PC Journal Spring 2008

Curtain Goes Up at Swanson Center

Katie Sawhill and Daniel Burns in ‘Kiss Me, Kate!’

Athens Conference

Examines Religion and Liberal Arts

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 Kelly Woodall Associate Director of Development Brandy Aycock 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

Athens

College Life

Graduate School

2 Inaugural Religion Conference 3 On the Cover: Swanson Center

4 5 6 7

Study Abroad: Nottingham Photo Collage Preparatory Music Academy New: Bookstore and Grill on Georgia Street

Academic News 8 9

10 11 12 13

Arts & Sciences: New Programs Dean’s Notes New Provost Dr. Pleysier Book Review School of Business School of Education Carlos Camp Co-Edits Book on Georgia Amphibians

14 Mel Palmer 14-15 Rogers Hall

16 10 Years of Gwinnett County Cohorts

Athletics

17 Basketball 18-19 Soccer 20 Tennis and Golf 21 Baseball and Volleyball

Alumni & Friends 22 New Faces in the Alumni House 23 Alumni Awards

Class Notes 25-29 Class Notes Obituaries

Piedmont Athens symposium examines Southern biblical influences

Dr. Barbara Brown Taylor

mer Piedmont professors. Participants could take their choice of workshops on the poetry of Wendell Berry, led by Dr. Stephen Whited; O’Connor’s fiction, led

by Dr. Lisa Hodgens; spirituals, led by Dr. Barbara Steinhaus; outsider art, led by Dr. Patrick Taylor; biblical references in contemporary culture, led by Dr. Tim Lytle; and the wisdom of sacred texts, led by the Rev. Dr. Michael Chittum.

The conference opened on Friday, Feb. 22, with a banquet at the Foundry Park Inn. Barbara Taylor delivered the keynote address, titled “Red Letters in Red Clay: How Southerners Have Found Themselves in the Bible.” “We talk a lot about how Southern culture is shaped by the Bible, but not as much about how Southern culture shapes the reading of the Bible,” Taylor said. “Perhaps this is the difference between a ‘Christ-centered’ culture and a ‘Christ-haunted’ one. During the Civil Rights era, for instance, black and white Southerners both appealed to scripture for identity, but to different sources for different reasons. When you write red letters in red clay, it is sometimes hard to tell one from the other.”

On Saturday, Feb. 23, Taylor also spoke about her experiences teaching religion classes at Piedmont. She said there are 10 predictable crises that students experience when they begin to study the Bible academically for the first time. These include the realization that the church produced the Bible, and not the other way round; and that depending on which denomination of Christianity you study, there are anywhere from 66 to 78 books in the different published Bibles, of which there

are “140 different versions at last count.”

But, Taylor said, once students start learning new things about the Bible, it usually leads them to ask more questions. “Once you start noticing these things you can’t stop,” she said “… and you don’t want to stop. You learn the difference between certainty and trust.”

Just what did Flannery O’Connor mean when she wrote “…while the South is hardly Christ-centered, it is most certainly Christ-haunted”? That was the topic for the first Piedmont College symposium on The Bible and the Liberal Arts, held at the Athens campus Feb. 22-23.

Titled “The Bible in the ‘Christ-Haunted South,’” the symposium attracted some 150 clergy members, lay persons, academics and students from across Georgia and around the country for the two-day conference led by Dr. Barbara Brown Taylor.

The symposium concluded Feb. 23 An Episcopal priest since 1984, Taylor with a worship service led by Piedmont’s is the Harry R. Butman Professor of Relichaplain, the Rev. Dr. Ashley Cleere, and gion and Philosophy at Piedmont. Before a sermon by Taylor. Following the service, becoming a full-time teacher, she spent 15 participants gathered for a reception in years in parish ministry, first at All Saints Rogers Hall on the Athens campus.

Church in Atlanta and then at Grace “We were excited by the large number Calvary Church in Clarkesville. In recent of folks around Georgia and other states years, she has spoken at Yale, Princeton, who responded to our first annual conHarvard and Duke Universities, as well ference on religion and the liberal arts,” as at churches across the country. She is said President Ray Cleere. “Barthe author of 11 books, including bara Brown Taylor’s talents are well When God is Silent and Home By Anknown, and select members of our other Way. Her recent book, Leaving faculty provided a variety of excelChurch: A Memoir of Faith, received lent workshops of interest to the a 2007 Georgia Author of the Year attendees. The comments from paraward from the Georgia Writers’ Asticipants were so positive, we look sociation. forward to offering such a confer The conference explored not ence next year.” just the religious inspiration of Flan If you would like to receive notice nery O’Connor, but also how the about next year’s symposium, please Bible influences Southern literae-mail your name, address and ture, music, art and contemporary phone number to Brandy Aycock at culture. In addition to addresses by baycock@piedmont.edu.

Taylor, the conference included six Symposium participants form a circle in the Meetinghouse to learn about workshops led by current and forspirituals with Dr. Barbara Steinhaus.

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The view across Demorest Lake certainly has changed. Standing opposite the Arrendale Library is the new Swanson Center for Performing Arts and Communications, a 45,000-square-foot “signature facility” for the college.

Named for former trustee Kay Swanson and her husband, Dean, who have both been longtime supporters of the college, the Swanson Center houses a 370-seat theater as well as modern classrooms and work space for the mass communications department.

Dean Swanson had viewed the Center in plans, during construction, and from the air, but he said that did not prepare him for what he saw the first time he entered the completed $14-million facility. “It just stopped me in my tracks,” recalls Swanson. “After I caught my breath, all I could say was ‘Wow.’” At the dedication in October, Swanson said he and Kay were “proud to have our name associated with this wonderful building and with Piedmont College. It is exciting to see all the growth taking place here.”

The Swanson Center theater allows Piedmont to produce a wide variety of performances, from standard theater fare, to more experimental works, to children’s and family plays. Chair of the theater department, Rick Rose, said the Swanson Center “is the premier teaching facility for theater in north Georgia. With the proscenium mainstage, the smaller and more versatile black box theatre, well-designed scene and costume shops, and a variety of lighting, sound, and rigging equipment, the facility will provide students with a wide range of performance and production experiences,” he said.

The mainstage theatre has already host-

SWANSON CENTER SWANSON for Performing Arts & CENTER Communications for Performing Arts & Communications

for the future of our students and their success,” she said.

The student-run programs are also benefitting from the new facility. The student newspaper, The Navigator and the college yearbook are both produced out of the Swanson Center. “The Swanson Center has greatly facilitated the production of the yearbook,” said editor Mary Beth Williams. “I believe the Swanson Center has helped the yearbook leap forward into new innovative ideas and different perspectives. I love working at my desk and having the ability to ask others for suggestions or any other questions I may have about the programs we use.”

The new integrated newsroom has also made a large difference for the staff of The Navigator. Editor-in-chief Mallory Dumas said, “The Center has helped the Navigator staff to communicate more effectively. Having all the editors working in the newsroom allows us to ask for help whenever we need it. There is always someone in the newsroom to give advice or a helping hand. The integrated newsroom also allows proper communication among all areas of the department.

If a story is being covered in the newspaper, the television station manager knows about it immediately and is able to put it on the Piedmont channel,” Dumas said.

Piedmont’s mass communications department has also joined hands with Georgia Public Radio. M.J. Knieser, a broadcaster with GPR, has made Piedmont a second home. Knieser is at Piedmont every morning broadcasting live from the new GPR studio, located in the Swanson Center, on the college public broadcast station, WPPR 88.3 FM. s

ed three performances since it opened in the fall. The theater department performed “God’s Favorite” in October and “Kiss Me, Kate!” in February. Other departments are also taking advantage of the new facility.

In January the music department used the mainstage for its annual opera production of “Amahl and the Night Visitors.” In April the theater department will be putting on a performance of “The Dining Room.”

The mass communications department has also been able to expand because of the new building. State-of-the-art studios for television and radio production, and computer labs for Dean and Kay Swanson with President Ray Cleere and Chairman Thomas A. “Gus” Arrendale at the dedication of the Swanson Center for Performing Arts and Communications. print and web media are just a few of the features that have allowed students to develop their skills. Dr. Betsey Blakeslee, chair of the mass communications department, calls the facility extraordinary.

“With this Center, the college is not only investing in the school and community, this is an investment

Piedmont students cross the pond for semester at Nottingham

By Taryn Gadbois Students at the The University of Nottingham come primarily from England, Europe, and Asia, but this past fall there was an invasion of northeast Georgians.

Six Piedmont students took advantage of a new study abroad program to attend school and live on campus at Nottingham for a full semester.

The six students traded the hills of north Georgia for the forests of Nottingham in September and did not return until December. The three-month stay was just the right length according to Jared Vermilya, a junior from Clarkesville. During their time in Nottingham, the students not only explored England’s vast countryside, but most had the opportunity to travel to other countries in Europe as well.

Vermilya traveled to Spain, Italy, France, Scotland and Ireland. When asked to pick a favorite, he couldn’t quite make up his mind because each trip was a completely different experience. “Rome was awesome because of all the culture that’s there; seeing all the old architecture, like the Coliseum was the best. But Paris was the most beautiful,” he said.

Piedmont had been interested in establishing a semester abroad program for several years, said Dr. Viviane Daigle, associate dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. Several British universities were considered, and ultimately The University of Nottingham was chosen because it had an excellent academic reputation and a well-developed orientation program for international students. Nottingham has been listed as one of the top five universities in the world by Newsweek and it

was selected as Britain’s “University of the Year,” for the 2006-2007 school year. To attend Nottingham, the students paid the same tuition as at Piedmont, and any scholarships they received here were applied to their tuition overseas.

While this past semester was the first time for the program, Daigle said six more students are planning to take a semester at the University in the fall of 2008. She expects the popular program will grow in coming years, and starting with the 2008-09 school year students can spend either a spring or fall semester across the pond.

Dr. Vivian Daigle, left, and Dr. Stephen Whited, right, with the first Home to the legendary Robin Piedmont students to study abroad at Nottingham University, from Hood, Nottingham is famous for left, Kara Brown, Abby Meents, Brandon Hitch, Janet Peterson, other things as well. The univerJared Vermilya, Meghann Clark, and Christopher Bryan. sity, located about 100 miles north of London, has an enrollment of 26,000 students from all over the world. The city offers an unusual combination of heritage, history, and contemporary culture.

Vermilya and Chris Bryan, a senior from Wisconsin, said the classes took some getting used to. At Piedmont, a class of 25 students is considered large, whereas at Nottingham some classrooms held 300 students. “Having a class that large was something I’d never experienced.

It was interesting. There was also a lot of outside-the-classroom learning—independent learning was a big thing,” Vermilya said.

The University of Nottingham offers a wide variety of sports, and Vermilya joined the basketball and baseball teams. Practices and games helped to occupy some of the free time he had. The Piedmont students didn’t have cars, so to go into town they had to rely on the bus. However, like most things in England, the bus was expensive. To keep themselves busy, they rented movies and hung out with the new friends they made in their dorms. Another problem was getting food late at night. “If you were hungry at 11 o’clock at night—oh well. No place was open late. We had to just suck it up and eat cereal,” Vermilya said.

While he had a great time and learned a lot, Vermilya said he missed some of the comforts of home. “I would go back and visit in a heartbeat, but I don’t think I’d go back to school over there. I just realized that I am definitely a small-college kind of person. I like knowing my teachers and having them know me.” He does believe that he had the experience of a lifetime and wouldn’t have changed anything if he could do it again. “It’s definitely something everyone should do if they get the chance. It was a great experience.” s

“I just realized that I am definitely a small-college kind of person.

I like knowing my teachers and having them know me.”

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World AIDS Day Students, faculty, and staff observed World AIDS Day Dec. 1 with a service in Alumni Park at the campus in Demorest. Student Joanna Moye led the observance, which featured readings of AIDS statistics; a presentation by Angel Randolph, executive director of the North Georgia AIDS Alliance in Gainesville; music by students Kyle Jones and Aaron Land, and a benediction by college chaplain the Rev. Dr. Ashley Cleere.

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‘Concert of Lessons and Carols’ The Piedmont College Chorale and Habersham Central High School Singers presented the annual “Concert of Lessons and Carols” Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, at the Center for Worship and Music in Demorest. This marked the 19th anniversary of the annual concert, which includes readings from the story of the birth of Christ, accompanied by choral pieces. The Piedmont Chorale is composed of singers from the college and the northeast Georgia community under the direction of Dr. Wallace Hinson, with assistant conductors Jennifer Babel and Emily Giardina. The Habersham Central High School Singers are directed by Bobby Ivey.

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Seniors display art Lisa Jennings and Courtney Odum look over artwork in the annual exhibition put on by senior art students at the Art Gallery.

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PC and HCHS present ‘Amahl and the Night Visitors’ Students in the Opera Workshop and the Habersham Central High School Singers brought back one of the favorite American operas, “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” by Gian Carlo Menotti with two performances Jan. 11-12 at the Swanson Center for Performing Arts and Communications. Pictured from left, are the three kings, John Paul Jordan, Jeremy Bishop, and Patrick Anderson; Jennifer Babel as Amahl; Patrick Hawkins as the page; and Donna Bunn James as the mother.

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PCT presents ‘God’s Favorite’

by Neil Simon The theatre department’s inaugural play in the new Swanson Center for Performing Arts and Communications was Neil Simon’s comedy God’s Favorite. Pictured from left are Liat Faver, Dillon Nelson, Shannon Webber, and David McMillion, who was understudy for Pete Talton, who portrayed Joe Benjamin in the modern retelling of the Story of Job.

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Spring 2008 Music • Art • Theater • Alumni

March:

Gammer Gurton’s Needle Friday 14th @ 7:30 p.m.

Saturday 15th @ 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday 16th @ 2:00 p.m. in the Swanson Center Black Box Theatre Chamber singers: Music for Holy Week: Tuesday 18th at 7:30 p.m. in the Center for Worship and Music

April:

Early Bird Concert: Cantabile Go Bragh!

