MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Three Middle Tennessee State University alumni were among four professionals honored earlier this semester with 2025 Leadership Awards from MTSU’s Jennings A. Jones College of Business.

The recipients — Courtney Martin, Janet Ross, John Cerasuolo, and Kent Ayer — were presented with their awards by Jones College Dean Joyce Heames, Aubrey Harwell Jr., holder of the Jennings A. Jones Chair of Excellence in Free Enterprise, an event sponsor, and Yolanda Greene, Rutherford County community bank president for event co-sponsor and presenter First Horizon, during a special ceremony Oct. 14 at Stones River Country Club in Murfreesboro. 

Also attending the ceremony were MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee and first lady Elizabeth McPhee.

• Courtney Martin was presented with the Young Professional of the Year Award. Martin is a human resources generalist at HD Supply, where she focuses on associate advocacy, engagement, and development — areas that closely align with her commitment to fostering inclusive and supportive workplace environments.

Martin earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing at MTSU, graduating during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. She returned to her alma mater that fall to pursue a master’s degree in management with a concentration in organizational leadership. An HR internship with UPS solidified her passion for the human resources field.

After completing her master’s degree, she worked full-time at UPS as an onboarding specialist before joining HD Supply.

• Janet Ross was presented with the Joe M. Rodgers Spirit of America Award. Ross built a career in health care sales after six years of teaching and coaching high school basketball. Joining Pfizer in 1998, she contributed to the launch of some of the most impactful medicines of the era. In 2010, she transitioned into medical devices, holding roles from sales training to global marketing. She is now a regional manager at Boston Scientific.

At MTSU, Ross competed in three NCAA basketball tournaments during her four-year career and became the women’s basketball program’s first graduate assistant coach while earning her master’s degree. In 2023, she was inducted into the MTSU Athletics Hall of Fame. Ross is also president of the Lisa Ross Parker Foundation, founded in memory of her sister, who was an MTSU graduate and cheerleader.

• Kent Ayer was presented with the Jones College Exemplar Award. Ayer is co-chief executive officer and principal of TDK Companies, where he leads all aspects of the firm’s development, construction, and asset management platform. With over 20 years of experience in the multifamily industry, Ayer has overseen the construction and development of more than 10,000 apartment units and has sourced over $2 billion in capital.

Previously, he served as the associate athletic director at MTSU and as executive director of the Blue Raider Athletic Association. He is currently chair of the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.

Ayer holds a J.D. and MBA from the University of Louisville, and a B.B.A. in finance from MTSU, where he was a four-year letterman and captain of the basketball team.

• John Cerasuolo was presented with the Jennings A. Jones Champion of Free Enterprise Award. As president and CEO of Leap Partners, Cerasuolo leads a team that is building the premier southeast regional home services company. Leap Partners launched in early 2022 and has acquired 29 HVAC and plumbing companies in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Missouri, West Virginia and Kentucky.

Cerasuolo was previously the CEO of ADS Security, the 17th largest security company in the U.S. at the time of its sale in 2019. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1983. He earned an MBA from Clemson University. Cerasuolo is board chairman of the Beacon Center of Tennessee.

— Jimmy Hart (Jimmy.Hart@mtsu.edu)