Off the Bluff 2017 Spring Issue, published by Bayside Academy

SPRING 2017

highlights & happenings for the bayside community

2015-2016 Annual Report Bayside Academy︹1

Bayside’s Mission Bayside’s mission is to educate and develop students who are fully prepared to pursue higher education throughout life. These students exhibit high moral standards, a sense of responsibility, respect for self and others, and a commitment to excellence in all their endeavors.

2016-2017 Bayside faculty and staff

Cover Photo: A strong sense of family and tradition lies at the heart of the Bayside Academy experience.

L to R: 7th grader Annabel James, junior Ben James and their brother, pre-kindergartener Abe James, senior Gavin Primm and his sister, 3rd grader Mary Katherine Crowell.

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College Acceptances for the Class of 2016 Auburn University* Belmont University* Berry College Birmingham-Southern College Boston College* Centre College College of Charleston* Colorado College Davidson College Emory University Faulkner State Community College* Furman University* Georgia Institute of Technology Huntingdon College* Indiana University Jacksonville State University Lewis & Clark College Liberty University Lipscomb University* Louisiana State University Millsaps College* Mississippi College* Mississippi State University* North Carolina State University* The Ohio State University Rhodes College*

Bayside Academy Class of 2016, photo by Courtland William Richards

Rollins College* Samford University* Sewanee: The University of the South* Southeastern Louisiana University* Southern Methodist University Spring Hill College The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina Troy University The University of Alabama* The University of Alabama at Birmingham University of Alaska Anchorage* University of Arkansas* University of California, Berkeley University of Florida* The University of Georgia University of Maryland The University of Mississippi* University of North Alabama* University of South Alabama* The University of Southern Mississippi* The University of West Alabama* University of West Florida Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Washington and Lee University Wheaton College * Indicates students’ selections

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In This Issue 5 Strategic Plan Provides Roadmap to Future 7 Message from the Head of School 8 It’s All in the Family: Sirmons Sustain Bayside from Day One 10 Campus Enhancements Optimize the Student Experience 12 Alumnus Michael Latady ’08 Empowers Marginalized People 14 Upper Class Jazz Ensemble Hits the Right Note 16 STEAM Program Sharpens Students’ Problem-Solving Skills 18 College Counselors Help Students Navigate Complex World of College Admissions 20 2015-2016 Annual Report 22 School Counselors & Their Programs Promote Healthy Behaviors 24 Athletic Teams Make Bayside History 26 2015–2016 Annual Giving 29 Bayside Foundation Ensures School’s Growth for Future Generations 30 Bayside Reminisces: Retired Coach Bill Dickinson Executive Editor, Writer: Jennifer Starling, Bayside Academy, Advancement Director Managing Editor, Principal Writer: Mary Neil Crosby, Bayside Academy, Advancement Associate Contributor: Madison Herring ’10 Photographer Unless Otherwise Noted: Kate Reali Mercer, Utopia Bay Photography

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2016–2017 Board of Trustees Mark Wright ’81, Chairman Jacob Cunningham, Vice Chairman Ashley Daves, Secretary Lorie Gaillard ’90 Chris Haley Mark Hoffman Rob Hunter Kate Lavelle Hunter Lyons Edythe Makin Dan Matthews, M.D. Randy Niemeyer ’81, President of Alumni Association Rodney Pilot James Pittman ’91 Hutch Radcliff Robbie Robertson ’75 Jennifer Stafford*, President of Bayside Parents Association Scott Thompson Amanda VanDerHeyden, Ph.D. * President of Bayside Parents Association is an ex-officio, non-voting Board member

Standing, L to R: Scott Thompson, Amanda VanDerHeyden, Hunter Lyons, Randy Niemeyer, Mark Hoffman, Lorie Gaillard, Chris Haley, Kate Lavelle, Robbie Robertson, Edythe Makin. Seated, L to R: Jacob Cunningham, Vice Chairman; Ashley Daves, Secretary; Mark Wright, Chairman.

Not pictured: Rob Hunter, Dan Matthews, Rodney Pilot, James Pittman, Hutch Radcliff, Jennifer Stafford.

2015-2016 Strategic Planning Committee & Action Plan Committee Members Strategic Planning Committee Amanda VanDerHeyden, Ph.D., Chair Trustee

Clayton Lane, M.D. Parent

Lynn Corte Chief Financial Officer

Kate Lavelle Trustee

Jacob Cunningham Chairman-Elect of Board of Trustees

Ashley McCormick Parent

Philip Hodgson ’78 Alumnus

Anderson McKean Parent and 2015-2016 Bayside Advisory Committee Chair-Elect

Mark Hoffman Trustee Meador Inge ’96 Parent

Josh Montgomery Upper School History Teacher/History Department Chair/2015-2016 Girls Soccer Head Coach

Kim Jardine ’76, J.D. Trustee

Michael Papa Head of School

Kristen Ring, Ed.D. Academic Provost and Interim Head of Intermediate School Robbie Robertson ’75 Trustee and Past Chairman of Board of Trustees Cindy Robles Primary School STEAM Teacher Haymes Snedeker Bayside Foundation Board Member Gail Tart Upper School English Teacher Mark Wright ’81 Chairman of Board of Trustees

Action Plan Committees Goal 1: Kristen Ring (Chair), Emma Burgess, Jody Marine, Page Mims, Cindy Robles, Vivian Tarwater Goals 2 & 4: Dylan Deal (Chair), Jamie Ferguson, Cindy Frederick, Steve Marine, Josh Montgomery, Christina Ricks, Cindy Robles, Gail Tart Goals 3 & 5: Lynn Corte (Chair), Dylan Deal, Sonny Joiner, Doug Leffard, Marilee Propst, Sharon Reibe, Kristen Ring, Joey Thornton

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Strategic Plan Provides Roadmap to Future Bayside’s strategic plan is the school’s roadmap for creating a shared vision for the future. The strategic plan is guided by Bayside’s mission: to educate and develop students who are fully prepared to pursue higher education throughout life. The plan outlines five primary goals, which align with Bayside’s overall mission and are high priorities for Mr. Papa as Head of School. (See the sidebar at right.)

In 2013, the Strategic Planning Committee hired an outside agency to conduct fully anonymous and highly detailed surveys of parents, administrators, faculty and staff, and Upper School students. The community responded with 70 percent of parents and 80 percent of teachers completing surveys.

The Strategic Planning Committee examined historical academic data from the past five years to identify strengths and possible areas of improvement.

With Mr. Papa’s arrival in fall 2015, Bayside community members were invited to participate.

Committee members were invited to represent a wide range of Bayside stakeholders as well as specific content and co-curricular areas that were known to be of concern to parents and teachers. The committee included teachers with expertise in math, science, foreign language and the use of technology for learning, as these were all areas of potential focus. The committee also included a coach, Board members, the acting Intermediate School Head, a fine arts teacher, a history teacher, an English teacher, parents representing a broad cross-section of students (e.g., all divisions including The Learning Place), those who have led fundraising campaigns for the school, three alumni who have known a close connection with Bayside since the beginning, the CFO and Head of School Michael Papa.

A strong desire to be responsive to the Bayside family lies at the heart of the strategic plan. The strategic planning process centered around data analysis and in-depth discussions of the five high-level goals listed at right. At times, ad hoc members attended sessions to provide input at the discretion of the committee chair and the Head of School. The result of the planning process was a detailed plan of objectives and actions designed by faculty teams selected by Mr. Papa. Some of these actions have already occurred, including hiring a STEAM coordinator and expanding advanced science offerings.

“It’s rewarding to implement tactics that equip teachers with the best tools, increase the rigor of our academic offerings, attend to the social climate and co-curricular offerings, and focus on growth of all students at every level,” said Amanda VanDerHeyden, Ph.D., Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee. “I hope parents can look around and see this new energy on campus.”

“This is what a strategic plan can do—inspire action from every corner because the shared vision is so powerful,” she added. “Our shared vision is growth. I am very grateful to the teachers, parents and Board members who gave their energy to this process. I’m excited to watch this vision come to life for the school,” she said.

The mission and five goals outlined in the strategic plan form the foundation of the master planning process, which is underway now. The master plan evaluates the school’s space and structures where learning and co-curricular activities specified in the strategic plan will take place. The end result of the master planning process is mapping out any steps needed to revise or replace Bayside’s facilities to align with the school’s future needs.

Bayside’s Mission & Goals Mission Statement To educate and develop students who are fully prepared to pursue higher education throughout life. These students exhibit high moral standards, a sense of responsibility, respect for self and others, and a commitment to excellence in all their endeavors.

Goal 1 Achieve and maintain superior academic performance across all grade levels by providing best-inclass instruction.

Goal 2 Achieve excellence in cocurricular activities.

Goal 3 Enhance campus life through the continued improvement of facilities and grounds.

Goal 4 Instill a positive school climate and spirit of community service throughout the entire Bayside community.

Goal 5 Operate Bayside in a fiscally responsible manner.

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Head of School Michael Papa 8︱Off the Bluff

Message from the Head of School Throughout academic year 2016-2017, I am focusing much of my attention and energy on Bayside’s strategic plan, which outlines the school’s mission statement and five overarching goals supporting that mission. (See page 5 for strategic plan details.)

Helping Bayside achieve its mission and goals is one of the greatest privileges I experience as your Head of School. I look forward to continuing to work with students, faculty, staff, administrators, parents and the Board in the school’s master planning process as we conceptualize and build the long-term future of Bayside.

In the meantime, please enjoy this issue of Off the Bluff.

This magazine is full of all that is Bayside, ranging from our endeavors in the arts (pages 14-15), STEAM (pages 16-17), sports (pages 24-25) and college counseling (pages 18-19) to our accomplishments in development (page 29) and school counseling (pages 22-23).

To learn more about those who encapsulate the school’s spirit, see the story on alumnus Michael Latady ’08 (pages 12-13), retired Coach Bill Dickinson (pages 30-31), and grandparents/former parents Shirley and Gordon Sirmon (pages 8-9).

Happy reading, and I hope to see you on campus!

Head of School Michael Papa sings with pre-kindergarten students on the front steps of the Main Building.

Photo by Bayside Advancement Associate Kristen Kammer-Hattox

Michael Papa Head of School

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Gordon and Shirley Sirmon with their grandson, Connor Sirmon ’17.

It’s All in the Family: Sirmons Sustain Bayside from Day One When Shirley and Gordon Sirmon make a commitment, they go all in.

In December 2016, they celebrated 62 years of marriage.

In May 2017, they will celebrate nearly 30 years as Bayside grandparents when their youngest grandchild, Connor, becomes their 10th grandchild to graduate from Bayside.

