts to making a positive difference in her community. Two years later, she was honored with the Trailblazer Award, which recognized her strong work ethic and innovative support of women’s equality throughout Hardin County. Out of all her accolades, Fite is most proud of serving as a military spouse to her husband, Michael, which required her to support him through many deployments in combat zones. Fite credits ECTC for instilling in her a mindset of continuous learning and perseverance. She said Kevin Parrett made a lasting impact as her computer technology instructor, recalling his ability to connect real-world experiences with classroom learning. To current students at ECTC, Fite advises them to listen to their instructors for there is much wisdom beyond the textbooks.
Dr. Phillip ‘Deven’ Harris is the owner/CEO of White Tie Solutions, a consulting firm that guides clients in business structuring and development efforts. He also serves as chief operating officer of BCH Holdings. Harris was raised in a military family and considers Elizabethtown his home, where he lives with his wife, Tawanda. Harris’ career comprises over 20 years of experience in both the public and private sectors. He has served in a variety of business areas including federal government human resources and healthcare management. Harris attended ECTC in 2002, then earned a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership and learning with a track in workplace performance from the University of Louisville in 2010 and a master’s degree in business administration from American University in 2011. In 2022, he obtained his doctorate from Virginia University-Lynchburg. Add to this his military education in such specialties as project management and budget officer courses, and it’s easy to understand how Harris has become an expert in multiple business and management fields. Demonstrating an exemplary service record, Harris received the Kentucky Colonel Award, Human Resources Command Meritorious Unit Award, Meritorious Civilian Service Award and Civilian Service Medal, and multiple certificates of appreciation from various organizations in his community. During his time at ECTC, Harris appreciated the small class sizes, which allowed him to build a personal rapport with experienced faculty. He credits Robert Harris for helping him overcome his fear of math, which transformed a once-daunting subject into the foundation for his passion for business.
Connor Kauffeld is co-owner, with brother, Ryne, of Kauffeld Brothers Construction. Born and raised in Elizabethtown, Kauffeld attended ECTC after graduating from Elizabethtown High School in 2014. Even then, while still in high school, the brothers ran their own business with Kauffeld Brothers Lawn Care. While attending college, their business continued to grow until it morphed into Kauffeld Brothers Construction, which is now a full-scale excavating and contracting business that specializes in site development, finish grading and demolition. In 2019, shortly after graduating from ECTC, both brothers received the Hardin County Young Entrepreneur Award. In his private time, Kauffeld is a soccer enthusiast and served as the junior varsity coach and varsity assistant coach for Elizabethtown boys soccer from 2020-2022. His team made it to the final four of the state tournament in 2021. Kauffeld credits ECTC for equipping him with tools needed to navigate being an entrepreneur while obtaining a degree. He said that without the flexibility ECTC offered, Kauffeld Brothers Construction would not be where it is today because his professors taught him that discipline and work ethic would take him a long way. Kauffeld especially appreciates his communications professor, Katrina Eicher, for giving him the speaking skills that he has used time and again in his professional life.
Susan Wallace Simmons serves as executive vice president and human resource director for Central Bank of Lexington. Previously, she filled the same role for First Federal Savings Bank of Elizabethtown. She lives in Rineyville with her husband, Don. The Elizabethtown Society for Human Resource Management was chartered under her leadership in 2003, and she held various roles, including the chair position, within the Kentucky Society for Human Resource Management’s State Council. Simmons is a graduate of Leadership Elizabethtown and has served on multiple boards such as Feeding America, LexArts, Hardin County Relay for Life and Junior Achievement. She attended ECTC from 1983-1985,earned an associate degree in business management and was named the Outstanding Business Student of the Year. She recalls that she originally was on a secretarial track when two instructors pulled her aside to say they recognized strong management skills within her and encouraged her to change majors. To this day, Simmons continues to prove them right. Simmons credits her instructors at ECTC with giving her the desire and confidence to seek leadership roles. To current students, she offers this advice: be willing to accept criticism, make adjustments and watch yourself flourish.
Mari Lynne Stein is an accreditation consultant and registered nurse for Baptist Health Care in Pensacola, Fla., where she lives with her two children, Sophia,14, and Wyatt, 11. In her career as a nurse, she has worked across the country from Honolulu to Baltimore. She gives credit to each of her previous roles for shaping her into the nurse and leader she is today. Stein serves in the quality department, where she collaborates to identify areas of improvement and create corrective action plans for regulatory compliance. She graduated from ECTC in 2008 with an associate degree in nursing, then earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees by 2020. During her downtime, she is invested in personal fitness and is learning to balance on a standup paddleboard. During her time at ECTC, she fondly remembers the tough love of Professor Martha Glutting as one of the main reasons she was able to graduate from the nursing program after receiving a failing grade. Glutting challenged Stein to recognize her own potential and reapply to the nursing program. Stein ultimately had a successful nursing career. To current students at ECTC, Stein advises them to do the things that make you uncomfortable, because being uncomfortable is where we find our strength and truly begin to grow.
