University of Mobile Magazine Spring 2011

SPRING 2011

Volume 1, Issue 1

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President | Dr. Mark Foley Vice President for Institutional Advancement | Mr. Brian Boyle Editor | Lesa Moore Copy Editor | Kathy Dean Director of Annual Giving and Alumni Relations | Hali Givens Graphic Designer | Jay Adcock, JWACreative.com Staff Designer | Susie Simmons Staff Writers| Emily Kaye, Marty Pittman, Amy Wright Class Notes | Kristen Oliver Photographers | Dan Anderson, G.M. Andrews, Ben Finch, Kate Reali Mercer,

Michelle Rolls-Thomas Editorial Office University of Mobile Magazine 5735 College Parkway Mobile, Alabama 36613 Phone: 251.442.2210 Fax: 251.442.2512 www.umobile.edu Email: umobilemagazine@umobile.edu University of Mobile Magazine is published by the University of Mobile’s Office of Institutional Advancement, and is distributed free of charge to alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of the university.

Issues may be viewed online at www.umobile.edu.

Postmaster: send address changes to Office of Institutional Advancement, University of Mobile, 5735 College Parkway, Mobile, AL 36613.

SPRING 2011

FEATURES

24

Faith and the Presidency

George W. Bush: ‘God is Good – All the Time’

32 A Ram I Am

The Story of a Mascot, a College, and a Legacy

40

Center for Leadership

Twelve23 Movement Key to National Transformation

44

Living the American Dream

Gabi Constantine

46

Leading Leaders to be Great

2 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

COVER STORY

University of Mobile’s Center for Performing Arts.

24

32

44

46

40 DEPARTMENTS

ALUMNI

4

President’s Message

54

6

Introduction

8

University News

17

Spring Sports Schedule

18

Giving

70

Honor Roll

Alumni Spotlights

54

60

62

54 Bergdolt 60 Romero 61 Jones 62 Beauchamp 64 Miller/Lockwood/Big Daddy Weave 65 Thomas/Harville 66 Nelson

67

Just for Alumni!

68

Class Notes

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A Word from the President

The Beginning of Wisdom…

By Dr. Mark Foley President, University of Mobile

You wouldn’t think that 50 years could pass by so quickly. Or that so much could change in five short decades.

J

ust think about it. In 1961 the moon was still untouched by human footsteps. It would be 20 years before the first IBM-PC was invented, and nearly 30 years before the creation of the World Wide Web. Movies of your first birthday party were shown at home on silent movie projectors, not instantaneously shared with millions through YouTube. These things changed our world over the course of half a century, and they happened because someone had an idea and the courage to pursue it.

It’s amazing how one moment – one dream – can change the world. On Dec. 12, 1961, Alabama Governor John Patterson signed the charter giving official recognition to the founding of Mobile College – a school without a single building or a single student.

That was then.

This is now – 50 years later. Today, more than 1,700 men and women are currently enrolled at the 880-acre campus. Soon, they will join the more than 10,746 men and women who have graduated from the University of Mobile during our 50-year history – outstanding leaders in business, law, health care, education, ministry, music and many more professions. Throughout the world, University of Mobile graduates are demonstrating their faith each day as they demonstrate excellent capabilities as professionals in their fields.

That 50-year-old dream is the reality of graduating such men and women who are people of character who know how to think, know what is right, have the courage to live and work according to their beliefs, and have the willingness and skill to use their influence in appropriate and effective ways to change their world. In the words of the Psalmist, written on the seal of this university, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” It is a wisdom gained through a relationship with God, who is the ultimate truth.

This first issue of the new University of Mobile magazine marks the start of a year of celebration as our school reaches the half-century mark. In its pages you will read about the University of Mobile family – people whose individual dreams drew them to this place, where they gained wisdom and grew in spirit. Each experience was unique, yet each was in some way the same. For whether you sang in the Boar’s Head Festival under the baton of Dr. B, or in Christmas Spectacular with Dr. Miller – you sang. Whether you selected the ram as the school mascot or wore the ram on your uniform – you cheered.

And whether you support this school because you believe some of the best years of your life happened on this campus, or because you believe that what happens on this campus can change the world – you believe.

Hold on tight,

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University News

Photos by G.M. Andrews

Campus Entrance

As you enter the 880-acre University of Mobile campus, you’ll discover a new look. In Fall 2010, construction was completed on a gatehouse, security system, gates and decorative fencing featuring the university seal, creating a dramatic first impression at the university’s entrance. The University of Mobile marker that previously resided at the beginning of Pollock-Altmayer Drive was moved to the flag plaza. University 8 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

of Mobile Trustee Jim Daniel, CEO of the 103-year-old Daniel Metals Inc. in Birmingham, Ala., donated the gates and fence. Along with the donated architectural services and bronze lettering for the University of Mobile marker at the flag plaza, Daniel’s gift is estimated at $130,000. m

University News

From Alaska to Hawaii, Voices of Mobile Tour and Shine

Even when classes have ended, University of Mobile students in the elite musical ensemble Voices of Mobile get a chance to learn a different kind of lesson, while soaking up the performance opportunities of a lifetime.

This past June, the 16-member group performed in Hawaii, working with the Hawaii Baptist Convention and local churches. Voices also performed throughout Florida with Sounds of Mobile, a high-energy show choir from UMobile. Voices ended its 150-concert annual tour with appearances at the Southern Baptist Convention in Orlando, Fla. Earlier this year, the ensemble worked with the Alaska Baptist Convention presenting concerts throughout the

state, including a performance at First Baptist Church North Pole, Alaska.

Voices is one of 22 performing ensembles at UMobile and has performed all over the United States and abroad, including the White House, Carnegie Hall, Israel and Jordan. Voices is co-directed by Dr. Alan Miller, dean of the Center for Performing Arts, and Dr. Roger Breland, vice president of project development and executive director of the Center for Performing Arts. The group focuses on a cappella, hymns, contemporary and worship styles of music.

For more information on the University of Mobile’s Center for Performing Arts, visit umobile.edu/cpa. m

Former Miss UM Named 2nd Runner Up for Miss Alabama Miss UM 2007 and the current Miss Wiregrass Area 2010, Jaye Herrod, left, was named 2nd runner up at the Miss Alabama Pageant on June 12 in Birmingham, Ala. Sarah Becky Spain, Miss UM 2010, received over $2,400 in scholarships during the preliminary for the Miss America Pageant. m

Urban Plunge: 48 Hours, 6 Cities

The University of Mobile sent out 12 student-led teams of a dozen students each to six states for Urban Plunge, a 48-hour inner-city mission trip. Teams worked with local churches and ministries to hold block parties for inner-city children, work with agencies which minister to women, and serve the homeless. The mission behind Urban Plunge is to impact urban cities with the love of Christ in service. Urban Plunge was held Nov. 5-7 in the cities of Atlanta, Ga.; Montgomery, Ala.; Baton Rouge, La.; Jackson, Miss.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Tallahassee, Fla. m umobile.edu 9

University News

University of Mobile Among ‘America’s 100 Best College Buys’ and Selected as One of ‘America’s Best Christian Colleges’

For the second consecutive year, the University of Mobile has been named among “America’s 100 Best College Buys”

by Institutional Research & Evaluation Inc., an independent research and consulting organization. The Christian university is one of only five schools in Alabama and the only private university in the state listed in the 2010-2011 report.

“Consistent with its mission, and as a guide by which institutions may be compared, each year Institutional Research & Evaluation Inc. identifies the 100 American colleges and universities providing students the very highest quality education at the lowest cost,” wrote Lewis T. Lindsey Jr., president of IR&E, in the organization’s 15th annual report.

The University of Mobile has also been named one of “America’s Best Christian Colleges” for the 14th consecutive year.

The Baptist-affiliated university is one of only 119 colleges and universities nationwide receiving the designation for the 2010-11 academic year.

Institutional Research & Evaluation Inc. selected the schools from a pool of 332 Christian higher education institutions based on which provide the highest educational quality in a Christian environment, according to Lindsey.

For more details on each of these reports, visit umobile.edu/news. m 10 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

UMobile Prof Shares Storm-chasing Journey

University of Mobile Associate Professor of Biology Steve Carey chronicled his storm-chasing trips in America’s Tornado Alley on the University of Mobile’s website.

In early summer, Carey served as a guide and driver in a chase vehicle for Storm Chasing Adventure Tours while traveling the Great Plains from North Dakota to Texas.

“No matter how exciting it is to see a tornado, I am aware of the potential cost in property damage and human suffering these storms inflict. Yet, I am drawn to the power and terrifying beauty of these storms,” Carey wrote in his first online posting.

“It is a humbling experience to see such power…to feel the fury of nature unleashed. It is a reminder that we humans are not in control, and that there is a higher power in charge of all things,” Carey wrote.

This is the fifth year that Carey has shared his adventures online through the University of Mobile website.

In addition to storm chasing, Carey has authored several science textbooks and written papers on cave fauna and Alabama reptiles and amphibians. He also speaks to high school and community groups about the sciences; and teaches biology, ecology, environmental science and botany, among other topics, at UMobile.

The University of Mobile Art Department hosted a photography exhibit of Carey’s work, “Art, Science, and Supercells: Capturing Big Weather in America’s Heartland” during the Fall 2010 semester. Carey’s photographs have appeared in magazines and newspapers, and have been featured on the Discovery Channel and storm chasing websites.

To read Carey’s blog, visit stormchaserumobile.wordpress.com. m

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University News

Alabama Baptist State Convention Supports a Great Commission University “Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you.”

(Matthew 28: 18-20, The Message) The University of Mobile is changing a nation through the influence of graduates and Christian leaders who are trained with a Great Commission mindset, UMobile President Dr. Mark Foley told messengers to the Alabama Baptist State Convention annual meeting at Hunter Street Baptist Church in Hoover, Ala., on Nov. 16-17.

For nearly 50 years, Alabama Baptists have helped students make the right choices for the direction of their lives through the ministry of higher education at the University of Mobile. Founded by Alabama Baptists in 1961, the university receives annual financial support through the Alabama Baptist Convention Cooperative Program. In 2010, the university received nearly $2.6 million for general operations of the school, including grants to ministerial students and ministers’ dependents.

As Alabama’s youngest Baptist university, “Faith, Learning & Leadership” are intentionally integrated into every aspect of college life. In a classroom, at a campus Bible study, on the intramural field, in the dining hall – a life is changing. The lessons learned on the UMobile campus impact not only the mind, but also the heart and soul of men and women who can change the world.

“Our university is committed to life-changing – and world-changing in the name of Christ. The lives that are changed on our campus are just the beginning of a process that has no end,” Foley wrote in his report to the state convention.

12 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

“At UMobile, students not only learn how to be excellent in their profession.

They learn to look at their career as an opportunity for ministry, whether it is business, nursing, education or music.

Accounting graduates learn not only the principles of accounting and the ethics of the profession, but how to respond to a personal calling and the responsibilities of a Christian who is an accountant.

They learn to apply biblical principles to their profession, to represent Christ in their professional lives, and to use the opportunities their career affords to share the message of salvation,” he wrote.

Not only are students prepared to approach their careers as a mission field through classroom instruction, but also through hands-on mission opportunities in the United States and abroad. From Urban Plunge 48-hour inner-city mission trips led by students to foreign mission trips led by UMobile faculty, students help plan and participate in outreach to people groups across the world. These students develop a passion for missions and the skills necessary to be effective in reaching the world for Jesus Christ.

The impact is significant. For example, the University Missions program has sent more than 1,500 participants on short-term mission trips to 44 nations since the program began in 1992. A new major in Intercultural Studies, designed for students planning on a career in missions, prepares graduates to work in a multicultural setting in an American city or an international setting in a global business network, missionary agency or non-governmental organization.

Today, the university sets its sights on becoming a nationally recognized leader in the revitalization of Christian faith and character in a nation that has distanced itself from God. The university has developed a solid reputation as a Christian university that prepares graduates who know how to think, who know what is right, and who have the courage and willingness to make a difference in the name of Jesus Christ.

As one of “America’s Best Christian Colleges” and the only private university in Alabama named in “America’s 100 Best College Buys,” the school has a firm foundation to extend its influence throughout the nation. m

UMobile at National Southern Baptist Convention The University of Mobile displayed an exhibit at the 2010 Southern Baptist Convention at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, June 14-16. m

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University News

Youth Hostel Missions

The University of Mobile began the Youth Hostel Missions in 2005.

Since then, many students have taken advantage of this unique opportunity to travel, learn about different cultures, and spread the Gospel throughout Europe. Traveling as traditional tourists, students spend one month backpacking through Europe touring major European cities. The average day is spent visiting major tourist attractions, eating in local restaurants, traveling by local transportation, and lodging in traditional European youth hostels.

The common bond of being away from home and traveling from city to city regularly opens worlds of conversation with other college-age travelers. Those conversations happen over dinner, card games, laundry, or even touring a museum with fellow travelers. In the process, friendships are built and conversations typically lead to topics of life, purpose, and faith. In short, students live life and learn what it means to have a mission mindset in an increasingly postChristian world.

This past summer, five students and one faculty member traveled from May 10-June 11 through Amsterdam, Paris, Berlin, London, Rome, Florence, Cinque Terre, Nice, Grindelwald and Zurich.

The program is expanding for Summer 2011, sending 2 teams to Europe, 1 team to Israel, and 1 team to the Philippines.m

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University Missions of Faith

Hanging in the foyer of the School of Christian Studies are the flags of many nations. These flags represent the destinations where students from the University of Mobile have traveled for mission programs. Dr. Cecil Taylor, dean of the School of Christian Studies and director of University Missions, has led more than 65 trips for UMobile since 1992. According to an interview with the Mobile Press Register, Taylor reports that as of December 31, 2009, “teams reported 10,750 professions of faith by people for whom we had contact information for follow up. More than a dozen churches (and a couple of associations) in Alabama, Mississippi

and Florida now have their own mission ministries that grew directly from their experience with University Missions.�

University Missions trips for the 2010-2011 academic year include: Malta, Iceland, Greece, Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, Portugal, Egypt, and Wales.

Mission trips are open to the public and provide many opportunities to serve, including building chapels, teaching English, providing health assessments, participating in prayer walks, and ministering to children, youth and senior adults. For information on how to participate in upcoming mission trips, contact Dr. Taylor at ctaylor@umobile. edu or 251.442.2255. m

University News

Christmas Spectacular 2010

UMobile Presents Forum on Christianity & the Liberal Arts

The University of Mobile’s Center for Performing Arts presented the 2010 Christmas Spectacular November 17, 18 and 19 at Dauphin Way Baptist Church. Over 250 students performed a variety of music for a total audience of more than 7,000 attendees over the three nights. m

University of Mobile faculty members presented papers on Christianity and the Liberal Arts during a forum held on the university’s campus Sept. 24-25.

The conference is an interdisciplinary forum in which members of the academic community explore the relationships between Christian belief and the liberal arts tradition within the university. More than 20 scholars from across the nation gathered to present papers that are exploratory in nature, seeking to raise broad questions about central areas of concern to the liberal arts classroom.

For more information on future forums, contact Conference Co-Chair Dr. Stephen Schuler at sschuler@umobile. edu or 251.442.2426. m umobile.edu 15

University News

WWII Heroes at UMobile Patriot’s Day

Casting Director Works with Musical Theatre Students The international casting director for Stage Entertainment, a multi-national producer of professional musical theatre shows in Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States, was the guest artist-in-residence at the University of Mobile’s Center for Performing Arts Sept.

28-Oct. 1.

Ralf Schaedler worked with UMobile students on audition techniques, career guidance, and conducted workshops on acting and performance. Students performed musical arrangements while being critiqued by Schaedler. He was also looking to cast roles for several 16 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

shows including “Wicked” and “Lion King.”