Gordon is a farmer who grew up knowing the value of hard work and education. His father, also a farmer, died when Gordon was only 11. His mother served as principal and taught at Belforest School in the ’40s until the school closed in 1950; then she taught in the Daphne school system until she retired. Although farm and family responsibilities thwarted Gordon’s own dreams of attending college, he somehow managed to put four of his five sisters through college.

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“You sacrifice for a good education,” Gordon said, adding that all three of his daughters and three of his grandchildren grew up to be teachers.

The Sirmons have supported Bayside for 47 years, since the day they enrolled their five children when the school first began in the fall of 1970.

At that time, the couple had a child in 1st grade (Brenda ’82), 3rd grade (Charlotte ’80), 4th grade (James ’79), 7th grade (Vivian ’76) and 8th grade (Joel ’75). During Bayside’s first year, the school offered classes from kindergarten to 8th grade, which meant the Sirmon children spanned nearly all available grade levels.

Student athletes personified, all five Sirmon siblings competed in Bayside sports. Joel and James played basketball, baseball and soccer. (These were the days before Bayside had a football team.) All three girls played

soccer. In addition, Vivian cheered. Charlotte and Brenda also competed on the volleyball court. Both Charlotte and Brenda even scored volleyball scholarships: Charlotte to Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama, and Brenda to Troy University in Troy, Alabama.

Between schoolwork and sports, there were always chores on the Sirmon Farm, where the chief products during the ’70s were hogs and dairy. Vivian, Charlotte and Brenda bottle-fed the calves and brought the milk from the barn to the house in the mornings and evenings.

Joel and James tended the hogs and ground the hog feed.

“My daughters may have been the only Bayside girls at that time who worked,” Gordon recently said with a chuckle.

Sending five children to an independent school represented a substantial financial commitment, especially for a couple whose income was tied to the feast or famine cycle of farm life. When Hurricane Frederic nearly decimated their barns in August 1979, the family was forced for an extended time to divert their attention from farming to cleanup and recovery efforts. Even in such lean times, Shirley’s and Gordon’s commitment to Bayside never wavered.

By the early ’90s, sweet potatoes had taken center stage at the farm, and cotton, peanuts, corn and Irish potatoes had been added to the mix. The farm prospered. At that point Joel and James were firmly entrenched in the family business, with Joel serving as manager of Sirmon Farms while James assumed the role of manager of the office and sales. When James’ eldest son, Allen, became farm manager of the hydroponic greenhouse in 2010, Sirmon Farms became a fifth-generation operation.

The Sirmons’ sweat equity yielded results. By 2016, the 40 acres that had passed on to Gordon’s mother after his father’s 1939 death had increased 4650 percent, to 1900plus acres of owned and rented lands.

As the farm has grown, so has the Sirmon family’s commitment to Bayside. Ten of their 12 grandchildren have graduated from Bayside. An especially banner year was 2008, with four Sirmon cousins in that graduating class: Christina Tarwater Dunn, Michael Sirmon, Patricia Sirmon and Emily Allen Stewart.

A life built with five children and 12 grandchildren creates a lot of memories. “Gordon and Shirley logged a lot of time at Grandparents Days, school plays and sporting events,” said Bayside Director of Alumni Affairs

Mary Dumas. “When a Sirmon grandchild played on a Bayside team, chances were high that Shirley and Gordon attended every single game,” Dumas said.

When asked about their fondest Bayside memory, Gordon says he has too many to choose a single favorite.

Shirley’s fondest recollection is joining Gordon in chaperoning daughter Brenda’s 1980 junior class trip to Pine Mountain.

“You sacrifice for a good education.”

– Gordon Sirmon Now in their 80s, Shirley and Gordon stay active. They live in the “house that hogs built,” as Gordon says, in the home on Sirmon Farms where they raised their five children. A red barn stands yards away from the house and marks the site of the home where Gordon grew up.

Now adults with grown children of their own, all five Sirmon children live nearby and pop in on their parents often.

Shirley and Gordon can’t help smiling when they talk about their children and grandchildren and their family’s strong connection to Bayside. They especially light up at the thought of seeing their youngest grandchild, Connor, receive his Bayside diploma in May. Connor’s graduation marks the end of an era for the Sirmon family. But the family and their spirit will continue to shape the school. In fact, two of Gordon’s and Shirley’s children are Intermediate School teachers at Bayside: Vivian Sirmon Tarwater ’76 teaches science, and Brenda Sirmon Allen ’82 teaches 3rd grade. The Sirmons’ legacy also lives on in another way. Each spring the Gordon & Shirley Sirmon Award is presented to one male and one female senior athlete in recognition of sportsmanship.

There’s a strong possibility that a few more chapters will be written in the Sirmons’ Bayside saga. After all, most of Shirley’s and Gordon’s grandchildren are now in their 20s and 30s, and many of them live in Baldwin County and are starting families of their own. It may be only a few years before another generation of Sirmons enrolls at Bayside. If and when that happens, Shirley and Gordon Sirmon will be there, supporting their family and Bayside every step of the way.

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2016-2017 Board of Trustees members: Mark Wright, Chairman; Jacob Cunningham, Buildings & Grounds Chair; and Hunter Lyons, Development Chair

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Campus Enhancements Optimize the Student Experience Bayside’s master planning process ensures that steps taken today align with the school’s long-term vision, goals and objectives set forth by the strategic plan. Bayside has recently implemented a number of grounds and facilities updates as part of this master planning process.

Outlined below is a summary of these recent enhancements, which are important because they optimize the campus’s efficiency and security.

New Deck at the Early Childhood Center

In August 2016, Bayside built a beautiful new deck at the Early Childhood Center. This deck offers the perfect venue for outdoor play for students in the Early Childhood Center and is an ideal spot for alumni and Homecoming gatherings. The first week of the 2016-2017 academic year culminated in a new family welcome event on this deck. The deck provided a great place for new families to gather with their Mentor Mom families and watch the first home football game.

LED Lighting

The school recently replaced a large number of outdated fluorescent lights in classrooms and in the Student Activity Center with light-emitting diodes, or LEDs. LEDs consume less electricity and are cooler and more energy efficient than other types of lighting. These new LED lights can be finely calibrated to align with teacher and student preferences and create an ideal classroom experience. The school also replaced all outdoor lights with LEDs that automatically activate from dusk until dawn. This enhanced outdoor lighting results in a safer, more secure nighttime campus. Longevity is another big advantage of these newly installed LED bulbs, which are guaranteed to last for a minimum of 25 years. All told, the school’s conversion to LEDs is expected to create savings in the neighborhood of $25,000 annually thanks to lower energy bills and eliminated bulb replacements.

Going forward, Bayside will continue to replace all remaining lighting on campus with LEDs.

Security Cameras

Bayside now has 28 security cameras installed throughout campus. These cameras provide campus-wide, 24-7 surveillance and represent a proactive step the school has taken to preserve all students’ safety and security.

Fence Along Campus Perimeter

Construction of a new wrought-iron fence around Bayside’s perimeter along Old County Road began in November 2016. The fence includes brick columns and a lit banner sign featuring Bayside’s academic crest. The sign, which is located at the northwest corner of the intersection of Old County Road and Dryer Avenue, was completed in November 2016. A subsequent phase of the fence project will extend the wrought-iron fence along Dryer Avenue. This state-of-the art fence will serve the dual purpose of heightening campus security while simultaneously strengthening the school’s curb appeal and local presence.

Additional Enhancements

Other new security-enhancing measures include wrought-iron gates that have been installed in the past year in the McLean Building. These gates can be opened, closed and locked remotely, thus enabling tighter controls over classroom access and providing increased security at night and during weekends and lockdowns. And because lunch is always a student favorite, the school has recently installed all new dining tables in the Student Activity Center.

“The goal of these enhancements is for our campus facilities to match the high expectations we place on academic and athletic achievement,” said Jacob Cunningham, Chair of the Buildings & Grounds Committee.

“Some physical enhancements, such as the new entrance sign and fence, are more aesthetic than others, but every advancement we make contributes to an overall better learning environment for our students. The campus must continually evolve, and there should always be work in progress to make Bayside the best it can be.”

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Alumnus Michael Latady ’08 Empowers Marginalized People

By Madison Herring ’10 When you are fortunate enough to bump into Michael Latady ’08, he doesn’t mention all of his travels or accomplishments. Instead, Latady is more interested in what you are doing. His caring nature and enthusiasm toward others come as no surprise when one considers Latady has spent the past three years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia, Africa, where he taught lessons in English, public health and gender equality.

His volunteer work enabled Ethiopians to make strides in gender empowerment and advancements in education. Although he is no longer in the Peace Corps, Latady will continue to help others as he obtains a master’s degree in public health and social work. Here, he looks back on his time at Bayside and his experiences in the Peace Corps.

BA: How did your time at Bayside influence you?

Latady: Bayside influenced me to think with a more open mind. I learned how to respect different points of view and ideas while forming my own independent opinions based on proven evidence. I remember reading feminist literature in Jean Burt’s English class, and that allowed me to see the oppression of women as a real and important issue. Also, in Marian Claramunt’s class, we learned about culture and how to respect each other’s differences. My experience studying abroad in Spain with fellow Baysiders further strengthened this lesson.

BA: Do you have any advice for future Bayside graduates?

Latady: Volunteer! Find something you’re passionate about and take time to give support to it. This could be animals, the impoverished, education, human rights.

Give back to your community. The experience will give you so much more in return.

Michael Latady ’08 14︱Off the Bluff

BA: Which Bayside classes made a lasting impression on you?

Latady: Some classes I really appreciated were Spanish and history. Marian Claramunt had an amazing influence on me in many ways. She taught enthusiastically, kindly and patiently. She took time to ensure that we retained what we were learning.

BA: Are there any Bayside teachers who have had a lasting influence on you?

Latady: Elizabeth Bramlett was my favorite teacher in high school. She was quirky, eccentric, knew the material thoroughly and taught it with great fervor. She taught us to think outside the box and to be respectful of those who were different from us. Living in Daphne, sometimes we don’t get exposed to different people. She gave us that vital opportunity to see and understand the lives of historical figures who may not have looked, prayed or loved like we did. I appreciate that more than anything.

BA: What is your fondest Bayside memory?

Latady: The friends I made. I formed wonderful lifelong friends in high school, and they have helped make me who I am today.

BA: What made you decide to join the Peace Corps?

Latady: I had just graduated from Spring Hill and had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I talked to a USAID (United States Agency for International Development) worker who told me my best bet was to apply to the Peace Corps and figure out my life!

BA: What did your role of Peace Corps volunteer consist of ?

