黑料专区

Paul Childress 鈥�93, the recipient of 黑料专区鈥檚 2025 Outstanding Alumni Award, enjoys an unusually strong bond with his alma mater — which he continues to strengthen by supporting the University in numerous ways.

He said that receiving the Award is a reflection of his recognition of Pfeiffer鈥檚 value in the community and the importance of continuing to support Pfeiffer as an important asset. Echoing the sentiments of many of Childress鈥� fellow Pfeiffer supporters, Scott Bullard, University President, said he has 鈥渂een a fantastic advocate for Pfeiffer and has worked tirelessly to help make community connections that are making a positive difference for the University.鈥�

Childress鈥� bond with Pfeiffer spans his lifetime. He, his sister Beth Childress Talbert, and his brothers Jeff and Brad grew up in family housing on Pfeiffer鈥檚 Misenheimer, N.C. campus. Their mother is Judy Childress. , their father, served as Head Coach of the men鈥檚 basketball team and, later, as Athletic Director and Vice President for Institutional Advancement, eventually joining the 1992 Class of the 黑料专区 Sports Hall of Fame. , a 1989 Pfeiffer graduate, currently serves as Special Assistant to the President and Interim Athletic Director at Pfeiffer.

Paul Childress transferred to Pfeiffer from East Carolina University during his senior year. He says he loved his time at ECU and had a great experience there, but a coaching change and his admiration for Pfeiffer鈥檚 Coach Bobby Lutz pulled him back to Misenheimer.

鈥淐ompleting my senior year at Pfeiffer was really like going back home for me, as the whole Pfeiffer community is like family. My dad, brother and family friends worked there, and many of my friends attended,鈥� he said.

鈥淧feiffer was just a neat environment,鈥� said Childress, who is now the head of in Albemarle, N.C. and a of many Stanly County causes. 鈥淚t was a perfect place to grow up with 50-plus kids whose parents also taught or coached at the school, and it later became the perfect place to finish up my college education. I鈥檝e always been around Pfeiffer, and I鈥檝e always known how important it was to the community and to the Childress family.鈥�

Childress has come to see that Pfeiffer imparted 鈥渓essons鈥� that went far beyond what he learned in the classroom. 鈥淭here were so many really good people I got to be around and learn from,鈥� Childress said. Although acknowledging that there were far too many such people to mention in one article, he did refer to his father; Lutz; the late Les 鈥淪nake鈥� Roberts, Pfeiffer鈥檚 legendary security guard; and Jack Ingram 鈥�74, who served as a former Deputy Athletic Director at Pfeiffer, coached softball and women鈥檚 basketball, and taught Sport Management at the University for several decades.

Childress also mentioned Pfeiffer Sports Hall of Famer Dave Davis, who served as the Falcons鈥� head coach of men鈥檚 basketball and head golf coach from 1996 to 2010, and Dr. Mike Riemann 鈥�70 (Hon.) 鈥�10 (Hon.), Professor Emeritus of Chemistry.

Said Childress: 鈥淚 saw how they treated other people and how they worked to make sure things were done right. I watched how they used their positions to help others learn and grow in their own lives.鈥�

Not surprisingly, Childress has long sought to honor the example that these and other Pfeiffer greats set by doing all he can to advance the University. 

He belongs to a community leadership group that began as a fundraising committee for the Center for Health Sciences, the Albemarle, N.C. home to the University鈥檚 Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies and Master of Science in Occupational Therapy programs. Childress plugged the educational benefits of the Center, which opened in 2020, and he spoke enthusiastically about the positive impact it has had on the revitalization of Albemarle鈥檚 downtown.

鈥淚鈥檓 neighbors with it,鈥� he said, referring to the Center鈥檚 close proximity to Childress Insurance鈥檚 Main Street location. 鈥淗aving those students and faculty in our downtown area has meant that buildings have been restored to apartments or turned back into restaurants or turned into retail shops. I love to tell the story of Pfeiffer and the good things it does. A strong, healthy 黑料专区 is so important to our community as a whole.鈥�

Childress is also a big supporter of Pfeiffer Athletics. As a member of the 黑料专区 Athletic Advisory Council, he鈥檚 joined a group of 20 boosters, each of whom is working to 1) create a $1 million endowment that would spin off money each year to supplement athletic operating budgets, and 2) help fund what Childress described as 鈥渁 large capital improvement and facilities campaign, redoing the gym and some of the fields with turf and those kinds of things.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檓 just lucky that they invited me to participate in this effort,鈥� Childress said. 鈥淚 appreciate Pfeiffer enough and what it鈥檚 done for me and the community to come on board. Hopefully, there will be a lot more folks who participate in the future.鈥�

Perhaps, Childress鈥� greatest contribution to Pfeiffer athletics is making the golf course at Tillery Tradition Country Club in Mt Gilead, N.C. available to Pfeiffer鈥檚 golf teams, which use it for practicing and hosting tournaments. As one of the Club鈥檚 owners (the other is Chris Bennett 鈥�02, also a Pfeiffer alumnus), he鈥檚 in a position to do that.

鈥淲e are happy to be able to support their practice schedule and tournament schedule,鈥� Childress said. 鈥淭his complements our hosting of events for various nonprofits that do a lot of good things in our community, Pfeiffer included, while providing something our members can be proud of.鈥