N OT E D.
WHAT WE’VE HEARD AROUND TOWN … Compiled by Caitlyn Yaede
WHAT AN HONOR
IN OUR SCHOOLS
UNC Athletics announced in February that
In February, East Chapel Hill High School Spanish teacher Justin Seifts (pictured below left) was awarded the 2022 Reckford Teaching Prize by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public School Foundation. The award, established in 2018, recognizes teachers with a joy for learning and enthusiastic classrooms. Justin creates a student-centered classroom and is engaged with his students and the community beyond it. He translated for local Latinx families, serves on the College Board committee for AP World History and is a member of the NC Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.
the media and communications center has been named the Woody Durham Media and Communications Center, after the late Woody Durham, the play-by-play announcer for Carolina’s men’s basketball and football programs from 1971 to 2011. Woody was a UNC graduate and went on to announce 23 bowl games, 13 Final Four games and six NCAA championship games as “the voice of the Tar Heels.” His wife, Jean Durham, and sons, Wes Durham and Taylor Durham, were recognized at halftime of the Feb. 16 basketball game against Pittsburgh. The beloved announcer died in 2018. On Dec. 9, the Home Builders Association of Durham, Orange & Chatham Counties installed The Legion Company president Lee Bowman
UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School professor and local entrepreneur Jim Kitchen
shot for the stars on an 11-minute space flight on March 31. Jim has been to all 193 countries recognized by the United Nations and with the help of private space company Blue Origin, he explored Earth’s upper atmosphere. The flight took off from Launch Site One in West Texas. 22
chapelhillmagazine.com
was named the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching’s 2022 Prudential NC Beginning Teacher of the Year. Xavier was the only finalist from Orange County and was awarded this honor in February. NCCAT chose Xavier for his emphasis on fostering Send us your connections with his noteworthy students and treating moments! them with generosity From births and understanding.
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(pictured left) as its 55th president in a ceremony at Hope Valley Country Club. Twenty-one other officers were also installed, and nine individuals, including Nora Spencer of Hope Renovations, Eric Chupp of Capkov Ventures and Thomas DiBenedetto of the Town of Chapel Hill, were the recipients of annual awards. Additionally, the HBA celebrated its 60th anniversary in March. Today it has more than 600 members.
Orange High School teacher Xavier Adams
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools appointed Jesse Casey as the new
May/June 2022
to awards to new biz and more – noted@ chapelhill magazine.com
principal for East Chapel Hill High School. Jesse specializes in methods to improve student behavior, as well as pioneering mentorship programs. He has served as the principal of The Academy at Virginia Randolph since 2013 and will begin his new position on July 1. Susan K. Tseng,
13, an eighth grader at Smith Middle School, was awarded a fourth-place medal at the North Carolina Science Olympiad held at UNC Greensboro in March.
ON THE MOVE Lisa Kaylie was
named the new executive director of Extraordinary Ventures,
a nonprofit that helps create sustainable businesses employed by neurodivergent members of the workforce. Most recently, Lisa has served as the president of the online retail operations company Frucon International. She has more than 30 years of experience, including involvement with B3 Coffee, the Autism Society of North Carolina, Kidzu Children’s Museum and The North Carolina Therapeutic Riding Center. Her son, Simon, is on the autism spectrum. “EV is a unique organization with an entrepreneurial spirit and demonstrated success as an early adopter of inclusive employment,” she said. “I look forward to growing EV’s current ventures and raising awareness that embracing a neurodiverse workforce is good business.”