Bruce Earnest, director of musical theatre at the University of Mobile, said Schaedler was impressed with the level of talent of UMobile students and according to a Mobile Press Register article, “expressed interest in several UM students for stage roles. “ For more information on the University of Mobile Musical Theatre Department, call 251.442.2383 or email bearnest@umobile.edu. m

In observance of Veteran’s Day, the University of Mobile hosted the third annual Patriots’ Day with a lecture and book signing by WWII veterans Col. Glenn Frazier and Dr. Sidney Phillips, accompanied by Phillips’ sister, Mrs. Katherine Phillips Singer. RamCorps, the University of Mobile’s high impact brass and percussion performance team in the Center for Performing Arts, opened the event.

The veterans spoke Nov. 8 in Ram Hall on campus, followed by an informal question and answer session and book signing. Admission was free and open to the public.

These WWII veterans were featured in the PBS documentary “The War.” Ken Burns, director of the documentary, writes on the cover of Frazier’s book, “Hell’s Guest,” [this] harrowing and heroic story is a constant reminder that the Second World War…was where young men from the heartland sacrificed their innocence, and often a whole lot more, to create the world we now enjoy.”

Phillips’ adventures as a Marine in the Pacific Theater of WWII are featured in a mini-series produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. This 15-hour mini-series, “The Pacific,” premiered in Mobile. Phillips signed his book, “You’ll be Sor-ree!” after the presentation at the University of Mobile.m

Spring Sports Schedules

2011 UM Baseball Schedule Date 2/4 2/5 2/11 2/12 2/18 2/19 2/22 2/25 2/26 3/4 3/5 3/8 3/9 3/11 3/12 3/18 3/19 3/22 3/25 3/26 3/30 4/1 4/2 4/8 4/9 4/15 4/16 4/20 4/22 4/23

Opponent Location Time St Catharine College Home DH-Noon St Catharine College Home DH-Noon Talladega College Home 2PM Talladega College Home DH-Noon Talladega College Away 1PM Talladega College Away DH-Noon Concordia College Home DH-Noon Thomas College Away 5PM Thomas College Away DH-1PM Springhill College Home 2PM Springhill College Home DH-Noon Lyon College Home 2PM Lyon College Home 2PM Lee University Away 4PM Lee University Away DH - Noon Belhaven College Away 6PM Belhaven College Away DH-1PM Concordia College Away DH-1PM William Carey College Home 2PM William Carey College Home DH-1PM Thomas College Home DH-1PM Loyola University Away 6PM Loyola University Away DH-1PM Shorter College Home 2PM Shorter College Home DH-1PM AUM Home 2PM AUM Home DH-1PM LSUA Home DH-1PM Faulkner University Away 5PM Faulkner University Away DH-1PM

2011 UM Softball Schedule Date Opponent 2/11-12 Belhaven Tournament 2/18-19 Faulkner Tournament 2/25-26 Shorter Tournament 3/1 Belhaven 3/3 Notre Dame University of Mobile Classic TBA 3/4-6 Gulf Coast Invitational 3/10-13 TBA 3/18-19 William Carey

Tournament AUM 3/20 Faulkner 3/21 Belhaven 3/26 3/30 AUM 4/3 Spring Hill College William Carey 4/6 4/7 Blue Martin 4/11 Faulkner Belhaven 4/16 4/19 Spring Hill College William Carey 4/22 Conference Tournament 4/27-30 TBA

Location Time Away TBA Away TBA Away TBA Home TBA Home Home

TBA

Away

TBA

Away Away Away Away Home Mobile Away Away Home Home Home Home

TBA TBA TBA 2:00/4:00 TBA TBA 4:00/6:00 4:00/6:00 TBA 12:00/200 TBA 4:00/6:00

Away

TBA

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Giving

20 Years of Integrity

By Emily Kaye

M

ike Jacobs still speaks with awe about how he became the head coach for the University of Mobile’s baseball team.

“There’s really no reason for me to get this job when I got it,” Jacobs, 55, says. “I had only been a head coach for four years – a high school coach. We feel like God opened the doors, so we walked through.”

Now, 22 years later, Jacobs is still humble, still thankful, and still working as UMobile’s head baseball coach. He has seen the program he built become a successful, respected program in its conference, with a career record of 687 wins and 438 losses as the 2011 season began.

Despite his winning record, Jacobs has not followed in the footsteps of other successful collegiate coaches who leave their smaller programs for the big-name schools.

“When I came in 1990, I came because that’s where God wanted me. And that’s why I’ve stayed,” he says.

Jacobs started his career in Mobile coaching baseball at private schools. His last high school position was at UMSWright Preparatory School, where he worked as an assistant and later head coach. Jacobs came to the University of Mobile when former Athletic Director Bill Elder hired him as the head baseball coach in 1990.

UMobile Athletic Director and basketball head coach Joe Niland says the atmosphere of support and encouragement that the university’s administration provides is one reason he believes Jacobs has stayed with the program.

“A lot of that has to do with the university,” Niland says. “The university makes it a comfortable, friendly place to

18 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

work. You have a chance to succeed here.

You get to do what you love, and you have a chance to make a difference with your athletes.”

Beyond the wins and losses, Jacobs believes his job as a coach is to prepare his players for their future, whether that means professional baseball or life after sports.

“The chances of them making it as professional players are ridiculously small,” Jacobs says. “We encourage them to have a ‘Plan B’, to get their degree and be a successful contributor to society.”

Jacobs’ teams average 25-30 players each year. For these young men, the odds of becoming a major league player are stacked against them. Over the course of Jacobs’ career, 27 of his players have signed professional contracts. Of those 27, there are two players still active in the major leagues, pitchers J.C. Romero, formerly of the Philadelphia Phillies and now a free agent, and Saúl Rivera of the Arizona Diamondbacks. UMobile alumnus Joe Espada is a third base coach for the Florida Marlins.

In order to prepare his players for whatever future may await them, Jacobs instills in them the keys to success in both business and sports: discipline, integrity, punctuality, hard work and faith.

“We tell everyone who comes here, they’ll be exposed to the Gospel,” Jacobs says. “What they do with that is their choice.”

Jacobs requires the team to get together one Sunday each month for a trip to church.

“We have guys who have never stepped foot in a church before, we

have guys from all different religious backgrounds,” Jacobs says, adding with a laugh, “We usually get a few stares when we all come in together.”

In his time at UMobile, the most gratifying thing has been seeing his former players do well after college.

“The most rewarding is when they come back and tell you how you’ve influenced their life. The winning and losing (of games) is part of the job. But when they come in and tell you that you have helped influence their life, you stand a little taller.”

Jacobs’ colleagues and friends say the success of his players, both on and off the field, is no happy coincidence. It’s the way he lives his life that leaves such an impression on his athletes.

Proposed Field Project Rendition

“I think part of what we do here at UMobile is we reach out,” Niland says.

“We try to help people. I think in Mike’s tenure here, he’s shown that. I think UMobile should take a lot of satisfaction in having a coach like Mike.”

Others agree. University of Mobile former Athletic Director John Runda said Jacobs cares “about the person, not only the player.”

“It’s because of his character,” Runda says. “Mike is one of those rare persons who puts into practice what he believes.

Mike has a true concern and love for his

Giving “We tell everyone who comes here, they’ll be exposed to the gospel,” Jacobs says. “What they do with that is their choice.”

players. He expects a lot of himself, and he expects the same of his players.”

J.C. Romero says those high expectations helped him succeed in professional baseball.

“Mike was very strict when I first came to school,” Romero said. “He demanded that guys do things the right way and have a lot of discipline.

“As a young guy, you look at the rules and you tell yourself, ‘wow, this is a little tough.’ It’s something you don’t realize until you get older, that it is helping you make the transition from being a little boy to a man. Now, when I look back, I see some of the reasons I am so successful now and am trying to be a role model. It was those years in college.

Mike is the type of person who wants things to be done the right way. And he cares about you as a person,” Romero adds.

Jacobs lives his life as an honest man of faith, and this resonates with his players, Runda says. His players understand that their coach cares not only about their performance on the field, but also about their growth and development as men of character.

These success stories spur him on, Jacobs says, to keep working hard and improving his baseball program. Jacobs will be the first, though, to name off all of the people who have helped him in his efforts along the way.

“I have been blessed to have really good assistants through the years who have helped to make the program grow and make it better. When you sit back and look at where it was and where it is now, there’s a sense of pride in that.”

Under his watch and through his efforts the baseball facility has received many needed improvements such as a new field house, locker rooms, a player study area, and stadium seating. His

current goal: lighting the field.

For more than 20 years, the baseball field has remained completely dark at night, causing all home games to be scheduled midday. This unfortunately causes players to miss a number of classes and can lengthen their time in college by as much as a year.

The $400,000 project would also allow more students to come out for games, Jacobs says, as most games are scheduled during classes. It will allow the Rams to host important night games and tournaments, attract more Ram fans, and provide a much-needed venue for general Fundraising efforts are ongoing.

If you would like to help Coach Jacobs and the rest of the baseball program achieve this goal, you can contact the University of Mobile Office of Development at 251.442.2226.

student events. Lighting the field will also allow our baseball program to meet today’s standard in athletic facilities.

“Our community is a baseball community, and we could draw more of the community if we were able to have games at night. It would just be such a big plus for the community,” Jacobs says.

“It would also give our students another option when they are looking for something safe and enjoyable to do in the evenings.” m

Photo by Dan Anderson

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Giving

Change a Life…Change the World

By Marty Pittman

T

he University of Mobile is committed to the ideal that it is truly possible for a small college to change the world through graduates who are outstanding in their work, have a vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ, and demonstrate the courage to lead. Our unique educational culture, based on the integration of learning, faith and leadership, is attracting students of exceptional ability who are taking these values into all areas of our culture.

These men and women – inspired by outstanding and committed faculty, immersed in missions and service experiences, and shaped by a Christian worldview – are part of the revitalization of Christian faith and character in America. They can change the world. But they can’t do it alone.

With the ever-rising costs of providing high quality education, an investment in scholarships at the University of Mobile is a meaningful way to continue the university’s mission of “Changing Lives to Change the World.” For most students at the University of Mobile, the importance of scholarships and financial aid cannot be overstated. Ninety-eight percent of our current students receive some type of financial assistance.

One such student, Julisa Theodore of Gulfport, MS, knows firsthand how endowed scholarships can make a difference. With both of her parents deceased, Julisa is completely on her own for all of her financial needs. When she arrived on campus in 2006, she was not prepared for the costs of higher education. Endowed scholarships played a huge role in her ability to stay at the University of Mobile.

Endowed scholarship funds are enduring legacies that make the UMobile educational experience

20 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

Student Kasey Bodine, Endowed Scholarship Donor Mrs. Sonja Blaylock, and students Julisa Theodore and Candice Early at the UMobile Endowed Scholarship Luncheon.

For most students at the University of Mobile, the importance of scholarships and financial aid cannot be overstated.

University of Mobile Trustee and Endowed Scholarship Donor, Mrs. Pat Dorsett with student, Hannah Moore, at the UMobile Endowed Scholarship Luncheon

available to generations of deserving students. An endowed scholarship bears the name of the donor or person whom the donor wishes to honor in perpetuity.

Endowing a scholarship is a unique and memorable way to recognize a loved one or someone who has made a significant difference in your life.

Julisa receives the Mary Austil and Yetta G. Samford Scholarship, awarded to students who show special academic promise. These scholarships have allowed her to pay for school, books, housing and living expenses. Upon her graduation, Julisa will now owe less in

student loans than the average student in the United States.

Many alumni and friends remember how difficult it was for them and their families to meet the financial obligation of tuition, room and board. Donors to the UMobile Endowed Scholarship Fund share a special commitment: to provide University of Mobile undergraduate students with a superb educational experience.

Today, with the escalating costs associated with a quality education, this is more urgent than ever. Each gift to the university’s scholarship program

represents a ringing vote of confidence in the UMobile tradition of providing a high quality education to the young men and women who represent our future. This scholarship program is the most effective way to provide bright, hardworking men and women with the opportunity to experience all the University of Mobile has to offer.

Graduating in May 2011 with a degree in sociology, Julisa plans to further her education with a post-graduate degree

in preparation to teach sociology at the university level, further enabling her to make a difference in the lives of others in her future career.

There are hundreds of students like Julisa who need your help. Endowed scholarships provide donors the opportunity to establish a timeless fund that directly supports UMobile students with financial need, proving to be one of the most important gifts the university receives.

Make an impact on someone’s life now and in the future by establishing an endowed scholarship fund that will create a legacy for you or someone you love that will endure through the ages.

For information on how you can establish an endowed scholarship at the University of Mobile, contact the Office of Institutional Advancement at 251.442.2226. m

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Giving

Giving Back

Lynda and Benny Snow Owners, Pioneer Pool Products, Inc. South Alabama Enterprises, Inc. B & L Leasing, Inc. Delta Development, LLC

By Kathy Dean

L

ynda and Benny Snow dreamed big and worked hard. In 1976 they founded Pioneer Pool Products Inc. which has been a cornerstone of the pool industry on the Gulf Coast, providing swimming pools, hot tubs, spas, supplies, chemicals and maintenance equipment to contractors as well as commercial and residential pool owners. Along the way, they branched out into commercial real estate development and leasing.

“We’re two people who are hard workers and who have accomplished the American dream,” Lynda said.

It’s a dream they hope will continue long after they are gone. So when they learned that the University of Mobile offers a free, confidential estate-planning service, they made a decision that turned their hopes into a strategy.

“These are the accomplishments of your life’s work. If you want your assets to go where you want, you need to do some estate planning,” explained Benny.

As a service to University of Mobile supporters, the university provides a confidential estate planning assessment to help those who want to ensure that their wishes are followed regarding the disbursement of their estate when the time comes. The Snows took advantage of this service, which is absolutely free of charge.

An estate planning expert met with the Snows, and helped them start thinking about their assets and their

22 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

Photo by Dan Anderson goals. He listened to their wishes, explained the many options available, was non-judgmental and “never, ever pushed us.” The Snows knew the discussions were completely confidential and would not be shared with anyone.

“We have a very complex situation” and a variety of goals for the estate, explained Benny. Among those were certain philanthropic objectives that they wanted to continue far into the future.

“We love giving back to the community,” Lynda added. “If we can make a little difference, how great is that.

We believe in the university’s motto, ‘Changing Lives to Change the World.’”

The Snows were very impressed with the experience. “He was really, really good,” Lynda said. “We were blessed

having met him.” His understanding of their particular situation and his guidance resulted in an estate plan they could take to their financial advisor and attorney.

Benny said estate planning is important for everyone, whether you have a large or small estate.

“Don’t worry about the size of your estate, just get your estate planning done,” Benny said. “It’s the easiest thing in the world to push aside, but I strongly suggest getting your estate in order. If you don’t, the state will do it for you.”

For information on how you can arrange for a free, confidential estate planning assessment from the University of Mobile, contact Mr. Bill Hart in the Office of Institutional Advancement at 251.442.2223. m

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George W. Bush: ‘God is Good – All the Time’

24 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

W

By Kathy Dean

hen George W. Bush moved from the White House to Crawford, Texas after eight years as the 43rd president of the United States, there was one particular moment that stood out in his transition from commander-in-chief to civilian life.

“I looked in the mirror and the only thing I cared about was that I see a guy who refused to compromise his soul in the face of political pressure,” Bush said, to the applause of more than 1,000 people at the 6th annual University of Mobile Leadership Banquet.

That resolve – the determination to do what is right, what is moral and ethical, what is godly – is a cornerstone of the University of Mobile spirit which was celebrated Oct. 7 at the Arthur Outlaw Convention Center in downtown Mobile, Ala. In one of his first speeches since leaving office, the former president delivered a 51-minute keynote address that one local political editor called “loose, energized, insightful and very, very funny.”

Dr. Grace Pilot of Pilot Catastrophe Services Inc. said the evening was “a great inspiration for everyone.

It confirmed my belief that he was one of the greatest presidents to serve our country. He brought a lot of attention to the University of Mobile and helped spread the message of what the university stands for.”

