OUTSTANDING ALUMNI RECOGNIZED AT HOMECOMING

REUNITED AT LAST

Alumni 'family' returns to Hill after two years

It was like a breath of fresh air, people gathering with joy to catch up with old friends and classmates, walk the halls and hills they remember from years past and experience something that had seemed out of reach for far too long.

"I think that this year’s Homecoming was a cool drink of water to thirsty souls,” said Martha Pirkle, Director of Alumni and Community Relations. “We all missed each other a lot after not having had that personal interaction because of the pandemic last year. It was like a huge family reunion with everybody laughing and catching up again.”

Visitors brought excitement and reverence to the Hill as they attended events on campus and off. The energy transferred from campus to downtown LaGrange, where alumni braved wet weather to gather for Flashback Friday at Overlook Plaza, enjoy custom cocktails and the music of The Reasons Why.

Saturday may have given the biggest indication of the palpable energy alumni brought as the parking lot in front of Callaway Auditorium was alive with activity as cars, grills—filling the air with the smoky smell of cooked meats—music, children playing and groups of people laughing and sharing their enjoyment overtook the area. From a full reunion tent to lively Greek tailgating spots, alumni and students mingled and enjoyed their time together.

The evening’s 50th anniversary celebration of sororities Phi Mu, Kappa Delta and Alpha Omicron Pi also packed out Highland Country Club. The excitement and activity built as former sorority members and their families celebrated late into the night with dancing, recollections over photos and recognition for the chartering members.

“This year proved the old saying, ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder,’” Pirkle said.

Associate Professor of Business Preston James leads his Sports Management Club’s tailgating effort.

Jeff Cotton ’83, Janice Johnson Hall ’84 and Xavier Mann ’86 pause before the football game’s start.

Surber Archives Specialist Felicia Moore helps Cynthia Kerr review period photos of student life on the Hill.

Riley Hammett, representing Phi Mu, and Demarcus Formbly, representing Alpha Delta Gamma, were named Homecoming 2021 Queen and King.

Founding members of LC sororities were honored during the Saturday celebration. They are, from left, Sharon Black McLendon ’73 (AOII), Patty Solomon ‘71 (KD), Mary Lou Schmidt Compton ‘71 (Phi Mu), Carol Duffey Gill ’70 (Phi Mu), Cheryl Akins Matlock ‘71 (Phi Mu), Debbie Dorough Mowery '72 (Phi Mu), Nancy Kight Stevens ‘71 (Phi Mu), Kaycie Ketchum Still ‘70 (Phi Mu), Doris Anthony Tomlin ‘72, ( Phi Mu) and Margie Johnson Wheeler ’71 (Phi Mu).

Panther basketball alumni reunited Saturday morning in Mariotti Gym. Gathered at left are, Carl Sills ’83, Richard Svacha ’82, (continued...)

Sam Cotton ’83, Chip Lawson ’86, Doug Mason ’84 and Ken Smith ’82.

Cheri Blasingame Garing '98 and Michael Thorp Fay '86 earned Shackelford Alumni Achievement Awards, while Eric Keels '10 received the Outstanding Young Alumni Award.

Outstanding alumni recognized at Homecoming

Michael Thorp Fay ’86 and Cheryl “Cheri” Blasingame Garing ’98 were this year’s recipients of the Shackelford Alumni Achievement Award, and Eric Keels ’10 Ph.D. was recognized with the 2021 Outstanding Young Alumni Award during this year’s Homecoming ceremonies.

Fay is principal and managing director at Avison Young Real Estate, a global real estate firm. He also serves as chairman of the U.S. Capital Markets Group executive committee and is the global director for the Asset Resolution Team Affinity Group.

Below, Michael Fay ’86 shares insights from his career with current students before receiving the Shackelford Alumni Achievement Award.

He came to LaGrange on a basketball scholarship and graduated with a bachelor’s in business administration. As a freshman, he was part of the 1982-83 championship basketball team and is a member of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity.

Fay advises on and sells investment properties across the country, having completed more than $16 billion in sales. He owns more than 20 properties and several operating companies through his family business, Fay Family Investments, that focuses on real estate-business interests and philanthropy.

Garing is vice president for planning, rates and corporate performance at Oglethorpe Power Co.

She earned a bachelor’s in mathematics at LaGrange College and a master’s in probability and statistics at Auburn University. At LaGrange College, she was elected to the Class of 2009 Sports Hall of Fame for Softball and is a member of the Panther Club Leadership Team.

Garing began her career with Oglethorpe Power in 2000 as part of the billing team before transitioning in 2006 into the planning area. She was promoted to a managerial position responsible for developing and delivering the annual corporate and EMC-level budgets.

In 2011, she moved into a director position, continuing with planning responsibilities. She then was promoted to her current position of Vice President of Planning and elected as an officer of Oglethorpe Power by its board of directors.

Garing was a member of the 2012 Leadership Georgia class, the 2010 University of Georgia Carl Vinson Management Development Program and the 2006 Pathbuilders Percepta Program. She is a recipient of the OPC Customer Focus Award.

Keels is an assistant professor for international security at the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery.

He graduated magna cum laude from LaGrange College with a degree in Political Science and earned a Ph.D. in political science from the University of North Texas in Denton. He also studied design thinking at the Teaching and Learning Studio at Stanford University in California.

He served as a post-doctoral research fellow in global security for the Howard H. Baker Center for Public Policy at the University of Tennessee, and a research associate for political conflict research at the One Earth Future Foundation.

Keels is an instructor for international security, research design, critical thinking and regional politics. In addition to his teaching, he advises on projects related to the integration of technology for national security purposes.

Linda Cole and Charlene Baxter were celebrated as Honorary Alumni.

Honorary Alumni Awards bestowed on Baxter, Cole

Charlene Baxter and Linda Cole received honorary alumni status during Homecoming.

Baxter is a retired director of LaGrange College’s Frank and Laura Lewis Library. She grew up in Bowdon, Georgia, and received her bachelor’s degree from West Georgia University and a master’s in library sciences from the George Peabody College of Vanderbilt University.

She began work at LaGrange College in 1976 as Technical Services Librarian, a position she held until 2013. She worked under directors Frank Lewis and then Loren Pinkerman before becoming Library Director in 2013. She retired from the college in 2019.

Cole of Cumming, Georgia, is chief nurse and hospital operations officer at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the Medical College of Georgia and a master’s in business administration from Georgia State University.

She is the lead executive at Children’s Healthcare in charge of nursing for three hospitals and for patient experience across the system. She has served as president of trauma and emergency services and chief nurse and hospital operations officer.

At LaGrange College, Cole has served as a member of the Panther Club Leadership Team and the Board of Trustees, including being a part of the presidential search committee in 2019. She is a longtime supporter of Athletics and mother of two LC alumni, student-athletes Alex Sapp ’10 and Kevin Sapp ’13.

Cole has also been president of the Cumming-Forsyth Chamber of Commerce and has taken on roles with Leadership Forsyth, United Way of Forsyth County, Georgia Trauma Commission, Association of American Healthcare Executives, Miles for Cystic Fibrosis, North Forsyth Rotary and Atlanta Ronald McDonald House Charities.