Piedmont Offers Safe Passage Across Busy 441 Highway
Students Continue to Study Abroad
Costa Rica, Germany, and Domestic Travels: Alaska
Welcome to
Who is This Magazine For? EVERYONE! Students Friends of the College
Alumni
Piedmont College W. Ray Cleere President
Editor David Price Director of Publications
Graphic Artist Regina M. Fried
Communications Specialist Taryn Gadbois Alumni Information Brandy Aycock Associate Director of Development Justin Scali Associate Director of Development
Donor Relations Susan Mills Donor Records and Grants Coordinator Published by the Office of Institutional Advancement. Third class postage paid at Demorest, Georgia.
Postmaster: Send Address Changes to: Piedmont College Institutional Advancement P.O. Box 6 Demorest, GA 30535
For more information about Piedmont College or for an admissions packet, call us at 1-800-277-7020 or (706) 776-0103. You may also visit us online: www.piedmont.edu.
CONTENTS Top Stories
Graduate School
2 On the Cover: Bridges to Future 3 New Club Aids Soldiers 4 Chamber Singers to Play Spivey Hall
College Life
5 6 7 7 8
PC Theatre Opens Season Students Return for Fall Semester Disaster Training Nursing School Accreditation Students Travel the World
Academic News
9 PC Athens Symposium on Religion 9 Business School Honor Society 9 Business Conference on Ethics 10 Johnson Earns Chemistry Award 11 Students Win Film ‘Accolades’ 12 May & July Graduation 13 Graduation Photo Collage
Athens
14 PC Partners on Teacher Training 15 Athens Campus Growth
16 Cohorts Expand to North Carolina
Athletics
17 18 19 20
Rogers to Lead Golf Team 2008 Spring Sports Review Shook Named Volleyball Coach Letter Club Adds to Hall of Fame
Alumni & Friends
21 22 22 23 24 25 25 26 27
Alumni Recognize Three for Service Alumni Pacesetters Scali Joins Alumni Office Class Ring Found After 58 Years Annual Fund: ‘Pass It On!’ Free E-mail for Alumni Professor’s Book Examines Soviet Life From GED to MBA Commencement
Class Notes 28 Class Notes 29 Obituaries
Piedmont moving ahead on all fronts There are a number of ways to rate the health of a college. You can examine its finances, study the curriculum, test the student body, inspect buildings, and judge its board of trustees. I am happy to say that when you put Piedmont College to all of these tests, your alma mater passes with an A-plus in all categories. Thanks to the generosity and kindness of our alumni and friends, Piedmont is meeting the goals the board set when I first joined the college as president. Among the most important results of meeting those goals is that we are now able to provide $4.4 million for in-house financial aid to students each year. For many students, this aid is crucial to their ability to attend college. Together with the $6 million our students receive through HOPE and other state and federal grants, we are also meeting our goal of making sure that no student is denied a Piedmont education because of financial need. Academically, your college continues to offer a strong, traditional liberal arts program that is dramatically enhanced by undergraduate and graduate programs in business and education, as well as a strong undergraduate nursing program. We also offer unique programs in mass communications, theatre, health care management, graphic design, and criminal justice that expose students to all facets of these careers. At the graduate level, Piedmont operates a dynamic program for teacher education in school systems across northeast Georgia and, now, North Carolina. By attending cohort classes that meet for about 15 months, teachers can earn master’s and specialist degrees from professors whose major focus is the improvement of local school systems. To date, more than 4,200 teachers have earned higher degrees through this program. The dramatic changes in facilities that have occurred on the Demorest campus reflect the importance the Board of Trustees has placed on improving your college. With the construction of the Swanson Center for Performing Arts and Communications, Stewart Science and Technology Center, the Johnny Mize Athletic Center, Mayflower Residence Hall, and the Swanson and Johnson residence halls,
Piedmont has positioned itself well to meet the needs of future generations of students. In addition to the new construction, the college has renovated the entire Demorest campus, including the complete remodeling of Camp Hall, the Center for Worship and Music, Nielsen Dining Hall, Lane Student Center, and the existing residence halls, Purcell, GetmanBabcock, and Wallace. In Athens, our recent investment to open a and Ashley Cleere with two of the fuzzier on-campus residents, Lynn the bullmastiff and new campus on Ray Rosie the Briard. Prince Avenue will enable Piedmont to expand its the dedication of the Piedmont Board of commuter campus there for many years Trustees, each of whom takes an active into come. Since opening with just 64 stuterest in the improvement of the college. dents in 1995, the Athens campus now During the last decade, the combination enrolls some 722 students, including 375 of resources provided by our board, our students enrolled in the new four-year unstrong faculty, and our geographic locadergraduate program. tion has allowed Piedmont to move ahead Piedmont has also witnessed a steady financially, academically and strategically. improvement in the academic preparation With these key ingredients in place, of incoming students. Almost half of all and the continued enthusiastic support freshmen enrolling this year were in the of our alumni and friends, the future of top 25 percent of their high school class. Piedmont College is truly unlimited. Just as telling, we see a large number of students who began their college career elsewhere, usually at a large institution, who decide they want to complete their education at a small, private institution. Overall, total enrollment has exceeded our expectations at both the Demorest Ray Cleere and Athens campuses. From 826 students enrolled in fall of 1994, we now serve some 2,640 students. During this same period, our full- and part-time faculty has grown from 61 in 1994, to 222 today. This remarkable growth—in all areas— would not have been possible without
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A construction crane gently lowers the pedestrian bridge onto its concrete supports. The elevated crosswalk will make trips across Historic Highway 441 much safer for students and area residents. Pictured left, workers pour concrete onto the bed of a bridge on the new road, College Drive, connecting the Swanson Center to the main campus.
B ridging the future is the aim of Demorest campus construction Anyone who has driven past the Piedmont College campus lately will have noticed quite a few changes as the Demorest campus is getting an updated new look. Most noticeable is the construction on Historic Highway 441 of the pedestrian overpass, which is almost complete. The bridge was set in place on Aug. 7, with construction crews working through the night to get it just right. Cornett Bridge Company in Gainesville was the contractor in charge of the installation. The bridge won’t be officially in use until the elevator and a few finishing touches are in place. Vice President of Finance Dr. Tom Bowen says, “We’ll have a small ceremony and dedication when everything is ready.” As of now the bridge is a nice addition to the City of Demorest and will be an architectural signature for the college and the community. Also on Historic Highway 441, the cement wall that used to stand in front of the campus is now a beautiful brick and stone wall. Atop the new wall is a wrought-iron fence, replacing the chain-link fence that was previously there. Bushes have been planted along the road and sidewalk to give the campus a more appealing first glance. Some changes you might not have seen are on the back side of the campus. Construction is under way on a new road that will lead from Georgia Street and the Walker Athletic Fields to the Swanson Center on Maine Street, making it easier for students and visitors to reach the Swanson Center. As of now everything is right on schedule according to Bowen. “If everything goes as planned it should be completed by mid-October to early-November.”
Construction of the Arrendale Amphitheatre next to the Swanson Center for Performing Arts and Communications will provide Piedmont and northeast Georgia with an outstanding outdoor venue for music and theatrical performances.
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N ew club aids soldiers
in combat zones
It started as an idea to send a box of Christmas goodies to a friend’s son who was stationed in Iraq. Two years and some 500 boxes later, that simple idea has turned into a campuswide organization called Patriots of Piedmont. The club involves dozens of students, faculty, and staff who are making sure that as many soldiers as possible receive reminders all through the year that someone back home is thinking about them. “It’s been amazing,” said assistant controller and internal auditor Linda Pitts, who got the ball rolling back in December 2006. Pitts said that she and the other employees in the business office started out gathering items to send to a soldier stationed in Iraq, James Davey, son of registrar Linda Wofford. “We had enough items for two boxes, so we decided to send another box to a total stranger,” Pitts added. Word got around campus, and in three days, she said, “We had enough stuff to send 15 more boxes.” So they did. The boxes hold everything you can think of that a soldier stationed a long way from home might want. There were books and games, movies, candy, drink mixes, pens and paper. After that Christmas was over, people continued to ask if they could help, and Pitts thought that it would be a good idea to continue sending the boxes year round. That is when the Patriots of Piedmont was organized as an official club of the college, and today it has about 20 active members and many more volunteers. Regina Fried, a student who also works in the institutional advancement office, serves as co-advisor to the club. “It’s been a real grass-roots effort,” Pitts said. “A local church helps us with the postage, and we have had unbelievable fundraisers with bake sales and T-shirt sales.” Local veterans’ organizations have also helped out. The club has “adopted” the 63rd Expeditionary Signal Battalion out of Ft. Gordon, Ga., and in addition to sending boxes to soldiers in Iraq, they have also sent boxes and Christmas stockings to the children of soldiers. The group is also creating a pen-pal service for the troops, headed up by Mandy Flanders, a student at the Athens campus. If you want to help the Patriots of Piedmont, Pitts said all types of donations are accepted. In addition to items for the troops, they also want to send children’s toys and books and other items for the soldiers to distribute. For more information, contact Linda Pitts at lpitts@piedmont.edu.
Michelle Holland helps children of veterans and soldiers throw candy to the crowd at the 2008 Demorest 4th of July Parade in a float sponsored by the Patriots of Piedmont.
Scampus iren adds to safety The Piedmont Demorest campus has a new addition: a warning siren that will alert students and surrounding residents of emergency situations. The siren uses tones and voice messages to warn of several types of weather alerts, including, tornadoes, thunderstorms and any other form of severe weather that threatens the area. The siren isn’t only for weather alerts though. It can also be used to alert students to any potential threat to their personal safety. School officials want to be prepared for any threats of violence, such as the Virginia Tech tragedy. “We all fear that happening. We hope it never happens, but we have to be prepared in case something like that does happen,” said Vice President Tom Bowen. Another important feature of the $20,000 siren is that local police and school officials will be able to dial in for special circumstances and make announcements. However, the new battery-powered siren isn’t the only thing Piedmont is doing to ensure its students’ safety. Piedmont College now has an armed officer on campus at all times. President of the college, Dr. Ray Cleere, says the extra cost is all worth it when it comes to keeping the community safe.
