CCU announces 2013 Outstanding Alumni of the Year
Candidates nominated for the alumni awards are chosen by a panel of faculty judges that considers such characteristics as integrity, loyalty, leadership and civic involvement.
Klaus graduated, cum laude, from CCU in 2005 with a double major in finance and management. A native of Germany, he transferred to CCU after receiving an intermediate diploma in tourism management from the International University of Applied Sciences Bad Honnef in Bonn, Germany, with which CCU has a longstanding cooperative exchange program. After graduating from CCU, Klaus worked from 2006 to 2007 as an investment analyst with Chanticleer Holdings in Charlotte.
In 2007, he started his own company, Addisco Value LLC, a capital management firm based in Huntersville, N.C. The company owns several business franchises including two Massage Envy clinics in Columbia and three The Joint chiropractic locations in Charlotte. Klaus maintains a close relationship with the Wall College of Business. He is vice president of the Beta Gamma Sigma alumni chapter in Charlotte, serves on the college's Finance Advisory Board, and mentored last year's Business Plan Competition.
Klaus has also, through his connections with Berkshire Hathaway, arranged for a group of CCU students to travel to Omaha, Neb., to meet the billionaire investor Warren Buffett as part of the legendary philanthropist's series of Friday meetings with college students. The event, a first for CCU, is scheduled to take place in November.
 McAllister earned a master's degree in literacy from Coastal Carolina University's Spadoni College of Education in May 2012. She was named South Carolina's 2012-2013 Teacher of the Year by the S.C. Department of Education. As part of the honor, McAllister received a sabbatical from regular classroom teaching so that she could spend the academic year visiting schools across the state to network with K-12 students and faculty.
During the year, she spoke at many teacher forums and led teacher cadet classes, and learned about education policy and advocacy. For travel purposes, she was provided with a BMW X3, and she received a $25,000 cash gift. One of the highlights of her Teacher of the Year experience was attending a White House ceremony with the Teachers of the Year from the other 49 states, where she met with President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. McAllister is a teacher at J. Paul Truluck Middle School in her hometown, Lake City.