Each year during Dogwood Weekend we’re proud to honor our alumni, some of whom are returning for reunions after a half-century or more, and others who are experiencing their first few homecomings. No matter the graduation year or era, the King community is filled with kind souls and vibrant characters, and applauding their accomplishments is something we look forward to every spring.
Join us in celebrating the winners of the 2025 Alumni Awards:
Young Alumni Achievement Award
The Young Alumni Achievement Award recognizes those 40 or younger who have made outstanding professional contributions in their field and shown a strong commitment to serving others.
Richard Masters ’10 ’12
A native of London, England, Richard Masters is a two-time graduate of King and the 2025 Young Alumni Achievement Award honoree.
As a young man seeking out higher education opportunities, Masters applied to an agency to find an international scholarship opportunity in 2006. “King stood out based on my admittedly shallow criteria at the time,” he said, noting that he was searching for a university with “a good business school, a competitive soccer team, and better weather than southeast London.”
Masters cherished his time at King, which continues to hold a special place in his heart.
“King provided me with a solid academic foundation and valuable opportunities for personal growth during a pivotal period of my life,” he said. “The experiences, memories, and lifelong friendships I made continue to be incredibly important to me.”
He noted that a number of individuals proved to be exceptional mentors. “Several professors significantly impacted my life,” he said. “Matt Lavinder, Louis Thorpe, Declan Jogi, Mary Schroder, and Dr. Mark Pate provided mentorship, guidance, and encouragement, positively influencing both my professional and personal paths.”
Masters earned his undergraduate degree in Accounting from King in 2010 and then completed his MBA in 2012. During his time on campus, he served on the Honor Council, shared his skill as an accounting tutor, and proudly represented King as a talented goalkeeper for the Tornado men’s soccer team. In 2010, he was selected to the NCAA All Mideast Region Soccer Team and was named an NCAA All American. He was also a three-time Scholar-Athlete (2008-10) at the NAIA and NCAA levels.
After graduation, Masters joined Bristol’s Gregory Pharmaceutical Holdings, Inc., where he rapidly advanced through various roles to the executive level. He now serves as Vice President of Accounting at Kingsway Pharmaceuticals, LLC, where he leads the accounting department and oversees all aspects of financial operations.
In addition to his professional excellence, Masters exemplifies King’s commitment to community engagement. He has volunteered extensively as a soccer coach, including several years with travel teams, guiding players in their personal and athletic development.
Above all, Masters takes great pride in his role as a devoted husband and father, prioritizing family and community values.
“Receiving this award means a great deal, particularly because it recognizes achievements beyond athletics,” said Masters. “I am genuinely surprised, deeply humbled, and honored to accept this recognition.”
Legacy Award
King is blessed to be a proud tradition for many families. Established in 2009, the Legacy Award recognizes families with multiple generations who have attended King and whose members demonstrate an extraordinary lifetime of service, achievement, and commitment to King’s mission and vision.
The Toomey Family
Few names at King are more recognizable or respected than Toomey. The family has been a part of King history for decades and is the recipient of the 2025 Legacy Award.
The Toomey family story at King began with legendary Tornado volleyball coach Susie Toomey, and continued on with daughter Kelly Toomey Elliott ’95, son Chris Toomey ’97, Michael Elliott ’94, Anna Fultz, Ethan Fultz ’24, and Isaac Elliott.
Susie’s formidable coaching career began in 1985 and continued for 22 seasons, achieving an impressive overall record of 749-221 and a winning percentage of .766. Her teams secured 15 conference championships, including 10 consecutive titles from 1997 to 2006, while also earning 13 NAIA District Tournament berths and three regional championships. In all, she worked at King for three decades as a head coach and professor, and was inducted into the Tornado Hall of Fame in 2012.
Susie said she realized during her initial interview that she had discovered a truly special place to coach and teach.