Dr. Roger Willmore, a member of the UMobile Board of Trustees, former president of the Alabama Baptist

Photography by G.M. Andrews umobile.edu 25

State Convention, and senior pastor of Deerfoot Baptist Church in Trussville, AL, said the event “elevated the University of Mobile in the eyes of our city and in the eyes of our state to another level.

This evening was indicative of the character of our school.”

Willmore said Bush’s message was “hand in glove with the message of this institution. I believe what we heard from President Bush, his thoughts on leadership, match our mission of equipping students to go into the world and make a difference.”

It was a gala evening for the record crowd that gathered to hear 26 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

President Bush and raise money for the university’s annual scholarship fund. UMobile President Dr. Mark Foley announced that the event raised nearly $400,000, all of which will be used to provide scholarships to University of Mobile students.

Many current scholarship recipients took part in the banquet, from entertaining the audience to greeting guests and helping with the many behind-the-scenes details that make the banquet such a success each year.

Center for Performing Arts vocal ensembles Voices of Mobile and Shofar sang inspirational and patriotic songs on stage, while an alumni jazz

band provided dinner music. The new wind ensemble Crosswinds entertained guests arriving at the banquet, and Vintage strings ensemble played during a private reception with the former president and major donors.

A video outlining the Twelve23 Movement, a project of the university’s new Center for Leadership aimed at transforming the nation, opened the evening. The patriotic theme continued as Foley introduced World War II veterans in attendance, local men and women who had recently participated in an Honor Flight trip to see the World War II memorial in Washington, D.C. In a night punctuated with applause, the audience expressed appreciation for those individuals, as well as the service of other veterans in attendance.

Among the many dignitaries present were U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and his wife, Mary. As he took the stage, Bush set a light-hearted tone for the evening by paying tribute to Sessions, calling the senator “a good dude” who “married extremely well.” Also in attendance were former U.S. Congressman Sonny Callahan, Alabama Baptist State Convention President Jimmy Jackson and his wife, Bobbi, and various other state and local politicians.

Proud to Support UMobile “I want to thank you for supporting the University of Mobile,” President Bush told the audience. “I love what the university stands for. I love the concept of educating people… in a certain academic skill with the capacity to live life to its fullest and influence the country. Congratulations on a mission that is important for America, and thank you for supporting the university. I’m proud to be part of supporting the university as well.”

A Light Note Bush struck a light note as he joked about adjusting to life after the White House.

“I loved being your president and, frankly, I’m having the time of my life not being your president,” he said.

He was sitting on the couch in his home in Crawford, Texas, when wife Laura walked into the room.

“I said, ‘Free at last!’’ Bush recalled.

“She said, ‘Yeah, buddy. You are free to do the dishes and to mow the lawn.’ I said, ‘Wait a minute, honey.

You’re talking to the former president of the United States.’ She said, ‘Well, consider it your new domestic policy agenda.’”

Bush said he didn’t miss the limelight and had “zero desire” to be in the press or offer his opinion on television.

“Frankly, I don’t think it’s good for the country to have a former president criticize his successor,” he said.

He has written a book, “Decision Points,” which offers an anecdotal inside look at many of the decisions he made during his presidency.

“This will come as quite a shock to some of the elites. They didn’t think I could read a book, much less write a book,” Bush quipped.

An Awesome First Lady Laura Bush was “an awesome first lady,” Bush said, and a really good marriage became even better in the White House.

“Laura realized this was an experience that we could share and in which she could make a difference in people’s lives. She threw her whole heart and soul into being the first lady of the country, and it was awesome to be with her. She said, ‘I want to serve my nation just like you’re serving it.’

And she really, really made a huge difference in the darkest days by being such a fine person,” he said.

One day he was giving a speech

and praised his wife, saying “Laura Bush was the greatest first lady ever.” His mother, Barbara Bush was sitting in the front row.

“I said, ‘Oops, would you settle for a tie, Mom?” Making the Decisions He related his response when long-time friends asked him what it was like to be president of the United States.

In simple terms, he said, “This job requires a lot of decision making. You get a lot of decisions to come your way, some of which you anticipate; a lot of them you don’t.

And you don’t have any choice. You get to decide.”

One of the first decisions he had to make as president was the color and design of the rug in the Oval Office.

“The interesting thing about being a leader, the first lesson, is if you don’t know something, find somebody who does,” he said. “You have got to surround yourself with capable, competent people and create an environment in which they walk into the Oval Office and say, ‘Hey buddy, here’s what I think.’ You’ve got to have a team of people that are capable of understanding the issues and capable of making

recommendations. When you make up your mind, it’s ‘Yes sir, Mr. President.’ Or they get to go find work elsewhere.”

In the case of the rug, he called on Laura to handle the design.

But he had one requirement.

“I want the rug to scream, ‘Optimistic guy comes to work here every day.’” The resulting design resembled the sun, a magnificent centerpiece for the Oval Office.

One day, Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, came to see Bush.

“The sun, the actual sun, was shining through the big south windows of the Oval Office. And that rug was just sparkling. It just lit up the place. Putin walks in, and his first words were, ‘My God! This is beautiful!’

“Before he got to ‘this is beautiful,’ I’m saying to myself, ‘We have a conversion on the spot!’ You talk about a powerful rug! But it did set the tone,” Bush recalled.

“I will tell you, there are some great moments being president, some tough moments being president, but every moment I was optimistic that this great nation can achieve anything it sets its mind to.”

Transformative Power of Freedom Bush said he came to the presidency with a set of values

“I was in the Bible every morning my entire presidency, and I read in the evenings”

umobile.edu 27

that became the cornerstone of his decision-making.

“I believe I learned the values through my faith, my family and where I was raised,” he said. “You cannot lead a complex organization unless you have a set of principles that are inviolate.”

The principles, he said, begin with one belief.

“I believe in an Almighty. And I believe the gift of that Almighty to every man, woman and child on the face of the earth is freedom. Deep in everybody’s soul is the desire to be free, and that principle was the 28 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

cornerstone of my foreign policy,” he said. “See, I believe freedom is available for everybody, black, white, brown, Muslim, Christian, who cares?

It’s universal.”

He said our nation is in an ideological war against people who murder the innocent to achieve a political objective, a “bunch of thugs.”

In the short run, the only way to protect a country is to find them and bring them to justice.

“In the long run, (we must) defeat their ideology of hate with an ideology of hope, and that’s freedom.

So therefore, the spread of freedom is the key to peace,” he said.

Bush said one of the great ironies of his presidency was his close relationship with Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi, who called Bush on Sept. 12, the day after the 9/11 terrorist attack, and said “Japan stands squarely with the United States to enhance our mutual security and to spread freedom as the alternative to the haters and killers.”

The irony is that about 60 years before, the United States and Japan were at war, and 18-year-old high school graduate George H.W. Bush joined the U.S. Navy to fight the Japanese. The fathers were fighting; now the sons were working together to keep the peace.

“I can assure you that, in 1944 had somebody said, ‘Some day Japan and the United States will be working in concert to keep the peace,’ they would have said, ‘What a hopeless nut you are! How incredibly naïve can you be?’ But that person wouldn’t know what I have learned: that freedom is transformative. That an enemy can become an ally. And if the United States does not lose its nerve and forget the principle of the universality of freedom, the same thing is going to happen in the Middle East. And someday, a generation of Americans are going to say, ‘Thank God this

A Legacy of Leadership

generation did not lose faith in the transformative power of freedom.’”

A Painful Decision Bush said the cornerstone of his fiscal policy was “you can spend your money better than the government.”

“Probably the most painful decision I had to make was to use your money to give to Wall Street,” he said. Bush said he made the decision in the Roosevelt room, across the table from Ben Bernanke, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, and Henry Paulson Jr., secretary of the U.S. Treasury.

“And Bernanke says to me, ‘If you don’t do something, Mr. President, it’s likely you’ll be a president overseeing a depression greater than the Great Depression.’

“So you’ve surrounded yourself with people, you’ve created an environment in which they’re willing to give you their honest assessment, and then you have a choice as president: do you listen or not listen?

Depression, or no depression. Frankly, it wasn’t that tough of a decision for me. What was painful, though, was not adhering to the market principle that said, ‘If you make a bad mistake in the business world, you’ll fail.’

“So I had one of those tough decisions I had to make as president.

In that case, to use your money to prop up the banks that created the house of cards in the first place. I can’t prove to you that the decision I made prevented a depression. I can just tell you we didn’t have one,” he said.

No Compromise Bush said a cornerstone of his embryonic stem cell policy is his belief that all life is precious.

“I believe our nation is better when we honored life, in its later stages and in its earlier stages. That’s a principle from which I would not compromise,” he said.

During one gala evening each year, nationally recognized leaders of today share their successes and struggles, their hopes and dreams, their failures and lessons learned, and their vision for the future that moves them – and a nation – to greatness.

It is the annual University of Mobile Leadership Banquet, an evening of inspiration and excitement which raises financial support for the university’s annual scholarship fund. In the six years since its inception, the celebration has raised the profile of UMobile into a vibrant, nationally respected university.

Previous speakers have included former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich, former Georgia Gov. and retired U.S. Sen. Zell Miller, former Florida Gov. “I believe that a university like Jeb Bush, and New York Mobile is uniquely different…

Times best-selling author and because the purpose is not just to motivational speaker equip the students to be academically Andy Andrews. capable, but to be on a mission so “The importance of the Leadership Banquet to the life of the university cannot be overestimated,” said Brian Boyle, vice president for institutional advancement.

Boyle said the Leadership Banquet is the primary fundraising event for the university, and is the main support for the annual scholarship fund. It provides the money the university uses to offer institutional scholarships – those funded each year by the university and not through specific ongoing endowments, grants or loans.

that wherever they go in life, they go with a sense of purpose …”

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee2008 Banquet

“There is a really important role in these trying times we’re living in for a high quality Christian education.

I applaud the mission of the University of Mobile …”

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush 2007 Banquet

“…In the right campus, at the right moment, with the right class, you can have an amazing impact that can last a lifetime. I really think that is the mission of the University of Mobile …”

Boyle said the event provides UMobile students Former Speaker of the with an educational U.S. House of Representatives experience as well as Newt Gingrich 2005 Banquet scholarships. Students are involved in many aspects of the banquet, giving them access to national leaders and the experience of working side-by-side with university staff on a major event. Ensembles from the Center for Performing Arts provide the banquet entertainment. Students from all disciplines greet guests, assist with ticket sales, help with press conferences, share their university experiences with donors, and serve as a visible reminder of the purpose of the fundraiser – to prepare the next generation of Christian leaders. Boyle said while the majority of the keynote speakers are national political leaders, the intent of the banquet is not political in nature.

“The idea of leadership is the overriding theme – of making a difference in your area of influence whether it is in your workplace, community, church or home. We bring in leaders who have made a difference in our nation and the world, so that we can hear about the challenges they faced as leaders and how they overcame them,” Boyle said. The experience not only leaves an impression on the audience – it also introduces UMobile to national leaders who recognize the importance and influence of the university.

umobile.edu 29

‘All the time.’’

He told his senior staff, “Surely, those of us who live in the most blessed nation ever, when we hear, ‘God is good,’ we can say, ‘All the time.’”

“The knife in this box is the tool of a defender,” Foley said.

“On behalf of our families, our community, our university, and from one son of Texas to another, I hope you enjoy it.”

God is Good, All the Time He believes that to whom much is given, much is required.

“I know that’s how many of you live your life individually, and for that, I applaud you. I also believed it was in the nation’s interest to act that way collectively,” he said.

That principle influenced his decision to focus the nation’s efforts on combating the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa. He said it was important both from a humanitarian perspective and for national security.

“You see, we face an enemy that can only recruit hopeless people. And there’s nothing more hopeless than to see your mom and dad die of AIDS and nobody do anything about it,” he said.

Bush welcomed faith-based groups 30 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

to the program. Toward the end of his presidency, he and Laura were visiting one such abstinence-based program in Rwanda. About 50 teenagers were there, most of whom had lost their parents to HIV/AIDS. “Something moved me – the Spirit moved me, let’s say that – and I walked by them and said, ‘God is good!’ And without hesitation, they said, ‘All the time.’

“It was a startling moment. So I tried it again, ‘God is good.’ ‘All the time.’

Back at the White House, he called in his senior staff and related the moment.

“I see 50 kids, incredibly despondent,” he said. “You’d think if I said, ‘God is good,’ they’d say, ‘God doesn’t exist.’ But instead, they said,

Most Influential President Bush said it may surprise some people to know that he is a big reader – he read at least 12 biographies of Abraham Lincoln during his presidency and rarely watched television.

“I was in the Bible every morning my entire presidency, and I read in the evenings,” he said.

He admired Lincoln for making what Bush said was the greatest presidential decision, to keep the United States whole and that the peace with the South would be non-punitive so the country could eventually unite.

Lincoln had a vision for the country, and he stood on the principle that all men are created equal under God. “He could have easily left that ‘under God’ part out, or he could have said, ‘maybe not all of us.’ But Lincoln said, ‘All men are created equal under God.’ I think that’s one of the great statements of principle ever in our nation’s history.

“I learned from Lincoln that it doesn’t matter what they say about you; what matters is where do you stand,” Bush said.

Commander-in-Chief Bush said he misses the experience of being commander-in-chief of the United States military.

“It is an amazing experience to salute people who volunteer in the face of danger,” he said.

Meeting with families of the fallen was emotional for him as well as for the families, he said. Most of the families would tell him their loved one died doing what they wanted

to do, to serve the county. And they would tell him not to make decisions about their loved ones based upon a Gallup poll.

The toughest decision as president “is to put somebody in harm’s way, because the consequences are forever for that family if the person loses their life,” he said. Authorizing the surge in Iraq, which deployed more than 20,000 soldiers in 2007, was a hard decision.

“But you know what drove it for me? Putting 20,000 more troops in when everybody was saying, ‘get out’? One: I believed in the universality of freedom, and two: I remembered the voices of the mothers,” he said.

A Charge to Keep One painting on the wall of the Oval Office is a Colorado scene titled “A Charge to Keep” by W.H.D. Koerner, a great western artist. It is based on the hymn by Charles Wesley, “A Charge to Keep I Have,” which talks about serving God. The hymn was sung at Bush’s gubernatorial inauguration at a Methodist church in Texas, and it hung on the wall in the Oval Office as a reminder of his faith.

“I want to tell you something about America,” he said. “The thing that makes America great is we get to choose how we worship. The government doesn’t choose for us.

If you want to be a Muslim, Jew, Christian, nothing, vegan, it doesn’t matter. We’re all Americans. And the right to worship or not worship should be inviolate, and no politician, no president, ought to tell anybody how they worship the Almighty God or not worship.

“Having said that, I don’t see how you can be president without a faith,” he said. “The biggest surprise of my presidency was the fact that people’s prayers, prayers from total strangers, comforted us and strengthened me

in a way that I could never describe to you. And for those of you who prayed, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for that beautiful gift,” he said.

Resolute The desk Bush chose to sit behind in the Oval Office was known as the Resolute. It was made from wood from the British Navy’s H.M.S. Resolute and was given to the U.S.

by Queen Victoria as a symbol of the special relationship between the nations.

“The toughest guy and the most consistent guy I dealt with was (British Prime Minister) Tony Blair.

This may come as a surprise to you, but sometimes politicians will look you in the eye and say something they don’t mean. Even happened at my level. When Blair gave his word, he kept it. He was awesome as a friend and a leader. And the desk reminded me of that relationship,” Bush said.

It was the desk where Franklin Roosevelt sat, and John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.

“Here’s what you learn, when you’re sitting in the Oval Office, hopefully making principled decisions that will lead to a better tomorrow.

You learn you’re not it. You learn you’re part of something much bigger than yourself. And that’s really what makes America great. You see, the institution of the presidency is more than the person who occupies the office. Presidents will come and go; we’ll all have our weaknesses, and we’ll all have our strengths. But the ship of state will sail on.”

There were a lot of decisions to make in the Oval Office.

“My job isn’t just to make decisions.

