Converse College Magazine Spring 2011

– Year of I Can Action – NON-PROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #108 SPARTANBURG, SC

29301

The Sounds

580 East Main Street Spartanburg, South Carolina 29302 www.converse.edu

of a Century Spring 2011

Converse College expresses gratitude to the following donors who made major gifts to the Petrie School of Music during its Centennial celebration.

Master Artists

Carroll McDaniel Petrie ’44 Mr. and Mrs. Kurt Zimmerli

Encore

Elaine T. Freeman Mr. and Mrs. Michael Russ (Jean Thomas Russ ’66)

Richard and Victoria Polchow

(in honor of Marjorie Rucker Polchow 2011)

Dr. Joella F. Utley MM ’07 Thomas R. Young III Thomas R. Young IV

Ovation

Mary J. Barker Berry Bate ’75 Mr. and Mrs. MacFarlane L. Cates Jr. Patricia Parsons Hickerson ’64

Talk to Us!

Do you know a young woman who wants to…

Hit the ground running

70% of the Class of 2010 had a job or grad school acceptance in-hand the day they graduated.

Be the center of attention

Our 10:1 student faculty ratio—one of the best in the country—guarantees students the individual attention needed to achieve their goals.

Make major decisions

Converse offers 35 majors, 21 minors and 11 pre-professional programs.

The Converse Admission Tea

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If you know a young woman who should be considering a Converse education, send us her name! April Lewis and her team of admission counselors will do the rest. Contact us at 1.800.766.1125 or admission@converse.edu

Posing in fron t of the Carolina Pant hers’ limousi ne

Boost ‘Em Up! Calling all sideline cheerleaders and athlete wannabes—the Converse College Valkyries are in the process of making history and we’d love to have you along for the ride! We’re building a Booster Club and we need your support.

Congratuat

ions!

Valkyries Sw Their Undefe im Team on ated Season

The athletic program at Converse today is a remarkable rise-from-ruin story. Dismantled in 1994 only to be brought back to life in 1998, Converse is now one of only two women’s colleges in the nation playing at the NCAA-Division II level. Boasting seven team sports including soccer, swimming, cross-country, lacrosse, basketball, tennis and volleyball, Converse has most recently reinstated an IHSA equestrian program.

The big news this year is an undefeated season for the Valkyries swim team, an individual coup for lacrosse player Bridget Dullea who led the nation in goals per game and a collective 3.1 GPA for our Converse student athletes.

We don’t need a pat on the fanny….just fans to root us on! Become a member of the Valkyries Booster Club today!

“Boost Up” the Valkyries and give your gift today!

Visit www.converse.edu/athletics/support or call Dan O’Neal at 864.596.9759

Valkyries Club Levels Membership Benefits Collegiate Club $25 Converse Club $50 All-American Club $500 Championship Club $1,000 Tax Deduction X X X X Car Decal X X X X Valkyries Pin X X X Valkyries Hat X X X Valkyries Umbrella X X Program Recognition X X Special Game Day BBQ and Receptions X

Back Campus Rain Or Shine Gates Open At 7pm Concert Begins At 8pm College Students: $20 General Admission: $40 ALL Day Of Show Tickets: $40 For More Info: 864.596.9725

Departments President’s Message

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Converse News Athletics Academics Events

Page 24 Page 26 Page 28

Giving Celebrating Converse’s “I Can” Spirit Page 30 Honor/Memorial Gifts Page 30

Alumnae News

Welcome to The Heath Page 4

Alumnae President’s Message Page 36 Alumnae Award Winners Page 38 Alumnae Board Slate Page 40 Life Events/ Class Notes Page 42

Step inside The Heath as Converse rolls out the “purple” carpet and dedicates the new $12.3 million apartment housing facility.

Year of “I Can” Action I Can Overcome

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While creating works of art for his retrospective exhibition, Professor Mac Boggs severely injured his hand, disabling his capacity to sculpt the remaining pieces of stone. Not one to give-up easily, read how Boggs’ “I can” spirit prevailed.

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Editor/Senior Writer

Jennifer Baker I Can Make a Difference

Contributing Writer

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Beth Farmer Lancaster ’96

When it comes to effecting positive change in the world, Converse students aren’t afraid to jump into the mix and get their hands dirty. Learn how several students are making a difference every day.

“I Can” Spirit

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Art Director

John Pryor

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Honoring the Milliken Legacy

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Converse celebrates the life of beloved friend and benefactor, Roger Milliken (1915-2010).

Behind Every Great Student…

The View from the Top

Nancy Smith Gage ’82

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Page 20

Beyond the awards, plaques and building that bear the Milliken name are the women whose lives were forever touched by Roger and Nita Milliken’s generosity.

Donna P. Gardner Alumnae News

Generations of Converse women have proved they can do anything.

Here, three trailblazing alumnae share their personal “I can” stories.

Features

Production Assistant

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Page 22

From SC Governor Nikki Haley to Law & Order actress Jill Lawrence to award-winning author Thomas E. Kennedy, meet a few of the visitors who shared real-life lessons with the Converse community in fall 2010.

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Special thanks to Ron Bailey Photography and Hot Eye Photography The Converse Magazine is published by the Office of Communications, Converse College, 580 East Main Street, Spartanburg, SC 29302, 864.596.9704.

Converse College does not discriminate in admissions or employment on the basis of race, color, sex, national or ethnic origin, age, sexual orientation, religion or disability. Converse admits only women to undergraduate programs and services in accordance with its historical mission.

Spring 2011, Volume 123, No. 1 Copyright© 2011 by Converse College

Distinctively Converse Energy and enthusiasm, guts and glory…the Converse momentum is making milestones happen in 2011! This community at large, as well as individual students, faculty, staff and alumnae are effecting remarkable positive change. We are fueled by an “I can” spirit that is distinctively Converse.

This issue of the Converse Magazine captures the unique Converse brand of “I can” that connects and motivates all of us. As evidenced in the news and stories shared within, the Converse way is about forging collaborative partnerships, encouraging teamwork, pushing traditional boundaries, risk-taking and applying the kind of adaptability that is necessary to succeed, personally and professionally, in a rapidly changing world.

On January 21, 2011, the Converse community made history—celebrating together the opening of our first apartment housing. It is the first time since 1969 that Converse has created a new student residence facility. The stunning buildings of Howard Hall, Kate Hall and Zimmerli Common— collectively known as The Heath—far exceed our dreams and according to our students are a dream come true!

From the project’s inception, our planning process was marked by a thoughtful approach that supports Converse’s strategic goals of advancing community and creativity. We began by visiting

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Top Photo: Ribbon cutting ceremony for The Heath

some of the best college housing facilities in the nation. But The Heath was designed to be uniquely Converse, melding the best design concepts to fit our culture and needs. We prioritized student, alumnae and Trustee input through focus groups, surveys and their inclusion on project committees.

The significant level of their involvement strengthened the finished product. Indeed, The Heath has already been praised as “one of the most sophisticated residential environments in the country.”

Long before our shovels turned the dirt at the groundbreaking celebration, a host of generous Converse supporters stepped forward with gifts to fund fully our apartment housing project. During a time of economic uncertainty, they made investments that serve the best interest of our students and the long-term vitality and health of the College.

The Heath is just the first phase of a housing plan that will impact every residence hall on campus. So, we now move into Phase II with our sights set on the renovation of Dexter and Pell.

These beloved historic residence halls will become the center of first-year housing and programs.

Design development is underway as I write. We invite your participation and support. We hope that classes and friends who lived together during the past decades will join together to name Fifth Dexter, Third Pell and all other spaces in honor of your Converse experience and to extend that legacy to future generations.

“It is the stories of our incredible alumnae that inspire prospective students and their families most about the “I CAN” spirit of Converse. Individually and collectively, you are the Converse story.” ~ President Fleming

Stories of firsts are a signature of the Converse “I can” spirit. On January 29, 2011, the Valkyries swim team, in only its second year of existence, became the first sports team in Converse history to finish a season undefeated. This year, U.S.News & World Report named Converse #1 Best Value in the South.

Washington Monthly recognized Converse as third best in South Carolina for cutting-edge research initiatives and student service.

As I travel on behalf of the College, I continue to be inspired and amazed by Converse women near and far. Our enrollment numbers are on the rise and for good reason. Our success is in our people. It is the stories of our incredible alumnae that inspire prospective students and their families most about the “I can” spirit of Converse. Individually and collectively, you are the Converse story. So, continue to share your Converse story. Encourage others to take notice of our success. Tell us about the girls whom you believe would make great little sisters and dynamic Converse women.

I look forward to more great stories, more talk during reunion weekend this April. With an open house at The Heath, a sell-out concert featuring Darius Rucker on back campus and other exciting events, there are many more milestones in our future!

With all best wishes,

Elizabeth A. Fleming, PhD President

President’s Message

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Hello Heath W

ith a triumphant brass salute and the snip of a purple ribbon, Converse introduced another landmark on its historic campus on Friday, January 21 by dedicating “The Heath.” The new $12.3 million apartment housing facility offers a host of modern amenities for students and the greater Converse community.

Bubbles and a little bit of “bubbly” What started as a dream to improve student housing at Converse is now a dream come true. That was the sentiment on a bright blue day this January when trumpets regaled a huge crowd outside of the brand new Zimmerli Common. “When we last gathered on this site,” said President Betsy Fleming, “I arrived in a rumbling, honking dump truck–wearing a hard hat, jeans and boots–ready to brave the muddy turf to break ground for our new apartment housing. It was an exciting moment full of energy and the magic of our collective, starry-eyed vision for the first apartment housing in the history of Converse College. Today, the stunning buildings that surround us far exceed our dreams for this project.”

Through their beauty, form and function, Howard Hall, Kate Hall and Zimmerli Common– collectively known as The Heath–are poised to advance community and enhance a vibrant student life at Converse College. “In my four years here, I have never seen the student body so excited,” said SGA President Madison Brewer ’11. “There have been numerous Facebook countdowns and tons of planning among future apartment-mates. I’ve already begun planning my first meal in my new kitchen!”

Hello Heath

During the ceremony, celebratory bubbles filled the air while Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Billy Webster and President Fleming shared the symbolic gifts each class presented during the apartment housing’s groundbreaking in November 2009. The freshman class, who are now sophomores, gave a red hammer to “hammer out all the kinks.” Fleming joked that “A few of us may feel that we’ve BEEN hammered, but I think it’s safe to say, it was all worthwhile.” The sophomores, who are now juniors, donated a welcome mat that prompted Fleming to comment, “We’re not only putting out the welcome mat, we’re rolling out the red carpet!” The junior class, now seniors, who will be the first class to live in the apartments, gave a large alarm clock to keep the project on time. Last year’s seniors presented a framed photo of their class to hang above the fireplace in Zimmerli Common, along with a bottle of champagne with instructions to be kept on ice until the apartments opened. Webster had the honors of opening the celebratory bubbly.

“In my four years here, I have never seen the student body so excited. There have been numerous Facebook countdowns and tons of planning among future apartment-mates.”

SGA President Madison Brewer ’11

Clockwise from top: 1. Kitchen and dining area 2. Living room and balcony 3. Balconies of Kate Hall 4. Millie’s Lounge 5. Don Wildman and Sidney Fulmer

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Home sweet Heath Lead architect for the project, Vinicius Gorgati of Sasaki, proclaims that “The Heath is one of the most sophisticated residential environments in the country in the way it embraces community and connects to the campus. The quality of the interior spaces, ample and full of natural light; the deliberate connections to the outside spaces, through balconies and bay windows; and the intimate scale of the new quadrangle, embraced by the two buildings and anchored by the Zimmerli Common all combine to create a place that speaks both to the campus traditions and its future.”

The Heath is the first step in a 10-year master housing plan that will impact every residence hall on campus. The plan will create progressively independent living environments that balance community and connectedness with the development of autonomy and independence. “Since its founding, Converse has recognized and prioritized the benefits of residential life in a college community. It is exciting that we are now furthering those advantages for the 21st century student. We have a creative, unique plan that will position our campus for the future while honoring our legacy,” said Fleming.

Furthering Converse’s commitment to sustainability, The Heath is Converse’s second building project designed to meet LEED certification standards, following the renovation of Kuhn Hall in 2009. Inside are three distinctive floor plans, featuring a kitchen, living room and options for single or double rooms. Patios and Southern style porches overlook the Rose Montgomery Johnston Quadrangle, and common areas such as Millie’s Lounge and the Cato Study Room are designed to integrate residential living with academic and social events that bring all members of the greater Converse community together. “From the project’s inception, the planning process has been marked by a distinctive and thoughtful approach that supports Converse’s strategic goals of advancing community and creativity,” said President Fleming.

The project team began by visiting some of the best college housing facilities in the nation. But The Heath was designed to be uniquely Converse, melding the best design concepts to fit Converse’s distinctive culture and needs. Student input was prioritized throughout the project through focus groups, surveys and their participation on project committees. “The significant level of their involvement strengthened the finished product,” said Fleming. Students also left their mark on the new construction by signing a beam that was installed in Zimmerli Common.

Converse prioritized fully-funding the project before construction began. In just three months, Converse supporters stepped forward with gifts totaling more than $12 million.

Fleming expressed the College’s deep appreciation to these donors, noting, “During a time of economic uncertainty, they made investments that serve the best interest of our students and the long-term vitality and health of the College. The story of The Heath is one of optimism and can-do spirit and an incredible example of what can be accomplished when people are willing to think differently about operations and avenues to success.”

What’s Next...

With the successful completion of phase one, Converse looks forward to launching phase two of the housing plan this spring. During this phase, the College will renovate two of the most historic buildings on campus—Pell and Dexter Halls. This project will integrate historic preservation with cutting-edge technology and be designed to meet LEED certification standards. Once renovated, Pell and Dexter Halls will be home to approximately 180 new first-year college students each year and serve as the center of first-year co-curricular programming. Stay tuned!

Clockwise from top: 1. Students, alumnae and staff with celebratory Heath candy bars 2. June McIntosh Uhler ’67, Marjorie Coddington Cannon ’62 and Kurt Zimmerli 3. (center) Mark Osinga, senior director of facility services and planning with members of the Harper Corporation 4. Lucy Simpson Kuhne ’66 and family 5. (left) Kathy Zimmerli Wofford and friends 6. Converse students with Nancy Boatwright Holt ’79 and family 7. Lead architect, Vinicius Gorgati, with Kurt Zimmerli and Elizabeth “Lib” Burnett Fleming ’65

To see more photos of The Heath, visit www.converse.edu/theheath

Hello Heath

I Can Overcome

Things are only difficult if you make them so.

L

~ Mac Boggs

ike the singular sculptures that he brings to life, Converse Professor of Art Mac Boggs is one of a kind. As a widely renowned artist, Boggs is a teacher who teaches by example—not only lessons of creative expression but also of purposeful, passionate living. In celebration of his 40-year tenure at Converse and his countless contributions to the visual arts community, this year, Converse collaborated with University of South Carolina Upstate and Wofford College to showcase his diverse portfolio of work. The exhibition, 2010-2011: A Retrospective Exhibition for Mayo Mac Boggs, was held on all three campuses during the fall of 2010. Well known for his abstract paintings, steel sculptures, bronze work, computer graphics and architectural designs, Boggs displayed more than 100 pieces of two- and three- dimensional art works. Remarkably, the showcase that was intended to honor Boggs’ career evolved into a celebration of his tenacity and relentless determination. While in the middle of preparing for the exhibit, Boggs severely injured his right hand, disabling his capacity to sculpt remaining pieces of stone. Hardly one to back away from a challenge, Boggs’ indomitable can-do spirit prevailed.

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Boggs in the 1973 Converse yearbook

Strong as Steel When Boggs began creating pieces for his exhibition, he drew upon his innate desire to build and sculpt things. “I come from four generations of metal workers. My great-grandfather was a blacksmith. My grandfathers and father were steel workers and welders. And I grew up in a steel town. I love the look, feel, taste, smell and sound of steel. I have taken this material and its process and made art—continuing a family tradition of ironwork.” For Boggs, this exhibition not only presented an opportunity to create several new pieces, but also afforded the space to showcase dozens of previous works from his extensive collection. “Despite several different mediums, there is a continuous thread running through all of my work. I was excited about getting it all out and in a space where the community could walk around and look at everything together in an exhibition setting.”

As with any show, Boggs had a set timeline to finish his works and all was going according to schedule when the unthinkable happened. “I was using a bench grinder to clean up the ends of a steel rod when the tool rest on the grinder shifted position and forced the sharp steel to twist and bury itself into the palm of my right hand. I went to the emergency room where they sewed-up the wound and instructed me not to use my right hand until it healed. This set me back a month in preparing for my exhibitions.” Unfortunately for Boggs, one month quickly came and went without any physical progress and a diminishing timeline for creating the remaining pieces for his exhibition.

“The pain continued and I went to a hand surgeon who told me that the steel had possibly nicked a tendon and surgery might be needed. He stressed that I should only use my right hand for assisting.

Well, for me assisting means carrying the other half of 200 pounds… my right hand is a tool for everything I do.”

“It was like the cavalry coming to the rescue in a 1950’s cowboy movie!”

Photos clockwise from top left: 1. Boggs in his 3-D design class 2. Boggs working in his stone carving studio 3. Boggs’ sculpture group, A Green Season, on the Wofford campus 4. Le Memorie di Fortezza da Basso (Memories of Fortezza da Basso), marble and wood sculpture

Despite the severity of his injury and the collapsing timeline, Boggs says he never thought to quit. “Cancelling the exhibitions never crossed my mind. Instead, I began trying to figure out how I was going to finish the large sculptures for the USC Upstate show and accomplish the commitment I made to Converse…as well as myself…to exhibit 12 new marble sculptures.” Boggs decided to complete the show by building, rather than carving sculptures out ~ Mac Boggs of wood and marble. “All of my sculpture for the past 40 years has been in the category of ‘steel constructions.’ So, I began to develop sketches and ideas for how to make marble constructions instead of carvings using only one hand and a little creativity. Once I had settled on 12 concepts from my drawings, I began to figure out the best way to make it happen.” Boggs says this is where 40 years of friendships within the Spartanburg community and seeking the expertise of many companies in the region paid off. “It was like the cavalry coming to the rescue in a 1950’s cowboy movie!”

Helping hands Several local businesses and members of the Spartanburg community rallied to Boggs’ side. M & R Granite helped with drilling different sized holes in the marble and sandblasted a number of Boggs’ welded steel sculptures. Freedom Fabrications, Colonial Welding and Comfab, Inc. helped with the cumbersome process of loading several-hundred-pound, large-scale steel sculptures and transporting to the USC Upstate campus. Barry Wright Powdercoating provided the color finish on Boggs’ steel sculptures and Tezza Tile helped cut intricate shapes along with some industrial finishing. Mintz scrap metal, Carolina Brass Foundry and various industrial suppliers all come together to help make the exhibition possible.

I Can Overcome

Each of the hosting colleges also did their part to help keep Boggs’ exhibition on track. Oakley H. Coburn, dean of the library and director of cultural events at Wofford College, personally selected each piece of art out of hundreds to hang in the Wofford exhibition.

Jane Nodine, art professor and gallery director at USC Upstate, selected eight outdoor spaces and had professional concrete pads poured. The USC Upstate maintenance department erected and bolted each piece to the pads. Kathryn Boucher, gallery director of the Milliken Art Gallery, provided the kick-off series of openings and worked with each school in providing publicity.

Photos clockwise from top right: 1. Boggs in his stone carving class 2. Future Scape at USC Upstate, welded stainless steel sculpture 3. I Cancelli di Industria (The Gates of Industry), marble and cast bronze piece

Show time After months of perseverance and teamwork, with pieces being installed up until the day of the opening, Boggs was ready to unveil his three-part exhibit to an enthusiastic community of admirers.

“Mac’s talents are great gifts to the broader Spartanburg community.

Over the past 40 years, he has shared that talent with students through teaching while at the same time creating beautiful artwork that enlivens facilities and green spaces far beyond the gates of the College,” says Converse President Betsy Fleming. “Mac is truly a highimpact artist in our community as evidenced by three institutions of higher education joining together to celebrate his work.”

“Mac is truly a high-impact artist in our community as evidenced by three institutions of higher education joining together to celebrate his work.”

For his Converse exhibition, Boggs selected 15 marble stone and metal sculptures to be displayed inside the Milliken Art Gallery.

“Marble is so special because of the beauty of the crystals and its wonderful feel. It becomes such a beautiful material to work with in your hands...very much like wood in that it’s easy to carve but you have to use the proper tool or else it will chip or bruise.” Boggs continues, “You do not beat a stone; you caress it. There’s a certain type of chisel that you use for every move. With marble, an artist may use twenty different chisels for one certain area.”

~ President Fleming

Fall 2011 Milliken Art Gallery Exhibition Schedule August 25 – September 22, 2011

Jessica Wohl

www.jessicawohl.com Reception: September 8, 2011–6:30-8:30 pm Gallery Talk: September 8, 2011–6:00 pm

September 29 – October 27, 2011

Jeffrey Young

http://jeffreyyoungphoto.com/ Reception: October 6, 2011–6:30-8:30 pm Gallery Talk: October 6, 2011–6:00 pm

November 3 – December 1, 2011

David Zacharias

Reception: November 3, 2011–6:30-8:30 pm Gallery Talk: November 3, 2011–6:00 pm

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On the USC Upstate campus, Boggs presented five monumental, welded-steel outdoor sculptures; weighing as much as 600 lbs.

His love affair with metal began when he was a child. “Growing up near the railroad tracks of Ashland, Kentucky, I would pick up pieces of scrap metal that had fallen from the box cars, fill my wheel barrel with about fifty pounds of scrap and take it to a nearby business that was going to buy the scrap anyway from the train. They’d give me a quarter, and I’d go to the movies. When you’re poor you’ll find every way you can to make a few pennies.

But I was, perhaps subconsciously at the time, fascinated by the shapes of the scrap pieces.”

Wofford’s Sandor Teszler Library gallery showcased a collection of over 50 pieces of two-dimensional works, as well as selected small sculptures. “At Wofford we were interested in showing work by Mac Boggs for a number of reasons,” said Coburn. “He’s an artistic icon in Spartanburg and has participated in multi-artist exhibitions here before—notably our Tribute to Trees exhibition after the devastating ice storm which felled 25 large trees on the campus in December of 2001. We also have an outdoor sculpture by Mac on the campus. I wanted our students to see more of his work and understand the existing piece more fully in the context of his other work.”

For Boggs’, the show was a success on multiple levels. “The experience made me appreciate all of those who expressed an interest and an eagerness to help me in my goal to have a 40year retrospect of my artwork. The many people, especially my wife, Ansley, and son, Will, who embraced the project made it exciting and a joy to do—things are difficult only if you make them so. Having all of the members of the community who came to the exhibitions expressing affection, enjoyment and such kind words…was very humbling.”

Photos clockwise from top: 1. Boggs’ sculpture group, A Green Season, on the Wofford campus 2. Boggs at the train station in Pietrasanta, Italy 3. Boggs in his architectural drawing class 4. Boggs today

I Can Overcome

Make A Difference We all have ability. The difference is how we use it.

~ Stevie Wonder

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t was Dexter Edgar Converse who said that “the well-being of any country depends much upon the culture of her women.” For more than a century Converse students have honored that ideal with an “I can” spirit of leadership. When it comes to effecting positive change in the world, Converse students aren’t afraid to jump into the mix and get their hands dirty. In fact, last year alone over 80% of Converse students participated in community service, logging over 9,000 service hours. Read on for a little “I can” inspiration!

Youth Interested in Politics

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ith a fervent desire to make politics relatable to her peers, Ashley Page ’13 created a new organization called “Youth Interested in Politics,” for young people ages 14 to 35 who are interested in learning about political issues from each other and from guest speakers. With a growing membership of young people from middle school, high school, college, graduate school…and even a few senior citizens, Ashley Page has people talking.

Q

For many women, getting involved in the political arena—whether as part of an organization or simply discussing various issues—can be intimidating. What made you take action and create Youth Interested in Politics?

I believe many young people are intimidated by politics because most politicians use overly-complicated rhetoric to try and explain things and end up not relating to their voters, especially the youth. Politics, when you break it down to its raw form, is simply asking questions like “Who decides how much is the minimum wage?” and, “How do they decide that?” A young person’s first work experience is usually at a job where they make minimum wage. When you present a topic that they can see impacts them personally, like their paycheck, they end up wanting to learn more about politics.

Q

What does Youth Interested in Politics offer those who join?

Q

What have you learned from this experience?

Y.I.P. serves as a forum for discussing political issues and offers members the chance to meet elected officials and others who share a similar interest. We participate in community service opportunities around Columbia and we register members to vote at our meetings. Y.I.P. is currently working on providing periodic workshops for our members and the community.

Our organization also helps members find internship opportunities, and we are trying to secure funds from supporters and donors in order to provide a scholarship for a future college or graduate school student.

This experience has made me see how much power young people have. It has also made me see that I definitely want to one day be in the shoes of current politicians and be able to make a difference directly through legislation.

Ashley Page ’13

For more information about joining Y.I.P., contact Ashley at ashley.page@converse.edu.

Help for the Homeless

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ne week prior to Thanksgiving, Converse College students left the warmth of their residence halls, took off their comfortable sneakers and stepped into the shoes of the victims of poverty. Despite the fact that life on a college campus is fairly cushy, Converse students say they are increasingly aware that beyond the gates of the College there are homeless citizens in Spartanburg who need their help. To learn more about the issue and how to address the challenges of homelessness head-on, Converse students participated in “National Hunger and Homelessness Week.”

Together with community agencies such as Mobile Meals, Habitat for Humanity and the Faces of Homelessness Bureau, Converse’s Office of Service-Learning immersed students in a week of activities that underscored the needs of low-income and homeless families in the Upstate. Events included a “Hunger Banquet” that dramatized the unequal distribution of food in the world, an organized “Sleep-Out” during which students camped out in cardboard boxes on the back lawn of the campus, and a variety of service projects related to the issue of homelessness. “While missing a meal or sleeping out in the cold hardly simulates homelessness, these awareness-raising activities promoted advocacy and education,” said Kelly McCrell, AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer at Converse.

During the week, students took every opportunity to learn and be forces of change. In addition to raising awareness, students sold t-shirts and set up donation bins to collect hygiene products, blankets, winter jackets and food. “These students really demonstrated that you have to start somewhere if you want to make a difference. It is easy,” said McCrell, “to fall into the trap of agreeing with stereotypes and assumptions because it allows us to distance ourselves and give reason to not feel for those we see on the street. But understanding that poverty is everyone’s problem changes how you respond to the issue.”

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Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

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n Friday, October 22 hundreds of elementary and middle school girls between the ages of 6 and 14 flocked to the Converse College campus for its annual Girl’s Day. The event, now in its third year, is coordinated by Converse Valkyries Athletics and staffed with volunteers from the entire Converse community—faculty, staff, students and student-athletes.

According to Converse Head Basketball Coach Joanna Tincher, Girl’s Day is meant to provide girls in the community with a day to call their own. “It’s a day that celebrates the young girls of our community,

a day that introduces them to the wide world of possibilities through education,” said Tincher. “They have the chance to experience things they normally wouldn’t have the opportunity to do, to meet kids from across the community and to spend time on a college campus that focuses on empowering women.”

Girls from Spartanburg and surrounding communities participated in a number of creative learning stations that ranged in activities from CPR, music, art, theatre, lacrosse, tennis, yoga, dance, fitness and nutrition.

It Can’t Wait, Clean The Coast!

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leanor Johnson ’12, a Mississippi native, grew frustrated by the lack of care for the natural resources devastated by the BP oil spill. This past summer, she took action into her own hands and designed a bumper sticker with three pelicans and the message “It Can’t Wait, Clean Up the Coast” to raise awareness and funds to support The Nature Conservancy’s efforts to lead a long-term restoration process along the Gulf Coast.

Q

With the magnitude of destruction caused by the oil spill it would have been easy for you to say, “Well, there isn’t anything I can do to help.” What drove you to get involved?

I am originally from Past Christian, Mississippi, and because it is located on the Gulf Coast I hold the area very close to my heart. I was pushed to help after the oil spill because I was not able to help with the cleanup following Hurricane Katrina, and this time I refused to do nothing. Though I couldn’t go home to help physically, I was determined to make a difference. Creating the bumper sticker allowed me to raise awareness about the needs of the wildlife that had been affected by the spill.

Q

Describe the evolution that took place from having an idea to making the stickers to getting the word out to the public.