“When I interviewed with then-president Dr. Donald Mitchell, I shared with him my vision for the team, which was to combine excellence in athletics, academics, and faith in building a program that would be successful and life-impacting,” said the six-time NCAA District Coach of the Year and 10-time Conference Coach of the Year. “Dr. Mitchell told me that was just what he wanted, and he offered me the job on the spot.
“His enthusiastic response told me what King was all about, and he encouraged me throughout his tenure, as did the faculty and staff. I loved being in a place where I could incorporate faith into the volleyball program, and that became something King volleyball was known for. The King community became a very important part of my family’s life, and our love for this place only grew through the years.”
Susie’s daughter Kelly and son Chris both attended King and also later worked at the university.
“My children basically grew up in Kline Gym,” Susie said. “They loved being there during my volleyball practices and often rode on the bus when we traveled for games. They witnessed the closeness of the players and the student, faculty, and staff support at the home games. They heard me talk about King all the time and knew what a great place it was. We gave them a choice of where to go to college – they chose King.”
During her time at King, Kelly was a four-year starter on the volleyball team from 1991 to 1994. She received all-conference and all-district honors twice and was named an NAIA All-American Scholar-Athlete on two occasions. She graduated magna cum laude from King with a bachelor of arts in Psychology and a minor in coaching, and later taught classes as an adjunct instructor. She also worked as an assistant volleyball coach with Susie.
Currently serving as Senior Woman Administrator at Union University, Kelly noted that receiving the Legacy Award holds great meaning for her family.
“To build a legacy, I believe that there must have been a deep investment of personal relationships into the lives of others,” she said. “This investment began with the profound role that my mom played in the lives of her players, the athletic department, the greater student body, and her fellow faculty and staff members. She loved extravagantly and made people around her feel known and valued.
“My husband, my brother, and I bore witness to that relational investment and leadership as students at King, as well as over the course of her life. We saw how she reflected Jesus, and we all sought to continue that legacy as we coached at King and pursued other avenues of ministry in our career paths.”
Kelly’s brother Chris also graduated from King and served as an assistant volleyball coach with Susie from 1999 to 2006. When Susie stepped down, Chris took over her duties, including leading an annual spring break mission trip, up until 2013.
His death in 2022 remains a heartfelt loss for the family as well as the King community. “Chris had a deep, deep love for King,” Susie noted.
Kelly said being part of King continues to hold great significance for her.
“In many ways, King feels more like home than any other place in my life experience,” she said. “I grew up watching my mom’s teams, became a player on her team, and then spent seven years coaching as an assistant at King. So I spent close to 20 years of my life being a part of a very rare and special program that truly is a family – one where alumni know each other across many age groups. I have always felt honored and proud to be part of the King Volleyball family and legacy.”
Mike Elliott, also a student-athlete at King, met Kelly on the first day of her freshman year. Soon they began dating and would later marry.
“King was also a place where I grew into adulthood, met my husband, found my calling, and grew tremendously to make my faith my own,” Kelly said. “King was foundationally formative for my spirituality. Beyond volleyball, many professors and leaders poured into my life – I specifically think of Dr. Errol Rohr, Dr. Karen Rohr, Dr. Craig McDonald and Chuck Thompson as huge influences.”
King’s third generation of Toomeys includes Susie’s granddaughter Anna, who worked at King as an area coordinator while her husband, Ethan, served as a graduate assistant volleyball coach and earned his King MBA. Isaac, Michael and Kelly’s son, began attending King as a toddler playing in his grandmother’s office while Kelly taught class.
Susie said there are multiple reasons her family has such great affection for King.
“It’s the intimate sense of community,” she said. “The people. The support and encouragement across the campus, between departments and sports. King is just a special place. And it all goes back to people.”
Christian Service Award
The Christian Service Award honors alumni of King who have dedicated their lives in full-time service to fulfill the commission of Jesus Christ, as found in the gospels.
The Reverend Sarah Bird Kneff ’10
When Sarah Bird Kneff arrived at King in 2007, she discovered rather quickly that her future path to ministry would lead through campus.