My job was to strengthen the institution by bringing honor and dignity to the office, which I tried to do for eight glorious years as your president,” Bush concluded.

A Special Gift As the audience rose to its feet in a thunderous standing ovation, UMobile President Mark Foley presented Bush with a handcrafted Bowie knife created by Foley and Mobile physician Dr. Bill Dumas.

The work in steel, brass and wood, inspired by Alamo defender James Bowie, is engraved with words President Bush spoke on 9/11: “Freedom will be defended.” Foley created the brass and steel blade and Dumas carved the handle from African zebra wood.

“The knife in this box is the tool of a defender,” Foley said.

“On behalf of our families, our community, our university, and from one son of Texas to another, I hope you enjoy it.” m

Reserve Your Seat

There is a seat for you at the 7th annual University of Mobile Leadership Banquet!

Make plans now to attend this premiere event in Fall 2011. To add your name to the invitation list, call the Leadership Banquet Office at 251.442.2237 or email your name and contact information to Banquet2011@ umobile.edu.

Our next keynote speaker and banquet date will be announced in a few months. You don’t want to miss it!

umobile.edu 31

32 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

By Kathy Dean

U

niversity of Mobile students were on their feet, screaming wildly as the final seconds ticked down.

A win was just a point away when the fans started that familiar cheer.

“Go Knights!”

Knights?

That’s what might have been. But members of the first freshman class of brand new Mobile College took their responsibility for choosing a mascot seriously, recalled Tom Strong, ’67, first student body president.

“We decided there was some controversy with knights, some criticism of the Crusades and the massacres that occurred. So we left that alone,” said Strong, now retired associate vice president and dean of students emeritus at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa.

Dr. Gene Perkins, first chairman of the physical education department and the only member of the charter faculty still teaching at UMobile, had his own recommendation.

“They asked me my opinion of what I thought would be a good mascot, and I suggested the saints, since we were a religious school. They didn’t seem to like that too much,” Perkins said.

When the students at Mobile College chose a ram as the mascot for the college, John Dodd, left, superintendent of buildings and grounds, presented the ram on behalf of his brother, Paul Dodd. The ram, named Ramses I, was accepted by the president of the student body, Tom Strong, center. Founding president Dr. William K. Weaver Jr., right, looks on. Members of Alpha Phi Omega and Circle K service fraternities, along with members of MC’s first intramural teams, posed for the historic snapshot.

This identification tag was discovered more than 20 years ago in a key cabinet on campus. umobile.edu 33

Top to Bottom: MC Ram had his bags packed for the NAIA National Championship basketball tournament in Kansas City, as pictured in the March 1988 Torchlight magazine.

MC Ram in the October 1989 Torchlight John Dodd, first superintendent of buildings and grounds, took care of Ramses I at the upper pond, with help from members of Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity.

Left: Photo in the University of Mobile archives of one of the four Ramses mascots at Mobile College.

34 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

“You want a strong mascot, something that shows strength and power. The ram is a durable animal…”

In the end, the Rams won the vote, leaving the knights and other possibilities – pioneers, bucks, elephants and falcons – to a footnote in the history of the university.

A Heritage of Strength “We were a college with no mascot, no colors, no newspaper, no annual, no traditions – no anything.

It was important to begin to have some of that to create an identity and closeness among students,” remembered Strong.

He said founding president Dr. William K. Weaver Jr. called him to the president’s office to discuss the need for a mascot and school colors soon after the first class of 181 students started in fall 1963.

“We tried to start something that in a few years wouldn’t be tossed out,” said Iris Anderson, ’67, organist at Dauphin Way Baptist in Mobile.

“We tried to leave a heritage” for generations of future students.

In addition to the mascot, students chose maroon and white for school colors, named the yearbook the Rampage and the school newspaper Jubilee –which tied into the ram theme after a dictionary search proved the Hebrew origin of the word related to the use of a ram’s horn as a trumpet to proclaim the jubilee year. As for the ram, it was an animal mentioned frequently in the Bible.

It was a good choice, said current athletic director and head basketball coach Joe Niland.

“You want a strong mascot, something that shows strength and power. The ram is a durable animal,” he said.

I Belong to Mobile College For more than 20 years, a round metal dog tag has lain in the bottom of a desk drawer in the office of

Vicki Burgin, ’04, director of campus operations. She found it in a key drawer when she was working for then-vice president Dr. Leon Pirkle.

It reads: Ramses I Belong to Mobile College

The identification tag belonged to one of four live rams that served as university mascots from 1963 to the late 1970s.

“Our group came up with the idea that if we had a mascot, we needed to see if we could have a live one,” said Tom Holmes, ’67, a member of Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity whose membership included about 63 former or current Boy Scouts. John Dodd, first superintendent of buildings and grounds, had a solution.

“My brother Paul had a good friend in western Mobile County who had sheep,” recalled Dodd, and he brought the first live ram mascot to a half-acre pen at his home in Satsuma until a place could be found on campus.

Dodd, now a retired chaplain, pastor and missionary, quickly learned an aspect of the ram’s nature that students would soon discover.

“I remember one time my youngest daughter, Joyce, was out in the garden and she bent over to pick something up. I said, ‘Joyce, don’t bend over!’

But it was too late. Ramses butted her in the posterior anatomy,” Dodd said, laughing at the memory.

Holmes said the name “Ramses” was the result of students searching for a name that included the word “ram,” while also taking a freshman class on the history of western civilization and the pharaohs of ancient Egypt.

Ramses I was presented to the freshman class in what is now Weaver

Auditorium, where chapel was held.

“Dr. Weaver and I sat out in front on stage, and Ramses was in a cage behind the curtains. Dr. Weaver made the introduction, pulled back the curtain, and there he was,” said class president Strong.

“It was a beautiful animal. His horns were gorgeous,” said Bob Culver, ’67, administrator of Top of Alabama Regional Council of Governments in Huntsville, Ala. Holmes said APO members built a shelter inside the gates that surrounded the upper sewage retaining pond on campus -- known among students as the lagoon or Weaver Lake.

“Our group agreed to take turns making sure he was fed,” Holmes said, adding that Dodd probably handled the majority of ram care.

He said Ramses I was trotted out on a rope when students held pep rallies for intramural teams during the second year of the college’s existence.

“Since he’d been around people a good bit, he wasn’t a danger to anybody and didn’t get skittish. The butting of people was part of his way of paying attention to you and you paying attention to him,” said Holmes, executive director of The Arc of Alabama.

Ram Tales Tom Strong took his responsibility as charter class president seriously, so when students at the new University of South Alabama kidnapped Ramses I and painted “USA” on his side, Strong took action.

Using a drop spreader and leftover ryegrass seed from his minister of music at Spring Hill Baptist Church, Strong wrote a big “MC” in a clearing in front of USA’s administration building just before Christmas holidays. When students returned to umobile.edu 35

“We knew that the mascot would be around children during basketball games and we didn’t want the mascot to frighten them…” school in January, there was a bright patch of MC grass on the lawn.

The prank made the news.

“I felt as SGA president I needed to do something to revenge what they had done to the ram,” Strong said.

A shearing and mowing eventually returned both ram and lawn to their pre-prank state.

The reign of each ram isn’t clear from university records, and there were periods when no ram was in residence at Weaver Lake. Ramses I died on April 2, 1971.

When a ram wasn’t available, a goat would do, as Rick Cagle, ’75, recalled.

He remembered students bringing a goat from his family’s farm into chapel one day and presenting it to history professor Mr. William Ward.

“The goat made several deposits of an unsavory nature,” said Cagle, pastor of Crosspoint Baptist in Mobile and owner of RMC Management.

Phil Newton, ’76, remembers lassoing Ramses with a lariat at Weaver Lake, bringing him to Pharr Gym, then hiding him beneath a stairwell. The plan was to trot Ramses out during a break between cityleague basketball games in a show of support for the Mobile College home team.

“We started trotting the mascot out and he defecated all over the place.

We were rolling, but Coach Terry Hopper didn’t think it was quite as funny as we did,” Newton said.

The June 1977 Torchlight magazine pictures the last live ram mascot, Ramses IV, standing calmly between incoming SGA president Bruce Chesser, ’78, and outgoing president Albert Lipscomb, ’77. Ramses IV was a gift to MC students from Lipscomb’s father, Ira Lipscomb of Foley, Ala. The ram wasn’t a large part of campus life during that period, said Chesser, senior pastor of First Baptist 36 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

Hendersonville in Tennessee.

That changed with the arrival of intercollegiate athletics in 1985.

MC Ram Jimmy Messer, ’91 & ’98, remembers the first two-legged mascot fondly, but he spoke with a coach’s blunt assessment about the costume.

“It was ugly,” said Messer, now dean of students and boy’s varsity head basketball coach at St. Paul’s Episcopal School in Mobile.

Messer served as student manager of the new men’s basketball team as first athletic director and men’s head basketball coach Dr. Bill Elder set out to build an intercollegiate athletic program in 1985.

“Coach Elder had this persona that you wouldn’t just go up and talk to him before the ballgame. I remember the Ram messing with him a little bit, coming up and putting an arm on Coach Elder’s shoulder. He’d always act like he enjoyed it, but he wasn’t enjoying it. He had a look like, ‘okay that’s funny, now move on,” Messer recalled.

Elder said that first ram costume “didn’t look all that good,” but that it was an important first step in starting an athletic program from scratch. For a while the mascot didn’t have a name and students, perhaps remembering stories of the live ram’s penchant for butting, referred to the new mascot as “butt-head.”

“We had some pretty crazy fans back then,” said Elder, who retired after a lengthy career coaching college basketball and has written several books.

By 1987, the university’s Torchlight magazine refers to “MC Ram” leading the Davidson High School band during the college’s homecoming parade, and in 1988 he is pictured with his bags packed for the NAIA

national championship in Kansas City.

Brian Naugher, ’93, was among several students who wore the costume.

“I fell out of the bleachers once,” remembered the executive director of sales and marketing for Ranger Land Systems in Huntsville, Ala. “I had gone up to make fun of (thenpresident) Dr. Mike Magnoli, ’67, and when I came down, my foot caught the bottom edge and I just wiped out.”

Naugher, who also served as the voice of the Rams and announced games, said he knew which referees he could mess with and which ones to leave alone.

“I had a blast doing it,” Naugher said. “I remember the (basketball) games were just packed out. People were standing on the balcony.”

Mary Reeves Shirey, ’89, put down her Miss Mobile College crown one year and picked up the MC Ram head the next, serving as mascot for several games. The head must have weighed 50 pounds, she said.

“I have no idea what happened to that head. It was atrocious. By the time you were done (performing), you needed a massage,” she added.

By 1989 the pep band was playing the fan song, “A Ram I Am,” written by local legendary WALA-TV weather forecaster John Edd Thompson and local musician Herbet Zoghby. No copies remain of the song in university archives, and Thompson said his copy was lost when his Dauphin Island home was destroyed during a hurricane.

Mac the Ram In the early 1990s the university took the big step of investing in a high-quality costume from a company known nationally for designing and producing college mascot costumes.

Janice Pittman Britton,’75, then in

Today, Mac and Molly continue to represent the University of Mobile at athletic and campus events, plus community events such as the Senior Bowl.

charge of marketing for the college, said she and Coach Elder revised initial drawings of the ram, making the eyes blue and the expression friendly.

“We knew that the mascot would be around children during basketball games and we didn’t want the mascot to frighten them,” said Britton, a partner with her husband in Design Innovations industrial design company in Mobile.

At the same time, the mascot needed to look like a winner – aggressive, strong and intimidating – said Kim Burgess Leousis, ’86 &’89, then director of admissions.

Leousis, now vice president for enrollment, campus life and athletics, said the 1990s saw the development of a strong mascot program, with scholarships for mascots and cheerleaders.

Several students shared mascot duties during the first year of the new costume, until Cary Lowery, ’96, tried out for the position.

“There was something about putting the head on – when I got in character, something just happened,” said Lowery, area director for Fellowship of Christian Athletes in southern Alabama.

By 1995, with the new moniker “Mac the Ram” which retained the MC from Mobile College days, the mascot helped newly renamed University of Mobile establish a presence on the athletic field and in the community.

Mac would ride in a convertible through a fast-food drive-thru in Saraland. He appeared at the Mobile Regional Airport, waving at travelers in the terminal and finally visiting pilots in the cockpit of an airplane. He road a golf cart around campus, drove into a basketball game on a motor

An early design for the first professional mascot costume shows the fierce yet friendly face of Mac the Ram. With the help of student Cary Lowery, Mac was named No. 2 mascot in the nation in 1996.

scooter, and arrived at a game dressed as Cleopatra and carried on a litter by cheerleaders.

Athletic director Niland remembers an experience with Mac during this period, when he was head basketball coach of UMobile’s cross-town rival umobile.edu 37

“A female ram is a ewe, and somebody wanted to name her Eunice, but we didn’t think that was very cute…”

Spring Hill College, the Badgers.

“We played SHC vs. Mobile three times at the Mobile Civic Center.

There were terrific crowds, about 5,000 people. As a coach, you’re trying to get the players to focus on the game. The guys on the bench were saying, ‘hey coach, it’s the Ram and Badger in a fight over there’ on the sidelines while the game was going on.

“When we got the video tape, with those big heads on, it was like rock-em-sock-em robots. It was the funniest doggone game. You wouldn’t believe how many people after the game talked about the two mascots fighting instead of the game, which had come down to overtime or a last-second shot. It was the hot topic,” Niland said.

With Lowery’s help, Mac was selected as the No. 2 mascot in the nation in the 1996 National Championship for Mascots.

Lowery still has fond memories of his years as Mac – and the first costume in his closet.

Mac and Molly Mac’s girlfriend Molly made her debut in 2005 with Kimberly Sisk Neely, ’07, playing the part of the new sidekick.

“The audience loved her,” Neely said. “She brought a whole new dimension to the mascots. I think she made Mac stand out more. We were always playing off each other.”

Amy Greene Mercer, ’99, then cheerleading coach, said students named the new mascot.

“A female ram is a ewe, and somebody wanted to name her Eunice, but we didn’t think that was very cute,” said Mercer, now a member of the Attack professional dance/cheer team for the Jacksonville, Fla., Sharks arena football league.

38 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

Molly was smaller than Mac -- a “girlie girl” in a cute cheerleader outfit, bow on her head, blush on her cheeks, and big flirty eyelashes.

“She would walk with a little skip and her hands would always be out, especially her right hand, parallel to the ground. I would blow kisses and give a curtsey, wiggle my shoulders up and down like I was shy, give a prissy wave, and act bashful. She was really fun,” Neely said.

Once, at Spring Hill College, Molly flirted with the badger mascot, upsetting Mac and sparking a sideline show that kept the audience laughing.

Ram Pride Putting on the mascot costume and becoming Mac is “probably the most fun thing I did,” said Thom Dumas, ’07, who wore an updated Mac costume that gave the ram a slightly more cartoon-ish and friendly look.

It was also a learning experience.

Through antics such as “harassing” the band, being chased by security guards, and “arguing” with referees, the youth director at Providence United Methodist Church in Spanish Fort, Ala., said he learned “it’s easier to ask forgiveness than it is to ask permission.” It is a life lesson that has helped him build a church youth program from the ground up.

And there is something else.

“There is a sense of pride,” he said.

Vice President Kim Leousis feels that as well.

From her vantage point as a student worker in the new athletics office, then a graduate and now an administrator overseeing programs including athletics and cheerleading, she has been involved in the development of the mascot through the years.

Sometimes, when a student isn’t available to wear the costumes, her

children Collin and Nikki will become Mac and Molly. The children and grandchildren of staff and alumni take turns being Mac and Molly as well.

“I would have never thought when I was a student here that I was at the beginning of something I would see to fruition,” she said, in a voice choked with emotion. “It’s been a privilege.”

She said the college’s first class made a good choice.

“I’m glad they had the foresight to choose a mascot, because we’ve grown into it. It just seemed right.

There was never any discussion about changing it,” Leousis said.

