Youngs Selected for Alumni Legacy Award

Ted '58 and Joe Ann (West) Young '57 of Clarksville will be presented with the Alumni Legacy Award during the 2024 Ozarks Awards Ceremony on Oct. 18. The awards ceremony is held in conjunction with the University's annual Homecoming week.

The Alumni Legacy Award is presented in recognition of Ozarks graduates "who have given unselfishly of their resources to support the University and its mission during their lifetimes." This award is chosen by the University of the Ozarks' administration.

Ted and Joe Ann have supported the University for nearly 30 years each and have given to Ozarks for 19 consecutive years. They support the Ozarks Annual Fund as well as athletics each month and have given to the Wilson Athletic Complex.

Ted was a former four-sport athletes at Ozarks who was inducted into the University's Sports Hall of Fame in 1997. As a freshman in 1952, he earned letters in football, baseball, basketball and track, making him one of the first athletes in Ozarks history to earn four letters in one season. As a speedy halfback/defensive back in football, Young led the AIC one season with the longest punt return (62 yards) and the longest run from scrimmage (66 yards). In baseball, the smooth-fielding, leadoff-hitting second baseman was a four-year starter who helped the Mountaineers to two AIC titles. He hit .375 one season and was consistently among the league leaders in stolen bases. He lettered in track for two years as a sprinter until the school dropped the program, and was also a four-year letterman on the basketball team. By the time he graduated, Young had earned a total of 12 athletic letters.

Following his graduation from Ozarks, Ted served two years in the U.S. Army before going into coaching, including stints at Gentry, Hartman and Clarksville. He later became a business owner with Young Furniture Store and a go-cart track in Clarksville. He also worked for the Clarksville Housing Authority before retiring in 2007.

Joe Ann spent 48 years in education before retiring in 2006. She taught in Denver, Col., and Fort Smith, Ark., for 13 years before spending seven years as a counselor at Darby Junior High School in Fort Smith and Sylvan Hills Junior High School in North Little Rock. She would also spend 28 years as an educational examiner for school districts and cooperatives in Hot Springs County, Southeast Arkansas and Pine Bluff. She earned a master's degree in education and certifications in counseling and education examining and was named the Sebastian County Outstanding Young Educator in 1967.

The Youngs have been married since 2006.

Topics: Alumni