From These Stones-Mars Hill College-Fall2007

Fall 2007

Volume 10, Number 1

Magazine Staff EDITOR :: Mike Thornhill ’88 CONTRIBUTORS :: Marshall Angle Brian Danforth ’06 Ophelia DeGroot ’58 Buddy Gill ’51 Rachel Granger Gill ’52 Donna Kull Kathy Newfont AnneMarie Walter

Mars Hill College Administration PRESIDENT :: Dr. Dan G. Lunsford ’69 VP OF ADMINISTRATION :: Bob McLendon VP OF INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT :: Alex Miller ’75 VP OF ACADEMIC & STUDENT AFFAIRS :: Dr. Nina Pollard STRATEGIC PLANNING & INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH :: Dr. Grainger Caudle CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER :: Neil Tilley SPECIAL ASST. TO THE PRESIDENT/ALUMNI RELATIONS :: Ophelia DeGroot ’58

From These Stones: The Mars Hill College Magazine is published regularly by the Office of Communications. It is distributed, without charge, to alumni, donors, and friends of the college.

Notices of changes of address and class notes should be addressed to the Alumni Office, Mars Hill College, P.O. Box 370, Mars Hill, NC 28754.

Phone 828.689.1102. Fax 828.689.1292. E-mail alumni@mhc.edu.

Letters to the editor and all other correspondence regarding the magazine should be addressed to the Office of Communications, Mars Hill College, P.O. Box 6765, Mars Hill, NC 28754. Phone 828.689.1298. Fax 828.689.1105. E-mail mthornhill@mhc.edu.

Postmaster: Send address changes to the Alumni Office, Mars Hill College, P.O. Box 6665, Mars Hill, NC 28754.

Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.

2

From These Stones – The Mars Hill College Magazine

In This Issue From the President 4

Fall 2007 Volume 10, Number 1

Baptist messengers approve new relationship with colleges

5

Sesquicentennial

16

Stadium Gets a Face Lift

18

Around Campus

21

250 Million Years (and counting)

24

Class Notes

30

Alumni News

The year in pictures

New look for Meares Stadium; plus, basketball schedules

Strengthening the institution; preserving the past; changing the face of teaching

Assuring the future of Bailey Mountain

Pulitzer prizes and other information about your schoolmates

New board seated; take a trip for lobster; 2006 alumni of the year

From These Stones – Fall 2007

3

From the President We have just completed a very important annual session of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (BSCNC). High on the agenda of the messengers to that session was an issue that impacts not only Mars Hill College, but all of the higher education institutions affiliated with the BSCNC. I’m pleased to report to you that the messengers voted, with a very clear majority, to move forward with a new relationship we have sought for the five affiliated Baptist colleges in the state.

Specifically, those institutions have been in discussion with BSCNC officials for many months about restructuring our cooperative relationship. In addition to Mars Hill, these institutions are Campbell, Chowan, Gardner-Webb, and Wingate universities, all of which entered into a voluntary affiliate relationship with the convention many years ago after we were founded by Baptist leaders of our separate communities. Through these years of voluntary affiliation, a lot of good things have happened. We have been blessed with financial support, while joining together on projects and ministries of mutual benefit. Also during this affiliation the BSCNC has given final approval to our trustees, all of whom had to be members of Baptist churches and the majority from North Carolina.

After two years of study and discussion, the respective boards of trustees, institution presidents, and BSCNC leadership believe that it is time to restructure the relationship. The plan, supported by the institutional leadership and BSCNC Executive Director-Treasurer and Board of Directors, and now by the messengers to the annual session, includes the following: • Effective January 1, 2009, the boards of trustees will become self-perpetuating.

• The boards will have a significant number of trustees who are members of Baptist churches in cooperation with the BSCNC, with the potential for more non-North Carolina trustees.

• The funding (unrestricted) will be reduced from the current level to zero over four years.

• The BSCNC will continue a scholarship fund for students who are members of churches in cooperation with the BSCNC. • The institutions will continue to cooperate in ministry programs with the BSCNC and give reports at annual meetings and will also continue their relationship and involvement with the Council on Christian Higher Education.

I wish to be very clear that Mars Hill College will remain true to its Baptist and Christian heritage, will advocate for Christian principles, and will continue its Christian ministry while strengthening our educational programs to serve students from this country and around the world. We are not severing ties with the Baptist churches of our state, nor with the Baptist State Convention. Indeed, we feel we are strengthening those ties by moving from a relationship of dependence to one of more mutual cooperation based on our commitment to common interests within our mission. We see the new relationship as a mutual effort to fulfill our purpose in a relationship of trust, and we are certainly pleased that the majority of messengers to the annual session saw it that way as well. This new relationship will allow Mars Hill College to continue its 151-year mission of educating students in a Christian environment, true to our Baptist heritage.

Thank you for your interest in your alma mater and for your support in this important work. Mars Hill is your college, as it is ours.

4

From These Stones – The Mars Hill College Magazine

The 2006-07 school year was not just any year for Mars Hill College. It was a year of celebration: a year to reflect on the past, consider the present, and look toward the future. It was our 150th anniversary, and the next few pages reflect just a few of the many highlights of the Sesquicentennial Celebration.

From These Stones – Fall 2007

5

May 2006: The Sesquicentennial Celebration

officially began with Spring 2006 commencement. Doris Bentley (left), a member of Mars Hill’s centennial class of 1956 and widow of the late MHC President Fred Bentley, brought a special message to the class of 2006. Graduating seniors Caty Carpenter (right) and Brian Danforth (below, left) delivered the commencement addresses. The primary benefactors of the Ferguson Math and Science Center, Carolyn and Jack Ferguson, were awarded honorary doctorates. After the graduation ceremony, the college broke ground for the Ferguson building (below).

June 2006: Members of the class of 1956 presented two gifts to the college dur-

ing their 50th anniversary class reunion: a scale model of the college and an entrance archway. The scale model (below) depicts Mars Hill College as it was in 1910. Madison County artist Doug Mackenzie created the model, with assistance from MHC alumni Liam Andrews ’05 and Amber Ponder Skantz ’06, and with historical research assistance from Richard Dillingham and Phyllis Stiles ’75 of the college staff. It is displayed in the lobby of Blackwell Hall. The arch is a replica of one which spanned what is now College Street from the 1920s until the 1940s. It was built by Charlie Farmer ’69 (right), a welding instructor at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, and his students. A plaque commemorating the class of 1956 is affixed to one of the brick support foundations. The arch itself was erected later in the summer and dedicated during Homecoming weekend.

6

From These Stones – The Mars Hill College Magazine

August 2006: The beginning of the fall semester was marked by two events. During the Matriculation Ceremony, first-year students processed under the newly installed arch and down College Street to Moore Auditorium. Opening Convocation “officially” began the semester, as regional author Ron Rash delivered the keynote address.

Rash’s novel Saints at the River was required reading for the incoming freshman class.

September 2006: The pace of the Sesquicentennial Celebration began to pick

up in September, beginning with the annual Bascom Lamar Lunsford Festival. The month also included the dedication of a gravestone in Hickory, NC, for Thomas Hufham, a former president of MHC. Retired theatre arts professor C. Robert Jones (below, left) spearheaded the effort after doing research for the musical Treasures. September also saw the kickoff of the college’s first comprehensive capital campaign. A local television news crew interviewed Dr. Lunsford (left) about the $35.5 million dollar Values & Vision campaign, which addresses four key areas: academic facilities, student housing, student scholarships, and faculty development. Among the honorees at the 2006 President’s Recognition Dinner were Bob ’45 and Rachel ’44 Chapman (below, with Dr. Lunsford and 2006 board of trustees chairman Ron Martin), recipients of the Faculty/Staff Heritage Appreciation Award.

From These Stones – Fall 2007

7

October 2006: October was the busiest month of the celebration. The month began with a visit from Dr. Eric his Mars Hill Fantasia, one of three musical compositions the month also brought the annual Madison County Heritage Beverly donned period clothing from the late 1800s (far left) entertained a capacity crowd in Anderson Amphitheater. play was written by retired MHC theatre professor C. Robert featured a talented cast, including M.K. Lyerly ’07 and Matt dedication of the Oscar E. Sams Dining Room (upper right); MHC on horseback (below, left); the official dedication of Mars Hill College Historic District; the rededication of the recognition during the homecoming football game (bottom 31) and homecoming queen Mary Margaret Fulk ’07. Rev. Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, spoke during the (the founding families of MHC) closed their eyes at night they them.”

8

From These Stones – The Mars Hill College Magazine

Sesquicentennial, in terms of activities related to the Ewazen of the Juliard School (upper left), who premiered commissioned for the Sesquicentennial. The early part of Festival, for which President Dan Lunsford and first lady right), and at which the Bailey Mountain Cloggers (above, The musical Treasures opened to receptive audiences. The Jones (see article in the Fall 2006 From These Stones) and Shearin ’08 (bottom left). Founders Week brought the Dr. Lunsford’s reenactment of Dr. R.L. Moore’s arrival at the new archway on College Street (below, right) and the Douglas Ferguson tiles in Blackwell Hall (far left); and the right) of the 2006 alumni of the year (see article on page Milton Hollifield ’77 (above, right), executive director of the Crossroads chapel service on Founders Day. “When they saw you,” he told the audience. “I challenge you: never forget

From These Stones – Fall 2007

9

November 2006: A packed house of nearly 1,500 people

listened intently as Dr. Maya Angelou wove her poetry and prose during her November 16 visit. Dr. Angelou’s theme for the evening was “This Little Light of Mine,” and she returned again and again to that spiritual’s chorus.

She urged the college students and others in the audience to let their lights shine, and said she was at Mars Hill College “because I know it as a light; I know that each of you is a light.” Dr. Angelou told of her own life and the people whose shining lights pointed the way for her to overcome the challenges she faced, and pointed to examples of that light being reflected from unexpected places and people. She acknowledged the college’s role as an institution which fills a mission of providing higher education to those who have not traditionally had easy access to it: Native Americans, African Americans, poor white Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and to first generation college students of all races and ethnicities.

