Volume 2 No. 2
Welcome freshmen
Demorest and Athens campuses hold orientations for new students
A full house
Piedmont sets enrollment records in Demorest and Athens ~ Page 11
CONTENTS Top Stories 1 2 3
Remembering 9-11 Nursing adds new program Piedmont continues to expand
College Life 4 4 5 6 6 7
Mellichamp tours in Europe Art faculty show their stuff Students travel worldwide The Boys Next Door Theater hosts summer camp Nursing disaster drill
Academic News 8 9 9 10 11 12 13 13 13 14 14
Two new deans Salamander buzz goes worldwide Navigator Awards Spring & Summer Commencements Piedmont’s highest enrollment Summer camps New faculty members First debate camp held Student earns Kindness Award Imagining the Future follow-up Demorest Convocation
Piedmont College W. Ray Cleere President
Athens 16 16 17 17 18
Freshmen welcomed to Piedmont Athens Convocation Religion Conference announced Athens campus’ new club Piedmont partners with tech school
Athletics 19 21 21
Spring Sports Recap Feldman new volleyball coach Athletes recognized for class work
Graduate School 23 23
New Director of Graduate Admissions First doctoral class begins
Alumni & Friends 24 25 25 25 26 27 27
Alumni Spotlight- Andy House & Lauren Armour Teachers decorate doors Gragg named Nurse Hero Trip to Gwinnett Braves Freshmen/Alumni Cookout Go Online with PC Free Piedmont e-mail address
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Class Notes Obituaries
Class Notes Special Projects Coordinator Sandi Tatum
Editor David Price Director of Publications
Alumni Information Brandy Aycock Associate Director of Institutional Advancement
Graphic Artist Regina M. Fried Publications Coordinator
Justin Scali Associate Director of Institutional Advancement
Donor Relations Susan Mills Alumni and Donor Records Coordinator Published by the Office of Institutional Advancement
Third class postage paid at Gainesville , Georgia Published Semi-Annually Postmaster Send Address Changes to: Piedmont College Institutional Advancement 165 Central Avenue Demorest GA 30535
For more information about Piedmont College or for an admissions packet, call us at 1-800-277-7020 or (706) 776-0103. You may also visit us online: www.piedmont.edu.
Piedmont students remember 9-11
At noon on September 11, students, faculty and staff joined hands on the quad to remember the people who died during the terrorist attacks eight years ago and the men and women who are fighting today in Iraq and Afghanistan. Krista Tritt, captain of the campus club “Patriots of Piedmont� organized and led the event. She presented the opening speech and the closing prayer. As the group of 30 held hands in Alumni Park, anyone in the circle could say a prayer out loud. Many participants wore red, which symbolizes support for the troops. After the ceremony, red, white and blue balloons were left as a reminder to everyone who walked on the quad that day.
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New program for nursing
Student nurses Jessica Van Dyke (left) and Kolenya Bennett treat a ‘victim’ during a disaster drill held with county emergency services. (See story on Page 7)
LPNs can now enroll for BSN
New dorm, New Bedford Hall, expected to open for spring semester With a record enrollment of 2,811 students, the number of campus boarding students has also increased. To alleviate overcrowding in the dorms, Piedmont is expanding with a new dorm to be named New Bedford Hall. The new dorm should be ready for students to move in by the spring 2010 semester. The rooms are single occupancy, and the dorm will hold 48 students. One bathroom will be shared by two people. Vice President of Administration and Finance Dr. Tom Bowen said the college has already begun making plans for yet another similar new dorm.
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The R.H Daniel School of Nursing has added a new degree option for licensed practical nurses (LPNs) who want to earn a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) degree to advance their careers. The new program, similar to an existing program for registered nurses (RNs), allows LPN graduates to apply their existing credit hours toward the BSN degree. The department already has a similar program for registered nurses. Nursing School Dean Dr. Linda Scott said the college worked with North Georgia Technical College to create an “articulation agreement” that allows students from NGT or other approved technical colleges to enroll at Piedmont. The program had to be approved by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission and the Georgia Board of Nursing. LPNs typically graduate from a technical college after a one-year program. They learn basic nurse care and can give out medications, but Scott said they are limited in what they can do. For instance, Georgia law says LPNs cannot conduct physical exams. When LPN students begin their degree at Piedmont they are given a minimum of 15 hours credit for having an LPN degree. The students skip the summer courses that pre-licensure nursing students have to take, and they take one extra course that pre-licensure students do not. Scott said this course “catches them up on material they don’t get in the summer. We expose them to community health, research, and management. We put the theory and critical thinking behind their technical degree.” Everything else about the LPN program is the same as the pre-licensure nursing program, including the general education courses, clinical hours, and requirements to pass the license test. After finishing the general education courses, LPN students apply to the school of nursing, and if accepted they will finish their BSN in two years. “Once they have a BSN degree, they can work just about anywhere,” Scott said. “They can go on to graduate school or they can go through the clinical ladders and become managers.” Victoria Jordan, who earned an LPN degree at Lanier Technical College, is one of the first students to enter the LPN-BSN program. “I love nursing and did not want to be limited to a few avenues,” Jordan said. “It is preparing me for a profession that is ever there and forever demanding and changing.”
Piedmont continues to expand
Arrendale Amphitheater is the latest addition to the Piedmont Demorest campus PC Board Chairman Thomas “Gus” Arrendale III and Provost James Mellichamp react to the fireworks that marked the opening of the Arrendale Amphitheater. The new venue was dedicated in honor of the Arrendale family at ceremonies Oct. 15.
The Swanson Center was formally dedicated in honor of the children of Kay and Dean Swanson. Pictured, from left, are Trustee Stewart Swanson; Chairman Arrendale; Kaylee Grant, the daughter of the late Sabrina Swanson; and Dean and Kay Swanson.
The Piedmont Board of Trustees unveiled a painting of President W. Ray Cleere by the portrait artist Rossin outside of the newly named Cleere Mainstage Theater in the Swanson Center for Performing Arts and Communications. Pictured with Cleere are his wife, Ashley Cleere, and Thomas ‘Gus’ Arrendale III.
It was an evening of dedications at Piedmont College in Demorest Oct. 15 as members of the Board of Trustees and friends of the college gathered to formally dedicate the new Arrendale Amphitheater, the Swanson Center for Performing Arts and Mass Communications, and the Swanson Center Mainstage Theater. Chairman Thomas “Gus” Arrendale III started the evening with the dedication of the Mainstage Theater, which the board has named in honor of President W. Ray Cleere. Arrendale recounted the many strides that the college has taken since 1995 when Cleere was named president. They included numerous construction projects, including the Swanson Center, Stewart Science Center, the Mize Athletic Center, four new dormitories, and the opening of the Athens Campus. Academically, Arrendale noted the creation of the Daniel School of Nursing, along with education specialist and doctoral programs at the college. Arrendale and Cleere then uncovered a portrait of the college president that hangs in the lobby of the Mainstage Theater. In the Swanson Center atrium, Arrendale was joined by former Piedmont Trustee Kay Swanson and her husband, Dean, along with family members to uncover a new plaque dedicating the Swanson Center in honor of their sons, Stewart and Christopher; and in memory of their daughter, the late Sabrina Swanson. In addition to being home to the Piedmont theater program, the Swanson Center also includes classrooms, studios, and editing labs for students studying radio, television, internet and print media. The evening then moved outdoors to the newly constructed Arrendale Amphitheater, where the chairman pressed a button he was told would turn on the lights at the new venue. Instead a shower of fireworks cascaded on each side to inaugurate the new facility with a bang. The audience then settled back to an evening of entertainment by Nashville singer-songwriter Kate Campbell.
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Mellichamp tours in Europe
Art faculty present showcase
The Piedmont College Art Department had its first exhibit of the school year on display in the art gallery on Georgia Street in downtown Demorest. The show presented sculptures, paintings, and photos created by the four art faculty members. The show included department chair Chris Kelly, who teaches ceramics and sculpture classes; assistant professor Rob Jones, who teaches painting, printmaking, and film; assistant professor Karl Michel, who teaches art education foundations; and assistant professor Kaitlin Wilson-Bryant, who teaches graphic design and photography. For current shows, visit www.piedmont.edu/art/gallery.html. The Art Gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
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Provost Dr. James Mellichamp at the cathedral in Dijon, France, where he performed on an organ built originally in 1745.
In his 27 years at Piedmont, Dr. James Mellichamp has held a variety of positions, including dean of arts and sciences, and currently as provost and vice president for academic affairs. But you may not know that he been touring Europe almost every summer for 34 years performing pipe organ concerts. Mellichamp started touring in 1975 while attending school at the Hochschule fuer Musik in Herford, Germany, and has toured almost every summer since. He has performed in “maybe hundreds” of different venues in Europe. This year Mellichamp performed at the Cathedral of St. Benigne in Dijon, France, and at St. Peters Church in Bayreuth, Germany. For almost an entire year he practiced and polished seven pieces of music for the hour-long concerts he performed at both venues. Mellichamp said he tries to create a program with a lot of variety. There needs to be contrast with a mixture of fast and slow pieces and the show needs to end with a bang, he said. “You have to play music that works on the instrument you are playing on. Part of the attraction is figuring out the personality of the instrument,” he said. Mellichamp spent a week in each country preparing for the concerts. He said each organ in every church where he has performed is different. Before each performance he spends a day getting used to the organ. Then he spends one to two days running through the program for the concert. In France, Mellichamp appeared at the International Week of the Organ series, which included performers from all over Europe. He was the one U.S. organist invited to the event and played the opening concert of the week. This is the third time Mellichamp has performed at St. Peters Church. The church has one concert a month, and his was the performance for the month of July. Mellichamp is not sure what his performing plans are for next summer, but he has been invited to play in St. Petersburg and Moscow in 2011.
PC Students travel the world Opportunities for travel study are always available to Piedmont students each semester, and this summer, 57 students and 10 professors traveled 39,646 miles to various destinations around the world. A group of nine students and two professors from the theater and music departments went to New York for an eight-day adventure, attending numerous theater and music performances. Most of those events, however, were at night, and during the day students could separate into groups and go see sights that professors Bill Gabelhausen and Dr. Phillip Hayner labeled as “must sees,� including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Guggenheim Museum of Art, and Chinatown. The environmental science and English departments joined up for a Maymester trip backpacking the Bartram Trail. Cindy Peterson, Dr. Lisa Hodgens, Dr. Timothy Menzel and six students traveled 28 miles on the trail with the environmental science students
Dr. Max White and Dr. Viviane Daigle, along with eight students, traveled to Arizona.
studying plant diversity and the English students studying literature influenced by William Bartram. They backpacked on the trail for seven days, but before taking on the hike, the group spent three days at Vogel State Park in Blairsville hiking Blood Mountain, Coosa Bald, and Bear Hair Trail. Most of the Maymester study-abroad trips were to places outside of the U.S. Art department chair Chris Kelly and Preston Saunders from Bridgewater State College took 11 Piedmont students and one Bridgewater student to Japan. The group traveled for 14 days to the towns of Kanazawa, Echizen, and Kyoto. In Kanazawa, the students studied and toured with Ohi Toshio, who is an 11th generation potter. In Echizen, the
Timothy Menzel, Cindy Peterson, Lisa Hodgens, and six students hiked the Bartram Trail.
students stayed in the village and fired an anagama kiln. Juroemon Fujita, who came to Piedmont to build a similar kiln, was in charge of the firing. In Kyoto, students and faculty traveled to see the famous temples of Japan. The biggest turnout for trips this summer was to Europe, where the Walker School of Business makes an annual trip. This year, 13 students and two professors traveled to Geneva and Munich. The purpose of the trip is to see how businesses work overseas. The group toured the Nestle chocolate factory and a BMW plant. They also traveled to places for siteseeing, such as the Olympic Stadium in Munich and the Dachau concentration camp. The University of Nottingham study abroad program in England continues to be successful. Two students studied at the Nottingham this past spring and five more students are currently in England for the fall semester. So far, 14 students have studied there over three semesters. Dr. Viviane Daigle, director of the Nottingham program, said that because of the success of the study abroad opportunity, she is recruiting students to study at the University of Nottingham campus in Ningbo, China, in Fall 2010.
For the second year in a row, five students have studied in Costa Rica for a full month. Spanish professor Dr. Michael Dillon said the program is not just for Spanish majors. Any student can go, and the students participate in small internships that relate to their majors at Piedmont. He said usually trips are for two weeks, but in order for students to get the full experience out of the trip they make this trip an entire month long. Dr. Max White and Dr. Viviane Daigle traveled with eight students to Arizona to study the environment and the ancient cultures of the desert. The group visited the Grand Canyon; Tucson; Arcosanti, which is a town developing in the desert; and the Tohono O O’dham Indian Nation.
Phillip Hayner, Bill Gabelhausen, and nine students traveled to New York, where they watched numerous theater and musical performances.
Christopher Kelly and 11 Piedmont students traveled to Japan for two weeks to study pottery and to fire the community kiln in Echizen.
Michael Dillon, left, and five students studied in Costa Rica for a month.
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Theater department hosts camp
The Theatre Department hosted its first summer day camp for middle and high school students. Nineteen campers attended the five-day camp from June 22 to 26. During the first part of each day, the campers and two drama education students, Anna Gunter and Jennifer Fuller, studied theatre skills such as character work, voice work, movement, and improvisation. After lunch, the campers rehearsed for a play performance at the end of the week. The play, called “Echo Boomers,” examines the lives of today’s teens who are considered to be an “echo” of the Baby Boomers born in the 1950s. Bill Gabelhausen, chair of the Theatre Department, said the play is a series of short monologs that have to do with technology, texting, new media, and social networking sites such as Facebook. “I had a lot of fun,” said Gabelhausen. “I would do it again in a heartbeat.”
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Shannon Webber and John King in The Boys Next Door.
PCT closes one season and opens the next The Theatre Department ended its second year in the Swanson Center for Performing Arts and Communications with the play The Boys Next Door. Performed in the round in the Black Box Theater, the play was directed by Bill Gabelhausen, who was recently named chair of the department after Dr. Rick Rose retired this summer. The Boys Next Door portrays the life of four mentally-challenged men living in a communal home under the care of a social worker. The actors of PCT carried the audience through the everyday challenges that the mentally handicapped face in a humorous, but tough and thought-provoking way. The Theatre Department has announced the performances for the 2009-10 season. With two musicals, a Greek tragedy, and a Above: From left, Dillon Nelson as Barry, and Jeff Kelly comedy, PCT gears up for what Gabelhausen as Jack in The Boys Next Door, a PCT production that feels is a very challenging season. explored the life of the mentally handicapped. The season opened with the performance of You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown on the Swanson Center Mainstage. The musical tells the story of Charlie Brown, who is always referred to as a “good man” and wants to find out how he can become a good person. The play ran for four days, Oct. 1-4. The second play of the fall semester is Trojan Women, which will be performed in the Black Box Theater. The Greek tragedy tells the story of King Priam’s widow, Hecuba, during the Trojan War. Gabelhausen will direct the play with a contemporary twist, with the women in the play dressed and acted as women representing different wars. The play is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., Nov. 19-21 and 2 p.m., Nov. 22. The spring semester brings two more plays for PCT. The first is the musical FidBelow: From left, Brandon Mahaffey as Arnold, John dler on the Roof, which will be performed on King as Norman, and Patrick Rose as Lucien, perform in a scene from The Boys Next Door.’ the Swanson Center Mainstage. Set in Tsarist Russia, the play tells the story of Tevye, who wants to keep traditions alive. Show times are 7:30 p.m., Feb. 18-20 and 2 p.m. Feb. 21. The final play of the season is the comedy, The Miss Firecracker Contest, to be performed in the Black Box Theater. It tells the story of Carnelle, who wants to win a local beauty contest to restore her reputation. The play is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., April 15-17; and 2 p.m., April 18.
Nursing students get real life training in drill
By Cassie Scarborough From The Navigator A car has crashed into a crowd of students on campus! That is what senior nursing students were told March 18 as they rushed to the scene of a countywide disaster drill held in the Swanson Center parking lot. There they found other nursing students posing as injured victims with life threatening conditions waiting for the seniors to triage and treat the many wounded. This was the third year that Piedmont’s Daniel School of Nursing has organized a disaster drill for the senior nursing students. This year’s scenario began with a high-speed police chase and ended with the assailant crashing into an outdoor concert. The added complication was that the car had a mobile meth lab in the trunk, causing a contamination problem. Among the junior nursing students playing the victims, some were psychiatric patients, which created more chaos for the nurses. Members of the theatre department applied realistic makeup on the victims, including open wounds, metal shrapnel and lacerations. It was the responsibility of the nursing students to make assessments and deal with injuries. Twelve nursing students assisted 27 victims. “It is meant for nurses to practice triage and prioritizing victims,” said Dr. Linda Scott, dean of the school of nursing. “Students must be adaptable and think on their feet. They cannot save every patient.” This year the drill included the Northeast Georgia Hazardous Material Response Team, HazMat. Their responsibility was dealing with the contaminated hot zone from the meth lab chemicals. After the nursing students loaded all the patients into the ambulances and vans, the victims were transported to the Habersham County Medical Center. From there, the hospital staff cared for the patients. “We had no idea it was going to happen,” said Jessica Bagwell, senior nursing student. “We were sitting in class when someone came in yelling about the accident, so we ran out, jumped in vans and went straight over.”
The Piedmont nursing school, along with the Northeast Georgia Hazardous Material Response Team (HazMat); Demorest and Baldwin fire departments; the Demorest Police, Habersham and Baldwin EMS, Habersham County Medical Center, Habersham County Sheriff’s Department and Campus Police, all participated in the annual disaster drill.
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Piedmont’s new deans Walker School of Business
Dr. Steven Nimmo is Piedmont’s new Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences.
Arts and Sciences Dr. Steven Nimmo joined the Piedmont community as the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences this summer after teaching and working in administration at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa. He replaces Dr. James Mellichamp, who now serves as provost and vice president of academic affairs. Nimmo earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Monmouth College and holds master’s and doctoral degrees, both in mathematics, from the University of Iowa. He joined Morningside College in 1988 as an assistant professor in mathematics and served as chair of the mathematical sciences department for eight years. During his last seven years at Morningside, he was the associate dean and continued to teach. Nimmo said when he heard of the position at Piedmont, he felt it was the perfect match because the campus is very similar to Morningside with the liberal arts program and a church affiliation. “It is a very good fit for my background experience and the type of place I want to be,” he said. As the Dean, Nimmo wants to strengthen the School of Arts and Sciences and see what new programs can be created to enhance the department. “I want (arts and sciences) to be a school students want to major in, not just to take general studies,” he said. After living in Iowa, where it is cold with snow from December to March, Nimmo said he and his wife, Cindy, are going to love the weather here. When it gets down to 30 degrees in Demorest, he said, “We’ll probably just be wearing a light jacket.”
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The Piedmont College Walker School of Business is getting just its second dean since the school was formed on the Demorest campus almost 10 years ago. Dr. John Misner takes over the reins from Dr. Bill Piper, who retired in June. Misner comes to Piedmont from Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania, where he was a professor of finance and assistant chair of the school of business. Prior to beginning his career in teaching in 1992, he worked in investment and commercial banking, primarily with Pittsburgh National Bank. A graduate of Augustana College and the University of Wisconsin, Misner earned his Ph.D. in finance from Kent State University. “It was while I was working on my doctorate that I fell in love with teaching, and I’ve been doing it ever since,” he said. His appointment as dean of the school of business at Piedmont is a “tremendous opportunity” to help the school grow, Misner said. “We have a great faculty and support staff, and so one of my major projects is to refine the strategic plan for the school of business, to review who we are and look for new niches.” Misner said he wants to expand the college’s contacts with local business leaders and chambers of commerce. “When people in northeast Georgia think business, we want them to think of Piedmont College,” he said. Misner and his wife, Barbara, recently moved to Clarkesville. They have one son, Brian, who is a graduate student at Florida State University. Misner is an avid golfer and his wife is a certified master gardener, so they are both looking forward to taking advantage of the Georgia climate and expanding those activities year-round. “It broke my heart to sell my snow blower,” he laughed.
Dr. John Misner is the new Dean of the School of Business
Salamander buzz goes worldwide Word of a new salamander species discovered in northeast Georgia has spread all over the world, making appearances in newspapers and on the BBC and National Geographic Society websites. The international interest in the small creature has surprised even Piedmont professor Dr. Carlos Camp, who headed up the group of scientists who classified the new amphibian. Camp, a professor of biology at Piedmont’s Demorest campus, said he has received dozens of e-mails from people asking about the salamander. Many of the messages have been from colleagues and scientists expressing congratulations or asking questions. Some e-mails have come from people who believe they found the same salamander, including a man from Turkey. One message was from the U.S. Forest Service wondering if the species occurs on their land holdings The creature causing all the fuss is called the patch-nosed salamander. Orange-colored with a yellow spot on its nose, it is a type of lungless salamander that breathes through its skin. Barely two inches long when full-grown, it is one of the smallest salamanders in the world. What has excited researchers, said Camp, is that the new specimen is so different from other salamanders that the team had to create a new genus to describe it. “Most people don’t understand the difference between a new genus and a new species,” said Camp. “It is so genetically unlike anything, it does not group with anything else.” The salamander was discovered in Stephens County by University of Missouri graduate student Bill Peterman, while visiting University of Georgia graduate student Joe Milanovich. Peterman believed at first that it was just a juvenile, but it turned out to be an adult with eggs. Unable to classify the salamander, Peterman took the creature the next day to Camp, who had never seen anything like it before.
After the tiny Patch-nosed salamander was discovered in Stephens County, biology professor Dr. Carlos Camp led the team of scientists who classified the amphibian and determined it belonged to a new genus.
Camp was recruited to help identify the never-before-seen salamander and became the project manager. Recognized as an expert on salamanders, he had done similar work in 2002 after he and fellow professor, Dr. Rick Austin, discovered, classified and formally described another new salamander species called the dwarf black-bellied salamander. The group included a geneticist and a salamander bone specialist as part of the research team to be sure the patch-nosed salamander was truly a member of a new genus. The salamander’s scientific name is Urspelerpes brucei. It is named after Richard Bruce, who co-edited a book called “The Biology of Plethodontid Salamanders” and has worked with salamanders his whole life. Bruce is an emeritus faculty member at Western Carolina University and retired long-time director of the Highlands Biological Station. Camp said the team collected data for a year and a half before submitting the information to the “Journal of Zoology” last fall. The Journal is based in London, and once the story was published in July, it made it to BBC, and
then went worldwide. Part of the reason for so much interest is that this salamander is the first four-legged creature of a new genus found in the U.S. in almost 50 years. Camp recently co-edited a book called “Amphibians and Reptiles of Georgia,” which describes 170 different species of reptiles and amphibians in detail and where they can be found. Camp edited the amphibian portion of the book, and Dr. Whit Gibbons of the University of Georgia edited the reptile portion. Gibbons was Camp’s doctoral advisor while he was in school at UGA. The patch-nosed salamander did not make it into the book. “The book went to press on a Friday, the same day Bill found the animal,” said Camp. Since the data was submitted to the “Journal of Zoology,” the salamander has been found in four more streams in Georgia and one in South Carolina, Camp said. They have all been found within a five-mile radius of each other. Camp said this summer the team will be trying to find more locations of the salamander.
Navigator wins awards The staff of The Navigator, the Piedmont College student newspaper, received six awards at the Georgia College Press Association Better Newspapers Conference. The newspaper staff earned three first-place awards: Improvement, Layout & Design, and Best Campus Community Service News. The staff was awarded three secondplace awards: General Excellence, Advertising, and Best Campus Community Service Editorial.
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Spring & Summer Commencements
Dr. Rick Rose was the commencement speaker for the summer ceremony. Rose retired in June as the chair of the Theatre Department.
Carisa Griffin of Duluth accepts her diploma from Dr. W. Ray Cleere during the July Commencement after earning a Master of Arts degree in art education.
Piedmont presented 925 students with bachelor’s, master’s, and education specialist degrees at commencement ceremonies held in May and July. Five hundred students earned degrees from the summer graduation and 425 earned degrees from the spring graduation. The spring commencement speaker was the Rev. Robert Taylor Baggott III. the senior minister since 2004 at The Community Church of Vero Beach, Fla. He graduated from Samford University and earned a Master of Divinity degree in 1984 from the New
Orleans Baptist Seminary. Before the spring ceremony, graduates, faculty and staff attended a Baccalaureate service where the Rev. Dr. Thomas Richard spoke. Richard, of Oak Creek, Wis., is a 1970 graduate of Piedmont and earned a Master of Divinity degree from Bangor Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Divinity degree from the University of Dubuque. He is a member of the Piedmont Board of Trustees and currently serves as the executive secretary for the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches. Baggott
Dr. Ralph ‘Buzz’ Singer led the procession of faculty members during each Commencement ceremony.
The Rev. Dr. Thomas Richard (’70) delivered the Baccalaureate address to May graduates.
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The Rev. Robert Taylor Baggott III delivered the commencement address for the spring ceremony. He is senior minister at The Community Church of Vero Beach, Fla.
and Richard were awarded honorary doctor of divinity degrees at the commencement ceremony. The summer commencement speaker was Dr. Rick Rose, who retired as head of the theatre department this year. He began his career as a high school English teacher in Florida and taught drama at colleges in Florida and Georgia before joining the University of Georgia College of Business Administration in 1984 as director of undergraduate programs. In 2005 Rose joined Piedmont College to help the theatre department expand from a tiny basement theater to the fully featured professional venues at the Swanson Center for Performing Arts and Communications.
Piedmont reaches record enrollment
The freshman class in Demorest numbers 193 strong, most of whom turned out for a class photo in Alumni Park during orientation.
Piedmont has reached the highest enrollment in its history. This fall semester, enrollment climbed to 2,811 students, up from 2,640 last fall. “When I got here in 1982, the enrollment was 280 students,” said Provost Dr. James Mellichamp. “The number is 10 times higher now.” Mellichamp said there are several factors to explain why the enrollment numbers are high. Besides the construction of new buildines and other renovations, the college in recent years has made extra efforts campuswide to increase retention, including a decision to freeze tuition at the current level for another year, he said. The economy in general has also had an impact, he said, as people tend to go back to school or stay in school during a recession. Cindy Peterson, director of undergraduate admissions, said the college incorporated a new program into their admissions efforts called ASAP, Advanced Scholarship and Admissions Program. Students who applied and qualified for scholarships were awarded them immediately and the information was included in their acceptance letter. Peterson said there was a 150-percent increase in the number of matriculation and housing depos-
its, in part because of the program. Not only is this the highest enrollment total ever, but the college also enrolled its largest freshman class and the most boarding students. In Demorest, the freshman class numbers 193, a jump from 167; and in Athens 46 freshmen enrolled, an increase from 39 last year. Boarding student numbers at Demorest jumped from 406 last year to 461 this year. “I’ve been waiting on this because I knew we were ready for it,” said Mark Maynard, assistant dean of student development. “It’s about time people realized what Piedmont has to offer.” With the large number of freshmen and boarding students comes the need to accommodate them. Maynard said rooms in Getman-Babcock and Wallace Hall dorms, which were single rooms, are now double occupancy. With the construction of a new dorm under way, however, Maynard said some of the crowding will be eliminated this spring. Graduate admissions saw an increase in enrollment as well, from 1,505 students in fall 2008 to 1,543 in 2009. Graduate admissions director Anthony Cox said his goals for this
year are to focus on the Demorest enrollment and to recruit more students for the Athens health care services Master of Business Administration program. Cox said he also hopes to increase Demorest graduate enrollment by 15 percent.
Some of the 43 Athens Campus freshmen gather for a portrait.
