HELPING IS WAY OF LIFE FOR THOMAS

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, April 2, 1993                   TAG: 9304020410
SECTION: FOUNDERS DAY                    PAGE: FD-3   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
HELPING IS WAY OF LIFE FOR THOMAS
"I enjoy doing things," says Joe Thomas shyly.
As president of Thomas Brother Inc. of Salem, Joe Thomas has been "doing things" all of his life. Fortunately for Virginia Tech, that's meants doing a lot for his alma mater.
It was for his lifetime of service that Thomas is being recognized with Virginia Tech's Alumni Distinguished Service Award.
A 1943 Industrial Engineering major, Thomas was an active student leader. An officer in the Corps of Cadets, he was a member of the German Club and the Scabbard and Blade Honorary Military Society.
"Virginia Tech has been very good to me and my family," he acknowledges. It educated my son and daughter and helped them achieve a lot of what they are today."
And Thomas has been helping Virginia Tech achieve a lot of what it is today as the ComTmonwealth's largest university. A member of the Virginia Tech Athletic Committee, he was president of the Virginia Tech Athletic Fund, and most recently chairman of the Second Century Campaign.
The hugely successful Second Century Campaign, a university drive designed to enhance intercollegiate athletics at Virginia Tech, raised 18.6 million, more than 1.6 million over goal.
"The Second Century Campaign was the most gratifying effort that I've been involved with," he says proudly. "I got to work with all of the university's top leadership. Seeing various alumni across the state, some that I haven't seen in years, was particularly rewarding."
Thomas has also been doing a few things in Roanoke to help make it a better place, too. Thomas served as vice chairman of the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors and was a former member of the Roanoke County Public Service Authority. Active as a member and chairman of the Roanoke County School Board, he chaired the school board's selection committee.
A former member of the board of trustees of Lewis-Gale Hospital and chairman of the board of the Richfield Retirement Community, Thomas served as president of the Medical Foundation of the Roanoke Valley. He also was the founder and vice president of Life Guard 10 Emergency Rescue Helicopter Service.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB