Eugene Presley Named UNCA Alumnus of the Year;
Asheville Native to be Honored at Founders Day Dinner October 5

Eugene Presley

Eugene Presley, president of Hayes & Lunsford, has been named the UNC Asheville's Alumnus of the Year. The award will be presented at the annual Founders Day dinner October 5.

"We look forward with special enthusiasm to recognizing Gene Presley as this year's distinguished alumnus," said UNCA Chancellor James Mullen. "Gene is an extraordinary citizen of our region and a person of historical importance to our university. Surely there is no one else whose life has had a larger number of important connecting points with UNC Asheville."

Presley graduated from UNCA in 1981 with a bachelor's degree in management and returned to earn a Master of Liberal Arts degree in 1996.

A long-time advocate for education, Presley served for two terms as a member of the UNCA Foundation Board of Directors, as well as on the university's Board of Trustees, and UNCA's Comprehensive Campaign Executive Committee. A 1955 graduate of Christ School, Presley is a member of the Christ School Board of Directors and has served as its president. He was named Christ School Alumnus of the Year.

Presley became president of Hayes & Lunsford, a diversified electrical contracting company, in 1979 and had led the company expansion into the Carolinas and Tennessee. He has served on the Associated Builders and Contractors Board of Directors, the North Carolina State Building Commission, and is past president of the Carolina Electrical Contractors Association. In addition, he served on the Buncombe County Minority Business Commission, the YMCA Board of Directors, as a trustees for Key Risk Management Services Inc. and on the vestry of St. Mary's Episcopal Church.

"Even among UNC Asheville's hundreds of distinguished alumni, Gene Presley stands out," said Tracy Proctor, president of UNCA's Alumni Association. "His professional accomplishments are numerous, and his dedication and service to the university are well known and appreciated. Gene embodies the traits of a UNCA alumnus: intelligent, committed and successful."

Media Contacts:

• Mary Chakales, UNCA Alumni Office Director, 828/251-6693
• Merianne Epstein, UNCA Public Information Director, 828/251-6676