Thursday 3rd at 5:00 p.m., in Brooks Hall Alumni Weekend Friday 4th-6th Chamber Music Concert Series: The Czech Trio on Sunday 6th at 3:00 p.m., in the Center for Worship and Music Wind Ensemble Spring Concert on Thursday 10th at 7:30 p.m. in the Center for Worship and Music Juried Student Show and Reception on Friday 11th, 2-4:00 p.m. in the Piedmont Art Gallery Sewell Organ Concert Series: Clive Driskill-Smith, Thursday 17th at 7:30 p.m., in the Center for Worship and Music

Music

PC Preparatory Music Academy Readies Students for College

Advanced music students in northeast Georgia between the ages of 15 and 18 now have a program to help them take their talent to the next level. The Piedmont College Preparatory Music Academy opened on the Demorest campus last fall to give high school music students college-level instruction in piano, voice, guitar, organ, woodwinds and brass.

“The Academy focuses on developing the young musician and preparing them for college study,” said Dr. Wallace Hinson, chair of the department of music. This includes developing their skills through the study of technique, theory, sight reading, singing, and repertoire, he said.

I in addition to private lessons with college faculty or masterslevel instructors, students are able to take part in the DepartJoy Hayner instructs PCPMA piano student Katharina Fuetterer of Clarkesville. ment of Music’s varied musical offerings, including participation in ensembles such as the Piedmont Chorale, Wind Ensemble, and Covenant Church Choir. They are also able to meet in master classes and hear guest artists performing through the college’s Fine Arts Series. Visiting artists within this series have included: Andreas Klein, Paul Jacobs, the Graffe String Quartet with Michiko Otaki, and Maurice Clerc.

Students who wish to study at the Academy must present one or more letters of recommendation from a prior teacher or music director that indicates the student’s level and abilities; submit a handwritten, one-page letter as to why they want to attend the Academy; fill out an application signed by a parent or legal guardian; and be prepared to audition. Tuition is $425 per semester.

Students who have completed the requirements of the Academy are eligible for music scholarships if they later decide to attend Piedmont. For information, contact Academy director Melinda Hubbell (770) 402-2907, or e-mail csm@piedmont.edu. Applications and information are available online at www.piedmont.edu/pcpma. s

The Dining Room

by A.R. Gurney Fri-Sun 19-20th, Friday and Saturday @ 7:30 p.m. and Sunday @ 2:00 p.m. in the Swanson Center Theater Piedmont College Lyceum Great Composers Series: ‘Great Mass in C Minor,’ K. 427, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Piedmont Chorale and Orchestra Fri-Sat 25-26th at 7:30 p.m. in the Center for Worship and Music

Chamber Singers The Chamber Singers will begin their Spring Tour in May with a trip to the Northeast. They will perform at 11 a.m., Sunday, May 4, at Old South Church, Boston; 7:30 p.m., Sunday, May 4, at First Congregational Church, Marshfield, Mass.; 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 6, at First Congregational Church, Falmouth, Mass.; and 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 7, at First Congregational Church, Yarmouth, Mass.

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The Piedmont Bookstore has a new home at the corner of Historic Highway 441 and Georgia Street in Demorest, but you can visit it from anywhere—on the Web that is.

Operated by Barnes and Noble, the bookstore now offers its wares in a newly renovated space on campus and through its website, piedmont.bncollege.com. In addition to textbooks and computer software, the real store and the virtual store both offer a complete line of clothing, gifts, and other items emblazoned with the Piedmont College logo. Cohort students especially will find the on-line ordering of textbooks to be a convenient feature, and soon-to-be graduates can order their caps and gowns at the store or online.

Bookstore manager Claudia “Sam” Barton said the one thing the brick and mortar store has that the online version does not is Starbucks coffee, brewed on the premises while you browse the store’s selections. These include bestsellers, classics, and books by local authors, including several Piedmont professors. You can also find books about hiking in northeast Georgia.

Originally from Utah, Barton has lived in the area for 14 years and is a recent Piedmont graduate, having earned a bachelor’s degree in business with a concentration in marketing in 2007. She had previously operated her own business, Incentive Promotions, in Cleveland.

Barton said the bookstore is not just for the Piedmont community, and one of her goals is to increase awareness of the Claudia ‘Sam’ Barton, manager of the Piedmont College bookstore in the surrounding areas. AnyBookstore. one can drop in and shop, and Barton said the store can supply any item in the Barnes and Noble inventory. “Customers can come in or e-mail an order to us for any book that Barnes and Noble sells, and we can have it for them usually in three to five days, with no charge for shipping,” Barton said.

The

GRILL on Street Students now have another on-campus option when it comes to deciding what to eat.

The Grill on Georgia Street (in the former bookstore location) offers a different selection of food from the Nielsen Dining Hall.

Like the dining hall, The Grill is open to the public, so anyone can enjoy the laid back atmosphere.

The Grill is run by Chartwell’s, the same company that operates the dining hall. However, the food offered at The Grill is more snacklike. Students can choose from a variety of options, such as nachos, French fries, and hot dogs.

The Grill is also getting involved in student life. Tuesday nights from 7-9 p.m. are Trivia Nights, with prizes for the first and second place teams. You can play by yourself or on a team.

The Grill is also available for club meetings, studying and just relaxing. The Grill is a wireless internet hot spot, so feel free to bring your computer and stay awhile.

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Arts & Sciences New Undergraduate Programs Boost Teacher Training

By Dr. James Mellichamp Vice President and Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences We are extremely proud of the role Piedmont College has played over the last 110 years in the preparation and training of education professionals. Piedmont graduates can be found in all areas of the state in teaching and administrative positions. And as the “Classnotes” section of this publication shows, a disproportionate number of Piedmont grads each year are named the “Teacher of the Year” for their schools and school systems.

Our graduate education programs, whether taught on campus or in cohorts, are popular with Piedmont grads and those who have completed their undergraduate degrees elsewhere. With the recent introduction of several new undergraduate secondary education programs, we believe Piedmont can help to provide Georgia with many more much-needed high school teachers.

This new program is designed to produce teachers who have more handson experience at the end of their four-year program to help them meet the challenges of today’s high school classrooms. The program is available for students who want to teach biology, chemistry, English, mathematics, and history.

A similar program is also in place for those who want to teach theatre at the elementary, middle or high school level. Students can earn an undergraduate degree to teach, or if they are already teaching another field, they can earn certification to teach theatre.

Dr. Bill Frech heads the new secondary education program.

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Dr. James Mellichamp

Students majoring in secondary education are assigned advisors who are especially selected not only for their teaching skill but also for their experience as secondary teachers. In these classes, the professors use the techniques that have been proven to work in high school settings. These include group work and allowing students to take responsibility for their own learning.

The program also emphasizes more in-class student teaching.

Piedmont College was recently notified that the college’s regional accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) has been continued for another 10 year period. This report comes after the conclusion of a monumental threeyear effort to document compliance with all criteria. All of the college’s constituents can be justifiably proud of this magnificent accomplishment.

Part of the accreditation effort includes the proposal, development, and now execution of a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), a new initiative that is linked to student learning. Piedmont’s QEP is “Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum,” and the project will document the strategic efforts made by the institution during the next five years in the area of critical thinking. We chose our QEP topic because we knew it was vital to the improvement of student learning and because it had universal applicability across every discipline within the college. s

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Dean’s Notes Lila Adair was installed as the National President of The American Association of Physics Teachers in January in Baltimore.

Dr. Donna Andrews and Dr. Jeff Waller made a presentation on “Positive Behavior Supports with the Pyramid of Intervention” at the Georgia Council for Administrators of Special Education conference in Athens in November.

Dr. Barbara Benson presented a session of the International Society for Exploring Teaching and Learning Conference in Atlanta in October. Her presentation was entitled “Learning Portfolios as Program Assessments in Adult Higher Education.”

Dr. Angela Humphrey Brown presented “Building for Learning: Effective Blueprints for Scaffolding Instruction” at the 2007 Annual Conference of the International Society for Exploring Teaching and Learning in Atlanta.

Dr. Stephen Carlson addressed the question, “Are there any tools that aid the search for ethical leadership?” at the August annual meeting of the Academy of Management in Philadelphia.

John Dzik, director of athletics, was part of a group making a presentation to the NCAA Convention in Nashville in January. They addressed reporting structures at NCAA Division III institutions and the expectations of college presidents and college athletic directors.

Dr. Mark L. Gardner’s paper, “A Brief History of the J C Penney Co.: Getting Back to the Basics” has been included in the online proceedings journal of The Economic and Business Historical Society, Volume 25 (2007). The paper may be found at www. business.auburn.edu/~whittdo/.

Dr. Siân Griffiths presented a reading of her poetry and fiction at the VOX Reading Series in Athens in November. Her creative work is forthcoming in Ninth Letter, a publication at the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign, and Mangrove Review at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Dr. Phillip Hayner recently played recitals at the University of Virginia at Wise and at Southern Wesleyan University. He and Joy Hayner performed a duet for the Southeast Regional Conference of the National Guild of Piano Technicians.

Dr. Jaime Johnson-Huff received a Doctorate of Nursing Practice Degree in December from the Medical College of Georgia.

Hugh Holden, Librarian, and co-author, Ma Lei Hsieh of Monmouth University Library (New Jersey) will make a presentation entitled “What If A University Library Lent Laptops & Nobody Came? An Analysis Us-

ing Three Surveys,” at the New Jersey Library Association 2008 Conference in April.

Dr. James Mellichamp presented a solo organ concert on July 8, 2007, at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France.

Dr. Karl Michel made two presentations at the National Art Education Association’s national convention in New York. His topics were “Portrait Collages—Creating an Imaginary Character” and “Radial Symmetry— From Asymmetry to Symmetry.”

Dr. Betty Rogers spoke at the National Joint Mathematics Meeting in San Diego, Calif., in January. Her presentation was titled “Geometry, Perspective and Proportion in Art: A Traveler’s Guide.”

Dr. Teresa Secules presented “Designing Authentic Assessment to Foster Student Thinking” at the annual conference of the International Society for Exploring Teaching and Learning in Atlanta in October.

Dr. Garen Simmons spoke in January to the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution on “The Best of Times and the Worst of Times,” focusing on the major events of 1778.

Dr. Barbara Brown Taylor’s book, Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith, received the 2007 Georgia Author of the Year award for creative non-fiction from the Georgia Writer’s Association. In October, Taylor preached at the 250th anniversary of university worship at Yale and delivered the Beck lectures for the Massachusetts Bible Society. In November, she preached at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Atlanta and at the Memorial Church of Harvard University. In March, Taylor will speak at the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas, and at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine.

Dr. Edward C. Taylor presented a paper at the national meeting of the Academy of Management’s Organizational Behavior Division in August in Philadelphia. The paper was titled, “Mentoring in Supervisor-Subordinate Dyads: Test of a Mediation Model of Mentorship.”

Dr. Raymond (Jeff) Waller recently celebrated the publication of The Educator’s Guide to Solving Common Behavior Problem, a humorous book that presents research-supported principles of positive behavioral management in a way that will appeal to teachers, administrators and other professionals who work with children.

Dr. Max White presented a lecture on the Creek and Cherokee Indian cultures at the Etowah Indian Mounds in Cartersville. He also gave a lecture titled “The Wynn Family: Early Settlers in Northeast Georgia” at a meeting of the Sons of Confederate Veterans in Toccoa. White will also present a paper at the Southern Anthropological Society meeting in Staunton, Va., in March titled “Fort Hollingsworth: The Evolution of an Historic Property.” s

Dr. Wayne Seelbach, former provost and vice president of academic affairs at the University of Montevallo, has been named provost at Piedmont College.

The position of provost is a new post at Piedmont, and Seelbach will be working with President Ray Cleere and the vice presidents on the overall operation of the college. “In his capacity as provost, Wayne will serve as the chief administrative officer of the institution, working closely with my office on a day-to-day basis,” Cleere said.

Seelbach served as provost at Montevallo for 14 years and prior to that was a professor of sociology and an administrator at Lamar University in Texas for 17 years. Originally from Beaumont, Texas, he taught at Lamar University from 1976 to 1993. He also held positions as head of the Department of Sociology, Social Work and Criminal Justice; assistant to the provost; executive assistant to the president; interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and associate vice president for Academic Affairs. He served at the University of Montevallo as provost/vice president of Academic Affairs and as tenured professor of sociology from 1993 to 2007.

Seelbach says his ultimate goal is to help President Cleere’s vision for the college come to life. “Anything the president asks me to do, I’ll do it. That’s what I’m here for,” Seelbach said. “I’m the utility guy.” s

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Dr. Pleysier Surviving the Blockade of Leningrad

In June 1941 the Soviet Union found itself at war against Germany and Finland. Within three months, German military forces and Finnish troops had established a blockade around Leningrad. Their siege of the city would last almost 900 days, and during that time Leningrad was struck by incessant aerial bombing and artillery shelling.

Piedmont College history professor Dr. Albert Pleysier has published an account of the siege that includes the experiences of Dr. Svetlana Magayeva, whose family endured the worst of the bombings, Born in The Netherlands, Dr. Albert Pleysier bitter cold, and starvation rations. has taught history at Piedmont College The book, Surviving the Blockade of since 1982.

Leningrad, provides a brief account of the military history of the siege, but the centerpiece is the poignant recollections of Magayeva, who was just 10 years old when the war began.

Dr. Pleysier said his recent studies of Leningrad began after he and a colleague in Russia, Dr. Alexi Vinogradov, began conducting archeological research in the early 1990s at Arkaim, an Indo-European site in Siberia. “During our work in Siberia, we were introduced to some of the older inhabitants of a nearby village,” Pleysier said.

“We realized through conversations with these people that their life experiences in witnessing important events in the history of the Soviet Union were much more interesting than the bones and pieces of pottery that we were excavating. One of the people we interviewed was Svetlana Magayeva, and afterward we agreed that her account needed to be published.”

