Four Added to Bethany College Communications and Media Arts Wall of Fame

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Bethany, WV – Four alumni from the fields of public relations, journalism and broadcasting were added to the Bethany College Communications and Media Arts Wall of Fame today.[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”5351″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]Greg Hammaren, ’81, is Senior Vice President/General Manager at FOX Sports Detroit, a post he has held since 2002. A 30-year veteran of the regional sports business with both Turner Sports and FOX Sports, he has worked with team owners and executives in multiple large markets. Hammaren’s leadership has helped FOX Sports Detroit become the highest-rated cable channel in prime time in Michigan as well as among the highest-rated and most-watched regional sports networks in the country. Greg is a seven-time Michigan Emmy winner for Station Excellence. He is a founding member of the Detroit Sports Organizing Corporation (2017) and has served on the Executive Committee of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Michigan since 2005.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”4976″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]Dean Lampietro, ’91, has been a producer at WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh since 1998, where he produces news, sports, election coverage, and special programming for this NBC affiliate. Prior to joining WPXI, Dean was a news producer for WHIO-TV in Dayton, Ohio.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”5877″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]Keith Joseph Piasecki, ’94, is currently a Technical Director / Director with CNN in Atlanta.  He started at CNN in 1998 as a video journalist and has held several positions including Electronic Graphics Operator and Master Control Operator. He led CNN’s 2008 political coverage on CNN.com/live and was lead Technical Director for HLN’s coverage of the Casey Anthony trail in 2011.  In his current role, Piasecki primarily works with CNN International as a Technical Director on the overnight shift working on the “CNN Newsroom” shows which are mostly geared to a European breakfast audience.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”4935″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]Dan Verakis, ’98, is a senior principal at Clareo Partners, an international growth strategy firm, where he leads the brand loyalty and change management practice. Verakis has worked in the international marketing communications and change management fields for over 20 years, and in three countries. He’s worked in leading roles within companies such as Whirlpool and Monsanto. And he’s advised clients such as McDonald’s, United Airlines, Heinz, Kraft, Maui Jim, and Anglo-American in roles such as SVP & Director of Public Relations at Cramer-Krasselt — the second largest independent marketing firm in the U.S.  Additionally, Verakis is a technology entrepreneur who has helped cultivate the Chicago tech ecosystem, launched his own startup, and been invited to join and launch the White House Safety Data Initiative.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]Bethany’s Communications and Media Arts Wall of Fame was established in October 2010 to honor distinguished communications graduates.  It includes 28 acclaimed graduates such as current national sportscaster Dave Sims and Bob Orr, the former Justice and Homeland Security correspondent for CBSNews.

As the oldest degree granting institution in West Virginia?, Bethany’s Department of Communications and Media Arts has had a storied reputation of producing graduates of national and international significance.  

About Bethany College

Bethany College is located on a picturesque and historic 1,300-acre campus in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia. Founded in 1840, Bethany is the state’s oldest private college.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]