Alumni Spotlight:

Photo Courtesy of HMFA Georgia Chapter

Accomplished Concord College alumnus Dennis Crum currently resides as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Tift Regional Health System in Tifton, Georgia. Crum graduated from Concord in 1969 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with a concentration in Accounting.

After graduation, Crum went to work for a regional CPA firm in Lynchburg, Virginia from 1969 to 1971. He became a Certified Public Accountant in 1971 and entered the healthcare field the same year. From 1971 to 1975, he was a Senior Cost Report Auditor and Supervisor of Financial Planning for Blue Cross of Virginia. In 1975, Crum became Chief Financial Officer for St. Mary's Health System in Athens, Georgia. He has been an important force for St. Mary hospital for 25 years. Crum was named to his current position as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Tift Regional Health System, a two hospital health system in South Georgia, in 2000.

Crum shares his passion for accounting and finance, saying, “I always felt led to a career in accounting. My father came from a business background. I always felt accounting and finance were something I was good at and a career where my skills would always be needed.”

Crum believes he owes his success in his career to his instructor for all the advanced accounting courses, the late Harry Finkelman. “Harry was proud of his record of having the highest pass rate of any school in West Virginia. He prepped us well to take the CPA exam. I passed the exam on the first try after being out of school for over two years,” says Crum.

He is enthusiastic about his career, never shying away from mentioning that he is “proud to be a Certified Public Accountant.” Crum has worked in health care since 1971 and has been active in his professional organization, the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA). Crum is also a fellow in HFMA and has served in many leadership roles in the Georgia Chapter. He was the President of the Chapter in from 1997 to 1998. During his leadership, the Chapter won many national awards including the prestigious Robert M. Shelton Award for sustained chapter excellence. Crum has served on a number of committees of the Georgia Hospital Association and the Georgia Voluntary Hospitals of America.

Crum admits that his biggest challenge during his college days was the weather. “I lived in Alderson and commuted to Concord College. Making up the mountains to Athens on a snowy day was often a real challenge.”

Concord College was also a big milestone in Crum’s life, “it’s where I first met my wife and my life partner on a beautiful fall day.” During his senior year, they were married in the Concord United Methodist Church.

Crum has two children, a son and daughter, who both live in the Athens, Georgia area. Crum and his wife try to make it back to visit with her relatives at least once a year. “We often drive through the campus beautiful and reflect on the great times we had at Concord,” adds Crum.

Giving career advice to all current Concord students, Crum says “Go into a career that you will enjoy, provides opportunity for advancement and a variety of career avenues. Be sure you will enjoy what you are planning to do. Develop and maintain relationships.”