An engineer installs wiring for the new siren/loudspeaker campus warning system .
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Chamber Singers to play Atlanta’s Spivey Hall Nov. 7 Coming off a concert tour of historic New England, the Chamber Singers and Cantabile have announced their fall concert schedules, including a performance at the nationally renowned Spivey Hall in Atlanta. The groups’ fall concerts will begin Oct. 28 at 5 p.m., when Cantabile will perform at the Athens campus Meetinghouse, and again on Oct. 30 at the Demorest campus in Brooks Hall. The Chamber Singers will then perform a free concert at 7:30 p.m., Nov. 4, in the Center for Worship and Music in Demorest, followed by an 8:15 p.m. concert Nov. 7, at Spivey Hall on the campus of Clayton State College in Atlanta. Tickets to the Spivey Hall concert are $15 ($7.50 for students). For more information, visit www.spiveyhall.org. “I consider the invitation to perform at Spivey Hall as important as being invited to perform at Carnegie Hall or Lincoln Center in New York, and look forward to our performances in this world-renowned hall with great anticipation,” said ensembles director Dr. Wallace Hinson. “We are extremely pleased to be a part of a choral series that includes the Vienna Boys Choir, Chanticleer, and the Atlanta Singers, as well as other choirs with outstanding national and international reputations. This opportunity is a huge step forward for our choral program.” Hinson said that for the Demorest and Spivey Hall concerts, the Chamber Singers will present a program entitled “Canticle of the Sun and the Moon,” with works by composers ranging from Palestrina and Mendelssohn to Eric Whitacre, Steven Stucky and Moses Hogan, all inspired by St. Francis of Assisi’s poem celebrating earth, wind, fire, and water—and the heavens as well. The day after the May 4 Commencement ceremonies, the 40 members of the Chamber Singers and Cantabile took off for Massachusetts and a week of concerts at some of the most historic churches in the U.S. The ensembles performed at Old South Church in Boston, founded in 1669; First Congregational Church of Marshfield, founded in 1632; First Congregational Church of Falmouth, founded in 1708; and the First Congregational Church of Yarmouth, founded in 1639. For the tour, the Piedmont singers performed works by Eliza Gilkyson, Maurice Durufle, David Naylor, David Conte, and Moses Hogan, as well as rarely heard pieces by Gerald Finzi and Johannes Brahms. A select 40-voice choir, the Chamber Singers are noted for their performance of ethnic choral music from Eastern Europe, Jamaica, and South Africa; contemporary choral music; and American folksongs and spirituals. The touring choir of the college, the Chamber Singers have performed concerts across the U.S. and Canada. Cantabile is a highly select group of 9-12 singers from the Chamber Singers that specializes in jazz, pop arrangements, and novelty songs, as well as secular and sacred chamber music from the Renaissance and early Baroque periods. Quickly gaining a reputation as a highly entertaining and skilled group of singers, Cantabile performs in concert, at special events on campus, in the community, and on tour.
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PC Theatre to present
‘You Can’t Take It With You’ as 2008-09 season opens Piedmont College Theatre will present its first production of the new season, the Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, “You Can’t Take It With You.” Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m., Oct. 2-4, and 2 p.m., Oct. 5, in the Swanson Center Mainstage. Tickets are $10 (Piedmont students, faculty and staff are admitted free. Tickets are $5 for other students and seniors.) For more information on upcoming productions, see Page 7, or visit www.piedmont. edu/theatre. PCT finished its 2007-08 season in April with “The Dining Room,” the 1981 A.R. Gurney play that examines the life of the upper middle class through a kaleidoscopic series of 18 different family vignettes, set in the same dining room. For photos from this and other past productions, visit www.piedmont.edu/theatre.
Above, Heather Thomas and Shannon Webber make their entrance in ‘The Dining Room,’ while below, Jessica Allen’s character reflects on her life in the same room.
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Fall 2008 September
Piano Trio: Heather Strachin, violin; Sarah Paul, cello; Jim Bennett, piano Friday 12th @ 7:30 p.m. $5 and $10 Joy Hayner Faculty Recital Organ, piano and harpsichord Saturday 20th @ 7:30 p.m. Paintings by Rondall Reynoso Saturday 20th – Saturday, Oct. 25 Exhibit Reception Saturday 20th @ 5:30 p.m. in the Art Gallery
October
You Can’t Take it With You Thursday 2nd – Saturday 4th @ 7:30 p.m. Sunday 5th @ 2:00 p.m. Mainstage, $5 and $10 Cantabile Concert, Athens Campus Tuesday 28th @ 5:00 p.m. Cantabile Concert, Brooks Hall Thursday 30th @ 5:00 p.m. Ceramics: Sculpture by Preston Saunders Thursday 30th – Nov. 15th Exhibit Reception Thursday 30th @ 6:30 p.m. in the Art Gallery
November
Chamber Singers Fall Concert Tuesday 4th @ 7:30 p.m. Sewell Organ Series: Daniel Zaretsky, St. Petersburg, Russia Saturday 8th @ 7:30 p.m. $5 and $10 Wind Ensemble Concert Thursday 13th @ 7:30 p.m. Senior Exhibition Thursday 20th – Wednesday, Dec. 3rd Exhibit Reception: Thursday 20th @ 5:30 p.m. in the Art Gallery The Magic is Me Thursday 20th – Saturday 22nd @ 7:30 p.m. Sunday 23rd @ 2:00 p.m. Black Box Theatre $5, general admission
December
20th Annual Service of Lessons and Carols Friday 5th – Saturday 6th @ 7:30 p.m.
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(Above) Noel Clay, left, and Christopher Cornett officially sign in as freshmen. (Below) Carmen Little, left, and Tianashan Jones were among the 200 students at the semester-opening cookout sponsored by the Alumni Association.
We’re
Back! Students in the Class of 2012 began moving into their dorm rooms, registering for classes and getting the feel of life on campus the week of Aug. 10 as the fall semester got under way. The students were welcomed to campus with a cookout sponsored by the Alumni Association on Aug. 11.
Cooking with explosives may not have been such a good idea with Casey Martin, Jeff Kelly and Justin Scali at the controls.
This is a Drill! Disaster training keeps nursing students on their toes
Future nurses got to practice their skills in a realistic setting this past April when the School of Nursing held a disaster drill for senior nursing students at the Demorest campus. Dr. Linda Scott, Dean of the School of Nursing, said that besides the students, the drill involved eight area emergency services. Junior nursing students with realistic wounds provided by the college theatre department helped to simulate a tornado disaster. The senior nursing students were then called on to treat and triage the wounded. Assisting with the drill were the Habersham County EMS and EMA agencies, 911, Habersham County Medical Center, the Demorest and Cornelia fire departments, Demorest Police, and the college maintenance department.
Students nurses Amanda Free, left photo, and Erin Shiflett work with the ‘victims’ of a mock disaster, including student nurse Heather Orr, right.
Students study archaeology while teachers study students Middle school students got a chance to learn how archaeologists dig up new information about the past as part of a summer science camp headed by Dr. Bill Brown. The camp was also part of a summer training session for middle school science teachers to increase their knowledge about teaching methods. This was the second year for the Young Scientists Camp, which was conducted through a grant from Pioneer RESA and the Math Science Partnership Program of the National Science Foundation.
Nursing
School renews national accreditation Piedmont’s Daniel School of Nursing continues to grow, and the school received good news from its national accrediting body. After a recent review, the National League of Nurses renewed the program’s accreditation for another eight years, said Nursing School Dean Dr. Linda Scott. “The reviewers looked at every aspect of our program—the curriculum and the faculty—to see that we are maintaining standards,” Scott said. The NLN had granted initial certification in 2003. The School of Nursing is also accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and by the Georgia Board of Nursing. Scott said the NLN accreditation is especially important for nursing students who want to continue their studies in graduate school or in the military. Graduates of the School of Nursing have also excelled, Scott said. All 11 of the May graduates of the School of Nursing achieved a 100-percent pass rate on the NCLEX exam, the National Council Licensure Examination for certification of registered nurses. The exam is conducted by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Scott said the school had one of its largest enrollments of new students, with 30 incoming juniors joining the two year-program. Student nurses will no longer have to carry an arm load of heavy text and reference books, Scott said. The school has adopted electronic texts that can all be carried on a hand-held PDA (personal digital assistant) device. The use of PDAs to store reference material is now being widely adopted in hospitals across the country, she said. In other news, Scott said the nursing school has completely revamped its RN-BSN program, which allows nurses who already have a two-year associate’s degree to earn a bachelor of science in nursing degree. The program is taught mostly on-line and through interactive CD-ROM instruction. The RN-BSN program is available at both the Demorest and Athens campuses.
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Students travel the globe to learn Piedmont students were spread across the globe in May as the college conducted three separate travel-study trips. In Alaska, Europe, and Costa Rica students received course credits for their time spent traveling, and they reported having an incredible experience. Business students at the Hohe Domkirche St. Peter und Maria, better known as Cologne Cathedral. Some 18 business students from the Demorest and Athens campuses traveled to Belgium and Germany. The students got to see what it was like to live and work in a different country. They were able to explore the towns, talk to the locals and see the sights. While in Belgium the students visited NATO and several other businesses to gain an understanding about how business is done in Europe. From there the group went on to Germany, where they explored cathedrals, castles, the Olympic Park, the Alps and even the Ayinger Brewery. However, one of the most moving and interesting places the students visited was Dachau Concentration Camp. Student Amanda Anderson said, “It was the trip of a lifetime!” She is also considering going back to Germany for more study abroad opportunities. In San Jose, Costa Rica, students got a first-hand look at Spanish lifestyles. The students attended a Spanish-speaking school during the week, but they also made time for some sight-seeing. They visited churches, museums, a volcano, an organic farm, soccer games, beaches and national parks. But it wasn’t all fun and games. The students made time to volunteer at a school for Costa Rican and Nicaraguan children. They also had the opportunity to visit a women’s facility for alternative medicine. In Alaska, students traveled all over the vast countryside. Stopping in Anchorage, they visited museums and the University of Alaska. They also toured neighborhoods and compared the housing developments to get an idea of what life would be like if they lived in Alaska. The students also had the opportunity to meet with some residents of a traditional fishing village to learn how they handled the harsh weather and made their livings through hunting and fishing.