“Originally, I didn’t want to attend college so close to home,” said Kneff, who is a native of Glade Spring, Virginia, and King’s 2025 Christian Service Award honoree. “But when I toured the campus it felt like home, and I couldn’t really name why. I suppose it was the leading of the Holy Spirit.”
Kneff majored in Bible & Religion and minored in English Literature, graduating in 2010. After taking a year off to work with her father in youth ministry, she entered Princeton Theological Seminary in the fall of 2011 and graduated with her Master of Divinity in 2014. The fifth-generation Presbyterian pastor first served as Associate Pastor at Sewickley Presbyterian Church outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was then called to First Presbyterian Church in Nashville, where she became the Associate Pastor for Discipleship and Engagement. Currently, she serves as pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, Tennessee.
Kneff, who believes that King is a place for discovery and transformation for students, said there are a number of faculty members who contributed to her journey and continue to hold a special place in her heart.
“Dr. Dale Brown introduced me to the writing (and the person) of Frederick Buechner,” she recalled. “And Dr. Jim McClanahan inspired my love for studying the scriptures. Dr. Craig McDonald led me to love literature and writing, and Dr. Martin Dotterweich’s incredible storytelling brought history alive.”
Although it’s been 15 years since she graduated from King, Kneff did not hesitate when asked what she loves about the school.
“The people,” she said. “That is truly what made – and makes – King such a special place – the students, staff, and faculty are the reason King is so unique. It is such an important place because it was where I heard my call to ministry, forged lifelong friendships, and learned to ask good questions.”
Kneff, her husband Michael, and their children, Grace and Henry, love to go for walks around their neighborhood and share good meals with family and friends.
“It is such a gift to be honored by King, a place I love so much, for fulfilling the calling it helped me to hear,” she said. “It feels like a bit of a full-circle moment.”
Volunteer of the Year Award
The Volunteer of the Year Award celebrates alumni who generously dedicate their time and talents to advance King’s mission and strengthen our community. We proudly recognize those who serve both within and beyond King, making an extraordinary impact wherever they go.
Jerry Caldwell ’97
In his career at Bristol Motor Speedway & Dragway (BMS), King alumnus Jerry Caldwell ’97 has consistently inspired others to excellence, invested in our region, and worked to support and serve our community.
Caldwell began as an intern at BMS while studying for his master’s degree in Business. Since then, he has helped grow the speedway into one of the largest sporting facilities in the nation, one known for its near-magical transformations into a premier NCAA college football stadium, a world-class dirt racing facility, country music arena for some of the industry’s biggest names – and in August 2025, a Major League Baseball stadium.
In 2016, Caldwell helped BMS achieve fame as the home of the Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol, College Football’s Biggest Ever game. The event, which required decades of coordination and planning, featured the University of Tennessee Volunteers and Virginia Tech Hokies meeting halfway between their home stadiums for an epic clash. The game set the NCAA record for the highest single-game attendance, welcoming 156,990 guests.
Under Caldwell’s leadership, BMS was also the first sporting facility in the nation to successfully navigate the COVID pandemic, hosting mass vaccinations and also welcoming the 2020 NASCAR All-Star race in front of a socially distanced capacity crowd. That race marked the initial return to mass sporting events and set the standard of safety and excellence for all others to follow.
For these and other accomplishments, he has twice been named Speedway Motorsports Inc.’s (SMI) Promoter of the Year, and under his guidance Bristol Motor Speedway was named SMI’s 2016 Track of the Year. In 2022, Caldwell was named President of Bristol Motor Speedway & Dragway.
It is the October 2024 transformation of the facility that we honor and thank him for today. Within 24 hours of the devastating flooding that took place during Hurricane Helene, Caldwell was in touch with numerous governmental offices and agencies to discover ways to organize and help. In record time, the grounds of the Speedway became the Northeast Tennessee Disaster Relief Center, creating a hub for dozens of organizations and thousands of donors to give, sort, and distribute much-needed water, food, fuel and supplies.