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Kids swarm to summer bug and herp camps By Sandi Tatum What could be more fun than playing with nets in the dirt and mud while looking for bugs, snakes and turtles? This was all Dr. Rick Austin and kids from northeast Georgia did for two weeks during two camps hosted by the Piedmont biology professor. During the camps, Austin taught kids about the critters found in northeast Georgia. They learned to distinguish between dangerous ones and harmless ones. When kids saw the insects, snakes or turtles, they could identify them in a matter of seconds. Bug Camp During the first camp, the voices of excited kids could be heard when a bug was caught in the big white nets. “I caught a grasshopper!” “I caught a dragonfly!” “I caught a bug, but I’m not sure what it is,” one camper would say. Austin might respond,“You’ve caught a stink bug.” After catching the insects in a net, the campers put them in a jar with plaster of Paris and a liquid called ethyl acetate. When the bugs are dropped in the jar, they quickly die, and campers then pinned them to foam and took them home at the end of the week. “There are tons of bugs out there you never see because you never look for them,” said Austin. During the five-day camp, the kids hiked around the Piedmont College campus. They started out in a field across from the tennis courts and then crossed the footbridge to the Swanson Center for Performing Arts and Communications. Along the way Joshua Llanas says, “I love catching bugs.” A few minutes later Llanas sees a cricket jumping down in the dirt. He chases it with his net and throws the net on the ground, missing the cricket. The cricket keeps jumping and Llanas chases after it on his hands and knees. He catches up and uses
his hand to catch the bug and accidentally kills it. He looks up from the ground, now sitting cross legged and says, “I almost caught my little cricket, but I squished it.” The bug campers took several trips during the week. Early in the week they went to Webb Mountain Honey Farm in Clarkesville and then to Pitts Park to search for bugs. Herp Camp For five days, campers searching for reptiles and amphibians traveled to multiple destinations around northeast Georgia and plunged into the mud of the Piedmont College wetlands. The campers began their adventures in Nancytown, which is a creek that starts at Lake Russell and goes to Highway 105. Later in the week, the group traveled to Buck Shoals State Park to search for frogs in the ponds and streams. On Thursday, Austin’s son Sloan caught a king snake. On Friday all the campers gathered around to examine the four-foot-long reptile. Austin took the time to explain the snake’s pattern, habitat and what determines if a
snake is poisonous or not. “Snakes are like dogs,” he said. “There are nice dogs and there are mean dogs.” Austin has decided to keep the snake for a while. He said it is a great education tool and the snake is very healthy for its age. He wants to see how big the snake will get. Wearing clothes they could get dirty and carrying nets, every camper walked down to the Piedmont wetlands to find and catch turtles. After 30 minutes, not a single person was clean. Under the sweltering sun, the mud started to dry. “It’s starting to dry and I am turning into a statue,” said Breacken Chastain of Demorest. “At least the mud is good for your skin.”
Welcome to Piedmont!
New faculty members for both the Demorest and Athens campuses include, from left, Joe Wisenbaker, John Misner, Michael Blake, Kaitlin Wilson-Bryant, Jesse Murphy, Steven Nimmo, Judith Perry, and Hans Shmidheiser.
In addition to two new deans, John Misner and Steven Nimmo, (See Page 8) Piedmont welcomed six new professors at the beginning of the fall semester. Michael Blake is a new education professor. He holds degrees in political science and special education and an Ed.D. from UGA in administration and supervision. Before coming to Piedmont, he spent 25 years in the Clarke County School District as a special education teacher. Kaitlin Wilson-Bryant joins the Art Department as a graphic design professor. She earned an M.F.A. in imaging arts from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Before coming to Piedmont, she worked in book and website design. She is also a photographer and taught at RIT for two years. The School of Education welcomes Judith Perry as an education professor. She earned her undergraduate degree from UGA, her master’s degree from North Georgia College, an Ed.S. from Georgia State University, and her Ph.D. in special education from UGA. She previosly taught and was an administrator for Dawson County Schools, where she was director of special education. Joe Wisenbaker is an education professor in the new doctoral program. He earned a B.S. in psychology and a Ph.D. in educational psychology at Michigan State University. He previously served as evaluation director for “Character Through the Arts,” which was funded by the U.S. Department of Education through Pioneer RESA. Math professor Hans Shmidheiser joins the School of Arts and Sciences. He earned his B.A. in mathematics from the University of Virginia and earned his M.S. and Ph.D. degree, in mathematics from New York University. He taught at NYU as an instructor of calculus. He also worked two summers as a mathematician for the National Security Agency. Education professor Jesse Murphy earned a B.A. in psychology from Swarthmore College, an M.Ed. from the University of Oregon, and a Ph.D. in education from the University of Virginia. Before coming to Piedmont he worked in college admissions at Swarthmore, Pomona College, and Harvey Mudd College. He was a middle school English teacher in Kent, Wash., for three years and was an instructor of instructional technology at the University of Virginia for three years.
Student Awarded for Kindness Sophomore Sasha Ugi was awarded the annual Michael and Emily Robertson Kindness Award for the 2008-09 school year. The award is given to the student “who demonstrates kindness to others through his or her actions within the Piedmont College Community.” Michael and Emily Robertson established the award to recognize kindness in the Piedmont student body. The donors hope the award will encourage kind behavior on the campus. Sasha Ugi, right, with President Ray Cleere and Chaplain Ashley Cleere.
Mass Comm hosts debate camp The Mass Communications department hosted its first Debate Camp this past summer in the Swanson Center for Performing Arts and Communications. The camp taught high school students the fundamentals of debate and argumentation. Some 27 campers attended the three-day, overnight event from June 24-26. They were given a room in Mayflower Hall and meals from the dining hall. Camp director Dr. Janice Moss invited Alfred C. Snider to be the guest instructor during the camp. Snider is the Edwin W. Lawrence Professor of Forensics at the University of Vermont, where he teaches courses in debate, argumentation, persuasion and rhetorical analysis. He was Moss’ professor and mentor when she attended workshops at the University of Vermont. On the last day of the event, the campers participated in a debate tournament. The topic was the pros and cons of social networking sites, mainly Facebook. The winner of the tournament was Trion High School in Chattooga County. After the tournament, students received awards for their participation and achievements during the camp. “Students were able to put their critical thinking skills to the test,” said Moss. “We had a very successful first time.” She said the department plans to host another debate camp in the summer of 2010.
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Students follow through with projects for ‘Imagining the Future’
Joan Sims, left, traveled to Kenya this summer to teach single mothers how to clean, spin and weave wool so they can make an income for their families.
Last fall, teams from the Demorest and Athens campuses participated in an “Imagining the Future” critical thinking competition sponsored by the college Quality Enhancement Plan committee. Students were chal-
lenged to create a program that would help a community or group of people. The winners received a monetary prize and money to fulfill their projects. Sophia Momin and Courtney Brooks were the Athens campus winners. Their proposal was to create a mentoring program for at-risk eighth graders at Clarke County Middle School. Momin and Brooks followed through with their proposal in December after the competition. During their time at the middle school, the two students talked to 26 eighth-grade girls. The day started out with food and ice breakers to get the girls talking, and they moved into a group discussion to figure out the career goals and future plans of the girls. Then they talked about the issues facing girls that age, but Momin said they were more interested in talking about going to college. At the end of their time, Momin and Brooks passed out feedback cards for the girls to rate the usefulness of the day. They received a majority of 8s, 9s, and 10s with comments from the girls like “I am glad you all came because you helped me.” Momin and Brooks used the money from QEP to buy the girls journals and planners. Momin said she is working with the principal at the middle school to make another visit with the girls. Joan Sims and Brooke Schermerhorn
from the Demorest campus went out of the United States and concentrated on helping women in rural Kenya. Sims is from Kenya, and her family still lives there while she is going to school in Demorest. The students proposed a program to teach single mothers in Naivasha, Kenya, how to spin wool, providing them equipment to make wool products, and giving the mothers a means of income that they may not have had before. This summer, Sims, loaded with her suitcase, wool, a spinning wheel and a drum carder, went to Africa for the month of July. Before the summer trip, Schermerhorn and Sims worked to raise money for the spinning wheels and other materials the Kenyan women need. Sims spent the entire month teaching the women how to clean, spin, and dye the wool. She said the women would practice every day, but products have not been made yet. Sims is working hard here in the U.S. to come up with ways to get more spinning wheels for the mothers and figure out a way to pay the mothers a wage so they can have an income for their families until they can start producing products. Teresa Secules, QEP director, said the committee will conduct another Imagining the Future competition this year, along with other activities to promote critical thinking.
Mauro speaks at Convocation The Demorest and Athens campuses held Convocation ceremonies at the start of the new school year in August. During the events there were musical performances by Dr. James Mellichamp, organist, and by the Chamber Singers. The students at both campuses were recognized for their scholarship achievements and induction into several honor societies. The speaker was the Rev. Dr. Betsey Mauro, dean of the newly established Center for Congregational Leadership of the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches (NACCC). Mauro recieved a B.A. in geology from the University of New Hampshire, a Master of Divinity degree from Earlham School of Religion, and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Princeton Theological Seminary. She was ordained in the First Congregational Church of Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1987. After the student recognition, senior Maghan Holmes in Demorest and sophomore Randall King in Athens spoke to the class of 2013.
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Rev. Dr. Betsey Mauro of the Center for Congregational Leadership spoke at the Convocation ceremonies.
The 2009-2010 Annual Fund campaign is now under way! The new school year welcomes the biggest incoming freshman class in Piedmont College history, so supporting the Annual Fund is now more important than ever. With Piedmont’s flourishing enrollment, which has grown by more than 60 percent in the last 10 years, Annual Fund donations provide “Many Returns” to our donors. Gifts pooled into the Annual Fund have given many students the opportunity to succeed and the ability to stay at Piedmont and finish their degree.
One Gift • Many Returns
In addition to the expanding enrollment, Piedmont has also increased the number and variety of degrees offered to nearly 40 majors. Programs including Graphic Design, Education, Nursing, Business and many others allow our students the opportunity to study a wide variety of subjects—the true advantage of a liberal arts education. Your donations aid Piedmont’s continued growth, both in student population, and in academic programs; and no matter the size of the gift, every penny counts. Alumni donations increased last year by 46 percent from the 20072008 Annual Fund, and that increased support has truly furthered Piedmont’s expansion. For more information on the Annual Fund, visit the Annual Fund website at www.piedmont.edu/fund.
Come join us with your One Gift for Many Returns.
Welcome class of 2010
Athens ‘Lights the Night’
UGA’s Hairy Dog greeted Athens Campus students and staff participating in the annual ‘Light the Night Walk’ for cancer research. Some 17 students, faculty, and staff from Piedmont’s Athens Campus gathered downtown to help support research on leukemia and other blood-borne cancers at the annual Light the Night Walk. Piedmont’s group, along with hundreds of other participants, formed in the streets of downtown Athens to walk two miles in the dark with their glowing balloons. Each balloon color meant something different: white for survivors, red for supporters, and gold in memory of loved ones lost to cancer In honor of the late Emily Cotterell, a Piedmont employee who passed away in 2009 of a blood borne cancer, the team raised $2,000. This money will go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, which funds lifesaving research for the treatment of blood and other cancers.
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Athens campus freshmen participated in a one-day orientation that included a ropes course, library orientation and a health and wellness class.
The Athens and Demorest campuses welcomed the class of 2013 with orientations that included activities to help new students transition into college life. While the Demorest orientation was three days long, from Aug. 10 to 12, the Athens campus held a one-day orientation for 23 students who attended on Aug. 11. Athens has a total of 46 freshmen this year, while Demorest saw 193 freshmen enroll. On the Demorest campus, students traveled to the Athens Y Camp in Tallulah Falls, where they took part in a variety of group activities designed to let the students get to know each other and build teamwork. At the Athens campus, student instructors from the University of Georgia conducted a simi-
lar ropes challenge course in the recreation center. To help the freshmen begin their academic programs, each group toured the libraries and learned about the many online information services that are available, including GALILEO, a statewide virtual library of books and scholarly articles. Dr. Kel Lee Cutrell, director of counseling and career services, then conducted a health and wellness presentation, focusing on alcohol and the dangers to health and academic performance. For the last day of orientation in Demorest, students presented skits they had worked on all week. The music and theater department PC 101 group won the skit presentation and was rewarded with a steak dinner.
Nicole Winn is carried through the spider-web challenge at the Y Camp in Tallulah Falls during freshman orientation.
Religion Conference to examine Appalachia Author and preacher Barbara Brown Taylor will lead a symposium at Piedmont College in Athens that will examine the role of religion in Appalachian culture. The third in a series of annual conferences on “Religion and the Liberal Arts,” the symposium is titled “Vanishing Appalachia: Keeping Faith on Uneven Ground” and will include workshops on Appalachian religion and culture, ranging from shape-note singing to Native American languages. The conference will be held Feb. 19-20, 2010, and is open to the public. The fee for the two-day conference is $125, which includes the Feb. 19 banquet and keynote speech at the Athens Classic Center as well as the lecture, workshops, and two meals on Feb. 20 at the Piedmont College Athens Campus. Taylor, who will deliver the keynote ad-
dress at the banquet, is the Butman Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Piedmont, where she has taught since 1998. An Episcopal priest since 1984, Taylor spent 15 years in parish ministry and is the author of numerous books on religion and preaching, including “An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith.” Author and historian Bill J. Leonard, founding Dean of the Divinity School at Wake Forest University, will deliver the plenary address on the topic of the demise of Appalachia. Leonard is the author of 17 books, including “Appalachian Christianity: Profiles in Regional Pluralism and Baptists in America.” For more information about the symposium or to register, contact Brandy Aycock at the Piedmont College campus in Demorest at 1-800-868-1641; e-mail baycock@piedmont. edu; or visit www.piedmont.edu.
Barbara Brown Taylor will lead a symposium on Applachian religion in February.
Athens students form Campus Activity Board
Athens gains new
The population of traditional students at the Athens campus continues to grow, and more student groups are forming to expand student life programs on the campus. This year a new group has emerged called ACAB, Athens Campus Activity Board, which is equivalent to the CAB group on the Demorest Campus. The purpose of the 15-member group is to create events for students on campus and to participate in community service projects. ACAB came together this past June to organize and set goals they would like to accomplish this year. Lynn Miller, special services
coordinator and ACAB advisor, said the group has already planned to do a Back-to-School Bash in the fall and Family Fun Day in the spring. ACAB and CAB also met in August to discuss the plans of both groups. “What I’ve noticed since I’ve been here is Athens is Athens and Demorest is Demorest,” said CAB Advisor Devin Pass. “We really need to mesh them together.” When both groups came together, ideas came up for doing more events with both campuses involved. Some events the groups want
Front Row: Chevy Anderson, LeAnna Doster, Jasmin Severino, Erika Weinfurter, co-adviosr Lynn Miller; Second Row: Lishiroh Walker, Talia Hammonds, Lauren Ball, Grant Seman; Third Row: Tamara Daniels, and coadvisor Dylan Ballard are all members of the new Athens Campus Activity Board, ACAB.
to do together are the Ethics Bowl, in which students are given a scenario and they have to give their solution to the problem; the Relay for Life at the University of Georgia; Spring Formal; Light the Night in Athens; and volunteer work at the Athens Second Harvest Food Bank. After the meeting, the Athens students and advisors attended the Y Camp in Tallulah Falls as their first team-building exercise. “We really worked as a team,” Miller said. “The instructor said she’d never seen such a small group work so well together.”
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Piedmont and technical colleges partner up
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Monica Burch of Athens graduated from Athens Technical College in June 2009 and was working as a paraprofessional in the Clarke County School District. It was there that she heard from co-workers that she could attend Piedmont College and earn a bachelor’s degree in two years without having to start her degree over. She wasted no time to continue her dream of becoming an elementary school teacher. Over the past year, Piedmont College has established partnerships with two-year technical colleges in the northeast Georgia area. These partnerships were created to allow students with an associate’s degree to seamlessly transfer to Piedmont to attain a bachelor’s degree without a loss of credit hours earned the twoyear level. Students who meet Piedmont’s admission criteria can easily transfer to Piedmont’s Demorest or Athens campuses if they attended Athens Tech, Central Georgia Tech, GwinMonica Burch graduated from Athens Technical College with an associate’s degree and is now working on her bachelor’s degree at the nett Tech, or DeKalb Tech. Piedmont Piedmont Athens campus. is currently seeking agreements with North Georgia Tech. Mel Palmer, Vice President of the Athens campus, said he hopes to expand these partnerships to other institutions in the future. “This opportunity could be expanded statewide or even outside the state with other institutions depending on mutual interest in such partnerships,” Palmer said. Burch attended Athens Technical College for two years and received her associate’s degree in early childhood care and education. She started the early childhood education program at Piedmont in Athens in the spring semester of 2009. “It has benefited me in many ways,” says Burch. “I didn’t have to start from scratch once I graduated from ATC. (Piedmont) is a local school so I don’t have to travel when I get off of work. The classes are small and I am able to form bonds with my classmates. The teachers are friendly and are willing to help anyway they can.” Dr. Joyce Sansing, Vice President for Academic Affairs at Athens Technical College, who has worked extensively with Piedmont in these efforts, said, “We appreciate Piedmont College for recognizing the high quality of our academic programs and for actively recruiting our graduates through these partnerships.” In order to qualify for the program, students must have earned an associate’s degree from one of the cooperating technical colleges. The students who apply currently have the option of two areas of study: early childhood education and criminal justice. Business administration partnerships should be available in the near future. Palmer said the schools have chosen these programs because the technical college curriculum in these areas is closely correlated to that of Piedmont. He said these three programs provide attractive job opportunities for graduates. “This is a win-win for students,” Palmer said. “This is a great opportunity for students to advance from a two-year to a four-year program.” For further information about the partnerships, contact Dylan Ballard at the Piedmont Athens campus at 706-548-8102.
Spring Sports Recap Men’s Golf The men’s golf team wrapped up its 2008-09 season by claiming its fifth tournament victory, winning The Orchard Spring Invitational in Clarkesville. The Lions’ team score of 312 in cold and windy conditions edged runner-up Truett-McConnell College by a single stroke. Junior Clifton Barton led the Lions with a team-best 75, earning him a spot on the five-person All-Tournament team. Teammates Matt Howell (77) and Taylor Gary (78) each earned top-10 finishes. Women’s Golf The women ended their 2008-09 season with a runner-up finish at the five-team Orchard Spring Invitational. The Lady Lions carded a 376 to edge third-place Oglethorpe University by a single stroke. SpartanburgMethodist College claimed the title with a 355. Lynne Laseter and Kinsley Smith each led the team with scores of 88. Laseter won the fifth All-Tournament spot by virtue of a scorecard playoff as the duo finished tied for fifth in the 25-golfer field. Earlier in the season, the Lady Lions earned a pair of tournament victories at the Hollins Fall Invitational and Huntingdon Spring Invitational. Softball The fourth-seeded Piedmont softball team posted a split and was eliminated from the 2009 Great South Athletic Conference Tournament in LaGrange. The Lady Lions beat #7 Agnes Scott College 12-3 in the opener but were blanked by #3 Huntingdon College 3-0 in the elimination game. In the first game, PC breezed by the Scotties, blasting 12 runs on 13 hits and scoring multiple runs in every inning. Michelle Broderick struck out four batters while scattering six hits. Michelle Crandall was a perfect 2-2 with two runs and three RBIs. Kellie Edmondson was named the Great South Freshman of the Year after posting a .342 average with team highs in RBIs (19), total bases (38) and home runs (2). Joining Edmondson on the All-Freshman Team was Michelle Wagner with a .324 average and 15 runs scored. Raley White and Michelle Crandall were named to the All-Conference Team and to the All-Academic Team. Joining them on the All-Academic Team were Lindsay Drevlow, Michelle Broderick, Nikki Eastman, Leah Della Torre, Megan Thompson and Jessica Barrett. Piedmont wrapped up the 2009 season with an overall record of 15-17.