Anthropology and psychology students traveled across Alaska.
In Costa Rica, students students volunteered at a school for local children.
Religion and the Liberal Arts
PC Athens symposium
examines religious diversity across the South
Barbara Brown Taylor will lead a symposium at Piedmont College in Athens that will explore how different religions in the South are coping with the growth in religious diversity. The symposium, titled “Who Is My Neighbor,” will be held Feb. 20-21, 2008, at the college’s Athens Campus and at the The Classic Center in Athens. The event is open to anyone, and registration information can be found at the college website, www.piedmont.edu. The fee for the two-day conference is $125. Taylor said that while the American South “has always held more religious di-
versity than meets the eye, that richness is increasingly evident in city skylines, neighborhood grocery stores and other community settings. We want to examine how different faith communities have built bridges with their neighbors of varied religious traditions and consider ways to acknowledge and honor multiple faiths in the places they call home.” More than 150 clergy, lay persons, academics and students participated in the first symposium on religion held at the Athens Campus in February 2007. The two-day event, titled “The Bible in the Christ-Haunted South,” examined religious influences in Southern literature, folk art, music and contemporary culture. Participants at this year’s conference on Religion and the Liberal Arts will gain an overview of the changing religious South, have the opportunity to meet with bridge-builders between people of different faiths, and consider ways to meet new neighbors in the places they call home. Taylor is the Butman Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Piedmont, where she has taught since 1998. An Episcopal priest since 1984, Taylor spent 15 years in parish ministry and is the author of numerous books on religion and preaching. For more information about the symposium, contact Brandy Aycock at the Piedmont College campus in Demorest at 1-800-868-1641; e-mail baycock@piedmont.edu; or visit www.piedmont.edu.
Business School establishes new student honor society
Students who excel in undergraduate and graduate business courses can now be part of a national honor society, Delta Mu Delta. The Piedmont chapter, known as the Lambda Iota Chapter, was established at the start of the fall semester. The society will elect undergraduate and graduate members who are in the top 20 percent of their respective classes. Delta Mu Delta was founded by the dean of Harvard University and four professors from Yale University and New York University in November 1913. The Greek letters in the Society’s name stand for “Dia Mathessos Dynamis,” signifying Delta Mu Delta’s motto: Through Knowledge, Power, the power to manage creatively for social and economic good. Induction ceremonies for the first members of the Piedmont chapter are planned for Nov. 17 in Demorest and Nov. 19 in Athens.
Thurmond to speak to high school business students Georgia Commissioner of Labor Michael Thurmond will keynote a conference on business and ethics for area high school students at Piedmont College in Athens Nov. 7. Titled “Entrepreneurship and Ethics: Making a Difference,” the daylong conference will feature Thurmond and professors in the college’s Walker School of Business who will conduct workshops on subjects ranging from avoiding ethical traps to using computer simulations to test decision making.
Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond Moderator Dr. Steve Carlson, a professor of business at the Piedmont Athens campus, said the event is designed for high school juniors and seniors thinking about majoring in business. High school advisors are also invited, he said. The conference registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Piedmont campus located at 595 Prince Avenue. For more information, contact Dr. Carlson at 706-548-8505 or e-mail scarlson@piedmont.edu. Conference participants are high school students from the seven counties surrounding Athens that exhibit their interest in business through participation in activities such as Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), DECA, and “Jobs for Georgia Graduates” programs. Faculty advisors are encouraged to accompany their students to the conference.
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Johnson earns state chemistry award
Savannah Johnson (’08) has been named the “Most Outstanding Undergraduate Student in Chemistry” for Northeast Georgia by the American Chemical Society (ACS). This award is given out yearly to a Piedmont student and two University of Georgia students. Johnson, who graduated with a degree in chemistry, was a member of several research internships during her time at Piedmont, including one with the chemistry department at the University of Pittsburg and one with the University of Georgia. Research projects she has worked on include laser applications for biocatalysts and high-field NMR analysis of protein interactions in breast cancer cells. She is now attending Emory University to pursue her Savannah Johnson (’08) is now pursuing a doctorate in chemistry at Emory University. Ph.D. in chemistry. Johnson is most interested in biochemical processes and the use of analytical chemistry to solve biologically relevant problems. She said she was “truly looking forward to working with Professor Stefan Lutz and his group at Emory on nucleoside analogs, which are frequently used in HIV/ cancer drugs.” Johnson was nominated for the ACS award by Piedmont Professor, Dr. Sean Carrigan. She received a certificate, cash reward, and recognition at the local awards banquet held on April 17, at the State Botanical Gardens in Athens, Ga. The ACS is the world’s largest scientific society and one of the world’s leading sources of authoritative scientific information. It’s a non-profit organization chartered by Congress at the forefront of the evolving worldwide chemical enterprise.
Torch selects new members
The Torch of Piedmont, an honor society for women, inducted 14 new members at its April 2008 meeting. Pictured, front from left, are Abby White, Laurel Carter, Jennifer Gathercoal, Rita Kingsolver, Katie Simpson, Lindsay Drevlow, and Becky Burrow; back, Kimberly Loudermilk, Jessica Dalton, Brandi Meadows, Courtney Branson, Stacy Chapman, and Tanisha Wright. Not pictured is Katherine Cummings. In order to be invited to become a member of the Torch, students must have taken 60 to 125 hours at Piedmont College with at least a 3.75 GPA and should possess a personality characterized by the following: ability to be congenial, good personal appearance, interest in fellow students, qualities of leadership, and executive ability.
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Accolades
Dumas and Carter film projects win Mallory Dumas (’08) of Gray and senior Brian Carter of Gainesville each collected an Honorable Mention award in the 2008 Accolade Competition. The awards were given for Dumas’ short film, “Dangers of a Haircut” and
Carter’s student television production, “3 N’Out!” Both were originally created for class assignments at Piedmont. Dumas’ short film was a hit with the judges. “The best films always dig below the
Mallory Dumas and Brian Carter in the video production control room at the Swanson Center.
surface of human nature, and ‘Danger of a Haircut’ does that unusually well for a student film,” said Dr. Thomas Baker, chairman of the Accolade Competition, headquartered in La Jolla, Calif. “It’s a Chekov-like story that happens when a student dares to be different, only to discover that he is just like his oppressors. A clever little film.” Baker was also impressed with Carter’s sports talk show. “‘3 N’Out!’ is successful at entertaining, not an easy task for a talking-head sports program. The hosts are well-informed, emit an outgoing image and keep the program lively by integrating a music segment and by responding to emails from other students. Low-budget, but well conceived,” Baker said. “Student films and television programs, while usually low budget, often are big with ideas and novel approaches. The student film and television producers at Piedmont clearly fall into that category,” Baker said. Carter says he has loved making the show the last two years. “I feel almost like I’m on ESPN as the anchor, although on a much smaller stage. I love sharing my sports opinions with the TV audience.” Carter goes on to say that it is his lifelong dream to work in sports media. “Putting together a show and having a tight schedule gives me good hands-on practice for my career.”
Holmes earns ‘Kindness’ award Maghan Holmes, a junior music major from Union City, is the recipient of this year’s Robertson-Kindness Award. The unusual scholarship was established by Michael and Emily Robertson of Squantum, Mass., to single out a student “who has demonstrated kindness to others through his or her actions within the Piedmont College community.” In addition to serving as a resident assistant, Maghan works in the Registrar’s Office and performs in the Chamber Singers, Wind Ensemble and PC Theatre. “Maghan ... always, ALWAYS greets everyone who walks in [the Registrar’s Office] with a smile,” said Debbie Zimmerman, one of several people who nominated Maghan for the award. “She is so willing to help, and will even ask what she can do to help us get our work done.”
d ‘Kindness Award’ winner Maghan Holmes (left) with President Ray Cleere and Chaplain Ashley Cleere.
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Jennifer Osborne of Washington, Conn., picks up her bachelor’s degree in studio art and congratulations from Board Chairman Thomas ‘Gus’ Arrendale III.
Cnewommencement ceremonies see 764 graduates added to alumni rolls President Ray Cleere and Board Chairman Thomas A. “Gus” Arrendale III presented diplomas to 764 graduates earning the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Master of Arts, Master of Arts in Teaching, Master of Business Administration, and the Education Specialist degrees during Commencement ceremonies held in May and July. The May Commencement speaker was the Rev. Dr. Steven A. Peay, Senior Minister for the First Congregational Church of Wauwatosa, Wis. Rev. Peay served as the Associate Minister and Teacher at First Congregational from 1995 to 1999. His earlier work was in theological education as Assistant Professor in Homiletics and Historical Theology at Saint Vincent Seminary and School of Theology in Latrobe, Penn. He also served as the seminary’s Academic Dean from 1989 to 1994. The May Baccalaureate sermon was presented by the Rev. Dr. David Greenhaw, President and Professor of Preaching and Worship at Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Mo. An ordained minister since 1979, Dr. Greenhaw served several churches before entering the field of education as a teacher and administrator. He has taught at Vanderbilt University and was the Dean of the Seminary and an associate professor at Lancaster Theological Seminary. Gainesville businessman Frank Norton Jr. spoke at the July ceremony. Brandishing a model of the robot from the science fiction show “Lost in Space,” Norton urged the graduates to explore a different kind of space, Frank Norton delivered the July Commencement speech. their “career space.” Today, “space is the final frontier,” Norton said. “Not so much the space of science fiction … but the space surrounding each of us and within us. … Open your minds for the next 20, 30 and 40 years. This is a period of opportunity: your opportunity. Discovery: your discovery. Exploration: your exploration. … If we will not be ‘Lost in Space,’ if we feed on that space, building a new world for our children and future generations, ... what great things we might accomplish.”