“I think it fits us pretty well.”

A Ram Legacy Beginning with the Class of 2004, graduating classes have contributed funds toward a class gift that will remain on the campus through the years and add to the UMobile experience. Benches and swings, chimes in Lyon Chapel, gifts to the Mike Blaylock Endowed Scholarship Fund, picnic tables, a courtyard outside Ram Hall – all were class gifts.

The class of 2007 presented the university with an aluminum statue of a ram. Positioned at the triangle of land between Weaver Hall and residence halls, the Ram has become a photo spot for students and alumni.

And, just as Ramses I through IV, MC Ram, Mac and Molly, it has attracted its share of pranksters who dress the Ram in a variety of creative costumes.

Elizabeth Prater Mahan, ’04, was alumni director and worked with the class to raise funds for a project she said leaves its mark on the campus – and on the people who make up the University of Mobile family through the years.

“In a lot of ways, a university is branded by its mascot. When you drive on campus, having that ram

The Class of 2007 raised funds to have this ram statue placed at the triangle between Weaver Hall and new Ram Hall and residence halls.

standing tall on our campus gives you a sense of pride,” Mahan said.

“I’m proud to be a Ram.” A Surprise Appearance After a long hiatus, a live ram once again walks the University of Mobile campus. The occasion was the Oct. 19, 2010 soccer match-up with conference rival William Carey. Touted as “a big game with lots of surprises,” the event drew enthusiastic Rams fans – and a special guest.

“We rented a ram from Uncle Joe’s Rolling Zoo here in Mobile,” said Greg Johnson, ’10, a campus life coordinator. “We paid $150 an hour to have him come out, so it is pricey. We did get a whole rolling zoo, though, with bunnies, a baby calf, a miniature horse, goats and sheep. The children at the game really seemed to enjoy the petting zoo.”

As the final seconds of the game ticked down, Mac and Molly and a real, albeit rented, ram were on the sidelines. In the stands and lining the fence at The Jungle soccer field, University of Mobile students and fans started that familiar cheer.

The Ram statue became a focal point for photos during a rare snowfall on the university campus in 2009.

“Go Rams!” m

The ram made an appearance at the October 2010 soccer match against conference rival William Carey.

umobile.edu 39

Center for Leadership Aims to Transform America

Twelve23 Movement Key to National Transformation

By Kathy Dean

H

ow do you transform a nation which has drifted away from God? Who will take a stand?

“Our nation needs leaders – Godfearing, God-honoring, influential, courageous leaders in families, in businesses, in public school systems, in the judiciary, in media, in ministry and in public office – and we need them now,” said University of Mobile President Dr. Mark Foley. “We must revive and protect the concept of honoring God on His terms in this land.”

To do this, the university’s new Center for Leadership has embraced the goal of transforming America by strengthening Christian faith and character in all areas of public and private life. It is part of UMobile’s strategic plan, 2020 Vision, which focuses the university on becoming a nationally recognized leader of revitalization of Christian faith and character in a nation that has distanced itself from God. 2020 Vision builds upon the university’s ideals of competency in work, vibrancy in Jesus Christ, and courage in leadership, and aims to expand those ideals from the campus in Mobile, Alabama, to the national stage.

40 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

To accomplish this, the new Center for Leadership under the direction of Dr. Joe Savage,’91, has launched the Twelve23 Movement. In just a few short months, the Twelve23 Movement has captured the hearts and minds of thousands of people who are signing “The Twelve23 Contract” online at www.twelve23.org.

It is a personal commitment to participate with God in a cultural and spiritual restoration of America.

It is a movement that draws its inspiration from the example of Private Martin.

Private Martin’s Stand “Seventy years ago in World War II, thousands of young Americans risked or lost their lives in defense of the United States.

They prevailed.

In so doing, they secured a future of freedom and the opportunity in which we now stand to endorse foundational American principles of life and belief.

Photo courtesy of Mobile Press-Register

umobile.edu 41

“Well, Buddy, just pull your vehicle behind me. I’m 82nd Airborne and this is as far as the ‘enemy’ is going.”

Humble, Pray, Seek, Turn The heart of the Twelve23 Movement lies in 2 Chronicles 7:14: “If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Humble. Pray. Seek. Turn.

“There’s our responsibility,” Foley said. “A nation is at stake. We must stand in honor of God and stand together as persons of faith and as American citizens. It’s time to commit, 42 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

The Twelve23 Pledge Now, more than ever, our country needs committed individuals who will lead our nation to honor God in the JudeoChristian tradition; who are willing to take personal responsibility for family, for community, and for the nation at large; and who will pledge their faithful participation in the process of assuring that our nation remains great.

We invite you to sign the Twelve23 Pledge for America at www.twelve23.org.

$

The Pledge I am a citizen of the United States of America. I love my country, and I will defend the Constitution of this great nation.

I believe that America was founded upon Judeo-Christian values that must be maintained as prescribed by our founding fathers.

I believe that God desires to be honored, and that I have a responsibility to honor Him. I believe that the concepts of responsibility to God, responsibility to country, and responsibility to others are essential to the health and welfare of our nation.

I believe in the responsible exercise of capitalism, and I reject socialism in any form.

I believe marriage exists only between a man and a woman and that the family must be preserved as the core strength of our nation.

I believe it to be my responsibility to provide for myself and for my family, and to assist those in need as I am able.

I believe a strong military is essential to the protection of liberty, and I have a responsibility to honor and support those men and women who valiantly serve our nation.

Therefore, as one who loves this country, I pledge my honor to God and my allegiance to America. I commit to lead our nation to the concepts for which our founding fathers were willing to die - a government by the people and the exercise of individual liberty - with firm reliance upon Almighty God.

$

One of the stories that emerged from that war has inspired our thought,” Foley said.

In December 1944, an entire American armored division was retreating from the German army in the Ardennes Forest when a sergeant in a U.S. tank destroyer spotted a lone American soldier digging a foxhole. The soldier, a private named Martin from the 325th glider infantry regiment, looked up and asked, “You men looking for a safe place?” “Yes,” answered the tanker sergeant. Martin replied, “Well, Buddy, just pull your vehicle behind me. I’m 82nd Airborne and this is as far as the (enemy) is going.”

Foley said, “The attitude of that young soldier is the attitude that men and women of faith in Christ must adopt if America is to be transformed.”

The event occurred on Dec. 23, 1944. That date, 12.23, is the title of the Twelve23 Movement.

“But there is another 12.23 to be considered,” Foley said, pointing to the words of Christ recorded in John 12:23: “Jesus answered them saying, ‘The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.’”

to lead, and to transform America.”

It’s Time “Transforming a nation comes down to transforming a city, which comes down to transforming an individual,” said Savage, director of the Center for Leadership. The Twelve23 Movement focuses on the individual’s responsibility to humble self, pray, seek God, and turn away from sin.

One of the early initiatives of the Twelve23 Movement was a call for individuals to commit to pray for the nation each day at 12:23 a.m. or p.m. during the month before the mid-term elections. The focus culminated in a prayer rally on election day, Nov. 2, in Bienville Square in the heart of downtown Mobile, Ala. Christians of many denominations gathered to honor God and celebrate their freedom as Americans to pray and vote.

Now the focus turns to empowering individuals by providing the resources, information, encouragement and support to stand for God in all areas of their life.

Savage said specific resources are being developed for professionals and leaders in fields of business, education, entertainment, law, media, medicine and ministry. The resources include weekly emails, webcasts, seminars and events. Signing the Twelve23 Pledge places individuals on the email list with access to information about these resources, such as the recent seminar on “The Church and the Moral Crisis of Our Time” for pastors and ministry leaders which focused on issues of separation between church and state.

Also, University of Mobile students participated in a Heritage Foundation conference in February, “Seek the Welfare of the City.” The two-night conference introduced the audience

to a conservative vision for social justice by highlighting compassionate solutions to poverty and suffering that serve to preserve human dignity and personal responsibility.

The Twelve23 Movement is already attracting national attention, as national conservative columnist Quin Hillyer with The American Spectator wrote in his blog: “The University of Mobile, a growing and impressive private institution in southern Alabama, has launched an ambitious

project … this prayer movement is meant not to be local, but national. It’s meant not to bolster the university, but instead to bolster this country.

And while the university is Baptist, this project is decidedly ecumenical.

Again, it’s well worth a look.”

Your Personal Invitation “I invite you to join with the University of Mobile in what by any human measure is an impossible objective – to realize the revitalization

of Christian faith and character in America by the year 2020,” Foley said.

“It is the most far-reaching thing you will ever consider and quite possibly the most important of your life. For if we succeed, we will have participated with God in the transformation of a nation for His purpose in the lives of our children and our grandchildren.

“And we begin with the Twelve23 Movement.”m

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umobile.edu 43

Gabi Constantine President, SchoolinSites Co-owner, PC Mac Chairman, University of Mobile Board of Trustees

Photo by Dan Anderson

44 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

Living the

G

abi Constantine is no stranger to tough times. Mistreated for his faith and ridiculed for being different, his life as a child in Lebanon was chaotic.

“Those tough times shaped me,” he said.

Today, as president of SchoolinSites, a company ranked among the top five in the United States for school and district web hosting and design, Constantine is proof that determination and hard work lead to success.

“I’m living the American dream,” Constantine said.

Tough Times, Tough Choices When Constantine was born, Lebanon was a nation with many freedoms – even more freedoms than in the U.S. “But freedom without boundaries creates chaos,” he said, and the nation had its own unique rules that revolved around religion.

“Religion ruled everything. The president of the country had to be a Maronite Catholic. The prime minister had to be a Sunni Muslim.

The Speaker of the House had to be a Shiite Muslim. There was always that tension between religions,” he said.

In that environment, when Constantine’s father responded to a call to ministry as a Southern Baptist – a call that was ignited through the work of Southern Baptist missionaries -- the effect was to turn his back on his Catholic family.

“There was persecution on both sides, from Catholics and Muslims.

If you left your faith, you basically left your family and started over,”

American Dream

By Kathy Dean

Constantine explained. His father, who was a partner in a laundry business with his brother, literally walked into the business one day and told him, “It is yours.”

His father went to a seminary supported by the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, then moved to an area where he, his wife and two sons were the only believers. None of the merchants would trade with them, people crossed to the opposite side of the street to avoid them, and death threats were common. His father had opportunities to go to more hospitable areas, but wouldn’t hear of it.

Five years later, one man accepted Christ as his personal savior.

It was into this environment that Constantine was born and reared.

“I accepted that I was different,” he said. “Growing up in that environment shaped my character a great deal. For example, I knew every day at school I was going to be ridiculed. The world was looking at us to see if we were living our faith, exemplifying Christ. At that early age, I had to make a choice.

“I grew up not being very concerned about how people viewed me as long as I was holding tight to my values. It allowed me to be more of a thinker and really not be concerned with pleasing anybody. It made me more productive, not having to deal with the peer pressure,” he said.

It would get worse.

His oldest brother, John, left Lebanon to study in the United States.

Through Southern Baptist connections he enrolled at Mobile College, graduating in 1973 with a bachelor of arts in psychology then returned to

Lebanon to work in the government’s education department.

Pete Dunn, who along with wife Pat served as a Southern Baptist missionary in Lebanon and worked closely with Constantine’s father, said the first Lebanese student at Mobile College was Nitsa Hindeleh.

“She came back to Lebanon during her junior year and she talked about the Christian atmosphere and the scholarships,” said Dunn, who today is an adjunct instructor in the UMobile School of Christian Studies. He said the evangelical Christian community in Lebanon was closely knit, so word of the school spread to students like John.

A civil war began in 1975 when Constantine was 14 years old. A year later John returned to the U.S. to continue his studies, along with the rest of Constantine’s older brothers and sisters. Constantine and a younger sibling stayed behind with their parents.

“Automatically, I became the elder son,” Constantine said. “I started leading the worship in services at a very young age. I started driving the school bus. Suddenly you are the only one there and your parents start leaning on you.”

The instability of the region impacted daily life.

“Every single day everything could be different. Every day you woke up thinking, ‘My world is going to be upside down today.’ Imagine 9/11 every day,” he said.

In 1978 a church in Brooklyn, N.Y., needed a pastor to minister to the Arabic-speaking community and called Constantine’s father. The family decided to emigrate.

umobile.edu 45

Gabi Constantine and his mother Najla Constantine at Martyr square in Beirut Lebanon.

Constantine wouldn’t know this until later, but a major factor in the family’s decision to leave Lebanon was the expectation that a young man Constantine’s age would join one of the many militias that were fighting the bloody civil war. It was either join the fight or leave the country.

The Constantines left. But they didn’t get far.

For three months they waited in Jordan for the official paperwork that would allow them to emigrate.

On Nov. 7, 1978, Constantine celebrated his 18th birthday in limbo, waiting.

“Mom looked at me and said, ‘Son, I can’t give you a birthday gift this year, but maybe going to America will be a good enough gift.’”

The American Dream While the paperwork finally came through, the pastorate in Brooklyn didn’t. The church had dissolved. But Bethany Baptist Church in Prichard, Ala., where John had attended as a student, had a place for the family.

The church, now Kushla-Bethany Baptist, had embraced several students and families from Arab nations, as a result of a friendship between pastor Alvin Sullivan and evangelist Anis Shorrosh, a Palestinian living in the Mobile area.

“Brother Sullivan and Mrs. (Dolores) Sullivan were there to help us get on our feet,” Constantine recalled. His father returned to Lebanon for nine months to finish some business, while Constantine, his mother, sister and brother lived in an apartment above the garage at the church pastorium.

The church played a huge role in the family’s assimilation into American culture – a rebirth that was both joyful and painful.

“I wanted to come to America. It was a dead end for us in Lebanon,” 46 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

Constantine said. Yet once he was faced with the move, it was nearly more than he could bear. For almost a year and a half he mourned the loss of his former life, wanting to go back, wondering if the move was worth it.

Sullivan, pastor of the nowcombined Kushla-Bethany Baptist Church, recalled visiting the local immigration office and signing an affidavit that he would sponsor the Constantine family and be responsible for them. The Constantines were one of three families the church helped bring over from the Middle East during a period of several years.

“They were very fine people and very responsible, and we really appreciated getting to know them.

I’m thankful we had a part in their lives,” Sullivan said. Constantine, he said, “had a very good personality. He meets people and they like him. He always seemed to want to learn and to achieve, and to improve himself and do what he was supposed to do. I think that helped him move forward.”

Brother Sullivan took Constantine from place to place looking for a job, and he landed a spot at the warehouse for Greer’s family-owned grocery chain. Constantine had never before seen a warehouse. With his schoolbook knowledge of English, upon hearing that a supervisor had been fired, “Literally I thought, these people will set someone on fire” for a bad job performance.

He would work all night, drive his younger brother to school the next morning, then take college classes.

In a few years he married Kim Lewis and a year later they had David, the first of two children. In less than three years from the time he first saw the warehouse, he was running it. By age 27, he had gone as far as he could go in the family-owned business.

He started looking for a position with another company that would have room to grow his career.

Nothing seemed right, and several years passed.

In the meantime, John had started PC Mac, a technology company in Birmingham that sold computers and printers to the government. A minister at heart, John invited Gabi to become a partner in the business with the goal of allowing John to focus more on ministry as Gabi took on a lead role in the company. Their hope was that the business would provide enough income so John could be completely devoted to ministry, particularly his desire to minister to the Arabic-speaking community in the Birmingham area.

The business met a need, bridging the gap between PC and Mac support and showing companies how to enhance their networks. As the computer industry grew and changed, “by 1997 computing had advanced to where we were the equivalent of the Maytag repairman,” Constantine said.

“We both decided that was not really how we wanted to live life.”

“We decided to be part of the internet revolution,” Constantine said.

In 2000 they were one of the thriving dot-coms. In 2001 they were part of the dot-com bust.

They changed their business model and launched SchoolinSites (www. schoolinsites.com). The company’s proprietary software focuses on improving communication between schools, school districts, parents and

Story performs at the 8th annual University of Mobile Christmas Spectacular.