Latady: I was an ITELE (Improving the Teaching of English Language in Ethiopia) volunteer. The role entailed training teachers how to use new, innovative teaching methodologies to improve students’ learning experience. However, this program didn’t work very well, and many of the volunteers in my cohort looked elsewhere for work in our towns. I usually had afterschool extracurricular activities for primary and high school students. These included English conversational hour, HIV lessons, gender-equality trainings and just plain hanging out with kids speaking English and Amharic so I could learn the local language.

I also was the programming officer for the Peace Corps gender committee for two years and planned activities for volunteers to implement in their towns. In my third year, I worked with a British gender-empowerment organization called Girl Effect. It focused on using radio programming in Amharic to promote gender

equality in society. I worked with the research team to decipher whether the programming was effective to influence behavioral change regarding girls’ safety and independence in the Amhara region of Ethiopia.

BA: What were some of the biggest challenges you faced during your time in Ethiopia?

Latady: Some of the biggest challenges included cultural assimilation, isolation and being gay in a country where it is punishable by 15 years in prison.

Isolation was hard sometimes because I missed friends and family. In the beginning my Amharic was at a novice level, and I couldn’t communicate with the people with whom I lived. This got much better over the many months I lived there, and I became very close with the people I now consider family.

BA: What is one of your proudest achievements while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer?

Latady: I think the times I participated in the Peace Corps gender-equality camps for kids had to be my favorite experiences. We used what little funds we had to bring kids from our respective towns to bigger cities to learn about health, education, English and most importantly, equality for girls and boys. It’s a major issue in Ethiopia. There many girls are not allowed to attend school, and in many places, domestic violence is considered acceptable. It was so inspiring to watch the kids grow and become motivated in just a few days.

They were empowered to return home and make a difference for the well-being of their country.

BA: What’s next for you?

Latady: I will be attending the University of Pittsburgh for a master’s of public health and social work joint program starting in the fall. I am very excited because it is one of the few schools that offer an LGBT health certificate with the master’s. I am planning on using this degree to help the most marginalized populations in city centers of the United States. I want to concentrate on the health education (especially sexual health) of minorities such as people of color, women and LGBTQ people to help improve their health access and wellbeing.

Answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Madison Herring ’10 recently received her master’s degree in advertising and marketing from the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom.

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Upper Class Jazz Ensemble Hits the Right Note

Bayside’s Upper Class Jazz Ensemble, clockwise starting at left: Jacob Paul, Ty Kannegieter, Trent Kannegieter, Wesley Thompson One slightly chilly Thursday evening in late January 2017, the Bay Room in Bayside’s Pilot Center transformed into a jazz coffeehouse. The night heralded a performance

by Bayside’s own Upper Class Jazz Ensemble, a group of four Upper School students whose teenage faces belie old, wise music souls. The performance exuded an ambience blending three distinct vibes: cozy coffeehouse meets tidy school venue meets lively jazz club (sans cocktails).

The Upper Class Jazz Ensemble comprises seniors Jacob Paul and Wesley Thompson and brothers Trent and Ty Kannegieter, who are a senior and sophomore, respectively.

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Ty Kannegieter plays the saxophone. Paul plays the drums, and Thompson alternates between the piano keyboard and the guitar. Trent Kannegieter toggles between the piano keyboard and the melodica.

The Ensemble’s campus event was the latest in a series of performances the group has given during the 20162017 school year. During fall 2016, the group performed a Christmas concert at Bellingrath Gardens in Theodore. Other recent Ensemble gigs include performances at the Fairhope Film Festival and at Thomas Hospital and the Marietta Johnson School of Organic Education, also in Fairhope.

“The Ensemble gives these students exposure to the theory behind improvisation, chord structure and harmonic structure,” said faculty sponsor Nick Lacanski, who also serves as Bayside’s Upper School band director and fine arts chair and does quadruple duty as the Ensemble’s bass. “A lot of this has to do with getting away from the page and following their ears. In a concert with a big band, all the instructions are there, and your job is to execute what’s on the page. Here you are given only the skeleton [the basic melody] and you are expected to add the flesh [the notes] and make it come to life.”

And come to life it did during the January performance, which boasted nearly 50 attendees ages 4 and above.

Dressed in black suits and open-collar white shirts, the four student musicians and Lacanski strode with confidence into the Bay Room at 7 p.m. and took their positions at their instruments. After Lacanksi introduced the Ensemble and explained the improvisational nature of the performance, an audience member requested the first selection from a choice of 42 songs listed on the program.

Ensemble members bantered briskly as they outlined parameters for playing the song; then they launched full swing into the music. One could easily imagine Dizzie Gillespie, Charlie Parker and Duke Ellington enjoying the groove from the afterlife and yearning to return to Earth for an encore gig.

Audience selections during the performance included “Jive at Five,” “Night in Tunisia,” “Girl from Impanema,” “Bessie’s Blues,” “Tenor Madness,” “Watermelon Man,” “Freddie the Freeloader,” “Walk Tall,” “Baby It’s Cold Outside” and “Blue Moon.” The performance also featured a rendering of “Vice Versa,” an original piece composed

by Ensemble member Thompson.

“I wrote this last year with this group in mind,” said Thompson, adding that the song may be performed two ways: with the first part played as swing followed by a Latin solo, or with the first part played as Latin followed by a swing solo.

The Ensemble got its start in fall of 2015 and began as a way to give Upper School students access to an intensive learning and performing experience. “I wanted to create an avenue for the more serious musicians where they would begin to get pushed harder and further than a normal class setting,” said Lacanksi.

Ensemble members are dedicated to the group and to their craft. Each Monday after school, they meet with Lacanski for a practice session that typically lasts from an-hourand-a-half to two hours. At the Monday practice, Lacanski assigns two or three melodies. Ensemble members are charged with researching, practicing and learning the melodies on their own before reconvening at the following Monday’s practice to put all their parts together.

Between the Monday after-school practice and the members’ individualized work at home, the Ensemble entails hours of additional work each week on top of the students’ already taxing schedules. So what drives the members to keep going?

“It’s a lot of hard work for instant gratification,” said Ty Kannegieter. “When I hear the notes, I instantly hear them.

Then they are gone and I must keep producing more. It’s addictive.”

“This is a form of self-expression,” said Paul. “Even though by nature I am more a behind-the-scenes guy, I have gained an appreciation for performing. I love doing this so much.”

“I wouldn’t be who I am without music,” said Thompson.

“It’s a release for me. Playing the piano is my favorite thing; it’s the best form of entertainment. I can play by myself and entertain myself that way, but playing with these guys creates a sound I can’t make on my own.”

Trent Kannegieter agreed. “It’s beautiful to take the gas off and be a cog in a greater machine [as opposed to playing solo],” he said. “This group gives us more creativity and permission to do different stuff.”

Even though three of the four Ensemble members will be leaving the Bayside cocoon when they graduate in May, all four boys say music will always play a big role in their lives. Thompson is the only one of the four whose goal is to make music his vocation. He plans to study music composition in college and then enroll in a graduate music program. As this story went to press, he had secured two college acceptances and had several more pending auditions.

Paul will attend The University of Alabama, where he plans to study engineering and hopes to snag a spot in the Million Dollar Band on either the marching snare or the cymbals.

At press time, Trent Kannegieter was considering several college options. Wherever he goes, he aspires to study history, take a music theory class and participate in a college ensemble if the opportunity arises.

Ty Kannegieter will be a Bayside junior next year and plans to continue in the Ensemble. He will miss his fellow musicians who are headed to college in the fall but looks forward to riffing with whoever fills their spots next year.

Lacanski said his ultimate goal for the Ensemble is that the students have fun as they learn to create music on the spot.

“I want them to be able to walk into a place and perform if they get invited by the band to play,” said Lacanski. If the January performance is any indication, these guys have far surpassed Lacanski’s goal. Well played, Upper Class Jazz Ensemble!

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L to R: Vivian Sirmon Tarwater, Intermediate School Science Teacher; Megan McCall, STEAM Coordinator; Cindy Robles, Primary School STEAM Teacher; Sam Small, Upper School Science Teacher/Science Department Chair

STEAM Program Sharpens Students’ Problem-Solving Skills The future is now at Bayside, where even the youngest students are programming robots. The school is creating a robust STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics) program for all students at all grade levels.

STEAM into its curriculum and co-curriculars, the school is ensuring its students will be prepared for the future job market and will chart successful paths long after they leave the Bayside campus.

Bayside’s STEAM Coordinator, Megan McCall, is working with teachers to infuse all classes with designthinking and problem-solving skills that students can apply throughout their careers and lives. By integrating

McCall started at Bayside in fall 2016 and has an impressive background. She was named the 2015 STEM Teacher of the Year by the Alabama Air Force Association South Alabama Chapter and was named

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the 2014 Alabama Science Teachers Association Teacher of the Year. She also received the 2009 Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching.

The addition of McCall to Bayside’s staff means that the school now employs four teachers who have received STEM Teacher of the Year accolades from the Alabama Air Force Association South Alabama Chapter. In addition to McCall, Intermediate School Science Teacher Vivian Tarwater, Primary School STEAM Teacher Cindy Robles, and Upper School Science Teacher and Department Chair Sam Small also have been honored by this organization for their STEM teaching endeavors.

Robles and McCall are even taking their training to the next level. McCall is completing her Ph.D. in instructional design and development at the University of South Alabama. “This program is helping me incorporate effective technology into classrooms to cultivate students’ real-world, problemsolving skills,” McCall said.

Robles is pursuing her early childhood technology certification through Tufts University. “Today’s children are immersed in a world of technology and need to understand it,” said Robles, adding that the Tufts University program will help her teach children to be creators of technology as opposed to just consumers of it. “It’s really cool that we have now introduced programming and robotics to all Bayside students in grades pre-kindergarten through 4,” she said.

Thanks to the school’s increased emphasis on STEAM throughout the curriculum, students are exhibiting a growing interest and excitement in all things STEAM. This burgeoning interest is shaping the development of both the curriculum as well as co-curricular activities that center on hands-on problem-solving activities involving real-world challenges.

Many of Bayside’s STEAM projects capitalize on the school’s location on Mobile Bay. Going forward Bayside will continue to incorporate the beach and the bay into its STEAM curriculum. Bayside’s campus location makes the school uniquely suited to help prepare students for marine jobs, which Forbes recently cited among the highest-paying STEM career options for future college graduates.

2016–2017 STEAM Curriculum Highlights ••

Pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students are currently programming robots. Students in 1st and 2nd grades also are engaged in coding as they collaborate to program interactive stories and games.

