Fort Scott Community College is pleased to announce that Gina Shelton has been selected as the 2016 Outstanding Young Alumna and Dr. Paul W. Grimes as the 2016 Outstanding Alumnus by the FSCC Alumni and Friends Board of Directors.
FSCC will host a reception to honor Shelton and Grimes at 2 p.m. Friday, May 13. Shelton will also speak at the FSCC 9 a.m. graduation ceremony while Grimes will speak at the 4 p.m. ceremony on Friday, May 13.
Shelton was born and raised in Fort Scott, Kan., to John (deceased) and Connie Findley of Fort Scott. She has two sisters and one brother. She is married to Travis Shelton and they are parents to two children, Nick, 14, and Maci, 10.
Shelton graduated from Fort Scott High School in 1997. She initially enrolled in FSCC with the intention of majoring in secretarial science. After taking a beginning accounting class from Dr. Mary Ann Childers, she decided to pursue a degree in accounting. Gina graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1999 with an Associate of Science degree from FSCC. She then transferred to Pittsburg State University, where she graduated in 2002 with a Bachelor of Business Administration with an emphasis in accounting.
In January 2002, Shelton joined Diehl, Banwart, Bolton CPAs PA. She worked there for nearly fourteen years, assisting small businesses with accounting and tax work. In 2015, Shelton passed the Certified Public Accountant Exam. She joined Unified School District 234 as the Business Manager/Clerk in October 2015.
Shelton is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and Kansas Society of Certified Public Accountants. She serves on many nonprofit boards including the Bourbon County United Way, Fort Scott High School Alumni, and the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce, where she serves as Downtown Committee Chair and Finance Chair. She is also a member of the Bourbon County Young Professionals League and PEO Chapter CA. She attends Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene and enjoys supporting community events.
Dr. Grimes serves as Dean and Professor of Economics for the Kelce College of Business at Pittsburg State University. Prior to his return to Pittsburg State University in 2011, he served as a faculty member and college administrator for 25 years at Mississippi State University. Over the course of his 32-year career, Dr. Grimes has taught thousands of college students, from entering freshman to doctoral candidates. He has authored more than 100 scholarly research articles, reviews, notes, and other publications. Additionally, he has received more than one and a half million dollars in grants and contracts for his research and outreach activities over the course of his career from organizations such as the National Science Foundation and the United States Department of Education.
Dr. Grimes proudly traces his Southeast Kansas roots back four generations. After graduating from Baxter Springs High School, he attended Fort Scott Community College to pursue an Associate degree in business administration in May 1978. Dr. Grimes went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree and Master of Science degree in economics from Pittsburg State University. In December 1984, he received a Doctor of Philosophy from Oklahoma State University and began his career in higher education. Dr. Grimes’ academic specializations are in the areas of labor economics, economic education, and economics of public policy.
In 2003, Dr. Grimes was instrumental in founding the Mississippi Council on Economic Education, a non-profit organization dedicated to training K-12 teachers and promoting economic and financial literacy. His work with the Council resulted in revisions to the Mississippi high school curriculum which will positively impact generations of students and their families.
Dr. Grimes was recognized for his scholarship by being named a Visiting Fellow by Princeton University and a Senior Evaluation Scholar by the National Council on Economic Education. In 2005, he was honored by the National Association of Economic Educators with the Henry H. Villard Research Award for his career contributions to economic education research. The Southern Economic Association presented Dr. Grimes with the prestigious Kenneth G. Elzinga Distinguished Teaching Award in 2010.
Dr. Grimes is a co-author of Economics of Social Issues, an introductory college economics textbook published by McGraw-Hill. He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of The American Economist, the academic journal published by Omicron Delta Epsilon, the International Honor Society in Economics. He lives in Pittsburg, Kan., with his wife Marybeth, his two children, Maryroze, 14, and Spalding, 12, and his mother-in-law Rosemary.