Networking Team Honored

Front: Jenny Dawkins, Tim Rapson, Frank Waybright. Rear: Brig. Gen. John Barnette, Doug Weaver, Michael Noland. Not pictured: Ted Corbitt. Photo by Robert Walling.

By Robert Walling
A luncheon to honor four students for their services to aid military Hurricane Katrina and Rita relief efforts was held Nov. 16 at noon in Room 2536.

The mission, organized by West Virginia University at Parkersburg faculty members Doug Weaver and Jenny Dawkins, and West Virginia National Guard Brig. Gen. John Barnette, was to construct a computer network for the Belle Chase Naval Air Station Center for the New Orleans area.

The four students honored were sophomores Ted Corbitt of Elizabeth, Michael Noland of Parkersburg, Frank Waybright of Evans, and junior Tim Rapson of Parkersburg. However, the luncheon’s goal was to recognize more than the student’s achievements.

“It’s too soon to forget,” commented WVUP President Marie Foster Gnage, as she discussed the need for students and faculty to remember the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Barnette gave a presentation describing how badly the hurricanes affected not only the civilians of the Gulf Coast region, but also the local Louisiana National Guard. The West Virginia National Guard was one of the first to respond and help the affected areas.

Anyone interested in pictures or information on the students’ noble help and images of the hurricane aftermath can find the material on http://cit.wvup.edu/katrina/index.htm.