Photo by G.M. Andrews

the community. Today, SchoolinSites is used in more than 2,000 schools in over 300 school districts across 40 states.More than 60 percent of the school systems in Alabama use the software, which allows teachers to post classroom assignments, schools to send announcements and newsletters by email, and schools to maintain individual websites and online communities. PC Mac provides services such as web access and infrastructure for SchoolinSites. And other companies are being created, such as an IP video business that broadcasts over the internet.

The businesses have been so successful that profits enabled John to go into full-time ministry in 2006.

Constantine is involved in a ministry as well – one that involves the University of Mobile.

A Different Place Constantine’s daughter, Kristin, has a God-given talent – a beautiful voice and the desire to use it in ministry. When her voice teacher told Constantine that Kristin needed to go to the University of Mobile’s new Center for Performing Arts and learn from Dr. Roger Breland, he wasn’t so sure.

“I didn’t even know who Roger Breland was,” Constantine said.

After all, he had been in Lebanon as a youth, then too focused on finding his way in his new country as a young adult to know about the groundbreaking contemporary Christian group TRUTH that Breland founded, and the awards, honors and changed lives that resulted.

But Kristin fell in love with the school, and Roger offered her the very first scholarship awarded for a student in the Center for Performing Arts.

She enrolled and became part of the University of Mobile vocal ensemble Voices of Mobile.

As a father with a keen interest

groups such as Story, a trio comprised of Kristin Constantine Platt, Lydia Bru and Brandi Thielker. Story has recorded a debut album with the help of UMobile alumnus Steven V. Taylor, nine-time Dove Award winner and a Nashville producer, and has started touring.

in his daughter’s life, Constantine wanted to meet the people whose leadership would impact Kristin’s world. He met Breland, then UMobile President Dr. Mark Foley.

He was impressed with the two men, with the students the university was producing, and with the university’s vision.

Most importantly, he was impressed with what he saw in his daughter’s life.

“This is a different place,” he said.

“I could literally see Kristin growing with her talent, her knowledge, and most importantly her walk with the Lord. This university took as much interest in Kristin’s well-being as I did – not just her education, but also her spiritual growth.

“That was a huge reason I decided to get involved at a higher level,” he said. In 2010, Constantine became chairman of the University of Mobile Board of Trustees.

Today, his company employs many students and graduates of the university, most of whom have talents in computers, video and graphics as well as music, plus a desire for music ministry. They are helping him develop new businesses, such as the IP video company, that meet a need in the marketplace and can also be used in music ministry. He also gives them the freedom to pursue their musical goals, helping alumni ensemble

Hope for the Nation “I know if you work hard and you stay grounded, anything you want is possible,” Constantine said.

But that uniquely American dream – the one he is living out today – is one he fears is vanishing for the next generation.

He thinks many young adults don’t truly believe that the American dream is possible, he said. “We are creating a nation that is giving everything to its citizens, rather than having them earn it.”

Above all, the nation, he fears, is drifting away from God. “When you are in an environment, you don’t always realize how you are drifting or how fast. I have been here since 1979, and today it is clearly a different nation. We are drifting away from God at a rate that is scary. It’s not too late, but if we don’t do anything it will be too late,” he said.

He said the University of Mobile’s 2020 Vision and the Twelve23 Movement have a different vision for the nation, one in which the next generation is prepared to lead in the transformation of a nation.

As chairman of the University of Mobile Board of Trustees, he is committed to helping the university reach that vision.

“It is a greater vision than the University of Mobile, but at the heart of it is the University of Mobile,” Constantine said. “I have become an evangelist of the importance of having your children at the University of Mobile. That’s our hope for this nation.” m umobile.edu 47

48 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

Great Leading Leaders to be

By Lesa Moore

I

For almost 50 years, musicians from the University of Mobile have been making an impact on the world.

t’s the Christian recording artist on the radio that reminds you of God’s mercy as you drive to work each morning.

It’s the music teacher that cultivates a love of music in the hearts of your children at school every day.

It’s a worship leader that draws you to a time of authentic praise as you worship.

These are the leaders that are being developed through the University of Mobile’s Center for Performing Arts.

For almost 50 years, musicians from the University of Mobile have been making an impact on the world. Eight years after establishing the Center for Performing Arts (CPA), the opportunities for students to perform and touch the lives of others across the country and around the world are greater than ever.

With approximately 300 students involved in the CPA, students from a variety of backgrounds and majors choose to participate in vocal, instrumental and musical theatre programs. A total of 22 musical ensembles, ranging from classical to contemporary, tour locally, regionally and throughout the United States and abroad. Touring locations for past years have included the White House in Washington, D.C., Carnegie Hall in New York City, Hawaii and Alaska. Groups have also

traveled to places such as Germany, Russia, Jordan, Uruguay, Honduras, Europe and Israel. In addition to their regular class work, Center for Performing Arts students learn to juggle a demanding, yet rewarding, performance and travel schedule that, for many, is a dream come true.

“As a vocal performance major and member of the Voices of Mobile, I performed in many different venues, traveled to the Holy Land, sang at Carnegie Hall in New York City, the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, the White House, and worked with the Alaska and Hawaii Baptist Conventions,” said Jenna Goodwin, a recent graduate of the Center for Performing Arts. “I loved the variety of music styles available to study and the hundreds of performing opportunities.

It truly was the college experience I dreamed of.”

Through the vision of University President Dr. Mark Foley, the Center for Performing Arts was established in 2003 under the direct leadership of Dr. Roger Breland, founder and director of the internationally-known contemporary Christian ensemble, TRUTH. Known for his unbridled success in leading leaders for 31 years in TRUTH, Breland continues to do so with the students at UMobile.

“Leading leaders is one of the most challenging things you can do,” said Breland,

Photography by G.M. Andrews

umobile.edu 49

“Seeing a freshman work hard, flourish and get a great job upon graduation is so rewarding.”

UMobile’s executive director of the Center for Performing Arts and vice president for project development.

“They need a lot of information and guidance and the opportunity to get involved creatively. They have good ideas and are wonderfully talented. Part of my job is to give them direction and help them develop what they do best.”

During his years with TRUTH, Breland raised up a generation of successful leaders in Christian music including Alicia, Kim Noblitt, Natalie Grant, Russ Lee, 4Him, Steven V. Taylor, Anthony Evans, and members of Avalon. These are just a few examples of his impact on the Christian music industry that earned him an induction into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and recognition as a 2010 Sinfinoa Award recipient.

Though his responsibilities require him to be involved in almost every aspect of the day-to-day operations, teaching, concert preparation, and travel, it is the direct interaction with students that is the favorite part of Breland’s day.

“It is such a joy to see these students succeed musically,” said Breland.

“Seeing a freshman work hard, flourish and get a great job upon graduation is so rewarding. It is the students that inspire me come to work every day.”

Another key leader of the CPA faculty, Dr. Al Miller, dean and associate professor of music for the Center for Performing Arts, agrees with Breland.

“The most advantageous aspect of working in the CPA is the opportunity to invest in the lives of students who will ultimately affect those with whom they work,” agreed 50 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

Miller. “Experiencing the musical and spiritual growth of students is extremely rewarding.”

This personal attention from faculty and staff is appreciated by students as well.

“In the Center for Performing Arts, I was more than just a name on the roll list,” said Goodwin. “The leaders knew me, prayed for me and encouraged me. Dr. Breland and Dr. Miller were more than directors; they were dads far from home.”

Both Breland and Miller believe that part of what makes UMobile’s Center for Performing Arts so successful is the breadth of knowledge and experience that is brought to the classroom by faculty. They have recruited talented instructors from all over the world whom Breland says “believe in the vision” of the university. And what they teach is not just techniques, but something much deeper.

“The CPA exists to ‘Change Lives

Dr. Roger Breland, Executive Director of the Center for Performing Arts and Vice President for Project Development

to Change the World,’” said Miller.

“While it is true that the CPA faculty desires to teach music, life lessons are the ultimate goal. Paul said, ‘Press on toward the goal.’ Our students must learn not to concentrate on praise or rejection, but to move toward the single goal of honoring Jesus in all walks of life. In this, they will find peace and joy in the midst of all circumstances.

“The CPA faculty and staff go far beyond teaching notes on a page.” he continued. “We are dedicated to teaching excellence in the area of presentation. CPA musicians must bridge the gap to the audience. The days of standing and singing or playing with lack of emotion are over.

Singers and players must evoke the musical and emotional intent of the song.”

Breland added, “I want our students to be believable as leaders.

It is not just music for music’s sake. I want the people they lead to look at them confidently and believe what they say and what they sing. They need to be communicators, using music as a tool to communicate the greatest message of all -- the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Faculty members stay abreast of trends in the industry. They instruct their students not only in how to be relevant in changing times, but also in the fundamentals that have held true throughout history. One such area would be their appearance.

“I believe most people listen with their eyes,” Breland said. “If you are well groomed, the audience will be open to what you have to share.

Not only do you want people to enjoy what you sing – but to believe what you sing. Then you become a

Sounds of Mobile perform at the 2010 University of Mobile Christmas Spectacular

communicator. I learned in my years on the road with TRUTH that I was not in the music business, but in the communication business.”

Breland is convinced that in most churches today, the congregation is representative of every aspect of society. He teaches students to take full advantage of the “one opportunity” they have to communicate with all those attending.

“The guy on the third row is such a person,” Breland states. “On the road we always talked about the guy on the third row that didn’t want to come to church that Sunday. Maybe his family brought him. What are we going to do to reach that guy on the third row?”

One of the fastest growing programs in the CPA is Worship Leadership, led by Dr. Pete Sanchez, author of the internationally recognized praise and worship song ”I Exalt Thee” and worship leader for Integrity Music’s Hosanna! music project.

Students benefit from a solid classical foundation while learning each facet of leading worship from experts in the field. Through this program, students have the opportunity to study under worship leaders such as Paul Baloche, Marty Nystrom, Don Moen, and

many others.

Sanchez’s background as a youth minister, music director, worship leader, associate and senior pastor, and years with recording industry giant, Integrity Music, give him the real-

Voices of Mobile One of the most visible CPA groups is Voices of Mobile. This highly versatile, auditioned vocal ensemble focuses on a cappella music, while also presenting music of traditional and contemporary genres. Produced by Dr. Roger Breland and directed by Dr. Alan Miller, Voices has performed in places such as the White House and Carnegie Hall and toured extensively throughout the United States and abroad.

umobile.edu 51

Dr. Al Miller, Dean, Center for Performing Arts and Associate Professor of Music

world experience to bridge traditional and contemporary music and prepare students for tomorrow’s emerging forms of worship. His personal mission statement, “to influence the few who influence the many,” refers to how his students can carry what they have learned into the nation’s churches so that a new generation can learn the true meaning of worship.

“Biblical worship is more than a particular style of music,” explained Sanchez. “At its heart, worship is love expressed – a response to God’s grace that renews or brings people to a personal encounter with Jesus Christ.”

Sanchez wants his students to understand the difference between music and worship.

“Music is that wonderful tool that gives voice to the worship of the church,” he said. “But true worship has only one object throughout Scripture – the triune God – a revelation that results in a transformed life.”

As part of the Worship Leadership program, Sanchez directs Impact, a mixed vocal ensemble and band that performs contemporary praise and worship music on church stages across America.

One of the benefits of UMobile that students like most is the many opportunities they have to perform on stage. CPA faculty make sure students 52 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

gain ample platform experience before they graduate in order to “become more valuable” following graduation. This experience and the established reputation of UMobile’s CPA in the music industry and in churches throughout the country give graduates a notable advantage.

“Sometimes it feels like I am running a placement office,” joked Breland. “Every week there are countless new opportunities for our students.”

CPA graduates become musical entrepreneurs or go on to work in a variety of areas such as music business, education, performance, acting, ministry, media and worship leadership. Graduates such as Erin Bethea, lead actress from the movie “Fireproof,” and Chris Lockwood from the Dove award-winning group 33 Miles are just a few examples of the success of CPA students.

A major opportunity for platform experience is the annual Christmas Spectacular. This musical extravaganza kicks off the Christmas season with more than 250 University of Mobile musicians and soloists performing seasonal music to standing-room-only crowds. Looking back, Breland’s favorite memory of the CPA is the very first Christmas Spectacular event.

“Not knowing what to expect,

I remember roping off sections of seating because we thought we may have 500 to 700 people attend,” Breland reminisced. “What a wonderful surprise when we had over 2,000 people there. That was a great moment.”

The 2010 Christmas Spectacular marked the 8th year for the popular event and the first year that performances were expanded to a third night. Approximately 7,000 people attended the 2010 event.

Performances for the Spring 2011 semester include concerts from the Symphonic Winds Ensemble, Jazz Band, Honor Band, Symphony Orchestra, Piano Ensemble, Opera, musical theatre productions, the annual Saviour presentation (a modern oratorio), and the CPA Spring Finale Concert.

At the end of this semester, UMobile’s Center for Performing Arts will have performed approximately 250 concerts this year. While the center continues to mentor highly skilled young men and women to become worship leaders, ministers of music, teachers, performers, media professionals, and more, the main focus remains constant – to train the next generation of students to be leaders who will make an impact on the world.

“We want these students to be more than just musicians,” said Breland.

“We want them to be Godly people with a heart for others. The difference between good and great is usually not talent – but hard work. No one works any harder than we do in the University of Mobile Center for Performing Arts.” m

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Alumni

Beloved Professor ‘Dr. B’ Honored at Boar’s Head Reunion Event Celebrates Times Past, Creates New Memories

By Amy Wright

S

itting quietly and inconspicuously on the second row of a large auditorium teeming with bustling people was a small man with extraordinary influence. Affectionately known as “Dr. B,” Dr. Kenneth Bergdolt, professor emeritus at the University of Mobile, stood to speak to alumni gathered on campus for a Boar’s Head Festival reunion.

“It is said that when word got around that Dr. B would start a Boar’s Head, a celestial conference was called,” he said.

“They decided to surround me with the best students and faculty around to complete the task. I am grateful to you from the bottom of my heart. You were responsible for pulling things together; I am the background.”

Those gathered for the reunion would disagree, however. As alumni reunited to celebrate the spirit of Boar’s Head, it became evident that the true celebration was of the man who poured his life into so many others.

More than 100 alumni from 11 states attended the Boar’s Head Reunion on Nov. 6 at the university’s new Ram Hall, spending the day rehearsing and performing the musical program begun

by Bergdolt in 1971. The Boar’s Head celebration continued for almost 30 years until Bergdolt retired from full-time teaching in 2000.

In the years following his retirement, Bergdolt and his wife, Colleen, longed for a reunion of the Boar’s Head tradition and to see once again the students involved during the course of his career.

With the help of the University of Mobile

54 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

Dr. and Mrs. Kenneth and Colleen Bergdolt thank alumni for “treasured memories.”

Alumni Office, several alumni organized the day-long reunion filled with laughter, song and remembrances.

‘Warmest Memories’ “I associate some of my warmest memories with the Boar’s Head performances,” said Bergdolt in a telephone interview a few days prior to the reunion. As he spoke, a piano tinkled in the background. “The enduring appeal (of Boar’s Head) came from that transforming character that I would associate with it. The music, dance and drama took us back to the spirit of the time.”

The Boar’s Head ceremony is associated with the 14th-century myth of an Oxford student who was attacked by a wild boar. The student killed the boar by choking it with a book of philosophy and took the boar’s head back to the college that evening for a feast, symbolizing the death of sin and

the coming of the Christ child.

Bergdolt first saw a Boar’s Head ceremony as a conservatory student in Cincinnati. When he later decided to conduct the celebration at the University of Mobile, he used a variety of music and dance from the era of the myth and later expanded the performance to contain 13 songs, the Wakefield Second Shepherd’s Play and a banquet for the audience, attended by cast members.

Bergdolt’s career at UMobile, then Mobile College, began in 1970 as assistant professor of music. He was awarded his Ph.D. in music from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music in 1976 and was promoted to professor of music in 1980.