Magayeva, herself an author and former researcher at the Academy of Medical Sciences in Moscow, had suppressed her memories of the siege, Pleysier said. Many years later, she accidentally re-injured a wound suffered during the siege, which triggered a flood of memories. Pleysier said that he, Vinogradov and Magayeva agreed that her memories of life behind the blockade should be written as a narrative and published in English. Surviving the Blockade of Leningrad is an account of these memories, he said.

“The winter of 1941-1942 was particularly severe,” Pleysier said.

“A shortage of fuel forced the Leningraders to huddle around small wood-burning stoves and sleep in their overcoats. Freezing temperatures caused the pipes of the city’s water system to burst.”

“Svetlana witnessed people committing acts of heroism and demonstrating compassion and love for each other under the most difficult circumstances,” Pleysier said. “This book is an effort to honor these human beings and at the same time record their actions so they will not be forgotten.”

Surviving the Blockade of Leningrad was published by University Press of America, a subsidiary of Rowman and Littlefield Publishers.

The book is available at the Piedmont College bookstore and can be purchased through online vendors. s

School of Nursing adds simulated patient

By Dr. Linda Scott Dean of the Daniel School of Nursing One of the most important additions to the nursing school in recent months is the SimMan human patient simulator.

Purchased with grants from the Johnson & Johnson companies and the Thomas A. and Lucile M. Moye Trust, SimMan provides realistic simulations of a wide range of patient symptoms. SimMan lets our students practice common scenarios and even experience rare symptoms before they go out to begin their practicums in a real medical setting.

The full-size SimMan is computer controlled to simulate changes in a patient’s heart rate and breathing. The lifelike patient simulator is the first major equipment purchase for the school’s new Human Patient Simulator Laboratory, which will be used to train nursing students and health care professionals from a consortium of schools and hospitals across northeast Georgia.

The school of nursing has also revised its curriculum for the RN-BSN program to make it more accessible for working RNs. The program, which is available at both the Athens and Demorest campuses, now provides more online and CDbased instruction.

This past year the nursing school worked on a number of projects with other area health care providers. The nursing students took part in a full-scale disaster drill with Habersham County Medical Center and various county emergency responders that tested each organization’s ability to respond quickly and professionally to a disaster, in this case a boiler explosion.

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Nursing students and faculty also volunteer their time at Grace Gate, a free clinic in Habersham County for those unable to afford health care. On campus, nursing students organized an observance of World AIDS Day, and they assisted the nursing instructors in administering flu shots to 250 faculty and staff members.

Dr. Jaime Johnson-Huff recently joined the nursing school faculty as an assistant professor teaching didactic and clinical medical surgical nursing. Dr. Johnson-Huff has nine years of nursing experience in the acute care setting with national certification as a Family Nurse Practitioner. She earned her B.S.N. and doctorate in nursing practice from the Medical College of Georgia. s Nursing students practice with SimMan, a computer-controlled simulated patient.

Dr. Jaime Johnson-Huff

Walker School of Business Earns National Accreditation, Adds Alumni Advisory Board and New MBA in Athens

By Dr. Bill Piper Dean of the Walker School of Business Administration The Walker School of Business Administration has received national accreditation from the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) after a two-year review.

The accreditation, which is in addition to the college’s current accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), applies to the undergraduate and graduate business programs at both Piedmont’s Demorest and Athens campuses.

Founded in 1988, the ACBSP is based in Overland Park, Kansas, and was created by its members to fulfill a need for specialized accreditation by institutions of higher education with business schools and programs.

Accreditation for Piedmont involved a two-year process of review and improvement of its business degree programs. The accreditation also commits the school to continuous improvement based on the Malcomb Baldridge criteria for excellence.

Alumni Council To continue the improvements at the school of business, we have recruited an Alumni Council made up of Piedmont graduates representing 12 area businesses. The council meets twice per year and provides input on matters of curriculum, course content, outreach and marketing.

The current council members are Haley Cantrell (’06, MBA ’07), Habersham Bank; Adam Edwards (’00), Enterprise Car Rental; Johnnie Edwards (’06), Scott, Wells and McElwee; Scott Hall (MBA ’06), Bank of North Georgia; Casey Jones (’01), Smith Barney; Nicholas Kastner (’03, MBA ’06), Red Clay Interactive; Michele Pearson (’03, MBA ’05), Clarke Community Federal Credit Union; Paul Roach (’04, MBA ’07), Jackson Electric Membership Company; Ashley Seale (’06, MBA ’08), sales; Gail Taylor (’01, MBA ’03), North Georgia Technical College; Jacob Thome (’05), Gainesville Bank and Trust; and Cindy Williams (’04), Blairsville/Union County Chamber of Commerce.

At the Athens Campus, we recently added three new business programs designed to help novice and experienced business men and women advance their

careers. Also for the first time, undergraduate business courses, which previously were offered in the evening, are offered during the day.

For students seeking a bachelor’s degree, in addition to a general business track, we now offer concentrations in accounting and technology management.

The accounting concentration focuses on how businesses track income and assets over time. The concentration in technology management prepares students for careers in technology-based organizations.

MBA in Health Care Management Piedmont also has added a new MBA program in Athens for Health Care Management. The evening program will include courses in Managed Care and Finance; Health Care Politics, Policy and Law; as well as Biostatistics and Epidemiology. The new program joins existing MBA options in Managerial Leadership and Financial Services.

The MBA in health care management will take about two years to complete, and graduates will have the foundation they need to work in hospital administration and in management of large physician practices or long-term care facilities.

As Dr. Pat Sherrer, director of the Athens business programs says, “The trend in medicine is toward large medical practices rather than single-physician offices. We’re going to need people at this level to help run those practices.” s

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PC Special Education master’s program changes to meet NCLB requirements

Dr. Jane McFerrin Dean of the School of Education

When Congress adopted the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, it had a far-reaching impact on education at all grade levels. One of the requirements of NCLB has changed the way that colleges such as Piedmont train and certify special education teachers.

In the past, special education teachers were certified in a disability field, such as Emotional/Behavior Disorders, Hearing Impaired, or Other Health Impaired.

Their certification was based on the specific disability across the grade span, from pre-school until 12th grade. For example, teachers working with students with learning disabilities would be certified in Learning Disabilities, P-12. Additionally, special education teachers could teach classes that were considered self-contained, in which the students stayed with the special education teacher for more than four school hours per day. Or the special education teacher might teach in a resource room, in which the students might come in for one to three school hours per day.

Recently special education teachers have been co-teaching in the regular classrooms alongside the general education teacher.

Over the past 30 years, most students with disabilities have not been included in end-of-year assessments, such as the CRCT or High School Graduation Exam.

Students with disabilities were remediated according to their identified academic weaknesses rather than the school curriculum. The NCLB Act requires that students with disabilities be taught using the same curriculum as their like-age peers, in the regular classroom, or least restrictive setting. All students in the regular classroom, including those with disabilities, are expected to meet Adequate Yearly

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Progress (AYP). Because the expectation is for all students to meet AYP, the academic progress of students with disabilities affects the total school progress. Emphasis, in the majority of schools nationally, is on addressing the academic progress made by all students, and this cannot be done using the model of pulling students with disabilities out of the regular classroom where they have full exposure to the general curriculum. As a result of AYP, special education teachers must teach in the general education classroom and must be responsible for delivery of academic content, as well as adapting and modifying the curriculum. The NCLB focus is on AYP rather than on the individualization of the education process.

To comply with NCLB, states, including Georgia, had to change the way special education teachers are certified. Rather than categorical certification, special education teachers are given certification in curriculum areas: Adapted Curriculum or Special Education General Curriculum.

The Adapted Curriculum certification is for teachers who teach students with severe disabilities who require intense levels of adult support. The Special Education General Curriculum certification is for teachers who teach students with “high incidence” disabilities or those that occur more often, such as LD, Mild Intellectual Disabilities (MID), and E/BD. Teachers in the Special Education Curriculum are often found co-teaching in regular classrooms with the general education teacher. The focus of the new certification changes is on curriculum and content rather than on disabilities and categories. As a result, special education teachers must become “Highly Qualified” in content areas that they may be required to teach as the sole teacher. To become highly qualified, special education teachers may have to take some additional course work, or test out of a content subject with the GACE exam. The purpose of special education teachers becoming highly qualified is to assure parents that they have enough knowledge of academic content to teach it. Veteran teachers have also had to meet the highly qualified certification requirement of NCLB. The Georgia Professional Standards Commision has evaluated all teaching certificates and has specified which curriculum areas teachers are certified in, in addition to the areas where they are highly qualified.

For more information about Piedmont’s graduate program in special education, contact Dr. Donna Andrews at (706) 778-3000 extension 1256 or e-mail dandrews@ piedmont.edu.

PIEDMONT COLLEGE

ALUMNI WEEKEND 2 0 0 8 Friday, April 4 Sunday, April 6 Don’t miss out on all the reunion activities!

• Coach Cave Memorial Golf Tournment • Reunion Dinners • Alumni Awards Luncheon • Alumni Social • Baseball & Softball Games • Tour of the new Swanson Center • Chamber Music Concert Series

For additional information about the events of the Alumni Weekend 2008, call the Office of Alumni Relations at 1-800-868-1641 or 706-776-0104.

Dr. Camp co-edits new book on Georgia amphibians and reptiles

By Taryn Gadbois

There is a hidden world of amphibians and reptiles waiting right outside our doors, if only we knew where to look. A new book, Amphibians and Reptiles of Georgia, tells us just that.

It includes a wealth of information about 170 species of frogs, salamanders, crocodilians, lizards, snakes and turtles, including where to find them.

In the book, co-edited by Piedmont’s Dr. Carlos Camp, color photographs are paired with detailed species accounts, which provide information about size, appearance and other identifying characteristics of adults and young. Range maps show where each species resides in Georgia, as well as the United States generally.

Amphibians and Reptiles of Georgia has been in the works for more than four years, according to Camp, who is anxious to see the book published. Publishing is set to happen in July 2008, through the University of Georgia Press. Camp was in charge of editing the accounts on amphibians, and his former doctoral advisor, Dr. Whit Gibbons, was the editor of the reptile accounts.

“This book will be the first statewide treatment of Georgia’s amphibian and reptile fauna since Bernard Martof published a short identification guide in 1956, and it is the first work to treat these species in comprehensive detail,” Camp said.

The book includes nearly 500 color photographs, 24 line drawings showing each group’s defining features, almost 200 range maps with county-by-county distribution, and detailed species accounts written by 54 regional experts providing information on taxonomy and nomenclature; habits; distribution and habitat; and reproduction and development.

Camp is well-known in the reptile and amphibian world, having been a part of the discovery and researching of two new species of salamanders in Georgia. In 2002, Camp and Piedmont professor Dr. Rick Austin were involved in the discovery and formal description of the dwarf black-bellied salamander. It was first found in Union County, but has since been recorded in the mountainous regions of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. The formal species name is Desmognathus folkertsi, named in honor of George Folkerts, who taught both Camp and Austin at Auburn University. “George was a consummate naturalist, and many biologists across the Southeast either studied under him or were influenced by him,” Camp said. Folkerts passed away in December 2007.

Camp is currently heading the research team for another new north Georgia species of salamander. A graduate student from the University of Missouri brought it to him. It is the smallest salamander in the United States discovered to date and is so distinct from anything known it will most likely be described as a new genus. Other members of the research team are Trip Lamb from East Carolina University, David Wake from the University of California Berkley, Joe Milanovich from the University of Georgia, John Maerz from the University of Georgia, and Bill Peterman from the University of Missouri.

Amphibians and Reptiles of Georgia goes on sale in July 2008 and can be ordered by phone at 1-800-266-5842, or e-mail books@ugapress.uga. edu. s

New degree programs at Athens Campus

By Dr. Mel Palmer Vice President for the Athens Campus Students enrolling at Piedmont College in Athens this school year found not only a larger campus but also several new degree programs. The Athens campus, which has offered primarily evening classes for the past 10 years, now offers an expanded selection of day classes in a variety of programs.

For students seeking a bachelor’s degree, the biggest change is the addition of complete four-year programs, as well as the convenience of both day and evening classes. Until this year, we had offered undergraduate classes for junior and seniorlevel students only. We have now enrolled freshmen and sophomore students for the first time, making Piedmont in Athens an excellent alternative for students who want the advantages that a small private college can offer.

In Athens, we now offer several careeroriented programs leading to a bachelor’s degree. Students can major in education, including early childhood and middle grades; business, including new concentrations in accounting and technology management; criminal justice; political science; and psychology. New this year is a major program in graphic design, and Chelsea McDowell participates at Athens orientation.

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there is also a new concentration in emergency management for students majoring in either criminal justice or political science.

The College is actively seeking cooperative agreements with two-year colleges within commuting distance to provide opportunities for students to transfer from a two-year college and complete their bachelor’s degree at Piedmont.

The graduate school has expanded its evening course offerings. Students can earn a master’s degree in education, including early childhood, secondary or special education. The education specialist program is also proving very popular.

MBA in Health Care Management The business school now offers three different MBA programs in Athens, with specialization available in financial services, managerial leadership, and a new program in health care management. The health care management track is an evening program that includes courses in Managed Care and Finance; Health Care Politics, Policy and Law; as well as Biostatistics and Epidemiology.

In addition to our program expansion, we now have increased our staff to include an Assistant to the Vice President position. Linda Smith has been employed in this capacity. Linda comes to Piedmont with a wealth of knowledge in dealing with both academic and student issues.

She works a split schedule, assisting faculty and students who attend evening classes.

In addition, she works with the vice president in the overall effort to publicize the Athens campus programs among various organizations and agencies. s

Rogers Hall ties Piedmont Demorest and Athens campuses Piedmont’s new Athens Campus has been open for less than a year, and while most students are (hopefully) not getting lost in Commons Hall anymore, there may be some things about the campus that you don’t know.

