Faculty earn teaching honors

NEXT- GENERATION PANTHERS

Summer orientations for new students take place this month, and I had the privilege of enjoying some time with our soon-to-be Panthers. You can feel the excitement as they talk about their hopes and dreams for college and beyond. And for most of them, the realization of those dreams is made possible by those of you who provide student scholarships by supporting the LaGrange College Fund. Thank you for making the LC experience possible for the next generation of students!

-MARTHA PIRKLE DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS

P.S. To learn more about the LaGrange College Fund, visit lagrange.edu/give.

1960s

1969 Annette Palmer Ranger of Juneau, Alaska, says that all the cruise ships stop in her port and old friends are welcome to contact her if they need a tour guide.

1970s

1974 Dr. George W. Baker Jr. of LaGrange was awarded the Perennial Performance award by BeeTV.

1975 Judge Rick Story of Gainesville received the prestigious American Inns of Court Professionalism Award for the Eleventh Circuit.

1980s

1984 Andrew Stone of Douglasville is a college and career advisor at Soddy Daisy High school and an adjunct instructor at Southern New Hampshire University.

Alumni (from left) Becky Spencer ’73, Carol Personius ’73, Chris Austin ’72, Mary Hamby Hall ’73, Steve Shuman ’72 and Mary Wells Conway ’72 gather at Milano’s LaGrange for a “catching up” dinner.

1984 Mike Wilson of LaGrange came to campus to share about New Ventures and how his faith led him to nonprofit work.

1986 Dr. John Cary of Yinchuan, China, teaches English and practices traditional Chinese medicine at Ningxia Medical University. He has authored the fictional novel "Alcatraz Awaits - The Legacy of Donald Trump."

Carol Howington Cain ’82 of LaGrange celebrated National Rosie the Riveter Day and 30 years of playing Rosie recently with historical storytelling performances in Dallas and Newnan, Georgia, and in Austin, Texas.

1986 Dr. Gretta Milam M'93 of LaGrange presented how she uses EthicsGame in all program levels at a statewide conference in Macon, explaining how this tool is a catalyst for classroom conversations. She has been named the inaugural Director of Graduate Studies at LaGrange College.

1990s

1991 Dr. C. Terrell "Terry" Alford Jr. of LaGrange has opened the LaGrange Body Lab. He is also the owner of Hometown Family Medicine.

1993 John Fuller of LaGrange has joined the Oakbridge Insurance Agency LLC as Vice President/Client Executive.

1993 Dr. Sonya S. Gaither of Hampton received the Education 2.0 Outstanding Leadership Award for her work in academic librarianship and higher education. She is the owner of Dr. Senithia's Helping Hands LLC.

1995 Sonya Prather Goddard of LaGrange is the Director at the Pineland Campus of Georgia Sheriffs’ Youth Homes.

Cheri Blasingame Garing ’98 of Stockbridge along with her mother, Vickie McBride, participated in the 50th anniversary celebrations of Hank Aaron’s 715 home run record at Truist Park, representing homeruns 381 and 382.

1997 Darby Durand Pippin of LaGrange has been elected to the City Council representing District 1.

1997 Stormy Weathers of LaGrange is a Life Insurance Agent at COUNTRY Financial.

1998 Cheri Blasingame Garing of Stockbridge and her mother participated in the Atlanta Braves ceremony honoring Hank Aaron. They represented homerun numbers 381 and 382 out of 715.

1998 Dr. Vicki Thrailkill Pheil M’00 of LaGrange has received the credential of National Board Certified Teacher (Renewed/MOC) from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

1998 Jennifer McCoy Ward of LaGrange is in her 25th year of teaching at Troup County Comprehensive High School. She is a math teacher, graduation coordinator and honors day coordinator and has been named volleyball junior varsity head coach.

Elizabeth Story ’07 of Smyrna (from left), Melissa Dempsey ’08 of Midland and Abby Allen Noble ’06 of Macon explore Germany.

Caryn Loyd Cole ’80 of LaGrange celebrates Mother’s Day with daughter Lindsey Cole Robinson ’15 and grandson Dane.

2000s

2001 Christy Norris Wasdin of Smyrna is payroll & HRIS at GPS Hospitality.

2003 The Rev. Deborah Williams Haag of Acworth was ordained at the meeting of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church in June.

2004 Ariel Pena M'20 of Greensboro, North Carolina, is the associate vice president of advancement services and campaign management for Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York.