Men’s Tennis In the quarterfinals of the GSAC Tournament in Macon, the #3 seeded Piedmont men’s tennis team fell to #2 Huntingdon College 5-0. The Lions wrapped up the 2009 season with an overall record of 1-10. Women’s Tennis In a rebuilding year, the women’s tennis team finished 1-12 and lost in the opening round of the GSAC tournament. Tyler Baldonado led the team in individual wins predominately playing at the #3 singles position. The tennis programs placed a combined seven player on the Great South All-Academic Team. On the men’s side James McGuigan represented the Lions, while Tyler Baldonado, Laurel Carter, Jennifer Gathercoal, Michelle Holland and Jenny Shane received the recognition on the women’s side. Baseball The Diamond Lions fell to #2 seed Maryville College 10-9 in the opening game of the GSAC Tournament in Montgomery, Ala. The Lions had trailed 10-1 but rallied to put the tying run on third base in the bottom of the ninth before the Scots recorded the final out to advance. In the elimination game, PC fell in walkoff fashion to #4 seeded LaGrange College. The Lions rallied with three consecutive twoout hits in the top of the ninth to tie the score but gave up a two-run blast in the home half to be eliminated from the tournament. Junior Spencer Shelton was named the Great South Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year. In three conference games, Shelton tossed three complete games allowing one earned run while striking out 25 hitters and allowing only 10 hits. Zac Stein was named the All-Conference catcher after posting a season average of .406 while throwing out 22-52 (43%) of potential stolen bases. Junior Corey Lindsey was named the All-Conference utility player with a .351 average and a team best 29 stolen bases. Senior Justin Vorherr was named an All-Conference outfielder with a .311 average and 23 runs batted in. Newcomers Alex Beebe and Caleb Cochran were named to the All-Freshman Team. The pitchers combined for three wins and 69 strikeouts in 70 innings of work. Piedmont had 10 players named to the All-Academic squad. They include, Matt Collins, John Duke, Brandon Hitch, Zach Kunz, Ryan Orlovsky, Bradley Roland, Spencer Shelton, Zac Stein, Josh Strickland, and Jared Vermilya.
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2009 Coach’s Award Jimmy McGuigan 2009 Most Valuable Player Tyler Baldonado 2009 Most Improved Laurel Carter
2009 Most Improved Jon Reinert
Beth Adcock was the Lady Lions MVP.
2009 Coach’s Award Jennifer Granlund
2009 Most Valuable Player Matt Gadbois
2009 Lady Lions Award Danielle Baker
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2009 Teammate of the year Spenser Ventrice
Athletes recognized for work in the classroom By Richard Dombrowsky Piedmont Sports Information In the 2008-09 season, Piedmont College student-athletes excelled both in competition and in the classroom. Throughout the year, Piedmont placed 24 players on AllConference teams but perhaps more impressive than the on-floor accomplishments, PC placed 59 players on GSAC All-Academic teams. Being on the All-Academic team requires at least a 3.25 GPA and a sophomore standing or higher. Piedmont’s 59 GSAC All-Academic selections were tops in the conference, outdistancing runner-up Maryville College’s 48 by 11 honorees. The school’s 13 sponsored sports combined for a cumulative 3.29 GPA for the year, led by the men’s cross country team’s 3.69 GPA. Additionally 11 of the 13 sports carried above a 3.0 GPA. For the third consecutive year the volleyball team earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for carrying at least a 3.3 cumulative GPA. The men’s cross country, men’s soccer, softball, baseball, and women’s tennis also accomplished the feat of earning a 3.3 cumulative GPA or higher as a team. Individually men’s basketball players Michael Rubio and Will Martin earned National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court for carrying at least a 3.2 GPA. Golfer Clifton Barton was honored as a Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-American Scholar for carrying above a 3.2 GPA. The players that received GSAC All-Academic awards include, from men’s and women’s cross country: Jennifer Gathercoal, Lisa Jennings, Emily Woodward, Stefanie Garrett, Michael Fidero, and Matt Collins. Volleyball: Kalin DeMarrais, Jennifer Doebereiner, Jennifer Granlund, Heather Stafford, Katie Tucker, Tyler Baldonado, Meghann Clark, and Nikki Cole. Men’s and women’s soccer: Kaitlyn Induni, Casey Lovelady, Katelyn Fitton, Melissa Hoffman, Caitlin Hurd, Sara Lindsley, Alan Creasy, Joey Kreiger, Josh Mitchum, Jorge Pradilla, Zack Seymour, and Jeremy Stille. Men’s and women’s basketball: Beth Adcock, Courtney Odum, Laura Simmons, Emily Woodward, Michael Chatman, Daniel Lampl, Will Martin, Michael Rubio, and Phillip Sloan. Men’s and women’s tennis: Tyler Baldonado, Laurel Carter, Jennifer Gathercoal, Michelle Holland, Jenny Shane, and James McGuigan. Softball: Lindsay Drevlow, Raley White, Michelle Broderick, Nikki Eastman, Leah Della Torre, Michelle Crandall, Megan Thompson, and Jessica Barrett. Baseball: Matt Collins, John Duke, Brandon Hitch, Zach Kunz, Ryan Orlovsky, Bradley Roland, Spencer Shelton, Zac Stein, Josh Strickland, and Jared Vermilya.
PC’s Team GPAs in 2008-09 3.69 - Men’s Cross Country 3.64 - Women’s Tennis 3.54 - Softball 3.49 - Volleyball 3.41 - Baseball 3.36 - Men’s Soccer 3.23 - Women’s Cross Country 3.23 - Women’s Soccer 3.17 - Men’s Tennis 3.12 - Men’s Basketball 3.07 - Women’s Basketball 2.99 - Men’s Golf 2.85 - Women’s Golf 3.29 - Total Combined GPA
Feldman is new volleyball coach
Sidney Feldman Sidney Feldman has joined the Piedmont Athletics Department as the new head volleyball coach. After earning his degree in secondary education from Oneonta State University in New York he started a career of coaching and administration. Feldman served one year in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia before moving to Rhode Island, where he taught high school for three years. He then moved to Yorktown High School in New York, where he got his first job as volleyball coach. He said he didn’t think he’d become a coach after earning his degree. By the third practice at Yorktown, he knew that volleyball was the perfect game for adolescent females. “It is a great avenue they could use to get into college,” he said. While he was coaching, he started the Westchester Volleyball Club in New York, which was the first program of its kind east of the Mississippi River. He then joined the University of Georgia, where he started the volleyball team and coached for 10 years. The team won two Southeastern Conference championships while he was there. While at UGA, Feldman was named the Southeastern Region Coach of the Year by American Volleyball Coaches Association and the Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year. Feldman left UGA and started teaching middle school in Barrow County, but he did not coach. He started a Junior Olympics team in Athens, where he sent three teams to national championships. Feldman has two goals for the PC volleyball team. One is to win the conference championship (a goal that the team was only three points away from achieving in 2008). The second goal is to create a long-term winning team, which means that when seniors leave and freshmen take their places, the team will continue to succeed.
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2009 Leadership Award Leah Della Torre
2008-09 Low Medalist Lynne Laseter
2009 Leadership Award Michelle Crandall
2008-09 Academic Award & Low Medalist Clifton Barton
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2009 Most Valuable Player Lindsay Drevlow
Cox named director of graduate admissions
Anthony Cox was named director of graduate admissions this summer after Carol Kokesh retired. Before taking the job, he worked as a graduate admissions coordinator.
Anthony Cox is “Piedmont through and through.” He began his Piedmont journey in 1999 when he started his undergradu-
ate degree in psychology. He wanted to play basketball for a small school, so he chose Piedmont. He graduated in 2002 and immediately started his master’s degree in public administration. In July 2003, as he was finishing up his graduate degree, he started working in the graduate admissions office as an admissions coordinator and in June 2009 was named director of graduate admissions. As director, his main task is to recruit new students to the programs. Cox found it useful to have gone through the graduate program before working in graduate admissions. “It is always a strength when you’ve been through the thing you are trying to promote,” he said. Cox said the cohort programs are at their maximum potential right now with 50 cohort locations and 20 to 25 students in each cohort, so he will be concentrating on increasing enrollment at the Demorest and Athens campus locations. “I want to come up with new ways to bring candidates to the programs,” he said. “We are finding new ways to connect with new students and finding new ways
to communicate.” Cox said the graduate program has started the use of Facebook and Twitter to communicate. So far, they have 200 fans on their Facebook page, and he said students are using the page to communicate with each other about the program. “I hope we as a team can be a little more innovative with technology. I feel that is one area I can help in,” said Cox. Cox hopes they can continue to expand the graduate programs, especially in Demorest. The campus is located in an area with a small population, however he said there are many surrounding areas in which to find prospective students. The graduate programs have already made a leap in numbers since last year. In 2008, there were 1,505 and this summer there were 1,569 students enrolled in the graduate programs. “Right now is a good time to pursue an advanced degree,” said Cox.
