Virgie M. McIntyre of Green Creek has just returned from Berea, Ky., where she was honored as Distinguished Alumna of the Year by her Alma Mater, Berea College.

This honor is awarded to a graduate who has made a difference in her chosen profession. As a 33 year teacher in Polk and Rutherford Counties and later as a professor at Western Carolina University, McIntyres students and teachers she has worked with say that her compassion for helping children and young people to live up to their potential is well remembered.

She was also supervisor of schools under Superintendents Gantt and Dusenberry.