2005 Tammy Haralson Plant of Pensacola, Florida, is the governmental liaison with the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners.

2005 Dr. Michael Thomas Jr. of Athens visited campus to discuss his book "Black Financial Culture" and share insights on financial planning.

2010s

2010 Dr. Wesley Meares of North Augusta, South Carolina, was the recipient of the Outstanding Faculty Award for Augusta University's Master of Public Administration degree in Pamplin College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Services. He additionally received the RSCA Award for excellence in research and was approved as a full professor.

2010 James Webb McGhee of Brookline, Massachusetts, is the director of financial assistance at Bentley University.

2011 Samantha Bullard Allen M'11, Ed.S.'13 of Newnan is the 6-12th grade math coach for West Georgia RESA.

2011 Britt Gaylor M'13 of LaGrange has accepted the girls basketball coach position at LaGrange Academy. He is continuing his run as the boys basketball coach.

2011 Paul Parker of Sherman Oaks, California, contributed music to the film "Mending the Line" featured on Netflix.

2015 Leah Foster Chapman is an ordained deacon in the North Georgia Conference of the Global Methodist Church and has been appointed pastor of Macedonia Methodist Church in Tomson, Georgia.

2015 Loishirl Hall of Washington, D.C., graduated from The University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law. She passed the Bar Exam and was admitted into the District of Columbia and Maryland Bar Associations.

2015 Connor McNamee M'17 of LaGrange has been named the offensive coordinator for Troup County Comprehensive High School's varsity football program.

2015 Alexander Rodriguez of Brooklyn, New York, created the music for a national award-winning podcast. He worked on "The Mantawauk Caves," which won Best Fiction Podcast at the iHeart Podcast Awards.

2016 Jasen Jonus M'16 of LaGrange has been named the women's basketball head coach at Oglethorpe University.

2016 Lynda Moncus Perry Ed.S.'16 of Roanoke, Alabama, attended the Georgia Field Directors Association meeting at Georgia Gwinnett College. She accepted the position of secretary in this organization.

2017 Layna Winn Kemp M'17 of LaGrange is an assistant professor of education at Point University.

2017 Ratoya Mason M'20 of LaGrange received the Presidential Award for Student Services at LaGrange College.

Dr. George W. Baker Jr. ’74 of LaGrange received the Perennial Performance award from BeeTV at its annual awards banquet. His daughter, Dr. LeThenia Joy Baker ’02 (left), and sister Jame’ Baker joined him.

The “Gray Panthers” monthly lunch group gathers at the Brickhouse Grill: (from left) Larry Goodman ’67, Jerry “Y.A.” Wynens ’67, John Forrester ’67, Bill Hardy ’68, Gary Brown ’66, Gary Roberts ’67, Coach Phil Williamson and Tom Conway ’69.

Savannah Hicks Hunt ’21 of LaGrange was named LaGrange Academy's Teacher of the Year.

Jeffrey Albertson Jr. ’10 (right) of Atlanta enjoyed a campus visit with Political Science Professor Dr. John Tures.

Jennifer McCoy Ward ’98 of LaGrange and her son, Elijah, were able to enjoy Aviation Day at LC. He is contemplating that career path.

C. Jacob Snyder '24 of LaGrange is a Legacy graduate of wife Caitlyn Brooke M'21, Ed.S.'23 and was cheered on by family, including their newest Panther, his son, Judah James.

Mike Wilson ‘84 of LaGrange shared with LC students how his faith led him to leading the nonprofit organization New Ventures.

John D Rasnick ’86 of Luthersville was re-elected on May 21, 2024, to his 4th term in office as chief probate court judge of Meriwether County, Georgia.

2018 Jacob Krzysiak of Blacksburg, Virginia, is a development associate for Neighbors Inc.

2018 Lydia Subat of Slidell, Louisiana, works at Professional Sports Publications of Atlanta.

2018 The Rev. Garrett Wallace of Dunwoody was commissioned at the meeting of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church in June.

2019 Mallory Pressley Carson of LaGrange has accepted the position of nurse educator at Thinc College and Career Academy.

2019 Kaylee Morgan Drake of Carrollton received her MFA in costume design at Tulane University.

2019 Jason Hernandez III of LaGrange is an Adjunct Percussion Professor at LaGrange College and co-founder of J&J Studios.

2019 Kelton Hunt of Hogansville is a lecturer of music at LaGrange College and volunteered his talent as the music director for LaGrange Academy's production of "Shrek the Musical."