For instance, did you know that the Athens Campus, including Lane Hall on Milledge Avenue, actually includes six buildings (eight if you count Commons Hall as three connected buildings.)? One of the lesser known buildings is called Rogers Hall, named in honor of a Piedmont graduate who has historical ties to both Piedmont and the University of Georgia.

Located on Prince Avenue just east of the Meetinghouse, Rogers Hall is named for Jonathan Clark Rogers, who was Dean of Piedmont College from 1911 to 1933.

Rogers was born in 1885, in Richmond,

Ind. His family moved to Demorest in 1892, and in 1903, at the age of 18, he enrolled at Piedmont College. Rogers earned a bachelor of science degree in 1906 and continued his education at Earlham College, where he received an engineering degree in 1907. In 1927, he graduated from Columbia University with a master of arts degree.

Rogers began his career in education at Cayuga College in New York, where he taught mathematics and also served as the basketball coach. In 1909 he returned to Demorest to serve as principal of the Piedmont Academy and Elementary School, which was then part of the college. In 1911 he was named professor of mathematics and also began his 22-year service as dean.

In 1934 Rogers served as vice-president and local executive officer of Piedmont.

In that same year, Piedmont honored him with an honorary doctorate in education Also in 1934, Rogers was named president of North Georgia College in Dahlonega. During his 15 years there he helped the college grow from a two-year school to a four-year college.

In 1949 the state Board of Regents named Rogers president of the University of Georgia during a turbulent time in the university’s history. Coincidentally, during his time as President of the University of Georgia, he lived in the UGA President’s House, which is located across the street from Piedmont’s Rogers Hall. He served just under two years as president until his mandatory retirement at the age of 65 in late 1950.

After leaving UGA, Rogers was the director of Tallulah Falls School from 1951 to 1953. He joined the Reinhardt College faculty in 1957 as a math professor and counselor until 1962. He died on Oct. 24, 1967.

Rogers Hall in Athens isn’t the first Piedmont building named for Jonathan Clark Rogers, however. In the 1950s, Rog-

ers’ former home in Demorest was converted into a men’s dormitory also known as Rogers Hall.

Rogers was of Quaker ancestry and held deep religious convictions and a vision of education for all and at all stages of life. He married Mary Floyd Hamilton Blackshear (’05) and they had three children; Katherine Rogers Williams, Laura Rogers Fortson and Jonathan C. Rogers, Jr. There are several portraits hanging in Rogers Hall, including one of Dr. Rogers that was donated by his family, as were the portraits of his wife; and the Athens artist, Annie Laura Eve Blackshear, who was Mrs. Rogers’ sister and head of the Piedmont College art department for seven years prior to 1905. s

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Carol Kokesh

nett educators have graduated from M.A. cohorts located at a variety of Gwinnett schools.

In addition, there have been 261 teachers who have been earned the Education Specialist (Ed.S.) degree since that program was implemented in the summer of 2002. Currently, there are 90 M.A. candidates and 154 Ed.S. candidates working on their advanced degrees in Gwinnett.

The addition of another M.A. cohort, as well as two Ed.S. cohorts, in the summer of 2008 is an endorsement of the constant

Piedmont marks 10 years of Gwinnett County cohorts

By Carol Kokesh Director of Graduate Admissions Gwinnett County is one of the fastestgrowing counties in the nation, and its school system is the largest in Georgia.

This past year, Gwinnett added 4,000 new students, and it expects to add at least that many each year for the next five years. Currently, there are about 10,000 teachers employed to teach some 160,000 students.

Along with the growth, as in most metro Atlanta counties, Gwinnet’s population has become more diverse. To meet the needs of this growing and changing population, new schools are being built every year, and each new school must have properly prepared professional educators.

In addition, new teachers are needed to replace retiring teachers each year.

This rapid growth is both a challenge and an opportunity for the Gwinnett County schools and their employees. The academic success of all students is recognized as the most important aspect of the day-to-day operation of the school district.

As county school superintendent Alvin Wilbanks says, “We live in an era of changing conditions and rising expectations.”

Piedmont College has recognized the significance of the Gwinnett County phenomenon during the past 10 years and, in conjunction with the school district administration, has helped many Gwinnett teachers earn advanced degrees and gain the expertise needed to more effectively address the learning needs of today’s Gwinnett students.

The Piedmont School of Education developed the cohort model for delivery of graduate degree programs in 1995 and began offering the Master of Arts degree to Gwinnett educators in the summer semester of 1998. The initial offer was greeted with great enthusiasm. Instead of establishing one cohort of about 20 teachers, Gwinnett educators applied in numbers that justified starting two cohorts that summer. Since that time 711 Gwin-

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presence of Piedmont College in Gwinnett County.

Part of the reason for the success of the cohort model in Gwinnett and elsewhere in the state has been the emphasis on school improvement that the program offers. Course work for each cohort is adapted to the identified needs of the particular schools.

Gwinnett County cohorts have been supervised by Dr. James L. McGarity, Cohort Coordinator, since 2001. The addition of Dr. Joan Jordan as Assistant Cohort Coordinator in 2007, has assured the continued support needed for the expansion of the number of cohorts in Gwinnett County. s

Lions take second place in GSAC After defeating LaGrange College in the semifinals of the 2007-08 Great South Athletic Conference Tournament, the Piedmont College men’s basketball team fell just short in the championship to Maryville College by the score of 90-79 in the Johnny Mize Athletic Center.

The Lions were able to get within three points late in the second half but could not draw even and finished runner-up in the GSAC. Jake Baldwin was named the Great South Athletic Conference’s men’s Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. Baldwin was the league’s leader in scoring and was second in the conference in rebounding. The forward led the NCAA Division-III national statistics in scoring and has been an All-Conference selection for four years.

Joining Baldwin on the All-Conference GSAC Player of the Year, Team was sophomore Sam Coppage, who avJake Baldwin eraged 14 points and three rebounds per game highlighted by a career high 30 points in the Lions’ victory over Ferrum College.

Daniel Lampl was named to the conference’s All-Freshman Team. The Lions placed four players on the All-Academic Team. Baldwin, Will Martin, Wesley Parker, and Rubio each earned the academic honor. s

Automatic bid to national tournament

Lady Lions upend Maryville for second consecutive GSAC title The women’s basketball team punched its ticket to a second straight trip to the NCAA Division-III Tournament March 1 by defeating Maryville College in the GSAC championship.

For the second consecutive season the Piedmont women were crowned champions of the Great South Athletic Conference with an 89-73 victory over Maryville in the Johnny Mize Athletic Center. The Lady Lions’ victory ensures an automatic bid into the 2007-08 NCAA Division-III national tournament. At press time the they were scheduled to play local rival Oglethorpe in Crestview Hills, Ky., March 5.

For her efforts, senior Sheena Trimiar was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. The guard averaged 18 points per game including eight steals.

Beth Adcock posted a team high 20 points to lead five teammates in double figures. Senior Nikki Sosebee posted a double double with 16 points and a game high 12 rebounds while Laura Simmons added 15 points. Trimiar and Lisa Jennings chipped in with 13 and 12 points respectively.

Player of the Year, Sosebee was Nikki Sosebee

NCAA record books with her 14 steals against LaGrange College, placing her in a tie for 11th place all time for steals in a single game. She also recorded her 1,000th point with the front end of a one-and-one against conference rival Maryville College.

Laura Simmons and Courtney Odum were named to the league’s All-FreshLady Lions basketball team after defeating Maryville for their second man Team. Simmons GSAC title. averaged 5.5 points per game in her freshman campaign and named the GSAC Player of the Year after reached double figures on four separate averaging 11.2 points and 7.0 rebounds occasion. The forward started in 22 of the per game.

25 games this season and recorded a career The Piedmont College women’s bashigh 20 points in the season finale against ketball team was well-represented in the Maryville College. Odum competed in evGreat South Athletic Conference awards ery game for PC and reached a career high as Sosebee was named the conference 10 points against conference foe Spelman Player of the Year and head coach Jamie College.

Childs-Purdy garnered Coach of the Year The Lady Lions also posted a conferhonors. The Lady Lions went 22-3 in the ence best seven players on the All-Academregular season and posted a perfect 12-0 ic team. Sosebee, Trimiar, Adcock, Emily conference mark to claim the 2007-08 Woodward, Sarah Lane, Stephanie Rainregular season title. water, and Danielle Dutcher all received Joining Sosebee on the All-Conferthe honor. s ence Team was Trimiar, who averaged 11 points per game and led the team in steals with 93. Trimiar found her way into the

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Stephen Andrew The Department of Athletics has named Stephen Andrew as the fulltime head coach of the women’s soccer program.

The PC alum returns to his alma mater after serving as the head women’s soccer coach at fellow Great South Athletic Conference member Huntingdon College this previous season.

Prior to his stint at Huntingdon, the Falkirk, Scotland, native served as the assistant coach of both the women’s and men’s soccer programs at Piedmont for three years. During his tenure as the assistant coach, the Lady Lions posted an overall record of 31-26-4 with three runner-up finishes in the Great South Athletic Conference.

As a four-year starter for the PC men’s soccer program from 2000-2003 Andrew still holds the career record for goals at 114.

He was named the Great South Athletic Conference Player of the Year and garnered All-Conference honors in each of his four seasons.

Andrew was also the NCCAA South Region Player of the Year and All-Region team and on the All-American team four times. He led the Lions to the school’s first ever NCAA Division-III postseason in 2003 in the first year of eligibility and advanced to the Sweet 16. In the spring of 2004 Andrew graduated from Piedmont with a degree in sports marketing and earned his masters degree in business administration in 2007.

For the men’s soccer team, the season came down to penalty kicks at the end of a hard-fought match against Huntingdon College in the semi-finals of the Great South Athletic Conference tournament played in Demorest.

The Lions finished the regular season tied with Maryville for first place and were pitted against an equally tough Huntingdon team in the semi-finals. Both teams scored once in the first half, and the Hawks scored in the 47th minute and held the lead until with just six minutes left in regulation play, Jacob Brown scored his second goal of the game to send the match into overtime. Two overtime periods later, the score was still knotted at 2-all, and the two teams began swapping penalty kicks, with Huntingdon coming out on top, 3-2. Maryville went on to win the GSAC title with an 8-0 trouncing of Huntingdon the following day. The Lions finished the regular season with an impressive 11-4-1 record.

Senior Drew Griffin of Snellville, who was named the Great South Athletic Conference Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, was also named by D3Kicks.com to the South Region second team. The forward notched 20 goals in 12 games for the Lions. Griffin’s 1.67 goals per game and 3.5 points per game placed him alone at the top of the final NCAA Division-III national statistics.

Last season Griffin led the national statistics with a season average of 1.71 goals per game and finished second in points per game at 3.76. Over the course of his career he has scored 85 goals in 70 games, good enough for a career average of 1.21 goals per game.

Josh Seabrook was one of five All-Conference At the fall sports banquet, coach Jimmy Steplayers on the PC squad. phens presented the team Coach’s award to sophomores Joey Krieger of Snellville and Bryan Prevatte of Buford, while the Most Valuable Player award went to sophomore goal keeper Ben Pyle of Duluth, who allowed fewer than two goals per game during the season.

Stephens recognized All-Conference players Griffin, Josh Seabrook of Grayson, Jorge Pradilla of Dacula, Jeremy Stille of Duluth, and Chris Leone of Lilburn. Stephens was named Coach of the Year by the GSAC. Jacob Brown of Buford was named to the All-Freshman Team, and All-Academic Team members included Pradilla, Pyle, Stille and Patrick Kaminski of Suwanee. s

Anahita Darvish threads the defense.

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Soccer Women Fall to LaGrange in GSAC Quarterfinal In an extremely hard-fought match, the women’s soccer team fell in the Great South Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinals to visiting LaGrange College by the score of 2-1. In a back-and-forth game the Lady Lions allowed the gamewinning goal with less than two minutes in regulation to conclude the 2007 season.

After a scoreless first half, LaGrange struck with an unassisted goal at the 58th minute. PC responded quickly with the equalizer one minute later as Lauren Dodd deposited her shot past the keeper on an impressive pass from Sara Lindsley.

The score remained knotted at one goal apiece until the 89th minute when the Panthers converted an unassisted goal after an initial save from Kaitlyn Induni for the game-winner. The Lady Lions could not get a shot off in the final seconds and dropped the well played match.

Piedmont finished the 2007 season with an overall record of 5-11.

Lauren Dodd, Casey Lovelady, and Erin Pippin were named to the league’s All-Conference Team. Dodd led the Lady Lions in scoring this season with 12 goals and 27 total points. Pippin notched a team-high seven assists, while Lovelady has been a defensive fixture for Piedmont in the stopper position.

First-year goalkeeper Kaitlyn Induni and Nicole Hood were named to the GSAC All-Freshman Team. Induni recorded 118 saves and posted four shutouts on the season, while Hood tallied a goal and an assist in her freshman campaign.

Lovelady, Katie Corley, Caitlin Hurd, Jennifer Osborne, and Autumn Richardson were named to the GSAC All-Academic Team. The six players posted by Piedmont was the second highest number of players in the seven-team conference. s

Freshman Lauren Dodd.

The PC men take off at the start of the GSAC championship meet. From left are Montez Jones, Trent Smith, Michael Fidero, Yve Chawla, and Chris Rice.

PC Hosts GSAC Cross Country Championship The men’s and women’s cross country teams played host to the 2007 Great South Athletic Conference Championships Nov. 3 in Dillard, with the men’s team finishing as the runner-up in the three-team field to Maryville College.

On the men’s side Christopher Rice led Piedmont with an 8K time of 30:37 to finish in third place overall. Michael Fidero and Yve Chawla followed with times of 30:44 and 32:00 good enough for fourth and seventh place overall. Montez Jones and Trent Smith also finished the race with times of 34:28 and 38:28 respectively.

