SANFORD - Mike Neal, director of student activities and athletics at Central Carolina Community College, has been selected as the winner of the college's 2012 Staff Person of the Year Award.

"Mike Neal is a great representative of the college," said CCCC President Bud Marchant. "He works tirelessly with our students to assist them in becoming well-rounded through their participation in campus and community activities. He also acts as a student advocate to guide our students to success in their academic as well as their personal lives."

Neal was chosen by the full-time faculty at CCCC for this award. He was nominated by former CCCC Dean of Student Learning Carl Bryan and then won the approval of the college's nominating committee.

"It is truly an honor with so many outstanding staff members here at CCCC," Neal said about the award.

Looking back over his 22 years of service with the college, Neal recalled that during first few weeks, he became "a firm believer and advocate for CCCC and the system."

"Everything comes back to helping our students to help our college, making our communities a better place to live, work, and raise our families," Neal said.

Developing the whole student athletically, civically, and academically is essentially part of Neal's job description. His main responsibilities include the Athletic Program, Student Government Association, Student Ambassadors, Activity Day, Intramurals and Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. Additionally he acts as a contact person for the funding and supervision of all college clubs.

Through Neal, CCCC successfully runs the college's athletic program using less than 30 percent of student fees where many colleges use 50 percent or more, prompting other colleges with start-up programs to call on Neal for assistance with the procedures for running a quality program.

Neal also maintains a myriad of other duties including organizing blood drives, participating in college fund-raising, preparing the CCCC Christmas parade float, acting as the student liaison for the Graduation Committee, assisting the Diversity Committee, and overseeing a dozen part-time employees.

Neal considers himself an ambassador for the college in his community involvement beyond the campus. He is the parliamentarian for the National Junior College Athletic Association for Region 10. He has been an active member of the N.C. Comprehensive Community College Student Government Association since his first years at CCCC.

Since 1992, he has been the event manager for CCCC's participation with Lee County Parks and Recreation for the Senior Games. He has also worked with Senior Games at the state level and was inducted into the Senior Games of Lee County Hall of Fame several years ago.

Neal has assisted Lee County Schools as a team builder and program resource for several youth-at-risk programs, and he has served with representatives from senior colleges on a panel to help potential student-athletes learn about transfer rules and available resources.

The Staff Person of the Year Award was established in 2001 by the NCCCS to acknowledge outstanding commitment and excellent performance of the non-teaching staff at its 58 institutions.