First doctoral class begins
The group above is the Demorest doctoral class. There are 15 students in Demorest and 15 in Athens. The students have been through extensive interviews and met the qualifications to be part of Piedmont’s first program.
Thirty students from the Demorest and Athens campuses have started the education doctoral program this fall. The students were picked from about 100 applicants who went through extensive written and oral interviews. The students are starting with two classes: “Collaborative Communities” and “Learning and Cognition.” Dr. Bob Cummings said the program is separated into three areas, each taking a certain amount of time. After completing these three areas, the students will have to pass written and oral exams to become doctoral candidates. They will then go through the process of submitting their prospectus, dissertation, and defense of their dissertation. The earliest expected graduation for doctoral students is December 2011. To prepare for the new program, Cummings said the college added new faculty, new materials to the library and additional technology, along with planning and development that took two years to complete.
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Alumni Spotlight: Alumni working in Washington, D.C.
Andy House, Congressman Nathan Deal and Lauren Armour in Washington D.C., where House is working as a legislative assistant and Armour is working as a staff assistant for Deal.
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Andy House and Lauren Armour both legislative assistant for the congressman on graduated from Piedmont in 2008 and are Energy, Financial Services, Education, Agrinow in Washington, D.C. working for Conculture, and Transportation committees. gressman Nathan Deal. For both House and “Right now I am trying to learn as much Armour the jobs came as a surprise. as I can and get up to speed on all of these House, who graduated with a political issues,” House said. “Things move so quickly science and sociology degree, had been in that it is very difficult to stay on top of all touch with Deal’s the developments chief of staff to get in these different is“My goal has always been to work in some advice on how sues.” Washington, D.C., for our government, to work in politics. Armour is a staff but I never dreamed it would happen as Next thing he knew, assistant in charge of soon as it did.” he was told that constituent relation—Lauren Armour there was a position ships for people from opening up, and he Deal’s district who was invited to interare visiting Washingview. ton. She is also responsible for passports that Armour graduated with a history and are sent to her office for expedited approval. political science degree and after graduation “We receive a multitude of phone calls spent a semester at law school before deciding each day from throughout the district and that wasn’t what she really wanted to do. She the state from people who call to voice their heard about House and his job with Deal, so opinions on certain issues. These phone calls she called expressing her interest and found are a demonstration of democracy at work there was another position open. and how one voice can make a difference,” “I entered college with the expectation said Armour. of doing the work our office does everyday,” House and Armour both said Piedmont said Armour. “My goal has always been to prepared them for their jobs because it gave work in Washington, D.C., for our governthem the groundwork with the basic informent, but I never dreamed it would happen mation they need to succeed. as soon as it did.” Armour and House have two very different jobs. House is preparing to become a
PC adorns elementary teacher’s doors
Gragg named ‘Nurse Hero’ at hospital
Eighteen of 35 teachers at Level Grove Elementary School in Cornelia decorated their classroom doors with Piedmont pictures, yearbooks, tassels, lions, green, and gold. Teachers were asked to decorate their doors with their alma mater, or alma maters in some cases. Tony Reabold, principal, said the project “is an effort to give students and their parents a vision for education beyond high school.”
Sherry Gragg, left, accepts the ‘Hero’ award from Faye Taylor of Stephens County Hospital
Alums cheer Gwinnett Braves in new stadium
From back row: Natalie Crawford (’07), David Reynolds (’06), Casey Martin (’07, M’09), Justin Scali (M’06), Dr. Mark Gardner, Susan Mills, George Christensen (’03), and Jeff Kelly (’02) attended the Piedmont Alumni outing to the Gwinnett Braves game at their new stadium in Lawrenceville June 27. The outing was sponsored by the Piedmont Alumni Association. The Gwinnett Braves won 4 to 3 against the Louisville Bats.
From the Toccoa Record Selected by her peers, Sherry Shea Gragg (‘01), a registered nurse at Stephens County Hospital, has received the highest honor in the nursing department—the Nurse Hero designation. All nursing department employees are eligible for nomination and are selected based on several characteristics such as consistently going beyond the call of duty, promoting a positive image for nursing, exhibiting positive customer relations and behaviors, caring for themselves and others, and being committed to the nursing profession. The Nurse Hero award is presented as part of the Hospital’s celebration of National Nurses Week held each May during the week that includes Florence Nightingale’s birthday and is designed to recognize the contributions of the nursing profession to their communities. Sherry’s nomination describes her as a “born teacher,” “focused on her mission,” and “always laughing and smiling.” In her present position, Gragg is the coordinator for patient education, and she is responsible for staff training and competencies. Gragg graduated from North Georgia Technical College with an LPN certification and continued her education at Gainesville College for an associate’s degree in science. She obtained her bachelor of science in nursing degree as part of Piedmont’s first graduating BSN class. Her work experiences include emergency room nursing at Rabun County Memorial Hospital, Habersham County Medical Center, and Stephens County Hospital. In addition to her employment, Sherry served as a Clinical Instructor at Piedmont College for the BSN program and currently is an instructor with North Georgia Technical College in the LPN program at the Currahee Campus.
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Freshmen & Alumni Cookout
The Class of 2013 and Piedmont College alumni came together for the 2nd Annual Freshmen/Alumni Cookout Aug. 10 to welcome the new freshmen to the college. Alumni cooked hamburgers and hotdogs, while students, faculty, and staff played sand volleyball and listened to music performed by Mat Fried (‘08). The event was co-sponsored by the Alumni Association and Student Affairs.
Go online with PC In the Piedmont College alumni office, we are always exploring new ways to keep in touch with our alumni in an ever-growing online era. E-mail, e-newsletters, Facebook and Linkedin are some of the avenues we are using. If you haven’t been receiving our monthly e-newsletter you are missing out! Don’t miss the most up-to-date news, recaps of athletic events, and announcements of upcoming events. Simply send your e-mail address to baycock@piedmont.edu. You can get a free permanent Piedmont alumni e-mail address by using the online form or the form to the right on this page. Facebook users will love reconnecting through our Piedmont College Alumni Group. Events and news are posted on a regular basis, as well as a weekly discussion for alumni to talk about Piedmont. We welcome your postings as well. We want to make this a more dynamic site and YOU can help make that happen! Right now we have more than 500 fans. Come join us! Linkedin is a professional networking site where Piedmont College has an alumni group. We have only just begun here, but encourage you to join the group and network with one another. These sites are powered by you!
PC alumni can now have a free
piedmont.edu e-mail address
Piedmont College alumni can get a free, permanent e-mail address, show their Piedmont pride, and keep in touch with the Alumni Office with a new service offered by the college. Students who graduated in Spring 2008 and afterward will retain their Piedmont e-mail addresses. Alumni who graduated before that date can now sign up as well. With a permanent Piedmont e-mail address, you won’t have to change e-mail addresses each time you move or change jobs. You can even set up your account to automatically forward your e-mail to any other account you may have. (If you do the automatic forward, remember to check the lions e-mail every 90 days or the account will be canceled.) Your Piedmont e-mail account will include five gigabytes of storage and is administered by Microsoft to guarantee secure and reliable service. To sign up, fill out the form below and mail it to: Brandy Aycock, Piedmont College, P.O. Box 10, Demorest GA 30535. Or, go to www.piedmont.edu/alumni_email to sign up online. Once your e-mail account is set up, you will receive a confirmation with directions and your password. Your Piedmont e-mail address will consist of your first initial, last name, birth month and birthday @lions.piedmont.edu. For example John Doe, who was born on May 8, would be jdoe0508@lions. piedmont.edu. NAME_____________________________________________________________________________ ADDRESS _ ________________________________________________________________________ CITY _________________________ STATE ___________ ZIP _ _____________________________ PHONE ___________________________________________________________________________ PRESENT EMAIL ADDRESS __________________________________________________________ BIRTHDAY ______________ MONTH ____________________ DAY ________________________
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Raymond, Sr. (’58) and Fredine Collins of Cleveland celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Aug. 15, 2009. Raymond is an Alumni Association director and a member of the “P” Club Hall of Fame. (Below) Deloris (’58) and Reid Mullins (’59) celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Aug. 15, 2009. The event was marked with a family dinner at Chateau Elan in Braselton.
(Below) On Aug. 18 former Piedmont classmates, Ken Rice (’61), Marilyn Hoffman Rice (’60), Len Warner (’59), Shelby Parks Warner, Bill Lepere (’59), and Evelyn Dickinson Lepere came from South Carolina, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island respectively for a reunion lunch at Amici’s Restaurant in Middletown, Conn. Conversation centered on their days at Piedmont and making plans to be at the 2010 Alumni Weekend in Demorest in April.
Deborah Carpenter Clark (’85) of Monroe and her husband, David, both work for Aon Consulting in Atlanta. Deborah is a disability insurance specialist for executive benefits. Deborah had previously worked as an inventory manager for Coats and Clark in Toccoa, as a technical writer for IBM in Atlanta, and as a systems analyst/buyer for Amoco Fabrics and Fibers.
Michael Williams (’91) and his wife, Christy, have a new addition to their family. Whit Thomas Williams was born Aug. 16, 2009. He is doing fine and so is his mom. Whit joins brother Byson Myles, 5, and Reece Leigh, 3. (Below) Kristen Hart Lewis (’99, M’02) and her husband, Dr. Lyn Lewis, of Ellijay have a daughter, Addison age 2, and son, Patrick, 1. Kristen served as the Executive Director for the Appalachian Children’s Center in Ellijay from 2001-2006, and then changed positions to Finance Director after the birth of her first child. She continues to conduct forensic interviews and evaluations for the North Georgia area. Kristen served on the State Board of Directors from 2002-2004 and 2006-2008, and is now serving on the Advisory Board for Children’s Advocacy Centers of Georgia. Kristen and her husband are the owners of Appalachian Animal Hospital, which is one of the largest veterinary hospitals in North Georgia.