On the women’s side Danielle Vidd completed the 6K course in a time of 33:34 to finish in 27th place overall. Kristin Pratt and Stefanie Garrett completed the course in 35:04 and 36:52 respectively, while Joanna Moye and Jillian Pratt also finished the course in 37:49 and 42:05 each. The women finished in sixth place in the six-team competition. Kristin Pratt, Jillian Pratt, and Joanna Moye represented Piedmont College on the All-Academic Team.

For their efforts Christopher Rice and Michael Fidero were named to the Great South All-Conference team as the award was given to the top four finishers in the conference championships. Rice, Fidero and Chawla represented Piedmont in the NCAA Division-III Cross Country Re-

gional in Williamsburg, Va., Nov. 10.

Rice was Piedmont’s top finisher with an 8K finish of 29:51, good enough for 112th place out of the 170 runners in the competition. Fidero was the next Lion to cross the finish line with a meet time of 30:14 to finish in 121st place while Chawla crossed the tape in 146th place with a time of 31:21. s

The CC women include, from left, Joanna Moye, Stefanie Garrett, Danielle Vidd, and Kris Pratt. Not pictured is Gillian Pratt.

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Courtney Rutherford has been named the new men’s and women’s tennis coach. Rutherford takes over the position from coach Shane Wood, who accepted a position as head men’s and women’s tennis coach at NCAA Division I Jacksonville University in Florida.

After graduating from Lakeside High School in Atlanta, Rutherford embarked on a highlysuccessful collegiate tennis career at NCAA Division-II Coker College, where he served as team captain and garnered the Most Valuable Player award.

After graduating with a bachelor of arts degree in psychology and business, he competed on the United States Tennis Association (USTA) professional circuit for one year. After his professional career ended, Rutherford served as a personal tennis coach before starting the Center Court Tennis Academy, where he presently coaches and trains players of all levels of ability.

As a personal coach, Rutherford has mentored numerous players who went on to compete at the highest levels of NCAA tennis programs as well as the professional ranks. s David Gillispie

The men’s golf team will inaugurate the spring season by hosting the 5th Annual The Orchard Spring Invitational on Tuesday, March 11th.

At the close of the fall season, The fall 2007 men’s golf team included, from left, assistant coach Dusty Rogers, Ryan Cobo, Drew Witchousky, Matt Howell, Phillip the Piedmont men carded a 36-hole Enslen, Mike Matthews, and coach Lee Glenn. score of 318-324--642 to finish 19th at the Chick-Fil-A Collegiate Invitational Oct. 15-16 hosted by Berry College at Coosa Country Club. The Lions slid back three spots on the final day after standing in a tie for 16th at the midway point.

The 21-team tournament field was dominated by 18 NAIA scholarship programs with 11 of those ranked in the nation’s top 30 teams.

Matt Howell led the team with a 73-78--151 which placed him in a tie for 38th overall out of 114 golfers. His 151 (+7) ties for fourth on the modern-era records book for 36-hole individual scores. Teammates Matt Goodall (84-78) and Drew Witchousky (79-83) tied for 97th with matching 162s. Mike Matthews carded a two-day total of 84-85--169 while Ryan Cobo rounded out the Lions’ scoring with an 82-91--173.

The men finished in a tie for 14th place out of 17 teams at the Greensboro College Fall Invitational in Greensboro, N.C., Oct. 2. Piedmont carded a 36-hole total of 312-325--637 against national caliber Division-III competition on the ChamRyan Cobo pions Course at Bryan Park.

Piedmont’s opening day 312 was good for a tie for 11th place at the midway point, but the team struggled to a second-day 325 into a tie for 14th place overall with nationallyranked Hampden-Sydney College.

The tournament featured 17 NCAA Division-III teams with over half of the field ranked in the nation’s top-25. s

The women’s golf team will return to action in 2008 when the team hosts the 5th Annual Spring Invitational on Tuesday, March 11, The women’s golf team included from left, assistant coach Dusty at The Orchard Golf and Country Rogers, Ashley Rutlege, Bethann Rogers, Lynne Laseter, Gracie Club north of Clarkesville.

Faulkner, Laura Schulte, Tiffany Foster, Erin Simonton, and coach Lee Glenn.

During the fall season, the Lady Lions picked up consecutive tournament victories with wins at the University of the South Fall Invitational at Sewanee, Tenn., and the Reinhardt College Fall Invitational in Waleska.

At Sewanee, the women broke their own single-round team record with a score of 352, bettering their previous record by 13 strokes. They finished a commanding 75 strokes ahead of runner-up Reinhardt.

Lynne Laseter led the team with a five-over par 79 on the par 74, 5,809 yard course. She finished runner-up in the 18-player field. Freshman Bethann Rogers carded a career-low 13-over par 87 to finish third overall. Joining Laseter and Rogers on the AllTournament team were teammates Tiffany Foster (92), Grace Faulkner (94), and Ashley Rutledge (96).

At the Reinhardt tourney, the Piedmont women posted a team score of 347. Tiffany Foster earned her first collegiate tournament victory with a career-best 79, earning her medalist honors. s Tiffany Foster

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Baseball Opens Season with Winning Streak The baseball team opened its season with a five-game winning streak, and at press time sports an 8-2 record, including the team’s first ever victories against powerhouse Millsaps College.

The Diamond Lions opened the season Feb. 7 with an 8-7 win at home against Randolph-Macon College, and followed that with victories over Guilford, Oglethorpe, and North Carolina Wesleyan. They were finally stopped in the second game against North Carolina on Feb. 17.

The back-to-back wins against Millsaps came Feb. 23-24 as the Lions traveled to Jackson, Miss., winning 7-4 in 11 innings in the first game. In the second game, the Lions exploded for six runs on six hits in the top of the sixth to break the game open and held off a ninth inning rally from the Majors to win 9-6. In the two-game series the Lions pounded out 28 hits and scored 16 runs.

The wins helped the team sweep the Great South Athletic Conference Player and Pitcher of the Week awards. Sophomore catcher Corey Lindsey and senior closer Tom Dimitroff were honored as the two helped lead the Lions to a 3-1 week.

Lindsey went 8-13 (.615) in four games with two doubles and five runs batted in.

The sophomore also scored a team high seven runs and was a perfect 5-5 in stolen bases.

For the season Lindsey is pacing the Lions’ offense, hitting an impressive .500 while throwing out 64 percent of baserunners.

Dimitroff threw in relief in four games, picking up a win and a save. He allowed only two earned runs in nine and a third innings of work while striking out eight.

Dimitroff threw four and a third innings of scoreless relief, including two extra innings at Millsaps to pick up the victory, moving him to 3-0 on the season. s

Senior B.J. Hampton

Freshman Dusty Black

the league’s Freshman of the Year award. The newcomer is third in the GSAC with a .258 hitting percentage and recorded 220 total kills and 236 digs. Lane, Sparger, Baldonado, and Nikki Cole represented Piedmont on the All-Academic Team.

Head coach Katie O’Brien was named the Coach of the Year after leading her team to a 24-9 overall record and an impressive 8-2 record in the conference. The award is the second in her eight-year career at the helm of the Piedmont volleyball program.

At the NCAA D-III tournament at Austin College in Sherman, Texas, the Lady Lions were seeded seventh and were downed by the number two seed, Emory University, in straight matches. The NCAA national tournament appearance was the first ever for the volleyball program and the school’s fifth since Piedmont became a full-fledged NCAA member five seasons ago. The volleyball team joins the women’s basketball (2006-07), men’s soccer (2003), men’s tennis (2004), and softball (2006) teams with NCAA National Tournament invitations.

The volleyball team downed Maryville College in four sets to win the 2007 GSAC title and their first trip to the NCAA Divis sion III National Tournament.

The Nov. 3 win ended top-seeded Maryville’s streak of five consecutive GSAC tournament titles and marks the second conference tournament championship for Piedmont, with the last coming in 2001.

Piedmont’s Sarah Lane was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

Seniors Lane and Jill Sparger, along with sophomore Tyler Baldonado, were each named to the GSAC All-Conference Team. The three players led PC this season in kills, digs, and assists respectively. Freshman Kalin DeMarrais was rewarded for her outTyler Baldonado and Sarah Lane block the middle. standing first year campaign with

The GSAC champions include front, Caitlin Mitchell, and Kalin DeMarrais; middle, Jennifer Granlund, Tyler Baldonado, Ashley Chima, and Jill Sparger; back, assistant coach Kyle Zak, Heather Stafford, Nikki Cole, Sarah Lane, Jennifer Doebereiner, Katie Tucker and coach Katie O’Brien Chapman.

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Alumni Office Sees New Faces for 2008 After 24 years with Piedmont College, Director of Development and Annual Programs Nancy Singer has retired— sort of— and the Alumni Office has welcomed two new faces, Kelly Woodall and Brandy Aycock, to work with alumni programs.

Singer joined Piedmont in 1984 and has worn a number of hats on campus. She has served as placement officer, alumni director, college photographer, purchasing officer, annual fund and major gifts director and facilities coordinator, before her most recent position. She will continue to work part time on a number of special projects at the college.

Originally from Baltimore, Md., Singer graduated from the University of Delaware in 1967 with a B.S. degree. She and her husband, Dr. Ralph “Buzz” Singer, moved south when he took a position teaching history at Piedmont. Dr. Singer has taught history here since 1972 and is currently the Calloway Professor of History and the college’s second longest serving professor.

“I have enjoyed working with all of the alumni and friends of the college over the past 24 years,” Nancy said. “I will miss all of you but I am sure that we will see each other as I continue my relationship with Piedmont.”

Kelly Woodall grew up in Commerce and attended Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta, graduating with honors with a degree in industrial distribution.

Kelly worked for several years with General Electric and Jackson EMC, before returning to school to study for the ministry. He has served as a relief houseparent at Eagle Ranch, as a college pastor and as the campus minister for Emmanuel College. He and his wife, Melissa, have been married for 11 years and live near Clarkesville.

“Piedmont is such a unique community of people,” Kelly said. “As an admissions recruiter for the college, I loved introducing prospective students to the community and then seeing them flourish as students. Now I have the pleasure of getting to know the alumni of the college and seeing how their experiences at Piedmont made a difference in their lives. It has been great to be able to see both perspectives of the Piedmont experience.”

Brandy Baker Aycock was born in the metro-Atlanta area and attended Mt. Carmel Christian School in Decatur. She graduated from Mercer University in Macon in 1992 with a B.B.A. in management and economics. She and her husband, Rob, moved to Clarkesville when they married in 1994. They have two daughters.

Brandy worked at radio station WDUN/ MAJIC 102.9 in Gainesville, and in 1998 joined her husband’s family business, Glen-Ella Springs Inn. In addition to serving as GlenElla’s wedding coordinator, she has been involved in marketing and accounting for several family businesses. “I’m very excited to be joining the Institutional Advancement team at Piedmont,” she said. “I look forward to meeting with the alumni and friends of the college very soon!”

Brandy serves on the Clarkesville Elementary PTCO board as treasurer and is a founding member of Advocates for Gifted and Talented Learners of Habersham (AGTLH). She is a member of Grace-Calvary Episcopal Church in Clarkesville. In her spare time she enjoys cooking, gardening and reading. s

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Alumni Awards These awards will be presented at the Alumni Association Luncheon to be held during Alumni Weekend, April 4-6. For information, see story next page.

2008 Distinguished Alumni Award Nelle Hood Higdon ’31 2008 Alumni Service Award Aubrey M. Finch ’51 2008 Excellence in Education Award Michelle J. Barthlow EdS ’06 2008 Pacesetter Award Brian M. Rickman ’98 Richard E. (Ric) Wallace ’97, MAT ’06

2006-2007

Teachers of the Year

Tiffany Ausborn EdS ’05 Lula Elementary Brittney Bennett EdS ’07 Lanier Elementary Scott Bishop ’99 White County Intermediate Keith Blackwell MA ’04 Oakwood Elementary Brenda Broner ’82 Gainesville Middle LaChele Brown ’00

Trustee Tommy Irvin Lauded for Service to Georgia Agriculture

Teresa Cantrell ’88 Tadmore Elementary Bryant Chitwood (MA Student) Commerce Middle School Tony Derricotte (MA Student) Oglethorpe County High

Piedmont Trustee Tommy Irvin of Mt. Airy was honored recently by the Hall County Farm Bureau for his tenure as Georgia Agriculture Commissioner. Irvin is the longest serving commissioner of agriculture in the United States as well as the longest serving statewide official in Georgia. He was first elected to the post in 1969 and was elected for the 10th consecutive time in 2006.

“Tommy Irvin, without question has done more for agriculture in Georgia than any living person,” Hall County farmer Jimmy Echols said. “He is recognized nationally for his service as an agricultural leader.”

Irvin, 78, is the only Georgian to serve as president of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA). Twice, he has served terms as president of the Southern United States Trade Association (SUSTA), an organization which promotes the export of Southern food and agricultural products, as well as the Southern Association of State Departments of Agriculture (SASDA) of which he was a founder.

Among his many honors and awards are: Progressive Farmer magazine Man-of-the-Year in Service to Agriculture, National Award for Agricultural Excellence, National Agri-Marketing Association, National Future Farmers of America Honorary American Farmer Degree, and Southeastern Poultry and Egg Association’s “Workhorse of the Year” award, presented at the International Poultry Exposition and considered to be the most prestigious recognition bestowed by the poultry industry.

Irvin has been inducted into the Georgia Agrirama Hall of Fame, the Vidalia Onion Hall of Fame, the Georgia Seed Association Hall of Fame, the Habersham County Hall of Fame, and the University of Georgia College of Agriculture Hall of Fame and has received the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine’s Distinguished Service Award.

While best known for his career in agriculture, Irvin was elected to his first public office as a member of the Habersham County Board of Education in 1956. Later, he served as chairman of the school board and president of the Georgia School Boards Association.

Because of his many years of hard work and dedication to improving education, he was given an honorary lifetime membership in the Parent-Teacher Association of Georgia and the Georgia School Food Service Association.