2019 Katelyn Little of Buckhead was the guest speaker at the Nursing Honor Society's induction for LaGrange College.

2019 Jack McCormack II of Jacksonville, Florida, is the manager of sales with Elevate and its ElevateX vertical.

Katie Hearn ’12 of Atlanta (center) welcomed Dr. Clay Bolton, members of the LaGrange College Sports Management Advisory Team and the rest of his student cohort for an educational experience at Truist Park. Katie works as the gameday staffing and administration manager for the Atlanta Braves.

Caleb D. Brown ’18 of Sevierville, Tennessee, is a featured performer at COUNTRY TONITE in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Maya Turner M'24 of Pine Mountain is the art teacher at LaGrange Academy.

Kathryn Hatcher Buechner ’08, M’11 was on hand when her former swimmers committed to play sports at LC. Rylan McDowell (left) will play football and Harrison Johnson is joining the golf team. Buechner swam for LaGrange from 20032007 and was a grad assistant for the team from 2009-2010.

Kelton Hunt ’19 of LaGrange (center) lent his talents to LaGrange Academy’s Fine Arts program’s performance of “Shrek the Musical, Jr.” Hunt serves as a lecturer of music at LaGrange College.

Lance Shealy ’20 of Moultrie matched with UF-Pensacola for his OB/GYN resident studies.

Katelyn Little ’19 of Buckhead was the guest speaker at the college’s Nursing Honor Society's induction.

Lincoln Anderson ’21 of LaGrange received the six-figure earner ring, the Regional Manager award and the core value award for "Relationships" at the Equis Financial national training conference.

Dr. Michael Thomas '05 of Athens, author and lecturer at the University of Georgia, came to campus to discuss his book on financial planning and share insights from it with students.

Lauren Hicks ‘22 of Woodland teaches voice and piano, and she is a regular featured performer at Nutwood, The Beacon and Ivey Park.

2020s

2020 Laine Fletcher of Valdosta received a master’s in speech language pathology with a focus in vocal health and performance from Auburn University.

2020 Nicole Joseph M'20 of Hogansville is a school-based therapist for the Callaway zone of the Troup County School System. She operates Fresh Start Driving DUI School part time, is the president of Theta Xi Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. and the Cheer Coach at LaGrange College.

2020 Daniel Lawson M'20 of LaGrange received his doctorate in exercise science at Oklahoma State University.

2020 Alaina Magee of LaGrange received her master's degree in software engineering from Kansas State University.

2020 Lance Shealy of Moultrie was matched to be a resident OBGYN at UF-Pensacola.

2020 Payton Smith passed the Georgia Bar Exam.

2021 Lincoln Anderson of LaGrange received the six-figure earner ring, the Regional Manager award and the core value award for "Relationships" at the Equis Financial National Training Conference.

2021 Savanna Hicks Hunt of Hogansville was named LaGrange Academy's Teacher of the Year.

2021 Joe Ruth M'24 of Gainesville, Florida, became the all-time hits leader in NCAA Division III history.

2021 Caleb Tyler of Hoschton is an international trade specialist in the Western Hemisphere Trade Policy and Geographic Division for the Foreign Agricultural Service in Washington, D.C. He will be covering Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador.

2022 Riley Hammett of Atlanta is the sales coordinator for the Ritz Carlton on Amelia Island.

2022 Lauren Hicks of Woodland teaches voice and piano, and she is a regular featured performer at Nutwood, The Beacon and Ivey Park.

2022 Maurie White of LaGrange is the Property Manager for Southwood Realty. In addition, she is an all-star competition cheerleading director at Tumbletown 2.

2022 Johnathan Williams of Bamberg, South Carolina, is a football contributor on "Sunday Sportsblitz" featured on Erie News Now in Erie, Pennsylvania.

2023 Savannah Barnett M'23 of LaGrange is a 1st grade teacher at Clearview Elementary School and the head volleyball coach at Troup County Comprehensive High School.

2023 Gracie Brunel of LaGrange is the head coach of woman's basketball at Whitewater High School in Fayetteville.

2023 Matt Eden is a staff accountant at Long & Long CPA PC.

2023 Antoine Prather of LaGrange is the director of ticketing and promotions at Virginia Military Institute.

2023 Jason Simmons of Thomasville is a staff accountant at Simmons, Mills & Simmons PC.

2024 Leia E. Avery of Acworth is working as a pediatric nurse at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.

2024 Maya Turner M'24 of Pine Mountain is the art teacher at LaGrange Academy.