class notes A l umn i S pot l i g h t
Diane Coltraine
Attendance and school spirit weren’t as high as many hoped at basketball games in the then-new Minges Coliseum in 1970, so the SGA was receptive to ideas for boosting fan interest. A freshman walked into the SGA offices one day asking if the school had a dance team, and the idea was hatched for a group that is still thriving on campus 41 years later. Using a small SGA grant to buy uniforms, the group, initially known as the Pirateers and in recent decades as the Pure Gold Dancers, performed for the first time at Homecoming 1970. Greenville attorney Phil Dixon ’71, a former chair of the ECU Board of Trustees and current member of the UNC Board of Governors, was SGA vice president in 1970. Among his duties was seeing that the grant to the Pirateers would be used properly. Other alumni who remember that beginning include Julia Brooks Wilson of Greenville and Joey Horton, who was the freshman who walked into Dixon’s SGA office asking about a dance team. In the photo above, Wilson is at back left. Others on that original squad were Jan Bainbridge, Marcia Gill, Cynthia Erdahl, Shelley Beeler, Pam Lowry, Terry Roach, Betty Boyd, Beverly Nickens and Debbie Stone. If you recognize others in the picture, please let us know.
East Carolina staff member Diane Coltraine was at work in her office on the second floor of Ragsdale Hall recently when Linda Jones Miner ’66 of Annapolis, Md. (right), stuck her head in the door to ask, “Is it OK if I come in and look around, because this was my dorm room.” Of course, Coltraine replied. With Miner were two friends, Ann Peedin Parrish ’65 ’66 ’82 ’91 of Benson (center) and Ann Vick Johnson ’66 ’85 of Jacksonville (left), who lived in other rooms in Ragsdale during their student days. Close friends during college, the three lost touch over the years until Miner e-mailed them and suggested a reunion. A fourth friend, Judith Taylor Bell Darden ’66 of Greenville also came to the reunion. “We loved campus,” Miner, who grew up in Swansboro, said about returning after so many years. “The trees are huge today. We were so happy the old buildings had not been torn down and that they’ve been preserved. We talked to the students while we were walking around campus and they were so friendly to us.” Walking with them as they left the building, Coltraine, who is editor of university catalogs, said she heard one say: “This is where my future husband kissed me for the first time.”
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Westbrook Schwartz ’09 was a bridesmaid. TRACY MYERS WILKERSON wed SEAN EDWARD GOUGH ’10 on Sept. 24 at Jarvis Memorial United Methodist Church, Greenville. 2008 BRITTANY ANN CRAIG wed Joshua Timothy Gore on Oct. 2 at the Duplin Winery, Rose Hill. She teaches in Wayne County Schools. MELISSA and BRAD ’06 EAKES own the Pour Haus Pub in Farmville. Dr. CHARLENE LOCKLEAR joined Southeastern Medical Clinic North Lumberton where she will work with her sister, Dr. Andrea Simmons ’05. NIKKI WALKER, media coordinator at Edgewood Elementary School, Whiteville, is that school’s 2011-12 Teacher of the Year. 2007 SARA AMANDA ALLEN wed JAMES WEST POTTER ’04 on June 25 at Bethany Free Will Baptist Church, Winterville. She teaches fourth grade at Wintergreen Intermediate School, Greenville, and he manages The Trophy Case and is self-employed in sports entertainment. JENNA BUIE ’07 ’11 teaches fifth grade at Selma Elementary School, Selma.
JESSICA L. HAUSER ’07 ’08 is the administrator of The Laurels of GreenTree Ridge, Asheville, a 100-bed skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility. ROY HOPKINS opened Pro Fitness 24 Training Studio and Wellness Club in Greenville. CHADWICK STOKES joined AXA Advisors, Greenville, as a financial adviser. TIMOTHY ANDREW WATKINS wed Lynn Cornelia Hartough on June 11 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Wilmington. He is a project engineer for ColonialWebb Contractors, Richmond, Va. Navy Seaman LAURA A. VEALE completed Navy basic training at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Ill. 2006 LAUREN CALDWELL BUCK is the manager of Catalog Connection, a women’s boutique in Greenville. Dr. MATTHEW COLLINS joined Eastern Urological Associates P.A. after specialized training in laparoscopic and robotic surgical techniques for the kidney and prostate. CHRISTINA IRENE COVINGTON wed Joseph Chad Martin on Sept. 23 at Bald Head Island Chapel, Bald Head Island. She is pursuing her master’s in elementary education through Gardner Webb University and teaches kindergarten at Mineral Springs Elementary School, Ellerbe. REBECCA DANIELLE EASTMAN wed John Linwood Gurganus IV on Sept. 10 at Bethel