He was also elected to four terms in the Georgia General Assembly as a Representative from Habersham County and chaired the House Industrial Relations Committee and the Governor’s Conference on Education. He was the Governor’s Floor Leader and later served as Executive Secretary to the Governor.

Commissioner Irvin and his wife, Bernice, live on a farm in the Glade Creek Community of Habersham County. They are the parents of five children, 14 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. s

Denise Fox ’08 Pickens County.

Lisa Knutsen ’02, MAT ’03 Central Gwinnett High Dawn Langford Hucks ’04 Riverbend Elementary Maggie Nations ’01 Mt. Yonah Elementary Kim Newell EdS ’05 Martin Elementary Rachael Parr MAT ’98, EdS ’07 Georgia Science Teacher Association (GSTA) 2006 Georgia Science Teacher of the Year at the Middle School Barbara Peters EdS ’07 Chestnut Mountain Elementary Tracy Robar MAT ’01 Gainesville High School Anna Roberts ’96, MAT ’99, EdS ’01 Sugar Hill Elementary Annette Woodward EdS ’06 White Sulphur Elementary Connie Yearwood ’01 Demorest Elementary.

These are Teachers of the Year we have been notified of recently. If you have been selected as a teacher of the year, e-mail dprice2@piedmont. edu with details.

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By Logan Thomas Courtesy of The Forsyth Herald

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Sheryl Morriss (MA ’07) grades papers at night like any third grade teacher. This Cumming Elementary School teacher of 12 years, however, sometimes does so in costume with a symphony booming nearby.

Morriss performs with the Atlanta Opera in several operas every year and has done so since 1988. Each performance requires countless hours of rehearsal and even language lessons. And that’s all after a full day in the classroom—something she says will always be her number one priority.

“I definitely prioritize school and pace myself,” said Morriss, who also finds time to perform solos and sing with the choir at Alpharetta Methodist Church. “I’m very conscientious and never let things slide at school.”

Maintaining such a schedule might seem grueling to many. But Morriss said singing is her “passion.”

“Everybody always asks me how I can do this because sometimes I am at school until 6 p.m.,” she said. “I always tell people that if there is something you truly want to do, you will find time for it.”

The key for Morriss is pacing and learning to “work smarter.” “My husband calls me ‘six job Sheryl,’ when I’m driving down to practice three or four nights a week or sometimes even every night,” she said.

“What I’ll try to do is take a 20 minute nap on the couch before going downtown.

I usually awake refreshed and go downtown feeling great because I enjoy this so much.”

The busiest schedule is usually in the weeks directly preceding the opera. And this is when Morriss regularly takes papers to grade in the dressing room. “I’ve also called parents from the opera,” she said. “When they hear the music in the background, they usually ask where I am. I just tell them I have a show.”

And how does she keep her voice strong teaching all day while singing at night? Nothing special, she said, although she admits to not yelling in the classroom.

“I make sure there is no loud talking at the kids,” she said. “But I really just make sure to eat right, get as much sleep as I can and take my vitamins. It’s so easy to get worn out, but my voice doesn’t wear out. I just need to make sure I stay healthy.”

Morriss has performed in numerous theaters of various sizes and in several different states. She said the only butterflies are felt at the beginning of the show. After that, the size of the crowd doesn’t bother her.

“I honestly don’t think about it,” she said. “By the time I’m there, the show is so ingrained that we just have to get up there

and do what we do best. I only feel a flutter at the beginning when you hear the overture and you know this is it.”

Morriss has been able to sing in English as well as Italian, German and French. But her face lights up when she speaks about her experience performing Russian.

“I really like Italian, but Russian is a very beautiful language,” she said. “It was the most interesting experience. We didn’t even learn the music until we had language classes where we learned the alphabet. It took a long time to learn.”

Morriss had never been to an opera before she sang in one.

Growing up on a farm in Missouri, the church stage was her only chance to test her singing talents.

“All of my family were singers and we’d go sing as a family,” she said.

“My dad is now 87 and he still sings. That’s where I got my start.”

Morriss said she now picks and chooses what productions to take part in and doesn’t hesitate to say no if it is too busy a time of year. “I’ve had my day in the sun,” she said. “I really get to pick and choose now. If I don’t want to or just have no time, I’ll just say no.

So it’s nice to get an opportunity to turn something down.” s

The Piedmont College Alumni Association invites all alumni and friends of the college to take part in Alumni Weekend activities April 3-6 at the main campus in Demorest.

The weekend actually begins at 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 3, with a free concert by the Cantabile singers in Brooks Hall. On Friday, April 4, the annual Coach Cave Memorial Golf Tournament will be held at Double Oaks Golf Course (formerly Sandy Creek) near Commerce. Registration starts at 10 a.m. Open to all players, the tournament’s early bird entry fee is $75 if paid before March 27, and $80 after that. For more information about the golf tournament and all Alumni Weekend events, contact the Office of Institutional Advancement at 1-800-868-1641.

Also on April 4, and the Piedmont Lions baseball team will play Emory at 7 p.m. at Loudermilk Field.

Events on Saturday, April 5, include a seven-a-side soccer tournament from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. featuring the varsity men and women and alumni teams. At 9 a.m., the Torch club will meet in the Lakeside Dining

Room of Nielsen Hall. Also at 9 a.m., the PC Letter Club will hold a breakfast in the upstairs dining room of Nielsen Hall.

The cost is $6 per person. At 9:30 a.m., the humanities department will meet for breakfast at the Grill on Georgia Street. The Alumni Association will meet at 11 a.m. in Stewart Auditorium, followed by the Alumni Awards Luncheon at 12:30 p.m. in the Lakeside Dining Room. The cost for lunch is $6 per person.

Saturday’s events will continue with softball games at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., as the Lady Lions play Wesleyan at Walker Fields.

At 3 p.m., the Swanson Center will be open for tours. Meet at the Nielsen Hall patio. An alumni social will be held at the Presidents Home from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., and then reunion dinners for the Classes of 1950-59, 1965-68, and 1983-84 will be held.

On Sunday, April 6, join us for an 11 a.m. worship service in Covenant Congregational Church, and at 2 p.m., the baseball team will play Emory University. The final event of Alumni Weekend is a 3 p.m. concert in the Center for Worship and Music featuring The Czech Trio. s Jimmy Black (’61) at last year’s Cave Memorial Golf Tournament.

1930s

Gladys Holcomb (’35) and Willene Holcomb (’39) of Clarkesville were featured in an article published by The Northeast Georgian profiling members of the Habersham County Retired Teachers Hall of Fame.

1940s

Sarah Gillespie Fenner (’44) of Habersham County was chosen for the Shining Light Award for her active involvement in the community.

William Lewis Hallford (’47) of Clarkesville was featured in an article published by the LedgerEnquirer in Columbus, Ga. The former minor league baseball player recalled his days with the Fort Benning ball club in 1945-1946.

Fred M. Huff (’48) of Toccoa was inducted into the Stephens County Schools Hall of Fame. Huff served as science teacher for Stephens County High School for 46 years. He was named STAR Teacher four times during his career and recognized as the outstanding high school chemistry teacher of the year for northeast Georgia.

1950s

William James Corry (’51) of Madison was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame along with Larry Munson, Mark Price and five other individuals for his outstanding coaching career in Morgan County.

Roy Wood (’53) of Clanton, Ala., has been honored with a memorial fund set up in his name.

Wood was a lover of the fine arts and often hosted art shows and musical events. Donations made to the memorial fund will go towards the Roy Wood Gardens in Clanton.

Ruth McPeak Crow (’56) of Cornelia was inducted into the Retired Teachers Hall of Fame for 29 years of service at Cornelia Elementary School.

Maxie Skinner (’56) was inducted into the Northeast Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. Skinner was named an All American basketball player in 1956 while at Piedmont College. After a long high school coaching career, he returned to Piedmont College in 1985 as the head basketball coach.

1960s Gerald Deloach (’60) of Hinesville was recently named to the Liberty County Athletic Hall of Fame. DeLoach has worked for more than 34 years in various positions in Fort Stewart/Hunter Army Airfield recreation programs. He has served as the Fort Stewart recreation director and deputy director of personnel and community activities.

Joe Frank Whitworth (’68) of Toccoa received a Stephens County Excellence in Education Award for his work serving on the Quality Improvement Team for the Stephens County Middle School.

Rosemary Dodd (’69) of Gainesville was selected 2006 Woman of Year by the Gainesville Rotary Club. Dodd is a co-founder of the Elachee Nature Center and has served as a volunteer and on numerous boards of directors related to the arts in Gainesville-Hall County.

1970s

Tony Crunkleton (’74) of Toccoa received a Stephens County Excellence in Education Award for his work serving on the Quality Improvement Team for the Stephens County Middle School Michael E. Gillum (’74) of Gainesville recently retired as Principal from East Hall High School.

Gillum served 32 years in the Hall County school system as a special education teacher, assistant principal and athletic director.

Stan McFarlin (’74) of Toccoa, principal of Liberty Elementary School, has retired after 30 years of service with the Stephens County School System.

Sandra Powell (’74) of Toccoa has retired after 30 years of teaching. She enjoys volunteering, spending time with family, and doing projects she has put off too long.

Kenny Waters (’76) of Toccoa received a Stephens County Excellence in Education Award for his work serving on the Quality Improvement Team for the Stephens County Middle School.

1969. He was preceded in death by his wife, Margie Cagle Dyer.

1920s Elizabeth Moseley Taylor (’28), 99, of Gilroy, Calif., died April 29, 2006.

Viola Veler Newby (’29), 96, of Pinion Hills, Calif., died March 24, 2005.

1930s Otis Cecil Dyer (’32), 99, of the Choestoe community in Union County died Oct. 31, 2005.

He served as a teacher and principal before joining the Georgia Department of Education Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, where he served as a counselor and later supervisor of training and placement services. He retired in

Marshall A. Guill Jr. (’33), 94, of Augusta, died Nov. 21, 2005. A native of Union Point, Guill lettered in football and baseball at Piedmont and after graduation was signed by the Cleveland Indians. He returned to Georgia after an injury and began a teaching career that spanned 43 years, including 21 years teaching vocational agriculture in Wilkes County. He was elected the county school superintendent for 20 years and retired in 1980. He was preceded in death by his wife, Dorothy Thompson Guill.

Sadie Tribble Edwards (’34), of Atlanta died Oct. 8, 2007.

Clara Payne Rountree (’34), 92, of Bronwood died April 4, 2005. She was married to former Georgia Press Association President Carl Rountree and was a retired schoolteacher.

Jimmy Garner (’77) of Clarkesville was recently honored with the annual Jack Courson Volunteer Spirit Award. This award is presented annually by Habersham County Medical Center to a volunteer who personifies the volunteer spirit and service above self. Garner is retired from Habersham EMC and spends his time enjoying his grandchildren and volunteering for several local organizations.

Allen Pritchett (’78) of Gainesville, after winning the school’s first state title in girls basketball since 1980, has retired ending a 14-year career as the Lady Vikings’ head coach. Pritchett has a career record of 216-143—the most ever wins by an East Hall girls coach. His team’s 31 wins in 2007 were the most wins in a season for the East Hall girls. He also won three Lanierland championships, two region championships and went to the state playoffs six times—with an overall state playoff record of 10-5.

1980s

Martha Cantrell (’80) coordinator of the Habersham County gifted program, received the first J.R. Rosser Award for excellence in education.

Keith Worley (’80) EDS (’02) of Toccoa was recently recognized as Teacher of the Year at Big A Elementary School.

David Friend (’81) of LaFayette was named new principal at Stephens County High School in August 2007 after George Sanders (’76) of Toccoa retired.

Debbie Barron Tench (’81) is currently a teacher at North Habersham Middle School and was recently selected by her peers for Teacher of the Year.

Brenda Broner (’82) of Cornelia was named 2006-2007 Teacher of the Year at Gainesville Middle School, where she teaches sixth grade math.

Tina Cantrell Sutton (’82), a sixth grade teacher at Central Heights Christian School, was recently named that school’s Teacher of the Year.

Martha Brown Peel (’34), 93, of Vidette, died Nov. 21, 2005. She taught at Vidette High School for three years and was active in the choir and Sunday School at Bethel A.R.P. Church. She was preceded in death by her husband of 50 years, Gilbert S. Peel Sr. Thelma Fleming Skelton (’34), 91, of Decatur died April 27, 2007. The widow of H. Gray Skelton (’33), she was a retired teacher.

Mary Virginia Brock Hamrick (’35), 92, of Cedartown died July 19, 2006. Mrs. Hamrick taught in the Cedartown School system for more than 30 years.

Mary E. Hood (’35), 92, of Dahlonega. Ga., died Aug. 3, 2007. She served as a librarian at North Georgia College and was member of the Dahlonega Baptist Church.

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Kimberly Brown Staples (’83), a Drama Teacher for Buford middle and high schools, was recently selected Buford City School Teacher of the Year.

It’s the second time Staples has won the award, which is voted on by teachers and a team of local educators.

Debbie Clark (’85), a teacher in Hall County, was named the teacher of the year by the Georgia Council of Teachers of English.

Terri Batson Bridges (’86) of Toccoa was recently appointed the principal of Liberty Elementary School.

Loretta Westbrook Dalton (’86) of Baldwin was selected for the Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year Award for Habersham County.

Lewallen Tucker (’87) of Dacula is currently the Business Manager and Chief Financial Officer at Lakeview Academy.

Teresa A. Cantrell (’88) of Demorest was named 2006-2007 Teacher of the Year at Tadmore Elementary in Gainesville, where she teaches third grade.

Penny L. Loggins (’88) of Cornelia is currently the Dean of Admissions at Truett-McConnell College.

Rachael Parr, MAT (’88) is a state finalist for the 2007 Presidential Awards for Mathematics and Science Teaching, the nation’s highest honor for those subjects’ teachers. She teaches at East Jackson Middle School and has been published in a recent issue of Science Scope, a publication of the National Science Teacher’s Association.