He built an outstanding and wellrespected music program at the school, laying the groundwork for today’s Center for Performing Arts.

He took the Mobile College choir on tour throughout the United States,

Canada and Europe; formed the annual President’s Festival of Music and led the college to obtain accreditation from the National Association for Schools of Music. Bergdolt retired from full-time employment in 2000 but continued to teach adjunct classes through the Honors Program.

Making New Memories After practice sessions in Ram Hall, it was time for the actual program to begin. With his wife, Colleen, and sons Erich and Jeff and their families at his side, Dr. B gently conducted the chorale before him, seemingly unaware of the multiple cameras which alumni pointed in his direction, straining to capture the every move of the man who deeply impacted their lives.

As the Boar’s Head program commenced and other alumni took over conducting duties, he quietly leaned back in his chair, microphone held askew, eyes closed and a faint smile of delight on his face as he basked in the voices of those he invested in so generously.

The chorale sang as if they had never been apart, though separated by many years of experiences, earning a, “wow, excellent” from Bergdolt at the end of the Boar’s Head Carol.

During rehearsal, the room erupts in laughter as Bergdolt – with the collar of his suit coat unfolded upward - quips, “Ladies and gentlemen, mistakes will not be tolerated. Record all mistakes that you hear; we will meet tomorrow morning to eradicate them.” A voice from the crowd of alumni responds, “He hasn’t changed.”

Photography by Michelle Rolls-Thomas

The singers follow his gentle instruction as he assures them, “I don’t think we ever sounded that good. You’re even close to being right on pitch.”

A man of many trademarks, he easily yet unintentionally captures the attention of others. Letters of appreciation covering the span of a table in the front hall recount memories of Bergdolt, including his signature trenchcoat which he would often turn inside-out, his tie haphazardly looped around his neck, unbuckled shoes and the carrot sticks he would inevitably nibble during choir practice.

He still drives his orange 1979 Datsun, which, “like its owner, is losing body parts, but still running,” said Bergdolt.

Danny Richardson, ’80, remembers his time as a student of Bergdolt. “My years at Mobile College are some of the best memories of my life. Dr. B was and is an inspiration to me. You learn a lot and laugh a lot with him.”

Richardson describes an occasion when Bergdolt entered a classroom in

He still drives his orange 1979 Datsun, which, “like its owner, is losing body parts, but still running”

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Alumni

The Bergdolts pose for a family portrait. Back row from left: sons Erich, ‘89, and Jeff, ‘88, Jeff’s wife Janette, ‘88, and Erich’s wife Stephanie, ‘97.

Dr. B basks in the sounds of the alumni choir.

his usual curious garb. “I had my camera that day. Just as I was about to take a photo, he looked at me and flashed a peace sign. He was a riot.” Richardson later graduated and became a minister of music.

Adam King, ’97, who later served as instructor of music at UMobile and is now a graduate student, said, “No other person has done so much to push, mold, educate and encourage me the way Dr. B has. It is because of his influence that I am able to find the courage and determination to accomplish this (graduate degree). I am the musician today because of his investment.”

Thomas Fletcher, a current UMobile student, said, “It’s an honor to have him at this school. He has the warmest heart of anyone I know. Once, he talked to me over the phone for 30 minutes, after hours, about a paper I was writing. He’s always worth listening to.”

56 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

Charles Cummings, Bergdolt’s brother-in-law, said the Bergdolts have been personally committed to helping students throughout their lives, both in and out of the classroom.

“Good leadership makes a difference in students’ lives,” said Cummings. “The Bergdolts have certainly made a difference.”

Memories at Home Sons Erich,’89 and Jeff,’88, remember the difference their father made in their lives.

“He’s the same guy in both places – at school and at home,” said Jeff. “He included us in (his work). The whole family joined in to get the job done.

His way of balancing (his career and his family) was to make us a part of the mission.”

Hard work and the importance of education are two lessons that Bergdolt instilled in his sons. As children, Erich and Jeff were required to read books and write a daily summary.

“The next morning, the summary would be sitting on your dresser with the red ink and a very encouraging statement on how much you’re progressing and where you could improve,” said Jeff. “He likes to speak to my kids a couple of times a week to see how they’re doing in school and

to encourage them. When they have questions, they just call their grandpa.”

Erich said, “When (Bergdolt) was at home, he was either at his desk, reading, writing or grading, going over musical scores, or helping us with our homework.

He is a very detailed, kind, studious and hard-working man.

“I cannot think of ever seeing dad being unkind to anybody. Tradition and family are very important to him,” said Erich.

Jeff remembers, “How he was at school and how he was at home, there was really not much difference. He took his job seriously and expected everyone else around him to do the same. He would use a carrot more than a stick to encourage you to do the right things.”

Bergdolt Honored Though Dr. B himself is quick to remark that “the ‘B’ stands for ‘biceps,’” his influence on the dreams and lives of his students is far bigger than his physical stature alone. An alumnus wrote, “Dr. Bergdolt is, in fact, a ‘big’ man. He is a dreamer who has mentored, encouraged and inspired thousands over the course of his career. The time for honoring this man is long over-due.”

As the program concluded, former Mobile College choir president Ken Blakney, ’87, presented a plaque of

appreciation to Dr. B and Colleen.

Blakney remarked, “You know we’re not going to let you out of here with just a plaque, right?”

Blakney said the UMobile Alumni Association set a $20,000 goal to renovate the choir room in Bergdolt’s honor.

“Dr. B holds such a special place in our hearts. He has served as mentor, educator and, more importantly, friend,” said Blakney. Remembering his time as a choir member, Blakney said of Bergdolt’s instruction, “Every motion was articulate, served a purpose and drew music from such a deep place in us that we could not help but be moved. To be (at the reunion) with such a large group was very moving. The music brought back so much fun and hard work. We were the choir again.”

Truly, the instruction, wisdom and impact of this man has lasted a lifetime.

Dr. Mark Foley, president of the University of Mobile, said in a video address, “Dr. B, today, we are here to celebrate you. It is with great pleasure that I announce that we desire to name the choral hall after you. I can’t think of a better way, a better place to honor you.

We thank you.”

Standing tearfully among those so closely impacted by his life and career, Bergdolt said, “Ladies and gentlemen, your influence on my life has been greater than me on you . . . The treasured memories of my life with you have sustained me . . . I pray God returns to you the blessing you have been to me.”

Letters & Memories of Dr. B It seems that everyone who has encountered Dr. B has a favorite memory of him. Here are some that alumni shared through letters to Dr. Bergdolt and interviews: “You are at the top of a short list of people that have greatly influenced my life!” –Jody Beckham, ‘88

“(I remember) watching him sprint across campus because he was late for a meeting and still trying to get dressed and doing push-ups in the middle of the hall at 9 p.m. trying to wake up enough to finish his work. I will never understand how anyone can eat all those carrots and not be orange! His lecture style, if you can call it that, was bizarre at best. He would commonly lecture from atop the grand piano, from inside the audio cart, from inside the sound-proof recording booth in the choir room. He smoked chalk, chewed pen caps, hardly ever tied his tie, and who knows about that hair!

All in all, I know it was all for a reason, but for the life of me I don’t know what that reason might be. He is for sure an odd little man with the deepest of faiths, grandest of ideas, and such a love for the music that is in each of us. How can we not hold these memories so dearly? We love you, Dr. B!” –Ken Blakney, ‘87 “I will never forget the first time I saw you. I even thought of taking up

“…He took his job seriously and expected everyone else around him to do the same. He would use a carrot more than a stick to encourage you to do the right things.”

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Alumni

On stage are Michelle Caton McCormick, ‘91, and Melissa Barnes, ‘89.

Performing with abandon are, from left, Will Sellers, ‘91, John Stuckey, ‘90, and Gary Gray, ‘88

smoking! Bic pins, that is.” – “Your dedication and leadership to the University of Mobile music program and its students is unprecedented. You are loved by many.” –Jim and Monica Bondurant, ’97 and ‘98 “Thank you for all the songs you added to my life. They, and you, have made such a difference.” –Aubrie Cassity Custred, ‘02 58 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

“Your ministry at Mobile College changed my life.” –Gary R. Gray, ‘88 “No other person has done so much to push, mold, educate and encourage me the way you have – and continue to do! I remember so fondly all the choir tours, the opportunities I had to play on some of the finest organs. As I finish this graduate degree at Samford, please know that it is

because of your influence that I am able to find the courage and determination to accomplish this. I love you and Mrs. B more than you can know!” –J. Adam King, ‘97 “The things you have taught us will last a lifetime. Thanks for so many memories.” –Kathy and Endel Lee, ‘87 “Through the years, God has used me to lead many people in worship; many have received musical training from me; thousands of songs have been sung and led; many have been witnessed to and challenged to greater spiritual and musical commitments; many have trusted Jesus as their personal Savior; and last, but certainly not least, I have a family, a lovely wife, and 3 beautiful daughters, who are all more musical than their daddy. I truly mean it when I say none of this would have happened if it had not been for a man we affectionately call ‘Dr. B.’” – Charles Little, ‘81 “This man is crazy fun! Some days, he would remove his jacket, turn it inside out, and then put his jacket back on, all while never losing a beat during his lecturing.” –Shannon Simmons Locklear, ‘96 “Dr. B, you have always had a special place in my heart. My fondest memories are of Boar’s Head and all the practices we had! I was in the first class in 1977 on an official choir to England and Scotland.

Dr. B kept us in line but at the same time was a lot of fun. I fell ill on the trip and

“No other person has done so much to push, mold, educate and encourage me the way you have – and continue to do!”

–J. Adam King, ‘97

There are two opportunities to honor Dr. Kenneth and Colleen Bergdolt through contributions in their name to the University of Mobile.

Bergdolt Choir Room: Dr. B made sure that I was taken care of.

He has never changed and neither has his hair or the banana he always eats!” – Sherene Mason, ‘81 Dr. B - Thank you for investing your life in raising musicians like me and in challenging non-musicians to catch a glimpse of the sublime. In addition, thank you for expecting us to transcend excellence in our studies as well as our life’s work. I am so thankful for the nonverbal lessons you gave as you taught us to be genuine and to honor humility . . . I am forever changed by you Dr. B.” –Terry Megginson-Walton ‘84 “…I want to thank you. My life would not have been the same had I not met you…You were brilliant at teaching us and maintaining that great sense of humor all during your class lectures…I thank you for believing in me and forever changing my life.”–Janice Pittman Britton, ‘75 “Dr. B, thank you for your example and encouragement. I share Mobile College stories with my students. They

have heard the name, ‘Dr. B’ many times.

I hope to be the professor you have modeled for me.”–Kenny Phillips, ‘87 “You taught this non-music major so much about music, life and humor.”

–Marsha Roberts Scarborough, ‘85 “The first time I met Dr. B was in an honors course on the medieval era.

Professors from several departments came to class that day with ties looped in what they called, ‘the Bergdolt.’ Dr. B entered the room at precisely the time the class was set to begin, his hair askew in what we affectionately dubbed ‘the inverted mullet,’ and sat cross-legged on the floor as he began to lecture and tie his tie. Distinguished professors took seats among the students and took notes of everything this man said.

From that day on, Dr. B has had a special place in my memories of UMobile, and I still have the returned homework assignments, which he folded in half lengthwise and scribbled upon in pencil. I may frame them some day.”

–Amy Wright, current student. m

Donations of any amount are welcome to achieve the $20,000 goal needed to renovate the choir room in Dr. B’s honor.

Bergdolt Scholarship: The Bergdolt scholarship is awarded to full-time music majors with good academic standing and demonstrated financial need.

Contributions of any amount will be added to the scholarship fund.

Please send any donations with a note designating “Bergdolt Choir Room” or “Bergdolt Scholarship” to: University of Mobile Office of Institutional Advancement 5735 College Parkway Mobile, AL 36613-2842 For your convenience, donations may also be made with a credit card by visiting www.umobile.edu/alumni

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Alumni

Blessings and Baseball

J.C. Romero 1994-’97, Business Major Winning Pitcher, 2008 World Series

By Kathy Dean

As he stood on the mound, knowing millions of people were watching his every move, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher J.C. Romero didn’t think about all the years he watched the World Series on television.

“You forget you were once a fan watching the playoffs. You just know you are there to get the job done,” said Romero. Then he pitched the winning game in the 2008 World Series, clinching the first major championship in the city of Philadelphia in 25 years.

That’s when it hit him.

“I thought, ‘wow, I just won the World Series. I just did something amazing here,’” Romero said. “It was a very unique experience. I feel very blessed.”

It wasn’t always easy, being a University of Mobile freshman from Puerto Rico who didn’t speak much English.

“You have certain teachers and coaches that impact your life and help you through your time in school, who help you be successful in life,” said Romero, 34, from his home in Fairhope, Ala. Now, with two World Series rings – one from the Philadelphia Phillies and another from a stint with the Boston Red Sox -- Romero said the discipline he learned at UMobile from Coach Mike Jacobs helped him succeed on the baseball field and in life.

“I learned how big a role discipline plays in your success in life. You have got to make sure you give 100 percent every day and do everything with everything 60 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

you have every day, without regrets or looking back. It’s being passionate about what you do, and do it with all of your heart. Take the blessings God has given you and then do your part,” he said.

He recalled English professor Dr. Frances Garner, now deceased, who encouraged and helped students from Latin America adjust to the language and classes. Former assistant coach Jorge Hernandez also encouraged him.

His advisor in the School of Business, Dr. Jane Byrd, came to Kansas City to see him play for the Minnesota Twins. He gave her a game ball.

“To this day, when I go to the school I try to go and say ‘hello’ to her,” Romero said. “Those are people who stuck with me.”

Romero left school to turn pro with the Minnesota Twins (1999-2005), then the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2006) and the Boston Red Sox (2007), became a left-handed specialist for the Phillies and is now a free agent. He is credited with the win in Games 3 and

5 of the 2008 World Series, becoming the first Puerto Rican pitcher to win two games in one World Series.

Romero married fellow UMobile classmate, Erin Hostrander, ’02, and they have a 4-year-old daughter, Jazlyn Christine. Erin, who played basketball and was an All-American in softball, was also a full-time assistant coach at UMobile. The Romeros have used their influence in positive ways, with Erin recently working with other Major League Baseball wives to auction off AllStar autographs to raise funds to assist people in Louisiana with health concerns as a result of the oil spill.

During the off season when he was first starting out in the pros, Romero would return to campus and work out with the baseball team. Now he visits the campus every year, watching a game or attending practice, talking with studentathletes and sharing his faith and his experiences. He and Jacobs stay in touch, with a relationship that has matured into “two adults having a conversation, with one being appreciative of what the other has done for him.”

“He will send me a text message if I am doing good, or if I am a little banged up, he will send me an encouraging note,” Romero said. As men of faith, “we both know that when things go good, you praise the Lord, and when things go bad, you understand that God is in control.” m

Alumni

Drumming Up Business

By K.A. Turner Mobile Press-Register Business Editor Courtesy of the Mobile Register 2010 © All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Photo by Dan Anderson

With apologies to those under 40, remember going to a concert and buying the T-shirt with the album cover picture on front?

While albums are now mostly the stuff of collectors, a concert-going colleague confirms that T-shirts remain a staple on the merchandise tables at the concerts of today.

But acts such as Casting Crowns, Toby Mac, MercyMe and Stryper have something new to sell, thanks to a new Mobile company - Blown Away Innovations.

The company is the brainchild of Jeff Jones, drummer and merchandising coordinator for Christian pop band Big Daddy Weave. Its main product - sold through the Web site www.customstix. com - is a customized drumstick that he can sell in quantities as low as two pair for $29.95. For perspective, one good pair of plain sticks will run $12 or so, Jones said.

The business has two sales channels, said Jones, who grew up in Mobile, graduated from Davidson High School and met his bandmates while all were in school at the University of Mobile.

On the Web side, he sells in small quantities, using part-timers to help with the graphic design and delivering product within about 10 days.