••

Primary School STEAM Teacher Cindy Robles and Intermediate School Science Teacher Vivian Tarwater have collaborated to introduce the LEGO WeDo 2.0 robotics curriculum to 3rd and 4th graders.

••

Intermediate School students have developed oil spill cleanup programs and have designed new garden tools that are being used in the school’s butterfly garden.

••

Upper School students and 6th graders alike have participated in beach profiling, which is a surveying technique that measures erosion and contour changes in the beach.

••

Upper School students have planted a test plot of black needle rush grasses to increase the health of the shoreline on Bayside’s beachfront. This is part of a living shoreline habitat restoration project undertaken in conjunction with a Dauphin Island Sea Lab team led by Bayside parent Just Cebrian, Ph.D., who is an ecologist and marine biologist at DISL. Bayside students will be measuring plant growth and monitoring water quality and marine life health as this ongoing project continues.

••

Upper School students have constructed reefs off the Bayside pier and will monitor them over time to see what grows in them.

••

Students in an Upper School urban development project participated in a skyscraper “canstruction” competition in conjunction with Bayside’s November canned food drive. This project entailed 8th graders working with students in younger grades to collect cans for the food drive and construct skyscrapers from these cans.

••

Upper School students will compete in a regional National Ocean Sciences Bowl in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, in early 2017. Bayside’s participation in this competition in the future may expand to younger students.

••

Students will observe an ROV (remotely operated vehicle) competition at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab in spring 2017 as they consider forming a team to compete in the 2018 event.

Bayside Academy︱19

L to R: Associate Director of College Counseling Ellen Blackwell and Director of College Counseling Mary Ann Willis 20︹Off the Bluff

College Counselors Help Students Navigate Complex World of College Admissions Meet Mary Ann Willis, Director of College Counseling, and Ellen Blackwell, Associate Director of College Counseling, who are Bayside’s answer to the complex world of college admissions. Equal parts psychologist, strategist, tactician, den mother and drill sergeant, this talented college counselor duo boasts nearly 50 years of combined experience and a deep well of on-the-job knowledge.

Willis and Blackwell arm students and parents alike with information and detailed instructions to ensure students will arrive at a college destination where they will thrive. College counseling is an integral part of Bayside’s mission.

At the beginning of the school year, each Bayside student in grades 9–12 receives a folder of collegerelated information that is grade-level relevant. Parents receive a detailed monthly newsletter from August through May. “The student folders and the parent newsletters are complementary resources that spur discussion about college selections and what it takes to be successful,” said Blackwell.

During group guidance sessions, students learn how to calculate their GPAs, how to make appointments with the college counselor and sign up for college rep visits at Bayside, and the importance of extracurriculars, standardized testing and engagement in the classroom.

Also covered are key steps of the college application process, including how to obtain and check high school transcripts and how to draft effective college application essays.

Bayside’s College Counseling office conducts individual and group sessions as well as an annual college admissions forum. The school also is a member of the Bay Area Consortium, which hosts a local college fair that takes place in Mobile and typically features college representatives from roughly 80 colleges and universities. Additionally, counselors host representatives from U.S. and international colleges and universities to allow students to hear first-hand about specific institutions and programs.

Bayside’s College Counseling office requests the following in the spring of the junior year if a student needs a counselor recommendation letter: 1. a resume in the format set forth by Willis, 2. a self-description that includes one word the student

uses to describe himself along with up to 250 words explaining why he chooses that descriptor, 3. a brag letter in which at least one of the student’s parents describes what it has been like to watch the child grow up, how he relates to peers, where he shows responsibility, and areas where he still needs to mature and 4. a peer recommendation written by any Bayside Upper School student and submitted directly to Willis.

These items help Willis and Blackwell write meaningful recommendations that convey each applicant’s unique, authentic spirit.

This investment in the college search and application process pays off. One hundred percent of Bayside graduating seniors go to college. Many of Bayside’s seniors are awarded either a merit- or talent-based scholarship. Members of the 2015-2016 graduating class earned a total of $5.2 million in scholarships and attended 26 colleges throughout the country, ranging from such far-flung states as Alaska and Massachusetts to campuses closer to home.

In the words of Willis, Bayside students don’t “dive for dollars.” Juniors build a list of colleges that are real, viable possibilities in which they have shown a demonstrated interest. As seniors, on average they winnow down to between three and four the list of institutions to which they actually apply.

Willis’s advice to parents is straightforward. “Resist the urge to do things for them,” she said. “The students must drive the process. College admissions personnel can tell when a parent has become overly involved in editing an applicant’s essay.”

Willis offers a plethora of advice to students.

“Procrastination is the enemy,” she said. She advises students to exercise caution with social media and to pay attention to their second-semester senior grades.

“College acceptances and scholarship offers are conditional,” she said. “They are contingent upon the student completing the school year (in terms of academics and conduct) at a level commensurate with that exhibited at the time of the conditional acceptance/scholarship offer.”

Her principal piece of advice to students is eloquent in its simplicity. “Dream big. Work hard. Do well. Do good,” she said.

Bayside Academy︱19

BAYSIDE ACADEMY

2015-2016 ANNUAL REPORT FISCAL YEAR ENDING 6 /30 /2016

REVENUE

Tuition & Fees Auxiliary Programs Athletics & Support Groups Fund Development Other Income TOTAL REVENUE

Athletics & Support Groups: 3%

$8,940,652 $464,257 $296,255 $489,201 $128,834 $10,319,199

REVENUE

Fund Development: 5% [VALUE]

Auxiliary Programs: 4%

Other Income: 1%

[CATEGORY NAME]: Tuition & Fees: [VALUE]

87%

22︱Off the Bluff

87% 4% 3% 5% 1% 100%

BAYSIDE ACADEMY

2015-2016 ANNUAL REPORT FISCAL YEAR ENDING 6 /30 /2016 EXPENDITURES

Salaries & Benefits

Program Expenses

Plant Operations

Management & General Operations

Financial Assistance

Capital Expenditures

TOTAL EXPENDITURES

Mgmt & General Operations: 5%

$6,626,348 $605,911 $982,798 $494,323 $681,578 $928,241 $10,319,199

EXPENDITURES

64% 6% 9% 5% 7% 9% 100%

Financial Assistance: 7%

Capital Expenditures: 9%

Plant Operations: 9%

Salaries & Benefits: 64%

Program Expenses: 6%

Bayside Academy︱23

L to R: School Counselor Cindy Frederick, School Psychologist Lea Theodore, Ph.D., School Counselor Andrea Millsap 24︱Off the Bluff

School Counselors & Their Programs Promote Healthy Behaviors Anxiety. Depression. Conf lict resolution. Time management.

who have high stress levels and are under increasing pressure to perform academically.”

These may sound like adult concerns, but they are rapidly becoming the worries that keep today’s driven students up at night. School counselors Cindy Frederick and Andrea Millsap are standing by to help Bayside students deal with these stressors in healthy ways.

Frederick has devised an array of awareness programs for Upper School students. September was tagged Girls’ Empowerment month. Frederick met separately with 9th and 10th grade girls to discuss healthy friendships and ways to build confidence and assertiveness skills. She also held mock fashion shows promoting bonding and team building. A Senior Girl Symposium in September enabled senior girls to meet with eight Bayside mothers who shared their professional stories in order to inspire seniors as they consider their own future careers. A Senior Boy Symposium is scheduled for the spring.

“School counselors ser ve a vital role in ensuring students’ healthy social and emotional development,”said School Psychologist Lea Theodore, Ph.D. “They support a safe learning environment and address students’ needs through prevention and intervention.”

To help students cope with mounting pressures, Bayside offers a wide range of support services and programs focusing on such topics as test anxiety, eating disorders, social media issues, alcohol and drug awareness, and a national kindness campaign.

Supporting the school counselors are Peer Helpers, who are 11th and 12th graders trained in basic counseling through a program sponsored by the Jennifer Claire Moore Foundation.

Both Millsap and Frederick divide their time among counseling individual students, planning small group interactions, designing classroom guidance sessions, and organizing and implementing school-wide events.

“Having two of us enables us to be more proactive,” said Millsap, who provides support for students in grades pre-kindergarten–6.

Each month Millsap creates and presents a specific, age-appropriate lesson for students at each grade level in grades pre-kindergarten–6. Each lesson is accompanied by a hands-on activity reinforcing the topic. Topics covered to date include resolving conflicts, quashing bullying, building positive selfesteem, developing good study skills, and promoting kindness and gratitude. Millsap has developed a discreet self-referral process for students in grades 3–6 as well as grade-specific, peer-support groups to help students in grades 1–6 manage stress, anxiety and social skills.

Frederick and Millsap work together to develop school-wide events geared toward multiple divisions and grade levels. In October 2016 in support of national Red Ribbon Week, which raises awareness of the destruction caused by drug abuse, Frederick and Millsap organized an Upper School assembly featuring two Baldwin County judges who spoke about the dangers of drug abuse. The judges also conducted an evening anti-drug presentation designed for parents only.

Also in October, the counselors organized a Mix It Up Day for grades 5–8. This lunch event mixed up social groups in an effort to deter cliques and promote tolerance. Peer Helpers led conversations on the topic of peer pressure. Another October event included a Kindness in Chalk Challenge, which enabled Peer Helpers to work alongside Primary and Intermediate School students to inscribe chalk messages of love, peace, hope and acceptance on designated sections of the campus’s sidewalks.

A November 2016 parent coffee featured remarks by Tommy Loftis, Law Enforcement Coordinator for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Loftis spoke with parents about social media, sexting and the potential dangers of the Internet. He also spoke at separate student assemblies: one for grades 6–8 and another for grades 9–12.

“Our job is to make sure students aren’t falling through the cracks,” said Millsap. “We are here to support students during their Bayside experience.”

December 2016 featured Cocoa and Crammingthemed events and study sessions as Peer Helpers assisted Upper School students in exam preparation.

A stress-reducing event included holiday cookies, Frisbees, a stress ball craft station and a pet therapy session presented by The Haven, an animal shelter located in Fairhope.

“We are in a more high-pressure environment than ever before,” said Frederick, who provides support for students in grades 7–12. “We have high achievers

“We provide students with skills to enable them to be proactive with issues throughout their education,” said Frederick.

Bayside Academy︱25

L to R: Head Coaches Darcey Puckett (girls tennis), Ann Schilling (volleyball), Jamie Ferguson (boys soccer), Phil Lazenby (football) and Joe Swagart (girls indoor track) display their teams’ Alabama High School Athletic Association trophies for the 2015-2016 season.

Athletic Teams Make Bayside History Google #baysideh15tory and you’ll see why 20152016 went down as the school’s best sports season on record.