Tony Wolfe (’88 MA (’00) of Buford coached the Buford High School women’s softball team to a state title in October 2007 in his first year as head coach. He also is the head coach for the baseball team and the running backs coach for the football squad.

1990s

Jennifer Dodd Blasingame (’90) of Toccoa was recently appointed to the Stephens County Development Authority.

Ken T. Dietrich (’90) of Toccoa earned a doctorate in biblical studies from Master’s International School of Divinity in December 2007.

Lorie Durham (’92, MA ’01, EDS ’05) of Mt Airy, a third-grade teacher at Hazel Grove Elementary School, was recently named Habersham County Teacher of the Year.

Carolyn “Pat” Lewis (’92) of Augusta, was named Teacher of the Year at John Milledge Elementary School, where she teaches kindergarten.

Tony McKinney (’93) of Lawrenceville was named Teacher of the Year at Riverbend Elementary School in Hall County, where he teaches fifth grade.

Leah Henderson Satterfield (’93) of Gainesville recently earned the National Board Certification for Professional Teaching Standards. Satterfield teaches at East Hall Middle School.

Jasmin Spahic (’93) and his wife, Elma, originally from Bosnia, recently became naturalized U.S. citizens. They live in Jefferson and have two children. Jasmin is employed by the Jackson County Board of Education.

Wesley A. Wansley (’93) of Cornelia is currently the Vice President and Loan Officer for Traditions Bank in Cornelia. He currently is serving his third term as President of the Lions Club.

David C. Sheckells (’89) of Cornelia was recently presented the Habersham Bank WOW award.

Habersham Bank employees are nominated by co-workers who feel their level of service is exemplary and deserves recognition. Sheckells began his career at Habersham Bank in 1990 and is currently the accounting manager in the operations department.

Tina Hirschi (’94, MA ’98, EDS ’02) of Cleveland was named Teacher of the Year at Jack P. Nix Primary School, where she is an art teacher.

Ruby Dodd Jarrard (’35) of Clarkesville died Nov. 9, 2005. She was retired from the Northeast Georgia Regional Library. She was preceded in death by her husband, Cosby L. Jarrard.

Corp during WWII and worked as a missionary in Nigeria for 33 years.

Effie Ree Petty (’36), 100, of Demorest, died Dec. 31, 2005. Mrs. Petty served as librarian and a teacher in Habersham County. She retired from teaching in 1965 with 40 years of service.

Betty Boling Turner Porter (’36), 92, of Leesburg, Fla., died Aug. 13, 2007. She served as organist and choir director for 42 years at Royston First United Methodist Church.

Gwendolyn Strickland Dollar (’37), 91, of Clermont, died April 17, 2007.

Bonnie Mae Moore (’37), 92, of Columbus died June 2, 2007. She served in the Women’s Army

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C. Randy Smith (‘89) of Clermont coached his son Andrew’s baseball team, the Clermont A’s, to the U.S. Youth Baseball Associations World Series.

Renee York Smith BA (’89) MAT (’98) of Cleveland has been named principal of Cornelia Elementary School for 2008-09.

Donna Miller (‘94) was named the South Habersham Middle School Teacher of the Year for 2006. Donna earned a degree in chemistry at Piedmont and also played softball. She and her husband, Donnie, have two children, Justina and Austin.

William Edgar Purcell Jr. (’37), 93, of Marietta died Dec. 29, 2006. He was a 1998 inductee of the Piedmont College Hall of Fame Joseph A. Boyd Jr. (’38), 90, of Tallahassee, died Oct. 26, 2007. A trustee emeritus at Piedmont, Boyd served on the Florida Supreme Court from 1969-1987. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II in the South Pacific. He was a member of the Dade County Commission for 10 years and was chairman in 1968. He is survived by his wife, Ann Stripling Boyd (’40).

Robert E. Bowman (’39), 88, of Hendersville, N.C., died Dec. 19, 2006. After graduating from Piedmont, Bowman earned a master’s degree in chemistry from Emory University. He worked

Vickie J. Ritchie (’94) was named Teacher of the Year at Woodville Elementary School in Habersham County.

Lance Herndon (’95) and his wife Susan of Winder announce the birth of their second child, Stone Wright Herndon, on March 30, 2006.

Richard E. Hopkins (‘95) of Clayton recently graduated from Ohio Northern’s Pettit College of Law at Ohio Northern University. He received the Degree of Juris Doctor.

Kevin McClain (’95) was named the 2006-2007 Franklin County Teacher of the Year for the high school and for the school system. McClain has served as an art education teacher at the high school for the past four years.

Frank J. Measel BA (’95), MA (’98) of Clarkesville is retired from teaching and plans to spend his time fishing and kayaking in the Savannah, Ga., area.

J. Kyle Segars (’95) of Venzonia, Mich., is an ordained minister and currently co-pastors St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Beulah, Mich. He and his wife, Shelaine, have a daughter, Sedona Grace.

Renee Nelson Boss (’96) MAT (’98) of Nicholasville, Ky., is currently a high school teacher and has two children, Ethan and Isaac.

Sharon Norris (’96), an eighth grade math teacher in Hart County, was recently named a Georgia Master Teacher.

Anna Roberts (’96, MAT ’99, EDS ‘04) of Gainesville was the Teacher of the Year at Sugar Hill Elementary for 2006.

Delbert Lee Smee (’96) recently earned a doctorate degree in marine biology from Georgia Institute of Technology. He and his wife Sandy Bailey Smee (’97) and his son Joseph reside in Corpus Christie, Texas, and Lee teaches at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi.

Jason Smith (’96) MPA (’04) of Buford, former Piedmont soccer coach, is currently the head coach for the Atlanta Silverbacks (USL) men’s professional soccer team.

for E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. for 35 years and retired as an area superintendent in 1977.

Bowman was engaged in various community volunteer works and was presented the 1997 Distinguished Alumnus Award by Piedmont College for his contributions to provide scholarships for deserving students.

Mary Osborne McMillan (’38), 88, of Fayetteville, died Sept. 17, 2005.

Launah Justus Cline of Marietta (’39), died April 18, 2006.

Jesse Cleveland (J.C) Meadows Jr. (’39), 87, of Opelika, Fla., died May 10, 2006.

Nell Burden Hereford (’39), 81, of Hazel Green, Ala., died Feb. 17, 2007.

Nancy R. Zuyus (’96) of Mt. Airy is currently the owner of the Magnolia Terrace wedding chapel and conference center located in Helen.

Ladeadrick “Bob” Jackson (’99) of Covington recently accepted the principal position at Meadowcreek High School in Gwinnett County.

John Hardison (’97) of Cornelia recently was chosen to take over the head baseball coach at East Hall High School.

Brent Jones (’99) of Dalton was recently named Teacher of the Year at Murray County High School, where he teaches social studies.

Elizabeth Veal Payne (’97) of San Diego, Calif., was named Director of Events for Visions Events Productions. Elizabeth and her husband, Mark (’95), are proud new parents of Lucas Grady Payne born Nov. 5, 2006. Mark works for Skalar, an international instrument manufacturer based in the Netherlands.

2000s

W. Trent Alexander (’00) of Bethlehem and his wife, Stephanie, announce the birth of a son, William Brayden Alexander, born July 10.

2006.

Ric Wallace (’97) of Sautee is currently the head coach for the girl’s soccer team at Habersham Middle School and teaches technology.

Gretchen Melissa Green (’00) of Augusta married Patrick J. Blanchard Jr. on August 12, 2007.

Blanchard is pursuing her doctorate of science degree in dentistry from the Medical College of Georgia.

Eric Berryman (’98) of Elberton was named STAR Teacher in Hart County where he teaches eighth-grade history.

Stephanie Bolton (’00) a science teacher at White County High School was recently named the school’s Teacher of the Year.

David M. Conley (’98) of Gainesville is an auditor for Ruston & Company. Conley and his wife, Jenny, have two young sons.

Scott Borchers (’00) of Sautee is currently the head soccer coach at Emmanuel College.

Rachel Parr MAT (’98) of Athens was selected by the Georgia Science Teacher Association in 2006 to represent the State of Georgia as the Science Teacher of the Year at the middle school level.

Brian M. Rickman (’98) of Tiger has been named the new district attorney for the Mountain Judicial Circuit in January 2008. Rickman is currently a partner at the law firm Stockton & Rickman. He and his wife, Maggie, have a son and are expecting a baby girl.

Staci Dean (’00) of Toccoa, an art education teacher, was recently named the Teacher of the Year at Cornelia Elementary.

Keri Taylor McCoy (’00) of Cornelia and her husband, Keith, announce the birth of a daughter, Addyson Mae Mccoy, born on July 13, 2006.

Erin McManus Mundy (’00) of Buford is currently a member of the faculty for the Medical College of Georgia in the department of family medicine. She serves as the Medical Clerkship Coordinator.

Marisa Shirley Whittington (’98) of Cornelia was recently named Teacher of the Year for Baldwin Primary School.

Andrew Olsen (’00) of St. Paul, Minn., recently accepted a position as a Political Account Director with Strategic Fundraising.

Gwenell Williams Brown (’99) of Gainesville was recently named Teacher of the Year at New Holland Elementary, where she teaches English.

Ashlee Carroll Wegmann (’00) MA (03) of Athens received the 2006 Charlotte Brown Award for Teachers of Special Education and also received the Outstanding Teacher Award in Clarke County.

Allyson Hawley Griffith MA (‘99) of Athens was a recipient of the Foundation for Excellence in Public Education, 2006 Excellence in Teaching Award for Barrow Elementary School in Winder. The Foundation for Excellence is a privately funded volunteer organization that supports local schools and teachers.

Sherry Shea Gragg (‘01) of Tallulah Falls is currently the Clinical Education Coordinator at Stephens County Hospital.

Dorothea Percy Turpin (’39), 88, of Murphy, N.C., died March 9, 2007. Dorothea is the daughter of C.L. and Mable Percy, for whom an alumni scholarship was established.

in the U. S. Navy during WWII in the Pacific. He earned a master of education degree from the University of Georgia in 1948. He retired from the court system in 2003.

1940s Winifred Weldon Grigsby (’40), of Chattanooga, Tenn., died March 3, 2007. Mrs. Grisby was married to Oliver Grigsby (‘36) for 65 years. She had been a school teacher for 27 years.

Dr. Julian Porch Cooke (’43), 83, of San Antonio, Texas, died Aug. 27, 2005. He taught for a year in Tamassee, S.C., before joining the medical corps of the Third Army in Europe during World War II. After the war, he served in the Army reserve and taught pharmaceutical chemistry at the Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in Texas. He taught biology and anatomy for 10 years at San Antonio College, and he taught at Texas A&M while earning his Ph.D. in mammalian biology. In 1963, he joined the School of Aviation Medicine at Brooks AFB, where he conducted high-altitude research used in training future astronauts. He retired in 1978.

W. Dubric Ridgeway (’41), 87, of Rock Hill, S.C., died March 5, 2007. He retired from Diamond Shamrock Chemical Company. He was a Navy veteran of World War II, a Rotarian, and a member of St. John’s United Methodist Church.

James Arthur Ash (’43), 84, of Gainesville died Dec. 21, 2004. He served as Chief Petty Officer

Susan Healey (‘01 MA) was named the Teacher of the Year at South Gwinnett High School, where she teaches biology. Susan has been teaching for 28 years.

Timothy Charles Mitchell BA (’01), MA (’05) of Toccoa was the 2006 Teacher of the Year at Eastanollee Elementary School, where he is an art education teacher.

Tracy Robar MAT (‘01) of Mt, Airy, was recently selected to participate in NASA’s Network of Educator Astronaut Teachers (NEAT) program. Robar was also recently named as Gainesville High School’s Teacher of the Year for 2007-2008.

Connie Yearwood (’01) of Toccoa, was recently Teacher of the Year at Demorest Elementary.

Sara Bates (‘02) MAT (’04) of Gillsville recently was selected Teacher of the Month at East Hall Middle School.

Stephanie Broome (’02) of Mt. Airy was recently named Demorest Elementary Teacher of the Year.

Anthony Cox (’02, MPA ’03) and Jennifer Taylor Cox (’02, MAT ’03) of Demorest recently led their local girls YBA basketball team to its first state championship.

Bridgit Haney (’02) of Lula was recently named the Teacher of the Year for Demorest Elementary, where she teaches second grade.

Christopher Michael Parker (’02) of Toccoa and David White (‘03) of Alto recently appeared in the Habersham Community Theatre production of “Greater Tuna.” Chris recently earned a master’s degree with honors in counselor education from Clemson University.

Lyle Browning Cruse MA (’03) of Lawrenceville, who teaches English at Dacula High School, was recently chosen by one of her students as a “most influential teacher” for a scholarship essay.

Jenni Dietz (’03) is in her third year as the head softball coach at Truett-McConnell College. After a four-year playing career she served as an assistant coach at PC for the past two years.

John C. Ellenberg MA (’03) of Greensboro is currently a high school science teacher, football and track assistant coach for Newton County High

Hazel Wilbanks Free (’43) of Clarkesville died April 10, 2006 Rachel Neal McCoy (’43), 85, of Atlanta died Oct. 12, 2004. McCoy taught school for 31 years and was a pioneer at the University of Georgia Graduate School in elementary school counseling. She was also an elementary school counselor from 1967-1979 and a child therapist at the Atlanta Counseling Center for 22 years.

Velera Dyer Rish (’43) of Macon died July 2, 2006. She was retired from the Bibb County Board of Education as a teacher after 38 years.

She was an active member of the First Baptist Church, local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Retired Teachers Association.

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School. He and his wife, Tiffany, are the proud parents of four-year-old twin sons, Ian Charles and Ross William.

Deborah Franklin (’05) of Toccoa was recently named the Habersham County Medical Center’s Great Ambassador of the Year.