December 2006: The fall semester wrapped up with December commencement

exercises. Graduating seniors Hannah Elizabeth Kowalczyk and Elaine Howell Hyatt gave student addresses; graduating senior Kathryn Elizabeth Strickler sang Mozart’s Alleluia. The commencement address was given by Dr. Barry A. Jones, Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Associate Professor at Campbell University Divinity School (and a member for the Mars Hill College faculty from 1997 until 2000).

10

From These Stones – The Mars Hill College Magazine

April 2007: Wednesday, April 18, was not your typical day on the

Mars Hill campus. Classes were cancelled, snacks were stacked on tables across campus, and a dance was held. Yet the day was still a celebration of academics. That’s because it was the day of the first Spring SLAM. SLAM, which stands for Student Liberal Arts Mosaic, gave students an opportunity to showcase their academic studies, research, performance, and creativity. From poetry readings to presentations on scientific research to musical theatre to analysis of immigration’s impact on western North Carolina, students took full advantage of the opportunity to share what they’ve learned at MHC with their fellow students and other members of the college community. They also packed Moore Auditorium to hear Dr. Tricia Rose of Brown University (right) speak on the role of hip hop culture in American society. To provide an idea of the diversity of the day, here’s a sampling of the titles of the student presentations: • Voices of Adolescents: Bridging Rock Music with the Rock of Ages • Panel Discussion on White Privilege: Young’s Five Faces of Oppression • Feminism in Latin America • That Song is from a Musical?

• Shape-Note Tradition of the Appalachian Region • Will the Real King Arthur Please Stand Up? • Harry Potter and Miss Ogyny’s Cloak of Invisibility • Women in Christianity: Eve to Sojourner Truth • Testing for the Presence of Candida albicans

From These Stones – Fall 2007

11

April 2007: MHC honored 150 alumni from the 20th century classes as “distinguished alumni,” and another 150 “alumni of promise” from the 21st century graduating classes. Many of these alumni came to campus for a day of celebration on April 23, which culminated with the Sesquicentennial Alumni Banquet. The honored alumni were selected from a much larger list of names submitted by current and retired faculty as representatives of the wide range of contributions Mars Hill College graduates have made across many fields of work and study.

(See a complete list of the alumni who were honored in the Alumni section of the MHC Web site.)

The day began with a panel discussion about emerging democracies with Tim Storey ’88 of the National Conference of State Legislatures; Thulie Mangena ’08, a native of Zimbabwe whose family fled that country to avoid political persecution; and Congressman David Price ’59 (pictured left to right in photo at bottom right). Congressman Price also gave the keynote address at the 10th annual G. McLeod Bryan Caring Awards, speaking on the relationship of faith and politics.

Recipients of the awards were assistant football coach Kevin Barnette ’85 and then-student Mary Margaret Fulk ’07 (directly below, on right, with Congressman Price and G. McLeod “Mac” Bryan ’39).

12

From These Stones – The Mars Hill College Magazine

April 2007: The second of the three commissioned musical compositions premiered in April. By Grace Sustained was written by Esther and Bob Burroughs ’57 (right). Bob conducted the Mars Hill College Choir in the world premiere of the piece during the Choral Celebration 2007 in Moore Auditorium.

May 2007: Graduation weekend brought the culmination of the “official” Sesquicentennial Celebration. The bac-

calaureate service featured the premiere of the final Sesquicentennial musical work. The Gates of Morning was composed by Dan Locklair ’71, and set to retired professor and dean Earl Leininger’s poem “A Teacher’s Reverie” (the two men are pictured, above right, at a reception following the service). The baccalaureate message was given by Erwin Potts ’52 (below, left), retired chairman of McClatchy Newspapers. “If you can find a way to carry forth the spirit of Mars Hill College into a larger world, maybe, just maybe, you can make a difference,” he told the audience. Western civilization got its priorities wrong, Potts said. Despite an overwhelming amount of scientific and technical advances following World War II, he said, “we never learned to get along with each other; we never learned that wars never solve anything.” He urged the graduates to apply the values they’ve learned as they move forward with the rest of their lives. “I don’t know Mars Hill today that well, but at 150 years old, its core values are pretty well established.” Those values, he said, are the same ones he learned as a student at MHC 55 years ago: an emphasis on the humanities and the “creation of a living and caring spirit in people.”

At the next morning’s commencement ceremony, commencement addresses were given by graduating seniors Mary Margaret Fulk and Chris Aline (below, center). Matt Cannon ’01 (below, right), a board member of the nonprofit ChooseAneed.org, delivered a special message to the class of 2007. The college also awarded an honorary degree to Rev. Sue Fitzgerald (above, left). In receiving the Doctor of Humane Letters, Rev. Fitzgerald told the audience, “Mars Hill College allowed me to fulfill a dream: a dream of ministry; today you are affirming this work in Mars Hill and western North Carolina.” That ministry to the Mars Hill community has spanned more than 40 years, first as Minister of Education at Mars Hill Baptist Church and then as Director of the Center for Christian Education at Mars Hill College. North Carolina State Representative Ray Rapp, who is also Mars Hill College’s Dean of Adult ACCESS, then presented Rev. Fitzgerald with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the state’s highest civilian honor, which is presented for outstanding service to the state.

From These Stones – Fall 2007

13

October 2007: Just because the “official” celebration was over, didn’t mean the activities related to the Sesquicentennial were complete. The new Founders Memorial was dedicated during Founders Week. The memorial is on the quad just outside Blackwell Hall and encompasses the fountain. Richard Dillingham ’68 and other college historians have identified 23 of the founding families who supported the college through its first 50 years. Their names, along with the names of the 22 men who have served as president of Mars Hill College and information about the college’s name and mission, are engraved in stone panels on the brick memorial (at left, MHC trustee Bob Merrill ’49 places one of the final bricks during construction). Dozens of descendants of the founding families, representatives of those families’ churches, and the families of the college presidents gathered (below) for the unveiling of the memorial.

The ceremony also included a presentation by state Representative Ray Rapp of the General Assembly’s proclamation honoring Mars Hill College on its 150th anniversary.





The driving force: Sesquicentennial Commission Chairman Everett “Buddy” Gill ’51, with wife (and From These Stones contributor) Rachel ’52.

14

From These Stones – The Mars Hill College Magazine

Sesquicentennial Bookshelf After celebrating the first 150 years since its founding in 1856, Mars Hill College has published The Mystique of Mars Hill: Stories of the College’s 150 years of Struggles, Survival and Triumph.

The book traces developments going back to the administration of the first president of modern times, Robert L. Moore, who took office in 1897 and served through the first part of the 20th century. It summarizes as well the founding and early years, which were detailed in an earlier history, From These Stones,

by John Angus McLeod (and the source for the title of this magazine). The Mystique includes stories from the administrations of the other presidents of the modern era, Hoyt Blackwell, Fred Bentley, Max Lennon and current president Dan Lunsford.

The author, Ken Sanford ’52, a Mars Hill College trustee, said he kept hearing the phrase, “There’s Just Something About This Place,” and thus chose the “Mystique” title. Rather than writing a traditional history, he chose to let those most familiar with Mars Hill College, the administrators, trustees, faculty and staff, students, and alumni share their experiences.

The author answers such intriguing questions as: How did a small liberal arts college become so successful in educating so many distinguished graduates over 150 years? How did the college overcome the ravages of the Civil War and Reconstruction and numerous financial crises? What is the link between the Apostle Paul and the college? How is a slave linked to the founding of a college that became one of the first church-related colleges in the South to desegregate? And, what was Mars Hill College’s connection to the founding of Habitat for Humanity?

Among Mars Hill College’s distinguished alumni are a 2007 Pulitzer Prize Winner, Gene Roberts; North Carolina Congressman David Price and Chancellor Ken Peacock of Appalachian State University.

Alumni from the past who had distinguished careers include John Battle, governor of Virginia; Liston Ramsey, one of North Carolina’s longest serving speakers of the House; Gerald Johnson, editor of the Baltimore Evening Sun and former head of the University of North Carolina School of Journalism; Wayne E. Oates, pioneer in pastoral care and the person who coined the term, “workaholic;” and Lamar Stringfield, who helped found the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra.

For more than a year, Darryl Norton ’80, Walter Smith ’49, and Bob Chapman ’45, assisted by Richard Dillingham ’68, met almost weekly to pore over black and white photos—many of them quite old. Their careful selections from the outlay of the college’s archival images were compiled in a new “coffee table” book, Through the Long Years, that illustrates the history of Mars Hill College from its beginning in 1856 to the present day. The 208-page book was released in October 2006. It contains more than 850 photographs and is a real treasure for anyone associated with the college.

Get your copy: Both books are available from the Mars Hill College Bookstore. Also available are the following items from the musical Treasures: the original cast recording CD, full scripts, and sheet music. For more information call 828.689.1248 or visit the Web site at www.mhcbookstore.com.

From These Stones – Fall 2007

1515

Stadium Gets a Face Lift After years with one of the lower rated athletic stadiums in the South Atlantic Conference, the Lions now play in one of the top facilities in the conference. Thanks to the generosity of two families with long ties to the college, Mars Hill was able to open the fall soccer and football seasons in a fully renovated and upgraded facility. Gone is the uneven playing surface with its grass in poor shape following weeks of games and practices; in its place is a new MaxPlay Artificial Grass System. Gone is the bare-bones wood frame press box; in its place is a new two-story brick

North Carolina Congressman Heath Shuler tosses the coin at the opening home football game of the 2007 season.

facility. Gone are the days of MHC fans sitting side-by-side with the opponents’ fans on one side of the field; now the visitors have their own grandstands behind the visiting team sidelines and the home fans have refurbished stadium seating.

Mars Hill College dedicated its new press box in September during the first home 16

football game of the season.