That’s the year the Lady Admirals girls volleyball team won its 14th consecutive state championship. (In fall 2016 they went on to win their 15th.) It’s also the year the varsity football team advanced to the state finals for the first time in the school’s history and won state runner-up status. And it’s the year Bayside’s varsity boys soccer team won their first-ever sanctioned state championship. (The Admirals won a soccer state championship in 1980, but that was before the existence of the Alabama High School Athletic Association.)

Joining the football team in achieving state runner-up status during the 2015-2016 academic year were the

26︱Off the Bluff

girls tennis and girls indoor track teams.

Some may say that 2015-2016 was a lucky year for Bayside athletics, but Head Coaches Jamie Ferguson (boys soccer), Phil Lazenby (football), Darcey Puckett (tennis), Ann Schilling (volleyball) and Joe Swagart (indoor track, track and field, and cross country) know better. Grit, will and preparation were common denominators behind the school’s athletic accomplishments.

“Winning is not just something that happens,” said Coach Lazenby. “Everybody wants to win, but few people do what they must do to be successful.”

Lazenby referenced a Muhammad Ali quote as a source

of inspiration for his coaching philosophy: “‘The fight is won or lost far away from the witnesses—behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.’ It’s that preparation phase that’s so important,” said Lazenby.

The other Bayside coaches agree with Lazenby that a strong team and a good season are built by players who are willing to do the proverbial heavy lifting every day.

“The kids you love to coach are the ones who work really hard,” said Schilling. “They come in day in and day out and give you 110 percent. They aren’t necessarily the best [natural] athletes.”

“The best players are students of the sport who fully immerse themselves in it and fall in love with it,” said Ferguson.

If there is a secret ingredient to success, it’s teamwork, which is that elusive alchemy that makes the individual players gel in spite of—or sometimes because of— their range of personalities and skill levels. Senior leadership is a critical linchpin of that teamwork.

“Last year we had five or six seniors who willed us to success,” said Lazenby. “They led the team. Without that senior leadership, you have a difficult time.” He compared the role of seniors on the team to that of sergeants in the Army. “They are the ones who disseminate the orders and get things done.”

Strong senior leadership also played a key role in the 2015-2016 boys soccer championship, said Ferguson.

“Last year we had a great blend of players,” said Ferguson. “The older players were responsible leaders and set the tone for the younger players to live up to.

These players respected one another and leaned on each other. It is a brotherhood and a family, it’s not just a team.”

All five coaches agree that a winning team is made up of players who care more about the team’s success than their individual successes. Good team members don’t get caught up in who gets the credit.

The coaches also agree that a common misconception about coaching is that the success of a program is measured in wins and losses. Make no mistake, Bayside coaches love to win. But it is the players themselves and the life lessons they learn that are the true driving

forces behind these coaches’ passion.

“We all compete in sports to win the prize, but most importantly, I expect my athletes to give their best, to be an encouragement to one another and to pursue excellence,” said Swagart.

Encouraging team members to play with pride, enjoy the game and stretch to reach their full potential is an important cornerstone of Puckett’s coaching philosophy as well. “I want them to remember the good times they experience and the friendships they make by being part of this team,” she said.

“Respect, integrity and teamwork are the most important aspects of the sport,” said Ferguson. “We won’t win at the cost of our character.”

“It’s not success at any cost,” agreed Lazenby. “When you lose, you lose with dignity. When you win, you win with dignity.” While the Admirals football team did not make it to the finals in 2016-2017, the team’s advancement to the quarter-finals is a high point that Lazenby celebrates. “I am very proud of this team for what they accomplished,” said Lazenby, adding that Bayside ended the 2016-2017 season as one of the top eight teams in the state.

Like the other coaches, Schilling savors a win but places a premium on integrity and life lessons. After the Lady Admirals brought home their 15th consecutive state championship trophy in fall 2016, Schilling could not have been prouder. She sent as her Christmas card a photo of the players with their state championship trophy and the words, “Ho, ho, ho, 15 in a row.”

But winning is not Schilling’s sole motivator.

“My main goal is to help prepare my players for life,” she said, adding that accountability, resiliency, time management and working well with others to achieve a common goal are among the important life lessons learned by her players. “They learn that sometimes when you work hard, it still does not go your way,” she said.

“When a former player texts me and tells me what it meant to her and how much she appreciates her Bayside volleyball experience and what she learned from it, that’s what makes my job worthwhile,” said Schilling. “The winning is wonderful, but it’s the icing on the cake.”

Bayside Academy︱27

2015–2016 Annual Giving Includes Booster Club memberships, Booster Club ads, fence contributions, restricted gifts, in-kind gifts, Annual Fund, and Bay Affair/Golf Tournament sponsorships and proceeds.

Admirals Circle: $10,000 and above

Chick-fil-A Spanish Fort Compton Family Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Jacob L. Cunningham Dr. and Mrs. William T. Fergus Dr. and Mrs. Jason G. Halbert Mr. Christopher Haley and Dr. Heather Haley Mr. and Mrs. Howard R. Hix Jr. Hocus Pocus Publishing, Inc. IBERIABANK Dr. J. Quint Jardine and Mrs. Kimberly Jardine Mr. and Mrs. William H. Lyons Jr. Mr. and Mrs. S. Anthony Makin Dr. and Mrs. Daniel E. Matthews Mr. and Mrs. Matthew L. McDonald Mr. and Mrs. Rance Reehl RJJB Foundation (Mr. and Mrs. Brandon Pilot, Mr. and Mrs. Jerod Pilot, Mr. and Mrs. Rodney Pilot) Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas J. Roussos Mr. and Mrs. H.W. Thurber III Mr. and Mrs. Mark H. Wright

Captains Circle: $5,000­­–$9,999 Mr. and Mrs. David S. Cain Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Dawson Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Dowhan Dr. E. Grace Pilot Foundation Gulf City Body & Trailer Works, Inc. Dr. and Mrs. William C. Hixson Mr. and Mrs. Mark Hoffman John A. Robertson Insurance Agency, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. William D. Johnson Mr. and Mrs. Joseph R. Lavelle Dr. Grace Pilot Port City Rentals Mr. and Mrs. Webb H. Radcliff Mr. and Mrs. John A. Robertson Mr. and Mrs. Haymes S. Snedeker Terry Thompson Chevrolet Mrs. Virginia Macpherson The O’Melia Foundation Charitable Trust Mr. and Mrs. Ty Thompson Mr. and Mrs. Wesley S. Thompson Sr. Mrs. Barbara Webber Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Williams Zing Zang, Inc. Zoghby’s Uniforms Unlimited

Commanders Circle: $1500­­–$4,999

Ashurst Niemeyer Real Estate B&B Industrial Supply Co., Inc. (Mr. and Mrs. Brian Beall, Mr. and Mrs. Eric Beall) Bayside Parents Association Bellator Real Estate & Development LLC Mr. and Mrs. William C. Blackwell Jr. Blue Water Lumber, LLC Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Brown Mr. and Mrs. Toby D. Brown Mr. and Mrs. Darryl W. Bryant Mr. and Mrs. John C. Bryars Sr. Mr. and Mrs. Edward R. Campbell II Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Cannizzo Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Carpenter Coldwell Banker Reehl Properties, Inc. Mr and Mrs. James G. Counselman Mr. and Mrs. Nathan L. Cox Mr. and Mrs. Robert T. Cunningham III Mr. and Mrs. Michael E. Daves Sr. Mr. and Mrs. Michael L. Douglas Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Duffy III Mr. and Mrs. Ronald E. Duncan Jr. Mr. David J. Dunlap Fairhope Brewing Company Dr. and Mrs. Paul H. Fellers III Dr. and Mrs. Christopher J. Frailie Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey Gaberino Mr. and Mrs. Peter P. Gaillard Jr. GIC Cuisine, LLC Dr. and Mrs. Douglas Harrell III Mr. and Mrs. John O. Hearin Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Hedge Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Henke

28︱Off the Bluff

Mrs. Robert M. Hodgson Mr. and Mrs. Rob R. Hunter Mr. Patrick Ivie Mr. and Mrs. Craig S. Jones Dr. and Mrs. Joseph R. Jones Dr. and Mrs. Lane S. Kannegieter Mr. and Mrs. Robert Kemper Mr. Frederick Kuykendall III Leavell Investment Management Incorporated Ms. Sherrie McCool Mr. and Mrs. Bart McCrory Mr. and Mrs. Vance McCrory Dr. and Mrs. George H. McKean Jr. Mr. Randall C. Niemeyer Mr. and Mrs. Michael Papa Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth B. Partin Jr. Mr. and Mrs. James B. Pittman Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Chad D. Postle Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Radcliff IV Dr. and Mrs. Ryan B. Ramagosa Mr. and Mrs. Johnathan C. Sadlock Sr. Ms. Ann C. Schilling Dr. and Mrs. Nelson E. Shankle Mr. and Mrs. James S. Shilston III Dr. and Mrs. Andrew A. Smith Jr. Stowe’s Jewelers Sunrise Dermatology, LLC T. Cain Grocery, Inc. Target Corporation Drs. Amanda and Chad VanDerHeyden Mr. and Mrs. Anil K. Vira Dr. and Dr. Dylan R. Wells Sr. Wind Creek Casino Mr. and Mrs. J.H. Wright

Helmsmen Circle: $500–$1499 Alabama Land Title, Inc. Alabama Orthopaedic Clinic Mr. and Mrs. Tarik Al-Salem Mr. and Mrs. Scott Baker Bakerbytes, LLC Mr. and Mrs. Hal Barnard Jr. Mr. and Mrs. John W. Beck Mr. and Mrs. Stenson Biggs Mr. and Mrs. William D. Bolling Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Robert P. Branyon Sr. Mr. and Mrs. Flemming Buhl Cap and Gown, Inc. Mrs. Clare Castleman Dr. Just Cebrian and Mrs. Marian Claramunt Mr. and Mrs. Richard T. Chapman Chris Myers Automotive Mr. and Mrs. Andrew T. Citrin Sr. Citrin Law Firm, PC Mr. Scott and Dr. Elizabeth Clemens Colony Animal Clinic Mr. and Mrs. James M. Compton Mr. and Mrs. Scott H. Cooper Mr. and Mrs. Atilio I. Corte III Mr. and Mrs. Del A. Corte Sr. Mr. and Mrs. Mitch Craft Mr. and Mrs. Robert Craft Dr. and Mrs. Mark R. Crowell Mr. and Mrs. Robert Cunningham Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Brooks C. DeLaney Mr. and Mrs. David DeLaney Dr. and Mrs. Christopher Donald Mr. and Mrs. Wylie E. Drayton Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Robert B. Dudley Sr. Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Duffy Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Dumas Duvalle Charitable Trust Eastern Shore Family Practice Mr. and Mrs. Hendrik J. Engel Mr. and Mrs. James R. Fargason Mr. and Mrs. Michael Fitzhugh Dr. and Mrs. Lee Fucich Mr. and Mrs. Kristopher A. Gilbert Mr. Darrell W. Grimsley Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Charles T. Gross Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Mike Haggerty Dr. and Mrs. David C. Hall Mr. and Mrs. Bill Hamilton Dr. and Mrs. John A. Harcourt Ms. Lisa G. Hartley Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Hawkins IV