The idea started with my family. My parents and I would talk about how upset we were about the oil spill and we brainstormed ideas of how we could help. Even though it was a long process of getting everything together for the stickers, it was very rewarding to finish production. Next, I had to find an organization that I thought was helping the wildlife in the most productive manner. I then worked with the organization to make sure that I represented them in the best way with my fundraiser. After the stickers were printed, I talked to local business owners. My cause was also written about in the local newspaper to spread the word around town.

Q

Why a sticker?

Q

What have you learned from this experience?

Anyone can pick up a sticker and put it on their car, water bottle, computer, or almost anything.

Stickers are easily placed and because of this, they are easily seen. Even if someone was not buying the sticker, people would gain awareness about the cause just by the sticker being displayed.

Eleanor Johnson ’12

I have learned that it takes a lot of work and persistence to make a fundraiser successful, but that it is incredibly rewarding and fulfilling.

make a difference

Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it. ~ Oprah Winfrey

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enerations of Converse graduates have blazed trails where other women were afraid to even tread lightly. The alumnae stories that follow are about three Converse women who make trailblazing look like a walk in the park. Alumnae Lan Nguyen Shortt ’82, Elisabeth Lucas Marchant ’68 and Patricia (Pat) Parsons Hickerson ’64 all epitomize the “I can” spirit that has become a hallmark of the Converse experience. Their stories are as diverse as their backgrounds, but the alumnae you are about to meet share a common thread in Converse and the bond of knowing that when push comes to shove, Converse women can do anything.

Lan Nguyen Shortt ’81

Managing Partner, Shortt & Nguyen, P.C. Attorneys & Counselors at Law, Houston, TX After immigrating to the US as a refugee from Vietnam in 1975, and enduring many hardships in that transition, including time in refugee camps, Lan Nguyen Shortt ’81 entered Converse as a Milliken Scholar. She majored in Sociology with minors in English and Political Science. After graduation, Shortt went on to obtain both a JD and MBA from University of Houston. Since her admission to the Bar in Texas in 1984, she has made enormous contributions to the legal (and other) needs of low income individuals and families in the Houston area, and recently accepted the 2010 ABA Pro Bono Publico Award.

Shortt has received many honors recognizing her unique pro bono contributions, including the 2007 Houston Bar Award for Outstanding Contribution to Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program by an Individual and the 2007 State of Texas Pro Bono and Legal Services Award. Shortt donates hundreds of hours as a pro bono attorney each year, despite also maintaining a legal practice with her husband. She has been a driving force of the Houston Bar Association’s outreach to the Asian American community and a committed volunteer through its Volunteer Lawyers Program.

Elisabeth Lucas Marchant ’68 President and CEO of Womenetics

Elisabeth Lucas Marchant ’68, founder and CEO of Womenetics, has influenced the media landscape for more than fifteen years, specializing in online, print media and executive events. As a lifelong entrepreneur, Marchant launched Womenetics in 2009 to address the changing needs of today’s professional woman. In a world where roles are rapidly evolving not only in the workplace but also in the home, Marchant has created a community where women can speak freely about important issues. Womenetics is a premium source for substantive information for and about women and was recognized by Forbes magazine in 2010 as one of the Top 100 Websites for Women.

Marchant majored in English at Converse, with a minor in French and Art History, and spent her junior year abroad in Paris. She has used her liberal arts background to apply sound professional practices in a multitude of businesses. Her career has included manufacturing and distribution in commercial construction and the development of various media enterprises. Marchant has received numerous community honors, including the YMCA’s Academy of Women Achievers, the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Top 10 Women in Business and is a member of the 2004 class of Leadership Atlanta.

Patricia Parsons Hickerson ’64

Major General, United States Army, Retired CH2M Hill Army Strategic Account Manager As the CH2M Hill Army Strategic Account Manager, Patricia (Pat) Parsons Hickerson ’64 serves as the engineering construction firm’s primary point of contact with the Army. Hickerson joined CH2M HILL in May 2001 after almost 33 years of service with the United States Army, retiring as a Major General. Her last position with the Army was Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, United States Army Europe and Seventh Army, Heidelberg, Germany, where she was responsible for plans, policies and programs for the management of all military and civilian personnel in Europe, to include family members and retirees. In her previous assignment as Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel and Installation Management, US Army Forces Command, she led all aspects of human resource and installation management for the nations’ largest military command consisting of 800,000 personnel and managed a budget of $1.3 billion.

At Converse, Hickerson earned a Bachelor of Music Degree with honors in Flute Performance, a Master of Music Degree and in 1989, a Doctor of Public Service (honorary degree). Her military education includes the Women’s Army Corps Officer Basic Course, the Infantry Officer Advance Course and the National War College. Presently, Hickerson is a member of the Board of Visitors, Virginia Military Institute; Council of Trustees, Association of the United States Army; Board of Directors of the Military Officer’s Association of America; and Board of Visitors, Converse College.

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I Can Persevere

by Lan Nguyen Shortt ’81

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y path to Converse was different from most. After years of bloody conflict, the Vietnam War was coming to an end. With communist forces poised to overrun Saigon, the capital city plunged into a final spasm of chaos as helicopters ferried the last lucky few to freedom. I was then 14-years-old and knew the future did not bode well. My father was imprisoned in a Communist concentration camp, and we knew that the collapse of South Vietnam was certain to bring extreme hardship for our family.

Consequently, my mother decided to leave Saigon and make a break for freedom with her seven children under cover of darkness. We escaped aboard a series of Vietnamese and U.S. navy and cargo ships and started a months-long odyssey that took us to the Philippines and multiple refugee camps from Guam to Florida and Arkansas, and finally to Fairhope, Alabama.

“Through Converse I made many life-long friends and was exposed to a range of learning that I have discovered many college graduates never encountered.”

Fairhope, a small town on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay, was aptly named for a refugee family looking for a new home in a new world. During this difficult time, the people of this community in the Deep South opened their arms and embraced us into their town, their families and their lives. These individuals’ attitudes and actions created a debt I cannot repay.

Shortt with family

As the end of high school approached, I began looking for a way to continue my education.

This was complicated by my family’s lack of financial resources. During a conversation, my high school counselor mentioned that Converse College had a competitive scholarship program to which I ought to consider applying. My first reaction was not to bother because it would not only require travel for which I had no way of paying, but it would also require that I lose a weekend’s worth of work at my after school grocery store job that helped support my family.

Nevertheless, my counselor somehow persuaded me to apply, and the owners and co-workers of the grocery store where I worked paid for my travel.

When I arrived at Converse I was attracted by the intimate size, the liberal arts program and the lack of the typical college social pressures. My interviews went well, and as a result I returned to Converse in the fall as a Milliken scholar. The three years I spent at Converse gave me more than a major in Sociology and minors in English and Political Science. Through Converse I made many lifelong friends and was exposed to a range of learning that I have discovered many college graduates never encountered.

While I was at Converse, my family moved to Houston. Consequently, after graduating, I enrolled in the University of Houston Law School and graduated in 1984. Following graduation, I began practicing law and earned an MBA. One of the benefits of having become a lawyer is that it gave me an opportunity to help others through providing various kinds of pro bono services. Astonishingly enough, it also led to my having several radio talk shows on Vietnamese radio stations over the years.

In 1992 I married my husband, and we homeschool our three sons, whose ages range from 8- to 15-years-old. Our life is quiet, but with three sons it is never boring or without challenges.

As I look back over my life, I cannot help but think of the many people who helped me along the way. Without the many kindnesses shown me by the family that owned the little grocery store, the Millikens and the many faculty, students and administrators that I met at Converse, my life might have taken a much different and much less rewarding path. I have a great deal to be grateful for, and Converse is one of them.

I Can spirit

I Can Empower Women

by Elisabeth Lucas Marchant ’68

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Go For It!” My father’s lifetime mantra, combined with an “I CAN” attitude, inspired me to empower women. In my life, I have been surrounded by fascinating people, great leaders and a supportive family.

In addition, I received an education that exposed me to new opportunities, the joy of learning, discipline and curiosity. All of this allowed me the opportunity not only to build businesses, but to personally touch and empower other women. And most importantly, I came to believe that I should “Go for It” because “I CAN.”

“I came to believe that I should ‘Go for It’ because ‘I CAN’.”

I keenly remember the inspiration and challenge of Madame Elisabeth Epting, my French professor at Converse, who challenged me to (significantly) improve my (embarrassingly low) French grade to allow me to spend my junior year in Paris. Working toward a major in English, the idea that I could improve my grade so significantly in a foreign language was quite an overwhelming challenge. But accomplishing this allowed me to study in Paris, and that year was a life changer for me.

Fast-forward to today. After spending 15 years in a family-owned manufacturing and distribution business and another 15 years in media, I founded Womenetics, a global business platform and media property for professional women whose mission is to uplift and empower professional women while engaging companies in understanding why this is so important.

All the world-renowned thought leaders understand why women’s empowerment is so important.

The data is clear – companies that support women in leadership roles throughout the organization are the companies that perform the best financially. When women succeed, not only do they succeed, but their families, their communities, their businesses and their countries also succeed.

Quite frankly, it’s an imperative for business success.

Why not women in leadership roles?

Why not take advantage of more than 51% of the American work force?

Why not empower women globally to have equal access to health, and education and jobs – and human rights?

It all makes sense for business. And, it’s the right thing to do. Major corporations are now recognizing the value and importance of this. In fact, Muhtar Kent, the chairman of The CocaCola Company, last year announced Coke’s goal to empower five million women entrepreneurs throughout Coke’s global business system by 2020. Global thought leaders including McKinsey, Ernst & Young, Deloitte, Goldman Sachs and others have all developed studies and white papers supporting and documenting the value of women’s leadership.

For me personally, I know: • I CAN be a voice and connector for young women to inspire them to succeed.

• I CAN inspire substantive and relevant conversations about women’s leadership.

• I CAN build an online community where women speak freely about important issues.

• I CAN do this in a collaborative, supportive environment that engages men in these discussions.

• I CAN facilitate introductions to key leaders, creating a multi-stakeholder approach with corporate, academic, nonprofits and public policy thought leaders.

Top photo: Marchant welcoming US Amabassador Melanne Verveer to the stage Bottom photo: Amabassdor Verveer, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and Marchant

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As I look back on my education and background, I am confident that my liberal arts education, incorporating study abroad, enabled me to have a broad view of not only what I think but also who I have become and the impact I CAN make.

I Can Lead

by Patricia Parsons Hickerson ’64

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oining the Army was the last thing I expected to do with my life. I grew up in the South, attended a women’s college, majored in Music—Flute Performance—and expected to spend the rest of my life with an orchestra.

Instead, in August 1968 at the height of the Vietnam war, I found myself transitioning from a junior high school band director to a First Lieutenant in the Women’s Army Corps. It was my intent to stay in the Army about five years—then find a job in the civilian sector. Instead I went on an incredible journey which lasted for almost 33 years.

The Army I joined in 1968 was very different from the one of 2011. Today, it is expected that women in the military will deploy with their male counterparts wherever America’s troops are needed. As a nation we have accepted women as leaders in military units, as war’s casualties and as recipients of combat awards. But it hasn’t always been this way. In 1968, as members of the separate “Women’s Army Corps,” everything about us was different. Our assignments and promotions were restricted (today there is a female four star general), the number of women in the Army could not exceed 2% of the total force (today its 14%), we were not allowed to have dependents (husbands or children to include adopted children, changed by the Supreme Court in 1973), etc.

Top photo: Hickerson receiving a briefing at the Multinational Headquarters in Skopje Macedonia, February 2001

The most significant impact on women in the Army and on my career was the disestablishment of the draft in 1972. Ironically, to meet the increased manpower needs of a volunteer force, the Army needed more women soldiers to fill the ranks. Immediately in 1973 I joined another WAC Captain to attend the Infantry Officer Advance Course at Ft. Benning, GA. This was like taking Albegra II before Albegra I. Our 200 Infantry classmates were not happy we were there and we found it intimidating to be the only military women in Infantry Hall, which was training a couple thousand infantrymen daily.

“I was one of only five women officers stationed at West Point in 1975, and the first on the staff.”

Being a graduate of the Infantry Office Advance Course opened the door for me to be assigned to the US Military Academy at West Point as an admissions officer for the first class of women cadets. I was one of only five women officers stationed at West Point in 1975, and the first on the staff. It was a tense time at the Academy because they did not want women cadets and to some, the five of us represented ‘the enemy’. On the day of admission of the first class of women, I found myself on the Today Show talking about women cadets and changes occurring at the Academy.

A key assignment in my progression was to the 2d Infantry Division in 1979. The Division, located near the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, was commanded by a hardened warrior who had founded the Delta Force at the JFK Center for special operations at Ft. Bragg. He made it clear that he expected his women to be soldiers—just like their male counterparts–12 mile road marches, whatever the unit’s requirement. We found this a refreshing attitude.

For most officers, the opportunity to command is the most sought after assignment. As a Captain I had been fortunate to have 35 months of company command. This, along with my assignment with the 2d Infantry Division contributed to selection for the next level of command in 1984 as the first woman battalion commander in the Army’s VIIth Corps in Stuttgart, Germany. On August 1, 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait—thus began Desert Shield and Desert Storm. One month later, I learned I had been selected for promotion to brigadier general–one star. The first Army female officer (non-medical) promoted to brigadier general was in June 1970. In June 1991, I was the eighth woman promoted to this level. For ten years I served as a General Officer—five as a brigadier and five as a major general (3rd female MG), retiring May 2001. The day I retired, I was the highest ranking woman officer in the Army. I finally got to my civilian job—about 27 years late. In May I will complete ten years with CH2M HILL, an extraordinary global engineering company where I have been managing our Army account. Now it’s time for another retirement and I look forward to spending more time with my husband, Converse and golf.

I Can spirit

Honoring The Milliken Legacy Roger Milliken (1915-2010)

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n December 30, 2010, the Converse community lost a beloved friend and benefactor with the death of 95 year-old Roger Milliken. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said that, “An institution is the lengthening shadow of one man.” That observation applies to every organization that Mr. Milliken was associated with. For more than six decades, Roger and his wife Nita were ardent supporters of Converse, advancing the College through their gifts of time, talent and treasure.

Larger than Life As a titan of the textile world, Roger Milliken’s extraordinary business acumen extended well beyond the corporate arena of product development and patented formulas. While he will be remembered worldwide as a great industrialist who helped build America’s manufacturing success, it was Milliken’s quest to advance higher education and his commitment to community that Converse College will long revere.

“The Milliken name at Converse is synonymous with vision and growth,” said President Betsy Fleming. “Roger Milliken was an extraordinary man, a change agent of the greatest magnitude. It is hard to write about a life so large with ordinary words. As president, I was privileged to know Mr. Milliken as a colleague and a friend. I could always look to him to embolden Converse’s commitment to innovation and change.

His informed and insightful questions about the College’s most recent building plans significantly shaped the ways in which we approached our work. It is hard to imagine a world without Roger Milliken’s agile and ageless mind.”

Giants of Generosity The Milliken connection to Converse dates back to 1954 when the Milliken family relocated from New York to Spartanburg. In 1958, Spartanburg became the home of Milliken and Company’s headquarters and Converse College became one of the many beneficiaries of Mr. and Mrs. Milliken’s tremendous generosity.

While Roger Milliken joined the Board of Trustees at Wofford College in 1958, his wife, Justine V.R. “Nita” Milliken, was named a member of the Converse Board of Trustees in 1968. Mrs. Milliken served on the Converse Board until 1995, at which time she was named a Life Trustee of the College. At the 1986 Alumnae Reunion, Nita was celebrated as an honorary alumna for her love and loyalty to Converse, and in 1993 she was awarded the Dexter Edgar Converse Award, the highest honor bestowed by the College.

“The impact of the Millikens’ contributions to Converse is extraordinary,” said Dr. Tom McDaniel, senior vice president of the College and interim president of Converse from 1993-94. “When Roger and Nita established the Milliken scholarship program in 1978, their generosity touched the lives of our students in countless ways. Young women who might not have had the opportunity to study at a private college saw their dreams realized as a result of the Milliken scholarships. There was great prestige associated with the Milliken Scholars Competition. To be named a Milliken Scholar was a mark of pride and distinction recognized by the entire Converse community.” To date, more than 300 Converse students have graduated as Milliken Scholars.

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“Roger Milliken was an extraordinary man, a change agent of the greatest magnitude. It is hard to write about a life so large with ordinary words.” ~ President Fleming

Towering Presence While the Millikens’ legacy will live on in the accomplishments of generations of students and alumnae, the couple’s imprint on the life of the College is tangible on every corner of the campus.

In 1971, Mr. and Mrs. Milliken contributed the funds to construct a building to house the College’s growing visual arts program and an adjacent art gallery, aptly named the Milliken Fine Arts Building.

When the number of visual-art students attending Converse ballooned in 2001, the couple made another gift to fund construction of the Nita Milliken Wing of the Milliken Fine Arts Building.

In support of the College’s LEED designed buildings on campus, Mr. Milliken was engaged with the renovation of Kuhn Hall and equally involved in plans for the construction of Converse’s new apartment housing–a space that seems to mirror Mr. Milliken’s keen awareness of and appreciation for the beauty of his surroundings. With an eye on “going green” long before the ecofriendly catch phrase caught on, Milliken spent the latter half of his life promoting the importance of protecting the environment through sustainability. His “Noble Tree Foundation” established in 1999 has resulted in the planting of hundreds of enduring and beautiful trees throughout the state of South Carolina.

“Like his beloved noble trees,” said Betsy Fleming, “Mr. Milliken was a remarkably tall man in stature, but those of us who were fortunate to know him found that it was his love of learning and his passion for excellence that made him such a towering presence. Eleanor Roosevelt once said ‘the world needs thinkers and the world needs doers, but most of all, the world needs thinkers who do.’ Mr. Milliken exuded that philosophy in the way he lived his life. What a great lesson to leave us.”

On October 28, Mr. Milliken joined the centennial celebration of the Carroll McDaniel Petrie School of Music. Converse was fortunate to witness his delight in the ongoing accomplishments of the College.

For more photos and reflections from the Converse community honoring Mr. Milliken, visit www.converse.edu/rogermilliken

Milliken Legacy

Behind Every Great Student…

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eyond the awards, plaques and buildings that bear their name are the women whose lives were forever touched by the generosity of Roger and Nita Milliken. In 1978, the Millikens established the Milliken scholarship program. Since its inception, more than 300 Converse students have graduated as Milliken Scholars. Here, four Converse alumnae talk about the donors who made a world of difference in their lives.

An Important Start

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hen I was a high school senior I wasn’t sure whether I would be able to attend college.

My father had been dead for a decade, and my mother was raising five children on a minuscule nonprofit salary. One of my older brothers was ill and needed care. I wasn’t optimistic about my future.

On the advice of a guidance counselor, I spent a weekend at Converse to interview for the chance to receive one of the first Milliken scholarships. I certainly knew the Milliken name–my parents and grandparents had worked in textile mills–but it was hard for me to fathom why someone as distinguished as Roger Milliken would be interested in the future of someone like me.

I was named to the first group of Milliken Scholars in 1978. Thirty-three years later I regard it as a milestone that changed my life. The intellectual rigor of the Humanities program, and the electric energy of its leader, Dr. Frederick Ritsch, challenged my brain. The support of the Converse community nurtured my soul and instilled in me a level of confidence that led me on a path to success I had never before dreamed possible.

Brasington Clark’s senior class photo in 1982

Reminded by these memories of the impact of philanthropy on the lives of young people with limited financial means, I plan to honor Mr. Milliken’s memory (and that of his kind wife, Nita) with a renewed pledge to support the extraordinary college that gave me such an important start.

Becky Brasington Clark ’82 Director of Marketing and Online Book Publishing, Johns Hopkins University Press Milliken Scholar

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Boundless Ambition, Compassion and Even Some Fun

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s a recipient of the Justine V.R. “Nita” Milliken scholarship, I was aware of the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Milliken from the start of my Converse experience. Over the course of my education however, I gained a better appreciation for the true extent of their philanthropy and vision. I gradually learned of their support of the visual arts at Converse and of their numerous contributions to the Converse community. Moreover, Mr. Milliken’s leadership and vision were crucial to major projects announced during my senior year at Converse – the renovation of Kuhn Hall and the construction of apartment housing.

Although Mr. Milliken’s contributions to Converse are many, I remember him more simply as the person who helped make my Converse education possible and as a person who worked constantly to ensure the quality of the Converse experience for all Converse students. In retrospect, my Converse experience taught me to live life with boundless ambition, assurance, hard work, compassion and even some fun. I am certain that Mr. Milliken, who embodied these qualities, would approve.

Nassri’s senior class photo in 2008

Nora Nassri ’08 Milliken Scholar

Letters of Encouragement

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hrough his generosity to Converse College and unwavering support of its academic programs, Roger Milliken made an indelible mark on my life. The Milliken family provided me with the gift of a Converse education. The Millikens’ support of the visual arts at Converse also had a huge impact on my studies as I chose to pursue a degree in interior design. The strength of my Converse degree led me to receive a fellowship to pursue graduate work, and the practical skills that I learned have propelled me forward professionally.

Marion’s senior class photo in 2008

I will always remember the letters that Mr. Milliken wrote to me as a Converse student. Every spring, each of the scholarship recipients was asked to write a letter to the donor of their scholarship telling them a little about themselves and their academic pursuits. I was so surprised when I received a letter back from Mr. Milliken after my first year at Converse. Each year, he responded with a letter, and during my senior year even asked me to consider working at Milliken after graduation. It always struck me that Mr. Milliken, a corporate executive who I am quite sure had many more important things on his priority list, would take the time to personally write me a letter. I have kept each of his letters and think of him fondly each time I look at them. Although Mr. Milliken has passed away, his legacy will forever live on through the many Converse students whose lives were enriched by his generous spirit.

Sarah Marion ’08 Project Manager, MCON Construction Co. Milliken Scholar

Carrying on Their Legacy

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ore than 30 years ago, I was one of the direct beneficiaries of Mr. and Mrs. Milliken’s generosity. Arriving on the shores of the USA as a penniless refugee, I was overwhelmed with the then-seemingly endless barriers in my paths of assimilation and education. However, Mr. and Mrs. Milliken’s endowment at Converse College afforded me, as one of its first Milliken Scholars, the opportunity to learn and to acquire not only the academic knowledge but also the largeness of the noble humanity of those who made this country great.

May all of us have enough skills to carry on their legacy, courage to emulate their humanity and strength to pass on their generosity.

Lan T. Nguyen Shortt ’81 Managing Partner, Shortt & Nguyen, P.C. Attorneys & Counselors at Law, Houston, TX Milliken Scholar

To read more about Lan Nguyen Shortt ’81 and her amazing story from refuge to a powerhouse attorney, see page 15.

Nguyen Shortt (center) 1981 Converse yearbook

Every Great Student

THE VIEW from the Top

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. ~ Mark Twain

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or those who aspire to be a glamorous actress, a high-ranking political official or a famous author, the opportunity for one-on-one meetings with real-life role models can be few and far between…unless, of course, you are a member of the Converse community.

During the 2010 fall term, visiting guests Jill Lawrence, actress of the hit show Law & Order, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, nationally-recognized artist Bill Dunlap and award-winning author Thomas E. Kennedy shared real-life lessons from years of hard-fought experience forging careers in the political arena, publishing, printmaking and television.

Haley’s Comment

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n October 20, South Carolina Governorelect Nikki Haley took a break from the campaign trail to visit Converse and talk with students about her passion for public service and the challenges and opportunities that are unique to women in the political arena. Converse senior and Politics major Karlen Senn, who serves as chair of the South Carolina College Republican Federation, led the initiative to bring Haley to the Converse campus. “Young women interested in politics have few female role models in South Carolina,” says Senn. “I believe it is important for us to learn all we can from the women who are paving the way.”

or maybe there would have been different dynamics to it. But we really need to get out of the gender issue. We need to get out of the race issue. We need to get out of the age issue. What I want you to remember is, when you come across a challenge, don’t say, ‘I can’t do it,’ say, ‘How do we get it done?’ That’s the key to going forward.”

Students, staff, faculty and members of the Spartanburg community listened as Haley shared personal stories about her roots in Bamberg, the challenges she faced during her first job out of college and the balancing act of running for office while being a wife and mother. “There is nothing that I have experienced...well,” Haley laughed, “there is nothing that I have experienced that I can say was different because I was a woman,” she said. “It was challenging, and I think maybe a man would’ve related to it differently,

A student-moderated question and answer forum followed Haley’s speech and allowed audience members the opportunity to direct questions to Haley. According to Senn, the night was a motivating experience, “Haley’s message encouraged us to adopt an outlook that fosters self-confidence.” On November 2, 2010, Nikki Haley was elected as the first female governor in the state of South Carolina.

SC Governor Nikki Haley

Haley also spoke about the need to encourage women to run for office in South Carolina, which has the lowest percentage of female elected office-holders in the country. “As you go forward in life, whether it’s in politics, whether it’s in business, whether it’s in medicine, whether it’s in teaching, don’t do something just because it’s a job,” she said. “If you’re going to do it, be great at it. If you’re going to do it, make sure people remember you because you were there. That’s when you will have a satisfaction in your life and that you know there was a purpose.”

What’s all the Hub-Bub about?

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Damn that was fun!” says Andrew Blanchard, associate professor of studio art, printmaking and photography, was the resounding comment from those who attended visiting artist Bill Dunlap’s events at Converse the first week of October. Dunlap came to campus to lecture on his work and serve as the juror for the Emerging Carolinas art exhibition.

For the show, Converse College partnered with HUB-BUB of downtown Spartanburg to present the work of young, contemporary artists between the ages of 20 and 35 who resided in or attended a higher education institution within North or South Carolina.

Dunlap is a celebrated American artist whose work has been collected by such prestigious museums as Corcoran Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. “Bill Dunlap is widely respected in the international art scene—a force to be reckoned with,” said Blanchard. “He works hard to positively motivate younger artists; he has opened quite a number of doors for me in terms of his connections, which he is more than willing to share, I must say. His work is vastly collected by major names in popular culture, as well as the political sector—not only in the South—but on a grander scale. For our students to have heard him speak (and a few were accepted into the show, too) is one of those moments Bill Dunlap (on right) with Andrew Blanchard

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I hope they will look back upon and realize the significance.”

Nearly 60 artists from the Carolinas submitted work for consideration. Dunlap narrowed the lot to 27 artists, including Converse students Carly Drew ’11 and Sarah Hamilton ’11, and selected the winners prior to the official opening. Cash prizes were awarded for Best in Show ($1,250), First Place ($750) and Second Place ($500).

Dunlap in action

Jill Lawrence brings “Law & Order” to the South Carolina Theatre Association

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ctress Jill Lawrence, a member of the hit TV series Law & Order, served as the keynote speaker and led several master classes during the South Carolina Theatre Association Conference held at Converse in November. Hundreds of theatre students and teachers from high schools, colleges and community theatres from across South Carolina descended upon the campus to take part in the 44th annual event. The convention was open to the public and featured 22 high school productions, three community theatre productions and a series of master classes on such diverse topics as: scene painting, creating a light lab, relaxation techniques, character makeup, auditioning for film and TV, playwriting and stage combat.

Opening the convention was Theatre/Converse’s production of The Autumn Ghost Radio Hour Presents: “Oh, Horrors” by Converse theatre faculty member Brent Glenn. According to Glenn, the conference provided students the chance to be a part of the collaborative artistic community that is thriving at Converse. “It was great fun to be able to perform the Radio Hour for college and high school students across the state. It was also a great opportunity to show students the unique nature of our highly collaborative program here at Converse and the wonderful synergy that develops when creative artists come together through dance, acting, writing and music.”

In addition to Lawrence, the conference featured guest Linda Eisen from Coastal Talent, a professional talent agency that represents actors who have appeared in principle roles in feature films, TV and Jill Lawrence industrial films. Eisen led a discussion about acting as a profession and covered topics such as agent representation, acting opportunities in the southeast (theatre, film, television) and what makes a good headshot. “Bringing visitors such as Lawrence and Eisen to campus benefit Converse students in more ways than one,” says Glenn.

“Theatre is a business, a very complicated business, and it is important for our young students to learn from those who have successfully navigated its waters.

Performers sell a specific and unusual product: Themselves. Learning how to market your look and talent is very unusual and something you generally don’t get to experience until after college. Opportunities like this give our students at Converse an inside look at the practical nature of the business arts.”