The W. Scott Merrill Press Box is named in honor of Scott Merrill, who died in a 1983 car accident while a student at Mars Hill. His parents, Bob and Lois Merrill of Brevard, North Carolina, and other family members were on hand for the festivities, as were U.S. Representative Heath Shuler and state legislators Ray Rapp and Bruce Goforth. Congressman Shuler tossed the coin at the beginning of the game, then presented the special uncirculated dollar coin to the Merrills. At halftime, MHC President Dan Lunsford and board of trustees chairman Wayne Higgins presented the Merrill family with a reproduction of the commemorative plaque which hangs in the new press box.

The 2,400 square foot brick facility consists of a President’s Box featuring a serving area and VIP seating on the first floor. The upper level includes space devoted to game operations (scoreboard, public address announcer, media, etc.), home and visitor

From These Stones – The Mars Hill College Magazine

coaches’ boxes, two radio booths, and a film room.

The Merrill family has a long association with Mars Hill College. Bob is a graduate of the class of 1949, and has served on the college’s board of advisors and board of trustees, including a term as trustee chairman. The Merrills have given generously to the college, funding scholarships and other projects over the years, including significant contributions to the construction of the new Founders Memorial, noted in the Sesquicentennial feature.

The college dedicated the Ammons Family Athletic Center in honor of Justus (Jud) and Jo Ellen Ammons of Raleigh, North Carolina, at the October 6 home football game. Generous gifts from the Ammons family—the largest

ever for the Mars Hill College athletics program—allowed the college to renovate Meares Stadium with the addition of the new playing surface, new home bleachers, permanent visitors’ seating, and new fencing along Athletic Street. At the halftime ceremony, Dr. Lunsford and chairman Higgins presented the couple with a framed replica of the dedicatory plaque which has been placed at the stadium. Athletic director David Riggins presented Jud and Jo Ellen each with a Mars Hill football jersey.

Dr. Lunsford and trustee chairman Wayne Higgins present plaque to Lois and Bob Merrill.

Jud Ammons is a Mars Hill native, life-long Baptist, trustee of the college, businessman, author, and gamesman. He is a descendant of one of the founding families of the college. Jo Ellen Ammons, from Monroe, North Carolina, is a Baptist deacon, alumnus and trustee of Meredith College, decorator for the family business, an avid reader, and a woman who enjoys travel.

On the dedicatory plaque are recorded these thoughts by the family about their gifts: “…support of this facility by the Ammons Family is to express our love for the College, its alumni and the Lions’ athletic programs. It is our way, as descendants of the college founders, to recognize the heritage of our ancestors.”

According to athletic director Riggins, “These gifts to the athletics portion of our Values & Vision capital campaign positively impact Mars Hill athletics in so many ways. To spectators, potential recruits, and parents, the gifts say that our athletic programs are valued by our institution and those who support it. Most importantly, they provide a tremendously enhanced facility for the 240 Lion athletes who compete in that venue. All of our programs are indebted to the Ammons and Merrill families.”

Additional planned improvements include an entrance plaza along NC Highway 213 with ticket booths, bathrooms and a concession stand.

Athletic Director David Riggins presents a Lion football jersey to Jud Ammons while Jo Ellen Ammons waits to receive her jersey from Wayne Higgins.

Want more Lions athletics news?

Log-on to sports.mhc.edu

Basketball Teams Face Tough Remainder of Season 29-Dec

Women

Virginia Intermont College Bristol, VA

2:00 PM

3-Jan

Women

King College

HOME

6:00 PM

5-Jan

Women

Brevard College

HOME

2:00 PM

5-Jan

Men

Brevard College

HOME

4:00 PM

7-Jan

Men

Chowan University

Murfreesboro, NC 7:30 PM

9-Jan

Women

Newberry College

Newberry, SC

6:00 PM

9-Jan

Men

Newberry College

Newberry, SC

8:00 PM

12-Jan

Women

Carson-Newman College

HOME

2:00 PM

12-Jan

Men

Carson-Newman College

HOME

4:00 PM

16-Jan

Women

Lenoir-Rhyne College

Hickory, NC

6:00 PM

16-Jan

Men

Lenoir-Rhyne College

Hickory, NC

8:00 PM

19-Jan

Women

Catawba College

HOME

2:00 PM

19-Jan

Men

Catawba College

HOME

4:00 PM

23-Jan

Women

Wingate University

HOME

6:00 PM

23-Jan

Men

Wingate University

HOME

8:00 PM

26-Jan

Women

Lincoln Memorial Univ.

Harrogate, TN

6:00 PM

26-Jan

Men

Lincoln Memorial Univ.

Harrogate, TN

8:00 PM

28-Jan

Men

Chowan University

HOME

7:00 PM

30-Jan

Women

Tusculum College

Greenville, TN

6:00 PM

30-Jan

Men

Tusculum College

Greenville, TN

8:00 PM

2-Feb

Men

Brevard College

Brevard, NC

4:00 PM

2-Feb

Women

Brevard College

Brevard, NC

6:00 PM

6-Feb

Women

Newberry College

HOME

6:00 PM

6-Feb

Men

Newberry College

HOME

8:00 PM

9-Feb

Men

Carson-Newman College

Jefferson City, TN

4:00 PM

9-Feb

Women

Carson-Newman College

Jefferson City, TN

6:00 PM.

13-Feb

Women

Lincoln Memorial Univ.

HOME

6:00 PM

13-Feb

Men

Lincoln Memorial Univ.

HOME

8:00 PM

16-Feb

Women

Catawba College

Salisbury, NC

2:00 PM

16-Feb

Men

Catawba College

Salisbury, NC

4:00 PM

20-Feb

Women

Wingate University

Wingate, NC

6:00 PM

20-Feb

Men

Wingate University

Wingate, NC

8:00 PM

23-Feb

Women

North Greenville University Tigerville, SC

2:00 PM

23-Feb

Men

North Greenville University Tigerville, SC

4:00 PM

27-Feb

Women

Tusculum College

HOME

6:00 PM

27-Feb

Men

Tusculum College

HOME

8:00 PM

1-Mar

Women

Lenoir-Rhyne College

HOME

2:00 PM

1-Mar

Men

HOME

4:00 PM

5-Mar

Men

Higher Seed

TBA

5-Mar

Women

Higher Seed

TBA

8-9 Mar

Men

Hickory, NC

TBA

8-9 Mar

Women

Lenoir-Rhyne College SAC Tournament (Quarterfinals) SAC Tournament (Quarterfinals) SAC Tournament (Semis & Finals) SAC Tournament (Semis & Finals)

Hickory, NC

TBA

From These Stones – Fall 2007

17

Title III Grant Has Big Impact Mars Hill College was awarded a Title III Strengthening Institutions grant of approximately $2 million, or about $400,000 a year for five years, beginning in October 2006. These funds from the U.S. Department of Education are to be used in the improvement of our academic programming across the campus and across disciplines. Project director Marshall Angle provided this overview of the program.

The primary challenge of the MHC Title III initiative is to create a rigorous liberal arts learning environment that 21st century students will find attractive, stimulating, and meaningful. To meet this challenge, Title III will fund grant activities aimed at improving instructional technology and faculty advising. Moreover, Title III seeks to raise the college’s academic profile by developing departmental honors programs and a student research program. Finally, the grant will fund program review aimed at strengthening the college’s academic programs. Ultimately, it is the goal of the project to stimulate positive change in academic programs, instructional technology, faculty advising, and research that impacts enrollment, retention, and degree-completion targets.

Integrating technology with instruction is an important initiative of the grant. Technology improvements will create a more attractive, stimulating, and meaningful liberal arts learning environment at MHC, helping faculty explore pedagogical innovations that advance teaching and learning. To support this endeavor, Instructional Technologist Marty Gilbert ’99 will work with faculty to increase their expertise in classroom-based technology. Marty will help them develop individualized Technology Integration Training Plans that are tailored to their needs and interests.

The Title III initiative for academic advising aims to establish an effective faculty advisement system that fosters students’ persistence in learning and graduation. This initiative also seeks to improve the college’s first-year experience programs. The coordinator for faculty advising, Diane Hutt ’98, will work to reform and strengthen the MHC advising system, develop our student-mentor program (i.e., Challengers), and instigate a system for assessing the efficacy of our faculty advising system in terms of student satisfaction, retention, and achievement.

Academic program review and assessment is a key component of the grant, which will help MHC faculty identify learning outcomes and develop assessment protocols for evaluating the efficacy of the college’s academic programs.

Beginning with faculty development, the program review initiative will ultimately establish systemic and cyclical processes for improving institutional effectiveness, and thus enriching the academic opportunities available to students.

In part, the program review initiative will help departments develop Honors programming for our most academically gifted students.

One of the most fundamental components of Title III is student-faculty research, which will allow students to take what they have learned in the classroom and apply their knowledge to real-life experiences. Funding for research will help students conduct applied research and present their work at conferences. The Title III project director, Marshall Angle, will coordinate the research program and promote MHC as an engaged learning community that is identified by rich student—mentor relationships. One of the most exciting opportunities offered by the grant is the chance for MHC to match federal funding in order to establish an endowment for student research. The short term goal is to match $120,000, with a long term goal of growing the endowment into a substantial fund that would position Mars Hill College as a leader in undergraduate research.

For more information, contact Marshall Angle at 828.689.1357 (mangle@mhc.edu) or Amanda Proffitt ’05 at 828.689.1358 (aproffitt@mhc.edu). You can also learn more about Title III goals by visiting the project’s Web site: http://www.mhc.edu/title3.

Ramsey Center Earns Prestigious National Grant Mars Hill College is delighted to announce that it has been offered $500,000 in Challenge Grant award monies from the National Endowment for the Humanities. This substantial award supports the Liston B. Ramsey Center for Regional Studies’ Southern Appalachian Archive in Renfro Library. The offer, the maximum possible under the NEH Challenge Grant program, comes to the college after a demanding process of review and competition. “This is a high honor,” wrote NEH Chairman Bruce Cole, a presidential appointee, in his award letter to Mars Hill.

The award confirms the national importance of Mars Hill College’s unique collections of photos, ballads, community records, and countless other original documents treating nearly every aspect of mountain life in the past two centuries.

