DATE: Friday, October 31, 1997              TAG: 9710310599

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 

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MILESTONES

CHESAPEAKE

Two Chesapeake men, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Robert A. Steorts and retired Navy Capt. Harry P. Miller, have been installed as president and secretary, respectively, of the Virginia Council of Chapters of the Retired Officers Association.

The installation was conducted Oct. 18 at Fort Lee by retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Michael Nelson, president of the Retired Officers Association. Steorts and Miller are both past presidents of the Portsmouth Area Chapter of the Retired Officers Association, serving Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Isle of Wight and Smithfield.

The Virginia Council of Chapters represents about 6,000 members in 16 chapters in Virginia. The council meets quarterly to consider legislative issues of interest to the military community.

Steorts and Miller will serve two-year terms.

NORFOLK

Gary Robert Crossman, an associate professor in the department of engineering technology at Old Dominion University, has received the Ben C. Sparks Medal by The American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

The award was given to Crossman to recognize his service to mechanical engineering technology education. He was chosen because of his contributions as a faculty member, department chair and associate dean, and as a member of engineering societies, said Anne Buckley, the association's manager of public information.

Crossman will receive the award at the society's International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition in November in Dallas.

Crossman earned his master's degree at Old Dominion University and joined the ODU faculty in 1970. He chaired the mechanical engineering technology department from 1979 to 1988 and served as associate dean from 1988 to 1994.

VIRGINIA BEACH

Lynn Sachs, benefits manager with the Virginia Beach City Public Schools and the City of Virginia Beach, has been honored with the Julian Hirst Award.

Sachs was selected for this award, named for former Norfolk city manager and Leadership Hampton Roads co-founder Julian Hirst, based on her dedication to health care and commitment to providing health care services information to Hampton Roads residents. The award was created to recognize local leaders, under age 50, who have made a significant community contribution in public health, the arts and other areas.

Sachs, who manages a work force of more than 12,000 employees, took a leadership role when she re-created the Hampton Roads Health Coalition. She has been active in the Health Care Community Cluster Plan 2007, which focuses on improving the quality of life in the community, establishing Hampton Roads as a model wellness community on the East Coast and is administered through a partnership with the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce.

PORTSMOUTH

Dr. Bruce Stuart Britton, a family medicine specialist practicing at Portsmouth Family Medicine, and Dr. William N. Hovland, program director for Acute Care for the Elderly at Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center in Norfolk, recently received Partners in Healing Awards from the Pastoral Care department at Portsmouth's Maryview Medical Center.

The Partners in Healing Awards are presented annually to physicians who are observed by chaplains to be persons who recognize that spiritual and emotional wellness are important components of good health. Physicians who receive Partners in Healing Awards are known to use the services of the Pastoral Care department by making appropriate referrals to the chaplain and include the chaplain in patient and family consultations.

SUFFOLK

Dr. Michael D. Knox, a former director of the Western Tidewater Mental Health Center, has been named a Distinguished Service Professor at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

He is among only 12 faculty members in the history of the institution, which serves 35,000 students, to receive the honor.

``Michael's outstanding work in mental health and HIV education made him an excellent choice,'' university president Betty Castor said.

Knox, who served at Western Tidewater from 1978 to 1986, is director of the university's Center for HIV Education and Research, which he founded. He is a professor in both the Department of Community Mental Health and the Department of Internal Medicine, and is chairman of the Advisory Council of Faculty Senates for the 10-institution Florida State University System.

Knox retains a tie to Suffolk as a member of the Nansemond River Power Squadron, a boating safety organization. ILLUSTRATION: Photos

Crossman

Steorts

Miller

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