Coble names three new academy committee members
Washington,
Sep 8, 2011 -
Three new members have been appointed to the panel that assists U.S. Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC) in deciding which high school students to nominate to the nation’s military academies. Congressman Coble said today that the three new members of his Sixth District Academy Selection Committee hail from Guilford and Randolph counties.
Rep. Coble said that the three new members are Tom Dayvault of High Point, Ali Palmer of Brown Summit and Robert Wilkins of Asheboro.
Tom Dayvault has served as the President & CEO of the High Point Chamber of Commerce since 2001. He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and completed his military career as a Captain in the Army. Dayvault has served on numerous boards in the community and is a recipient of the “Long Leaf Pine” Award. He is actively involved in the High Point Rotary Club and First Baptist Church in High Point. Dayvault and his wife, Judy, have two children, Joshua and Lauren, and soon will be the grandparents to two granddaughters.
Ali Palmer is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and earned his Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School. Palmer is employed by DaVita, Inc., as Regional Operations Director. He served as an aide to the Commanding General of the Army Corps of Engineers in Baghdad for two years and currently serves as adjunct trainer of the Leadership Development Program at the Center for Creative Leadership. Palmer has a love of languages and is fluent in Spanish and conversant in Russian and German. He lives in Brown Summit with his wife, Ayten, and has one stepson, Corey, who is a sophomore at Auburn University.
District Court Judge Robert M. Wilkins, a native of Asheboro, will serve as one of Congressman Coble’s newest members from Randolph County. Judge Wilkins attended University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for his undergraduate studies and graduated with honors from the University of Miami’s School of Law in 1993. Judge Wilkins retired as a Commander in the U.S. Coast Guard in 2002 and since then has returned to Asheboro and worked as a private practice attorney until his election as a District Court Judge for District 19-B. Since June 2011, Judge Wilkins has served as Commander of the Randolph County Veterans Council. Judge Wilkins lives in Asheboro with his wife, Cindy, and their two daughters, Carlye and Cloie. He is a lay member of Charlotte United Methodist Church.
Congressman Coble’s Sixth District Academy Selection Committee consists of 11 members and all six counties in the district are represented. The committee meets once a year in December to interview eligible students and nominate them to the nation’s military academies.
“I am delighted that these three members have accepted the opportunity to serve on the Sixth District Academy Selection Committee,” Rep. Coble said. “They have the unique opportunity to nominate students from across our six counties to one of our nation’s military academies. Each nominee from our district is then eligible for a congressional appointment. I am greatly honored to have them serve in this process. I also want to thank those who are retiring from the committee for their many years of outstanding service.”
The retiring members are Curtis Ring of Gibsonville, Bill Mills of Thomasville, Guy Troy of Liberty, and Chuck Braley of Greensboro.
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