As Dr. Tom Rankin of the Duke Center for Documentary Studies observed in a letter supporting the grant proposal,

18

From These Stones – The Mars Hill College Magazine

“Mars Hill College has been the repository of many cultural treasures, and has several nationally significant collections.” It is unusual for a small college to house such rich and important archival resources, which are more often found in larger universities. National Endowment reviewers “found the evidence compelling,” wrote NEH Chairman Cole, “that the college’s Southern Appalachian Archives are important to humanities scholars within and beyond the Mars Hill campus community.”

The award grows out of Mars Hill College’s long history of service to the region, and the fact that generations of mountain residents have entrusted their treasures to the college. It also builds on past Ramsey Center successes. These include ongoing programs such as the annual Bascom Lamar Lunsford Festival of mountain music, and special programming such as the 2005 and 2006 NEH Landmarks of American History summer workshops for community college faculty, “Working the Woods.” National Endowment reviewers “lauded the high quality” of regional programs at the college, wrote Chairman Cole, and appreciated Mars Hill’s history of designing programs that “have integrated placebased study firmly into the curriculum.”

The NEH Challenge Grant program requires a three-to-one match, and the college is committed to raising, over the next four years, the $1.5 million necessary to collect the full Challenge Grant award. The Mars Hill College Advancement Office will lead the fundraising effort, which is already underway. The monies will support a permanent archivist position within the Ramsey Center, and a permanent Appalachian History and Culture Programming Fund that will highlight key collections. Most of the $2 million total will go into endowment to permanently support the archives, while $225,000 will go to bridging costs so that the Ramsey Center may immediately begin the important work of hiring the archivist and preserving, making accessible, and creating programming around its most important and valuable collections.

Thanks in large part to generous and timely lead grants from the Steele-Reese and McClure Foundations, Mars Hill College already has over $130,000 committed toward the Challenge Grant match.

These matching monies enable the Ramsey Center to create the archivist position this year, and to redouble its efforts to preserve, make accessible, and build programming around its wonderful Southern Appalachian collections. “We wish you every success with this important archival project,” wrote Steele-Reese Foundation trustees in a letter awarding the college $100,000 in matching funds for the NEH Challenge Grant.

The Ramsey Center team is delighted to have earned the challenge grant, and is eagerly beginning the work it makes possible. “This award is the culmination of years of effort by a team from across campus,” commented Ramsey Center Faculty Chair Dr. Kathy Newfont, a member of the history department. “We have a remarkable opportunity thanks to NEH. We are very grateful, and excited to be gathering for these collections the support they so richly deserve.” Newfont will serve as the challenge grant project director. The grant offer affirms the National Endowment’s confidence in the Ramsey Center’s plans for preserving its archival collections, and making them available to a broad public. “This opportunity will enhance Mars Hill College’s ability to make community history and cultural resources more available to students, researchers, and community members,” explained Ms. Cassie Robinson, Ramsey Center coordinator and associate project director for the NEH Challenge Grant.

If the college continues to make steady progress with its fundraising efforts, annual programming focused on the archives will begin in the academic year 2008–09. Highlighted collections for the first three years of programming include the important Gertrude Ruskin Collection of Cherokee materials, the rich James G.K. McClure Collection related to twentieth-century mountain farm history, and the unique Bascom Lamar Lunsford Collection focused on mountain music and dance traditions.

To contribute to the matching grant effort, contact Donna Kull, director of corporate and foundation relations, at 828-689-1277 or dkull@mhc.edu; or Alex Miller, vice president of institutional advancement, at 828-689-1435 or amiller@mhc.edu.

From These Stones – Fall 2007

19

Adventure of the American Mind Mars Hill College alumna Sonna Jamerson is not a traditional history teacher. Her students don’t memorize names and dates of battles. Instead they learn to understand history by reading the stories of people who lived through slavery and the dust bowl.

They create characters of women who built airplanes during World War II. They have read the diaries of Wilbur and Orville Wright and know what Manzanar looked like. These students don’t learn history as much as they “do history.” And while they may not know it (and likely don’t care), they’re the beneficiaries of a unique program with roots at Mars Hill College.

AnneMarie Walter, associate director of the Adventure of the American Mind (AAM) project at Mars Hill, has been a key member of the education department since shortly after the program was established in 1999. The AAM project was designed to train in-service and pre-service classroom teachers (including Sonna Jamerson) and college teacher education faculty to access, use, and produce curriculum utilizing the Internet and the digitized materials from the collections of the Library of Congress.

Mars Hill College was one of the original schools that collaborated to design and implement this national program, now in its eighth year.

Early funding, secured by former Congressman Charles Taylor, provided financial support for the first phase of improvements of the Nash Education Building (the former Memorial Library), establishing the first technology enabled classroom on the MHC campus, adding a computer lab, and more than doubling the college’s Internet capacity. Since its beginning, the AAM program served area K-12 teachers and school librarians, assisting them in developing curricula that integrated technology and “primary source” materials to improve student learning. Primary sources are documents, photographs, oral histories, letters, and other artifacts that survive to teach us about our past.

Out of this work, Walter, along with former AAM Director Dr. Ed Shearin, developed one of the first programs in the country that taught educators to use the photographs, oral histories, and important documents housed in national and local archive collections to create digital historical narratives­—small movies—for use in their classrooms and libraries. Through these brief documentaries about the important events and daily lives of our nation’s history, students become engaged with history, and they think critically about our past as they learn the art and craft of storytelling.

“I want to make history come alive for our students.”

Reaching over 500 teachers, Walter traveled to area schools and libraries teaching the 20-hour hands-on workshop.

She also worked with faculty and staff at other AAM partner institutions and Appalachian College Association colleges to establish their own programs, receiving national attention for her work in this field. During this time, Walter decided to return to school, earning a M.S. in Instructional Technology from East Carolina University and the Outstanding Graduate Student of the Year award. An experienced presenter at regional conferences on teaching and learning, Walter shared her work at the 2007 National Education Computing Conference (NECC) in Atlanta. Throughout her tenure, she has published a weekly newsletter to an international audience focusing on digital primary resources and now has a regular column in another regional publication.

Although the funding for the AAM program was expected to end in September, 2007, the program has been extended one more year. In this, its final school year, the program is focused on faculty development and student learning at Mars Hill. In collaboration with the Title III grant, AAM is continuing to provide more technologically advanced learning environments and additional media equipment available to students and faculty.

While still maintaining an outreach program to area schools, Walter is working with teacher education majors to help them develop hands-on activities that use primary sources to bring this kind of active learning to their classrooms. She has already conducted a series of workshops for faculty who teach the Liberal Arts in Action courses and is excited about making the considerable resources of the Ramsey Center more accessible. Walter says, “I want to make history come alive for our students. It’s pretty easy to give the 50,000 foot view of history. But I want our students to see it close up; to understand how real people lived their lives.”

She’s succeeding in that mission. When elementary education major and history buff Andy McCall talks about the Great Depression, he can tell you about the stock market collapse. But he gets really excited when he tells you about the travels of a nurse in the Boone area or how a Durham family of mill workers made ends meet during those difficult times. He read their stories—part of the American Life Histories collection at the Library of Congress—in his North Carolina history class.

20

From These Stones – The Mars Hill College Magazine

250 Million Years and Counting…

by Rachel Granger Gill ’52

G

eologists tell us that Bailey Mountain is old. Really, really old! For 250 million years it has presided over the valley that hosts Mars Hill College and the town of Mars Hill, newcomers at only 151 years. Many former students and townspeople, when asked to sum up their feelings about this comforting and constant treasure of nature, use the very same four words, “It’s always there.” Now, thanks to the dreams and remarkable efforts of the Richard L. Hoffman Foundation, Bailey Mountain will always be there.

With the slogan, Saving Bailey Mountain, the foundation raised money to buy 200 acres of the mountain, freeing it from the threat of residential development and making it possible for the land to become a public park. The foundation’s goals for old Bailey are to: ΕΕ Protect the culture and history of Bailey Mountain ΕΕ Create interpretive walking trails and picnic areas ΕΕ Develop learning stations for students and visitors ΕΕ State community values of beauty and natural heritage ΕΕ Develop service-learning opportunities for MHC students.

“We were motivated to save Bailey Mountain as a tribute to the mountain itself,” says Lee Hoffman ’84, board secretary of the Richard L. Hoffman Foundation and the son of the late Richard Hoffman who began the foundation. The board was also motivated by the contribution Bailey Mountain has made to this community: the part that it has played in so many young lives, especially to those who grew up in this community. And to college students who through the years have hiked its slopes, leaving a trail of names on rocks and trees still visible to today’s hikers.

“Doing this work has been a labor of love. In some ways, saving Bailey Mountain was a tribute to my dad. But mostly it was the fear that the property would be developed,” says Lee, who, with his mother, Jeanne, sells real estate in Madison County, now a hot spot for building large houses with a view in mind. “Not every mountain slope has to have a house on it. We need to take inventory of the land and decide what places we want to protect. If we don’t, it’s inevitable it will be developed.

“We were also defending a landmark,” Lee continues. “We wanted to keep the mountain looking as close to natural as we could. The vehicle for doing that was the foundation Dad had started. We knew he would see the value of what we were doing.”

From These Stones – Fall 2007

21

With the Foundation Board’s blessing, Lee and his brother, Will ’80, the board’s executive director, took their mission on the road. “We talked with many foundations and got good responses, but it would never have happened without the McClure Fund,” says Lee. John and Annie Ager are managers of the fund created by Annie’s father, James McClure Clarke, a former 11th District U.S. Congressman. The Hoffman brothers told the couple about their vision and invited them to come to Mars Hill. The Agers walked over the property and fell in love with Bailey. “John and Annie were wonderful. They quickly decided to invest in our dream and loaned the Hoffman Foundation the selling price of $350,000 to buy Bailey Mountain. They took an incredible risk to do that. It was also an incredible gift to the Foundation. All we had to do was pay it back!” Lee says, with a laugh.

“To tell you the truth, I didn’t think that raising that kind money was attainable,” says Grainger Caudill, business professor at Mars Hill College and a Hoffman Foundation board member. “It all started with Lee’s dream. I did what I could to help, but the Hoffmans kept the energy behind it. They found ways to make it happen. I really applaud Lee, Will, and Jeanne.

