Report of the Honors Committee

Southeastern Geographer Vol. XXXII, No. 1, May 1992, pp. 76-77 REPORT OF THE HONORS COMMITTEE John W. Florin University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD Neal G. Lineback Appalachian State University The Outstanding Service Award criteria states that the honorée give "Evidence of exceptional professional commitment to geography. . . ." The career of Neal G. Lineback is marked by such commitment. A lifelong Southerner, Professor Lineback earned his A.B. at East Carolina University, then taught high school in Virginia for two years before heading west to pursue his advanced degrees at the University ofTennessee. He joined the geography faculty at the University of Alabama in 1969, and remained there until 1986, serving as department chair from 1981 to 1986. In 1986 he returned to his native North Carolina to become chairperson of the Department of Geography and Planning at Appalachian State University. Dr. Lineback made his first professional presentation at the SEDAAG meeting in 1967 while a student at Tennessee. He has served the Division as a member ofthe Southern Studies, Nominating, and Membership committees; Co-chair of the Local Arrangements Committee; state representative from Alabama; Program Chairman; Vice President; and President . He is currently our elected Regional Councillor to the Association ofAmerican Geographers. He edited and directed the Atlas ofAlabama project, an effort that won him the Highest Achievement Award from the Association for State and Local History. His varied public service includes stints as Tuscaloosa (Alabama) Zoning and Planning Commissioner and on the Watauga County (North Carolina) Airport Commission. Dr. Florin is Associate Professor and Chair ofthe Department ofGeography at the University ofNorth Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599. Vol. XXXII, No. 1 77 In recent years Dr. Lineback's work has centered on his desire to improve geographic education and awareness. He was a leader in the implementation of a successful geographic alliance in Alabama. "Geography in the News," a weekly column Dr. Lineback has written since 1987, appears regularly in two newspapers and periodically in a number of others. Finally, the SEDAAG World Geography Bowl competition, now in its second year largely as a result of Neal's tireless effort, promises to be a continuing and exciting part of our annual meeting. ...