The effort tied BMS and TEMA together with such partners as Eastman Chemical Company, Ballad Health, Food City, Second Harvest Food Bank and Samaritan’s Purse, among others, all with expertise in logistics and distribution. Where trucks could not navigate washed-out roads, helicopters aided in airlifts to reach the highlands of Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia. Hundreds of volunteers came to assist for weeks at a time, and the value of the goods distributed to a 12-county footprint measured in the many millions of dollars.
As with past projects under Caldwell’s leadership, the Disaster Relief Center now serves as a blueprint for other facilities and organizations seeking excellence in emergency response and management.
In his focus on community, Caldwell plays an integral role with the Bristol Chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) entity that provides funding for children’s-based nonprofits. The organization has contributed more than $21 million to child advocacy organizations throughout Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. Caldwell has also served as chairman on numerous boards of directors for local business and tourism organizations in the Appalachian Highlands region. Additionally, he is a member of the prestigious Leadership Tennessee class of 2018-’19, and was named 2023 Tennessee Tourism Leader of the Year.
A native of Lexington, N.C., Caldwell and his wife, Belton, are active members of numerous civic and religious organizations. In 2020, the couple were honored at the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute’s (CCAI) Angels in Adoption® at a gala in Washington, D.C. They are the proud parents of six children ages 5 – 19 and reside in Jonesborough, Tennessee.
Distinguished Alumni Award
The King University Alumni Office presents the annual Distinguished Alumni Award to alumni who have made worthy contributions in many areas of life, particularly in the areas of the “Three C’s,” which are college, church, and community. This award recognizes alumni who exemplify the values King University upholds: Christian faith, service, career, and scholarship.
Beth Rhinehart ’07
King University is proud to present lifelong community advocate Beth Rhinehart with the 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award.
A scholar as well as a business professional, Rhinehart earned a bachelor of science from Mary Washington College, plus dual master’s degrees in teaching and counseling from Johns Hopkins University before graduating from King in 2007 with her MBA.
“I returned to King to obtain my MBA as an adult for many reasons – the rigor and design of the academic program, the opportunity to continue my education while maintaining a full-time career while raising three children, the reputation of the professors and the collaborative atmosphere of the university, among others,” she said.
Rhinehart has served as President & CEO of the Bristol Chamber of Commerce since 2015. Prior to joining the chamber, she served for 10 years as Director of Government Relations for Wellmont Health System, building key relationships and overseeing Virginia legislative processes as they apply to hospitals and health care.
Rhinehart says her Bristol roots and role in the community give her an appreciation for King and its service to the region. Several members of her family have also attended King, including her father, sister, and nephews, and she has many wonderful memories of the school, both as a student and in her professional life.
“King provides so much more than just academic advancement to students, it enhances the cultural and intellectual life of the region through events, lectures, arts, faith, and sports,” she said. “King is, and has been for more than 100 years, an integral partner and part of the Bristol community.”
Rhinehart’s commitment to serving others and elevating the quality of life for all those in our region embodies King’s mission. In addition to her duties as Chamber CEO, she currently serves on the Virginia Chamber of Commerce Board. She is also the past Chair of the GO Virginia Region 1 Council, past Chair of the VA Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, past President of the Bristol TN/VA Rotary Club, past Chair of the Bristol TN/VA United Way Annual Campaign and Board, and serves on the Leadership Council for the STRONG ACC – the first Bi-State Accountable Care Community.
Previously, she served as Chairman of the Bristol Virginia Public School Board, as board member and secretary for the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation, member of the Sorensen Institute State Advisory Board, board member for the Virginia Center for Health Innovation and was Governor McDonnell’s appointee to the Virginia Tobacco Commission and Governor McAuliffe’s appointee to the Commonwealth Council on Childhood Success.
For her exemplary citizenship and service, Rhinehart was recognized with the 2019-2020 Inaugural James W. McGlothlin Lifetime Achievement Award from the United Way of Bristol, and in 2018 received the Distinguished Citizen Award from the Boys & Girls Club of the Mountain Empire. She also received King University’s Graduate and Professional Studies Alumni Award in 2016.