Jennifer Evans EDS (’03) was recently selected 2006-2007 Teacher of the Year for White Sulphur Elementary School in Gainesville.

Mark Harmon (’03) and Amber Marie Goodman were married Jan. 27, 2007. Mark is a financial aid counselor at Piedmont College.

Lynn Hamilton MAT (’05) of Winder was recently selected for 2006 Teacher of the Year for Winder Barrow High School.

Helen Stokes (’03) of Clarkesville was named the 2006-07 Teacher of the year for Level Grove Elementary School.

Katie Vaughan (’03) of Phoenix, Ariz., is the head coach for the girls basketball program at Wickenburg High School.

Aaron M. Velmosky (’03) and Angela Hallmon (’04) of Jacksonville, Fla., were married May 28, 2005.

Blayne Edward Kyle (’04) and Christina Marie Clayton (’04) were married Aug. 25, 2006.

Dawn Langford MA (’04) was named the Riverbend Elementary School Teacher of the Year for 2006.

Laurie Campbell Hayner (’05) of Tallahassee, Fla., was recently appointed as the Business and Grants Manager of Clayton State University’s Spivey Hall.

Kim Newell EDS (’05) of Braselton was recently named 2006-2007 Teacher of the Year for Martin Elementary School of Gainesville.

Ron Prescott (’05) was named the 2008 Secondary Science Teacher of the Year by the Georgia Science Teachers Association (GSTA). Ron teaches at Jackson County Comprehensive High School.

Rachael Parr MAT (’98) a science teacher at East Jackson Middle School, received the GSTA ScienceQuest Teacher Scholarship for continuing education. Both Ron and Rachael were honored at the GSTA Awards Banquet in Athens on Feb. 15.

Jacob Thome (’05), was recently promoted to Banking Officer at Gainesville Bank & Trust.

Thome joined GBT in May 2002 and is retail lender and manager of daily branch operations at the North Hall Office. Thome married Robin Renner (’05) May 21, 2005.

Josh Vaughn (’03) MA (’05) of Toccoa was recently recognized as Teacher of the Year for Liberty Elementary.

Rebecca Burley MAT (’06) of Commerce, has been named 2006-2007 Teacher of the Year at Commerce Middle School.

Linda Manning EDS (’06) of Hartwell was recently named Hartwell Elementary School’s Teacher of the Year. Manning serves as an instructional technology specialist.

Katie Wood (’06) MA (’07) is in her first year as head coach of the Flowery Branch High School women’s soccer team. Wood also teaches social studies at the school.

Annette Woodward EDS (’06) of Gainesville was recently chosen 2006-2007 Teacher of the Year for White Sulpher Elementary School in Gainesville.

Kathy Smith MAT (’04) of Duluth was recently selected for 11 Alive’s Classic Act winner. Smith is currently an English teacher at Chattahoochee High School.

Sonja Stamey (‘04 MA) is the Myers County Elementary School and Hall County Teacher of the Year. Sonja began her career in education as a special education paraprofessional and is in her sixth year of teaching kindergarten at Myers Elementay Jonathan Edward Stuart (’04) and Julie Doswell (’04) of Loganville were married Sept. 25, 2004.

Cindy R. Williams (’04) of Morganton was recently named president of Blairsville-Union County Chamber of Commerce.

Tiffany Ausborn (EDS ’05) was the Lula Elementary School Teacher of the Year for 2006.

Eula Callas Batson (’44), 82, of Greenville, S.C., died May 20, 2005. After graduating from Piedmont, she earned a master’s degree in business education from the Peabody College of Vanderbilt University and later attended the University of Georgia for post graduate work on her Ph.D. She taught at North Habersham High School; however, most of her career was spent teaching business classes and running the business offices of Piedmont and TruettMcConnell colleges.

Clara Lothridge Anderson (’46), 90, of Toccoa died July 18, 2005. She retired as a guidance counselor from Stephens County School system with 43 years of service. She was voted into the Stephens County Hall of Fame and was selected as STAR Teacher several times in her career.

Lora Wilbanks Carpenter (’46), 96, of Toccoa died July 28, 2006. Carpenter was born in Habersham County and lived in Columbus for 21

28

Springtime on campus is the perfect time to come back and visit. Set your calendar for Alumni Weekend coming this April 4-6.

For details visit www.piedmont.edu.

years. Most of her teaching career was spent in Columbus and in the Stephens County School System.

Rev. George Kenneth Evans (’48), 82, of Columbia, Conn., died Feb. 22, 2005. Evans served in the U.S. Navy from 1943-1946. After graduation from Piedmont, he continued his studies at Yale University and became an ordained minister in 1951. Rev. Evans retired as the minister of Columbia Congregational Church in 1987 after 30 years of service.

Grace Elrod Gearino (’48), 74, of Demorest, died Oct. 19, 2005. She was a member of the basketball and softball teams. She was a retired broadcast executive with the Mutual Radio Network and was preceded in death by her husband, George D. Gearino Sr. Earline Youngblood Loudermilk (’48), 78, of Mt. Airy, died June 30, 2007. She was a teacher at Hazel Grove Elementary and a member of the Retired Teachers Association and Hazel Creek Baptist church.

Guy Whitner Rucker (’48) of Elberton died July 10, 2005.

Ruth White Miles (’49), 88, of Cleveland died Feb. 20, 2005. She was retired from the White County School System after teaching for 40 years and continued to substitute teach an additional 20 years.

1950s Rev. W. Raymond Berry (’50), 80, of Pleasant Hill, Tenn., died June 17, 2006. He received his master of divinity degree from Hartford Theological Seminary in 1954 and retired from the ministry in 1991.

Herring Cole (’50), 73, of Moultrie died Jan. 30, 2004. He served as Sunset Country Club’s golf professional for 19 years.

Robert F. Cooper Jr. (’50), 77, of White Plains died Feb. 4, 2005.

W. Pauline Parker Duncan (’50) of Carlton died Sept. 29, 2004.

Coy Bowen Free (’50), 79, of Canton died Nov. 26, 2004.

Sarah Frances Waters Lancaster (’50), 77, of Gainesville died Feb. 23, 2007. She taught business courses at Lyman High School, Braselton High School and Lakeview High School and completed her teaching career at Candler Elementary School.

Larkin Harold Loudermilk (’50), 82, of Mt. Airy died Nov. 16, 2006. A U. S. Army veteran of WW II, he retired from Habersham County School system as an engineer and also taught at Habersham Central High School.

Helen Tatum Gailey Maddox (’50), 77, of Clarkesville died Aug. 7, 2006.

Grady H. Settle (’50), 86, of Gainesville died April 30, 2007.

Joseph Reese Webb (’50) of Gainesville died July 14, 2006.

June Wiggins Hicks (’51), 89, of Demorest died Dec. 28, 2007. She worked for the Habersham County School System from 1951-1991 as a teacher and principal.

George Clayton Smith (’51) of Baldwin died April 15, 2006.

Charles Kenneth “Ken” Sosebee (’51), 78, of Walhalla, S.C., died Dec. 17, 2004. He earned a bachelor of science degree in physical education from Piedmont and played on the baseball team. He was a Navy veteran and served as a tank landing ship gunner during World War II. He was retired from the Civil Service as a logistics supervisor and during his career taught logistics for the Army at West Point.

He is survived by his wife, Betty L. Mabry Sosebee.(‘51) of Walhalla.

Wallace Roy Wood (’51), 79, of Clanton, Ala., died Dec. 8, 2007. He was retired from the Peoples Southern Bank in Clanton, where he worked for 47 years.

Edward Eugene Corry Jr. (’52), 75, of Union Point, died Jan. 26, 2007. He served in the U.S. Army and was a veteran of the Korean conflict. He retired in 1992 as the Greene County School Superintendent.

Susan Viola Davis (’52) of Cornelia died Nov. 24, 2006.

The Rev. David Herbert Long (’52), 78, of Midland City, Ala., died Sept. 20, 2007. He earned a master of divinity degree from Bangor Theological Seminary and served as pastor at churches in Alabama, Maine, and Ohio, before returning to Piedmont to serve as chaplain. He is survived by his wife, Betty Ledbetter Long, of Midland City.

Jean Banks Caudell (’53) of Roswell died Nov. 2, 2006.

Dewitt E. Sosebee Sr (’54). of Kennesaw died Feb. 1, 2007.

Jerone Allen Guest (’56), 72 of Seneca, S.C., died Dec. 8, 2004. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He retired from the Coats and Clark Seneca Plant, where he served as controller.

Mary Teague Vaughn (’56), 76 of Toccoa died Feb. 12, 2007. She taught for 35 years and retired from the Stephens County School System, where she was a business education teacher.

Tharra Varner Edwards (’57) of Commerce died March 8, 2007

The Rev. William P. Pepper (’57), 86, of Toccoa died Oct. 6, 2007. A U.S. Army veteran, he served in World War II and in the Korean War. He was ordained in 1954 and served Baptist churches in North Carolina, Virginia and Georgia.

Jennie Sue Anderson Yearwood (’57), 89, of Toccoa died Dec. 4, 2007. She graduated cum laude with a degree in elementary education and was a member of the Torch. She began teaching in 1935 and taught from 1957-1986 at Clarkeville Elementary School.

Elizabeth Anne Coffee Rountree (’58), 67, of Cornelia died Feb. 10, 2005. She was a retired librarian and a member of Line Baptist church.

Ruth Lee Barnes (’59) of Toccoa died Dec. 31, 2004. She taught at Toccoa Falls Elementary School and retired from Big A Elementary School.

1960s

Inez Buffington Chandler (’61), 86, of Baldwin died April 21, 2007. She was a retired elementary school educator and taught in Habersham, Banks, and Hall counties from 1960-1983.

Gladys Smith Stancil (’62), 76, of Wiley died April 20, 2005. She was a retired elementary school teacher and a homemaker.

James M. Adams (’64), 65, of Toccoa died Aug. 1, 2004. He was a veteran of the Georgia National Guard for 33 years. He was a Franklin County schoolteacher for 20 years and assistant principal at Liberty Elementary for 10 years. He served as Stephens County tax assessor and a commissioner.

Estes Clyde Taylor (’64), 75, of Vero Beach, Fla., died April 14, 2005. He was a retired counselor with the state of Georgia and a minister in the Christian Church.

Larry D. Smith (’65), of Albany died July 10, 2006 Hershel Dean Aiken (’67), 63, of Helen died March 18, 2006. He was an educator for 35 years, serving as a teacher, federal programs coordinator for Habersham County Schools, and principal of White County Elementary School and Central Heights Christian School.

Donald W. “Bill” Smith (’69), 58, of Clarkesville died May 12, 2004. He was retired from Milam Concrete Company and was a member of Bethlehem Baptist Church.

N. Monteen Keener Watts (’69) of Snellville died Jan. 7, 2007.

1970s

Lonnie R. Burns (’70), 63, of Bowersville died March 17, 2007. Mr. Burns previously served as the Habersham County school superintendent for 12 years. He started the first Special Olympics in Habersham County and served for three years as the District 2 director.

Florence Pirkle Bowen (’73), 90, of Gainesville died Sept. 13, 2006. She was a retired schoolteacher and an active member of Central Baptist Church.

Brenda Short Martin (’74), 61, of Cornelia, died July 15, 2006. She retired after 27 years of service at South Habersham Middle School. She was a member of Bethlehem Baptist Church.

Rev. Dr. Stanley Johnson (’79), 79, of Alna, Maine, died March 13, 2004. Rev. Johnson served as a Congregational minister for nearly 50 years.

1990s

William G. Knowles (’92) of Clarkesville died Aug. 26, 2006 Lamar Harrison Clark (’93) of Mt. Airy died May 10, 2006.

Ronda Bagwell Thurmond (’97), 57, of Athens died Nov. 23, 2006. She taught for 32 years and served as a kindergarten teacher in Green County for the past 19 years.

2000s

Ronald E. Vandiver (’00), 58, of Tallulah Falls, died April 29, 2005. He served as the Habersham County manager.

Patricia A. Stinchcomb (’03), 55, of Madison died Dec. 23, 2006.

Martha Hoyt Bartlett (’04) of Lakemont died Dec. 13, 2006 T. Shawn Brown (’04), 29, of Athens died June 24, 2007. He was a special education teacher, assistant football and basketball coach at North Oconee High School.

Allyson R. Hunter (’04), 39, of Toccoa died Dec. 7, 2006. She was a nurse and worked in several medical facilities in the area.

Gregory Keith Jones (’06), 25, of Sugar Hill died May 15, 2007.

NON GRADUATES/FRIENDS 1936-37 Mrs. Geraldine Meaders Moncrief, of Charlotte, NC, died Dec. 24, 2006.

Attended 1939 Waymon J. Blackburn, 90. of Mt. Airy, died May 11, 2007.

1952-1954 Ewell W. Payne, 77, of Springfield, Va., died July 20, 2006. He enlisted in the U. S. Air Force and served in the Korean War. He completed his education from George Washington University in Washing D.C. in 1962. He retired from the Federal Government and worked for the Geological Survey, Forest Service, and Central Intelligence Agency.

Dr. W. L. Hiers, Jr., 83, of Cornelia died April 20, 2007. He was a former Trustee of Piedmont College.

Archer Russell, 96, of Pinellas Park, Fla., died May 8, 2005. He was a long time friend of Piedmont College and established the Archer Award for outstanding seniors. He received an honorary degree in 1976.

A. L. “Red” Anderson, 81, of Demorest died May 20, 2005. He was a U.S. Marine and Navy veteran, having served in the Work War II. He retired from Piedmont college after 32 years in the maintenance department.

Ellen O’Neal, 87, of Royston, died May 21, 2007.

Dr. Hiram Stanley Hanson, 83, of Statesboro, died Dec. 17, 2006. Dr. Hanson served as Science Professor at Piedmont College.

Dr. Ben Weaver, 87, died October 18, 2006. Dr. Weaver taught at Piedmont College in 1956.

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