Mr. and Mrs. Marvin G. Heebe Dr. and Mrs. Michael Heiser Ms. Misty Hudson Jennifer Claire Moore Foundation Mr. and Mrs. George J. Kalaris Mr. and Mrs. Matthew L. Kalifeh Sr. Mr. and Mrs. Edward H. Kane III Kemper Industries, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Stephen L. Klimjack Koby Import Auto Inc. Dr. and Mrs. Clayton G. Lane Levin Papantonio Thomas Mitchell Raferty and Proctor P.A. Living Word Mr. and Mrs. Ian Macpherson Mr. and Mrs. Alfred W. McCoy Jr. Ms. Paige W. McCrory Mr. and Mrs. Slade M. McLendon Sr. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas E. McLendon III Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm A. McMillan Jr. Ms. Alicia L. McWhorter Mr. and Mrs. Cullan Millsap Mr. and Mrs. Darrell W. Mims Mr. and Dr. Jason B. Moore Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC Dr. and Mrs. William J. Morrison III Newk’s Eatery Mr. and Mrs. Leonard N. Newman III Northcutt Dental Practice, PC Dr. and Dr. John D. Northcutt III Mr. and Mrs. Charles J. Norton Mr. Richard S. O’Neill Jr. Mrs. Vicki K. O’Neill Parvin Animal Clinic Dr. and Mrs. David S. Parvin Mr. and Mrs. Ralph A. Passons Mr. and Mrs. James L. Perry Mr. and Mrs. Bradley W. Pettis Point Clear Charities, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Ashton Pond Preventive Care and Sleep Medicine Roush Restaurants LLC Mr. and Mrs. Richard C. Roush Russell Thompson Butler & Houston, LLP S & B Investments Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey C. Schlauder Mr. and Mrs. David Schmidt Mr. and Mrs. Gwyn S. Seward Mr. and Mrs. Joel J. Sirmon 6th Street Advisors, LLC South Baldwin Regional Medical Center Mr. and Mrs. William G. Speir Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey L. Stacey Rev. and Mrs. Chad R. Stafford Mrs. Jennifer Starling Steiner Construction Services Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Suchan Mr. and Mrs. Joseph R. Sullivan Mr. David Swift Mr. and Mrs. Darryl D. Tripp Truland Homes, LLC Trustmark Bank Mr. and Mrs. John W. Turner Mr. and Mrs. William Vosen Mr. and Mrs. John B. Warner Mr. and Mrs. Andrew D. Watson Mr. and Mrs. Bruce W. Weller Mr. and Mrs. Joseph O. Weller Mr. and Mrs. Etson B. White Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. White Wildflowers Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Will Drs. Donald Williams and Regan Cardamone Mr. and Mrs. Robert Williams Mr. and Ms. Zachary Williams Mr. and Mrs. Henry A. Wise IV

Navigators Circle: $250–$499 Alabama Auto Service Centers Mr. and Mrs. Paul L. Averitt Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Bacon III Baldwin Co. Pulmonary & Sleep Physicians Mr. Shane R. Balhatchet Bancroft Condos Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Barnes Baywash Pressure Cleaning LLC Mr. and Mrs. Richard Beall

Bobby Odom Excavating Mr. and Mrs. Britton Bonner Mr. and Mrs. Steve Bouslog Mr. and Mrs. Phil E. Boyd Dr. and Mrs. Sidney B. Brevard Mr. and Mrs. Harry Brown Mr. and Mrs. George Bryant Cardiology Associates of Mobile, Inc. Mr. Steve Chambliss Chapel Farm Collection, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Pelham B. Chastang Dr. and Mrs. Tao Chen Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Cicco Mr. and Mrs. Don S. Clements Jr. Mr. and Mrs. John D. Cocke IV Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey W. Cook Mr. and Mrs. William H. Cooper Cornerstone Investment Management and Consulting, LLC Ms. Barbara Corte Mr. and Mrs. Julio Corte Jr. Ms. Lynn J. Corte Cypress Point LLC Daphne Pharmacy LLC Mr. James Darnley Mr. and Mrs. Michael Dasinger Mr. Chris Delaporte Mr. and Mrs. David W. Dobbins Mr. and Mrs. Pat Downey Mr. and Mrs. Robert P. Downey III Dr. Trey’s Children’s Dentistry PC Mr. and Mrs. Jeff R. Ezell Fairhope Animal Clinic Fairhope Title Services, LLC Mr. and Mrs. James T. Ferguson Fine Home Building & Renovations First Baptist Church of Fairhope FitChampions, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. David P. Florey Mr. and Mrs. John H. Foster Sr. Mr. Michael Fraccaro and Mrs. Jutta Peters-Fraccaro Geaux Deux Admirals LLC Gene’s Floor Covering II, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Stephen R. Ginger Mr. and Mrs. Trenton M. Godwin Mrs. Warren Goodwyn Mr. and Mrs. Chad H. Green Mr. and Mrs. Russell T. Grice GSI Services, LLC Gulf Equipment Corporation Gulf Fastener Gulf Shores Vacation Rentals, Inc. Haley Dermatology Group Dr. and Mrs. Pat Haley Mr. and Mrs. Edward J. Hammele Dr. and Mrs. Adam J. Handwerger Miss Courtney L. Harrell Mr. and Mrs. James A. Hartman Mr. Reed Hawkins Dr. and Mrs. Butch Henry Mr. and Mrs. Pelham H. Henry III Mr. and Mrs. James Higginbotham Mr. and Mrs. Philip M. Hodgson J.H. Wright & Associates, Inc. James Goleman State Farm Insurance Jason Will Real Estate LLC Mr. and Mrs. Roddy L. Jeffers Mr. and Mrs. V. D. Jellenc Joe Bullard Automotive Mr. and Mrs. Herbert P. Jones Sr. Mr. and Mrs. Mark B. Kaiser Ms. Sarah Kalaris Mr. and Mrs. Roger S. Koby Mr. and Mrs. Barend C. Kok Sr. Krob Landscape, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Ernest F. Ladd IV Dr. Kim Langham Mr. and Mrs. Christopher J. Lieb Mr. and Mrs. Steven M. Marine Mr. and Mrs. Thomas T. Martin III Mr. and Mrs. Kevin F. Masterson MB Greene LLC Mr. and Mrs. Jason S. McCormick Sr. McLeod Construction Mr. and Mrs. Autrey McMillan Mr. and Mrs. David Milstead Dr. and Mrs. Hugh B. Milteer Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Ernest C. Mitchell MMT, LLC Dr. and Mrs. Ralph Neal Mr. and Mrs. Christopher L. Nelson No Off Season OB-GYN Associates Off Lease Auto Outlet Mr. and Mrs. Thomas M. O’Hara Sr. Mr. and Mrs. Ken Partin Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. Partridge

Pilot Catastrophe Services, Inc. Pittman Tractor Company, Inc. Mr. Donald Ponquinette Prokleen Pulmonary and Sleep Associates Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Ring Riviera Utilities Ms. Cindy Robles Mr. and Mrs. James T. Rogers Mr. and Mrs. Rhett C. Ross Mr. and Mrs. Paul Rucando S & P of Macon, Inc. Sand & Clay, Inc. Shamrock Properties LLC Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan R. Shelley Sirmon Farms Mr. James A. Sirmon Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Smart Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Smith Jr. Mr. and Mrs. George G. Spottswood Spring Fever Chase Springhill Automotive Springhill Hardware LLC SSA Gulf Mr. and Mrs. Christopher J. St. Pierre Stitches Stone Interiors, LLC Dr. H.L. Strickland Jr. Mr. and Mrs. John D. Stuart Sr. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Swagart T & R Property Management LLC The Fairhope Store The Masterson Law Group The Men’s Wearhouse Mr. and Mrs. John W. Therrell III Mr. and Mrs. Foy Thompson Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Thompson Mr. and Mrs. Scott Thompson Mr. and Mrs. Terry Thompson Mr. Timothy Simmonds Tripp and Associates Mr. and Mrs. Brett VanderMeeden Mr. and Mrs. Larry Warden Jr. Warehouse Bakery and Donuts Mr. and Mrs. Walter Weller Dr. and Mrs. James D. West Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Waynard White Wholesale Solutions Will and Pierce Agency Wings of Daphne Mr. Charles A. Wood Mr. and Mrs. Wilton Wright Mr. and Mrs. Ronald J. Yaeger Mr. and Mrs. Niall G. Yamane Mr. and Mrs. David P. York Mr. and Mrs. Steve Yow

Compass Circle: $249 and below ABC Applicators AKS Professional RE Services Mr. and Mrs. Akup Akyuz Mr. and Mrs. Joseph E. Allen Allied Maritime Services LLC Amazon Smile Mr. and Mrs. Jim Arendall Mr. Andrew Arick Mr. and Mrs. Stephen P. Ascik Dr. and Mrs. Dean B.L. Asher Mr. and Mrs. Hugh M. Ashurst III Ashurst Properties Mr. and Mrs. Russell Atkinson Mr. and Mrs. Stephen D. Audet Mr. and Mrs. Brion Baker Baptizo Diving Mr. and Mrs. Leon Barkan Mr. and Mrs. Larry A. Barnette Jr. Mr. and Mrs. William Barrois Mr. and Mrs. Gil Barrow Batchelor’s Service Bay Pediatric and Adolescent Dentistry, P.C. Mr. Dave E. Beaman and Mrs. Gail Linkins Ms. Brooke Billups Mr. Walter Billups Mr. and Mrs. David Bingham Ms. Carly A. Blankenship Mr. and Mrs. Alan D. Boan Boan Contracting Co., Inc Bon Secour Fisheries, Inc. Mr. Byron Brackin III Branyon Insurance Agency, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. John Brass Breaux Inc. DBA Floor Medic Mr. and Mrs. Adam P. Breeland Mr. and Mrs. Paul Brinsfield Mr. and Mrs. James Britain Mr. and Mrs. Mike Brown