The Autumn Ghost Radio Hour presents: “Oh Horrors”

The Rest of the Story

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As a writing student at Converse, and as a writer in our community, you’re going to have opportunities to engage in some very exciting dialogue with outstanding writers,” says Rick Mulkey, director of creative writing, director of MFA in creative writing and associate professor of English at Converse. Case in point, Thomas E. Kennedy, an American Expatriate novelist, story writer and critic, visited Converse on November 16 as part of the Elizabeth Boatwright Coker Visiting Writers series. Kennedy gave a reading of his latest novel, In the Company of Angels, recently acclaimed in The New Yorker and the Chicago Tribune, among others.

Kennedy is the author of 26 books, including Unreal City, Realism & Other Illusions: Essays on the Craft of Fiction, and Kerrigan’s Copenhagen, Bluett’s Blue Hours, Danish Fall, and, most recently, In the Company of Angels, all set in his adopted home of Copenhagen, Denmark. When asked to describe how the Converse community benefits when talented, high-profile authors visit our campus, Mulkey said. “When I see student writers in a classroom at Converse, Thomas E. Kennedy I think these students should feel they are at an undergraduate writing program as strong as any in the country.

One way we’ve done this at Converse has been to show them the caliber of the poets and writers who want to come and speak with them. So now our students, writers and readers from the community have a number of opportunities to sit down over lunch or after a class and talk with award-winning authors like Thomas E. Kennedy, Joyce Carol Oates, Terrence Hayes, Albert Goldbarth and Ellen Bryant Voigt. Bringing visiting writers with national and international reputations for excellence exposes our students and the community to the best writers at work today.”

From The Top

Ride On!

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nding a 15-year hiatus, fall 2010 marked the triumphant return of the equestrian program at Converse. With Converse Head Coach Grand Prix Rider Lincoln Russell and Assistant Coach Crystal Bohnen leading the way, the equestrian team will compete in all English disciplines as a member of the Intercollegiate Horseshow Association (IHSA), the oldest and largest nationally competitive college riding program in the United States. Converse Athletic Director Joy Couch says the reinstatement of the equestrian program offers students more than just a chance to compete. “Our studentathletes have a unique opportunity to participate in building and advancing the program while riding with a collegiate team and working with highly skilled, professional trainers at Motlow Creek Equestrian Center.”

The College’s Equestrian Program Director Sally Frick has high hopes for the team. “The season has already produced several success stories. The mere fact that we have a team is a highlight,” said Frick.

“Beyond that, we have performed well in the first half of our show season; the team also travelled to Foxboro in Thomson, GA, the home of the Belle Meade hunt, for intensive practice and team bonding.”

In addition to winning several classes at the shows, Kathleen Coker ’14 was awarded ‘high point rider’ for the show at Lander University.

Sneak Preview In September, Converse previewed its Valkyries equestrian team at Motlow Creek Equestrian Center in Campobello, SC. Alumnae, student athletes, parents and supporters attended the exhibition show and participated in a live auction to raise funds for the team.

Keep track of the Valkyries at www.converse.edu/athletics

Converse Soccer on a Roll

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n December, the Converse soccer team was awarded the inaugural Team Sportsmanship Award for the Conference Carolinas in women’s soccer. They joined Erskine’s women’s volleyball, Queens men’s soccer, Lees-McRae men’s cross country and Belmont Abbey women’s cross country as the conference’s inaugural program winners for the award.

“The sportsmanship awards are presented annually to the member institution judged to have exhibited the highest degree of sportsmanship among its players, coaches and fans during their regular playing season,” stated the league office.

“This year marks the first year that there will be an individual sport Team Sportsmanship Award highlighting Conference Carolinas’ efforts to honor institutions exhibiting sportsmanlike behaviors.”

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The Valkyries graduated only two seniors in forward Freudna Mathurin and goalkeeper Ashley Mecuri, and look to return a strong nucleus for the 2011 season. Driving the charge will be new Converse Head Coach, John Constable. “We are really excited to have John Constable leading our soccer program,” said Joy Couch, director of athletics at Converse.

“John has a great deal of experience as a collegiate and professional player, and has become quite accomplished during his young coaching career. He has proven to be a relentless recruiter, and superb developer of talent at the Division II level.”

Constable comes to Converse from Delta State University in Cleveland, MS, where he served as the men’s and women’s assistant soccer coach under head coach Jim Allen. Prior to that, he served a two-year stint as the graduate assistant for both soccer programs at the University. “I am delighted to be taking over as head soccer coach at Converse” said Constable. “With the help of the fine young ladies in the program, Converse soccer will progress from strength to strength; in the classroom, in the community and on the field.”

Valkyries Swim Team Makes History

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n only its second year of existence, the Valkyries swim team made history at Converse by finishing their regular season undefeated in dual meets. “This was the team’s goal since day one, not mine or Coach Kunkler’s but the team’s,” commented Assistant Swim Coach Corey White. “They never lost sight of what they wanted to achieve. This is a well-deserved accomplishment for these young women, representing all the hard work they’ve put forth this year.” In addition to going undefeated, the team set and achieved another goal of making All-Academic American with an overall 3.32 team GPA. With several victories already under their belt, the team continues to gain momentum as it heads into its second conference championship meet in history with a promising outlook. “We’ve had an amazing first half of the season with numerous lifetime best swims,” says White. “We have a great opportunity to place top three as a team at conference and improve upon our times from December.

I feel confident the team will pull it off.”

Four Converse swimmers, including three freshmen, will go to nationals in San Antonio, TX in March, winning NCAA provisional cuts in several categories. Rhiannon Gluhosky ’14 of Summerville, SC finds herself with national cuts in six categories. She broke the SCAD Invite record in December in the 400IM, and is only 1 second from breaking the Conference record. Gluhosky is currently ranked 8th in the nation for the 400IM. Teammate Jess Mason ’14 of Greenville, SC also has a handful of national cuts in four events. She broke the SCAD Invite record in December in the 100 free and is ranked 20th in the nation in the 200IM and 200free. The third freshman, Christl Bradley ’14 of Victoria, Canada, finds herself with two national cuts in the 400IM and 200fly. “In addition, teammates Hillary Johnson ’14, Ashley Johnson ’13 and Lucianne Kimura ’10 are all ranked high for conference competition and look to make nationals as well,” says White.

For the second year in a row, Weisiger scholar Jenni Russell ’13 of Tega Cay, SC has qualified for nationals in the 200 breaststroke and 400IM. Russell is currently ranked 20th in the 200 breaststroke in the nation. Pointing to inspiration from the President of Converse, Jenni Russell says the team has had extra motivation this year with their “presidential” practice partner. “Every Wednesday at 6:30 in the morning, President Fleming is in the pool with us. It’s fun to see her on our turf and have her experience a little bit of our training. She understands the hard work that goes into becoming a winning team, and I’m glad that we get to share that with her.”

Weisiger scholar Jesse Pope ’14 of Keenesaw, GA helped lead the Valkyries to a third place finish at the SCAD invite contributing in many relays and individual events.

Pope also stands a chance to make it to nationals. “Teamwork is at the core of this season’s success,” says White. “Our success this year is tied to every one of our swimmers, and they know that. It’s awesome to see them supporting and pushing one another in and out of the pool.”

Converse News

Case 2010 SC Professor of the Year Dr. Monica McCoy

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r. Monica McCoy has long been dubbed one of the coolest professors on the Converse campus, but that unofficial title was trumped by the real deal. Singled out as one of the most outstanding undergraduate professors in the country, Dr. McCoy was distinguished as the CASE 2010 South Carolina Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

A charismatic red-head with a fierce devotion to the students she teaches, Dr. McCoy is the chair of the Department of Psychology and a leading expert in the field of child abuse and neglect. An advocate for service learning, Dr. McCoy’s students fully expect to get real-world experience when taking her classes. In fact, this hands-on component of the curriculum is praised by her students as one of the most valuable parts of their coursework. In 2008, Dr. McCoy was honored with a “Friends of the Children” award by the Spartanburg Children’s Shelter for her commitment to encouraging students to take on volunteer roles at the shelter.

More than a teacher, McCoy is lauded by her colleagues as a mentor and a role model, and tireless in her efforts to ensure that her students succeed long after they graduate. “Monica is a changeagent on our campus, a teacher who goes to great lengths to nurture in students a deep understanding of their ability to effect positive change in the world. As a role model, researcher and teacher, Monica has a way of raising students’ expectations of themselves,” says President Betsy Fleming.

Dr. McCoy and Coles Hoffmann ’09

volumes about her character in the classroom, “Finally, I can prove to my students how lucky they are to have me as a professor!”

As for the ever-increasing popularity of the Converse psychology department, McCoy maintains, “we can’t take all of the credit for having a popular major. Psychology is intrinsically interesting to most people.

After all, we get to study what makes people behave the way they do. It isn’t too difficult to convince students that many of the topics we cover– from aggression to psychological disorders to attraction to conformity to sex–are fun things to think about! I also think it helps that we have a great group of faculty.”

Asked about the fancy CASE plaque that is hanging in her office, McCoy is quick to deflect the honor with a humorous quip that speaks

For up-to-the-minute Converse news and events, visit www.converse.edu/news-events

Ann Pletcher Named 2010 Accounting Professor of the Year

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s a college freshman, Ann Pletcher had her sights set on teaching French in high school, but her students today will tell you she now speaks an entirely different language as a professor of Accounting and Economics. In recognition of Pletcher’s excellence in classroom teaching and active involvement in the accounting profession, the South Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants named her the 2010 Accounting Educator of the Year. She accepted her award from SCACPA during the association’s CPA summit and annual meeting held in Columbia in November. “I was surprised and honored to receive this award,” said Pletcher. “There are many fine accounting educators in the state of South Carolina at our public and private universities who would be deserving of this honor. I have always loved teaching so to be recognized by the South Carolina Certified Public Accountants is very rewarding.”

A member of the Converse faculty since 1984, Pletcher teaches Intermediate Accounting I, Business and Accounting Information Systems, Cost Accounting I & II, Advanced Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Senior Seminar and Student Success Seminars. In 2002, she won the Kathryne Amelia Brown Award for excellence in teaching. In addition to her role as a professor, Pletcher advises undeclared freshmen and accounting majors. She also serves as the director of institutional research.

Cheryl Lang, CPA and Professor Pletcher

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Converse Leads With National Honors

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onverse kicked off the 2010 academic year with big news and headlines that suggest the momentum at Converse is making an impact. The College is listed in U.S.News & World Reports’ popular annual rankings as the #1 Best Value in the South and #15 overall for Regional Universities in the South. Forbes also released their 2010 rankings of America’s Best Colleges, placing Converse 4th highest in South Carolina.

And, the accolades don’t stop there; Converse was rated in the top 25% of Master’s universities by Washington Monthly. The Washington, DC based publication evaluated institutions based on their contributions to the public good in three broad categories: • Social mobility: recruiting and graduating low-income students • Research: producing cutting edge scholarship and PhDs • Service: encouraging students to give something back to their country

“Washington Monthly’s ranking criteria mirror Converse’s strengths,” said President Fleming. “We have taken bold steps to advance all three areas, including the introduction of a new scholarship program this fall called The Converse Commitment, the development of a robust student research program that has been awarded more funding than any other institution from South Carolina Independent Colleges & Universities for the past three years, and a commitment to student service that resulted in more than 8,500 service hours last academic year alone.”

Lever Honored with Auditorium

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n December 9, the Converse family lauded Joe Ann Lever’s life-time commitment to Converse with the naming of Lever Auditorium in Kuhn Hall. Recently renovated from top-to-bottom to meet LEED certification standards, this building was once home for the beloved Biology professor known by all as Dean Lever. “If the walls of Kuhn could talk,” said Lever, “it would be fun to go back in time. I had the privilege of teaching incredibly talented students. Every year the freshmen got younger looking and every year my hair got a little more gray!”

Lever was on the vanguard of women in education when she accepted the job of instructor of Biology at Converse in 1962. In the span of her career she went on to hold several posts, including: Associate professor of Biology, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, president of the Faculty Senate, chairwoman for academic advisors and director of Career Services. Her distinguished career would take several pages to note, but her passion for Converse could be summed up in two words: “the students.”

Lever’s journey with students was always a personal one. She encouraged and challenged the women of Converse at every opportunity. Her colleagues will tell you that she often believed in her students more than they believed in themselves. But that, they say, was the magic she possessed–teaching students to see their future as one of limitless possibilities. Hundreds of Dean Lever’s students went on to successful careers in biology, medicine and the health professions, and remarkably she continues to keep in touch with many of them.

Still a presence on campus, an active donor to the College and a revered colleague, Lever continues working on behalf of women, especially, said President Betsy Fleming, Converse women. “It is fitting to know that this state-of the-art auditorium in Kuhn will be a place where ideas, debate and creative exploration take place on a daily basis, and that every student in Lever Auditorium will benefit from Joe Ann Lever’s love of the very same academic ideals. This is a marvelous way to say thank-you to Joe Ann for all that she has given to Converse.”

Lever in the 1973 Converse yearbook

Converse News

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n Thursday, October 28, the Converse community honored 100 years of world-class music with a gala concert titled The Sounds of a Century featuring alumni, students and faculty of the Petrie School of Music. Music lovers of all ages joined together in this historical retrospective commemorating the last century and celebrating the future.

Performers included Kimilee Bryant ’88, Wael Farouk MM ’06, Elizabeth Child ’77, Ann Ratteree Herlong ’51, Anna Steenerson ’03 and Richard Troxell MM ’88. The concert also featured The Converse Trio performing a movement of Café Music by Paul Schoenfield ’67, the Spartanburg Festival Chorus, Converse Chorale, Converse Wind Ensemble and Converse Symphony Orchestra.

Clockwise from top: 1. Anna Steenerson ’03 2. The centennial ice sculpture 3. The Converse Symphony Orchestra 4. Centennial concert performers taking a final bow 5. Ann Ratteree Herlong ’51 6. The Converse Trio 7. The Converse Wind Ensemble and Chorale

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A Thousand Thanks & Petrie Centennial Reception

2010 Dexter Edgar Converse Award Presentation

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n October 28, Converse College presented the Dexter Edgar Converse Award to Agnes and Ed Weisiger for their philanthropy, leadership and significant commitment to the revitalization of the athletic program at Converse. In receiving the highest honor that the College bestows, the North Carolina couple joins the most distinguished roster of Converse benefactors.

Agnes Weisiger ’63, a Trustee of Converse from 1996 to 2007, and her husband Ed have given to Converse with passion and purpose. In 2001, their leadership generosity launched the construction of the Weisiger Center and enabled the restart of competitive intercollegiate athletics at Converse. As the home of the Valkyries, this facility provides student-athletes with year-round training capabilities, full-time coaches and a study hall. From fall 2006 to today, Converse has grown its student-athlete population from 36 to 112 students who compete in eight intercollegiate sports. Converse competes within the NCAA Division II Conference Carolinas, the highest level of any women’s college in the country.

Applauding the Weisigers’ tremendous contributions over the years, President Betsy Fleming noted that one of the primary reasons for the incredible success of the athletic program in recruiting top talent both on the playing field and in the classroom is Agnes and Ed’s establishment of the endowed Weisiger Outstanding Scholar Athlete Scholarship Program and Weisiger Cup. “Our Weisiger Scholar Athletes excel academically and athletically and aspire to pursue careers in the sciences, following Agnes’s career in healthcare and the couples’ shared passion for athletic competition,” said Fleming. “In addition, the magnificent sterling silver Weisiger Cup is awarded each year at Founder’s Day. This award provides the College with the opportunity to celebrate a graduating Converse student-athlete who has distinguished herself as a servant leader and an incredible team player—both apt descriptions of Agnes and Ed.” Mark your calendars for the 2011 Thousand Thanks celebration on Thursday, October 20!

Converse News

Celebrating Years of Converse’s “ ” Spirit

I Can

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or over 120 years, Converse women have owned a mindset of “I can.” This attitude has enabled Converse to evolve, realizing our promise to advance women for personal and professional success. Converse women have developed the capacity “to see clearly, decide wisely and act justly.”

These women of purpose and passion shout, “I can” when others whisper, “I cannot.”

You can help Converse continue this legacy with your support of the Converse Annual Fund. By choosing “I can” today, your gift will advance our collective spirit of “I can” for generations to come.

Support the Converse Annual Fund today! Visit www.converse.edu/giving or contact Allyson Tesh at 864.596.9053 or allyson.tesh@converse.edu

Honor and Memorial Gifts June 1, 2010 - December 31, 2010 HONOR GIFTS 2010-2011 TENNIS TEAM Wallace F. Pate Fellow Man Foundation SHAYNA R. ABRAMS ’91 Brian Tatro KELLY BROOKE ADAMS ’14 Mr. and Mrs. Larry Clayton Adams MR. AND MRS. JOHN ALFORD Kathy and Edgar Chancellor ALUMNAE OFFICE STAFF Jane Marion Wilson ’04 BETSY SHEPHERD ANCRUM ’54 Ann Douglass Gibson Nichols ’54 VICKI HARMAN ARMOR ’80 Mr. and Mrs. James R. Harman STEPHANIE ELDRIDGE AVAKIAN ’99 Marty B. Mazer BESSIE RICE BALL ’44 Mary Frances Morgan ’43

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ELIZABETH BULL BALTHAZOR ’95 Mr. and Mrs. William H. Bull

MR. AND MRS. TONY CASSADONTE Kathy and Edgar Chancellor

BRITTANY MAREE BASS ’12 Mr. and Mrs. Bobby Bass

SALLY HARMON CAUGHMAN ’68 Elizabeth Morris Howell ’68

MARY RAINEY BELSER ’69 Charlotte Smith Purrington ’69

CATHERINE LAKE CAUTHEN ’89 Wallace Scales Davison ’89

ALISON ROSE BLOCK ’99 Marty B. Mazer

BETTY HOOD CAVAN ’58 Lynn Peterson Jones ’58

KATHRYN ASHLEY BRACKETT ’03 Elaine Brackett

ANTIGONE VAKESIA CHILDS ’10 Dennis and Tracy Childs

DR. NANCY S. BREARD Virginia Gibson Pratt ’07

MELANIE MEYER CLARK ’11 Mr. and Mrs. Paul Gregory Meyer

ALLENE CUDD BURGESS ’38 Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Burgess III

CLASS OF 1971 Jane Byrd Melton ’71

DANIELA MARIE BURROWS ’09 Mr. and Mrs. James M. Burrows III

CLASS OF 2007 Laura Caroline Goodman ’07

CAROL C. CANCIENNE ’99 Marty B. Mazer

CLASS OF 2008 Lindsay Alyssa Daniel ’08

CLASS OF 2010 Nicole Marie Dumouchel ’10

LOUISA TINDALL FAILE ’92 Mr. and Mrs. Henry B. Tindall, Sr.

DR. DONALD G. HENDERSON Alice Bryant Moore ’68

ANN CLEMENTS Amy Tibbals Morales ’86

SARAH FARNABY ’99 Marty B. Mazer

MELISSA MEYER HEWITT ’06 Mr. and Mrs. Paul Gregory Meyer

KIMBERLY HOWELL CLOBES ’99 Marty B. Mazer

ERIN RANDLE FOIL ’99 Marty B. Mazer

DR. JOSEPH H. HOPKINS Estate of Stuart Reavis Penn

STEVE C. COOK Wallace F. Pate Fellow Man Foundation

PAGE SPILLANE FOWLER ’95 Mr. and Mrs. William M. Spillane

KATHRYN SCHEUER HOPPER ’99 Marty B. Mazer

ELIZABETH ROBBINS COOPER ’99 Marty B. Mazer

DR. PATRICIA SOLESBEE FOY ’77 Dr. Donald G. Henderson

DESIREE BRADLEY HOUSE ’99 Marty B. Mazer

POLLY BUTLER CORNELIUS ’91 Mr. and Mrs. Leonard C. Butler, Sr.

ALLISON OLIVIA GANT ’11 Mr. and Mrs. Edmund R. Gant, Jr.

CATHERINE C. INABNIT ’68 Sarah Evans Lockwood ’69 Charlotte Smith Purrington ’69

NANCY BAIN COTÉ ’79 Grazier Connors Rhea ’74

EDMUND R. GANT Mr. and Mrs. Edmund R. Gant, Jr.

JOY A. COUCH Elisabeth Kinney McNiel ’89

GINNA GILBERT Kathy and Edgar Chancellor

ROBERTA TIMMONS DANIEL ’71 Mary Myatt Bowman ’70

MR. AND MRS. KIRVEN GILBERT Kathy and Edgar Chancellor

ALLISON LEANN DAVIS ’14 Mr. and Mrs. John M. Davis

MR. AND MRS. PEARCE GILBERT Kathy and Edgar Chancellor

JANIS I. DENGLER Helen Tucker Bailes ’66 Sharon Gould Boyd ’72 Deborah D. Dawsey ’87 MEd Sydney C. Harris Caroline R. Klages Sharon E. Lambert Theresa G. Lassiter Joe Ann Lever Kathryn J. Long Dr. and Mrs. Nathaniel F. Magruder Margaret S. Moore Pamela J. Nienhuis Doris P. Painter Sara S. Pilley Christine Williamson Pringle ’93 Martha E. Rogers Ann Scott Katharine Stephens Slemenda ’66 Ann Marie Sullivan ’95 MEd Marie-Claude Wall Jo-Anne Welch Linda Yates

GILLIAN WHITE GOODRICH ’68 Mr. and Mrs. Charles James Sullivan III (Mary Lee White ’70)

CAROL JOHNSON ISLER ’77 Irene K. Johnson JOHN F. JAMES Alysandra Lippold Smith ’05 JANELLE COTTER JENKINS ’84 L. Arlen Cotter

MERYL SYDNEY GRANT ’99 Marty B. Mazer

MR. AND MRS. GEORGE DEAN JOHNSON, JR. Mr. and Mrs. James S. Fulmer, Jr. (Katherine Colburn ’96) Dr. and Mrs. J. Sidney Fulmer (Lenna Moore ’63) Wallace Eppes Johnson ’63 Mr. and Mrs. Jody Traywick (Donna W. Traywick ’82 MEd)

DOROTHY ORMOND GRIER ’50 Mr. and Mrs. Riley Grier (Alice Denman ’78)

SUSAN PHIFER JOHNSON ’65 Adair Phifer Crute ’88 George Dean Johnson III MR. AND MRS. COY JOHNSTON II Phillip E. Richardson, Jr.

JORDAN B. DENSKI ’12 Mark Francis Denski

CAROLEN BELCHER HANSARD ’56 Della C. Black Janet P. Deal Mr. and Mrs. H. Daniel DeFoor Leanne Hand Emmett Marshall James Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Locke Leonard T. Matteson Sandra R. Mayer Edna Earle McGaha Mr. and Mrs. Max E. Prescott Venetia P. Rouse Alan E. Slappey Lisa Slappey Mr. and Mrs. William C. Standridge, Sr.

MR. AND MRS. CARLTON DUGGAN Kathy and Edgar Chancellor

P. EMILY HARBIN ’99 Marty B. Mazer

NANCY BROWN FOSTER DUKE ’55 Jane Powell Crowder ’57

DEBORAH TINDALL HARGIS ’86 Mr. and Mrs. Henry B. Tindall, Sr.

DR. JOE DUNN Beth Spencer Dixon ’86

ROBERT A. HARLEY Nancy Reid Barksdale ’72

JOE ANN LEVER Sharon E. Lambert Gayle Magruder

ANGELA GAINEY EICHER ’99 Marty B. Mazer

JULIA DEANNE HARRIS ’99 Marty B. Mazer

MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM B. LEVER Dr. and Mrs. Nathaniel F. Magruder

SARAH DIANE JURGENSEN ’10 Mr. and Mrs. Robert Jurgensen LINDSEY ELIZABETH KELLY ’11 Mr. and Mrs. Stephen S. Kelly, Jr. DR. AND MRS. WILLIAM J. KIMBALL Malinda and Charlie Tulloh EMILY EDWARDS KOON ’99 Marty B. Mazer CLAIRE GIANNASI KURTZ ’98 Mr. and Mrs. David E. Giannasi DR. SHARON E. LAMBERT Joe Ann Lever

Honor/Memorial GiFTS

DR. AND MRS. NATHANIEL MAGRUDER Elizabeth Blanton Lewis ’72 Malinda and Charlie Tulloh ELIZABETH CLOUD MALLOY ’48 Louise Malloy Bonner ’75 NIKKI MAPLES-REYNOLDS ’99 Marty B. Mazer RON MARSH Kathy and Edgar Chancellor DR. SPENCER MATHEWS V. Caroline Dilworth Minicozzi ’95 E. T. MCLEAN, JR. Mr. and Mrs. J. Robert Mauney ELISABETH KINNEY MCNIEL ’89 Mr. and Mrs. William L. Kinney, Jr. DR. DONALD H. MCQUEEN III Madison Hawley McQueen ’10 CAREY DANCHO MERRIWEATHER ’99 Marty B. Mazer MR. AND MRS. CHARLES MORGAN Malinda and Charlie Tulloh PAULA SIGLER MORGAN ’73 Donna Perry Vandiver ’66 SABRA MCDANIEL MOSELEY ’65 Robbie Moseley Richards ’92 JENNIFER MARIE NOCKELS ’99 Marty B. Mazer CHARLOTTE GANT OLSON ’87 Mr. and Mrs. Edmund R. Gant, Jr. ELIZABETH ANNE OSWALT ’02 Mr. and Mrs. Donald W. Oswalt KRISTEN CAROLINE PACK ’14 Tracy Pack MR. AND MRS. RICHARD E. PARVEY Phillip E. Richardson, Jr. STEPHANIE NIVENS PENLEY ’96 Barbara Nivens MARCIE VANCE PORTER ’99 Marty B. Mazer DR. ROBERT W. POWELL, JR. Anne Monsen Daniell ’75 Nina Zouck Waite ’68 MARIAN WILLIAMSON PRICE ’65 Jeanette Wall Barnes ’65 MR. AND MRS. HARRY QUALLS Kathy and Edgar Chancellor

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JENNIFER LOVETT RACKLEY ’99 Marty B. Mazer MARGARET LYLES RAMBISH ’78 Dr. and Mrs. Clarence C. Lyles DR. AND MRS. JAMES E. RATLIFF Phillip E. Richardson, Jr. JEANNE MCKEOWN REAVES ’65 Amanda Reaves Campbell ’92

MEMORIAL GIFTS DR. CHARLES D. ASHMORE Virginia Ogletree Ashmore ’42 DR. AND MRS. HENRY BAILEY Claire Connors Wharton ’76 BETTY PERSONS BALLARD Elizabeth McClure Blumer ’82

PATRICIA BELFORD ROSENTHAL ’99 Mr. and Mrs. William Lee Belford

HARRIET ANCRUM BALLENGER ’47 Mr. and Mrs. J. Tom Grier (Dorothy Ormond ’50) Mary Lib Spillers Hamilton ’57 RADM and Mrs. Stephen I. Johnson (Melissa Daves ’69) Mr. and Mrs. Frank A. Lyles (Florine France ’47) Polly Hill Woodham ’51

MARY FRANCES SARVIS ’14 Mr. and Mrs. Frank Sarvis, Jr.

JANE RICE BAMBERG ’27 Mary Bamberg Frick ’82

MR. AND MRS. ANDY SMITH Kathy and Edgar Chancellor

KELLEY HOLLABAUGH BARTGES ’80 Class of 1980

NANCY ORDERS SMITH ’75 William H. Orders

ELIZABETH STEELE BEARDEN Clara Childs Mackenzie ’51 Frances Taylor Meissner ’61

GRAZIER CONNORS RHEA ’74 James C. Rhea, III SPENSER MORGAN ROBINSON ’12 Mr. and Mrs. Derrick LaRue Robinson

MARY W. SMITHEY Pamela Smithey GAIL DUFFIE STEBBINS ’76 Grace Bailey Heck ’76 DENISE HOWARD STEVENS ’92 Justine Mason ANNA MARGARET TAYLOR ’11 Andrea Butler Taylor ’79 JENNIFER BRADSHAW TILLEY ’02 Major and Mrs. James S. L. Bradshaw SALLY LAMBETH TREUTING ’62 Anonymous THEODORA WARREN TRUESDALE ’74 Theodora Gregorie Warren ’48 SARAH MARING VAN OS ’73 Hilda Mills Horton ’73 EVAN JAVIER VELEZ Camille Hernandez Velez ’92 ELIZABETH ANN WALKER ’14 Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Lee Walker DR. JEFFREY R. WILLIS Altrusa International, Inc. of Spartanburg BETSY GANT WITTENMYER ’80 Mr. and Mrs. Edmund R. Gant, Jr. KYRA LEIGH WOODYARD ’14 Mr. and Mrs. John Oliver Woodyard, Jr.

CATHERINE HAMRICK BEATTIE ’45 Polly Hill Woodham ’51 DIETER BECKMANN Margaret Albright Bowers ’91 Katherine Van Horne Trexler ’91 JANE MCNAIR BELL ’51 The Bell Family Foundation MARTHA JANE CAMP BONUM ’68 Gillian White Goodrich ’68 NELLIE MAY BUEHLER Paul David Buehler JENNY KIMBREL BUNN ’67 Suzanne Smith Jordan ’67 Marjorie Martin Pierce ’65 Jane Ferguson Watson ’64 ELIZABETH WHITE CALVERT ’84 Wallace Scales Davison ’89 Jeffrey Folinus Marilyn Mery ’84 Sarah Haeflinger Tollison ’84 Mr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Tweddle DR. KAREN CARMEAN Nicolette Leia Castle ’06 KATHRYN KING CAROW ’33 Anne Carow Lian ’68 SALLY HARMON CAUGHMAN ’68 Adams Eaddy & Associates, Inc. Alec H. Chaplin Co.

Jane Jackson Avinger ’62 Palmer Davison Ball ’84 Sandra Sherard Bethea ’67 Roseanne Wilson Boyce ’74 Eleanor Owings Burke ’69 Eleanor Weaver Carter ’68 Mr. and Mrs. H. Burton Case, Jr. Anne Ferguson Caughman ’58 J. W. Nelson Chandler Karen Corbett Cheatham ’81 Mr. and Mrs. Langdon Cheves (Kathryn Wyatt ’67) Blair Blackwell Cooper ’68 Mr. and Mrs. George L. Corbin, Jr. Eugene Patrick Corrigan III Nancy Bain Coté ’79 Nancy Rainey Crowley Mr. and Mrs. James A. L. Daniel (Susan Bailey ’68) Mr. and Mrs. Robert G. Davidson, Sr. Ann W. Dibble Patricia Dod Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur S. Douglas, Jr. Carol Redding DuBose ’74 Mr. and Mrs. Robert Dunphy Mr. and Mrs. Blake Edmunds Heather K. Eldridge ’97 Susan Goldberg Ellison ’71 Gelene Duncan Ellsworth ’63 Elizabeth C. Everett Mr. and Mrs. Jack S. Folline (Elaine Finklea ’58) Mr. and Mrs. Brian Frerichs (Catharine Williams ’92) Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy Gibbs Gillian White Goodrich ’68 Laura Anne Greenberg Caroline G. Grimball ’68 Brooks Sanders Hamilton ’67 Carlisle Caughman Harvard ’63 Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Hendricks Mr. and Mrs. A. Baron Holmes IV (Sue Wyatt ’72) Catherine C. Inabnit ’68 Mr. and Mrs. George Dean Johnson, Jr. (Susan Phifer ’65) J. Thomas Johnson Mr. and Mrs. Steve Johnson (Patricia Downes ’70) Ron L. Jowers James O. Kempson Mr. and Mrs. Curtis C. Kimbrell Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Kline Mr. and Mrs. Jean E. Lanier (Judith Webb ’68) Laurel Crest Retirement Center Dr. and Mrs. Frank B. Lee, Jr. Elisabeth Lucas Marchant ’68 Mr. and Mrs. James B. Mayo Mr. and Mrs. Bill McWilliams (Sally Bates ’74) Nancy Beasley Meldram ’68 Louise Harris Meriwether ’68 Robin Colyer New ’75 Ann Wallace Nichols ’68 Dr. and Mrs. John V. Nicholson, Jr. (Ellen McMaster ’68) Nancy Davis Nickles ’56

Ann Carol Hall Price ’61 Sarah Adderton Redd ’62 Mr. and Mrs. Randall Robinson (Katharine Shertzer ’68) Dr. and Mrs. March Seabrook (Anne Richardson ’82) Mr. and Mrs. Gordon B. Sherard, Jr. Anne S. Smith Mr. and Mrs. Richard C. Stanland, Jr. Frances Owings Stone ’70 Margaret Charles Stubbs ’63 Trinity Episcopal Cathedral Sunday Morning Breakfast Crew Virginia Cleveland Walker ’67 Mr. and Mrs. David Watson (Jane Ferguson ’64) Dr. and Mrs. Bruce W. White, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Wain L. White Mr. and Mrs. Scott Williams (Katherine Dod ’99) Mr. and Mrs. Harold Wilson (Rhetta Fair ’63) Mrs. Lloyd Wood DR. FRANCIS P. CHAMPION Lee Ullman Hutson ’78 MIN MURRAY HASELDEN CHEVES ’68 Elizabeth Morris Howell ’68 CHINCHEE (MARTHA BEALE’S DOG) Debra J. Griggs ’75 ALICE BURNETT CLEVELAND 1905 Harriet Dobbins Martin ’69 CAROLYN MARY FAWCETT CONVERSE Mr. and Mrs. Augustus T. Allen Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Allen Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Joel Atkins Mr. and Mrs. Steve Baldwin, Jr. John Bauknight IV Mr. and Mrs. John W. Beeson, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. John R. Belk W. Scott Brandon Mr. and Mrs. George Brandt III (Mary Nell Rogers ’73) Dan C. Breeden, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. H. M. Cannon (Marjorie Coddington ’62) Mr. and Mrs. Richard W. Carr, Jr. (Bonnie Goldston ’63) Donna R. Cart Mr. and Mrs. MacFarlane L. Cates, Jr. Elizabeth Syfan Chapman ’53 James David Cobb Conrad & Company, CPA’s Mr. and Mrs. Stanley W. Converse Walter C. Converse Mr. and Mrs. Martin S. Cornelson Mr. and Mrs. Paul J. Coté (Nancy Bain ’79) Nancy Rainey Crowley Mr. and Mrs. E. E. Cubitt (Dodie Magarahan ’66) Mr. and Mrs. Jamie Cubitt Elaine T. Freeman Mr. and Mrs. William P. Gee

Mr. and Mrs. J. Tom Grier (Dorothy Ormond ’50) Mary Lib Spillers Hamilton ’57 Mr. and Mrs. Lawson Hayes, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. George Dean Johnson, Jr. (Susan Phifer ’65) Mr. and Mrs. Ed Mabry Mary Ellen Jennings McElhenney ’45 Mr. and Mrs. Tom J. McKittrick Virginia Manning Moses ’44 Mr. and Mrs. John Murphy (Susan Craig ’64) National Coal Corporation Paul Okuliar Carolyn Duer Pennell ’50 Richard H. Pennell, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Edward Patterson Perrin The Piedmont Club Dr. and Mrs. Jan H. Postma, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. L. Perrin Powell Mr. and Mrs. Norman Pulliam, Sr. Martha Page Roddenberry Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Rogers, Jr. Dr. B. Holland Satterfield, Jr. Dr. Bryan Satterfield and staff Mr. and Mrs. G. Garrett Scott Mr. and Mrs. Sam B. Shackelford, Jr. Carter A. Smith Christie Smith Mr. and Mrs. Ron G. Smith June A. Steven Mr. and Mrs. George E. Stone Mr. and Mrs. John R. Sullivan (Ann Marie Sullivan ’95 MEd) Mr. and Mrs. George C. Todd, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Burnham Uhler (June McIntosh ’64) Mr. and Mrs. Ted Wagner Mr. and Mrs. Edward I. Weisiger, Jr. (Elizabeth Bell ’84) Mr. and Mrs. John B. White, Jr. (Karen Moore ’72) Mr. and Mrs. W. Lewis White Thomas D. Wood Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Zurenda (Susan Beckham ’77) EMMA PALMER COVINGTON ’47 Florence Covington Fitzgerald ’80 TENNESSEE CALHOUN CRAWFORD ’23 Martha Williams DeCaro ’70 LOUISE HUNT CROSLAND ’55 Hagood Huckabee Potter ’55 DR. PERRY DANIELS Debra Hudson Harres ’75 Ross A. Magoulas ’56 DONNA DILL ’89 Wallace Scales Davison ’89 KATHLEEN MORGAN DONNELLY ’45 Mary Frances Morgan ’43 JOHN F. DULKEN Ysabel deVignier Dulken

Honor/Memorial GiFTS

NANCY SIBLEY DUNN ’54 Marjorie Williams Fiorilla ’54 DARLENE EARNEY ’88 Belinda Earney Dudley ’83 ELIZABETH MILLER ELLER ’53 Barbara Helms Cook ’53 JOHN ERICKSON Susan Embry Naylor ’73 AMY ESTES ’73 Lyn Carlton Estes ’71 RUSSELL W. FIKE ’64 Elsie Boone Fike Schlaeger ’74 ANNIE MAE HUGHES FLANIGAN Christine Slavovsky Hughes ’99 DR. HAROLD E. FLEMING Mr. and Mrs. Charles James Sullivan III (Mary Lee White ’70) MARIE WILLIAMS FLEMING Mr. and Mrs. John M. Armstrong J. Patrick Armstrong Mr. and Mrs. H. M. Cannon (Marjorie Coddington ’62) Hilda T. Cope Mr. and Mrs. J. Wayne Dowd Amy Hoover Frierson Dr. and Mrs. W. Brownlee Lowry JANE CARSON FRANCE ’49 Mary Ellen Sitton Yeargin ’49 GENEVIEVE MILLS GALLIVAN ’44 Harold F. Gallivan, Jr. ROGER GANT, JR. Polly Hill Woodham ’51 MARY WILSON GEE 1893 Eleanor Garner McCandless ’41 Antoinette Jackson Myers ’61 Nancy Reep Tait ’50 ELIZABETH PRYOR GEORGE ’57 Langhorne Lewis McCarthy ’57 DR. VIRGINIA MCCALL GORE ’44 Jane Rolandi Gray Dr. and Mrs. Ronald Price JO ELLEN JONES GRIGSBY ’88 Wallace Scales Davison ’89 Rebecca DuBard Grantland ’88 BEATRICE AVERY HALL ’66 Adelaide Reece Small ’66 GEORGE KUGLAR HANKS III ’75 MMus Susan Jones Hanks ’73 JEANNE SMITH HARLEY ’73 Mr. and Mrs. Augustus T. Allen Ambulatory Surgery Center of Spartanburg, LLC

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Laura Bailey Palmer Davison Ball ’84 Nancy Reid Barksdale ’72 Mr. and Mrs. Charles J. Bradshaw, Sr. (Julia Brewer ’59) Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Breitweiser, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. H. M. Cannon (Marjorie Coddington ’62) Mr. and Mrs. William Z. Cannon Carolina Alliance Bank Mr. and Mrs. Terry L. Cash Mr. and Mrs. MacFarlane L. Cates, Jr. The Honorable and Mrs. Robert F. Chapman Nancy Rainey Crowley Dr. and Mrs. W. Mac Davis Dr. and Mrs. Roger W. Deal Mr. and Mrs. William Doolan Mr. and Mrs. John P. Fruit (Mary Ann Alford ’63) Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy Gibbs E. Anne Gillespie Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Gilmore, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Larry Goldstein (Janice R. Goldstein ’74 MAT) Mr. and Mrs. John T. Gramling II (Ellen Holmes ’64) Lucy Harper Grier Mary Lib Spillers Hamilton ’57 Harbour Town Yacht Club, Inc. Cleveland S. Harley Dr. James G. Harrison, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. William B. Howes Sarah Chapman Jackson Mr. and Mrs. George Dean Johnson, Jr. (Susan Phifer ’65) RADM and Mrs. Stephen I. Johnson (Melissa Daves ’69) Mary Berry Johnston ’72 Julia S. Jones Ernest R. Kluttz Ruth McCutchen Knight ’75 Mr. and Mrs. William B. Lever Broadus R. Littlejohn, Jr. Alice B. Lucas Mr. and Mrs. Thomas F. Lytle Mr. and Mrs. W. Fritz Mezger Peter John Neidenbach, M.D. Robin Colyer New ’75 Mr. and Mrs. Ben K. Norwood, Jr. (Marion Connor ’56) Carolyn Duer Pennell ’50 Mr. and Mrs. Edward Patterson Perrin Mack H. Pettit Evelyn I. Randall Anne Davis Ratliff ’50 Rose Mary L. Ritchie Mr. and Mrs. L. Terrell Sovey, Jr. Dr. and Mrs. George M. Speed Sally J. Spencer Mr. and Mrs. Winston C. Taylor Jacqueline R. Timms Mr. and Mrs. Burnham Uhler (June McIntosh ’64) Susan Dukes Webber ’70 W. Lewis White Mr. and Mrs. Don Wildman (Alanna Ivey ’71) Mr. and Mrs. Kurt Zimmerli

BONNIE ASHLEY HARRIS ’71 Jane Byrd Melton ’71 RUTH WALSTON HARRIS ’71 Jane Byrd Melton ’71 JANE HEGGIE Marjorie L. Heggie ’83 ELIZABETH TURNER HERBERT ’22 Elodie Hale Craig ’74 ANNA KATE HERLONG ’78 Elizabeth Hamer Chandler ’51 DR. WALTER HESS Nina Zouck Waite ’68 MARY RIVERS HILLER ’79 Hunter McClintock Bell ’79 NANCY HOLLIS ’71 Jane Byrd Melton ’71 VIVIAN L. HOWE Dr. and Mrs. Joe P. Dunn JEAN POTTER KANODE Spartanburg Philharmonic Music Club DR. WILLIAM JOSEPH KOPP Jean Elise Warren ’75 BETSY POLK LAW ’79 Maria Kain Matthews ’79 ALIA ROSS LAWSON Lillian Utsey Harder ’67 Helen Rachel Lamb Jones ’58 BERKELEY HAYNSWORTH LITTLE ’70 Lesesne Smith Dickson ’67 DR. JERRIE LUCKTENBERG Jane Rolandi Gray ANN PLESS LUNGER ’45 Grace Williams Gaither ’45 JOHN RICHARDS MCCRAE Dian Lawler-Johnson ’74 Ross A. Magoulas ’56 DR. ROGER A. MCDUFFIE, JR. Patricia Parsons Hickerson ’64 MARY ZELIME HARBY MCKEOWN ’42 Amanda Reaves Campbell ’92 ELIZABETH CAUTHEN MCLEAN ’88 Wallace Scales Davison ’89 PAUL W. MENGEL Mr. and Mrs. J. Tom Grier (Dorothy Ormond ’50) MR. AND MRS. ROBERT B. MILLER, JR. Catherine Miller Alley ’72

LLOYD WILLIAMS MOORE ’37 Margaret Fulton Walker ’45 Polly Hill Woodham ’51 CORA VAN KEUREN NEAL ’80 Class of 1980 MARY POULNOT NEFF ’46 Marjory Poulnot MacLean ’54 CECELIA QUANTZ NETTLES ’63 Genevieve Steele Cummings ’63 Nancy Thayer Jennings ’63 DR. SANFORD H. NEWELL Sarah Brown Stewart ’72 DAWSON THOMPSON NICHOLSON ’55 Mr. and Mrs. Bobby Duke (Nancy Brown ’55) EILEEN RAMSBOTTOM NOLEN ’39 Janice Mack ’70 MARY ADAIR EDWARDS PHIFER Polly Hill Woodham ’51 LAURA NANCE MCCAUGHRIN PICKENS ’35 Laura Pickens Wagner ’64

CLARA RAVENEL SMITH ’38 Clara Smith Carter ’64

NANCY WHELESS Lara A. Wheless ’82

CHRIS B. STAUBES, JR. Robbie King Staubes ’67

ELEANOR STANLEY WHITE Jane Rolandi Gray

EMMA JANE STOCKTON ’65 Sheryl Fendley Gillikin ’67

HARRIETT BULL WILDER ’43 Mary Frances Morgan ’43

ELIZABETH WHITEHEAD TAYLOR ’36 Roberta Thomas Smith ’59

DOROTHY OUZTS WILLIAMS ’47 Dr. and Mrs. Edward R. Cathcart Geraldine Roser Crenshaw ’47 Mr. and Mrs. Bobby Duke (Nancy Brown ’55) Mr. and Mrs. Frank A. Lyles (Florine France ’47) Lalage Oates Warrington Mr. and Mrs. J.E.B. Wilson (Jane Marion ’04)

CAROLINE MOORE TURNER ’50 Carolyn Duer Pennell ’50 MARY MOORE WANNAMAKER ’54 Betsy Shepherd Ancrum ’54 LEIGH ANNE WARD ’97 Heather K. Eldridge ’97 Deborah Ward Heritage JEAN SACKETT WARREN ’48 Kathryn Perry Bumgardner ’75 Nancy Bain Coté ’79 Mary Lib Spillers Hamilton ’57 Melissa Daves Johnson ’69 Julie Forbes Lybrand ’75 Polly Hill Woodham ’51

PROFESSOR ELIZABETH WILLIAMS Jane Taylor Patterson ’48 RUTH SAULS WIMBISH ’31 Suzanne Wimbish McElwee ’68 C. RUDOLPH WOODS Pamela Medeiros Woods ’85

SUE BAXTER PICONE ’57 Elisabeth Williams Crain ’57 RACHEL PIERCE Jane Briggs Rankin ’63 DR. FRANK T. PLATT Jane Rolandi Gray Janet Johnston Saczawa ’79 SALLY HOWE PLAXICO ’71 Jane Byrd Melton ’71 NANCY PHIFER RAINER ’51 Polly Hill Woodham ’51 HOLLY JOHNSTON RICHARDSON ’78 Mr. and Mrs. Coy Johnston II MR. AND MRS. PAUL SCHMIDT Liselotte Martha Schmidt ’54 REV. PEGGY ROOHAN SCHMITZ ’49 Martha Paxton Beale ’49 SARAH BURNETT DENNIS SCOGGINS ’44 Polly Hill Woodham ’51 MARY LANIER SEMON ’70 Mary Lee White Sullivan ’70 BETSY HARPER SHELANDER ’78 Ada Compton Holley ’79

In Memoriam Dr. John P. Martin, Jr. Associate Professor Emeritus of Special Education, (1940-2011) Dr. John P. Martin, Jr., 70, of Hume, VA, died Thursday, January 13, 2011. Dr. Martin retired as a professor and chairman of the Department of Special Education at Converse in 1999.

For 27 years, Dr. Martin served as associate professor of Special Education at Converse. From his first year on campus in 1972, he was at the forefront of special education not only in the College, but also in the community, state and region. He brought energy and vision to the task of expanding special education programs to include learning disabilities and emotional handicaps, and developed the master’s degree program for special education teachers. Dr. Martin was a long-time chairman of the Spartanburg County Developmental Disabilities Board and received many awards for his work with parents of disabled children.

LELA LEE SHERBERT Mary Carolyn Lavender ’66 ANNE KNIGHT SHULER ’41 Harriet Glasgow White ’41

Honor/Memorial GiFTS

Alumnae Association President’s Message

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erving as the Converse Alumnae Association President has been such a privilege for me. The traditions of our beloved institution continue to encourage sisterhood and the “I can” attitude of our community never ceases to amaze me. When we come together to accomplish a task, the results are aweinspiring. The perfect example, the senior housing project has been completed and is magnificent! Achieving this milestone is the direct result of President Betsy Fleming’s unwavering dedication to raising the funds necessary to initiate and complete this stateof-the-art facility. The short timeframe in which the funding was raised could not have been accomplished without the kind generosity of many alumnae, friends and individual benefactors believing in Converse.

The Petrie School of Music celebrated its 100th anniversary in October 2010 and for those of you who were not able to attend, it was an evening that made you proud to be associated with Converse–past, present and in the future.

Converse continues to give young women the tools to demonstrate “I can” in their personal and professional lives. Alumnae have earned graduate degrees in law, medicine, education, music, art, design, finance and theology, among others. They are leaders in their professions and communities. Our Converse education has enabled us to be creative thinkers, with the ability to say “I can” and shift with the ever-changing world.

I am proud to be a Converse alumna and want to do all that I can to see our alma mater continue to be a strong institution offering a liberal arts education and leadership skills to future young women.

We have a rich history, with many traditions, but are also making strides for a strong future. Together “we can” strengthen Converse by referring students and contributing to the Converse Annual Fund.

Make plans to come to Reunion April 15 – 16, 2011. You will be able to see the fabulous additions and improvements to the facilities and feel the excitement of what is happening on campus.

All best,

Grazier Connors Rhea ’74 President

Alumnae Impact Service Day a Success!

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ver 125 Converse alumnae, current students, faculty and staff gathered together as part of the Converse Impact Service Day on October 30, 2010. The Impact Service Day encourages the Converse community across the country to volunteer and serve their local communities on the same day.

This year marks the first year that alumnae have organized and participated in this traditional student activity.

“We are so excited to have the first Impact Service Day involving Converse alumnae to be a success,” said Elizabeth Oswalt ’02. “This is an amazing opportunity for Converse women to utilize their collective power to make an impact in their community. We look forward to making this an annual endeavor.”

Volunteers across the country worked with local organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, local Girl Scout Councils, shelters and various environmental groups. Many of these organizations were selected because they work towards advancing and supporting women and families, taking the lead from Converse’s mission to advance the education of women. For more information about the next Converse Impact Service Day, please contact the Alumnae Office at alumnae@converse.edu.

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Granddaughter’s Club

Ansley Taylor Corson ’14, daughter of Michelle Corson ’86 MEd and granddaughter of Patricia DesChamps ’80 MEd

Jessica Rose Postlewaite ’14, great-granddaughter of Sally P. Kincaid

Amelia Ellen (Mia) Shaw ’14, daughter of Kelly Florence Shaw ’88

Kayla Shai Caudle ’14, daughter of Kelly McAlhaney ’08

Missing photos: Sarah Kate Chatel ’14, stepdaughter of Sarah Mercer Chatel ’79 Stella Law Ford ’14, great-granddaughter of Dorothy Foster Law ’40 Mariah Gray ’14, stepdaughter of Ruth Gray Chapman ’93

Kathleen Mayes Hines ’14, daughter of Patricia Mayes Hines ’70, granddaughter of Katie Beaty Mayes ’41, and great-granddaughter of Janie Rhodes Mays Class of 1907 Claire Elizabeth Kunkler ’14, granddaughter of Peggy Crabb Henderson ’67

Congratulations to the 4th Annual Class Ring Essay Contest Winner, Margaret Tiller ’13!

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embers of the Converse sophomore class were asked to describe what it means to them personally to receive the Converse College class ring. In their essays, students reflected on the class ring tradition itself and how it connects Converse alumnae to each other and to the College. Entries were judged by the Alumnae Association based on creativity, content and mechanics/grammar. After carefully reviewing each entry, the Alumnae Association announced Margaret Tiller ’13 as the author of the winning essay. Tiller will read the following composition at the Sophomore Ring Ceremony on April 30, 2011.

The Celebration of Sisterhood: Symbolism, Sentimentality and Tradition of Converse Class Rings! Though Converse boasts charming statues, handsome buildings and challenging curriculums, the most noteworthy aspect of this College is the loyal students. Many students decide to pledge their unceasing loyalty with a class ring. These rings are a metaphorical representation of the Converse sisters: the rings vary in shape, size and color; however, each ring is a never-ending circle that bears the Converse insignia.

As a Converse student, I know that I have different aspirations than each of my peers; however, like the rings, we are bound together by an unbreakable circle of trust and respect. Just as the rings are connected by the same Converse insignia, all students are unified by the same spirit of Converse. In understanding the symbolism behind the rings and through recognizing the connection supplied by the rings, receiving a class ring would hold immeasurable sentimental meaning for me. Though wearing a ring is not necessary in reminding me of the incredible influence of Converse on my life, receiving a class ring would give me the privilege of participating in a long-standing tradition. Such an honor would enrich my journey at this spectacular institution! Any student, whether from the Class of 1930 or the Class of 2013, will emphasize traditions as a fundamental facet of Converse. In my two years at Converse, I have made an effort to understand the symbolism behind each celebrated tradition and have been particularly attracted to the meaning behind the Sophomore Ring Ceremony.

After being presented with her ring, a Converse student is encouraged to place the ring with the insignia facing toward herself.

After graduation, she flips the ring so that the insignia faces the outside world. For some this may seem a rather trivial gesture; however, I find this act incredibly symbolic in representing the intention of the newly-graduated Converse woman to prosper in society and conquer challenges all the while wearing the same insignia that has inspired generations of confident young women! By wearing class rings, students and alumnae are able to communicate pride in being Converse sisters without even muttering a word. Students that graduate decades apart are united by the amazing experiences offered, memories recollected and lessons learned by participating in the traditions of our college. I am lucky enough to be reminded each day of the indisputable bond that binds each Converse student, past and present, to both each other and to this phenomenal campus. Though I will forever remember the remarkable experiences that Converse has bestowed upon me, a class ring would be a tangible reminder of the extraordinary connection of sisterhood that links Converse students of every generation.

ALUMNAE NEWS

Alumnae Award Winners Career Achievement in Music The Career Achievement in Music Award recognizes the alumna who has dedicated herself to excellence in her profession in music and notable achievements credited over a continual period of time.

Carolen Belcher Hansard ’56 Lithia Springs, GA Retired Piano, Choral and Drama Teacher “Because of Converse I can share my love of music, my God-Given talents and my musical training with my family, friends, students, church and community.”

Mae Elizabeth Kilgo Spirit Award The Mae Elizabeth Kilgo Spirit of Converse Award is given to an alumna who, by her constant and loyal service to Converse College, has kept the college visible to other alumnae and her community.

Carroll Sibley Clancy ’71 Raleigh, NC Community Volunteer “Because of Converse I can believe in the strength of a women’s college. I believe that the small classes and individual attention given by staff and faculty can and do fully prepare women for achievement in the world in the professional and volunteer fields.

I believe that the friends and relationships made here will be a wonderful support and blessing that will last a lifetime.”

Career Acheivement Award The Career Achievement Award recognizes the alumna who has dedicated herself to excellence in her profession and has distinguished herself by notable achievements credited over a continual period of time.

Delois Brown-Daniels ’76 Chicago, IL Vice President at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center (AIMMC) “Because of Converse, I can work with the various sectors that make up a community. The opportunity to have had an excellent academic experience that highlighted the importance of contributing to the community has helped shape my vocation of ministry.”

STAR Award The Star Award is given in recognition of an alumna who has actively and admirably serves Converse in the area of student recruitment.

Carrie Hill Coleman ’96 Spartanburg, SC Preschool Teacher “Because of Converse I am a true testament to the fact that you can do anything with a liberal arts degree. In the 15 years since I graduated, I have worked as an admissions counselor, an event planner and volunteer coordinator, an economic development research assistant and a preschool teacher. The vast subject matter that I absorbed during my years as a student at Converse along with the leadership opportunities I had on campus taught me that I could succeed at any occupation that came my way.“

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Distinguished Alumna Award The Distinguished Alumna Award is given to those alumnae who deserve special recognition for their loyalty to Converse, outstanding achievement in their fields and service to their communities.

Lan Nguyen Shortt ’81 Houston, TX Attorney at Shortt & Nguyen, P.C. “Because of Converse, I have the confidence, the skills, and the opportunity to be the means by which those who are most in need can access justice. It is a humbling thought that you can help deliver justice to others.”

Community Service Award The Community Service Award recognizes the alumna who displays the qualities of a vibrant citizen through her active involvement in her community, church and state.

Libby Anne Kepley Inabinet ’86 Columbia, SC Chief Development Officer for the American Red Cross of Central South Carolina

“Because of Converse College I can follow in the footsteps of a long line of women leaders who are not only impacting their local communities but also building upon the strengths of those that surround them.”

Converse 100 Award The Converse 100 Award, first presented during the College’s Centennial Celebration, is given to a representative alumna who clearly embodies the qualities of character and achievement that Converse alumnae hold as their ideal.

Wendy Jolley-Kabi ’91 Silver Spring, MD Executive Director of the Association of Missing and Exploited Children’s Organizations (AMECO) “Because of Converse, I can affect change in our world.”

Converse 100 Award The Converse 100 Award, first presented during the College’s Centennial Celebration, is given to a representative alumna who clearly embodies the qualities of character and achievement that Converse alumnae hold as their ideal.

Sue Ellen Germany Lucas ’76 Birmingham, AL Community Volunteer “Because of Converse, I can work as a volunteer to meet needs in the Birmingham community.”

Young Alumna Award The Young Alumna Award is given to an alumna (within 15 years of graduation) who embodies the qualities of character and achievement that Converse alumnae hold as their ideal.

Neal Millikan ’01 Boston, MA National Historical Publications and Records Commission Fellow with the Adams Papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society.

“Because of Converse, I can daily apply the research and writing skills I acquired as an undergraduate History major to my current work as a historian.”

ALUMNAE award winners

Alumnae Board Slate—

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R&R Chair Pamela Woods ’85 Columbia, SC

CARE Chair Amy Tibbals Morales ’86 Jacksonville, FL

Development Chair Lucia Cleveland Johnson ’67 Cedartown, GA

Music School Rep Emily Kerr Stay ’63 Novelty, OH

1950s Decade Rep Margaret Jackson Bundy ’54 Lancaster, SC

1950s Decade Rep Dot Ormond Grier ’50 Spartanburg, SC

1960s Decade Rep Betty “Boopie” Poole Rose ’63 Raleigh, NC

1960s Decade Rep Anna Watkins Hattaway ’62 Raleigh, NC

1980s Decade Rep Karen Waters Thomas ’84 Greer, SC

1980s Decade Rep Cathy McAllister Watson ’86 Columbia, SC

1990s Decade Rep Debbie Currin Conner ’90 Conway, SC

1990s Decade Rep Tracy Williamson Dart ’91 Princeton, NJ

—2011 At-Large Member Susanna Knight Roberts ’00 Atlanta, GA

Golden Club Co-Chair Mary Lib Spillers Hamilton ’57 Spartanburg, SC

Golden Club Co-Chair Doris Marley Laird ’51 Tallahassee, FL

Young Alumna Rep Elizabeth Walker ’06 Greenville, SC

At-Large Member Kelly Orner ’08 Columbia, SC

1960s Decade Rep Caroline Watts Morris ’64 Greenville, SC

1970s Decade Rep Paula Wagner Gay ’77 Houston, TX

1980s Decade Rep Julie Staggs ’86 Atlanta, GA

At-Large Member Nilla “Dicke” Tredway Sloop ’67 Sanford, NC

2000s Decade Rep Grace Bagwell ’07 Athens, GA

2000s Decade Rep Gabrielle Chapman Leopard ’03 Spartanburg, SC

2000s Decade Rep Joy Stoney ’00 Charleston, SC

2010s Decade Rep Nicole Dumouchel ’10 Spartanburg, SC

ALUMNAE board slate

Remember when…

there was D Day B

efore 1889 Week and the Red Devils, there was D Day and the lovely Modine.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, students and faculty enjoyed a day of games, song, food and of course…lots of fun! No one knew when D Day would come around because the actual date was kept a secret until the morning of the event. On the fateful day, classes were cancelled and big sisters roared down the halls with whistles and yells giving everyone their early morning wake up calls. Faculty and students boarded Greyhound buses and traveled to the Block House in Tryon, NC where they played outdoor games, performed in a class song competition and spent the day together making memories...

When academia is forced out of the realm of any conception, and class meetings, rehearsals and timeconsuming preparations demand first-hand attention, many question the meaning and purpose of the day the Block House draws all students to contribute to the spirit of togetherness. Few leave the activities of the day still questioning, few leave unexhausted and few leave untouched by feeling. The songs—echoing, harmonizing, defining the spirit of each class—capture the melody that filters the atmosphere of the day and gives a memory and a meaning to D Day. Y’s and other Y’s 1970 yearbook

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How to get your news in Life Events and Class Notes

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end your news to the Class Representative(s) listed with your class. If your class has no representative listed, send news to the Alumnae Office, 580 East Main Street, Spartanburg, SC, 29302 (nancy.gage@converse.edu).

Class Representatives may submit notes for every issue of the magazine. Class Notes includes information submitted to the Alumnae Office by January 15, 2011.

In Memoriam Elizabeth Gooch Daniel ’26, August 11, 2010

In Memoriam Pauline Merritt Ulmer ’30, May 28, 2010 Blanche Dennis Cantey ’33, December 11, 2010 Lillian Ellison Murray ’33, July 5, 2010 Harriet Howell Stringfellow ’33, August 14, 2010 Harriet Plowden Chitwood ’33, May 29, 2009 Virginia Peek Smith ’34, September 1, 2010 Leafie Wilbur Freda ’35, January 15, 2010 Alice Todd Alderson ’36, July 31, 2010 Ann Plant Morthland ’36, September 9, 2010 Eileen Ramsbottom Nolen ’39, August 1, 2010 Yvonne Walker Stuckey ’39, June 16, 2010

Class Representatives are volunteers elected by their class and are responsible for the accuracy of their Life Events and Class Notes.

Make sure we have your correct E-mail address! Please send E-mail addresses to: nancy.gage@converse.edu.

Class representative

If these walls could speak…

From the Beatles to the Bee Gees to Bon Jovi, the halls of Pell and Dexter have seen… and heard it all. And in celebration of their upcoming renovation, the next Converse Magazine will pay homage to the buildings that so many of you called home during your time here. However, for us to pull off the ultimate tribute, we need your help! We want to hear your stories and see pictures of the evidence. The good, the bad and yes…even the ugly, this is your chance to share your memories with the Converse community.

Send to: alumnaephotos@converse.edu

Life Events Class Notes

In Memoriam Frances Critcher Wright ’40, September 30, 2010 Dorothy Dupree Grimball ’40, October 21, 2010 Nannette Tucker Sheppard ’40, December 14, 2010 Grace Cobb Willingham ’41, June 3, 2010 Mary Sue Briggs Short ’42, November 19, 2009 Alice Cocke Goodwin ’42, October 14, 2010 Jamie Lee Dibble Bedford ’42, December 19, 2010 Mary Emily Platt Jackson ’42, December 11, 2010 Emily Lucile Hammett Cloer ’43, June 7, 2010 Mary Shaw Love May ’43, December 27, 2010 Jo Willis Westmoreland ’43, September 5, 2010 Sarah Burnett Scoggins ’44, September 13, 2010 Virginia McCall Gore ’44, August 29, 2010 Clara Grant Moise ’45, July 9, 2010 Sara Sanders Lawton ’45, August 31, 2010 Rhita Bissell Wrightson ’46, January 7, 2011 Alice Daly McKay ’46, October 4, 2009 Cynthia Ford Thomas ’46, September 9, 2009

Remember when...1946

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Shirley Morris Dupree ’46, December 19, 2008 Ann Skipper McAden ’46, August 12, 2010 Harriet Ancrum Ballenger ’47, October 6, 2010 Helen Anne Halley Marshall ’47, August 24, 2010 Dorothy Ouzts Williams ’47, July 2, 2010 Jane Woodcock Williams Wallace ’47, June 29, 2010 Mary Frances Lankford Free ’48, January 2, 2011 Jean Sackett Warren ’48, October 28, 2010 Nell Suddeth Hood ’48, June 22, 2010 Marjorie Pless Fesperman ’49, September 13, 2010 Margaret “Peig” Roohan Schmitz ’49, July 21, 2010

SYMPATHY Margaret Howell McAngus ’40 on the death of her sister, Harriet Howell Stringfellow ’33, August 14, 2010 Margaret Westmoreland Clarkson ’40 on the death of her son, Ripley Westmoreland Clarkson, August 21, 2010 Martha Howell Guess ’41 on the death of her sister, Harriett Howell Stringfellow ’33, August 14, 2010 Alice Moore Harrelson ’42 on the death of her daughter, Lucy Dow Harrelson Dupre, December 21, 2010 Anne Crooks Smith ’43 on the death of her son, Drayton Noland Smith, June 9, 2010

Ora Gibson League ’43 on the death of her husband, Miles Richard League, September 24, 2010 Jane Fishburne Hipp ’44 on the death of her sister, Harriet Howell Stringfellow ’33, August 14, 2010 Catherine Gant Powell ’44 on the death of her brother, Roger Gant, Jr., July 26, 2010 Catherine Gant Powell ’44 on the death of her husband, Robert Jackson Powell, Jr., September 9, 2010 Bessie Rice Ball ’44 on the death of her sister, Mozell Rice Marshall, October 16, 2010 Katherine McElroy Vincent ’46 on the death of her husband, William Stillwell Vincent, December 5, 2010 Carlisle S. Floyd ’47 on the death of his wife, Kay Reeder Floyd, January 13, 2010 Virginia Ellison Evans ’48 on the death of her husband, Clarence Felder Evans, March 18, 2010 Elizabeth McGeorge Spencer ’49 on the death of her husband, Reid Madison Spencer, June 13, 2010

CLASS OF 1941 Eleanor Garner McCandless celebrated her 90th birthday in August and danced all night!

Her two children gave her a party at the Yacht Club. Eleanor still drives, plays bridge and reads the Sunday lessons at the Episcopal Church. Eleanor would love to hear from her classmates.

CLASS OF 1943

Mary Fabisinski Roberts 65TH REUNION 1506 NW 36th Way Gainesville, FL 32605, 352.376.7175 Margaret Fulton Walker 208 Crest Drive Mt. Olive, NC 28365, 919.658.2167 mfultonwalker@bellsouth.net

Roberts has moved to a retirement home in Black Mountain, NC to be near her daughter.

Bettie Haughton McLaughlin and husband Ted have moved from The Cypress in Charlotte, NC to a retirement community in Durham, NC, to be near their daughter. Everyone should have a daughter. Ann Llewellyn Ditto has given up playing golf. I bet she quit because all her golf partners were unable to keep up with her. Malinda Jennings Holroyd and husband have moved to an apartment in Clemson, SC. They both still drive but like to avoid the expressway. This past May I think we took our last long trip. Along with Jim’s older brother and his wife, we took a cruise around Ireland ending in London where we had dinner with their grandson (our nephew) and saw Andrew Lloyd Webber’s latest musical. It was a treat to see our nephew because he has been in London nine years working for Bank of America. Give some serious thought to coming to the reunion.

Elizabeth Lee Wright continues to shop, drive and volunteer but is now recovering from a hip replacement. Mary Sanders Parsons wrote of her and her families’ good memories of times at Converse. Happy Healthy New Year to everyone! Mary Helen

CLASS OF 1946

CLASS OF 1947

Barbara Brown Lee 706 N Summit Crest Court Spartanburg, SC 29307, 864.582.4668

CLASS OF 1944 Betty Murph Timmerman received the 2010 Herbert Hucks award for outstanding service in historical preservation and interpretation at the annual meeting of the SC Conference of the United Methodist Church. The Hucks award is presented annually to an individual who has worked beyond the local church in preserving and interpreting Methodism’s heritage in SC. Betsy Brunk Argo encourages us to watch the Fox Network for a National Geographic documentary video by her daughter, Allison Argo, on September 11, 2011.

CLASS OF 1945

65 Reunion - April 15-16, 2011 Mary Helen Garrison Dalton 3064 Ridgewood Road NW Atlanta, GA 30327, 404.355.0434 mhdalton7@aol.com th

Aren’t you excited that Converse is having a 65th class reunion and it is for our class on April 15 and 16 in 2011! Did you ever think in 1946 that you would still be here 65 years later? Jim and I want to host the Saturday night class dinner at the Piedmont Club. If you can get to Spartanburg, we will provide transportation to and from the Piedmont Club.

Shirley Shepherd Johnston and Dicksie Brown Cribb are coming and already have it marked on their calendars. I see Ann Smith Gertini occasionally because she has moved to Griffin, GA, which is close to Atlanta, to be closer to her daughter. Mary Lynn Lewis DeLany, now that she is a widow, has joined a travel group called Tauck and has traveled extensively with them. The last three trips she has traveled independently with the last one to Nova Scotia. Rosa Strait still plays tennis but now on one of those TV games where you sit in comfort while you play. Spotswood Walker Box still maintains her home in Virginia but spends most of her time in Debordieu near Georgetown, SC. Her children insisted she sell her helicopters, so it takes her longer to get to Charleston, SC now. Mary Elizabeth King Anderson sold her home at Myrtle Beach, SC and moved to Spruce Pine, NC. Rose Osborne

fine and looking great at our 65th high school reunion—had a long connection to these two—having gone on to Converse together.

As for me, I left mid-December for a 12-day Caribbean Cruise with son and family and returned just in time for Santa! Please, send me some news for the next magazine. It will only cost you the price of a stamp, brief phone call or quick e-mail to give priceless pleasure to your old buddies. Our time is passing rapidly and we SHOULD stay in touch.

Remember when...1946

Next Reunion - April 15-16, 2011 Mary Young Cousar 4615 Arlon Lane Jacksonville, FL 32210, 904.387.1793 cousarj@bellsouth.net

CLASS OF 1948 Next Reunion - April 15-16, 2011 Eleanor “Skippy” Herbert Hale 5171 Yacht Club Road Jacksonville, FL 32210, 904.387.9592 skippyhale@gmail.com Alice Mobley Lipscombe 107 Conyers Street Sumter, SC 29150, 803.773.8265 elipscombe@sc.rr.com

CLASS OF 1949 Next Reunion - April 15-16, 2011 Kitty Peeler Carson 401 Springdale Drive Union, SC 29379, 864.427.3353 ladykc@bellsouth.net I was delighted to hear from Martha Paxton Beale in August. She had good news about being a great grandmother—not once but twice. In March, Paxton Eppes was born in Texas and in August Camilla Madeline Eppes was born in Chicago. Grandson Nelson Beale is attending Furman University. I have recently seen some classmates at Converse meetings this fall. Mary Johnson Nanney Brady and Marianne Ellison Bartram were both feeling

CLASS NOTES

In Memoriam Caroline Moore Turner ’50, June 22, 2010 Marjorie Jones Potts ’51, October 31, 2009 Eugene Handford Taylor ’52, November 1, 2010 Gladys Going Faris ’53, August 2, 2010 Jeanne Gregg Runyan ’53, October 15, 2010 Dawson Thompson Nicholson ’55, December 11, 2010 Frankie Fairey Johnson ’56, April 8, 2009 Margaret Rodgers Taylor ’58, October 5, 2010 Carol Starnes Russell ’59, November 19, 2010

SYMPATHY Lois Scott Mengel ’50 on the death of her husband, Paul Warren Mengel, Jr., November 11, 2010 Nancy Ouzts Demo ’51 on the death of her sister, Dorothy Ouzts Williams ’47, July 2, 2010 Juanita Guthrie Rogers ’52 on the death of her son, David Michael Rogers, July 25, 2010 Margaret Lampley Maas ’53 on the death of her husband, Anthony E. Maas, December 12, 2009 Ann Douglass Gibson Nichols ’54 on the death of her husband, John Thomas Nichols, Sr., January 1, 2011 Virginia Ouzts Cobb ’54 on the death of her sister, Dorothy Ouzts Williams ’47, July 2, 2010 Barbara Gregory Moore ’55 on the death of her husband, Ralph Vernon Moore, Jr., August 19, 2010 Nancy Hayes Wilkerson ’58 on the death of her mother, Elizabeth McKoon Hayes, October 25, 2010 Betty Anne Nelson Richardson ’58 on the death of her husband, Donald Valentine Richardson III, November 26, 2010 Caroline Taylor Reddick ’58 on the death of her husband, Marvin James Reddick, October 31, 2010 Nancy Shealy Lowry ’59 on the death of her husband, Boyce R. Lowry, May 16, 2010

MARRIAGE Marjorie Williams Erich ’54 to John K. Fiorilla

CLASS OF 1950 Next Reunion - April 15-16, 2011 Mary Alice Ingram Busch 1509 Cherokee Road Florence, SC 29501, 842.662.1622

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60TH

REUNION

Birthday Celebration for Daisy Barron Leland ’58, September 2010, Florence, SC

CLASS OF 1951 60th Reunion - April 15-16, 2011

60

TH

REUNION

Make plans to join the Class of 1951 on campus for Reunion 2011. Hope to see you then!

CLASS OF 1952 Next Reunion - April 15-16, 2011 Suzanne Earnhardt Smith 370 Montgomery Drive Spartanburg, SC 29302, 864.582.2415 sesmas@charter.net

CLASS OF 1953 Next Reunion - April 15-16, 2011 Marilyn Mateer Sherrill 114 Briarwood Court Spartanburg, SC 29302, 864.583.8066 Diane Dewey Leyburn, son Boyd, his wife Connie and his sons Drew (14) and Adam (11) spent two weeks in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

CLASS OF 1954 Next Reunion - April 15-16, 2011 Bet Shepherd Ancrum 35 Honeysuckle Woods Lake Wylie, SC 29710, 803.831.0205 bancrum@bellsouth.net Margaret Jackson Bundy 518 Briarwood Road Lancaster, SC 29720, 803.285.6002 mjbundy@comporium.net Ann Douglass Nichols 205 Birchwood Drive Union, SC 29379, 864.427.3647 Ted and Marjory Poulnot MacLean were in Rock Hill, SC for a visit with Frank and Mildred Roberts Robards last autumn. The occasion was a reunion of Ted and Frank’s

high school class, but of course, Marj and Mildred had their own mini-reunion, too.

Margie Williams Fiorilla and John have returned from their European honeymoon and are living in Cinnaminson, NJ, where the winter provided an overabundance of snow.

At Christmastime, Charlie and Margaret Jackson Bundy sent pictures of the children and grandchildren—and believe me, there is not a loser in the bunch! Jeanne Foster Clark and Shelby devoted a lot of the winter to sorting out and shuffling off possessions in anticipation of their move to Summit Hills Retirement home in Spartanburg, SC. Barbara Hughes Bennett (aka “Snookie”) and David have already taken that plunge, and now live at Summit Place in Charleston, SC, close to some of their children. The Clarks and Bennetts are following the example of our high school and Converse classmate, Lib Massey Gage and Gaston, who moved into The Downs in Clemson, SC some time back.

You know, friends, there’s bound to be more news from classmates—but if y’all don’t tell us, we can’t print it.

CLASS OF 1955 Next Reunion - April 15-16, 2011 Jo Ann Guyton Davison 1722 Peggio Lane #1 Missoula, MT 59802, 406.829.6376

CLASS OF 1956 55th Reunion - April 15-16, 2011 55TH REUNION Ann Hudgens Karegeannes 137 Mabry Drive Spartanburg, SC 29307, 864.579.3801 karja56@aol.com Pegilie Price Walter 616 Wotan Road Columbia, SC 29229, 803.419.0986 walter@umcsc.org

Make plans now to attend the Class of 1956’s 55th class reunion on April 15 and 16!

CLASS OF 1957 Next Reunion - April 15-16, 2011 Marguerite Gignilliat Old 314 Jackson Avenue Lexington, VA 24450, 540.463.5436

CLASS OF 1958 Next Reunion - April 15-16, 2011 Elaine Finklea Folline 740 Kilbourne Road Columbia, SC 29205, 803.254.9503 Nancy Hayes Wilkerson 2122 Norton Road Charlotte, NC 28207, 704.376.4776 nwilkerson@bellsouth.net One of our Christmas cards came from Dr. Janet L. Joyner in Winston-Salem, NC, who began by saying what many of our class feel— “Can’t believe I’ve gotten so old so fast!” Janet is writing quite a bit now in poetry and fiction is having FUN with her success placing her writing in magazines like the Crescent Review.

But Janet’s latest toy is in her new kitchen—an induction stove! Normally costing much more than a usual stove, Janet got a deal buying her new stove because the corner has a small nick.

The new stove works so quickly that Janet must pay close attention in cooking sauces, as they tend to be overdone. Another thing that amazed both Janet and Elaine Folline was that she had to call the Winston-Salem area electric company to make an appointment with the kitchen department who had to allow three more weeks to get her an appointment with the stove department! A month is too long to take for permission to buy a stove! Gracie Mabry

Whitlow and her husband Stan spent last winter in Monterey, CA enjoying a beautiful trip back to Nashville, TN across the country on state highways. Spending last summer in Italy and Austria, now the Whitlows are in Texas in the motor home, which Gracie says is rather cold at times! Nancy Hayes Wilkerson and Bud went to Scotland in July, very interested in Bud’s Scottish heritage. Betty Anne Nelson Richardson’s oldest of nine grandchildren is planning a summer wedding with his bride in the mountains. Daisy Barron Leland enjoyed celebrating her 75th birthday with 13 Converse friends at a tearoom in Florence, SC in September.

CLASS OF 1959 Next Reunion - April 15-16, 2011 Harriet “Sister” Marshall Goode 131 East Main Street Rock Hill, SC 29730, 803.327.4746 harrietgoode@comporium.net Mary Jane Pearce Holland 814 Greenway Drive Florence, SC 29501, 843.665.2003 mjh@sc.rr.com Carolyn Swain Rice and George live in Chesapeake, VA and are both insurance agents, determined to help seniors get the correct insurance for their needs. Jean Poole Ross spent time in London, then on for a 3-week visit with her son in Germany. She is planning a Vietnamese/Cambodian cruise next fall. Among activities, she is a member of the Houston Water Color Society. Lou Trogdon Stacy and Bill live in rural Powhatan County, VA where they bike on trails in Virginia and near the DC area. Their oldest grandson is at Presbyterian College. Margaret Campbell

MacDonald and Dan are in Charleston, SC but spent the summer with their children in Rhode Island. She is very involved with Grace Church. Fourteen years into retirement, Gayle Newcomb is still painting and now taking piano lessons in Charleston. She is also a Master Gardener. Marigene Player Simmons states she is “just a mom and grandmom” (yeah!) She is retired after teaching; she and Mansfield live between their condominium in Columbia, SC and home on Lake Murray, SC. After the loss of Thad a year ago, Carolyn Turner Kelly has kept busy with a mission trip to Guatemala, family camping trip to Cape Cod and to Spain with another family group. She plays duplicate bridge, still sings and is active in piano groups. Her best time is spent in Amherst, MA and Atlanta, GA with family. “We all have fond memories, but are bad communicators,” says Mildred “Tag” Siddall Johnson from Pawleys Island, SC. She claims to be laid back, but busy, children live nearby—“nuff said.” Evans and Mary Jane Pearce Holland enjoyed meeting Mary Ann Medford Sansburg and Olin at Abbington Manor in Latta, SC. The newlyweds are in Tryon, NC and are happily settled. Nancy Shealy Lowry is rebounding after losing her wheelchair bound husband recently. She is now an RN and part-time child psychologist.

I referred to her, as she states “Life is Good” (yeah you!) Addie Ray Townes sent a card with pictures of a beautiful large family. This includes two outstanding football players and a cum laude graduate within her group of grands in Greenville, SC. Eliza “Tink” Macaulay and Dawn Hill Elliott sent late news and both are fine.

Alumnae Events

Rock Hill, SC Alumnae Event at the home of Woody and Laura Goettee Livingston ’71 on November 4, 2010. Event was co-hosted by Toy and Grazier Connors Rhea ’74, Martin and Harriet (Sister) Marshall Goode ’59, Albert and Judy Bell Oliphant ’73 and Mark and Teresa Miller Thomas ’83.

CLASS NOTES

In Memoriam Teresa Page Hazel ’63, November 4, 2010 Cecelia Quantz Nettles ’63, November 29, 2010 Jane Wilder Nettles ’63, October 30, 2010 B. Avery Hall ’66, July 28, 2010 Jenny Kimbrel Bunn ’67, July 6, 2010 Martha Jane Camp Bonum ’68, July 2, 2010 Sarah Fearnside Tanner ’68, November 8, 2010 Sally Harmon Caughman ’68, July 15, 2010 Nancy McWhorter Irwin ’68, November 4, 2010

SYMPATHY Patricia Slemons Dillard ’60 on the death of her husband, Frank Edwin Dillard, July 4, 2010 Jeanne Anderson Derrick ’61 on the death of her grandson,Brent Anderson Johnson, September 2, 2010 Jeanne Anderson Derrick ’61 on the death of her husband, Charles Caughman Derrick II, September 27, 2010 Schuyler Campbell ’61 on the death of her mother, Betsy McDavid Campbell, September 6, 2010 Elizabeth Lake Orr ’61 on the death of her daughter, Elizabeth Cauthen McLean ’88, October 18, 2010 Agnes Reed Martin ’61 on the death of her husband, George Brantley Martin, January 11, 2011 Claudia Jowitt McCollough ’62 on the death of her mother, Mary Watkins McCollough, October 21, 2010 Jane Burns Hicks ’63 on the death of her husband, Dr. James Miley Hicks, December 10, 2010 Jane Flynn Wray ’63 on the death of her husband, Phillip Clayton Wray, Sr., April 19, 2010 Mary Emily Jackson Vallarino ’65 on the death of her mother, Mary Emily Platt Jackson, ’42, December 11, 2010 Susan Norcross Allen ’66 on the death of her husband, Edward L. Allen, July 10, 2010 Kitty Oldham Young ’66 on the death of her husband, Marion Justice (Skip) Young, Jr., December 31, 2010 Mary Carolyn Sherbert Lavender ’66 on the death of her mother, Lela Lee Sherbert, September 26, 2010 Laura Jackson Hoy ’67 on the death of her mother, Mary Emily Platt Jackson, ’42, December 11, 2010 Dennis Cantey Foster ’68 on the death of her mother, Blanche Dennis Cantey ’33, December 11, 2010 Justina Lasley Minifie ’68 on the death of her father, James Bernard Lasley, January 2, 2011

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Fran Tracy-Walls ’68 on the death of her father, Francis Tracy, June 11, 2010 Gene Clarkson Brabham ’69 on the death of her brother, Ripley Westmoreland Clarkson, August 21, 2010 Susan Johnston Abernathy ’69 on the death of her mother, Irene Huggins Johnston, August 22, 2010

CAREER CHANGE Lynn Joseph ’65, Teller, Wells Fargo, Birmingham, AL

CLASS OF 1960

50TH Next Reunion - April 15-16, 2011 REUNION Donna Culbertson Fritz 105 Sunline Place Spartanburg, SC 29307, 864.579.3986 maximum1983@cs.com Brady Jones, grandson of Fannie Sheek Williams Jones, was born in 2009.

CLASS OF 1961 50th Reunion - April 15-16, 2011 Betsy Blythe Frazer 324 Nottingham Drive Chapel Hill, NC 27517, 919.402.0409 ebfrazer@earthlink.net Frances Taylor Meissner Post Office Box 274 Seaford, VA 23696, 757.898.4277 franmeissner@verizon.net Laura Simpkins Stock 4376 Hope Plantation Road John’s Island, SC, 29455, 843.768.9933 Lss3640@live.com Jeanne Anderson Derrick is a greatgrandmother of two little girls! She also has a son, two daughters and four granddaughters.

Jeanne lives in North, SC. Is she our first great-grandmother, or are there others out there? Charlotte Gower Murray’s family, including granddaughters, Samantha (14) and Savannah (4) spent Christmas with her in Columbia, SC, and then they all headed to Florida for the Orange Bowl. Betsy Blythe Frazer has a new grandson, Atticus Ralph, born to son Donald and his wife last September in NYC. She is barely into this grandparenting journey and is amazed by the thought of being old enough to have greatgrandchildren! Their entire family, including Irish grandbaby Clara (1+), spent Christmas with Betsy and Don. They had an interesting cruise up the Danube to Budapest and then by land to Prague last summer with some of Don’s college classmates. Frances Taylor Meissner and Chuck love to boat during the summer and enjoyed watching nesting eagles. The babies are soon as large as its overprotective parents are. Hopefully we’ll have lots of news from our April 50th reunion.

It would be interesting to learn just what we all are doing to keep busy and active. Are there any Ikebana enthusiasts, PEO sisters or Questers out there?

CLASS OF 1962 Next Reunion – Alumnae Weekend, 2012 Dixie Crum Stone 9419 Owl Trace Drive Chesterfield, VA 23838, 804.748.4755 dixiestone@comcast.net

CLASS OF 1963 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2013 Lou Hoffler Bright 1103 Sourwood Circle Chapel Hill, NC 27517 919.968.1455 (H), 919.923.7367 (C)

Ann Waters Green ’63 and Betty Moore Henderson ’63 try on hats in Quito, Ecuador in May, 2010.

Betty Moore Henderson 13302 Tosca Lane Houston, TX 77079 713.465.0940 (H), 713.254.8328 (C) eliza.henderson@att.net Emily Kerr Stay 9619 Pekin Road Novelty, OH 44072 440.338.8221, 216.990.3176 (C) estay@windstream.net

Agnes Binder Weisiger was named the Dexter Edgar Converse Award recipient during the Thousand Thanks Dinner in October 2010. At the Washington International horseshow, Betty Reynolds Oare was inducted into their Hall Of Fame. She has been participating in that show since 1958, the first year it was held.

Gelene Duncan Ellsworth and husband, Carl, welcomed their Navy pilot son, Carl, Jr home from Afghanistan when he docked (USS Nimitz) in Seattle. Emily Kerr Stay joined Pat Parsons Hickerson, Jackie Fowler George, Joan Foster McKeown and Barbara Humphries Chung, all of the Class of 1964, to celebrate the Petrie School of Music Centennial and Music School reunion.

Gelene Duncan Ellsworth noted that she and Wallace Johnson attended and looked for Emily, but Twichell filled to capacity and Emily was lost in the crowd. Betty Moore Henderson and Anne Waters Green visited a hat store in Quito, Ecuador last May. Cecil Lewis Caldwell visited family in Houston, TX. A planned trip to Belize was cancelled by hurricane Richard, so they went to Kemah at the Bay instead. Another big traveler was Susan Speare Durant who enjoyed a trip to Italy, spending time in Florence and Tuscany doing pastel landscape painting.

She reported it was a great adventure with great food. Carolyn Morrow Wynn wrote that she and husband, Bob, have retired.

They enjoy having their two daughters and their families near by. We have heard from many via our class e-mail news. If you are interested in receiving current info from and about our classmates, send Betty or Emily an e-mail. There is too much to print here, so join the “Pipeline.” Remember REUNION—APRIL 2013! MAKE PLANS, NOW.

CLASS OF 1964 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2014 Liz Harkins Biosca 807 S Mountain View Circle Johnson City, TN 37601, 423.926.9897 ehbiosca@hotmail.com Sarah Miller McDaniel 1140 Pilot Boy Road Wadmalaw Island, SC 29487, 843.559.7267 sarahmcdaniel@bellsouth.net

45TH

REUNION

Susan Nash McClellan ’72, Adair Phifer Crute ’88 and Susan Phifer Johnson ’65 in LaJolla, CA. Went and Barry Mitchiner Caldwell, Nashville, TN, had their eighth grandchild in 2010 and had a wedding for their fourth daughter, Wentworth, in January 2011. Judy Fessey Bradley, Savannah, GA, had a mini gathering at Hilton Head, SC in May. Sally Riddle Marsh, Lida Black Bross, Ellen Holmes Gramling, B Kennedy Durham, Lynn Perry Young, Sarah Miller McDaniel and Liz Harkins Biosca all waddled down the beach together. Dan and Judy are the proud grandparents of five cherubs. Ann Glascock Lindsay, Atlanta, GA, welcomed her fourth grandchild in 2010. Mac and Lynn Perry Young, Atlanta, GA, also have a home in Crested Butte, MT. Lynn often sees Nancy Eakin Dickins, Littlerock, AR, who visited Ethiopia in January 2011. Jeff and Debbie Cameron Hallett, Delray Beach, FL, often visit their son in Atlanta and always see the Youngs.

Lynn and Mac will have their 12th grandchild this year. Sarah Miller McDaniel, Charleston, SC sometimes sees Gary Friar Stuckey and Ellen Nelson Barr whom she reports look great. October 2010 George and B Kennedy Durham, Chisolm and Dottie Pratt-Thomas Leonard, Bill and Lydia Willard Kellett ’62, Mac and Lynn Perry Young, Stuart and Sarah Miller McDaniel and Rod and Liz Harkins Biosca spent 10 days together in Provence and Paris. Supper in Charleston, SC was shared in December by the Youngs, McDaniels, Durhams, Bioscas after drinks at Chisolm and Dottie Leonard’s wonderful home on Queen Street. Please send us your news, as we are sick of writing about ourselves!

CLASS OF 1965 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2015 Peggy Clotfelter Allen 733 Glenwood Drive Athens, GA 31606, 706.540.6082 margaallen@charter.net

Anne Coffey 805 Northern Shores Drive Greensboro, NC 27455 annecoffey2@aol.com Anna Dean Johnson reports Linda Taylor Mott and husband Herbert are both retired and “living the dream” at Murrells Inlet, SC. Linda’s children and grandchildren love visiting. Anna and Yates have a new granddaughter. The total now is four girls and two boys. She is sorry to have missed our reunion in April. Susu Phifer Johnson and George Dean are continuing further good works in SC by exploring ways of improving education. Susanna is in grad school at NYU. Kathy Cohen Willard’s health continues to improve. Adelaide Reece Small ’66 saw lots of Lucy Robertson Aldridge and Craig Harris McDaniel in Blowing Rock, NC over the summer. Caroline Beattie Bowen, Ginger McKinney Jernigan, Peggy Clotfelter Allen, Lovey Daniel Mottern and Ann Trammell Holmes had a mountain getaway this past summer. Ann’s ninth grandchild arrived this past summer. Ginger said son Frank’s summer wedding in the Bahamas was beautiful!

Lovey and Bob Mottern have been traveling a lot. Toler Yates Edwards and Tony are grandparents of five with another ’grand’ due in February. Betty Byers Mastley writes she, Rosemary Newton Young, Bibba Walker Thomas and Charlene Siegler Wells had a visit at Myrtle Beach, SC. Judy Weller Starr was busy with her California vineyard and could not join them. Check out Judy’s website at www.Starr-Ranch.com. Bibba and husband are retired and living on a farm.

Charlene is a successful artist in Columbia, SC with a studio/gallery. Rosemary and John continue living in Hickory, NC. Betty and Dale are getting ready for a mini senior “slow” (Continued)

CLASS NOTES

(Continued)

triathlon at Calloway Gardens in June! I spent an April evening in Richmond with Betty Rose Townsend Sexton and Anne Gordon Dickerson Harrison. Anne Gordon and I had fun reliving moments at Cedar Springs. Anne

CLASS OF 1966 45th Reunion - April 15-16, 2011 45TH REUNION Carol Geyer Furtwangler 822 Robert E. Lee Boulevard Charleston, SC 29412, 843.795.8314 zandria60@hotmail.com Dianne Kennedy McLees 275 Gunning Road Tryon, NC 28782, 828.859.6145 rmclees@windstream.net In July 2010, Mary Jaquelin Simons returned to her hometown of Summerville, SC, where she has purchased a beautiful restored home. After over 40 years of working and living in the Alexandria, VA area, she is retired from a career in banking and has launched a new career in social work, having earned her MSW. Sally Clancy Ballard and husband Jim recently celebrated their 44th wedding anniversary, and have retired in Sapphire, NC, after 40 years in Atlanta, GA. Sally spent 18 years as a wife and mother involved in school, community and church, often as director of children’s theatre. Later she became a public school teacher of language arts and theatre, retiring in 2001.

Presently she is involved in the language arts program of a tiny little mountain school.

Mildred Gee Akers celebrated her birthday in Paris, France. Linda Whitnel Crimm and Jesse attended Wofford Homecoming

in October. Their son Hampton is doing his Naval medical residence in the Washington, DC area. He was married in the fall. Dianne Kennedy McLees and Ray spent a week in Colorado in September for their daughter Margaret’s wedding. In May, son Raymond and his wife Jennifer presented them with their first grandchild, the luscious Natalia, who at four months was her Aunt Margaret’s flower girl. Carol Geyer Furtwangler continues her career of literary editor.

Her major client’s novel is currently being considered for publication. In September Carol’s daughter Elizabeth married Robert Coker, Citadel grad and computer whiz.

CLASS OF 1967 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2012 Margot McCord Campbell 204 Glenroy Court Flat Rock, NC 28731, 828.697.8435 margotcampbell@mindspring.com Nell Stevenson Chastain is expecting her first grandchild. Melinda Crow Harper and her husband Bruce still live in Miami, FL (Coral Gables) after 40 years. She continues to teach at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Day School in Coconut Grove—been there 21 years.

They are expecting their second and third grandchildren in December and January.

Margot McCord Campbell, Judy Coe, Beth Brewer Franz, Lee Tabb Lauterbach and Karen Stratton Schlag all went on a Canadian cruise for our 65th birthdays this past year. We had a ball being together and seeing totally different places. Rosalie Stone Morris just returned from London, Turkey, Egypt, India, Jordan and Morocco—a two week excursion to see the “highlights of the world.” The Lost City of Petra in Jordan was

the highlight for her. They arrived home in time for Thanksgiving, which they shared with Suzanne Smith Jordan and Whit and their 22-month-old grandson, Charles Morris III. Sandra Sherard Bethea and her husband have moved to Georgetown, SC. They cruised the waters of South America for the holidays.

Her husband Bob is now teaching at MUSC Dental School three days a week.

CLASS OF 1968 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2013 Carol Early Graham 727 Alta Vista Vista, CA 92084, 760.758.7615 earlygram@earthlink.net Caroline Gordon Grimball 109 Walden Court Columbia, SC 29204, 803.782.5828 caroline5828@bellsouth.net Barbara Baker Kennedy 4400 Dewees Court Raleigh, NC 27612, 919.782.9459 BKennedy8@nc.rr.com Ann Wallace Nichols 6607 Greenville Highway Brevard, NC 28712, 828.884.7762 AVWallace@bellsouth.net Mary C Everett Pierce’s three grandsons Jack (8), Ben (6) and Charles III (4) are growing like weeds. Cindy Archibald Purcell is looking forward to the boat-building season this spring. Jane Murray Hartley reported that Terry is graduating and already has a job in the biofuel industry. Nancy Beasley Meldram and Bill visited Jane and talked about how much they love their new mountain home. Marianne Stribling is down to ten horses from 22, but still loving it. Carol Graham Early and Bob celebrated 13 years

Alumnae Events

ADAPT Networking Event, November 14, 2010.

Cathy Culler Inabnit ’68, Melissa Daves Johnson ’69 and Grazier Connors Rhea ’74

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Jane Gault Johnson ’57, Ann Hudgens Karegeannes ’56 and Janice Hudson Janiec ’60

On the Road with Converse!

Email us your photos at alumnaephotos@converse.edu

Jody Cole ’84 summitted Kilimanjaro with her Converse magazine in hand.

of marriage with a trip to Tehachapi, CA and enjoyed The Loop, one of the seven wonders of the train world. Ann Dukes Cater and Alice Bryant Moore connected at the Petrie School of Music Centennial in Oct. Ann is Senior Marketing Executive for the PBS station in Chattanooga, TN. Music of composer Paul Schoenfield ’67 was featured on the program.

Alice Martin Miles lives in the Phoenix, AZ area and manages a piano technician business.

Ginger Reynolds is composing music in Minneapolis, MN and we hope to hear from her at our next reunion recital. Joan Hemphill now lives in Seal Beach, CA. After receiving her MA in Art History from California State University, Long Beach and her paralegal certificate from UCLA, she worked through the ’90s as a paralegal and editor of art exhibition catalogues. She then worked at the administrative headquarters of the 23-campus California State University system, first in the legal department and then as staff for the California State Student Association. She is a student again in retirement, currently studying Italian and taking studio art classes.

Recently reconnected with her Converse School of Music classmates, she says she feels not only joy but also a reconnection with her essential self.

CLASS OF 1969 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2014 Cathy Riley Howle 808 Law Plantation Road Darlington, SC 29540, 843.393.7317 chowle47@aol.com Ashley Fine Nagle 301 Kirk Lane Media, PA 19063, 610.565.4483 avfnagle@hotmail.com Cissy P. Smith 3015 Rhodenhaven Drive NW Atlanta, GA 30327, 404.352.5249 CSmithStepAhead@aol.com Sally Ricks replied to Cissy Smith’s e-mail and says she is retired, taking art classes and making metal jewelry and pottery. She has work in an art gallery in Raleigh, NC. Sally spent the past summer at Ormond Beach, FL and saw Janie Harp Stancyk and her family a few times at Crescent Beach. Agnes Dobson Bruce sent a Christmas card with a picture of husband, Allen, children and grandchildren. Cissy took a cruise to Spain last spring with her sister and husband.

She currently is serving as a co-chair of staffing for the 2011 Decorator Show House in Atlanta, GA and needs 1,700 volunteers to staff a 30+room mansion for 23 days. If you are in the

Atlanta area and willing to help, please contact her! She also has a day job as personal assistant/ professional organizer and teacher of business etiquette. Melissa Daves Johnson writes that 2010 was a busy year for her working part-time at Converse. She coordinated the premiere of the Julia Mood Peterkin documentary in April and enjoyed reconnecting with classmate Gayla Jamison, who produced the documentary.

Melissa oversaw the Petrie School of Music Centennial Celebration, along with Thousand Thanks, both held on October 28. She says, “It was a privilege to participate in such an important milestone in Converse’s history.” Floride Owens McKoy and Cathy Riley Howle enjoyed a visit at a local art show in Darlington where Floride was showing beautiful jewelry designed by her husband, Grainger McKoy. Their daughter, Mary Adair lives in Atlanta with granddaughter, Millie; their son, Grainger oversees the jewelry business. Adelaide Capers Johnson writes of the birth of granddaughter, Frances Adelaide Carrington, whose parents are daughter, Jennie, and husband, Lindsay Carrington, of Greenville, SC. Adelaide and Cathy went to Richmond last spring for the wedding of Wilson Rouse, son of Jane Chandler Rouse and husband, Bob. While there, they enjoyed seeing Susan Shaw Hufham ’70 and Jackie Jones.

CLASS NOTES

In Memoriam Berkeley Haynsworth Little ’70, August 19, 2010 William Dewey Mitchell, Jr. ’70 MEd, October 23, 2010 Nancy Amelia Hollis ’71, July 7, 2010 Sally Howe Plaxico ’71, October 28, 2010 Jeanne Smith Harley ’73, October 7, 2010 James Rudolph Wofford ’78 MEd, August 22, 2010 Bette Bryant Darden ’79, December 20, 2010

SYMPATHY Eileen Nolen Rampey ’70 on the death of her mother, Eileen Ramsbottom Nolen ’39, August 1, 2010 Susanne Cole Wean ’71 on the death of her mother, Anne Marshall Magruder Cole, September 5, 2010 Leslie Padgett Gardner ’71 on the death of her father, Wade Hampton Padgett, Jr., September 1, 2010 Sydney Tucker Williams ’71 on the death of her mother, Lois Beverly Black Tucker, April 1, 2010 Janet Phillippi Shannon ’72 on the death of her mother, Janet Liddell Phillippi, December 30, 2009 Sue Wyatt Holmes ’72 on the death of her son, David Wyatt Lentz, November 10, 2010 Antoinette LaFrenz West McCarthy ’73 on the death of her husband, Morton Everest McCarthy, December 10, 2010 Marcia Gay Cassady ’74 on the death of her father, Thomas J. Cassady, June 21, 2010 Nancy Cox Vaughan ’74 on the death of her father, William Henry Cox, May 14, 2010 Edith Anne Evans Charping ’74 on the death of her father, Clarence Felder Evans, March 18, 2010 Janie Timmons Levinson ’74 on the death of her father, Dr. Barney Foreman Timmons, August 28, 2010 Jamie Gaines Crockett ’75 on the death of her mother, Mildred Walker Lackey, August 20, 2010 Katherine Harley Papadea ’75 on the death of her mother, Jeanne Smith Harley ’73, October 7, 2010 Sandy Kopp Roberts ’75 on the death of her father, William Joseph Kopp, MD, May 28, 2010 Elise Warren ’75 on the death of her mother, Jean Sackett Warren ’48, October 28, 2010 Grace Bailey Heck ’76 on the death of her mother, Gene Goode Bailey, July 16, 2010 Grace Bailey Heck ’76 on the death of her father, Dr. Henry Wright Bailey, September 24, 2010

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Delois Brown-Daniels ’76 on the death of her mother, Alline Lavonna Gaffney Brown, August 8, 2010 Rachel Jackson Gandy ’76 on the death of her mother, Mary Emily Platt Jackson, ’42, December 11, 2010 Mackey Tarrant ’76 on the death of her father, Guy Matthews Tarrant, Jr., March 20, 2010 Wendy Barton Benson ’77 on the death of her father, Charles Coggins Barton, November 10, 2010 Lynn Boles Pittman ’77 on the death of her sister, Michelle Nannette Boles, September 21, 2010 Lynn Boles Pittman ’77 on the death of her stepson, Joshua Lance Pittman, January 4, 2011 Betsy Dennis Daniel ’77 on the death of her mother, Sarah Burnett Scoggins ’44, September 13, 2010 Bet Tarrant ’77 on the death of her father, Guy Matthews Tarrant, Jr., March 20, 2010 Cindy Williams Peper ’77 on the death of her father, Dr. Clifton Lide Williams, Sr., October 3, 2010 Betsy Champion Powell ’78 on the death of her father, Dr. Francis Parker Champion, June 18, 2010 Linda Saunders ’78 on the death of her father, Dr. Elwyn A. Saunders, May 17, 2010 Jeanne Jackson Mize ’79 on the death of her mother, Mary Emily Platt Jackson, ’42, December 11, 2010

MARRIAGE Frankie Epps Patterson ’78 to Wes Young

CAREER CHANGES Perry Tison Wilson ’78, Director of Admissions, Francis Marion University, Florence, SC Anne Lawless ’79, Consultant, Crown Advisors, Hilton Head Island, SC

Members of the Class of 1971 spending time together.

CLASS OF 1970 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2015 Janice “Smack” Mack 6 Indigo Cove Greensboro, NC 27455-3424 janicesmack@bellsouth.net Lynnie Hicks Mitchell 1004 Mulberry Road Martinsville, VA 24112 ethmitch@gmail.com Thayer Cheatham Willis, with two active teenagers, continues helping others lead meaningful lives and publishing The Navigator.

Jan Rorebeck Dees took a Caribbean cruise and a road trip through New England and Canada with David. She had a reunion with Tink Creech Brinkley, Nancy Bellamy Bush, Hattie Boo Engelhardt Johnston and Marian Hill Hazard and visited with Brenda Bradshaw Fincher. Perry Hicks Jordan traveled to Iceland; her daughter Sara played professional soccer there. Her other daughter Liz is a first year law student. Patty Downes Johnson saw Ann Owens, Caroline Roper Roberts, Patty Booker Hiott and Barbara Holman Stith at the wedding of Susan Shaw Huffman’s daughter; everyone looked and was doing great. Claire Hailey Hall’s five grandchildren keep her busy. Barbara Stith and husband Robin are doing fine. Eileen Nolen Rampey works with a program in Spartanburg to help promising high school students.

Howard Brown Millican likes retirement and traveling. Lynnie Hicks Mitchell traveled with Roy over Thanksgiving to Minneapolis; her daughter Laurie is in graduate school there. Her other daughter Mary Lyons is a director at YMCA, Raleigh, NC. Nancy Jane Stedman Calloway continues interest in health and granddaughter. Ann Joyner Cross continues to work for husband; both of her adult children are in Charlotte, NC. Lynda

“Smitty” Smith Swann enjoys the family mail-order business during the week and a new Blowing Rock getaway on the weekends.

Her daughter Lanier works for Senator Mitch McConnell; her daughter Parker is in the second year of business school. Smack Mack is teaching and working long hours at school.

Best wishes for a good 2011.

CLASS OF 1971

40 40th Reunion - April 15-16, 2011 REUNION Jane Byrd Melton 115 Bickerstaff Road Clemmons, NC 27012, 336.778.1760 janemelton@triad.rr.com Mindy Thompson Orman 1040 Gateway Lane Nashville, TN 37220, 615.373.5965 ormanphoto@comcast.net TH

Nancy Beers Parsons retired in December from the Explorers Hall National Geographic Society after 38 years. Make your plans now to attend the Class of 1971’s 40th class reunion on April 15 and 16!

CLASS OF 1972 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2012 Jill Rushforth Coker Post Office Box 2048 Greenville, SC 29602, 843.281.0314 Florence Twitty 525 Woodland Street Spartanburg, SC 29302, 864.585.5018 honsingt@aol.com

CLASS OF 1973 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2013 Peggy Kelly Lancaster 510 Connecticut Avenue Spartanburg, SC 29302, 864.582.0587 plancaster@spart7.org

CLASS OF 1974 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2014 Amanda Horton Dorman 6 Marsh Point Drive Savannah, GA 31406, 912.352.9853 ahdorman@comcast.net Libba Elmore Rhoad 308 Laurel Drive Lexington, SC 29072, 803.957.5809 zqueen123@aol.com The Class of 1974 is so proud having our girl, Grazier Connors Rhea at the helm of the Alumnae Association. She is doing a fabulous job. Thank you, Grazier! Xan Parker Barber and husband, Joe, have been in Kearney, NB since 1985. She has been employed with Cabela’s, most recently in Quality Assurance.

She is active in the Gideon ministry and has led a women’s bible study group for over 15 years.

In Memoriam Jeanne Smith Harley ’73 (1931-2010) Business owner and adventurer Jeanne Smith Harley ’73, beloved wife of Robert Ashley Harley and mother of Katherine and Robert, passed away on Thursday, October 7, 2010.

After helping her husband grow Harley Bag Co. into one of the nation’s largest packaging manufacturers, Jeanne decided it was time to go back to college and finish her degree. In 1970, she enrolled at Converse where she graduated Magna Cum Laude, and ultimately received a Masters of Arts. From 1973 through 1979, Jeanne held the position of Director of Alumnae Affairs at Converse, and served on the Converse Board of Trustees for 22 years. In 1995, Converse presented Jeanne with the Mary Mildred Sullivan Award for her exemplary service. In 2007, the College again honored Jeanne for her unwavering dedication and service to Converse with its highest recognition, the Dexter Edgar Converse Award.

Jeanne pursued many outside interests, including earning her pilot’s license and racing in the ‘Powder Puff Derby,’ a transcontinental ladies air race. She also had a passion for antiques, and often traveled to England to bring containers full of fine furniture back to her shop, Jeanne S. Harley Antiques, which was a Spartanburg fixture for 31 years.

She and Joe enjoy traveling to see children/ grandchildren who live in Minneapolis, Omaha area, and Kansas City, KA area. Last year they managed to get to Ocean Isle beach for a 50th wedding celebration for Joe’s sister and husband. All six of their children and all 10 grands were there with the Barber family. They rented three beach houses for the 38 of them.

Robbie Keith Holt, teaching in Columbus, GA since 1974, is now Director of Arts and Humanities for the Muscogee County School District. She and Amanda Horton Dorman visited recently. Amanda and husband, Wes, live in Savannah, GA, and had 60 days of “empty nest” after youngest of four, Abigail, left for Samford, before Amanda’s mother moved in.

They enjoy working on a hobby farm near Pine Mountain, GA., gathering there with family and friends. Nancy Cox Vaughan teaches preschool in Richmond, VA. Her oldest, Chris is in graduate school, Will is at Wake Forest and Charlie is a junior. Sharon Moore Brewer and counselor husband, David, live in West Palm, FL where Sharon is ED of First Care, a prolife non-profit ministry. Libba Elmore Rhoad enjoys spending time with two grandbabies, did her fourth mission trip to Ecuador last summer, and sees Janet Andrews regularly at the theater in Charlotte, NC.

CLASS OF 1975 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2015 Libby Knight Borders 102 Marsh Spring Court Greer, SC 29650, 864.968.1429 libbo04@yahoo.com Martha Anne Richardson DeBerry lives in Florence and has three grown children, the youngest is at Wofford and the other two live in Florence and Mt. Pleasant, SC. Martha Anne is enjoying being a grandmother to two girls! Tuck Self is a best selling co-author of a new book, A Juicy, Joyful Life. Her website is http://budurl. com/JuicyRebelBelle. Check it out! Mary Alice Timberlake King lives in Hartsville, SC where she is a school psychologist in a middle school. She teaches Sunday School, sings in the choir and serves on the Altar Guild at her church. Sally McNair Long had a wonderful visit with Carol Puckett ’74 this past fall in Black Mountain, NC. They enjoyed hiking and just being together. Cary Seigler Walker is in her 17th year of teaching at Christ Church Episcopal School in Greenville! Last summer she traveled to Japan with some students. They visited schools, toured shrines and temples and enjoyed beautiful gardens. Harriet Swink Pharr wrote that they have a grandson, Fred Wilson (Continued)

CLASS NOTES

(Continued)

Suggs IV. He and his parents live in Greenville, SC. Ford and Libby Knight Borders also have a precious grandbaby! Bennett Borders was born April and lives in Mt. Pleasant, SC. Ford and Libby also had the pleasure of having dinner with Ruthie McCutchen Knight and Bud, along with Avan Yates Moore and Jimmy in October. Avan and Jimmy were on their way to Charlotte to see her son and stopped in Sparkle City. While in Charlotte, NC, Avan had breakfast with Joy Joyner Poe. Louise Malloy Bonner, Missy Craver Schenck, Tere Yow Ey and Harriet Wilson Newton ’77 were together at Sewanee the weekend after Thanksgiving for Lessons and Carols service. Please take note of Gigi Moses Dalton’s new e-mail address dalton.virginia@gmail.com. Also, we have had a few classmates lose a parent this year. Please keep them in your thoughts. Missy Moser Rankin stays involved with board work for The NC Botanical Garden & the Parish Ministry Fund for the NCW Methodist Conference, and the Piedmont Land Conservancy Development Committee. Laura Bingham Ritch is encouraging us to consider giving to Converse.

Let’s be the class who gives, any amount is greatly valued!

CLASS OF 1976

35TH 35th Reunion - April 15-16, 2011 REUNION Rachel Jackson Gandy 561 Old Field Road Murrells Inlet, SC 29576, 843.651.3649 gandyhouse@aol.com Christi von Lehe Sellars Post Office Box 132 Pauline, SC 29374, 864.573.5099 rm-sellars@att.net Christy Holliday Douglas has written a book as a homage to her family and childhood friends—as a gift to pass down to her children and to share her memories and love for the South. The photographs for the book came from Christy’s family archives as well as her own camera. You can google her book The South I Knew: Love Letters to My Children. It’s reunion time again! Where DO the years go?

Since we’ve all gotten better with age, I’m looking for a of you to come to Spartanburg the weekend of April 15-16! So send in your RSVP ASAP when the informational letter arrives!

CLASS OF 1977 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2012 Donna Kaiser Croft 1110 Summersill Lane Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464, 843.881.5167 closjune@aol.com

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Lucille Hudson Stembridge 5595 Sequoia Drive Forest Park, GA 30297, 404.361.7304 sopranolucy@att.net Pam Ellis Hall is the Department Head of the Medical Laboratory Technology at Alamance Community College in Graham, NC. Pam mentioned that it helps to include your maiden name in your Facebook name—then friends can find you. The School of Music Reunion in October was great! Dana Whitaker Boney ’76; Rusty Keesler; Marshall and Rosemary Littlejohn Kirby; Lynn Boles Pittman; Carol Wood Dizbon ’75 and family; Lucy Hudson Stembridge (with husband Frank) and several of their friends enjoyed a pre-recital dinner Thursday evening. Beth Child performed in the recital along with other internationally renowned graduates of the Converse Petrie School of Music, Many of us connected at the reception with classmates and professors, such as Jane Rolandi and Dr. and Mrs. Henderson! For the Halloween Recital, Lucy Stembridge joined Joy Nanney Finch, (whose piano accompaniment rocks), Karen Wacker Sanders Hampton ’87, Judy Rhodes and students to reprise “The Boogie Woogie Bugle Babe of Company C,” (originally done in the 1973 Freshman Skit). Lauren Kelly ’79, IBM / IGS Certified Project Manager, PMP, EPM in the Atlanta, GA area, spoke with Susan Gaylord who is very busy teaching voice and singing. Lynn Pittman’s former student, Conilyn Handog Ranks ’98, was awarded the Daniel Music Scholarship in 1994. She attended Converse and later graduated from the College of Charleston, where she recently gave a concert.

Patti Solesbee Foy was recently promoted to Director of the Petrie School of Music. Last spring she had two family weddings: both twin sons got married: Chris married Allison McCann in March, and Rob married Kristen Bodiford in May! Lucy Stembridge was honored to be the “O Holy Night” soloist for the Georgia Governor’s Mansion. She is enjoying being a guest soprano/ conductor and/or creativity facilitator, as well as teaching private music lessons.

Remember when...1973

CLASS OF 1978 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2013 Lee Ullman Hutson 3128 Oakview Road Columbia, SC 29204, 803.782.4980 lhutson@sc.rr.com Blanche Gramling Weathers Post Office Box 489 Bowman, SC 29018, 803.829.3137 blanchee@oburg.net Rilla Altman Thomas has begun a new phase of life. After being caregiver for her mother for 14 years and raising two sons, Rilla is sort of retired! Married son, Lee is a fire fighter in Conyers, GA and Brent finishes his MBA in May. Patricia Auman Atkinson’s daughter Parrish is in pharmacy school in Charleston, SC. Martha Anderson Bywater will soon be a priest in the Episcopal Church. She preached her first sermon on Thanksgiving Day in her home church in San Diego, CA. Congratulations to “Father?” Martha.

Gretchen Pixley-Jones, Jane Taylor Lassiter and Louise Strickland Wells meet once a month for Winston Salem’s chapter of the sisterhood. Stacey Sumner Jesso is Director of Development at the Mint Museum in Charlotte, NC and invites us all for lunch and a tour. Two of Chip and Laura Dew Smith’s grown children are back with their company and it’s working! Cathy Propst Bourne’s son Davis graduated from Clemson in engineering!

(Blanche) I’m writing my first book entitled, An American Royal Wedding, Memoirs of a Lady in Waiting. As sidekick to MOB, Julia Webb Davis, whose daughter Kathleen was married December 18 in Atlanta, GA, I experienced so much of what is beautiful, holy and sweet about southern weddings along with the behind the scenes activities that MAKE IT HAPPEN! Great job Julia and Blanche!

CLASS OF 1979 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2014 Margaret Horne Darr 234 Beechwood Drive Spartanburg, SC 29307, 864.583.7464 buddymoonshine@charter.net

Allison Dyches Bello ’89 on the death of her father, Gene Earl Dyches, September 15, 2010

In Memoriam Elizabeth Cauthen McLean ’88, October 18, 2010 Sarah Moore Davis Gibson ’88 MEd, December 20, 2010 Donna Lynn Dill ’89, November 26, 2010 Josephine Clarke Lashua ’89, November 19, 2010

SYMPATHY Marcie Blackburn Gordon ’80 on the death of her mother, Mildred Laney Blackburn, January 7, 2011 Laura Shearin ’80 on the death of her father, Addison McIver Shearin, October 21, 2010 Leigh Warren Mycoff ’80 on the death of her mother, Jean Sackett Warren ’48, October 28, 2010 Julie Martin Hanes ’81 on the death of her mother, Nancy Corr Martin, July 23, 2010 Amy Warren Beaty ’80 on the death of her mother, Jean Sackett Warren ’48, October 28, 2010 Ruth Ballard Suddreth ’82 on the death of her mother, Betty Persons Ballard, November 29, 2009 Anne Richardson Seabrook ’82 on the death of her father, Donald Valentine Richardson III, November 26, 2010 Lara A. Wheless ’82 on the death of her mother, Nancy Mitchell Wheless, July 10, 2010 Beth Wilkerson Sytz ’82 on the death of her grandmother, Elizabeth McKoon Hayes, October 25, 2010 Terri Dillard Gowdy ’83 on the death of her father, Frank Edwin Dillard, July 4, 2010 Marjorie Heggie ’83 on the death of her mother, Jane Shoolbred Ball Heggie, January 4, 2010 Shannon MacNutt Zolar ’85 on the death of her mother, Janet Burwell MacNutt, December 29, 2010 Deans Richardson Fawcett ’85 on the death of her father, Donald Valentine Richardson III, November 26, 2010 Angela DiGiulio Davis ’86 on the death of her grandmother, Mary Frances Dunlap, January 2, 2011 Gale Williams Wilson ’86 on the death of her mother, Mary Ann Keefe Williams, September 9, 2010 Sheila Wilkerson Chatto ’87 on the death of her grandmother, Elizabeth McKoon Hayes, October 25, 2010 Lisa Avant ’89 on the death of her sister, Monica Avant Luckie, August 2, 2010 Catherine Lake Cauthen ’89 on the death of her sister, Elizabeth Cauthen McLean ’88, October 18, 2010

MARRIAGE Kappy Derrick Cannon ’83 to Steve Steck, November 13, 2010

CAREER CHANGES The Rev. Liz Lewis Schellingerhoudt ’82, Associate for Outreach and Pastoral Care, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Atlanta, GA Elise Neil Bengtson ’83, Development Consultant, Hillsborough County Public Schools, Tampa, FL

CLASS OF 1980 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend 2015 Holly Holstein Caprell 205 Wagoncreek Drive Simpsonville, SC 29681, 864.963.5857 holly.gcyo@gmail.com Liz Hughes 6520 Bentridge Drive Charlotte, NC 28226, 704.364.5205 ncclassicdesign@aol.com Margaret Craig Schafer 260 Danbury Lane Atlanta, GA 30327, 404.705.8562 ga.schafers@comcast.net Tapp Hancock won a $10,000 PG&E grant for her 5/6th grade Gate class to have a FORMULA 1 Solar car race at her school. They will have 33 entries and car pits where her students will explain how they made their cars, why they work and why they think they are going to win. Way to go Tapp! Cathy Perry Maddux and husband Tom moved from VA to Davidson, NC. Their younger son, Andy, graduated from Wofford in May and lives in Atlanta working for SunTrust Bank. Older son Tom is a 1st Lieutenant in the Army, commanding a combat dive team based in VA. Betsy Gant Wittenmyer’s son John is a musician in Austin, TX. Check out his MySpace for his stage name, Waldo Wittenmyer. Margaret is a freshman at Harvard after spending a “gap year” in Greece and Austin, where she worked on an organic farm.

Anna is a high school sophomore and enjoys field hockey, soccer and most of all, her friends.

Betsy’s niece, Olivia Gant, will graduate from Converse this spring. Our thoughts have been with Leigh Warren Mycoff after a harrowing accident in Wales while they attended the Ryder Cup this fall. We are glad she is doing better and was able to enjoy her daughter’s wedding in November. Louise Bixler Moore is in transition from Charlotte to WinstonSalem, NC. She and Rick sold their home in Charlotte, NC. Right now, with Rick working in Winston and her business in Charlotte, they are currently splitting time between Charlotte, Winston Salem and Blowing Rock, NC. Kat Anderson Danze’s identical twin boys just

turned 21. Husband Tom had quite a scare in 2009 with a subarachnoid hemorrhage but lived to tell about it and serves on the local school board in Lexington, NC. Kat is no longer a showroom designer for the High Point Furniture Market but is doing redesign and home staging.

CLASS OF 1981 30th Reunion - April 15-16, 2011 Lanie Folline Epting 146 River Birch Lane Columbia, SC 29206, 803.787.5359 Lepting@mindspring.com Martha Bell Smith 124 Hampton Crest Trail Columbia, SC 29209, 803.783.6684 mbsmith458@sc.rr.com

30TH

REUNION

Janna Thomas Malchow’s son Lee played Wake Forest football while son Marshall is at BAMA doing football recruiting. Janna has a grocery cart handle cover patent! See www. buggyshield.com Ruthie Jones Soliday sees Jane Rinehart Crosby’s daughter Retta, who teaches at her son’s Charleston school. Ruthie had private tours of submarines in San Diego with Beth Reaves Burroughs, whose husband is an Admiral! Julie Burton Reed says her oldest just got a PhD. Rhonda Hays Brandon is in Nashville. Daughter Hays works for Coca Cola, Alexandra works in Dallas, TX, and son Bailey is at SMU. Gay Parks Dilz’s son Jimmy got his Eagle Rank! He built wood duck boxes for a state park and got a note from the ranger that ducks nested in seven boxes! Sally Jeter Hammond and Marianna MacIntyre Taylor love working at Converse and Wofford respectively. Sally says that Cornelia Christian’s boys are taller than she is! Libby Campbell Patterson stays busy with Bible study, book club and seeing both girls at Clemson. Edith Hopkins Collins upgraded to senior judge with US Sailing and worked events throughout the South. Cindy Rush Magrath’s son is doing his residency while wife Ashley teaches high school. Daughter Ashley also teaches and son Richard is finishing a masters in accountancy. Susan McCormac Bennett’s daughter Anna joined Converse friends to form a harp, violin and soprano trio called “Celtic Harmony.” Terry Alexander lives in Wilmington, NC and Pinehurst. She does Wall Street outsourcing from a renovated textile factory. Linda Frierson Perrow has a Wofford daughter and Clemson son. Donna Broyles Glazer’s Lauren is excelling at Tulane. Martha Bell Smith’s boys perform at Furman while pursuing hard degrees. We (Lanie) had a rough fall with daughter Elaine visiting colleges and son Blaire having multiple brain surgeries, but difficult times mean we treasure friends more!

See YOU at our REUNION! Darius Rucker will be in concert Saturday night!

(Continued)

CLASS NOTES

(Continued)

CLASS OF 1982 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2012 Becky Nutter Cassidy 3320 Calumet Street Columbus, OH 43202, 614.261.6401 racassidy@sbcglobal.net Holly Beach Hussey 2910 Roxburgh Drive Roswell, GA 30076; 770.619.3369 hbh123@att.net Many thanks to Beth Cunningham Gault for answering the plea for news! Beth has been with an interior design firm in Rock Hill, SC for almost five years. Her daughter, Elizabeth, graduated from Presbyterian College and is a first year graduate student at Southern College of Optometry in Memphis. Beth had a visit from Kathryn Brakmann Daniel this summer.

They took a walk on the wild side and got last minute tickets to the Paul McCartney concertstill making memories after all these years! Pat Lawson Haney’s daughter, Caroline, spent her fall semester in Shanghi with a group from Wofford. Pat’s son, Jesse, is a student at Western Carolina. I got a beautiful Christmas card from Toni Stokes Starks, who wrote that her daughter Jacqueline and her husband recently bought their first house in Mt. Pleasant, SC. In October Anne Richardson Seabrook’s husband, Dr. March Seabrook, was awarded The Order of the Palmetto for his outstanding dedication to educating and creating awareness for colorectal cancer throughout South Carolina. Congratulations March! After years of moving with Chip’s career and raising Caroline and Richard, I have gone back to work! It was perfect timing with Chip traveling so much and the children away. I am a special education assistant in my neighborhood elementary school and I love it.

Happy New Year- Holly

CLASS OF 1983 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2013 Barbara Lindsay Hines 4400 N. Cooper Lake Road SE Smyrna, GA 30082, 770.438.2018 robbarb@bellsouth.net Tammy Boatwright Duryea is working as a CFO; she has four daughters and three granddaughters. Tammy and husband Dan, got together with Kappy Derrick Steck and her new husband, Steve. Beth Ann Jones Julseth works where Tammy works.

“BassAnn” and husband, Ron, have two children: Carter (15) and son, Hunter. Beth Ann had brunch with Constance Ness, who lives in Jacksonville FL. Alicia Cremins

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Coleman is working at ECPI College of Technology and Medical Careers Institute in Manassas, VA as the afternoon/evening librarian. Caroline Dale Rothfield and family moved close to Baltimore, MA for Ken’s job and she just finished a two-year stint as PTA President. Caroline now serves on the Howard County Board of Health. Elise Neil Bengston and her family are living in Tampa, FL. She has two girls, Maggie and Ava. Jane Reynolds Hall and Tim are out in the country with a number of horses, dogs and cats! Daughter Brooks graduated from Auburn; son Timothy is a junior at Alabama majoring in mechanical engineering; and son, Jordan, is a junior in high school. Elizabeth McDonald Dunn and Jack live in Birmingham, AL. Their oldest, Jay (20) is a college junior; Cole (17), a junior in high school; and daughter Adelaide (15) is in the 9th grade. Elizabeth works for a non-profit corporation that encourages adoption in the Alabama Foster Care System. Lauri Wiggins VanDeusen and husband, John, and girls Ashton and Caroline live in Mount Pleasant, SC. Marilee Gregory Chapman and John celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary this year. Daughter, Samantha, graduated from Converse with a BFA in Interior Design.

Daughter Alyssa is a senior at Alabama; Jason is a freshman at USC and plays soccer for the Gamecocks. Thanks to Lou Pitman Lindsey for taking on the first half of the class notes for us. You did a great job!

CLASS OF 1984 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2014 Jody Cole wildfair@aol.com Lynn Gully Orlando 919.931.5923 lynn.orlando@magellancharter.org Kevin Jenkins Plonk 704.477.8220 kjplonk@yahoo.com Happy New Year to all! We wish you all a 2011 filled with joy, good health, peace, true friendships and prosperity. Here is some news, but we would like to hear more from our fellow classmates. Remember we have a Facebook page: Converse Class of 1984, so you can post news there. Allison Sutton Fuqua’s daughter, Sarah Randall, traveled to Europe while her other daughter, Caroline, is on a study abroad program through Clemson in Austria. Allison Owens Stanland and her son, Causey (17) spent two weeks exploring Alaska where they hiked glaciers, kayaked among icebergs, halibut fished and even saw Sarah Palin. Allison also attended her 30th high school reunion in Alabama where she ran into Kirsten Jones Moorman and Jody Cole. After reconnecting at our last Converse

reunion, Louise Springs Smith, Kim White O’Quinn, Laura Campbell Brown and Mary Milling Alexander have regular gettogethers. They met at Laura’s in Shenandoah Valley and then in the NC Mountains. Karen Waters Thomas’ daughter, Kristen will be a 2012 Converse graduate. Jody Cole is off to Tanzania to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for charity. Lynn Gully Orlando is anticipating where her oldest daughter, Taylor, will attend college. That is all for now; we would love to hear any exciting news, so we can share all the wonderful events and happenings.

CLASS OF 1985 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2015 Krisila Newman Foster 225 Mountain Range Road Boiling Springs, SC 29316, 864.814.6852 krisilafoster@charter.net Vandy Major McFaddin 201 Clamp Road Blythewood, SC 29016, 803.333.8956 vmcfaddin@bellsouth.net LeAnne Rowland O’Donnell 901 Willow Oak Court Nashville, TN 37221, 615.673.6302 lrodonnell@comcast.net Jeanne O’Neall Robinson’s sons, Neal (22) is a senior at Presbyterian College and Walt (19) is a freshman at USC. Deborah Rogers, Annie Gray Roberts, Lora Scott Diaz and Betty Snell Wells spent a girls’ weekend at Claire Efird’s Montreat home. I tried to get details but their motto is “what happens in the mountains stays in the mountains.”

Deborah’s sons, Spencer (15) and Barrett (13) are working on Eagle Scout projects.

Deborah works with Circle Park Behavioral Health Services in Florence, SC as their AET Coordinator. (Alcohol Enforcement Team) Julia Ivey Cagle and Kelley Maloney Liggitt went through home renovations at their respective homes last fall. Tem and Vandy Major McFaddin visited Amy Kimbro Thomas and her family at their beach house in Florida this summer. Amy’s daughter, Caroline, is a freshman at Furman and loves it. Amy Salyers Ady and Marc are proud of their oldest son, Matthew, for making the Dean’s List for his first semester of college at Stetson University! Marc and Amy celebrated their 26th wedding anniversary December 26th!!! Anne Weston Walker lives in Orange Beach, AL. and is a National Board Certified Reading Coach at Orange Beach Elementary School and is working on a second Master’s in dyslexia therapy with hopes of opening a private practice. She has a sophomore son at The Citadel, a daughter who is a sophomore in high school. Elisabeth Green Church and Brad have moved to Raleigh, NC where Brad runs The Royal Bank of Canada’s US mortgage

division (RBC here). Meg is a happy freshman at the University of Georgia in Athens, GA. Bradford, junior at Vanderbilt, studied at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland last fall.

Elisabeth and Brad visited him in November.

CLASS OF 1986 25th Reunion - April 15-16, 2011 Kristy Ann Gillmann 2325 Hurst Drive NE Atlanta, GA 30305 kristygillmann@hotmail.com Betsy Mamoulides Hockaday 103 Tenbury Wells Drive Cary, NC 27511, 919.363.2640 betsyhockaday@nc.rr.com

25TH

RE2NION

Do not miss our 25th class reunion on April 15 and 16. Make plans now to attend!!! You do not want to miss it.

CLASS OF 1987 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2012 Elizabeth Smoak Groce 123 Woodland Way Greenville, SC 29601, 864.232.2641 egroce@woodwardmedical.org Lynn Dye Smith 3067 Walton Way Ext. Augusta, GA 30909, 706.737.2886 lynndsmith@comcast.net

CLASS OF 1988 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2013 Kristi Klim Holler 900 Raven Road Rock Hill, SC 29732 jandkholler@comporium.net Alice Fuller Littlejohn 225 Randall Street Greenville, SC 29609 alkenlj@charter.net For all you Facebook-ers, the Class of 1988 has a page called Converse College Class of 1988. Kim Davis Buchanan and family moved to Greenville, SC where her husband Furman took a job as rector of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church. Stacie Olexy Sharp and family were grateful to move into their newly rebuilt home shortly before Christmas.

In addition to the construction, the kids’ activities, volunteer duties and her parttime work have kept her quite busy. Ashlin Blanchard Potterfield reports daughter Linsy was a JV Cheerleader at Heathwood Hall, and the family enjoyed vacations in Hawaii and New Orleans. Christmas cards from Stacie, Ashlin, Kristin Austin Smith, Barbara Dekle Lauff, Sydney Jordan Warren and Becky DuBard Grantland arrived with great photos of growing children, many of whom are or will be driving soon. In the Holler household, we

now have a 16-year-old driver (son John). It is both wonderful (that he can drive himself to basketball and band practice) and terrifying for all the obvious reasons. Knowing son Hughes will be 15 shortly and we will have another driver is no help. I am staying on my toes with my treasury management job and my “second career” handling the bookkeeping for husband John’s business. The Class of 1988 was saddened to learn of the passing of Elizabeth Cauthen McLean. We were fortunate that our years at Converse were punctuated with her kindness, beautiful smile and unforgettable laugh. Her strength and faith during her illness and transplant journey were an inspiration, and she will be deeply missed.

CLASS OF 1989

business in Katy, Texas has been nominated for Rookie Franchise of the year. She and husband Ken have worked hard and are pleased with the recognition of their efforts.

Joy Johnson enjoyed a weekend visit with Tracey Moylan O’Malley and her darling little girl Anna (3) at Tracey’s home in Athens, GA. We all enjoy Margaret Boyd Franklin’s Facebook updates about the wonders of living in Alaska- including how to teach your dog to walk on a treadmill when it’s too cold to go out for a walk! Margaret invites everyone to come visit but highly recommends waiting until summer.

Remember when...1988

Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2014 Wallace Davison 1720 Wandering Way Drive Charlotte, NC 28226, 704.366.1631 wallacedavison@yahoo.com Joy Johnson 1850 N Elm Street Greensboro, NC 27408, 336.370.9709 nisajoyj@yahoo.com Rawles Terrell Kelly 3139 Shillington Place Charlotte, NC 28210, 704.552.8604 k_rawles@bellsouth.net The Class of 1989 is very proud of our successful campaign to donate a Centennial Courtyard to the College. Hopefully many generations of Converse students will enjoy it. You can still contribute—any additional monies will go to the maintenance and upkeep. Angela Denton-Rachel moved into a new home in Athens, GA in May. Angela’s husband is still working at UGA and Angela is Director of the CCF. Children Abby (5) and Dylan (3) are happy and healthy.

Angela says Abby is a girlie girl who is already dispensing fashion advice to her mother. Becky Register Redmond and her husband have a happy houseful with their five children. Rawles Terrell Kelly, Lisa Wimberly Allen, Wallace Davison and Tania McDuffie attended the 100th birthday celebration of the music school together. They enjoyed performances by Stacie Haneline, Richard Troxel ’88 and Kimilee Bryant ’88 and were excited to chat with them after the show.

Rawles and Wallace also connected with Catherine Cauthen and Elizabeth Booth Bivens for a girls night out in Charlotte, NC this fall.

Parker Derrick Knapp’s new Tutor Doctor (Continued)

CLASS NOTES

Connie Rader Clark ’90 MEd on the death of her husband, Larry M. Clark, December 20, 2009 Amy MacNutt Sharon ’90 on the death of her mother, Janet Burwell MacNutt, December 29, 2010 Ashley Burnside Brantley ’92 on the death of her stepfather, Guy Matthews Tarrant, Jr., March 20, 2010 Camri Klinger Monaghan ’96 on the death of her mother, Toni Morris Klinger, August 21, 2010 Komilla Bhatty John ’97 on the death of her father, Azhar M. Bhatty, November 12, 2010 Stephanie Easterday Bartuch ’98 on the death of her father, Robert McQuay Easterday, December 15, 2009 Erin Rich Strickland ’98 on the death of her mother, Laurice Weed Rich, July 17, 2010 Rachel Burgess Van Gorden ’99 on the death of her father, Robert Burgess, Jr., December 2, 2010 Kathryn Hoy Kauffman ’99 on the death of her grandmother, Mary Emily Platt Jackson, ’42, December 11, 2010 Ann Mullins Johnson ’99 on the death of her mother, Elizabeth Hugus Mullins, December 22, 2010 Sarah Power Love ’99 on the death of her infant son, Matthew Evan Love, August 4, 2010

Brayden Charles Haynes, October 14, 2010, son of Ben and Kim Kitchin Haynes ’95 Vivien Elizabeth Spake, May 8, 2010, daughter of Michael and May Lucia Solomon Spake ’95 MacLean Faircloth Fulmer, July 27, 2010, son of Jamie and Katherine Colburn Fulmer ’96 Katherine Baines Lancaster, October 15, 2010, daughter of Andy and Beth Farmer Lancaster ’96 Micah Grant Beaufort, October 22, 2009, son of Jonathan and Crista Smith Beaufort ’97 Jennings Parsons, September 10, 2010, son of Kent and Shannon Campbell Parsons ’98 Joseph Anthony Bartuch IV, November 9, 2010, son of Joseph and Stephanie Easterday Bartuch ’98 Patrick Anderson Conner, August 6, 2010, son of Jamie and Mary Ellen Goff Conner ’98 Adele Martha Waldrop, December 30, 2010, daughter of Mark and Lynn Hudson Waldrop ’98 Grant Sullivan, September 2, 2010, son of Mark and Fran Jordan Sullivan ’98 Margaret Calhoun Dorn, July 2, 2010, daughter of Lee and Alice Miller Dorn ’98 Mayes Elizabeth Jeffries Unger, June 24, 2010, daughter of Jay and Betsy Pringle Unger ’98 Ellison Reese Taylor, June 4, 2010, daughter of Barry and Kristen Pruitt Taylor ’98 Lawrence Abney Wilson and Alexander Cres Wilson, November 1, 2010, twin sons of Reed and Emily Smith Wilson ’98 Claire Abigail Gaines, July 29, 2010, daughter of Jerry and Erin Addington Gaines ’99

Marriages

Career Changes

In Memoriam Janey Short Simpson ’91, September 15, 2009 Leigh Anne Ward ’97, August 17, 2010

Sympathy

Melissa Sanders ’90 to Daniel Mostiler, August 28, 2010 Keri Knecht ’95 to Thomas Grosso, August 7, 2010 Melissa Lynn Van Doren ’97 to Richard Weaver, October 2, 2010 Virginia Elizabeth Benton ’98 to Robert Morris Gdovin, Jr., June 19, 2010 Christine Brown ’98 to Marshall Banks Wilkins, August 21, 2010 Melanie Jolley Johnson ’98, ’02 MEd to George Glenn Matthews, III, November 24, 2010 Shwetha Sathy Gupta ’99 to Jeff Silver, October 17, 2010 Katherine Nicole Medlock ’99 to Brian Jeffrey Scott, July 10, 2010 Elizabeth Renee Thompson ’99 to Abraham David Dabbs, August 20, 2010

Births Lane Clark Willis, April 22, 2010, son of Pete and Dalinda Peek Willis ’90

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Gwynne Brown Goodlett ’90, Senior Policy Analyst, USC School of Law - Children’s Law Center, Columbia, SC Ginger Corbin Church ’92, Assistant Director of the Converse Annual Fund, Converse College, Spartanburg, SC Keri Knecht Grosso ’95, Minister of Music, Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Norwood, MA Christi L. Lewis ’95, Lead Orchestra Teacher, Richland County School District One, Columbia, SC Mary Lucia Solomon Spake ’95, Director of Outreach and Clinical Eduator, Augusta Hospice, Augusta, GA Emily Gowdy Canady ’97, Program Officer for Youth, College Campus and Young Adult Ministries of East Carolina, Kinston, NC Nikki Willoughby ’97, Common Cause, Washington, DC Deanne Tyner Frye ’99, Director of Career Services, Coker College, Hartsville, SC

Advanced Degrees Colette Beckett ’92, MS, Capella University, 2009 Semeika Yolanda McIntyre ’99, ’05 MAT, MEd, Winthrop University, 2010

CLASS OF 1990 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2015 Rosemary Glaze Sullivan 14 Southington Overton, Hamphsire RG25 3DA, England mamiesullivan@hotmail.co.uk Cheryl Owens Verdell 138 Samantha Drive Inman, SC 29349 dverdell@bellsouth.net

Lesa Underwood did a three-week home exchange in The Cotswolds, and had a fabulous time enjoying the countryside.

Claire Bramlett Dehmer was in Charleston over Thanksgiving and got together with Lesa for lunch. Ann Morrow Boyd is doing great in Asheville, NC. She and Adam stay busy with Mary Page (a junior in high school), Joe (freshman), and Hank (6th grade). Debbie Currin Connor was honored by The Sun News as an Exceptional Woman of the Coastal Carolinas in their fall issue of Home Living.

Congratulations also go out to our own classmate Elizabeth Rogers Munnerlyn for winning District 54 representative in the SC House! Tina Archer Hope and her husband Willy are staying busy and musical in Champaign, IL with Emanuel (13) and Marina (10). Rosemary Walton Sullivan is working on her Masters in Educational Studies, Hearing Impairment while teaching four days a week. Nancy Phillips Coleman and Chriss celebrated their 20-year anniversary. They are living in Gainesville, FL with daughter, Hannah (11). Amy MacNutt Sharon is busy in Valdosta, GA, with her two boys and working part-time for her husband. She has recently completed her 17th marathon.

Jennifer Bengston Cook lives in Greenville, SC. She drove her two kids to Valdosta, GA over the summer to spend time with Nancy Phillips Coleman and Amy MacNutt Sharon Rosemary Glaze Sullivan enjoyed a long weekend in Paris in December with her sister Katie and daughter Madeline. Katherine Simmons Bryan’s oldest child, daughter Kate, will start Kindergarten in the fall! The Bryan family went on the Polar Express train ride out of Bryson City, NC, for a Christmas treat.

Connie Rader Clark is trying to cajole her eldest granddaughter to attend at Converse after she finishes her A levels in England.

Please keep in touch on Facebook-Converse College Class of 1990.

CLASS OF 1991 20th Reunion - April 15-16, 2011 20TH REUNION Dorsey Daugette DeLong 3070 Greendale Drive NW Atlanta, GA 30327, 404.609.9405 teamdelong@comcast.net Dianne Prince Swann 711 Lake Drive Snellville, GA 30039, 770.929.0077 dswann@rockdale.k12ga.us What group of people has earned multiple degrees, had multiple children, experienced heartbreaks and won championship poker tournaments? The same group that has sent spouses oversees to war, started their own businesses, hosted children in their home from other countries and writes blogs with over 22,000 page visits (and counting)? This crowd has aided countries in need, been missionaries all over the world and are everything from doctors to designers to photographers and everything in between. These people have lost husbands, children, friends and jobs. They have celebrated weddings, degrees, childbirth, adoptions and shared trips to the beach and mountains. They fly American, rainbow and SEC football flags. They have performed in concert halls and are teachers and principals that roam the halls. They shared a campus, a dining hall, classrooms, and SO much more a short twenty years ago. This is your class, the Class of 1991. They are a remarkable group of fabuolus women and ALL need to come back to Converse in April. I hope to see you there!!

CLASS OF 1992 Next Reunion – Alumnae Weekend 2012 Angela Wilkes Gage 5119 Woodland Hills Drive Brentwood, TN 37027, 615.750.2669 gage0920@comcast.net Anna Wimberly Pierce 34 Carlton Drive NE Atlanta, GA 30342, 404.252.8324 mpierceman@aol.com Mandy McCoy Phillips and her husband Jeff moved back to Santa Barbara, CA from Hawaii and they are enjoying their 2-monthold son, Pierce! Laura McLeod Green and her husband Jimmy are in Memphis for another year and a half while Jimmy completes a Pediatric Surgery Fellowship. Then their plans are to return to Greenville summer of 2012.

Catherine Adams Gallagher moved with her family to Fort Lauderdale, FL this summer.

She is in the process of relaunching her Professional Organizing business here. She helps her clients get their spaces organized for good by teaching them proven methods to get and stay organized. She is a member of both the National Association of Professional

Organizers and the South Florida Chapter of NAPO and she says this is really is her dream job! She travels to work with clients throughout the south, so if someone needs her help go to www.organized4good.org. Her children Patrick (13) and Emma (11 1/2) have adjusted well to their new middle school and her husband Mark is happy selling hurricane impact windows and doors. He has a territory that starts in Boca and goes up the Atlantic coast to Jacksonville calling on window dealers and Home Depots.