A 2024 graduate of Leadership Tennessee Class X, she was appointed to the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA) in 2023. She is a 2010 graduate of the Sorensen Institute Political Leadership Program (elected President of her class) and earned her Institute for Organization Management IOM certification in June 2018. She recently graduated from the Association of Chamber Executives (ACCE) Foundation Economic Mobility Fellowship; she also completed a fellowship in the ACCE Education & Talent Development Division in 2019 and a Business Leads Fellowship with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 2022. She is a member of the U.S Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Committee of 100 – the top 100 Chamber CEOs in the country – and in 2022, she earned her Certified Chamber Executive (CCE) designation, becoming one of only 172 individuals nationwide to do so.
“I enjoy and support the strong partnership the chamber has with King – whether it be through board service, business event hosting, or the mentorship provided to our youth leadership programs,” Rhinehart said. “King continues to demonstrate community support and engagement in Bristol, which contributes to the overall economic strength of our community and region. So many amazing fellow King alumni in this region enjoy the impact the university has made on us, and that highlights the value of the education we were privileged to earn at King.”
Honorary Alumna Award
The Honorary Alumna Award recognizes individuals who, although not King graduates, have made significant contributions to the university through their distinguished record of Christian faith and service. Those honored with this award are forever considered a King University Alumna.
Nell King Bieger
Born and raised in Bristol, Tennessee, Nell King Bieger is an eighth-generation resident of Sullivan County, great-granddaughter of E.W. King, and longtime advocate of King University.
Elected to King’s Board of Trustees in 2015, she has for many years supported King in ways both concrete and intangible. Her consistent guidance, including as current Vice Chair of the Board, has resulted in greater resilience and success for all those in the King community as well as our home region.
Her scholarly roots run deep. In 1977, Bieger was the top graduate of Tennessee High School, and in 1981, she graduated summa cum laude (co-valedictorian) from the University of Mississippi. There she was president of Kappa Delta Sorority, honor vice president of Phi Kappa Phi Academic Honorary, treasurer of Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honorary, and secretary of the Associated Student Body. She received the Taylor Medal in Accounting, was recognized as the ODK Province VII Leader of the Year, and today is a member of the Ole Miss Hall of Fame.
Bieger earned her CPA certification while working as a senior tax specialist for the Richmond, Virginia, office of KPMG International, formerly Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. She also served as national audit and tax manager for Circuit City Stores, Inc., before entering law school. Bieger graduated Order of the Coif (top 10%) from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1987. There she received the Edwin S. Cohen Tax Prize, given annually to the graduating student who has demonstrated superior scholarship in the tax area. She also received the American Jurisprudence Award for Estate & Gift Tax.
In 1998, Bieger was elected to the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, which recognizes individual attorneys for distinguished contributions to the practice of estate planning, probate and trust law. She has been named to The Best Lawyers in America for trusts and estates each year since 2003. She has also been named to Super Lawyers in Tennessee, Virginia, and the Mid-South. She is a member of the Virginia and Tennessee Bar Associations, and has published estate planning related articles in Tax Practice and Virginia Lawyer.
Bieger and her husband, Dan, live in Bristol, where they raised their two sons, Daniel and David. She is a lifelong member of Emmanuel Episcopal Church, and serves as a director of Bank of Tennessee.
In addition to her support of King, her many volunteer activities have included service with Bristol Regional Medical Center and Wellmont Health System, United Way of Bristol, the Birthplace of Country Music, Kappa Delta Sorority and Foundation, and the Blue Stocking Club. Bieger has also participated in strategic planning initiatives for the City of Bristol, Tennessee, the Bristol Tennessee City School System, and the Paramount Center for the Arts. She was instrumental in the establishment of the Ida Stone Jones Community Tennis Center and is a recipient of the Mildred P. Morris Community Service Award.
In her spare time, Bieger enjoys traveling, pickleball, and spending time with family and friends on South Holston Lake.