Laverne was employed for 29 years
with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Washington, D.C., retiring in
1979 as Chief of the Research Support Division of the Coastal
Engineering Research Center. Laverne contributed to The Beach Erosion
Board Publication “Shore Protection, Planning and Design”,
published in 1954 and is the author of Technical Memorandum No. 27,
“Corrosion and Protection of Steel Piling in Sea Water”,
published by the Coastal Engineering Center in 1969.
Laverne is a financially active
member of the Lincoln University National Alumni Association and the
Washington, DC Metro Chapter. Laverne has been a generous financial
contributor to Lincoln for many years. He has a life membership in the
National Alumni Association. He has been a financial contributor to the
University’s library fund, The Class of 1950 Scholarship Fund, the Tom
Joyner Campaign and the Washington, DC Metro Chapter’s Annual Giving
Fund for 2001 and 2002. Laverne was a vital committee member of the
Washington, DC Chapter’s 2000 Annual Giving Fund Committee that helped
raise more than $21,000 to establish the Lucille Gayle Memorial
Scholarship Fund.
In addition to his support of chapter and University fund drives,
Laverne has established with the Lincoln University Foundation, an
endowed (at least 10,000) scholarship in memory of his late wife,
“The Corrine Watkins Memorial Scholarship Fund”.
Since graduation from Lincoln in
1950 and relocation to the Washington, D.C. area, Laverne has been very
involved with the Washington, D.C. chapter. Laverne served as the
President of the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Chapter during
1969-1970. Considerable progress was made during his term to expand and
establish the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Chapter, which now includes
members from Northern Virginia and Maryland.
Laverne has been chair of the
chapter's Membership Reclamation Committee for the past four years and
under his able leadership this committee has spearheaded activities
resulting in adding new members and the resulting dollars to the
chapter's treasury. Laverne was a member of the host committee for the
1999 Alumni Convention held in Washington, DC. Laverne regularly
attends meetings of the Washington, D.C. Chapter and works tirelessly
and unselfishly on behalf of the chapter and the University.
A grandfather, he serves as a
volunteer at schools where his grandsons attend.
Laverne has been active in his
neighborhood civic association, writing letters to county and state
officials about zoning changes and other things he considers detrimental
to his community. He is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., and
a true Lincolnite.