Mr. and Mrs. Dolphus Broxton Bryant Bank Buckaroo Barn, LLC Mr. and Mrs. Pete Burgess C.D. Harrell, III DMD, PC Ms. Brooke E. Caldwell Mr. Benny J. Camp Mr. Ryan Campbell Mr. and Mrs. Timothy D. Carter Mr. James M. Cassity Sr. Mr. and Mrs. Jim Cayo Dr. and Dr. Matthew E. Cepeda Certa Pro Painters of Mobile & Baldwin Counties Mr. and Mrs. James Chastang Ms. Stephanie Childres Dr. and Mrs. Hal Clark Mr. and Mrs. James Clark Dr. Barbara C. Clements Coastal Exposures Landscaping Mr. Paul Cole Mr. and Mrs. Kevin R. Coley Conecuh Timber Inc. Rev. and Mrs. Jay D. Cooper Dr. and Mrs. James Corte Mr. and Mrs. Henry H. Covington IV Mr. and Mrs. Jon G. Cox Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Cox Jr. Ms. Mary Neil Crosby Ms. Sandra E. Cummins Custom Metal Fabrication, Inc. Daphne Pediatric Dentistry Mr. and Mrs. Don Davidson Mr. and Mrs. Ronnie Davis Dr. and Mrs. Eric S. Dawson Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Gonzalo de la Fuente Mr. Dylan Deal and Ms. Katie Arnold Dr. and Mrs. Danny Deese Ms. Deborah G. Denniston Mr. and Mrs. Tom Denton Mr. and Mrs. Michael Dillen Mr. and Mrs. William D. Dobbins III Ms. Tiffany Donald Mr. and Mrs. Donald Doré Mr. and Mrs. John Douglas Ms. Jenny Dumas Mr. William Dumas Mr. and Mrs. Eric J. Dyas East Shore Café Eastern Shore Radiation Oncology Professional Services Eastern Shore Urgent Care Mr. and Mrs. Drew Edgar Ms. Alison W. Ellis Mr. and Mrs. Alan D. Ellison Encore Outdoors Mr. and Mrs. Walter C. Ernest IV Ms. Hannah Etheredge Explosive Signs and Graphics Express Oil Change Mr. and Mrs. Peter Fargason Mr. and Mrs. Fyke Farmer Jr. Mr. Jeffrey Faulkner Ms. Vikki Finch Focus-MD.com, Inc. Foley Hospital Corporation Ms. Cindy Frederick Mr. and Dr. Brian C. Gay Mr. and Mrs. Brian Giattina Mr. and Mrs. Paul T. Giles Mr. and Mrs. Micah Gill Mr. and Mrs. Paxson Glenn Mr. and Mrs. Roy Godwin Mr. and Mrs. Norman S. Goe Mr. and Mrs. Bernard F. Gottfried Ms. Bethany J. Gounares Mr. and Mrs. Fred Granade Mr. and Mrs. Willy Grey Dr. Tom Gross Gulf Coast Bomanite LLC Mr. and Mrs. Bobby R. Gwin Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth E. Haines Dr. and Mrs. Karl V. Hakmiller Mr. and Mrs. Alan Hall Ms. Haley Hall Mrs. Leslie A. Hall Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Ham Mr. and Mrs. Ronnie Handwerger Mr. and Mrs. Russell Harper Mr. and Mrs. Rano Harris Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hauser Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hawkins III Hedge Law Firm, P.C. Mr. and Mrs. Mark H. Hemby Sr. Mrs. Helen A. Hendrich Mr. and Mrs. Bobby Herring Ms. Madison B. Herring Mr. and Mrs. John Hicks

Bayside Academy︱29

Mr. and Mrs. John B. B. Hicks Sr. Dr. and Mrs. J.R. Holland Mrs. C. J. Hollingsworth Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Hollingsworth Mr. and Mrs. Larry Holmberg Horizon Financial Incorporated Ms. Elizabeth A. Horn Drs. Michael Houston and Barbara O’Brien Dr. and Mrs. Adam J. Huddleston Ms. Leis Huffman Mr. David Hughes Sr. Mr. and Mrs. Will Hughes Ms. Catherine H. Hunter Ms. Juliann Hunter iDevice Pro LLC Industrial Electrical Supply Infirmary Health System, Inc. Mr. William M. Inge Mr. and Mrs. Clarke Irvine Ms. Betty Jackson Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey C. Jackson Mr. and Mrs. Sidney W. Jackson III Jade Consulting LLC Mr. and Mrs. Bobby Jenkins Mrs. Kathy S. Johnson Mr. Randy Johnson Mr. Steve Johnson Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Johnsten Mr. Scott Johnston Mr. Paul D. Joiner Mr. and Mrs. Marcus T. Jones Mr. William C. Jones Dr. Benjamin Jordan Ms. Lani L. Kaiser Mrs. Kristen Kammer-Hattox Kemko, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Bobby Kemper Mr. and Mrs. Hobart Key Mr. and Mrs. Michael B. King Mr. and Mrs. Tim Kirby Dr. and Dr. Charles E. Kirkland II Mr. Walter P. Kittrell Mr. and Mrs. William P. Klutes Ms. Shamim Koch Mr. and Mrs. Nick M. Lacanski Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Ladd III Mr. and Mrs. Douglas W. Lambert III Mr. Samuel D. Langham Mr. and Mrs. Rob Langley Mr. and Mrs. Mark Lasseter Mrs. Debbie Leavitt Mr. and Mrs. Doug Leffard Mr. Henry Leidheiser Mr. Wajima Leland Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Lewis Mr. and Mrs. John T. Lide Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Lieb Mr. Wade Long Mr. Jeremy G. Loper Jr. Ms. Katherine Loper Mr. and Mrs. Thom Lott Lulu’s Landing Inc. Ms. Amy Lumpkin Mr. and Mrs. Daniel S. Lumpkin Sr. Mrs. Lucy Lyons Mr. and Mrs. Lee Mackin Mr. and Mrs. Wib R. Magli Dr. and Dr. Tres Manasco Marriott’s Grand Hotel Mr. Andrew W. Martin Jr. Mr. and Mrs. James T. Martin Mr. Larry Matthews Mr. and Mrs. Ramon McClellan Mrs. Lin McCullough Rev. and Mrs. Mark W. McDonald Mr. and Mrs. John McEniry Mr. and Mrs. Richardson B. McKenzie IV Ms. Lisa J. McLendon McMurphy Orthodontics Inc. Mr. Barry McPhail Mr. and Mrs. William Meador Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Messenger Mr. Eric B. Michaelson Mr. and Mrs. Christopher C. Miller Sr. Mr. and Mrs. Bruce K. Mohler III Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Montgomery Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Moore Jr. Mr. and Mrs. William Moran Mr. and Mrs. Patrick B. Murphy Mr. and Mrs. Brian A. Naro

Despite our best efforts, there may be inaccuracies in this report. If you see an error, please let the Development office know by calling 251.338.6428.

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New Age Radiology, PC Ms. Mikhal Newberry Northwestern Mutual Ms. R. M. O’Connor Mr. and Mrs. Alexander P. Ogburn III Mr. and Mrs. Eugene O’Hara Mr. and Mrs. Charles Partridge Mr. and Mrs. Virgil D. Paul Dr. and Mrs. Richard W. Pearl Performance Contractors Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Peters Mr. Adam Peturis Phil Cangelosi and Associates Mr. and Mrs. Bobby Phillips Mr. and Mrs. Bernd Pierstorff Mrs. James Pittman Plantation Pointe Mr. and Mrs. Paul S. Powers Mr. and Mrs. Daniel M. Prickett Mr. and Mrs. Ronnie Propst Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Puckett Jr. Ms. Lacy A. Radcliff Ms. Lauren J. Reibe Ms. Sharon Reibe Mr. and Mrs. Don F. Rhodes Rhodes Mechanical LLC Mr. and Mrs. Adam B. Richardson Mr. Albert Richardson Mrs. Christina Ricks Mr. Douglas Robertson Ms. Leah Rockwell Mr. Richard E. Rockwell Mr. and Mrs. Russell Rowland Mr. and Mrs. Donald A. Rudat Mr. and Mrs. Raymond G. Russell Mr. and Mrs. David Ryan Mr. Bertram Sanders Mr. Glenn Sanders Dr. and Mrs. Albert J. Savage IV Mr. and Mrs. James M. Scroggins Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Sellers Mr. and Mrs. John E. Shankle Mrs. Diane Shaw Mr. and Mrs. Max Shaw Mr. and Mrs. Dale Shirley Dr. and Mrs. Marshall D. Shoemaker Mr. and Mrs. James Shows Jr. Mr. Michael S. Shugart Mr. and Mrs. Samuel D. Small Mr. Kirk Smart Mr. and Mrs. Andrew A. Smith Sr. Mr. and Dr. Craig F. Smith Jr. Mr. Joseph A. Smith Mrs. Natalie Smith Mr. and Mrs. William B. Smith Mr. and Mrs. William C. Smith III Ms. Cassandra Snow Sondra Blackwell Properties, Inc. Dr. and Mrs. Gerald A. Sparks Jr. Mrs. Julie D. Sparks Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Stanley Mr. and Mrs. Ronald J. Stevens Jr. Stirling Properties Strickler Imports Sugar Kettle Café Summit Industries Dr. and Mrs. Roger P. Tart Mr. and Mrs. David Tarwater Mr. and Dr. Robert H. Tarziers Mrs. Heather S. Terrell Mr. and Mrs. Edward M. Terry Thomas Harrison & Associates Ms. Rosalie Thomas Mr. and Mrs. Terrence J. Thompson Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Vester J. Thompson III Mr. Joseph E. Thornton TK5Grand LLC Mr. and Mrs. Tim Todd Mr. and Mrs. James Tran Tri County Peanut Ms. McLeod Turner Mr. and Mrs. Monroe M. Turner Mr. and Mrs. Rian Turner United Saints of America LLC Mr. and Mrs. Ken Vickery Mr. and Mrs. Mack Wakeford Mr. Larry D. Wallace Mr. and Mrs. John Ward Mr. and Mrs. Ralph L. Watson Mr. and Mrs. James W. Waycaster Mr. and Mrs. Edwin L. Webb III Mr. and Mrs. Dustin A. Weil Mr. and Mrs. Ken Wells Mr. and Mrs. Ronald E. Wiggins Jr. Mr. and Mrs. M. S. Will Mr. and Mrs. James K. Williams

Mrs. Monique A. Williams Mr. and Mrs. John Willis Dr. and Mrs. Terry Wilsdorf Mr. and Mrs. J. Howard H. Wilson Jr. Mr. and Mrs. David G. Wirtes Jr. Wise Properties LLC Yamane Championship Mixed Martial Arts Mr. and Mrs. Johnny M. Young Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Scott Zimmerman