CLASS OF 1993 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2013 Maureen Zeeff Dunn Post Office Box 264 Columbia, SC 29202 mczdunn@aol.com Jane Manning Hyatt 2429 Jackson Street, Apt. 3 San Francisco, CA 94115, 415.655.9220 converse1993@hotmail.com Candy Moore 2221 Peachtree Road, NE, Suite D-370 Atlanta, GA 30309 epmoore1993@yahoo.com Suzanne Dornsmith shared news of an awesome retreat that she, Hope Spruell, Shannon Perdue Atwell, Lisa Dunson Stenner, Cheryl Davis, Maureen Zeeff Dunn, Alisa Blanchard, Leslie Fowler Benson, Nancy Jo Dixon Walton, Laura Kennedy and Rena Creech, had at Grandfather Mountain in October 2010.

They gathered to reestablish friendships and to encourage one another. It was also a special time to remember Jan Bridges with an intimate memorial service. Suzanne and Leslie went back to Converse in December for the Festival of Lessons and Carols. It had been 18 years since they last attended during our senior year. They loved every minute of it and hope to make it a tradition. Christi Williamson Pringle shared a very special Christmas memory: “Last year we moved Walt’s grandmother to an assisted living home. The family is slowly going through her attic etc. When they were clearing out, they found her mother’s Converse Y’s and other Y’s yearbook from 1911! I knew that Addie (his grandmother) had attended two years of Converse but had forgotten her mother was a Connie also. I can’t tell you what a wonderful treasure this yearbook is. It sounds very much like the students from 1911 had just as much mischief and giggles as we did. The stories are surprisingly “modern” and the some of the clubs were very mysterious. They also found a painting her mother had done while a student at Converse. ” Everything continues to go well for me in San Francisco; I have seen a few

college buddies during my travels. Shannon Givens Jaynes and I celebrated Shannon’s birthday in Atlanta, GA in September. I was able to see Nancy Rogers Hirschl during a quick trip to Chicago in January.

Jane Manning Hyatt

CLASS OF 1994 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2014 Kristen Harris Cavin 1410 Westhaven Blvd Franklin, TN 37064, 615.591.6795 kristencavin@comcast.net Holly Miller Smith Post Office Bos 522197 Miami, FL, 301.869.3522 hollyinmd@rcn.com Mary Ames Voyles 1013 Oak Creek Drive Spartanburg, SC 29302, 864.585.8591 maryamesv@bellsouth.net

CLASS OF 1995 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2015 Laura Kate Moore Garner 101 Cooper Street, Apt. 4D New York, NY 10034, 646.483.3878 laurakatem@yahoo.com 2010 was an eventful year for many of our classmates. Kim Kitchin Haynes and Catherine Martin Schiller spent a fun weekend at Camp Ton-A-Wandah in Hendersonville, NC where Kim is in charge of the “Grown-up Girls Getaway” event. Kim visits frequently with Bridgett Lee Kennedy.

Kim is also very active in promoting awareness about Angelman Syndrome. Caroline Dilworth Minicozzi is staying busy in Asheville, NC and has been a guest lecturer in behavioral modification. Caroline used her background in psychology to become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and specializes in Autism. Keri Knecht Grosso moved from sunny and warm Tampa, FL to Cape Cod, MA in July. During Keri’s cross-country trek, she visited with several classmates. Lisa Cannon Dillard hosted a dinner in Greer, SC attended

by Keri, Erica Broadnax Pauly and Julia Ohlson Eldred ’96. Next stop on Keri’s trek was Charlotte, NC where she visited with Kathi Phillips Washington. Keri and Kathi had fun catching up and introducing their families to one another. Keri’s final stop was Sandwich, MA on Cape Cod where she got married to Tom Grosso. Laura Kate Moore Garner, and her husband Robert, sang an original composition by Kurt Knecht, Keri’s brother, written especially for the ceremony.

Hope everyone is enjoying a happy and healthy 2011.

(Continued)

CLASS NOTES

(Continued)

CLASS OF 1996 15TH 15th Reunion - April 15-16, 2011 REUNION Pam Hughes Foster 20 Babbs Hollow Road Greenville, SC 29607 pam@usmedals.com Jenny Williams 707 Rutledge Street Spartanburg, SC 29302, 864.573.6018 jennywilliams_99@yahoo.com Kristin Johnson Welsh was promoted to Financial Management Analyst in the Department of Pediatrics at Duke University Medical Center, where she oversees grants for three divisions: Pediatric Rheumatology, Pediatric Nephrology and Pediatric Neurology. Elizabeth Skinner had a fabulous time in England where she purchased three new pairs of shoes at Harrods! Debbie Gardner Guilfoyle has returned to her position with the Upstate Evaluation Center, will be working toward her Equine Assisted Therapy Certification, and is looking forward to her trip to Nevada.

Charlotte Smith moved from London, England to Atlanta, GA, where she and her father have their own food distribution business. In November, she ran the Atlanta Thanksgiving Day Half-Marathon with Claire Marie Benedict Huff. Jenna Aldridge Barrett and husband Thorne have moved into a new home in Columbia, SC where she is finishing her sixth year of teaching at Hammond and husband Thorne has finished his fifth year at Turner, Padget, Graham and Laney. Their son Lake is in 4th grade at Hammond. In October, Jenny Williams, Mary Helen Richbourg Earle ’85, Lathrop Hart Mosley and Pam Hughes Foster enjoyed a wonderful evening at Converse followed by a delicious dinner at the Piedmont Club where we saw Katherine Colburn Fulmer and Carrie Hill Coleman.

In December, Andrea Wyrosdick Creech and Pam enjoyed catching up at the Greenville Converse Alumnae Party at Kim Varnadoe Kent’s (’97) house. Anna Snow Cheek received her NCIDQ certification and has a professional membership with the American Society of Interior Design (ASID).

She owns Cheek Interiors in Anderson, SC. In October Anna, Page Vaughan Keller, Jennifer Minor Tuckwiller, Elizabeth McLean Brown, Amy Shipman Elkins and Mary Ellen Kastelic spent the weekend on Folly Beach, SC! They spoke with Heidi Ruehl by phone, while on a business trip in China!

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CLASS OF 1997

CLASS OF 1999

Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2012 Catherine Alexander Girard 1812 Savage Drive Plano, TX 75023, 214.789.7475 crgirard@gmail.com Shannon Gosnell Bishop 331 Gramercy Boulevard Spartanburg, SC 29301, 864.576.1069 bishop1069@charter.net Jennifer Coggins Reese 117 Sun Valley Drive Boiling Springs, SC 29316, 864.599.5383 jennifer.reese@spartanburg2.k12.sc.us

Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2014 Stephanie Eldridge Avakian 12932 Kings Lake Drive Gibsonton, FL 33534, 813.677.6518 moonshine913@hotmail.com Emily Harbin 328 Lake Forest Drive Spartanburg, SC 29307, 864.529.0462 eharbin@gmail.com Jennifer Marie Nockels 323 Stillwater Circle Boiling Springs, SC 29316, 864.583.5236 nockels@aol.com

Hadley Rowland eagerly anticipates her graduation from Boston University in May with her Master of Arts in Art Education.

She joined Catherine Alexander Girard and Nikki Willoughby in November to help celebrate Missy Van Doren Weaver’s wedding at their reception in the DC area. Missy wed Richard in Englefield, England and was able to spend time in Iceland, England, Portugal and the Azore Islands before taking a cruise back to the US across the Atlantic Ocean.

Sarah Farnaby and Desiree Bradley House travelled to Las Vegas to attend the wedding of Elizabeth Thompson Dabbs. Alvetta Smith has been living in Tokyo, Japan since the end of August performing at the Broadway Music Theater at the Tokyo Disney Resort. She was also a contestant on the Fox television show “Don’t Forget the Lyrics” hosted by Mark McGrath.

Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with Kelly Hammond Crawley as she undergoes stem cell transplants for her non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Jennifer Lovett Rackely enjoyed a nice trip to the Grand Canyon with her family over Thanksgiving. Sarah Farnaby and Rachel Burgess Van Gorden took a trip to beautiful Barbados over Thanksgiving.

Twenty of our classmates gathered in Atlanta, GA in October to celebrate Shwetha Gupta Silver’s wedding. In attendance were: Emily Harbin, Emily Koon, Jennifer Nockels, Stephanie Eldridge Avakian, Carey Dancho Merriweather, Sarah Farnaby, Beth Robbins Cooper, Jennifer Lovett Rackley, Katie Scheuer Hopper, Angel Gainey Eicher, Kimberly Howell Clobes, Allison Block, Elizabeth Thompson Dabbs, Marcie Vance Porter, Nikki Maples Reynolds, Desiree Bradley House, Meryl Grant, Jill Harris, Carol Cancienne and Erin Randle Foil.

CLASS OF 1998 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2013 Shannon Gordy Haynes 20 Sunset Drive LaGrange, GA 30240, 706.882.7189 littleheartsoflagrange@yahoo.com Laura Matthews Pappas 13710 Harcum Road Phoenix, MD 21131, 410.667.0203 lpappas@entertainment.com Anita Price Davis reports that Erin Kaschub Fuentes has two recent publications: “Breakfast with a Friend.” Chicken Soup for the Soul. Edited

by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, and Amy Newmark. Cos Cob, CT: Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, 2010. and “Sticky Notes Prayers.” The Breakthrough Intercessor: The Magazine about Prayer. Summer 2010. Pages 6-7.

Converse Alumnae at wedding of Shwetha Gupta Silver ’99 in Atlanta, GA.

In Memoriam Linda Horton Belue ’04 MEd, September 30, 2010 Alice Arlene Milligan ’04 MAT, June 25, 2010

SYMPATHY Mary Kinsey Hicks Hyche ’00 on the death of her father, Dr. James Miley Hicks, December 10, 2010 Bridgett M. Vergara ’01 on the death of her mother, Margaret Mary Thompson Vergara, June 26, 2010 Amanda Lentz Lozada-Hernandez ’02 on the death of her brother, David Wyatt Lentz, November 10, 2010 April M. Vergara ’02 on the death of her mother, Margaret Mary Thompson Vergara, June 26, 2010 Quinn Burgin Saleeby ’04 on the death of her mother, Katherine Royster Burgin, July 13, 2010 Mackall Hill Gantt ’04 on the death of her grandfather, John Mackall Gantt, Sr., August 3, 2010 Joella Jordan Utley ’07 MMus on the death of her son, Benjamin Tyler Utley, December 4, 2010 Catherine Crockett ’08 on the death of her grand-mother, Mildred Walker Lackey, August 20, 2010

MARRIAGES Katherine Theresa Landon ’02 to William Bradley Fitch, July 10, 2010 Elizabeth Holliday Smith ’02 to Jesse Witt Cannon, November 13, 2010 Jennifer Nicole Bradley ’03 to William Winston Hoy, III, October 9, 2010 Katie Ingram Caston ’03 to John Robert O’Connor, November 13, 2010 Danielle Marie Shull ’03 to Jared Trantham Rebecca Poston ’04 to Ellis Creel, November 14, 2010 Kara Rachelle Hagood ’05 to Michael David DiPrima, September 10, 2010 James Scott Aughtry ’07 MAT to Katherine Elizabeth Ross, July 10, 2010 Gabrielle Amaris Freeman ’07 to Marcus Jermanne’ Hudson, June 5, 2010 Sarah Javdan-Inalloo ’07 to David Beal Chastain, December 10, 2010 Hannah Ruth Eisengrein ’08 to Joshua Leftwich, May 2010 Shannan Suttles Mintz ’08 to Joel Gilreath, August 7, 2010 Leala Christine Shishakly ’08 to Adam Blakeley Christina Joan Enter ’09 to John Seth Paxton, July 10, 2010 Rachel Lynn Harmon ’09 to Robbie Robles, July 10, 2010

Heather Jo Hawkins ’09 to Josh Shields Bailey Anne Lanford ’09 to Robert Hutchinson Taylor, III, August 28, 2010 Elisabeth “Elly” Marie MacPhail ’09 to Jonathan Keyser, November 7, 2010 Julie Anna Seils ’09 to Sean Robert Ogren, June 21, 2010 Tori Elizabeth Worthy ’09 to Mac Miller, August 7, 2010

Maggie Teague Prochak, April 30, 2010, daughter of Steve and Lauren Teague Prochak ’05 Molly Kathryn Moyer, October 25, 2010, daughter of Bryan and Molly Stoehr Moyer ’06 Aurora Renee Ogren, December 21, 2010, daughter of Sean and Julie Seils Ogren ’09

BIRTHS

Marion Sibley Yates ’01, Registered Nurse, Huntington Beach Hospital, Huntington Beach, CA Katie Landon Fitch ’02, Director of Children and Family, Second Presbyterian Church, Knoxville, TN Elizabeth Oswalt ’02, Project Coordinator, Blackbaud, Cooper City, FL Jennifer E. Wofford ’02, Medical Records Manager, Wildewood Downs, Columbia, SC Kristen Koteles Moore ’05, Senior Data Warehouse Administrator, ACAcceptance, Greer, SC Danica Lance ’05, Resident Director, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA Amanda Burgess George ’06, Coordinator of the Student Success and Technology Center and Professional Writing Tutor, HorryGeorgetown Technical College, Myrtle Beach, SC Nikki Castle ’06, Capital Campaign Coordinator, Nashville Public Library, Nashville, TN Anna Caroline Harris ’07, Assistant Professor of English, Marshall University, Huntington, WV Kelsy Nichols Drozd ’07, Internal Auditor, ViaSat, Carlsbad, CA Molly Elizabeth Smith Kellam ’07, Interpreter, Owens-Thomas House with Telfair Museums, Savannah, GA Saide Barlow ’09, Spanish Teacher, Christiansburg High School, Christiansburg, VA

Edward Fuller Easterling, August 25, 2010, son of Brad and Elizabeth Anne Fuller Easterling ’00 Jack Denver Powell III, June 13, 2010, son of J.D. and Kerri Tucker Powell ’00 Sophie Marie Kirklin, November 2, 2010, daughter of Adam and Nicole Koch Kirklin ’01 Lauren Prentice Winkler, December 15, 2010, daughter of Donny and Stephanie Livesay Winkler ’01 Maia Eve-Marie Valdez, November 24, 2010, daughter of Anthony and Lydia Noland Valez ’01 Ryan Elizabeth Comer, January 14, 2011, daughter of Mark and Ginny Redman Comer ’01 Henry Jacob Dittman, October 11, 2010, son of Jason and Kristen Cheeseman Dittman ’02 Zebedee Bryan McCollum, August 13, 2010, son of Matt and Dorothea Garner McCollum ’02 Ethan Harmon Thomasson, June 5, 2010, son of Brian and Amanda Harmon Thomasson ’02 Brooklyn Mae Brannen, May 18, 2010, daughter of Eric Michael and Melissia Heatherly Brannen ’03 Brooks Eric Sanderson, May 21, 2010, son of Eric and Robyn Hill Sanderson ’03 Rhema Love Dahl, November 6, 2010, daughter of Jared and Sarah Rowan Dahl ’03 Elaina Glen Sobus, June 12, 2010, daughter of Jon and Ryan Summerford Sobus ’03 Sydni Rae Henderson, September 10, 2010, daughter of Chad and Diah Thompson Henderson ’03 Katherine Olivia Greene, November 3, 2010, daughter of Douglas and Sare Hale Greene ’04 Henry North Strickland, January 4, 2010, son of Adam and Genevieve Leaman Strickland ’04 Anna Kathryn Britt, September 1, 2010, daughter of Ryan and Jennifer Johnsey Britt ’05 Calleigh McMakin Wright, February 27, 2010, daughter of Lance and Briana Johnson Wright ’05 Naomi Ava Clausen, August 9, 2010, daughter of Andrew and Inbal Stein Clausen ’05

CAREER CHANGES

ADVANCED DEGREES Dareth Alexander Kovaleski ’00, MEd, Furman University, 2010 Brooke Rucker-Naidu ’00, MS, John Hopkins University, 2009 Felica Lynn Torres ’01, MBA, Strayer University, 2010 Erin Kathaleen Norton ’03, MBA, Winthrop University, 2010 Ylanda Evette Lindsey ’05, MA, Webster University, 2010 Manjula Warad Shivputra Janardhan ’05, DPM, Midwestern University, 2010 Sarah Rebecca Spigner ’05, Postgraduate Diploma, Manchester Metropolitan University, 2010 Lauren Teague Prochak ’05, Masters +30, The University of the Cumberlands, 2010 Patricia Wyatt De Orio ’05, Mmed, University of Maryland, 2009 (Continued)

CLASS NOTES

(Continued)

Brittany Harrelson ’07, MAT, Converse College, 2010 Anna Caroline Harris ’07, MFA, Wichita State University, 2010 Grace Wepner Ludtke ’07, MSW, Winthrop University, 2010 Maddie G. Boyd ’08, MEd, Converse College, 2010 Myra Hendley ’08, MMFT, Converse College, 2010 Candice Kunze ’08, LMT, Virginia School of Massage Therapy, 2009 Sarah W. Marion 08, MS, University of NC Greensboro, 2010 Sarah C. Walters ’08, MPP, The College of William and Mary, 2010

CLASS OF 2000 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2015 Amanda Crane Cox 8 Grouse Ridge Way Greenville, SC 29617, 864.294.6403 acranecox@yahoo.com Kiley Ellen Rikard 708 East Church Street Monroe, GA 30655, 770.266.7460 kileyrikard@hotmail.com Happy New Year, fellow Pink Panthers! We enjoyed hearing about your exciting year! Deanna Fults is joining with Elizabeth Langford Hansen, Stephanie Borick Grace and Angel Gainey Eicher ’99 for a trip to NYC! Elizabeth has also moved from Lamprey Healthcare, Inc. to the classroom as a professor of accounting at University of New Hampshire! Dana Luttrell Garner took a job at Charleston Southern for next year in the same field.

Dareth Alexander Kovaleski continues

to teach fifth grade at Plain Elementary in Simpsonville, SC. Samantha Taylor is now a licensed real estate agent! Lynn James Galloway welcomed her third boy, James Kemper, to her family, joining Brogdon and Milling. Brandy Eargle Putnam is looking forward to the new year as she plans her upcoming wedding in September on the coast of South Carolina. Stephanie Elizondo Craft continues to live in Japan with her husband, Gabe and daughter Violet and is hoping to visit the states soon! Kiley got to hang out with Jessica Eggiman in DC, where Jessica is currently living and working. Kiley regularly sees Susanna Knight Roberts, Jennifer Frith and Laura Phillips in Atlanta, GA! We love hearing all that you guys are up to and especially seeing your lives unfold on Facebook through pictures! Keep in touch, and happy 2011!

CLASS OF 2001

10TH 10th Reunion - April 15-16, 2011 REUNION Andrea Boltz 1300 Longcreek Drive, Apt. 1812 Columbia, SC 29210, 864.238.6947 andi330@gmail.com Stephanie Livesay Winkler 114 Grindstone Way Anderson, SC 29625, 864.287.4088 livesaywinkler@hotmail.com Jennifer Woodruff 15 Dunlap Street, Apt. 4 Brunswick, ME 04011 Lewiston, ME 04240 jenny.woodruff@gmail.com Rebecca Crandall is working at Olive & Olive in Durham, NC. Maryeah Jager Kramer and her husband Matt hosted a New Year’s party, including Rebecca Crandall and

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CLASS OF 2002 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2012 Laura L. Causey 450 Orion Avenue Metairie, LA 70005, 504.813.9413 llcausey@yahoo.com Kerri L. Olson 2213 NE 13th Place Renton, WA 98056, 612.730.6087 kerri.olson@delta.com Kerri Olson and Elizabeth Oswalt traveled to Charleston, SC, for a weekend in September to visit Kathy Seay Welborn and see her brand new house! Tiffany Thornton moved back to New York City. Katie Landon’s wedding in July was held at 2nd Presbyterian Church, where Brad and Katie are members and Katie works as Director of Children and Family.

Marci Marinelli Wayman of Nashville, TN served as a picture perfect Matron of Honor.

Kim Maddox Allen ’89 read scripture, along with her husband Bret. Anna Owens ’09 served as one of the phenomenal soloists.

Other Connies in attendance included: Kathy Seay Welborn and Elizabeth Oswalt.

CLASS OF 2003

Alumnae Event

Washington, DC Alumnae Event on November 17, 2010.

her husband, Ami Price and her husband, Stacey Mulligan and Marcella Palmer.

Maryeah, Stacey, Ami and Rebecca went to visit Stephanie Livesay Winkler, her husband Donnie, and their new baby, Lauren.

Ami Price and Laura Massey Crawford and their husbands went to Ireland in October.

Jason and Rebecca Crandall visited the Galapagos Islands and Mexico this year.

Rebecca was stepped on by a baby sea lion, and a penguin bumped into her—the wildlife was amazing! Jackie DeLong Jones hosted a baby shower for Stephanie in October.

Maryeah and Rebecca attended.

Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2013 Megan Russell Bates 208 Wilson Road Anderson, SC 29625, 864.231.7687 gem1813@hotmail.com Melissia Heatherly Brannen 225 Timbergate Drive Lexington, SC 29073, 803.338.7999 melissia_heatherly@yahoo.com Allison Turner Watson 24 H Street Inman, SC 29349, 864.472.5809 alisontwatson@converse.com

Reunion 2010 Class of 2000

Sarah Rowan Dahl is still living at Maroubra Beach in Sydney, Australia. Sarah got her first Best of Show at an art competition raising money for children in need. Robyn Hill Sanderson received a promotion to Assistant Dean of First Year and Sophomore Programs at Sweet Briar College. Melissia Heatherly

Brannen was awarded the Outstanding Service to Students award in April through the Division of Student Affairs and Department of Academic Support Professional Development Team at USC. Nicole Giraudin Martinez: was recognized as the Katy Charter Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association— Woman of the Year. Dr Lisa Williams was a bridesmaid in Jennifer Bradey Hoy’s wedding. Classmates Sarah Boswell Holmes and Shana Baird O’Boyle attended as well as big sis, Stephanie Livesay Winkler ’01.

Katie Caston O’Connor had sisters Jennie Caston Bulman ’92 and Katherine Caston ’98 MEd as her matron and maid of honor at her wedding in November. Kaysie Davis Brady and Kaylan Moss Lamey were also bridesmaids. Katie lives in Columbia, SC and is a residential interior designer. Husband, John, covers the statehouse/our governor for The State Newspaper.

CLASS OF 2004 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2014 Casey Addis 1301 U Street NW #817 Washington, DC 20009, 864.425.8565 claddis@gmail.com Kate Carr 900 Greenwood Avenue NE, Apt. 8 Atlanta, GA 30306, 404.805.6596 kateecarr82@yahoo.com Jennie Zehr 245 Cool Water Court Boiling Springs, SC 29316, 864.415.7563 Jennie.04@hotmail.com

CLASS OF 2005

Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2015 Danielle Beckford 194 Stone Mill Lane Marietta, GA 30064, 713.446.0351 daniellesbeckford@gmail.com Heather Engelmann 435 Willowdale Drive, Apt. 6 Spartanburg, SC 29303, 864.415.0631 hengelmann@gmail.com Libby Long Richards 5720 Loyal Avenue Durham, NC 27713, 919.758.9734 Libby.L.Richards@gmail.com Members of the Class of 2005 met for their five-year reunion in April 2010. It is hard to believe that it has been over five years since graduation day. Classmates from as close as Spartanburg and as far away as Japan gathered to reminisce and learn how Converse has changed and grown in the past five years.

We look forward to seeing more classmates at our ten-year reunion in 2015. In other news–sisters Holly Walter Hawkes and Claire Walter Ensor celebrated birthdays with their

families at Disney World in December 2010.

The highlight of the trip was helping Zachery, Claire’s 3 year old, meet his hero Buzz Lightyear. Twice Corked, a small business created by Megan Johnson, celebrated its oneyear anniversary in January. Megan designs and sells art created using recycled wine corks and glass bottles. Her art can be seen in local businesses all over Charleston and is sold in DwellSmart (a sustainable living retail store) and by special order. Last summer, Megan travelled to Haiti through Creations of Hope, a micro loan organization for Haitian women, where she worked with boys in middle school to create recycled art to sell in gift shops and local hospitals. Please check the “Life Events” section for more news about the class of 2005 and join our Facebook group to share pictures and updates with classmates.

CLASS OF 2006

5TH 5th Reunion - April 15-16, 2011 REUNION Mallory Beckett 925 Cleveland Street, Unit 194 Greenville, SC 29601, 864.419.2215 mallorybeckett@gmail.com Tracy Huskey 10 Sweetbriar Lane Spartanburg, SC 29301, 864.497.8907 tehuskey513@yahoo.com Melissa Meyer Hewitt 3300 Hwy 56 Pauline, SC 29734, 901.262.2921 mhewitt@spartanburg3.org Make plans now to attend our 5th class reunion on April 15 and 16. Darius Rucker will perform April 16 on campus.

CLASS OF 2007 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2012 Grace Bagwell 136 Hermon Street, Apt. E Athens, GA 30601, 864.909.3207 grace.bagwell@gmail.com Valerie Dowling 510 E. Windsor Avenue Arlington, VA 22301, 803.331.7847 Valerie.L.dowling@gmail.com Deidre D. Tindal 430 Crosell Drive Sumter, SC 29150, 803.983.0711 dtindol09@gmail.com

CLASS OF 2008 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2013 Nancy Hannon Clark nancy.clark@converse.edu Sarah Whitfield Marion swmarion@gmail.com Elizabeth Martin mary.martin@converse.edu Erin Norah McGraw emcmcgraw@pinecrestacademy.org

Nora Nassri nora.nassri@gmail.com Johanna Nicole Whitmer jnwhitmer@gmail.com The classy and fabulous ladies of the Class of 2008 continue to blow us away with all of the wonderful things they are doing, Stephanie Newton is living in Orlando, FL and working at both Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Sea World teaching educational programs for guests. Nancy Hannon Clark is back at Converse pursuing her MAT in middle school social studies and working in the library. Alana Starwalt has moved to Tennessee, where whe works as an in-home family counselor for Youth Villages. Sarah Cappelmann in Johnson City, TN pursuing here Audiology Doctorate at East Tennessee State University and plans to graduate in the spring of 2012. Rachel Ng Hansen and her husband Stuart have bought a house and are living in Spartanburg with their puppy Nala.

In addition to her full time job in human resources at Grace Management, Rachel continues to operate a photography business on the side and opened her own piano studio in February of 2010. Myra Hendley has accepted a fellowship at Westgate Family Therapy as the community liaison. She will become fully licensed over the next two years.

She plans to bet involved in pet assisted therapy with her new dog. Casey Mathis is teaching English at Sumter High School and coaching JV girls basketball. She is also working towards her MEd. Sarah Walters is working for the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, DC. Joslyn Emmel is pursuing a MLIS in school library media online at the University of South Carolina and intends to graduate in December 2011. She was recently crowned Miss American RoseGreenville, SC and also won the beauty and scholars competitions. We look forward to hearing from all of you in 2011!

CLASS OF 2009 Next Reunion - Alumnae Weekend, 2014 Daniela Burrows 3420 Rawlinson Road Columbia, SC 29209, 803.331.8787 burrows.dmarie@yahoo.com Katie Mayes 235 Forest Green Drive Columbia, SC 29209, 803.983.4138 mayes.katie@gmail.com Anna Sharp 1020 Butler Street, Apt. 7 Columbia, SC 29205, 336.749.8656 als1224@gmail.com Send us any exciting news and be sure to update the Alumnae Office of any changes to your contact information.

CLASS NOTES

10’s SYMPATHY

Arlyn B. Baer ’10 on the death of her father, Steven Abbott Baer, December 2, 2010 Blakely Williams Peper ’12 on the death of her grandfather, Dr. Clifton Lide Williams, Sr., October 3, 2010

MARRIAGES Jessica Dianne Davenport ’10 to Andrew King, September 25, 2010 Lauren Rebecca Davis ’10 MAT to Robert Kent Barber, December 4, 2010 Ashely Marie Morton ’10 to Adrian Patino, February 6, 2010

CAREER CHANGES Kenya Lane ’10, Career Specialist, Woodruff High School, Woodruff, SC

CLASS OF 2010

Remember when...2010

1 1st Reunion - April 15-16, 2011 REUNION Ashley Shearsmith 921 Steadman Farms Drive Inman, SC 29349, 803.494.9827 Cc_chick_10@windstream.net Amanda Stillinger 500 Carlen Avenue, Apt. 6212 Lexington, SC 29072, 803.445.3247 Amanda.stillinger@gmail.com ST

“1…0…you know!” Make plans now to attend our first class reunion on April 15-16, 2011 in Spartanburg.

Alumnae Events

Riverbanks Zoo Event, October 10, 2010, Columbia, SC Stephanie A. Newton ’08, Group Programs Instructor at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Educator at Sea World in Orlando, FL

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