Puckett’s Mill Elementary School in Gwinnett County. She previously taught 20 years in the Jackson County School System. Her son, Dusty Black, is a junior at Piedmont College majoring in history and is a pitcher for the Lions baseball team. Laura Lord Boswell, (Ed.S ’03) of Maysville has been teaching for the Jackson County School System for 22 years and currently teaches business and computer science at East Jackson High School. She taught an undergraduate class at the Piedmont College Athens Campus this past summer. She and her husband, Steve have a daughter, Blakeley, and a son, Carter. (Below) Melissa Sterling (’02) and Jason Broadway of Altamont, Tenn., were married June 6, 2009, at Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church in Suches, where they now live. Melissa is teaching first grade at Woody Gap School, and Jason is teaching at North Georgia Technical College in Blairsville.
Bill Simmons (’99) of Atlanta is a member of the Atlanta Renegades Rugby Football Club. The Division I team made it to the final four of the USA Rugby national tournament after beating New York Old Blue and the Detroit Tradesmen in May. They lost to the eventual national champs, Aspen, in a match televised on Fox Sports. William EuDaly (M’00, EdS’06) of Atlanta was named the 2008 Duluth High School Teacher of the Year. Dr. Marcelo Saldivia (’00) graduated from Pacific University College of Optometry in 2005 and has been practicing since then in Colorado Springs, Colo., at a primarily pediatric clinic. Jonathan Taylor (’00) is a pharmacist in Stockbridge. He has been with the same company nine years now and in his own store for three years. His motto is “savin’ lives and stampin’ out disease.” Kristen Pearson Westrick (’00) and her husband, Rich, of Social Circle announce the birth of a son, Nathan Copley Westrick, May 3, 2009. Lisa Denise Lord Black (’01, M’07) is a writing instructor for fifth grade students at
Gaynell Allen (M’03) of Monroe was named the 2009 Teacher of the Year for Jolly Elementary School in Dekalb County. Nick Kastner (’03, M’06) of Gainesville and his wife, Brandy, announce the birth of a daughter, Lorelei Eve, born June 3. The American Bankers Association published an article by Nick titled “Attracting Online Deposit Dollars” in the July/August issue of Bank Marketing Magazine. Nick is also a member of the band “The Taj Motel Trio,” which performed Aug. 15, at the Braves vs. Phillies game. David White (’03) is working at Vaudeville Café Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre in Chattanooga, Tenn. You may have seen David playing a jury member on the Lifetime Net-
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son Center at the Demorest Campus. Candice hosts the weekly show “Community Life in Northeast Georgia,” which airs Tuesday nights from 7-8 p.m. and the third Friday of every month from 3-4 p.m. (Below) Regina McCormick Fried (’08) and Matthew Fried (’08) announce the birth of a son, Jonas Rex Fried, on May 6, 2009. Regina is the publications coordinator for the Piedmont Office of Institutional Advancement.
“I love Piedmont and everything about it” - Kyle Davis (‘06)
Cindy Lilly Benfield (M’08) and Patrick Benfield of Dallas announce the birth of their second child, Boyd Patrick Benfield, on March 20, 2009. He has a sister named Maggie Beth Benfield. Candice Felice (’08) is the local programming director for Piedmont’s Georgia Public Broadcasting station WPPR (88.3 FM) in Demorest. The programming airs from the Swan-
Whittney Lewallen (’08) of Clarkesville is working on a master of arts degree at Piedmont in secondary education while teaching for Middle Georgia Technical College at Lee Arrendale State Prison. Her daughter, Karagan, just turned two. Whittney also helps coach the Habersham Middle School volleyball team. Shon Rand (M’08) and his wife recently moved to Cuthbert, where he is teaching tenthgrade English at Randolph-Clay High School. The school has just over 400 students and he said the job is “a challenge but rewarding.” Michelle Krolikowski (MA’09) of Carlton was named the 2009-10 Teacher of the Year for Madison County Middle School and for the Madison County Schools System. She is currently enrolled in Piedmont’s Ed.S program. Sandi Tatum (’09) of Clarkesville graduated this past May with a degree in mass communications. She now works at Piedmont as the special projects coordinator for the Office of Institutional Advancement, working in public relations, alumni relations, and donor relations.
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work show “Drop Dead Diva” episode which aired Oct. 4. Christina Clayton Kyle (’04) and Blayne Kyle (’04) of Murfreesboro, Tenn., announce the birth of a daughter, Selena Maria Kyle, on February 24, 2009. Alex Pyron (’04) finished a National Science Foundation postdoctoral research fellowship in biological informatics at Stony Brook University on Long Island. He studied evolutionary causes of global biodiversity gradients and will be defending his Ph.D. dissertation this fall. Jenny Connor (’05) and Wes Crow (’04, M’07) of Lula were married July 18. Jenny has been named the head softball coach at East Hall High School, and Wes is the head baseball coach at the same school. Karen Dodson (’05) is teaching full time at Gainesville State College. She is also enrolled in the Ph.D. program at Georgia State University, studying literary studies with an emphasis on poet John Milton. Kyle Davis (’06) of Suwanee has been teaching at Suwanee Elementary School since graduating three years ago. Kyle attended Suwanee Elementary and is now working with his former fifth grade teacher, Cyndi Darsch. Jamie Telford (’06) and Joe Pasquarelli (’07) were married in Helen on April 4, 2009. (Below) Patrice Cody (’07) of Monroe and Harold Kemp of Conyers were married May 23, 2009.
1930s Annie Self Potts Adcox (’36) of Bradenton, Fla., died September 14, 2009. She was 96. During WW II she coached the football team at Oneco Junior High School (Fla.). She also coached several girls’ championship basketball teams. In 1975, Mrs. Adcox retired after 33 years as a teacher and coach in Florida junior high and middle schools. 1940s Ruth Grant Webster (’41) of Baldwin, formerly of Decatur, died July 23, 2009. She was 91. She retired after 37 years as an elementary school teacher, having served in Decatur and in Habersham County. Survivors include her nephew W. Vance Grant, Jr. (’43). Dan Boswell Jordan (attended 1939-40) of Houston, Texas, died March 17, 2009. He was 90. While at Piedmont, he was on the basketball, baseball, and tennis teams. Mr. Jordan served in the U.S. Air Force during WW II, attaining the rank of Captain. He was a navigator on B-17s and was decorated with the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the Presidential Unit Citation, and the Distinguished Flying Cross. Mr. Jordan was a successful Texas businessman and had served as the Grand Master of Texas Masons.
1950s
1980s
Henrietta Brack Lunsford (’50) of Suches, died June 25, 2009. She was 77. Mrs. Lunsford taught school with the Union County School System at Woody Gap for more than 34 years.
A. Vaughan Abercrombie (Honorary Doctor of Divinity 1981) of Pensacola, Fla., died June 6, 2009. He was 96. Rev. Abercrombie pastored Congregational churches from Connecticut to Washington state. From 1964-1969 he served as Executive Secretary of the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches (NACCC).
Curtis Lee Sullens (’52) of Toccoa, died June 14, 2009. He was 83. Mr. Sullens served in the U.S. Army during WW II. He was an educator in the Stephens County school system for 37 years, having been a teacher and principal. 1960s E. Joel Tench (’69) of Alto, died June 6, 2009. He was 62. Dr. Tench served in the U.S. Army. He was a chiropractor, educator, and businessman. Survivors include his son Bryant Tench (’04, M’06). 1970s Jeanette Dixon (’71) of Cleveland, died May 24, 2009. She was 62. Mrs. Dixon was retired from the White County school system, where she had served as director of special education and principal. Myrtle Jones Stewart (’73) of Clarkesville, died July 27, 2009. She was 91. Mrs. Stewart was a secretary and counselor at Georgia Industrial Institute.
Crystal M. Wood (’85, M’03, EdS’08) died July 9, 2009. She was 49. While an undergraduate, Ms. Wood played softball and was an outstanding basketball player. In 1994 she was inducted into the “P” Club Hall of Fame. She coached girls’ basketball at Buford High School, at Putnam County, and at Social Circle High School, and had been named athletic director of the Social Circle school system. She was the recipient of The Walton County Tribune’s Community Spirit Award in the spring of 2009. 1990s Cheryl Mallard Witt (’96) of Calhoun formerly of Acworth, died July 3, 2009. She was 35. She was a music teacher at McCall Primary School in Acworth. While at Piedmont, Mrs. Witt was a member of the Chamber Singers. Survivors include her husband Rev. R. Andy Witt (’97) and her sister, Rebecca Mallard Huntley (’05).
Passing of a Long-time Member of the Piedmont College Family
Mrs. Elizabeth Perry Walter, May 22, 1907-June 4, 2009, at her 90th birthday party held in 1997.
It is with great sadness that we share the message that Mrs. Elizabeth Walter passed away the morning of June 4, 2009. She was 102 years old. A memorial service was held at the Federated Church in Demorest on Sunday, June 14, , with the Rev. Joyce Acree officiating. Born in Worcester, Mass., May 22, 1907, Mrs. Walter met Dr. James E. Walter when they were both students at Yale University. The Walters came to Piedmont in 1949 when Dr. Walter was named President of Piedmont College. Dr. Walter died in 1989.
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