2015–2016 Alumni Donors Robbie Robertson 1975 Joel Sirmon 1975 Patti Bryan Sirmon 1975 Helen Malbis Hendrich 1976 Kim Hodgson Jardine 1976 Vivian Sirmon Tarwater 1976 Jennifer Pohsl Nelson 1977 Philip Hodgson 1978 Trip Pittman 1978 Mace Ritchey 1979 James Sirmon 1979 Allen Barnhill 1980 Darryl Bryant 1980 David Dietze 1980 Tim Lambert 1980 Elizabeth Fonde Wolfrom 1980 Theresa Carter Jellenc 1980 Mary Neil Crosby 1981 Doug Harrell 1981 Susan Jurkiewicz Nelson 1981 Randy Niemeyer 1981 Mark Wright 1981 Brenda Sirmon Allen 1982 Thomas McLendon 1982 Ann Corte West 1982 Kim Howard Campbell 1983 Julie DiNapoli Sparks 1983 Allison McKee Brown 1984 Teal Corte 1985 Del Corte 1986 Darcey Fugard Puckett 1986 Murray Macpherson Douglas 1986 Lisa McLendon 1987 Brian C. Beall 1988 Lani Kaiser 1988 Eric Michaelson 1988 Teresa Jones Ernest 1989 Eric Beall 1990 Lorie Tomlinson Gaillard 1990 Tracy Bell Godwin 1990 Adrienne Johnson Dowhan 1991 James Pittman 1991 Tim Kirby 1992 Julie Piephoff Wirtes 1992 Morgan Ashurst 1993 Jason Will 1994 Mikhal Newberry 1994 Kelly Fitzhugh Weller 1994 Ashley Brackin Bonner 1995 Jessica Berry Deese 1995 Jason Halbert 1995 Reid Key 1995 Joseph Weller 1995 Ginny Tomlinson McCrory 1995 Scott Clemens 1996 Kit Hunter 1996 Meador Inge 1996 Leigh Wilson Postle 1996 Amy Crowder Snedeker 1996 Rian Turner 1996 Byron Brackin 1999 Leah Shell Giattina 1999 Ashley Sanders Gill 1999 Kim White-Spunner Gross 1999 Megg Dyson Edgar 2000 Micah Gill 2000 Jennifer Sirmon Peters 2000 Richie Rockwell 2000 Sadie McLean Cooper 2000 Carly Blankenship 2002 William Dumas 2002 Jenny Dumas 2003 Emily Robertson Messenger 2003 Jeff Stanley 2003 Andi Cox Millsap 2004 Sarah Kalaris 2005 Jerod Pilot 2005 Douglas Robertson 2005 Lizzy Dumas Langley 2006 Caitlin Jennings Kirby 2008 Brandon Pilot 2008 Lauren Reibe 2009 Madison Herring 2010 Courtney Harrell 2013

Bayside Foundation monies supported the construction of Bayside’s new sign located at the northwest corner of Old County Road and Dryer Avenue.

Bayside Foundation Ensures School’s Growth for Future Generations The Bayside Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization established in December 1986 to accumulate funds for the support of the school. The mission of the Foundation is to create a permanent endowment of invested donations intended to be used exclusively for the betterment and advancement of Bayside Academy.

Current Bayside Foundation President Haymes Snedeker and founding Foundation member Rodney Pilot have strategically developed goals that will enable improvement of Bayside’s campus and its future. In the 2015–2016 school year, the Bayside Foundation generously donated the Bayside Academy sign that now welcomes visitors at the school’s main entrance, where Old County Road and Dryer Avenue intersect. This sign was the start of the beautification fence project scheduled for completion in 2017.

2016 Bay Affair & Golf Tournament The 2016 Bay Affair and John A. Robertson Memorial Golf Tournament were a huge success and generated more than $116,000. Bayside thanks title sponsors IBERIABANK and Triad Rx, Inc. Thanks also go to Rachael Compton and Aimee Partin, who teamed up to chair 2016 Bay Affair, and to Morgan Ashurst ’93 and Randy Niemeyer ’81, who chaired the golf tournament. Mark your calendar for the 2017 Bay Affair on April 1, 2017!

Snedeker, whose 2nd grader and 5th grader are enrolled at Bayside Academy, has big dreams for Bayside. “It is important to me and my family that Bayside continues its legacy on the Eastern Shore,” he said.

“That legacy includes building a significant endowment over the next two years,” he added. “The Foundation Board knows that this is an ambitious goal for our community. We believe that we have the vision and leadership to make this goal a reality. Meeting this goal will allow us to implement new infrastructure and programs that were previously not possible. This goal is more than a dollar amount. It is about the Bayside family.”

Pilot said the endowment is the next necessary step for Bayside’s future. “Having seen all the seasons of Bayside through my children (Jerod ’05 and Brandon ’08), my eyes are set on securing Bayside’s future for generations to come,” he said.

Bayside Academy︱31

Bayside Reminisces:

Coach Dickinson

Retired Coach Bill Dickinson His legal name is Billy Gerald Dickinson, but in the annals of Bayside history, he is known as Coach Dickinson, Coach D., or simply Big D. “You name it, Big D. did it,” said Randy Niemeyer ’81, President of Bayside’s Alumni Association. “Everybody called on him to do everything.”

Big D.’s official title was Athletic Director, but he was really the behind-the-scenes guy who made Bayside tick.

He coached boys basketball and baseball. He scheduled soccer, basketball and baseball games. Over the years he taught physical education, driver’s education, CPR and science. He managed a maintenance crew and worked right alongside them doing repairs, cleaning classrooms and mowing the lawn. He even drove the bus to and from Gulf Shores by way of Foley on days the bus drivers were no-shows. Archived photos depict Big D. in a wide range of roles and attire. One photo shows him dressed in coach’s apparel and hammering a loose board. In another photo he’s in a Santa suit with a young boy perched on his knee.

32︱Off the Bluff

Big D. is not one to wax sentimental about his years at Bayside, but alumni are eager to reminisce on his behalf.

Niemeyer fondly recalls a field day during the ’70s when the older boys begged Big D. to race them in the 100yard dash. Eventually he accepted the challenge. “He whipped their butts,” said Niemeyer, adding that the boys had been falsely confident they would win given the coach’s less-than-buff physique.

Navigating a drive-through was students’ favorite part of the driver’s education curriculum with Big D., say former faculty and students. Behind-the-wheel instruction often entailed picking up burgers or chili dogs from fast food joints close to Bayside’s campus.

Robbie Robertson ’75 remembers playing basketball under Big D.’s leadership. Robertson said, “When we screwed up, if any of us tried to explain ourselves by saying, ‘Well I thought I was supposed to ... ’ Coach Dickinson would say, ‘I didn’t ask you to think.’ He had a big presence. He did not say a lot, but when he talked, you listened to what he said.”

Alumni speak of the major impact that the coach has had on their lives and the lives of so many others.

“Big D. has taken so many people under his wing and mentored, counseled and loved them when they needed it most,” said Darryl Bryant ’80. “They [Bill Dickinson and his wife, Becky] have touched more lives positively than any other couple I have ever known. They are a blessing to countless people.”

entire immediate family to lend a hand. Allen’s husband, Joe, her son, Joby Allen ’10, her daughter, Emily Allen Stewart ’08, and even Emily’s fiancé (now husband), Luke Stewart, all made the trip to Sheffield. The Sirmons brought an RV from the farm so that Big D. could travel comfortably back to Baldwin County.

“It was like a miracle,” said Becky. “You couldn’t help crying when you saw all these people coming together.”

Big D.’s work days were long, often starting before 7 a.m. and not ending until late at night on days when the school hosted events or games. The backyard gate of the Dickinsons’ house on Belrose Avenue led directly to what is today the Upper School parking lot. Separation between work and home was virtually nonexistent: Bayside literally was Big D’s. home. For nearly three decades from 1970 to 1999, Big D. gave Bayside his all, and then some.

Their first night back in Baldwin County, the Dickinsons had a comfortable place to sleep: Patti Bryan Sirmon ’75 had set up the house’s spare bedroom so that it was ready and waiting for the tired travelers. The next morning, Charlotte Sirmon Norris ’80, Bayside Intermediate School Science Teacher Vivian Sirmon Tarwater ’76, and Bayside 1st Grade Teacher Tootsie Bryant (wife of Darryl Bryant ’80) unpacked boxes, arranged furniture and set up the master bedroom.

Eventually the lure of retirement became too strong to resist, and Big D. retired at the same time as his wife, Becky. A coaching superstar in her own right, Becky led McGill-Toolen’s girls volleyball team to 14 state championships, started McGill’s girls basketball team, and led the girls basketball team to three state championships. She counts among her former students Bayside Head Volleyball Coach Ann Schilling and many current Bayside mothers.

Several months after their move back to southern Alabama, it felt as though the Dickinsons had never left.

In early December, James Sirmon ’79 held a party in honor of Big D. in an airplane hangar on Sirmon Farms.

Laughter and conversation flowed freely as nearly 50 Bayside alumni and friends gathered to pay tribute and show their appreciation to Big D. and Becky.

The Dickinsons spent most of their first year of retirement driving their RV to fishing locales in the West and the Northeast. After two extended cross-country fishing trips, the couple relocated to northern Alabama to care for their aging parents.

Thomas Wolfe wrote that you can’t go home again, but he was wrong. Big D. and Becky are home again. They are back in Baldwin County with their Bayside family, and that’s exactly where they belong.

During the Dickinsons’ years in northern Alabama, Baldwin County was never far from their hearts and minds. Former students stayed in close touch and called often. When Big D. received a cancer diagnosis in June 2016, Bayside alumni rallied. It was time to bring Big D. home.

“When the kids found out about Bill being sick, they called and said ‘We have a plan,’” said Becky.

Bayside alumni and brothers Joel Sirmon ’75 and James Sirmon ’79 offered the Dickinsons a house to live in on Sirmon Farms in Daphne. In early July, Randy Niemeyer ’81, Darryl Bryant ’80, Joel Sirmon ’75 and his wife, Patti Bryan Sirmon ’75, were among the Bayside alumni who traveled to Sheffield to help the Dickinsons pack, load their moving truck and drive their vehicles back to Baldwin County. Brenda Sirmon Allen ’82 enlisted her

Retired Coach Bill Dickinson and his wife, retired Coach Becky Dickinson Bayside Academy︱33

34︱Off the Bluff

Bayside Academy’s Core Values

Excellence Responsibility Integrity Leadership Community Respect

Bayside Academy︱35

303 Dryer Avenue, Daphne, Alabama 36526 • 251.338.6300 • www.baysideacademy.org 36︱Off the Bluff