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SAthens chool of Education partners with Tech, UGA and Foxfire to promote teacher training Students who have earned an associate’s degree at Athens Technical College to work as education paraprofessionals can now continue their studies at Piedmont in Athens to earn a bachelor of arts (B.A.) degree in early childhood education. Dr. Jane McFerrin, Dean of the School of Education, said Piedmont and Athens Tech have entered into an “articulation agreement” to allow Athens Tech graduates to transfer applicable credits toward the Piedmont degree. With a little over two years of additional study at Piedmont, students will be able to complete their B.A. degree and apply for a renewable Georgia teaching certificate. McFerrin said the cooperation between Piedmont and Athens Tech is intended to help alleviate the statewide teacher shortage in Georgia. Estimates from the Georgia Professional Standards Commission show that by 2012 Georgia will need 28,000 new teachers, and the state is currently training only about half that number. McFerrin said Piedmont is also working to partner with the University of Georgia to provide training for classroom teachers in the Foxfire method of instruction. Piedmont is now in its fifth year of partnership with the Foxfire Fund to conduct the Foxfire Program for Teachers. In addition to summer workshops, the college offers regularly scheduled graduate courses in the Foxfire approach for teachers at all levels. Dr. Hilton Smith, coordinator of the outreach program for Piedmont, said, “Foxfire is not just about cultural journalism. It applies to all grade levels and all subjects. Even in the education specialist program here at Piedmont, it has been used very effectively for collegelevel courses.”
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Dylan Ballard is a new admissions advisor at the Athens campus. Originally from Fayetteville, Ark., he graduated from the University of Arkansas in December 2006 with a bachelor of arts degree in psychology and a minor in marketing. Soon after graduating, Dylan moved to Athens, and he joined the admissions team at Piedmont in July 2008.
_______________________ looks over books at the PC Athens bookstore prior to the start of classes for the fall semester.
Agrowth thens campus sees enrollment and new programs By Dr. Mel Palmer Vice President for the Athens Campus with local school systems to develop a duWith enrollment growing to 722 this el-enrollment program here at PC Athens. fall semester, the Piedmont Athens camThis program allows advanced high school pus is well on its way to meeting the goals students to attend classes at our campus set by the Board of Trustees when the and receive college credit for their work. campus was founded in 1995. The Walker School of Business at The fall semester marks many “firsts� Athens has relocated to Ellard Hall, which for the campus. We finished our first year consolidates their operations and provides with a complete, four-year undergraduate students with easy access to faculty and program that is proving to be very popular services. Likewise, the administration and with students who want to live in Athens admissions offices have moved to Comand yet get the benefits of a small-college mons Hall, the main academic building. environment. While most of our students Speaking of academics, the Athens are from the eight-county area, we are seecampus has added new programs at both ing more and more students move to Aththe undergraduate and the graduate levens from across the state to attend Piedels. The B.A. degree program in graphic mont College here. design is proving to be very popular, and To reaffirm our commitment to the the campus last year began offering Piedundergraduate program, we held our first mont’s bachelor of science in nursing protrue Convocation at the Athens Campus gram for nurses who already have an R.N. on Sept. 3. The Convocation speaker was degree. Father Anthony Salzman, pastor of the On the graduate side, we have added Greek Orthodox Church of Watkinsville. a track for Health Care Management to The event gave us the opportunity to recour M.B.A. program. This is in addition ognize all of our seniors and was followed to the existing tracks for students interby a reception in Rogers Hall to give all ested in financial services and managerial students a chance to meet and mingle, leadership. something that is a special treat at a comAmong the ongoing improvements muting campus like ours. to the physical plant, we continue to add To continue our enrollment growth, wireless access to most of the campus. The we have added our first full-time admislibrary, student center and most of Comsions advisor, Dylan Ballard, who is helpmons Hall now have wireless connectiving us to intensify our recruiting effort in ity, with the rest of the campus to follow the Athens-Clarke County area and other soon. nearby counties. Dylan is also working
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Tracy Robar – Flying high for science education Piedmont’s graduate programs have produced many talented and accomplished individuals over the years, but Tracy Robar (’01) a Gainesville High School math teacher soars above the rest. Robar recently flew on the Weightless Flight of Discovery, sponsored by defense contractor Northrop Grumman and space-entertainment company Zero Gravity. Robar and 59 other teachers soared aboard a Boeing 727 to an altitude of between 24,000 and 31,500 feet, where the plane went into a series of dives and climbs to simulate weightlessness. She was one of 6,000 teachers who applied for one of three educator positions on the flight. “It’s the closest I’m ever going to get to being an astronaut,” Robar said. Robar is a graduate of Habersham Central and Georgia Tech. She received her master’s degree in math education from Piedmont College. She is currently the Teacher of the Year at Gainesville High School. NASA named the finalists to a group called Network of Educator Astronaut Teachers. “We are considered NASA advocates, doing educational outreach activities for the agency,” Robar said. “We have been able to meet and mingle a bit with the astronaut class of 2004, among others including Barbara Morgan.” Morgan is the teacher-turned-astronaut who served on the recent mission aboard the space shuttle Endeavor. Robar applied for a spot on the Weightless Flight of Discovery and “luckily got selected.” She attended a workshop in Washington, D.C., to prepare for the flight. During the eight minutes of weightlessness, she worked in a team of three other people conducting experiments. When Robar finally got up in the air, she was like a kid on a playground, tumbling, floating, falling and getting up to do it all over again. “We screamed a lot,” Robar said of her experience. Robar does point out that it could be a dangerous experience if not taken seriously. “On the flight before us, one of the reporters got a gash in his head and had to go to the hospital to have stitches,” she said. “I did hurt my ankle one time.” She added that the danger comes in because, “You don’t have a lot of control.” This isn’t Robar’s first experience with NASA and space however. Shortly after receiving an engineering degree from Georgia Tech in 1991, she performed geotechnical and environmental work for NASA as a subcontractor. “NASA really emphasizes education as one of the important byproducts of its research,” she said. “It’s really opened my eyes to the incredible amount of resources they have available.”
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PC
cohorts have Carolina on their mind By Carol Kokesh Director of Graduate Admissions
With the start of the 2008-2009 school year, Piedmont has expanded its impact on students and their education in another state. Teachers from areas of Clay and Cherokee counties began a Master of Arts degree cohort program located in North Carolina. Some teachers in North Carolina have been taking advantage of the program for several years by attending classes in neighboring counties in Georgia. In 2004 approximately 10 teachers from North Carolina joined the Union County cohort. While this was the largest single number of individuals, North Carolina teachers have attended cohorts in Towns, Pickens, and Gilmer counties for several years. Dr. Marilyn Berrong, Cohort Coordinator, and Dr. Roy Pipes, Assistant Cohort Coordinator for the area, were approached in 2007 about the possibility of beginning a cohort in Clay County, N.C. An informational meeting was held in Clay County in late November 2007 and teachers from neighboring North Carolina counties were invited to attend. Approximately 60 teachers attended the informational meeting and took application packages. Since that time, an additional 15 application packages have been sent to other interested teachers for a total of 75 prospective cohort students. Dr. Berrong and Dr. Pipes formed two cohorts in North Carolina starting classes this fall semester, with possibly another beginning in the Spring 2009. Of the first two cohorts, one is located in Hayesville, Clay County, N.C., and the other in Murphy, Cherokee County, N.C. Dr. Berrong and Dr. Pipes both view this opportunity as further validation of the enormous impact Piedmont College, through its cohort program, is having on education throughout the state of Georgia and the prospect this gives to expand that impact throughout the South. As we see tremendous success in our Georgia cohort programs we expect the same success in North Carolina. For more information about the cohort program, contact ckokesh@piedmont.edu.
New School of Education department focuses on advanced degrees
The number of students enrolled in the Education Specialist (Ed.S.) program has grown rapidly since it was first introduced in 2000, and the program now has its own department within the School of Education. Called the Department of Teaching and Learning, the new academic department is chaired by Dr. Bob Cumming and includes Dr. Julie Palmer, Dr. Pat McCollum, Dr. Randall Hollandsworth, and Dr. Doug Holschuh. Cumming said the purpose of the department is to oversee the Ed.S. program and investigate other advanced degree options. The Ed.S. program was restructured this year to include a concentration for teachers who are interested in furthering their career in educational leadership. The concentration includes three new courses that Cumming said “will give teachers a foundation in educational leadership to see if they are interested in pursuing that path.” Also new in the School of Education this semester is the first cohort class for teachers seeking a master of arts (M.A.) degree in special education. The cohort of about 18 teachers now meets in Gwinnett County. School of Education Dean Dr. Jane McFerrin said the cohort was added to meet the needs of certified teachers in maintaining new standards for special education, including providing special education instruction within a regular classroom.
Athletics Rogers to lead golf teams
Former assistant men’s and women’s golf coach, Dusty Rogers (’05) is the new head coach for both sports beginning with the 2008-09 season. Former coach Lee Glenn, who also serves PC as the head men’s basketball coach, will remain involved as the director of golf for both programs. Rogers becomes only the second coach in the programs’ short histories as women’s golf was added as an intercollegiate sport in 2004, while the men’s team was reinstated after a 15-year absence in the same season. The head coaching stint will be the second for Rogers, who two seasons ago led the Truett-McConnell College men’s team to a top-50 ranking in GolfStat.com’s National Junior College Athletic Association poll. Additionally, his freshman class finished the year ranked 15th nationally in the Freshman Impact Class Ratings. Rogers was a two-year letter-winner for the Lions. As a player, he earned one tournament victory, The Orchard Spring 2004 Invitational, and earned the team’s Coach’s Award in his final season of intercollegiate competition.
New golf coach, Dusty Rogers
Senior Lynne Laseter of Madison returns to pace the women’s golf team this year.
Mike Matthews of Dacula (above) and Matt Howell of Thomasville are the returning seniors for the men’s golf team.
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Athletics Spring 2008 season in review
Junior Lindsay Drevlow of Rincon batted .363 and won 11 games on the mound.