They carried the burden of it.”

“It was hard to raise the money, and sometimes we couldn’t come up with our scheduled payment, but John and Annie never complained. They trusted that we would get there,” Lee admits. It took seven long years of hard work, but in July 2006 the foundation made its final payment on the $350,000 loan with a generous $10,000 gift to the Bailey Mountain Project. And the dream became reality.

Like Lee and Will, Hoffman board member Gordon Randolph also grew up in the town of Mars Hill, but some years earlier.

“I was raised in a Little Rascals environment, which means we had to entertain ourselves. My family lived in a house on South Main Street that looked over the campus, straight on to Bailey Mountain. It was always there,” Randolph remembers.

As boys, Gordon and his friends claimed “The Bailey” as their playground. But Randolph’s fondness for the mountain did not end after the boy became a man. “I was honored to be invited by the Hoffman family to work with the foundation,” says Randolph, who served 14 years on the Mars Hill Town Council and was the town’s mayor for four years. “We didn’t want someone to develop it like is happening on many mountains in the area, someone with no concern for the land and for the people in the community whose families have lived here for more than 200 years. The mountain is pristine, and we want to keep it that way. In saving Bailey Mountain we make a clear statement concerning what we value. It’s sort of like saying ‘thank you’ to an old friend.”

Pristine, yes, but not static. The Bailey has had a busy life: providing a home for wildlife from prehistoric animals to black bears and coyotes; for a great variety of flora, including some plants unique to the mountain; for American Indians and for

In addition to the McClure Fund, other large grants solicited by the Hoffman Foundation helped pay off the debt: The Janirve Foundation, the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, the U.S. Department of Cultural Resources, and the Clean Water Trust Fund.

Lee Hoffman (far left) gives instructions to a group of Grayson and Marshbanks–Anderson scholars before a work day on Bailey.

In addition, hundreds of local residents and MHC alumni and the early 19th century white settlers. Richard Dillingham, many other groups invested from amounts of $5.00 to $94,000 MHC’s resident authority on local history, was instrumental to save Bailey Mountain. One hundred percent of these gifts in the initial development of the Bailey project. He refers to were applied to the debt. the pioneers who settled this area as the first true Americans.

“The first to cross the Blue Ridge Mountains, they carried Lee and Will Hoffman grew up in Mars Hill and lost their with them a value system that included egalitarianism and an hearts to Bailey as very young boys. Their parents allowed independent spirit,” says Dillingham. This area was settled by the boys to spend their summers exploring Bailey’s wonders.

Revolutionary War veterans. Levi Bailey, for whom the Bailey Today, both young men are raising their children in the town Mountain was named, was the first to claim property on the of Mars Hill and teaching them to enjoy and to cherish their mountain. “He, and others who followed, had fought for this beloved mountain.

22

From These Stones – The Mars Hill College Magazine

country’s freedom from England but were distrustful of their own government, They chose these mountains because it was a very long way from Washington. Their descendants are still here,” adds Dillingham.

Now that The Bailey is officially preserved, the Hoffman Foundation’s work has changed. “We’ve had to focus on raising money for a long time; now we have time to develop the educational component,’ says Lee. Local public schools and Mars Hill College are already conducting outdoor classrooms on Bailey. The MHC Outdoor Club is helping to keep trails open and laying out a new network of trails. And the Grayson and Marshbanks-Anderson Scholars, along with other student groups, clear trails each year as volunteer projects. “Without the work of college students we could not have maintained trails to stay open,” adds Lee. There are also times to relax and wander. Every generation of townspeople and Mars Hill College students remembers Bailey, Through the years the mountain has been many things: a playground for children and adults, a place of quiet solace, steep slopes that challenge athletes, trails that welcome walkers, meandering streams whose music both calms and energizes, and even a cave to explore.

Debra Huff, MHC’s associate campus minister of the Christian Student Ministry, is a hiker and lives at the foot of Bailey Mountain. She brings CSM students for occasional outings on Bailey Mountain. But, for her, it’s also a place for solitude.

“I sometimes sit on Lookout Rock and just look over the land.

It’s very serene and peaceful there. I feel so fortunate that the

Hoffmans have secured the mountain. I’m very thankful for that,” she says.

It is no surprise that the Hoffman Foundation’s success has generated gratitude and excitement for the town of Mars Hill and Mars Hill College with its thousands of its alumni. It’s a dream come true. As it has always been, Bailey Mountain will continue to be. The late Mars Hill College art professor Joe Chris Robertson put it this way: “No man-made structure can ever be the symbol of Mars Hill. Nature has ordained that role to Bailey Mountain alone.”

Mountain mists in the morning— Cloud drifts veiling the mountain tops And cloaking the valley— Lift them up, God; Pin them on a sun ray, And look down through Your sky of blue Toward the college where we lived and grew Under Bailey’s shadow.

Look down through the golden path Of morning sunrise— Down at the bell tower, Sounding in the day, Down at the ones who slowly pass Over the hillside paths, Into another moment to be woven Into the pattern of our years.

—Elizabeth Bridges, Class of 1951

From These Stones – Fall 2007

23

CLASS notes 1930s

nizations.

Class of 1939

Class of 1948

Altha Satterwhite married Harold Gallagher in Hawaii on February 16.

The couple met last year at Pine Park Retirement Inn in Hendersonville, North Carolina, where they both had moved following the deaths of their spouses.

ose Mary Rommel Johnson R was chosen as 2006 Volunteer of the Year by Goodwill Industries of Kentucky for her 30 years of work on the Goodwill Industries Volunteer Services board, of which she is president. She is also very active in the American Association of University Women and has served as treasurer for Louisville Delta Zeta Sorority Alumnae for 53 years.

1940s Class of 1941 leanor Redding , who lives E in Melbourne Beach, Florida, reports the good fortune of some recent visits with classmates. She writes: “ Erma Morris Miller ‘41 moved from her childhood home in Tarpon Springs to Melbourne Beach and lives about two miles from me. We have gotten together several times and really enjoyed talking about old times. And [in August] I flew to Roanoke VA to see my granddaughter, and had lunch with Gwen Reed Gordh ‘41 who was my best friend at Mars Hill. What a good time we had for a few hours.”

Class of 1942 erry White received a Lifetime P Achievement Award from the Sanford Herald. Among his many accomplishments: as a World War II Air Force fighter pilot he was shot down twice and was highly decorated, including the Purple Heart and several medals signifying the 93 combat missions he flew during the invasion of the Philippines; he co-owned and retired from Hallman Foundry; he is active in volunteer work, not only in his local community but also in Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina; he is a former Lee County commissioner and has served on the boards of numerous business, community, and political orga24

1950s Class of 1950 J ames A. Prince was inducted into the Knoxville Interscholastic League Boys Basketball Hall of Fame. He coached at Powell High School from 1959-1968, compiling 178 victories. udy Singleton was inducted R into the N.C. Bar Association’s General Practice Hall of Fame.

He is a lawyer in Fayetteville with more than 50 years’ experience in law. He has participated in more than 40 appeals and has been an American Arbitration Association panel member since 1970 and a certified mediator since 1995.

Class of 1951 loise (Keller) and Theron E Farlow celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last year.

They are both retired teachers and live in Sophia, North Carolina.

Class of 1952 ugene Roberts was awarded E the Pulitzer Prize in History (see page 28).

Class of 1954 Hal

and Shirley

Starnes

From These Stones – The Mars Hill College Magazine

English ‘55 celebrated their 52nd wedding anniversary in February. They live in Raleigh, North Carolina. They have three sons and two grandchildren. They attend First Baptist Church and have been in the same Sunday School class for 47 years.

Class of 1956 an Pardue retired after 22 D years as minister of music at First Baptist Church of Statesville. He is also involved with the MacDowell Music Club and is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers; he has also directed the Mitchell Community College Choir for more than ten years.

Membership Corporation in Lenoir, North Carolina. After taking off a few months to relax and spend more time with her family, she plans to spend part of her retirement time continuing to use her teaching skills by facilitating future leadership training classes at Blue Ridge Electric. d Way now serves as the E regional fiscal director for the East Region of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services. The region serves children and their families in 15 counties surrounding Knoxville. Ed and Gail (Atkinson) ‘71 now have five grandchildren.

1970s Class of 1973

1960s Class of 1967 arthel Crout was elected C to the Ward One seat on the Williamston, South Carolina, council. He’s a retired school teacher and coach who was head football coach at Palmetto High School for ten years, and is a retired Sgt. Major of the U.S. Army Reserve. He and his wife Sharon (Proctor) ‘69 have two daughters.

Governor Mike Easley has appointed Barbara Blythe Snowden to a six-year term on the North Carolina Historical Commission. She is retired from Currituck County Schools, president of the Currituck Historical Society, a member of the North Carolina Maritime Council, and vice chair of the Outer Banks History Center Associates.

Class of 1968 everly B Cansler Finney retired as vice president of member services after 25 years with Blue Ridge Electric

Samford University music professor Paul Richardson was named winner of this year’s John H. Buchanan Award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching. Students nominated him for the award, describing him as a good model of someone who lives to teach and who truly cares about his students.

Class of 1974 andra Varner Strom , a sixth S grade math teacher in Union County, South Carolina, has been selected as the 2007 Excelsior Middle School Teacher of the Year.

CLASS notes Class of 1976 very Fouts was named the A University of South CarolinaUnion’s distinguished teacher of the year. Students who nominated him for the award said he uses “user friendly” techniques to communicated demanding concepts; is clear, patient, and thorough; makes himself available to students; and goes “above and beyond” to help them. He’s in his third year teaching philosophy and religion at USC-Union following 17 years in California. ark Garber has been M appointed chief human resources officer for Angel Medical Center in Franklin, North Carolina.

J udith Helms Poole has been elected to serve as president of the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. She is a nurse manager in birthing care and special maternity care at Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is a consultant with the Professional Education Center in Chico, California. avid Whitson is now the D dean for administrative services at Blue Ridge Community

College in Flat Rock, North Carolina. He formerly held similar positions at Haywood Community College and Mayland Community College.