Raymond ‘Dale’ Streble serves as trainer and independent living specialist for New Hope Foster Homes and lives with his wife, Robin, in Lebanon Junction. After attending ECTC from 1986-1988, Streble obtained his bachelor’s degree in police administration from UofL in 1992. He had every intention of pursuing a career in law enforcement but instead accepted a job in child protective services at the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. He served as a CPS worker for 23 years and has become well known throughout Bullitt County and surrounding areas for his work to protect and advocate for abused and neglected children and vulnerable adults in courtrooms, homes and schools. Upon retirement, Streble knew he was not finished with his service to the community, and the community wasn’t ready to lose him either. He was recruited by New Hope Foster Homes in Shepherdsville, where he now trains foster parents. He also works with adolescents to meet independent living goals after they age out of the foster care system. For years, Streble graciously sacrificed his vacation time to volunteer at Camp Freedom, a camp for kids in foster care, first as a counselor and then as director. Streble fondly recalls his years at ECTC, especially Professor Pem Buck, who took students out of the classroom to show how people of another culture lived. To current students of ECTC, Streble said to never give up on yourself. Challenges may take you to places you never expected.
Keith Taul serves as judge-executive for Hardin County and is focused on improving county services. An eighth-generation farmer, Taul grew up on his father’s dairy farm in Cecilia. The eldest of three children, Taul spent his youth working the family farm and family agriculture equipment business, Taul Equipment. Upon graduation from West Hardin High School in 1976, Keith attended Elizabethtown Community College and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural engineering from the University of Kentucky. He spent over 35 years assuming increasingly challenging positions at several companies, primarily at AP Technoglass/AGC. He started Taul Innovations, LLC, as a continuous improvement consultant and trainer, training companies on lean implementation methodology and strategy, primarily working for ECTC Workforce Solutions and George Group Consulting. Taul and his wife, Megan, have been married for 41 years. They raised their four children on Keith’s family farm in Cecilia and are blessed with nine grandchildren. He serves as an elder at Crossroads Baptist Church in Elizabethtown. From his time at ECTC, he recalls the 12-hour monster final exam from Dr. Linda Mayhew in calculus. Taul admits she gave him hope to understand difficult mathematical concepts that led to two engineering degrees. He complained to her recently about how much he was scarred by those experiences, and she countered that he seemed to have survived.
Rosemary Howlett Vance was selected to receive this award posthumously for her role as executive director of Children of the Americas from 2000- 2023, where her work impacted thousands of people. COTA is a Kentucky-based non-profit organization involving a team of doctors in Lexington that does medical mission work for women and children of Guatemala. During this time, Vance made two or three working visits per year to Guatemala and even hosted children in her home who came to the United States for extended surgeries. Vance was raised on a dairy farm in Glendale. She graduated from East Hardin High School and earned a bachelor's degree in English from UofL and later a degree in law from UK. She worked as an administrative officer of the circuit court in Danville, retiring in 2020. In addition to raising her children, Vance's greatest joy was her involvement with Children of the Americas. When in college, ECC provided Vance with the opportunity to obtain a first-class education at a reasonable cost. The small class sizes and dedicated faculty gave her the foundation she needed to continue her education and advance both her career as an attorney and her unwavering cause for helping others. She was a very driven person and inspired so many to follow their passions.
The 2025 ECTC Lifetime Achievement honorees include the following:
Margaret ‘Jean’ Dudgeon was selected to receive this award posthumously. She was born in Paris, Ky., in 1942 and graduated from Bourbon County High School as valedictorian in 1959 at age 16. Dudgeon earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UK and was hired to teach German and French at the age of 23 by ECC’s first director, Dr. James S. Owen. She remained an esteemed faculty member of ECC/ECTC until she retired in 2010. She ran the Foreign Language Festival Tournament for high schools and was one of the on-air moderators for the Academic Challenge Show for local schools. Associate Professor Dudgeon served as Division Chair of Arts and Humanities, and established the Faculty Staff Follies variety show, which united the entire ECTC family during the holidays. She was dedicated to her students and was a delightful force of nature, often regaling those she met with stories of life, travel and observations. She had a way of teaching the intricacies of the language while blending the culture and beauty of the country it came from. Dudgeon was an active member of Saint James Catholic Church. After retiring, she enjoyed traveling the world, including Cuba, Japan and Ireland, and meeting up with old colleagues for lunch. She was married to her husband, Wayne, from 1972 until his death in 2011. They shared two children, Matthew and Amy. Dudgeon passed on Jan. 2, 2019, and continues to be missed every day.
Pamela Laverne Harper is a Louisville native and graduate of Louisville Male High School, where she was inspired by her Jefferson County School System teachers to pursue a career in education. She earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and social work, a master’s degree in college teaching, and a specialist degree in college teaching from Murray State University, becoming the first student in the university’s history to receive her master’s and specialist degrees simultaneously. Harper has completed additional graduate work at UofL and Indiana University Southeast and holds social work, high school sociology, counseling and psychometrics certifications. Her commitment to service and mentorship is exemplified in her proud Delta Sigma Theta Sorority membership. She continues to inspire and guide students, both in her professional role and within her community. Notably, she has been a driving force in securing student scholarships, including coaching the first Kentucky recipient of the prestigious Pan African Award and assisting students in their transition to higher education. As a dedicated educator and community leader, Harper's impact extends beyond the classroom. She was the first teacher in Hardin County to receive the Governor’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Citizenship Award. She has also led one of the county’s longest-running Black history events, the Gospel Music Extravaganza, which has reached tens of thousands over its 35-year history. In all aspects of her life, Harper strives for excellence in education, service and mentorship, leaving a legacy at the local and state levels. Even in retirement, after 42 years of service at ECTC, Pam works with the Family Scholar House to aid students in obtaining food, gas, scholarships, and any other assistance needed to help them stay in school.