The 2008 spring sports season proved to be one of the best in the school’s history since becoming full-fledged NCAA members in 2003. The athletic department claimed a share of the Great South Athletic Conference (GSAC) Men’s Presidents’ Cup, which honors the conference’s most outstanding athletic program. PC was also able to send three representatives into the NCAA Division-III postseason, the most postseason berths of any of the league’s seven member institutions. The men’s tennis team finished in second place in the GSAC, falling to top seed Huntingdon in the championships. Senior David Gillispie was named the GSAC Player of the Year, while Chris Leonardo joined him on the All-Conference team. The women’s tennis team finished the year by winning three of its final four matches to conclude the year with a 4-10 record. The team placed six players on the league’s All-Academic team. In softball the Lady Lions finished as the regular season champs and posted a runner-up finish in the conference tournament. The Lady Lions were led by senior Megan Day, who was named the GSAC Player of the Year, while freshman B.J. Cofer was named the Pitcher of the Year. Terry Martin was named the Great South Coach of the Year as PC finished with a 28-13 overall record. The baseball team finished its outstanding banner season by claiming the regular season championship for a third consecutive year and also hoisted the conference tournament championship trophy. The Lions earned an at-large Pool B bid into the NCAA
Senior Evan Nissley is congratulated after driving in the game-winning run to secure a sweep of powerhouse Marietta College in March.
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Division-III national tournament, where they knocked off top-seeded Salisbury University 10-6. The Lions finished the year with an overall record of 34-14 and placed seven players on the GSAC All-Conference Team, highlighted by 2ndTeam All-American Tom Dimitroff, who shared the nation’s lead in saves (14). Jim Peeples was named the conference Coach of the Year. The team finished the season ranked #22 in the D3Baseball.com national poll and was ranked as high as #5 nationally in the American Baseball Coaches Association poll. Although not recognized as conference-sponsored sports, the PC men’s and women’s golf teams continued their steady climb up the NCAA national rankings. The men’s team finished the year ranked 106th out of more than 250 schools. In only its third year of team competition, the women finished the year ranked 44th nationally, narrowly missing a national tournament invitation as a Pool B independent. In addition to performing well on the playing fields, the PC student-athletes took care of business in the classroom as well. As a department, the PC teams ended the year with a 3.21 cumulative grade point average highlighted by a spring semester GPA of 3.33 in which all 13 teams carried a team average of above 3.0.
Shook
named head volleyball coach
Freshman B.J. Cofer of Woodstock was the GSAC Pitcher of the Year after going 13-4 on the year and a perfect 4-0 against GSAC opponents.
Sophomore Katie Buice of Canton was one of six PC players named to the GSAC All-Academic Team.
Sophomore David Gillispie of Lawrenceville was the GSAC Player of the Year
Bill Shook, former head coach for Mars Hill College, is Piedmont’s new head volleyball coach. Shook takes over from Katie O’Brien, who recently accepted the head coaching position at NCAA Division-II Montevallo (Ala.) University.
Before coming to PC, Shook was the head coach at NCAA Division-II Mars Hill from 19942003. He has since spent time as a faculty instructor in the Physical Education Department at MHC. He also spent 15 years working with USA Volleyball, including coaching the 1992 and 1995 US Women’s Teams Pre-Olympic squads. For the past 13 years, Shook served as the founder, director of curriculum, and coach of the Biltmore Volleyball Club based out of Asheville, N.C. During the Summer Olympics in 1996, Shook served on the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games as the Assistant Director of Statistics at the volleyball venue. Shook has spent 22 years at NCAA Division-I volleyball camps as an instructor and has run his own clinics and private lessons in volleyball, tennis and swimming for 32 years. He has taught physical education at the middle school level for 10 years and at the collegiate level for 13 years.
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Hall of Fame PC
Letter Club names two to Hall of Fame
Four-year soccer standout Sara Borchers Berube (’02) of Loganville and Howard “Doc” Ayers (’49), a longtime high school and college football coach from Cedartown, are the two newest inductees into the Piedmont College Athletic Letter Club Hall of Fame. Berube and Ayers were welcomed to the elite sports hall during the annual Letter Club breakfast held as part of Alumni Weekend activities in Demorest. Head soccer coach Jimmy Stephens, and former coach Jason Smith presented Berube with the Hall of Fame award. Smith noted that Berube set several scoring records at Piedmont, even though she “was not a pure forward” and played several seasons primarily at defense. “One year we put her up front, and she led the team in scores and assists,” Smith said. Berube earned the Most Valuable Player award in 2000 and 2001 and was the Most Valuable Forward each of her four years. She was also an honorable mention All-America player in 2001, the year she led the team to the Great South Athletic Conference title and was the Great South Athletic Conference (GSAC) Player of the Year. She was a national Player of the Week three times and racked up 70 goals and 49 assists in her career at Piedmont. Berube was named three times to All-Conference teams, and Smith said it would have been four, except the team was not eligible during its first season in the NCAA Division III. Smith, who is now head coach of the Atlanta Silverbacks, said that in all his years of coaching men and women at every level, he recalls a goal Berube scored against the number one-ranked University of Mobile as the best goal he has ever seen. “She took a pass about 25 yards out over her shoulder and then caught it with her tremendous left foot on a half volley and put it in the upper corner of the far side. I’ll never forget the goal as it burst the back of the net. That’s something you don’t see at any level,” he said. Berube scored both goals in that game as Piedmont beat Mobile 2-0. Berube thanked the Letter Club “for this wonderful honor.” She also thanked “My Mom [Marie Borchers], who was my coach, my nurse, my encouragement, my harshest critic and my number one supporter.” And she thanked her brother, Scott Borchers, another soccer standout at Piedmont who was an assistant coach when Sara played. “He was part of the reason that I came to Piedmont. But if I thought it was tough when my Mom was my coach, brothers are even worse.” “Soccer is a team sport,” she said.
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Hall of Fame inductees Sara Borchers Berube (’02) and Howard ‘Doc’ Ayers (’49) with Letter Club President Mike Williams (center) at the P-Club breakfast held during Alumni Weekend.
“And I’ve had the pleasure and tremendous honor to take the field with some of the greatest girls in the world. I can truly say that Piedmont soccer changed my life. It not only gave me the wonderful teammates and best friends for life, but one of them introduced me to my husband [Jason Berube], and in August we just had our first baby girl, Acca.” Aubrey Finch of Lexington introduced Doc Ayers, a Toccoa native who was inducted as an honorary member of the Sports Hall of Fame for his achievements on and off the playing field after he graduated in 1949. A World War II Navy veteran, Ayers taught and coached football at Lavonia, Winder, and Cedartown high schools, winning several region championships and the 1963 state championship at Cedartown, where the stadium is now named in his honor. In 1964 he joined the coaching staff at the University of Georgia and worked for 17 years as an assistant to coach Vince Dooley. He is a member of the Ste-
phens County Football Hall of Fame and in 1990 was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in Macon. Ayers has also been an active fund raiser, particularly for the American Heart Association and the Scottish Rite Hospital, which presented him with its Child of the Universe Award. He was named a Piedmont Distinguished Alumni in 2003. “I can’t tell you how honored I am to be a member of the Hall of Fame at Piedmont College,” Ayers said. “This is the icing on the cake.” Ayers noted that when he and another Piedmont member of the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, Bill Corry of Madison, who was in the audience, were coaches, “We coached everything. We might not have known anything about it, but we coached it.” Recalling that up until 1937 Piedmont had a football team, Ayers said. “It was a doggone good football team. So why don’t we get busy and start one up. We’ll get Bill Corry to coach it.”
Rena Holt (’58), Lyndol Cain (’53), and George Holt (’58) share some memories at the Letter Club breakfast.
Alumni Association recognizes three for service Three Piedmont alumni were singled out during Alumni Weekend for recognition of their commitment to their careers, their communities and their alma mater. Aubrey Finch (’51) of Lexington earned the Alumni Service Award, and the Excellence in Education Award went to Michelle Barthlow (’06 Ed.S.) of Woodstock. The Distinguished Alumni Award was reserved for Nelle Hood Higdon (’31) of Hendersonville, N.C. Longtime friend Reid Mullins (’59) of Dacula presented Finch with the Service Award. A member of the Class of 1951, Finch graduated from Piedmont with high honors in three years and then entered a 47-year career in education. He served as a high school teacher and coach and 33 years as a principal. “In addition, he has been a Sunday school teacher most of his adult life at the United Methodist Church in Oglethorpe County,” Mullins said. Finch and his wife, Kate, have long been supporters of the college and he has served as president of the Alumni Association and on numerous association committees. He is also a member of the college’s Sports Hall of Fame. “It is ironic that I am receiving a service award from Piedmont College, when it has always been Piedmont College that has served me from the time I first entered Aubrey Finch (’51), left, accepts the Alumni Service Award presented until this very day,” Aubrey by Reid Mullins (’59). said. “Others have noted that there have been a lot of changes here at Piedmont, but some things don’t change. The spirit that gave life to these buildings today was present back in the day when I was here.” From a family of eight children in Union Point, Finch said his father and four brothers worked in the mill most of their lives. “I was the only boy who did not work in the mill. I was able to get a college education because of the good graces of Piedmont College. I will never be able to do for Piedmont what it has done for me and continues to do for so many others.” Nita Bullock (’07 M) introduced her friend and coworker, Michelle Barthlow, winner of the Excellence in Education Award. A science teacher at Etowah High School, Barthlow earned an education specialist degree from Piedmont in 2006, and as part of her research for that degree began studying the differences in the way elementary school boys and girls learn. Since then she has presented papers on the subject at national and international education conferences. “Piedmont prepared me to walk through doors of opportunities that I never dreamed were possible,” Barthlow said. “Piedmont is a very special place—it Michelle Barthlow (’06 Ed.S.), left, collected the Excellence in Education prepared me for things I did not even know I wanted to do. And when I finished, the Award, presented by Nita Bullock (’07 M), for her studies of gender doors continued to open.” differences in education. Barthlow said her professors, particularly Dr. Gary Lemmons and Dr. Roy Pipes, “demonstrated excellence in everything. They set a bar that was really high … and then said ‘OK, now take what you have learned and find a way to make a difference.’” Jane Higdon of the class of 1970 said she was especially lucky to make her presentation of the Distinguished Alumni Award. “Most people are honored to introduce a coworker or a classmate. I get to introduce my Mom. Is that not the coolest thing?” Nelle Hood Higdon finished high school in Cornelia at age 16 and then entered Piedmont in 1928, the first of eight children to enter college. Working her way through school, she graduated in 1931. It was also at Piedmont that she met her husband, Earl. Finishing college “at the ripe old age of 19,” Jane said, her mother returned to Cornelia and taught sixth grade for a year and then became principal at the grammar school and also taught seventh grade for three years. After saving their money for five years, Nelle and Earl Higdon were married in 1935 in the heart of the Great Depression. To make ends meet, she taught school in Forsyth County, N.C., while Earl worked at a mill in Burlington, S.C. After moving to Burlington, Nelle taught high school English, and by 1946 the couple was able to start their own company, Higdon Knitting Mill in Henderson, N.C. “They were full partners in the mill,” Jane said. “Daddy ran the mill while Mother ran the office and the store. They worked together until 1969 when they sold their business.” “Through all of that they remembered their time at Piedmont and wanted to give back to the school,” Jane said. They came back to campus for Alumni Weekends, they supported the Letter Club, they established a scholarship in 1980, and donated to the construction of the Arrendale Library. Earl Higdon was a member of the Sports Hall of Fame and received an honorary doctorate from the college in 1985. “Both Mother and Daddy loved and supported the school, and I am so pleased that Piedmont has honored each of them for their contributions,” Jane said. Nelle Higdon recalled her time at Piedmont, when classes were held “in a renovated stable” and there were few buildings. “It was a far cry from the wonderful things we have now.” She recalled her favorite professor, Brooks Phillips. “I loved to hear him read poetry,” she said. “He instilled in me a love for literature.” Dancing was not allowed, but the students did hold a mock wedding one Valentine’s Day, she said. Nelle played the bride, and a “new boy” named Earl Higdon was best man. “So I always through the years loved to say that Earl was the best man at my first wedding,” she said. Winner of the Distinguished Alumni Award, Nelle Hood Higdon (’31) was introduced by her daughter, Jane Higdon (’70).
