C l a ss N o tes
Dr. Zebulon Young ’03 is the new director of Human Resources at John de la Howe School. Samantha Byrd Mello ’05 was hired by UNC Charlotte as a Business Services accounting assistant. Sam Wheeler ’05 was promoted to senior accountant with Scott and Company CPA. Kyle Whitson ’05 and Jessica Pease Whitson ’05 have opened Whitson Certified Public Accountants in Illinois. Danielle Waldt Fields ’07 was named a 2014 Greenwood Under 40 Star by the Chamber of Commerce’s ConnectYP council. Jessica Smoake ’08 is the new development coordinator for Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital at the Foundation. Grayson Kelly ’09 is the new executive director of the Tri-County Technical College Foundation. Lawana Mark ’09 is a new instructor of nursing at Francis Marion University. Demario Watts ’12 is the new assistant director of Residence Life at Wofford College. Allistar Banks ’13 published two books over the summer of 2014, For Better or For Worse and Obsession: A Journey of a Curvy Girl. They are available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Callie Davis ’13 was hired by the O’Dell Corporation as a purchasing agent.
Weddings Carolyn L. May ’55 and Dean C. Bowman, Gainesville, Fla., April 26, 2014. Carolyn is retired. They live in Gainesville. Robert “Bob” C. Thompson ’04 and Jennings L. Coleman ’09, Greenwood, July 19. They live in Greenwood. Gary R. Graham ’06 and Samantha N. Mack, Pomaria, Nov. 1. Gary is an IT applications analyst at Newberry Hospital. They live in Newberry.
Dollywood Entertainment Manager Justin Bradley and his wife, Ashley, enjoy a quiet moment during their recent visit to Lander.
Bradley ’00 Tells Students to Consider the Entertainment Field Justin Bradley, entertainment manager and producer at Dollywood, recently returned to Lander, from which he graduated in 2000, to encourage students to consider the options available to them in the entertainment field. “So many times when you’re a performer you feel like it’s either Broadway or bust, either a recording deal or you’re going to be waiting tables. It’s not that way, and Dollywood is just part of the proof. There are regional theatres and theme parks and dinner theatres that have grown so much over the last 15 years that you can now make a career out of this, whether you take the route I did and go on to be on the management side of things when you’re done performing, or whether you’re nomadic and move from job to job.” Bradley has worked for the Tennessee theme park since he was a student at Lander majoring in music with a vocal performance emphasis. It’s where he met his wife, Ashley, a singer and dancer in a show he produced. He expects to finish his career where it began. “My job has been a blessing to me. I couldn’t have asked for a better lot in life, and with Ashley’s success, it obviously makes it more of an appeal to stay there.” He feels the two days he gave lectures, conducted workshops and did interviews at Lander were well-spent. “I always wanted to give back to Greenwood as a community for everything it did for me to get me where I was,” he said.
Kela Anne Davis ’09 and Barrie Larkin Dunlap ’11, Greenwood, Nov. 8. Kela is working on her Master of Education in Montessori Education, and Barrie is employed with Goodwyn Mills Cawood/ Clearwater Solutions. They live in Greenwood.
Join the Tower Club and Connect With Alumni in Your Area
Laura Ann Ashworth ’10 and Raymond Joshua Snelling, Greenwood, Jan. 24. Laura is a finance accountant for the City of Abbeville. They live in Greenwood.
Lander has Tower Clubs located in Charleston, Columbia, Greenwood and the Upstate. Annual membership dues support alumni projects and the Alumni Scholarship Fund. Meetings, projects and social events are planned throughout the year.
Noah Keith Johnson ’10 and Kelsey Lauren Trout, Myrtle Beach, June 15. Noah is a retail sales consultant with Verizon. They live in Greer.
8
Lander Magazine • Spring 2015
For Tower Club information, visit www.lander.edu/goto/towerclub, or contact Alumni Affairs Director Myra Greene at 864-388-8351 or mgreene@lander.edu.