4 new and reappointed App State Board of Trustees members to begin new terms July 1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 16, 2025

4 new and reappointed App State Board of Trustees members to begin new terms July 1

BOONE, N.C. — At its May 15 meeting, the University of North Carolina System Board of Governors reappointed one member to Appalachian State University’s Board of Trustees and appointed three new individuals to serve on the board. The trustees will begin their four-year terms July 1.

The new appointees are Jamie Schaefer, of Blowing Rock, Wayne Sumner ’75, of Boone, and William Warren ’87, of Columbia, South Carolina. The board reappointed Joseph Jeffries Chesson ’77, of Wilson.

App State’s incoming student body president, Nicole Tran, a senior political science major from Charlotte, assumed a one-year term on the board in May.

Two additional appointments to the university’s Board of Trustees, from the North Carolina General Assembly, will be made later this year.

About the trustees

Joseph Jeffries Chesson

Chesson graduated from App State in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science in business administration, with a concentration in real estate. In the same year, he earned his North Carolina real estate and insurance licenses and began working in his family’s real estate business, The Chesson Agency. Chesson’s community involvement includes serving as a member of the charter committee of the Rotary Club of Greater Wilson and the Greenfield School board of directors, as well as volunteering for 35 years at Sugar Mountain Ski Patrol. Chesson began serving on App State’s Board of Trustees in 2021 and is chair of the board’s Athletics Committee.

Jamie Schaefer

Schaefer retired as one of the owners and operators of Westglow Resort and Spa in Blowing Rock. Prior to Westglow, Schaefer was a successful real estate broker, property manager and interior designer in Florida. Schaefer was presented with App State’s Honorary Alumni Award in 2013. Her service to App State includes collaborating with the design committee of the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts, serving on the advisory board of An Appalachian Summer and her continued involvement in programming for the Schaefer Spotlight Series.

Wayne Sumner

Sumner is the founder and chairman of the board of Jackson Sumner & Associates. Sumner entered the insurance industry in 1975, after graduating from App State with a Bachelor of Science in business administration. Sumner served as president of the North Carolina Surplus Lines Association three times. In 2015, Sumner was awarded a lifetime achievement award from the North Carolina Surplus Lines Association. And in 2013, Sumner was honored by App State with the opening of the Wayne L. Sumner Broadcast Studio as the new home of the student radio station, 90.5 WASU-FM. Sumner was a member of the App State Yosef Advisory Board and was also on the advisory council for the App State Department of Communication.

William Warren

Warren graduated from App State in 1987 with a degree in communications. After graduation, he began his career in pharmaceuticals where he was territory manager and district manager and is currently the South Carolina territory business manager for Procter & Gamble. Warren serves on the board of the Downtown Church, the Columbia Humane Society, and the Columbia Fitness, Fellowship and Faith organization. Warren and his wife, Dr. Nori Warren, created the first endowed scholarship for App State’s recently formed veterinary technology program. The Warrens’ giving to App State also includes generous gifts to App State Sustainability and Energy Management’s Mountaineer Food Hub, the Department of Geography and Planning, a memorial endowment, the Laps for Apps fundraiser for App State athletics programs and The Appalachian Fund. They are also members of the Yosef Club.

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