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Rickman and Wallace are Alumni Pacesetters
Scali joins Alumni Office Justin Scali (’05 M), familiar to many current students and recent alumni from his work with the Admissions Office and as an assistant baseball coach, has joined the Institutional Advancement office as an associate director of development. Originally from Long Island, N.Y., Justin is a graduate of Methodist University, where he earned his B.S. degree in Sports Management and a minor in Business Administration. He earned an M.B.A. degree at Piedmont in 2005 and has worked as an admissions counselor for the past two years. He is also entering his fifth season as an assistant baseball coach under head coach Jim Peeples. “Piedmont is such a friendly place. From the first day I got here everyone has made me feel like I am a part of the Piedmont College family. Piedmont is a special place, and I am honored to be working here.” In the Alumni Office, Justin replaces Kelly Woodall, who was recently named director of admissions at Tallulah Falls School. Justin will work with associate director of development Brandy Aycock in planning alumni events and fundraising.
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The Alumni Association took time during Alumni Weekend to recognize two graduates who have exhibited outstanding leadership early in their careers. Mountain Judicial Circuit district attorney Brian Rickman (’98) of Tiger and Habersham Central High School soccer coach Ric Wallace (’97) of Sautee-Nacoochee each received the association’s Pacesetter Award. Dr. Stephanie Almagno, one of Rickman’s professors at Piedmont, presented the first award and said she first recognized Rickman’s “boundless intellectual curiosity” after he chose to Brian Rickman (’98) accepts the Pacesetter Award from Dr. Stephanie Almagno. Rickman was named District Attorney for the Mountain Judicial Circuit by Gov. research Supreme Court Sonny Perdue in January. Justice Thurgood Marshall for a first-year assignment. “That’s not the usual fare for a freshman 102 paper,” she said. After graduating in 1998, Rickman entered law school at the University of Georgia and began his practice in Clayton. He was serving as an assistant district attorney for the Mountain Judicial District when he was selected by Governor Sonny Perdue to be the new district attorney, following the retirement of D.A. Michael Crawford. Rickman also teaches government at Piedmont as an adjunct professor. “Piedmont College for me was life changing,” Rickman said. “I came here to get a piece of paper and go on to something else. But as I was here, my goals changed; what I wanted to do in life changed. Piedmont prepared me for law school and the bar examination. I tell my students, there is nothing you can’t do with a Piedmont degree; there is nowhere else you can get a degree that is going to mean your choices are more open than they are at Piedmont, and I am certainly living proof of that.” John Krippner (’94) presented the second Pacesetter Award to Ric Wallace of the Class of 1997. Wallace teaches technology classes at South Habersham Middle School and is coach of the Habersham Central High School men’s soccer team, which he led to the state playoffs last year after winning 21 straight matches enroute to the 8-AAAA region title. Wallace earned a degree in biology at Piedmont and played four years on the soccer team. After graduation he worked in pharmaceutical sales for three years before deciding to change careers to teach and coach. In 2002, he and a Piedmont soccer teammate, Scott Borchers (’00), opened the Borwall Soccer Academy, which now enrolls 300 players a year in three area counties. At the high school, and the camps, and with the North Georgia Soccer Association, Wallace has “done more for soccer in Habersham County than anyone else,” Krippner said. Wallace said he never imagined he would be teaching and coaching today. “Piedmont and coach Jason Smith gave me the opportunity to play college soccer, and I don’t think that I could have made a better choice than to leave pharmaceutical sales and enter teaching,” he said. Ric Wallace (’97), left, accepts an Alumni Pacesetter award from John Kripner (’94).
Class ring found after 58 years
It’s not every day that you find a 58-year-old class ring, but that’s exactly what assistant controller and internal auditor Linda Pitts did in May. Pitts was looking through a box of old keys in the Piedmont vault when she came across the ring. She’d never noticed it before and had no idea where it had come from. Fortunately, the original receipt was with the ring, and it had the owner’s name on it. The ring belonged to a former Piedmont graduate named Giles Davis, who graduated in 1951. After several days of tracking down family members, Pitts contacted Davis’ daughter, Gail Childers, and told her what she had found. Childers informed Pitts that her father had passed away a while ago, but that her mother was still living and would love to have the ring. Two days later, Childers, her sister Susie Humphries, and their mother, Beulah Davis Posey, made the trip from Cartersville to Demorest. When they arrived, Pitts presented Posey with the ring and told her the story about how it was found. Pitts also had the original receipt for the ring which she gave to Posey. She received several gifts from the college as well to thank her for making the long trip. Posey, who is in her 90s, had no idea why her late husband hadn’t picked up the ring. She also said she didn’t recognize the school because it had changed so much from when she attended in the 1950s. Giles Davis and his wife, Beulah, attended Piedmont in the late 1940s to the early 1950s as non-traditional education students. During that time it was not required that teachers have a college degree, so both had been teaching for several years. When they entered Piedmont, their three children were teenagers. Lamb Davis, their oldest child and only son, graduated from Piedmont in 1963 and was a longtime postmaster of Cornelia before he died in May 2000. Giles and Beulah both received master’s degrees in education from the University of Georgia. Over the years they taught in Hall, Habersham and Forsyth counties before finally settling down in Bartow County, where they would eventually retire. Posey taught for a total of 37 years and became the curriculum director for Bartow County. Davis was involved in education for 32 years and was the principal at every school where he taught. During her time teaching in Bartow County, Posey was one of the founding members of a school for underprivileged boys called Hickory Log. Posey’s daughters remember their mother as always giving back to the community. Posey was an active member of Meals on Wheels, as well as other community charity programs. Childers and Humphries both agreed that their parents dedicated their lives to teaching and loved every minute of it. After Davis died in the late 1990s, Posey remarried and became Beulah Davis Posey. During her second marriage, Posey made the most out of her retirement and traveled the country. She is still living at her home in Cartersville, Ga.
Linda Pitts presents Beulah Davis Posey with her late husband’s class ring, found after 58 years.
Dr. Al Pleysier’s new book, “The Women of Izmaelovka,” features a portrait by his wife, Jane Pleysier (’86).
Pleysier book examines Soviet life in a Siberian village
Sometimes research in one area can lead to interesting results in another, as history professor Dr. Al Pleysier discovered. While conducting research in Siberia with Dr. Alexey Vinogradov, dean of research at the Center for Achaeology, Historical Sociology and Cultural Heritage at St. Petersburg State University, Dr. Pleysier was invited by the chief of Izmaelovka near the Ural Mountains to record the life stories of the village’s people. After interviewing more than 50 villagers over a period of three summers, professors Pleysier and Vinogradov chose the lives of seven women and included their personal accounts in a new book, “The Women of Izmaelovka.” “Many developments, both political and social, affected the lives of the people in the village,” Pleysier said. “The women discuss Joseph Stalin’s acts of repression, World War II, de-Stalinization, Nikita Khrushchev’s agricultural programs, the Brezhnev years, and the fall of the Communist Party. They describe their education and assigned work, their kitchen gardens and homes, their activities in the Village Club, the village traditions, the seasonal changes, and the different stages of life.” A professor of history at Piedmont since 1982, Pleysier in 2006 published an account of the World War II siege of Leningrad as seen through the eyes of Svetlana Magayeva, whose family endured the worst of the bombings, bitter cold, and starvation rations. Both books are available through the Piedmont College Bookstore.
Pass It On! For
nearly all of its 111year history, Piedmont College has provided students with some type of financial aid. In today’s world, a strong financial aid package is increasingly important to attract and retain high-quality students. In fact 96 percent of Piedmont students benefit from financial aid, much of it provided by the generosity of those alumni who decided to Pass It On!
Calling all alumni—
They gave . . . you received Now ‘Pass It On’ For nearly all of its 111-year history, Piedmont College has provided students with financial aid. In today’s world, a strong financial aid package is increasingly important to attract and retain high quality students. In fact 96 percent of Piedmont students benefit from financial aid, much of it provided by the generosity of those alumni who decided to Pass It On!
Think about it . . .