Class of 1978 T om Carringer has joined ACS Technologies in Florence, South Carolina, as executive director of client analytics.

ACS Technologies provides software and other information management services to churches, schools, and other faith based organizations.

Genny and Tommy Robertson celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. The couple has two children and five grandchildren and lives in Timberlake, North Carolina.

Class of 1979 avid Mathis is now the D associate superintendent for administration with the Aiken County, South Carolina, School District.

1980s Class of 1980 J ohn Bennett has been appointed chair of the

Department of Communication at Queens University of Charlotte. amela Maxwell Randolph P is a transition specialist for the Abbeville County School District adult education program. ichael Sitton was inducted M into the Carl A. Lampert Music Hall of Fame at the University of Kentucky, where he earned his master’s degree. He is in his third year as Dean of the College of Fine Arts at Eastern New Mexico University. Among his recent activities in this role have been a June 2007 trip to China to cultivate the university’s exchange programs with a number of Chinese institutions; fundraising and planning for a renovation and expansion of the university’s music building; and leadership of the successful completion of the institution’s NASM accreditation review. He continues to perform as a solo pianist and accompanist and to work actively as a composer.

He has three new choral works forthcoming from Paraclete Press of Massachusetts; he is completing a commission from St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, for a major work to premiere

Race, Record Fundraiser, and Reunion Gina Allen Terry ’87 (left) put all three of those things together last December. She writes: December 9th I ran my second half-marathon at Kiawah Island, raised over $4000 for the International Myeloma Foundation to honor my mother, who is fighting the disease, and did so with the support of many friends and family, including of course, my husband ( Wendell Keith Chris Terry MHC ’88 ) and donations from people like my college roommate, Susan Odom Midgett MHC ’86 (right), who also ran the half-marathon. Other donors include Todd Reeves (MHC ’84) and his parents (his mother is in remission from Leukemia), who first introduced me to MHC back in 1981.

Chris and I have kept in touch with Susan and her family, who live nearby in Greensboro, but we haven’t seen each other in 20 years. We e-mailed a lot during training for the half marathon (her first). It was a fun reunion and a joy to meet one another’s children especially.

in December; and his Missa Brevis was performed and recorded in Spring 2007 by the St. Mary’s College Women’s Choir of Notre Dame, Indiana.

Class of 1981 uzanne Powell Hess has S been named chair of the Northwest North Carolina Chapter Board of Directors of the American Red Cross. eith Johnson was promoted K to director of Davidson County Department of Social Services in Lexington, North Carolina.

Class of 1982 T erry Peterson has been named vice president of the credit division of Carolina Farm Credit.

Class of 1984 J anie Mae Jones Sealey married Lawrence Charles McKinley in October 2006. ari Wiles is now the Minister M to the University at Chowan University.

Class of 1985 aren Hefner Stephens is K now the assistant principal at Isenberg Elementary School in Salisbury, North Carolina.

Karen has spent 22 years in education: 17 of them in Mitchell County and four in Davie County, before moving to the Rowan-Salisbury School System last year.

Class of 1986 T ammy Mosteller married Dr. Bruce Smit and now lives in the Chicago suburbs. She works as a private duty home nurse and enjoys writing newspaper columns about being raised in North Carolina.

Class of 1988 We have received word that

From These Stones – Fall 2007

25

CLASS notes athy Yocum Chambers and C her husband James had their second child, Riley Cathleen Chambers, in October 2004.

J on Hancock is the new head boys’ basketball coach at East Burke High School in Connelly Springs, North Carolina. usan Pool is now principal of S Eastfield Elementary School in Marion, North Carolina. She has more than 20 years experience as a teacher, librarian, and teacher support coordinator in the McDowell County school system.

Class of 1989 arrell Dawkins was sworn in D last December as police chief of Woodruff, South Carolina.

J ohnny Gaither married Dawn Martin in April 2006. Johnny is a neighborhood services coordinator in Washington, DC. The couple live in Washington and Paris, France, where Dawn is a professor at the University of Paris II. yan Whitson is now the R county manager in Polk County, North Carolina.

1990s Class of 1990 ary Moore has been named G principal at Deyton Primary School in Mitchell County, North Carolina.

Carson Patrick Phillips is the second son born to Ronda Evans Phillips and husband Brian. Ronda says big brother Hayden “is completely in love and totally proud” of the new arrival, who’s now a little more than a year old. egenea Davis Voorhees and R husband Louis welcomed their third child, Margaret Garrison, on February 21. Maggie joins her two brothers, Luke (Louis 26

III), who is four, and Davis, who is two, at their home in Greenville, South Carolina.

Class of 1991 ngela Payne Flemming was A selected as Teacher of the Year at Brush Creek Elementary School in Madison County, North Carolina.

T ammy Norman Shook was named the 2005-06 Teacher of the Year at Crossnore Academy. She was one of the original teachers at the academy when it opened as a charter school in 1998.

Class of 1992 Kerry Heafner was awarded

Island Alums ina Handy ’97 writes with the story of an interesting MHC G reunion: A colleague of mine, Bethany Burgess Smith (Class of ’96) runs the educational department at Pistarckle Theatre in St. Thomas, US Virgin lslands. She has been running the program for over 2 years, and has had tremendous success bring theater in education to this island. This past summer, she asked me to come down and be part of her summer staff. We produced a summer show, and hosted a 5 week leadership camp with 35 kids. This fall, I went back to St. Thomas to teach a dance intensive and choreograph the Christmas production. During that time, we discovered there was another Mars Hill alum on the island, Janice Ballard (Class of ’81) . She is currently serving as music director for the Reformed Church of St. Thomas. We decided we needed to do some performing together. We performed for All Saints Day at the Reformed Church, and the following week we had a cabaret fund raiser for the education department at Pistarckle.

Our cabaret was a huge success. It was called Broadway Performance Sharing, which included performances by my dance intensive kids, Janice on piano, and Bethany and I performing new and old Broadway favorites. We raised over $700 for the education department, and it was standing room only.

This was a unique opportunity to use our God given talents, the skills we fine tuned at Mars Hill, and relive memories of our time there.

to his hometown of Murphy, North Carolina, and joined the medical staff at Murphy Medical Center.

Class of 1993 teve Glenn received his docS torate in educational leadership from Clemson University in December 2005. He is principal at Abbeville High School in Abbeville, South Carolina.

Class of 1994 tephen Barrington is execuS tive director of the Greater Franklin County Chamber of Commerce in Louisburg, North Carolina. amela Penland Becker , her P husband Michael, and son Christopher announce the birth of Caylah Lynn Becker in July 2006. an Brigman is now superD intendent of Macon County Schools in North Carolina.

Class of 1995 olly Patricia Bush marD ried Hugh Kurt Cavanaugh in October 2006. isa Hollar Garland was L named Employee of the Year 2006 by Everlight USA.

Class of 1997 pril Avery is now the principal A of Riverside Elementary School in Newland, North Carolina.

T im McCoy is Director of Youth Ministry of the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Tim and Julie Davis McCoy and their three children now live in Toronto. Tim served as Associate Pastor of Leadership and Student Ministry at Independence Hill Baptist Church in Charlotte for 11 years before moving to Canada.

From These Stones – The Mars Hill College Magazine

the 16th Richard and Minnie Windler Award from the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society. The Windler Award is presented each year to the author of the best paper in plant systematics published in Castanea, the peer-reviewed journal published by the society. Kerry is now on the faculty at Limestone College. ori Lee Hill married Joseph L Nelson Moffitt in August 2006.

The couple lives in High Point, North Carolina.

Dr. Jeff Martin has returned

had Blakemore married C Elizabeth Ann Rothman in September 2006. Chad is finance manager at Scion of Greenville. The couple lives in Greenville, South Carolina. manda Frazier Hobbs was A named principal of Cape Fear Elementary School in August. Amanda and her husband Billy live in Wilmington, North Carolina, with their two children, Garrison, 4, and Alexandra, 1.

Henry Michael Leach is the newest member of the

CLASS notes Leach family of Spring Hill, Tennessee. He was born last December to proud parents Erin Dodd Leach and husband Mike.

Class of 1998 iana Dale Hall married D Robert Wymon Rogers in July 2006. Diana is employed as a special materials clerk for the Calvin H. McClung Historical Collection of the Knoxville Public Library and is also an artist. The couple lives in Knoxville.

Class of 1999 rian Dennis Alexander and B his wife Kandra welcomed the birth of their first child, Bradyn Dennis, in July 2006.

Donovan and Amanda Sappenfield Edmundson would like to announce the birth of their son Gabriel Ian in October 2006.

2000s Class of 2000 J essa Decker-Smith and Eric Smith welcomed Elijah Clay Decker-Smith on October 2. Eli weighed 8 pounds 5 ounces and was just over 20 inches long. In April, Eric was ordained as a minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

He is Youth and Young Adults Director at First Plymouth Congregational Church in Englewood, Colorado.

Class of 2001

Class of 2002 manda Dawn Austin marA ried James Norris Law Jr. in December 2006. The couple lives on James Island, South Carolina.

J ames A. Simmons graduated Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning in 2006 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. eborah D Whistler Ware received her master’s in sociology from East Carolina University in December 2006.

She is an adjunct faculty member at Ivy Tech State College in Indiana.

Class of 2003 J oe Bland married Jennifer Dawn Beavers in May 2006.

He is a Realtor for Hodge and Kittrell in Raleigh, where the couple lives. elly Dawn Brown received K her MBA from Gardner-Webb University. erek Keeling was a conD testant on the NBC-TV show “Grease: You’re the One That I Want.” He most recently starred in the pre-Broadway musical adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities.

J ennifer Wilson and Casey Kruk ‘01 were married in July 2006. Jennifer is a physical education teacher at Enka High School and Casey is an English teacher at Pisgah High School. The couple lives in Asheville.

huck Owenby married April C Lynn Harris in December 2006.

He is a deputy sheriff with the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Department. The couple lives in Brevard, North Carolina.

