Dr. Boone, Admiral Luke McCollum honored as Distinguished Alumni at SHS

Navy Rear Admiral Luke McCollum and Dr. Corbett Boone received the Stephenville High School Distinguished Alumni Award Thursday.

BY RUSSELL HUFFMAN
The Flash Today

The Stephenville Optimist Club and Stephenville Education Foundation partnered to honor a pair of SHS graduates Thursday, presenting Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame designations to Dr. Corbett Boone and Navy Rear Admiral Luke McCollum.

The award was previously named the Academic Hall of Fame Award and is set to honor former students who have had a global impact. Both men are the “first” inductees since the rebranding of the Hall of Fame.

Both are participating Stephenville High School Career Day Friday, meeting and talking with high school students about their work.

Dr. Boone was nominated by his proud mother Sharon Boone, and she wrote the following;

Corbett has worked very hard for his medical degree and now is associated with Baylor University as one of the team physicians for Baylor athletics. He is always wanted to somehow work for art Briles his dream came true when after finishing his fellowship for sports medicine a team of doctors from Waco contacted him for an interview and the rest is history.

After high school Corbett played football at Hardin Simmons University for four years he had many honors playing football such as academic All-American and nominated for numerous national awards. He was also student body president his senior year and earned upon graduation the highest achievement award at Hardin Simmons University offers.

Corbett married Stephanie Lee from Stephenville and went to medical school at the University of Texas medical school at Houston. He did his residency and fellowship in Tyler. Corbett and Stephanie have three children. Corbett is very involved in the Waco area. He is involved with the Fellowship of Christian athletes, high school athletics Baylor athletics and his church.

Corbett has known since he was in middle school that he wanted to be a doctor. He is a hard worker and loves his work and his patients love him. He is a good motivational speaker to young people.

Rear Admiral Luke McCollum was nominated by Van Christian who wrote the following;

A Texas native and son of a World War II veteran, rear Adm. Luke McCollum is a 1983 graduate of the US Naval Academy. His first assignment was in Shanghai, China in a language study abroad program for Mandarin Chinese. He earned his designation as a qualified surface warfare officer in 1985 and holds a Masters of Science in computer systems management from the University of Maryland, University College.

He served at sea on USS Blue Ridge, USS Kincaid, and USS Valley Forge which to open the establishment of operation Southern watch over southern Iraq in support of operation restore in Mogadishu and Somalia. A short, he served in the Pentagon as a naval aid to the Chief of Naval Operations.

Rear Adm. McCollum has commanded five different reserve units including the Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron where he was mobilized as commander, Task group 56.5 in support of operation Iraqi freedom to protect the ports, waterways and approaches to Kuwait and Iraq.

McCall is a graduate of CAPSTOBE, the Armed Forces Staff College, Events Joint Professional Military Educational Curriculum and the Royal Australian Navy staff College in Sydney, Australia.

McCollum assumed duties as deputy commander Naval Surface Forces, US Pacific Fleet, in October 2015. His previous flag assignments were vice commander, Naval forces, Central Command, Panama, Bahrain, Reserve Deputy Director, Maritime Headquarters, US Fleet Forces Command, and Deputy Commander, Navy Expeditionary Combat Command.

He is a recipient of various personal decorations and campaign medals and this had the distinct honor of serving the shipmates and on teens who are working the joint meritorious unit award, the Navy Unit Commendation, the Meritorious Unit Award, and the Navy “E” ribbon.