• Where did the scholarship or financial assistance that you received come from? • Who gave for YOUR financial assistance? • Did you receive a named alumni scholarship? • How can YOU Pass It On to the next generation of Piedmont College students? Our greatest priorities in this year’s Fund for Piedmont annual campaign are scholarships and student financial aid. We invite you to join with other friends, alumni, faculty, staff, parents and students in passing on the benefit of quality education. Generous contributions from alumni and friends make it possible for students to further their studies at Piedmont. Passing on a gift now, or as part of a will, provides current and future students with opportunities that others have had at Piedmont, thanks to those who have contributed in the past. During October you will receive a phone call from a current Piedmont undergraduate student reaching out to you for whatever donation you are able to make. In addition to providing an easy and efficient way to contribute, the calls will be a vehicle to update you on the latest developments at Piedmont and note any comments or suggestions you have concerning your connection with Piedmont. Student callers will also be able to double check your contact information so we can keep you up-to-date on the happenings at Piedmont. Current students and alumni have so many great things to share. You might hear from . . . A student who studies in the new Swanson Center that houses state-of-the-art radio, television and journalism facilities. Or you could receive a call from . . . a business major who uses the latest innovative computer and communications technology. Your generosity will make a difference at Piedmont College today and in the future. With your help now, the graduates we send out into the world can make a difference for many others down the road. When you hear from one of our dedicated student callers, get a Fund for Piedmont letter in the mail, or receive an e-mail, please respond by making a contribution to the Annual Fund. Pass It On in fine Piedmont tradition. Your gift to the Fund for Piedmont is the most effective way for alumni, friends, parents and students to demonstrate their belief in our mission.
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Piedmont reaches record enrollment Enrollment at Piedmont College jumped 15 percent for the fall semester, with more students at both the Demorest and Athens campuses. Total enrollment now stands at 2,640 students, up from 2,283 in the fall of 2007. Registrar Linda Wofford said the increases were apparent in all areas. At the Demorest campus, the number of undergraduate students increased from 741 last year to 760 this year, including 408 boarding students and 352 commuters. At the Athens campus, the number of undergraduate students increased from 315 to 375. The college’s graduate program saw an increase from 1,227 students last fall to 1,505 in the current class. Much of this growth could be attributed to the off-campus cohort classes for teachers seeking advanced degrees. The number of cohort students increased from 701 last year to 974 for the current semester. Piedmont president Ray Cleere said the increase in enrollment follows numerous improvements to both the Demorest and Athens campuses and changes in the college’s curriculum. “At the Demorest campus, the opening of the Swanson Center for Performing Arts and Communications has put Piedmont on the map for students interested in studying theatre and mass communications,” Cleere said. “There are really no facilities like it at a small private college in the Southeast.” He noted that other additions in recent years, including Stewart Hall, the college’s math, science and technology center, and new athletic facilities such as the Johnny Mize Center and Loudermilk baseball field have encouraged more students to visit Piedmont when looking for a college. “Once they visit, meet our faculty and other students, they often tell us it just feels like home,” Cleere said. In Athens, the college last year moved into a greatly expanded campus on Prince Avenue and opened the doors for the first time to freshmen and sophomore students in the undergraduate program. Piedmont now offers a complete four-year undergraduate program in Athens, as well as graduate programs in both education and business, including education specialist and M.B.A. programs. “College students in Georgia can choose from a number of fine institutions with modern campuses,” Cleere said. “More and more, students are excited to find that at Piedmont, we not only have a strong faculty and a rich curriculum, we now have facilities that are second to none.”
New school year marked with two Convocation ceremonies
Piedmont celebrated the beginning of its 111th year with two Convocation ceremonies at the Demorest and Athens campuses. The Very Reverend Samuel Glenn Chandler, left, Dean of the Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta, presented the 2008 Convocation address in Demorest Aug. 27. Originally from Coweta County, Chandler graduated from Yale Divinity School and has served churches in Marietta, Cumming and Summerville, N.C. Before joining St. Philips, he was dean of Trinity Cathedral in Columbia, S.C., for five years. Father Anthony Salzman, right, of St. Philothea Greek Orthodox Church in Watkinsville delivered the Convocation address Sept. 3 in Athens. Father Salzman earned a degree in art and industrial design at the University of Wisconsin-Stout before entering the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Seminary at Brookline, Mass. He studied Byzantine art at Aristotelian University in Greece for six years.
PC alumni can now have free piedmont.edu e-mail address Piedmont College Alumni can get a free, permanent e-mail address; show their Piedmont pride; and keep in touch with the Alumni Office with a new service offered by the college. Students who graduate after ____ will retain their Piedmont e-mail addresses, and alumni who graduated before that date can now sign up as well. With a permanent Piedmont e-mail address, you won’t have to change e-mail addresses each time you move or change jobs. You can even set up your account to automatically forward your e-mail to any other account that you may have. Your Piedmont e-mail account will include ___ of storage and is administered by Microsoft to guarantee secure and reliable service. To sign up, fill out the form below and mail it to: Brandy Aycock Piedmont College P.O. Box 10 Demorest GA 30535 Or, go to www.piedmont.edu/alumnimail to sign up online. Once your e-mail account is set up, you will receive a confirmation with direction and your password. Your Piedmont e-mail address will consist of your first initial, last name, birth month and birthday @lions.piedmont.edu. For example Brandy Aycock, who was born on May 8, would be baycock0508@lions.piedmont.edu.
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1940s
C.W. Davis (’47) and Margie Davis of Oakwood celebrated their 65th anniversary on April 16, 2008. Pat Hallford (’47) of Clarkesville was inducted into the 2008 Northeast Georgia Ole Timers and Blue Ridge Sports Hall of Fame.
1960s
Suzanne Swaim Roland (’61) and Sidney L. Roland Jr. (’61) celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on May 25, 2008. Rob Lawrence (’68) and his wife, Diane, of Boynton Beach, Fla., will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary this December. They have two sons and three granddaughters. John W. “Bill” Williams (’69) of Martin published a science fiction book entitled “The Dream Hill: The Child Making Machine” in April 2008. It is available from xlibris.com.
1980s
Gerald D. Sanders (’81) of Demorest was recently recognized by the Georgia Association of Independent Schools for 25 years of distinguished service to Tallulah Falls School. He teaches history and government. Deb Carpenter Clark (’85) of Between works for Aon in the Atlanta-Buckhead area as a benefit specialist for Executive Disability Insurance. She sings in church and community choirs, participates in local theater productions, and teaches an adult Sunday School class.
1990s
Dr. Rick Austin (’90) of Demorest was elected to serve as the 10th District Representative in the Georgia Legislature. Rick has served on the Habersham County Board of Commissioners since 2005, and has taught biology at Piedmont since 1997. Atha Dalton (’96) and her husband, Len, of Baldwin were featured on a May 27, 2008, segment of ABC’s “Good Morning America” for turning their swimming pool into a garden to help with the continuing drought. Sheila Wood Pressley (’96, ’98 M) of Toccoa was selected as the 2008 Stephens County systemwide Teacher of the Year. Gerald Stokes (’96, ’99 M) of Toccoa’s novel “A Lesser Form of Patriotism: A Novel of the King’s Carolina Rangers” has been published by Epress of Utah. The book is based on actual events that happened in northeast Georgia area between 1779 and 1782. Stokes, who teaches social science in Stephens County, said the story is written entirely from the perspective of a group of Loyalist Rangers who operated from the Cherokee villages in north Georgia. One of their bases was Little Chota, located in the Sautee-Nacoochee Valley of White County. The book is available through Amazon.com
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and the Piedmont College Bookstore. Frances S. Taylor (’96 M) of Watkinsville received her Ph.D. in education in April 2008 from Capella University. Bobby Jolley Jr. (’98) of Bloomington, Ill., was recently promoted to Auto Claim Processor with State Farm Insurance. Steven W. Flynt (’99 M) of Gwinnett County has been appointed chief academic officer, a new position for the Gwinnett County School District. The job will require Flynt to lead the Division of Teaching and Learning, which works directly with schools, supporting improvement initiatives and the business of educating students. Brandon Reed (’98), a sportswriter for Mainstreet News in Commerce, was awarded first place for the Best Local Feature Story by the Georgia Sports Writers Association. The story recounted the history of the Jackson County Speedway, a half-mile racetrack located along the current Damon Gause Bypass, which operated from 1947 to the early 1950s. The story was also selected as the winner of the Division III Furman Bisher Sweepstakes Award for best story in classification.
