William Erwin Spainhour '64
(Year Awarded--2004)

Hailing from Erwin, Tennessee, Erwin Spainhour arrived on Davidson's campus with a commitment to public service and community that he sustains today. Erwin's call to service began at a young age with the Boy Scouts of America, where he earned the status of Eagle Scout and later served as an assistant Scoutmaster for nearly 20 years.

While at Davidson, Erwin was a member of the Business and Economics Association, and he served in ROTC receiving a commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army following graduation. In addition, he was elected president of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. As time passed, there was no denying that service would be intertwined in every facet of Erwin's life.

He received his law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1970. Since his law school days, Erwin has been active in the legal community, where he has served as a criminal and civil attorney for almost 30 years and is a past president of the Cabarrus County Bar Association and the North Carolina State Bar Association. Since 1998, he has served as the Senior Resident Superior Court Judge in Concord and as the Chair of the North Carolina Sentencing Commission. His extensive career reflects impressive accomplishments, including numerous published articles on trial practice and advocacy and board service for many business and non-profit organizations.

In addition to his civil and professional activities, Erwin has remained dedicated to his faith, having served as an elder and deacon in the First Presbyterian Church in Concord.

In the midst of this exceptional professional career, Erwin has been an exemplary volunteer for Davidson. Erwin's commitment and affection for Davidson is demonstrated in his service as a committee member for the 20th, 25th, 30th and 40th reunions, as a regional committee member during The Campaign for Davidson, calling his classmates as an Annual Fund class agent, bringing his neighbors and friends together as President of the Concord Alumni Chapter, representing all of his fellow alumni as President of the Alumni Association, and helping to shape Davidson College policy as a member of the Board of Trustees. It is through this life of service to Davidson that he as touched and continues to touch the lives of so many fellow alumni.

The Spainhour family has entrusted Davidson with the education of three generations, starting with Erwin's father, Richard E. Spainhour '28, and most recently Erwin's two sons, Andrew '93 and John '97.

Because you continue to raise the bar of excellence in your service to your profession, because you are a devoted husband and father, because you are a committed alumnus who responds time and again to the call of alma mater, and because you have served as an unparalleled example of the type of leader we all strive to be, the Davidson College Alumni Association is proud to honor you, William Erwin Spainhour, with the Alumni Service Award, on the occasion of your 40th Reunion, this twenty-fourth day of April, 2004.