Class of 2004

J onathan Michael Robinson received his MBA from Gardner-Webb University in December 2006.

aurel Fisher won first place in L the graduate division auditions of the Charlotte Opera Guild in February. She also won

the 2007 Western Carolina Civic Orchestra’s Concerto Competition.

Burnsville office of Carolina Farm Credit as a loan specialist.

elly K Norman married Kevin Todd Sizemore in July 2006. She is a pre-kindergarten teacher at Mountain View Elementary School in Morganton, North Carolina.

Class of 2006

Class of 2005 hillip Bost was accepted P into the Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology at NC State University for graduate studies. eorge Ferguson married G Melanie Brooke Campbell in July 2006. atherine Hunt married Dirgen C Chadwick May in September 2006. The couple lives in Greenville, South Carolina.

Army Spc. Brannon P. Wilson graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson in 2006. ethany B Leatherwood Wyatt joined the staff of the

ebekah Bunch married Chris R Kingston ‘05 in July 2006. yn Loomis Kirby has entered L the Doctor of Chiropractic Program at Logan University. ary Newcomb joined Situs G Corporation as an analyst in the Robbins, North Carolina, office. mber Ponder married Ryan A Skantz in October 2006.

Amber is employed at the Law Firm of Siniard, Timberlake and League. Ryan is employed at BFA Systems. The couple lives in Huntsville, Alabama. pril and Jeff ‘95 Riddle A announce the birth of their second child, Reagan Jeffrey, born in July 2006.

Class of 2007 imberly Diane Griggs marK ried Steven Alexander Rogers in July 2006.

Mars Hill Girls…Best in the World Ron Martin sent in these photos of his granddaughters, Payton and Sydney Leech, proudly wearing their MHC t-shirts.

J ulie Duval has joined Forge Mountain Medicine in Mills River, North Carolina, as a physician assistant.

From These Stones – Fall 2007

27

CLASS notes Alumni Media Center—Pulitzers and More J ohn Lyman Hall ‘41 wrote a chronology of his life and military career entitled A Native Tarheel’s Journey. It has been sent to the alumni section of Renfro Library.

Gene Roberts ’51 , a professor at the University of Maryland’s Merrill College of Journalism won the Pulitzer Prize for History for his book, The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation, co-authored with Atlanta Journal Constitution Managing Editor Hank Klibanoff. The Race Beat examines how the nation’s press, after decades of ignoring the problem, came to recognize the importance of the civil rights struggle and turn it into the most significant domestic news event of the Twentieth Century. Both Roberts and Klibanoff spent the early years of their careers covering the South. A native of Goldsboro, NC, Roberts reported for the Goldsboro NewsArgus, Virginian Pilot, The (Raleigh) News & Observer and the Detroit Free Press before joining The New York Times in 1965 and becoming its chief southern and civil rights correspondent. Klibanoff grew up in Alabama and reported for what is now the Sun Herald and other smaller papers in Mississippi. Roberts joined the Merrill College in 1991, after 18 years as executive editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer, where his staff won 17 Pulitzer Prizes. He took a leave of absence from 1994 to 1997 to serve as managing editor of The New York Times.

In 1993, he won the National Press Club’s Fourth Estate Award for Distinguished Contributions to Journalism. (MHC will award Gene Roberts an honorary doctorate at December graduation. Look for much more on Gene in the Spring 2008 From These Stones.) an Locklair ’71 was named the Naxos Composer of the Week for the week of August 27 in celebration of the release of their new CD of D his Symphony of Seasons (Symphony No. 1), Concerto for Harp and Orchestra, Lairs of Soundings, In Memory H.H.L., and Phoenix and Again. All of these works have been recorded by Maestro Kirk Trevor and the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, with harpist Jacquelyn Bartlett and soprano Janeanne Houston. Dan is Composer-in-Residence and Professor of Music at Wake Forest University. Among his honors are consecutive ASCAP Awards since 1981 and a Kennedy Center Friedheim Award. (See page 13 for a note about his composition for MHC’s Sesquicentennial.) His Web site is http://www.locklair.com.

Only the Lonely is the first published novel by Freida Allen Ponder ‘71 . The novel is about a girl from Burnsville who moves away from everything she knows to start a new life in Asheville. Freida is a fourth grade teacher at Brush Creek Elementary School in Madison County, North Carolina. She is married to Forrest Ponder and they have two children and one granddaughter.

J ulie Cox Hook ‘73 teaches advanced vocabulary to young and old through poetic couplets in her new illustrated children’s book, Meticulous Maddy. This is the first in a series which will include such titles as Gregarious Greta, Facetious Freida, and Pretentious Patti.

Julie is the English department chair at Elkhart Central High School in Elkhart, Indiana.

“Zodiac,” a poem by Ken Chamlee ‘74 , has been selected for inclusion in the 2007 edition of Kakalak: An Anthology of Carolina Poets.

Ken is the Iva Buch Seese Distinguished Professor of English at Brevard College.

Dr. Susan Perry Gurganus ’75 is author of the book Math Instruction for Students with Learning Problems (2007), Allyn & Bacon. While a student at MHC, she was an elementary education major, mathematics minor, and worked for the mathematics department. She is currently Professor of Special Education at the College of Charleston.

The second novel from James Maxey ’86 was released this summer. Bitterwood is a fantasy novel about a dragon slayer who is reaching the end of a long career. James has set up a Web site in conjunction with the book at http://bitterwoodnovel.blogspot.com. He also has been published in several anthologies, the most recent being Prime Codex, which was released in May.

28

From These Stones – The Mars Hill College Magazine

CLASS notes In Memoriam Since our last publication we have received word of the passing of the following members of the Mars Hill College family.

June Beverly Garland Lentz ’42 Simon Warren Sanders ’42 William A. Banks ’43 (MHC Life Trustee)

1920s

James Robert Cox ’43 (former MHC VP)

Kathleen Elmore Patterson ’24 Karl Edwin Loving ’28 Susan Opal Pryor Saunders ’28 Osie A. Bennett ’29 Evelyn Hughes Fraguela ’29

1930s Lillian Honeycutt Buder ’30 Ferne Hoover Starnes Braswell ’32 Evelyn Ray Gibbs ’32 Jack Edgar Dale ’33 Doris Gibbs Holder ’33 Sylvia Ammons Airheart ’34 Emery J. Baldwin ’34 Elma Moon Brandon ’35 Craig Brigman ’36 Eutha Adams Carraway ’36 Jacob Thomas English ’36 Mildred L. Rippy ’36 Ruth Cole Stevens Ashby ’37 John A. Bowden ’37 Virginia Vance Edwards ’37 Robert Clifford Brown ’38 Frances Emily Newman Cate ’38 Frances Geneva Taylor ’38 Warren F. Taylor ’38 Elmer Lee Thomas ’38 G.W. “Lum” Edwards ’39 Lydia Mayberry McAuley ’39 Robert C. Sieg ’39 Virginia Caudle Thompson ’39 Mozelle “Mo” Brewer Vinsant ’39

1940s Miriam Critcher Brown ’40 Dean S. Clyde ’40 Rose Rozier Dishner ’40 Hazel Tilson Fink ’40 John Jewell Hamrick ’40 Janice Louise Smathers ’40 Harry Lee Thomas ’40 Paul T. Brown ’41 John Thomas Foster ’41 Dorothy “Dot” Lee Harris Greer ’41 Jay C. Jones ’41 Leo G. Miller ’41 Dorothy Little Olliff ’41 James A. Currence ’42 William M. Hollyday ’42

Bruce Allen Hudson ’43 Evangeline Grayson Jowers ’43 Mary Kate Hines Peak ’43 Durwood E. “Woody” Rouse ’43 Edwin “Toady” Parmley Shuford ’43 Cleo Grady Fullbright ’44 Clyde D. Hardin ’44 Aleen Shupe Hester ’44 Carroll L. Spurling ’44 James Boyce “Buster” Stamey ’44 Clarence E. Stevens ’44 Thomas Earl Vaughn ’44 Giles Edgar Webb ’44 H. Thomas Andrew ’45 Dorothy Rhea Cook ’45 Carolyn Ownby Copeland ’45 Daniel J. Corugedo ’45 Ruby Henderson Davis ’45 Marietta Smith Seats ’45 Charles T. Almond ’46 Mary Virginia “Ginny” Jacobs Cowan ’46 Lucy Hilda Mayo ’46 Cleta Nell Wilborn Rives ’46 Joseph D. Stone ’46 Edith Virginia Clark Weathers ’46 Robert I. Wrenn ’46 Marguerite Miller Yankie ’46 Clarence Brevard Abernethy ’47 Cornelia Vann Becker ’47 Anna Katherine Waller Carr ’47 Norman R. Ferrell ’47 Francis R. Floyd ’47 Wiley Larrie Gouge ’47 Julian Wellmon Hamrick ’47 William Bain Jones ’47 Norman W. Merrell ’47 William Clinton Castevens ’48 Roy Edwin Pittman ’48 Loyd Odell Roberts ’48 Henry Cicero Sells ’48 William P. Walker ’48 (retired MHC coach and faculty member) Donald Conklin Young ’48 Lita Mae Mauldin Gibson ’49 Frank A. Harris ’49 Anne Roberts Hepler ’49

Paul Daniel Johnson ’49 Maxine Pittman Lewis ’49 Billie June Curl McClellan ’49 Tyrus Raymond McCullers ’49 Frank L. Ramsey ’49

1950s Sadie Pauline “Polly” Watts Clark ’50 Betty Jean Riddle Daniel ’50 Elmer Lee Fisher ’50 Margaret H. Tolley Hall ’50 Joseph Walter McGuire ’50 Hammette Nolden Riner ’50 Doris Hutchins Smith ’50 Carolyn Jeanette Greene Van Aman ’50