2000s
Trent Alexander (’00) and his wife, Stephanie, of Bethlehem welcomed their second son, Asher Brock, on June 30, 2008. Their eldest son, William Brayden, turned two in July. Trent is currently employed at Lithonia Lighting as quotations manager in the Grainger Marketing Unit. Mary Lou Enright (’01 M) of Dacula has been appointed as principal of Dacula High School. She was previously the assistant principal at Sugar Hill Elementary. Joel A. Harbin (’00) of Jefferson recently earned the title of personal financial representative with Allstate Insurance. Sherry Shea Gragg (’01) of Lakemont has been inducted into the R.H. Daniel School of Nursing Honor Society chartered at Piedmont College. The society was established as a means to formally recognize nursing students and nursing professionals in the community who demonstrate excellence in clinical care, leadership, compassion, and dedication to the nursing profession. Lee Ann Meadows (’01) of Decatur has been appointed to the executive committee for the Georgia Commission on Hearing Impaired and Deaf Persons. She is a kindergarten/first grade teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing at Rebecca Minor Elementary School. She previously served as a teacher in the elementary department of the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf. She is a member of the Atlanta Junior League and served as a district advisor. Dr. Linda Casteel Sevigny (’01) was recently appointed Director of Professional Learning for the Rockdale County School System. Anthony (’02, ’03 M) and Jennifer Taylor
Cox (’02, ’03 M) of Mt. Airy welcomed their first son, Taylor James, on March 20, 2007. Anthony is currently the assistant director of graduate admissions at Piedmont, and Jennifer is director of advancement for Georgia Mountain Christian Academy in Mt. Airy. Stephen (’02) and Carrie Pluto McClain (’02) of Social Circle welcomed a son, Luke Royce, on April 4, 2008. Their daughter Reagan turned three in February. Erika E. Sellers (’02) of Conyers was recently named the vice president of marketing at Doors by Mike in Conyers. Jared Mestler (’02) and Amanda Mestler of Raleigh, N.C., welcomed their first child, Chloe Bray Mestler, on June 27, 2008. David Bultema (’03) of Clermont, Fla., is the baseball coach at East Ridge High School in Clermont. David and his wife, Leah, are expecting their second son in December. Honna Brown Rogers (’03) of Signal Mountain, Tenn., is the town manager in Signal Mountain. Honna’s husband, Josh (’02), finished his master of wildlife and fisheries degree from the University of Tennessee in May and is currently working with the City of Chattanooga in the Water Quality Division. Wes Crow (’04, ’07 M) of Lula is the head baseball coach at East Hall High School. Wes and Jenny Connor (’06) were recently engaged. April D. Krieger (’04, ’06 M) of Blairsville was named 2006 BETA Club Teacher of the Year and 2008 STAR Teacher at Union County High School. She currently teaches AP language arts, British literature and freshman Pre-AP courses. Rob Weisel (’04) and his wife, Anne, of Savannah welcomed their first son, Benjamin Robert, on March 18, 2008. Rob is employed at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Bowie (’04) and Sharon Dugger Wheaton (’05) recently celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary. Annie L. Cheatham (’05 M) of Winterville owns a video production company specializing in weddings called Annie’s Video Memories. She is also a member of Athens Wedding Professionals. Lauren Fritsch (’05 ’07 M) of Augusta completed the GBI Basic Agent Candidate School in Forsyth in December and is a Special Agent working out of the GBI Region Seven office in Thomson. Ashley Phillips Hagin (’05) and her husband, Adam, of Jefferson welcomed their son Copeland on August 9, 2007. Ashley is currently working on her master’s in education at Piedmont and working at Flowery Branch Elementary School. Laurie Campbell Hayner (’05) and Phillip “Flip” Hayner (’05) are currently living in Stockbridge. Laurie is a business and grants manager at Spivey Hall in Morrow. Flip is a marketing programs manager at SED International, an IT distributing company. Laurie and Flip perform together, keeping their hands in music. Ronald Prescott (’05) of Nicholson, a physics teacher at Jackson County High
School, was selected to take an underwater journey a mile deep to the Pacific Ocean floor. He was joined by a professor from the University of Georgia and an Oconee County High School Teacher. Their three-week journey was documented for their classes. Justin Scali (’05 M) and Katie Wood (’06, ’07 M) of Flowery Branch were married on June 21, 2008, in Oakwood. Katie recently was selected as the Gainesville Times 2008 Girls Soccer Coach of the Year. She coaches at Flowery Branch High School. Mandy Brittain (’06, ’07 M) of Cleveland teaches math at White County High School. She is also the head coach over all cheerleading in White County schools. Haley Cantrell (’06, ’07 M) and Corey Cantrell of Mt. Airy welcomed twin boys, Jackson Davis and Ryder Daniel, on July 3, 2008. Meredith Kisgen (’06) of Demorest is a Peace Corps volunteer currently working in Swaziland. She recently helped organize a 200k walk across Swaziland to promote AIDS awareness. Jennifer A. Hewett (’06) of Beaufort, S.C., was recently promoted to vice president of Insurance Specialist, Inc. Lindsey L. Hughes (’06, ’08 M) of Lexington, S.C., was selected as the new head tennis coach for Columbia College. Sara Sarrett (’06, ’08 M) of Loganville married David Lewis on June 7, 2008. She is currently a third grade teacher at Oglethorpe Avenue Elementary School. Ginger Taylor (’06) of Toccoa is teaching second grade at Big A Elementary School in Toccoa. Renee K. Anderson (’07 M) is currently in her third year of teaching special education at Oak Hill Elementary School. Steven “SK” Alexander (’07) of Athens is attending the Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Houston, Texas.
Wendy Baker (’07 M), a current Ed.S. student, was named Teacher of the Year at Berkmar Middle School in Gwinnett County. Drew Bailey (’07) of Valdosta is pursuing his master’s degree in secondary education at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Drew teaches ninth-grade world geography and world history at Powell High School in Knoxville. He is also the assistant varsity basketball coach at The Webb School in Knoxville. Patrice Cody (’07) of Monroe was recently engaged to Harold Kemp of Conyers. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in school counseling at Argosy University. Valerie Geathers (’07 M) was the 2007-2008 Teacher of the Year for Brockett Elementary School in DeKalb County. Rachel Holland (’07) of Athens is working as a nurse in the Cardiovascular Stepdown Unit (critical care) in Athens. Wendy McLaren Muenzer (’07) is working at Alston & Bird, LLP, as a case assistant. She and Jason Muenzer were married in May 2008. Brandon Nonnemaker (’07) of Cleveland is the new chorus and theater teacher at White County High School. He is currently working on his master’s degree at Piedmont. Justin Poole (’07) of Baldwin is a reporter and sports editor for the Jackson Herald newspaper in Commerce. Tonya Fowler (’08) of Buford has been accepted to South University’s Physician Assistant program starting in January in Savannah. Nikki Littrell (’08) of Dillard and Justin Oates (’08) of Snellville announced their engagement on August 23, 2008. Natasha Stansfield (’08) of Athens is engaged to be married in March 2009. She is currently teaching second grade at Winterville Elementary School.
Patrice Cody (’07) and Harold Kemp
Nikki Sosebee (’08) of Jefferson married Nathan Berryman on August 30, 2008, in Jefferson. Sheena Trimiar (’08) was recently named the head coach of the seventh grade girls’ basketball team at South Hall Middle School. Jason Miner (’08 M) has been named the head softball coach at Lyon College in Batesville, Ark. He previously was the assistant softball coach at Piedmont. Friends Dr. Delene Lee, formerly vice president of finance and athletic director has been honored with the establishment of a scholarship in her name at the Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, Miss. During her time at MUW, Lee served as vice president for financial affairs and interim president. The scholarship, established by an anonymous former student, was established to aid non-traditional students
Sanders retires at Toccoa Falls Ken Sanders (’67), who served as vice president/dean of students at Toccoa Falls College since 1976, retired from that position in June. However, he only has to cross the street to the Lois DeLany Gymnatorium for his new position as a part-time sports information director. Ken and his wife, Helen Damron Sanders (’67), began teaching in the Dalton Public School system in 1967. Helen taught social studies at City Park School and Ken taught at North Dalton School. Ken coached football under Bill Chapel from 1967-1969 and was part of the staff that won the state championship. In 1969, Ken was asked to
head the baseball program, and in 1970 he took on the head basketball position at Dalton High. Ken arrived on the campus of Toccoa Falls in June 1972 to begin teaching and coaching at Toccoa Falls Academy. After four years the academy was closed, and Ken was named dean of students at Toccoa Falls College. For 32 years, Ken served as the chief officer of student affairs and has held positions as athletic director, and coach of men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, cross-county, and golf. He has served on the administrative board of the college for 30 years and
as secretary of the board for more than 20 years. Ken has been inducted into the National Christian College Athletic Association Hall of Fame, selected three times as regional Coach of the Year, received the Alumnus Service Award, and was awarded the President’s Medallion. He is also a member of the Piedmont College Sports Hall of Fame and was inducted in 1983. Ken and Helen recently celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary, and they have two daughters, Christi and Kendra.
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E-mail newsletter sign up and archives info to come
1930s Edith Carpenter Mulkey (’34) of Dunn, N.C., died May 6, 2007. She received her undergraduate degree at Piedmont before earning an MBA from Vanderbilt University. She taught business at Dunn High School and Decatur High School before teaching accounting at Piedmont and Campbell University. 1950s Merle Copeland West (’51) of Sautee died April 6, 2008. She was a school teacher for 40 years, including 35 years in White County. She was the 1959 White County STAR Teacher of the Year. She was also inducted into the North Georgia Technical College Hall of Fame and was a founding member of the Sautee-Nacoochee Community Association. Samuel J. Steen Jr. (’52) of Peachtree City died Dec. 13, 2006. He served in the Navy during World War II and had a long career with the Georgia Department of Labor. Winford A. Cruse (’53) of Blue Ridge died May 18, 2001. Willie Mae Skelton Humphries (’53) of Cleveland died Feb. 24, 2008. She was a teacher in the White County School System for 43 years, worked as a substitute for some 15 years and was the 1980 White County STAR Teacher of the Year. She was also named Educator Emeritus for the Georgia Retired Educators Association in 2005. Charles E. Lewallen (’58) of Toccoa died Feb. 9, 2008. He served in the Korean War and taught in Stephens County for 30 years. Elaine Deaton DeFoor (’58) of Eastanollee died Jan. 29, 2008. She taught in the Stephens County Public School System for 30 years. She also taught the 4-year-old Sunday School Class at the First Baptist Church of
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Toccoa for 34 years. She served on the Stephens County Board of Education or four years. John H. McCollum (’59) of Toccoa died March 10, 2008. He served in the U.S. Army from 1951-1953 in Korea. 1960s Lynn Snyder (’61) of Toccoa died Oct. 27, 2007. He was the owner and operator of Snyder Brothers Company in Toccoa for 40 years. 1970s Charles M. Miller II (’70) of Cornelia died March 31, 2008. He was a U.S. Navy veteran having served during the Korean Conflict. He taught the men’s Bible school class for 22 years at Cornelia United Methodist Church. He was a member of the Cornelia Masonic Lodge No. 92 F. & A.M. and the Yaarab Shrine Temple. He was a member of the Cornelia Kiwanis Club, where he was a member of the board and was past president. He was also a Scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts of America Troop 24 in Cornelia for 15 years. Lowell M. McElroy (’71) of Sidney, Neb., died Jan. 1, 2006. Edward E. Page Jr. (’76) of Kennesaw died February 6, 2006. He retired from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation as Northwest Regional Manager, Motor Carrier Enforcement Unit, Bureau of Maintenance and Operations, Harrisburg., Pa. 1990s Tara E. Vernier (’99) of Atlanta died June 5, 2008. Diane Hood Overton (’99 M) of Helen died March 7, 2007. She graduated from Youngstown State University in 1984 before earning her Master of Education degree from Piedmont. She taught for more than a
decade in the Gwinnett County School System. Friends Professor Edward M. Wolfe, 68, died June 25, 2008. Wolfe taught economics in the Piedmont Walker School of Business from 2001 until his retirement in 2007. He was a U.S. Army veteran and was retired from the U.S. Department of Agriculture with 30 years of service. Margie B. Fry, 85, of Demorest died July 3, 2008. Mrs. Fry was a longtime employee in the Piedmont College dining hall, where she worked for some 40 years. Born in Stephens County in 1922, she and her late husband, George Calvo Fry, were married for 73 years. Mr. Fry died one year ago, also on July 3.
Margie Fry
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