Texas State honors 2 Distinguished Alumni, 1 Rising Star for 2021

The Texas State University Alumni Association has bestowed its highest honor upon two notable Texas State alumni for 2021. Bob R. Covey and Stacy Chessher-Fowler are this year’s recipients of the association’s Distinguished Alumni Award. 

Additionally, the Alumni Association named one Young Alumni Rising Star Award recipient—Andrae Turner.  

First given to President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1959, the Distinguished Alumni Award is the Alumni Association’s most prestigious honor. Award recipients are Texas State graduates who have distinguished themselves in their chosen occupations and whose leadership serves as an example for the Texas State community.  

This year’s honorees represent a range of degree fields, professions and accomplishments.

Covey, class of 1969, taught for three years after graduation before joining American Alloy Steel, where he worked for 35 years. He retired from his position as vice president of sales in 2011, but recently came out of retirement and returned to the company in a sales role. Since 2005, Covey has served on the Cy-Fair ISD board of trustees and the Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce. He is a past director of the Gulf Coast Area Association of School Boards and serves as the second vice president on the Texas Association of School Boards board of directors. He is also a founder and current president of the Go Public Gulf Coast organization.

Chessher-Fowler, class of 1979, started her career as a P.E. teacher and rose to training Hollywood celebrities at the Sports Club L.A. in Beverly Hills. She has hosted countless fitness and health segments on television and radio, and has been featured by Good Morning America, Shape Magazine, Ladies Home Journal and Prevention Magazine. She was one of the first national spokespersons for Propel Fitness Water. Recently, she launched a successful tourism and events business, The Golden Hayride. Through her nonprofit We Play it Forward, she raises funds to help ease the fee barriers of organized sports.

The Young Alumni Rising Star Award was created in 2015 to honor Texas State alumni who are under the age of 40. Recipients of this award demonstrate a level of excellence which positively represents the university and serve to inspire current students and other recent graduates to excel in their work and recognize the important impact of their experience as a student at Texas State.  

Turner, class of 2007, has served in a variety of operations and project management roles during his career in healthcare. Currently, he serves as the senior operations manager for the pediatrics service line in ambulatory care services at Harris Health System. He previously worked as the manager of ambulatory clinics in the section of cardiology at Texas Children’s Hospital. Throughout his career, Turner has successfully implemented new strategic initiatives, provided expertise on new construction programs and led system-wide change processes in large public and not-for-profit healthcare systems.

The 2021 Distinguished Alumni Award and Young Alumni Rising Star Award honorees will be recognized alongside the 2020 honorees at the 2021 Distinguished Alumni Gala, which will be held on November 5, 2021.

For more information, please visit the Texas State Alumni Association’s website at https://alumni.txstate.edu/gala.