1970s

Odell Alfred Boger ’51 Carroll Franklin Holmes ’51 John A. Dooley ’52 Janet E. Belote Gourley ’52 Donald Lee Knighton ’52 Sally Anne Madison ’52 Ronald L. Tabor ’52 Bobby Edward Grady Barrier ’54 Louis Emmett Elledge ’54 Jackie Carlton Blackburn ’55 Carl E. Compton ’55 James T. Jones ’55 Paul W. Lackey ’55 Clifford Wilson Poteat ’55 Max L. Toney ’55 William Bernhardt ’56 Donald John Harrill ’56 Bobby Mose Bolinger ’57 Frances Amelia Poole Daniels ’57 Shirley Yelton Hoffman ’57 Barney Warren LaCock ’57 Thomas Stark Lofton ’57 Ann Shockley Veazey ’57 James T. White ’57 John Barnard Young ’57 Florence Louise Edwards ’58 Franklin McBride Finley ’58 Arnold Lee Freshour ’58 Ronald R. Kiser ’59

1960s Louis B. Hudson ’60 Glenda Griffin Snipes ’60 Sylvia Jones Duke ’61 Kaye Jordan Robinson ’61 Frances Rebecca Reynolds Mullaney ’62

Richard T. Wall ’62 Ronald Cleveland Stewart ’63 James Everett Cross ’64 Willard L. Brown ’65 Thomas Austin Holmes ’65 Linda Elaine Watterson ’65 Brenda Louise Pope Williams ’65 Vernon Manus Cable ’66 William Wardlaw Smith ’66 Charles Alan Bell ’67 William C. Brann ’67 Willie “Bill” Carter ’67 Fred Wade Herman ’67 William Lewis King ’69

Dolores Irene Griffin ’70 Martha Armstrong Saintsing ’70 Dexter Lee Bentley ’72 Cary Cornell Taylor ’72 Richard N. Jaquet ’73 Rick Wayne Guard ’74 Patricia Ward Holland ’74 Lawrence M. Smith ’74 Martha Ann Gray Kellett ’75 Gail Allen Tomlinson ’77 Ruth Geraldine Robinson Peyton ’78 Bert Edward Coomer ’79

1980s Dorcas Ann Brooks ’80 Raymond Charles Osborne ’82 Lisa Marlene Timpson Fair ’83 Sheldon Klyne Greene ’83 Darlene Germaine Wakefield ’84 Mary Raper Wynes ’86

1990s Sherry Johnson Freeman ’91 Donna Anderson Martin ’93 Jennifer Dawn McCaleb Unland ’96

Friends D. Hoke Coon, former member of the board of trustees Mary Townes Nyland, former member of the board of advisors David J. DeVries, former chair of the mathematics department and institutional research officer Philip Ramseur Elam Sr., former member of the board of advisors

From These Stones – Fall 2007

29

NATIONAL ALUMNI BOARD 2008

Ned Barrett ’61 Cheryl Pappas ’70 Willa Wyatt ’68 Greg Googer ’89

President First Vice President Second Vice President Third Vice President

Ex Officio Members Dr. Larry Atwell ’69 Past President Wayne Morris ’08 Senior Class President Ophelia DeGroot ’58 Alumni Relations Director

Term Expires in 2008

Term Expires in 2009

Term Expires in 2010

Joanna Huggins Atwell ’71 Scott Conner ’64 Tammie Lewis French ’79 Brian Graves ’96 Linda Judge-McRae ’86 Polly Yandell Miller ’48 Carl Phillips ’54 Nina Ruppelt Phillips ’53 Malcolm Privette ’67 Clarence F. Stirewalt ’45 Wade Tucker ’67 Morris Wray ’64

Jim Alexander ’66 Ned Barrett ’61 Janis Elam Blackwell ’68 Greg Googer ’89 Cindy Boyd Graves ’71 Mickey Hoyle ’65 Austin Lee ’03 Brian Matlock ’98 Cheryl Buchanan Pappas ’70 Sara Ramirez-Cross ’98 Kim Waddell Wilson ’97 Willa Plemmons Wyatt ’68

Betty Boyd Bullard ’71 Gretchen DeGroot Green ’96 Kate O’Neil Herring ’01 Amy Harris Peacock ’97 Ben Peacock ’97

Take a trip with your MHC friends This year’s Alumni and Friends trip gives you an opportunity to explore the islands of New England. Mark you calendar for June 13–18, 2008. On the itinerary are Providence, Boston, Cape Cod, Cranberry Bog, Plymouth Rock, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, and much more. Rates are $1,799 for double occupancy, which includes your round trip air fare from Charlotte and most other expenses.

To get more information on this year’s eight-day adventure, contact Ophelia DeGroot in the Mars Hill College alumni office at 828.689.1438 or by e-mail at fdegroot@mhc.edu.

30

From These Stones – The Mars Hill College Magazine

•

Comprehensive tour of Boston includes the USS Constitution

•

Visit Plimoth Plantation and journey back in time to 1620 when the Mayflower had just landed

•

Spend a day exploring Nantucket

•

Enjoy a guided tour of a working New England cranberry bog

•

Indulge in a traditional New England lobster feast

2006 Alumni of the Year After graduating from Mars Hill in 1943 with a literary degree, Virginia Hart went on to Winthrop College, where she received a BS in Physical Education in 1945. She began teaching at Mars Hill 20 days after graduation. In the course of 40 years on the faculty, she continued her formal education, receiving her MA in Physical Education from George Peabody College in 1950 and her EdD from UNC Greensboro in 1976. She played many roles in her MHC teaching career, which ended upon her retirement in 1985: from coach of the men’s tennis team, to director of May Day programs, to service on the planning committee for Chambers Gymnasium, to chair of the faculty development committee, to sponsor of the majorettes and cheerleaders. She founded the women’s varsity athletic programs at Mars Hill, coaching basketball, volleyball and tennis. She was presented the first Excellence in Teaching Award in 1970 and is a charter member of the MHC Athletic Hall of Fame; the Hart Tennis Center is named for her. She has numerous professional accomplishments, serving state, regional and national PE and Recreation associations. After retiring, she taught in the continuing education program, received the Golden Circle Award from the college, and took a mission trip to the Pacific island of Palua, where she taught tennis and tutored school children. Seven years ago she returned to an active role at the college, taking a job with the campus food service provider which allows her to stay connected with the students, to whom she’s known as “Miss Virginia.”

Brent Kincaid received his AA degree from Mars Hill College in 1951 and his BS from Wake Forest in 1953, then served two years in the U.S. Army. After completing his military service, he taught high school for two years, then began a long and distinguished career with Broyhill Furniture Industries, ultimately holding the position of President and CEO from 1992 until his retirement. Under Brent’s leadership, Broyhill grew to one of the largest and most successful furniture manufacturers in the world. He has received numerous awards through the years, including North Carolina’s highest civilian honor, the Order of the Long Leaf Pine. His community service contributions are numerous, and he has been active in higher education, serving on the boards of trustees of Wake Forest University, Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute (where he served for 21 years, including six as chairman), and Appalachian State University (eight years, including one as chairman). He is currently a member of the Mars Hill College Board of Trustees, of which he was chairman during 2005.

The daughter of two long-time Mars Hill College employees, Karen Marie Smith grew up in Mars Hill and received her BS in Biology in 1981. After graduation, she knew she wanted to pursue a career in some medical field, but was not sure which. An internship at Mission Hospital in Asheville and a job as a physical therapy technician at a Virginia hospital helped narrow her choices, and she was accepted to the Physician Assistant program at Bowman Gray, now known as Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

She continued her medical education there, receiving her MD in 1991 and then completing another seven years of internship, residency, and fellowships toward her specialization in interventional cardiology.

She began her duties at the University of Florida College of Medicine in 1998, practicing and teaching at Shands, the university hospital, and at the VA hospital across the street. Her students are cardiologists enrolled in a fellowship to learn such interventional procedures as angioplasty, coronary atherectomy, stenting, and the relatively new procedure of alcohol albation. Karen is the only interventional cardiologist in Florida who does this procedure. Last spring she was promoted to associate professor, and this summer she became interim director of the interventional department.

After receiving his accounting degree from Mars Hill in 1970, Ken Peacock joined the accounting firm of Price Waterhouse Inc., working primarily on tax planning for individuals and corporations, and taught accounting part-time at Winston-Salem State University. In 1975 he began graduate studies at Louisiana State University, earning his masters and PhD in accounting. He joined the faculty of the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, and in 1983 took a faculty position at Appalachian’s Walker School of Business, teaching accounting and taxation classes. He became Assistant Dean in 1987, Associate Dean in 1989, and Dean of the College in 1992. Among his accomplishments as dean are securing a financial commitment to name the building that houses the Walker School; developing an international program with China’s Fudan University; and guiding the college to reaccreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business; and developing the Martha Guy Summer Institute for Future Business Leaders. Dr. Peacock served as Interim Provost in 2003-04 and was installed in 2005 as Chancellor of Appalachian State University. He is involved in a number of civic and community activities, and serves on the boards of the Watauga Medical Center Foundation and the Grandfather Home for Children, among others.

Look for information about the 2007 Alumni of the Year in the Spring 2008 edition of From These Stones magazine.

From These Stones – Fall 2007

31

So much cooler online Have you checked out the brand new online community, Alumnet, sponsored by the Alumni office? Here are just a few of the things you can do in Alumnet, which you access at http://alumni.mhc.edu: Find other MHC graduates and old classmates See what’s happening on the Hill by printing out the news & events calendar Add photos of you and your family on vacation Look for jobs or post new jobs available at your place of employment Many other features To use the community, you must be registered. In order to register, please e-mail alumni@mhc.edu so that we can set a username & password for you. We’ll send you an e-mail confirmation with a temporary password that you can change once you are logged in. Enjoy!

What else does MHC have online? Surf on over to any of these sites: www.mhc.edu – MHC Web site www.mhc.edu/alumni.asp - Alumni Web site www.mhc.edu/annualfund - Annual Fund Web site www.myspace.com/marshillalumni - Young alumni alumni.mhc.edu – Alumnet www.mhcbookstore.com – MHC Bookstore www.baileymountain.org - Bailey Mountain Cloggers sports.mhc.edu - MHC Athletics tvmhc.com — Online video from MHC students

Mars Hill College PO Box 370 Mars Hill, NC 28754