Golden Key International Honour Society is pleased to announce that Thomas “Tom” Walter, head baseball coach at Wake Forest University, has been inducted into the Society as an honorary member.

Walter donated one of his kidneys to freshman outfielder Kevin Jordan. Jordan was diagnosed in April 2010 with ANCA vasculitis, a condition in which abnormal antibodies were causing his white blood cells to attack healthy tissue in his body. After no family members were found as matches, Walter had himself tested.

On Dec. 20, 2010, Walter underwent an initial test to see if his blood and Jordan’s were compatible. Further tests were conducted in January and included a chest x-ray, CT scan and dye-injection test, during a two-day stint at the hospital. After more tests, Walter received the news that he was a match on Jan. 28, during the first day of spring practice.

On Feb. 7 at the Emory Transplant Center in Atlanta, Walter and Jordan both had successful surgeries and were release on Feb. 10. The baseball team’s slogan for 2011 is “What are you willing to sacrifice to help make this team better?” On Feb. 11, Walter returned the practice field and coached the Demon Deacons in their season-opener on Feb. 18 at LSU.

Each spring, qualified students are recognized at the annual induction ceremony. This year, 113 new members will be welcomed into Golden Key. The Society is pleased to have more than 20,000 honorary members who are elected by local Golden Key chapters. These individuals are active on campus or in the community and reflect the qualities and values of Golden Key. Coach Walter was selected as an honorary member because of his sacrifice and commitment to and leadership within Wake Forest and the Winston-Salem community.

In attendance at the event were Provost, Dr. Jill Tiefenthaler, and Holly McCaleb, Director of U.S. University Relations, Golden Key.