He also sells in larger quantities, usually lots of 500 or so pair, to some 35 major band clients.

Jones said he sold about 25,000 pair of sticks in his first year.

He’s not the only stick in the market.

“We have done custom drumsticks for Queen,” said Steve Gerstman, a California-based concert merchandising veteran who has worked with the likes of Josh Groban, Eric Clapton and

Celine Dion. “That is the kind of product that smaller bands (and not just smaller) could put on their merchandise stands and sell to core fans.”

Jones said he can work the business even while on tour, which Big Daddy Weave has been doing for about 12 years now. “We have visited 49 states, most of which were done in a 45-foot tour bus that sleeps like a dream,” Jones said. The band, loosely named for lead singer Mike Weaver and his brother, bassist Jay Weaver, also includes Joe Shirk of Saraland (saxophone/keyboards) and Jeremy Redmon (guitar).

Merchandising has become an increasingly important revenue stream as bands lose income once generated by CD sales.

“Since 2002, we’ve seen a drastic decline in CD purchases,” Jones said. “We’ve seen a drastic increase in online downloads.

The down side is that in the past, when someone bought a CD they would pay full price and get 10 songs. Now they just go online and pick the one or two songs that they want.”

His advice to other budding entrepreneurs?

“It’s a lot easier to make money doing something you enjoy and have a passion for than something you do only for the money,” he said. “You will spend a lot of time getting the business going, so you had better enjoy it.”

But don’t spend all that time planning, he said.

“Your clients and customers will finetune your business for you by making choices and suggestions once your product or service is available,” he said.

“I’ve taken the approach, ready, fire, aim.”

(The custom drumsticks sold by Mobilian Jeff Jones’ new company Blown Away Innovations can be ordered on www.customstix.com.) m umobile.edu 61

Alumni

A Different Side of Love

Larry and Charla Beauchamp

By Kathy Dean Photography by Kate Reali Mercer When Charla White, ’89, and Larry Beauchamp, ‘87-’89, married in August 1990, they expected to start a family in a few years. But years of infertility and all that goes along with it – the doctors, the tests, the shots, the questions, the heartache – led them to the idea of adoption.

The heartache followed them.

For three years they compiled scrapbook after scrapbook about their lives, pasting ribbons and bows to snapshots and writing about their longing for a child, as they tried for an open adoption through a California agency. Each time they prayed that a birth mother would like something she saw in a scrapbook, and choose them.

The first woman who chose them turned out to be a scam artist.

Then a second woman who lived in south Alabama chose the two school teachers. She went into labor on Iron Bowl weekend in 2000, when all of Alabama is focused on the gridiron showdown between the Auburn Tigers and Alabama’s Crimson Tide.

The Beauchamps were visiting college friends Mandy Shoemaker Boyle, ’90, and Brian Boyle, ’94, in Mobile. Larry and Charla rushed out to a Bama Fever store to buy an Alabama onesie, and a local television station even interviewed them about the impending adoption.

But the birth was difficult, and the birth mother was told she could never bear another child. So she kept the baby.

“As bad as we wanted to be parents, we couldn’t blame her,” Charla said.

There were more roadblocks, and 62 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

decisions to be made. Like how to live with the pain.

For Charla, it was “choosing not to be angry, but to serve and grow and worship.”

For Larry, it was being a resource for others going through similar experiences.

And, it was a time of growth for both.

“A friend said God was using this as a ministry. I literally laughed in his face,” Charla said. “When you are in the middle of hurt, it’s hard to see that.”

Larry, who was a high school teacher at the time, said he vividly remembers a conversation between him and God. There were eight pregnant teenagers in his class, and one had an abortion during the semester. Why, he wondered, were 15- and 16-year-olds having babies when he and Charla, who had done all the right things, denied?

“I don’t understand,” Larry told God. Larry said he heard God say, “Larry, when you learn to be a dad to them (his students), then you are ready.”

That’s when Larry shifted his focus – and later his career – into counseling.

“I realized those girls didn’t have

fathers. I began doing parenting and building relationships with them,” he said. Today he is a licensed marriage and family therapist in Dothan, Alabama, while Charla teaches 5th grade in Dothan city schools.

The Beauchamps said that period of growth changed the way they looked at birth mothers – not as girls who had made bad mistakes, but with respect.

“If they had not made a good decision, then we would be without our children,” Charla said.

Their children Lauren, 9, is outgoing, sensitive, confident and protective of her brother and sister.

Emma, 5, is nurturing, creative, witty and a great little helper.

Alumni

Caleb, now 9 months, is friendly and easy-going, always happy, watching every move his sisters make.

Each has their own adoption story.

Each story is a miracle, a drama complete with seemingly insurmountable odds, apparently coincidental timing. Two of the adoptions are open, and one is closed.

Intertwined amongst the stories are memories of foster children who didn’t stay, and adoptions that didn’t work out.

But these adoptions did.

Lauren’s story began at church when a speaker from Sav-A-Life, who helped connect families with birth mothers, agreed to help. A young woman in south Alabama planned to place her baby with a family, and she chose the Beauchamps.

At the same time, the California agency called with two matches.

Larry said they were overwhelmed.

“When you’ve been trying for so hard and wanting for so long, then there are three.

But we felt like the Lord was telling us to go with this one.”

Lauren was born on Larry’s 34th birthday at the same small-town hospital where he was born. She was welcomed into the world by adoptive family and biological family. Her birth mother, Jessica, is pictured in a video kissing the top of Lauren’s head and handing her over to the Beauchamps.

Lauren’s adoption was open, and the Beauchamps visited with her biological relatives. The plan was to include Jessica in their lives. But just nine months later, Jessica was killed in a car accident.

A custody battle over Lauren began between the Beauchamps and the biological father and his mother, who lived in Puerto Rico.

The battle lasted a year and a half.

Through Bible study “and a real revelation about selfishness, we decided to make contact with the father’s side of the family and offer a visit,” Charla said.

Charla, who also is adopted, said her own parents were uncertain of the idea of open adoption in general, and were

very concerned about the planned visit at a park in Fairhope. Later, Charla would learn that her father sat in his truck in the parking lot, watching the meeting, to be sure that all went well and the biological family didn’t take Lauren.

“As soon as we stepped out of the car, we knew no fear,” Charla recalled.

“We were excited to finally meet” the biological grandmother.

What the Beauchamps didn’t know was that God had been working not only on their hearts, but also on the heart of the biological grandmother.

The grandmother had been meeting with her pastor, who helped her see that God had placed Lauren with a family who loved her and would care for her.

The Beauchamps didn’t know it, but the grandmother had already dropped her legal battle for custody when the visit in Fairhope took place.

What was planned as a two-hour visit turned into eight hours, then an ongoing relationship with Lauren’s biological family. The grandmother, once seen as an enemy, is now a loving member of the family who has taken on the role of a grandmother to all three of the Beauchamps’ children.

With Lauren’s adoption issues resolved, the Beauchamps decided to look into foster care and adoption. There was a 2-year-old girl in foster care who was soon to be adopted by a good family, but that marriage fell apart and so did the pending adoption. She had a need, and so did the Beauchamps.

When Charla and Lauren showed Emma to her new room, the little girl spotted something.

“Mama, look at this toy,” she said to Charla.

“She called me ‘mama’ on that first day,” Charla said.

With more room in their home and more love in their hearts, the Beauchamps felt God leading them to open their home to foster care. During a year they now call “disastrous,” they started paperwork

to adopt twin boys who were in foster care. But the adoptions didn’t work out.

Neither did some foster care situations they hoped would lead to adoption.

“I told God, I want a neon sign before I go down this road again,” Charla said.

Four months later that neon sign occurred in the form of a co-worker at Charla’s school who knew of a mother who would give birth in April. The mother was mentally challenged, had lived on the streets, and had a family background that included a variety of health issues.

On paper, it didn’t look good.

But the Beauchamps believed that God was big enough to take care of any problems.

“I never thought I had the capacity to be a special needs parent. I thought, ‘God is going to make me a special needs parent,” Charla said.

The birth mother told them, “I know one thing. I want you to have my baby.”

Charla went to every doctor’s appointment, saw every ultrasound, and was in the room during labor and delivery. Caleb arrived, perfectly healthy, perfectly theirs.

Today, Charla carries with her a saying that struck her during a time of sorrow.

“Sorrow deepens the channels whereby happiness may enter and hollows out new chambers for joy to abide in, when grief is gone,” it reads.

“I think about all the trenches and grief and sorrow, and I think of how God has filled those trenches,” she said, as the family walked through the University of Mobile campus during a recent visit.

Larry said for his children to know that their birth mothers chose the Beauchamps “helps to show a whole different side of love.”

“Society says we are their adoptive parents,” Larry said. “No, I’m their dad.”

(The Beauchamps have spoken in churches about their story and how God has worked in their lives. To contact them, email larry@afamilyfixer.com.) m

umobile.edu 63

Alumni

Allison Miller

Class of 2001 UMobile Grad Honored for Excellence in History Education University of Mobile graduate Allison Miller received the first annual University of Mobile History Department Graduate Teacher of the Year award. Miller, a social studies and language arts teacher at Mary G. Montgomery High School, received the award at the fifth annual Billy G. Hinson Lecture Series on March 11 at the University of Mobile. Miller was chosen as the award recipient by a vote of the UMobile history department faculty. The recipient of this award must be a graduate of the university and be currently teaching in the Mobile County Public School System. Dr. Lonnie Burnett, UMobile professor of history and director of the lecture series, said Miller was chosen for the award in recognition of her achievements both inside and outside the classroom.

Previously, Miller was awarded the Mobile County High School Teacher of the Year award in 2007.

The Billy G. Hinson Lecture Series encourages excellence in history education by providing scholarly presentations on state and local historical and political topics. The annual series was established by UMobile’s College of Arts and Sciences in honor of Hinson, who has served as a professor of history at the university for 31 years. It is also sponsored by the Alabama Humanities Foundation, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities. m

Big Daddy Weave Before they were Big Daddy Weave, Mike Weaver, Jeremy Redmon, Jeff Jones and Joe Shirk were students at the University of Mobile. They wanted real-world experiences, and they got them in class and on stage at UMobile. Today, their music is making a real difference in the hearts and minds of people worldwide. Just another example of how University of Mobile graduates are “Changing Lives to Change the World.” m 64 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

Chris Lockwood

Class of 2005 Vocalist/Guitarist/Songwriter for 33 Miles 2008 Dove Award Nominee for Best New Artist

Chris Lockwood is one of the finest young guitarists in Christian music today. Wonderfully gifted, a marvelous singer and songwriter, he is a member of 33 Miles which was nominated for Best New Artist of 2008 at the Gospel Music Association’s Dove Awards. With several top-10 singles on the Christian music charts, Chris has already succeeded in the music industry. But his greatest success is in the example he lives each day of a life committed to Jesus Christ. m

Alumni

Sarah Bailey Thomas

Jamie Harvill

As a studentathlete at the University of Mobile, Sarah Bailey Thomas excelled in both academics and sports, earning All-American academic honors and helping the women’s basketball team reach the 1993 NAIA National Championship.

Sarah and her teammates set 23 school records that year.

This was only the beginning of the records that Sarah would set.

While using her communication degree as a pharmaceutical sales representative, this wife and mother used her sports experience to start another career as a referee for middle and high school basketball and football.

In September 2007, Sarah became the first female referee to officiate a game in the Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly known as the NCAA Division 1-A. Her record-breaking entrance into college-level football officiating has been covered by the New York Times, ESPN, and magazines such as Southern Living and Ladies Home Journal.

Sarah’s education and experiences at the University of Mobile gave her the tools she needed to excel in different arenas – and make history. m

Love God. Love People.

Bring Excellence.

These are the top priorities for worship leaders, says Jamie Harvill, whose songs “Firm Foundation” and “Ancient of Days” have brought millions of people to a closer experience with God. Now, he is working to train and strengthen the next generation of songwriters and worship leaders with online projects and personal coaching, as he also runs his own independent publishing company just south of Nashville. His new CD, Incredible God, is available on iTunes and Amazon.

“True worship is an extension of a relationship with God. A song in the heart is accompaniment to prayer. And for me, prayer is never ceasing. I come from the “Practice the Presence of God” thinking--that our conversations with God are ongoing and are practiced during the mundane as well as the sacred times of life. Worship is life,” says the worship leader at World Outreach Church in Murfreesboro, TN. This songwriter and worship leader has several gold and platinum recordings to his credit. His worship classics include “Because We Believe,” “Garments of Praise (Revival in Belfast)” and “My Heart (Already There)”, for artists like Ron Kenoly, Don Moen, Kim Hill (Focus On the Family), The Motor City Mass Choir, Newsong, Truth, Petra, Promise Keepers, Jeff and Sheri Easter, and others. Today, he continues to write, record, do studio sessions, produce, lead worship, travel and speak to congregations throughout the world. m

Class of 1995 Division 1A College Football Referee

Class of 1989 Recording Artist and Worship Leader www.jamieharvill.com

umobile.edu 65

Alumni

‘It’s About Being Open:’ Sharing Jesus in a West African Village

By Grace Thornton The Alabama Baptist Reprinted with permission from The Alabama Baptist Zeinabou’s life was all about community but not so much about Jesus.

She spent her time sweeping her dirt yard, chatting with her neighbors and hoping for a good rainy season so there would be food. She spent many a day at baby-naming ceremonies, big parties during which people would sacrifice sheep and a Muslim priest would pray a blessing over a newborn.

Then two white girls moved into her village in the West African country of Niger and gave her cassette tapes about someone named Jesus.

And everything changed. But not just for Zeinabou.

A lot of people saw great change in themselves and the village during the four years that Brandy Nelson, a Greenville native, served there as an International Mission Board (IMB) representative.

“When I was about your age, God changed my life,” she told a group of teenage girls March 12 during the Complete event (an event at Heritage Baptist Church in Montgomery sponsored by Alabama Womena’s Missionary Union).

God began to work on her about going overseas to serve, and Nelson, a graduate of the University of Mobile, eventually followed that call to Niger.

Now she¹s looking at where she might go next. Her fiance feels called overseas, too.

But where she goes isn’t the most important thing, Nelson told the girls.

“It’s not about going overseas – it’s 66 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

about being open to what God wants.”

And what God wanted for her was to spend her early 20s living in a concrete block house in a little village 17 miles from Niger’s capital city, she said.

“We signed up for a mud hut with no running water, but what we got was a concrete block house with a ceiling and running water,” Nelson said when one girl asked about her living conditions.

“We were ready to do what we needed to do, but we were thankful for Lottie Moon (Christmas Offering) providing that little house for us,” she said with a laugh.

But when it was hot, Nelson and her IMB teammate spent their nights sleeping out in the yard – “and it was hot nine months out of the year,” she said.

The sun beats down on the village,

which sits squarely in the Sahara Desert with temperatures cruising up around the 130s. The people there associate cool with heaven, Nelson explained.

“A poll came out recently that said Niger was the worst country in the world to live in,” she said. “The people there -- they suffer. They do. It’s just by God’s grace that they live.”

Many of them wonder where their next meal will come from, if they will have enough water to live or if their children will live past infancy. But Jesus brings them hope, Nelson explained.

“So many times, I looked at the situation there and thought, ‘God, you’ve forsaken this place.’ But He hasn’t.

They are no less important to Him than we are.” m

Alumni

Just for Alumni!

Alumni Car Tags

Class Rings

Show our Rams spirit and help fund scholarships!

Be a part of the tradition at UMobile and order your official UMobile ring today. In 2004, the University of Mobile adopted an official ring exclusively for alumni and students who have reached their junior year with at least 75 credit hours in good standing. Each ring symbolically captures the uniqueness of the University of Mobile. This ring will be a lasting reminder of the traditions, values, and knowledge gained while at the University of Mobile. Alumni can wear the ring proudly and carry a symbol of commitment for our alma mater!

For more information, contact Hali Givens at umalumni@umobile.edu

Health Insurance

Liberty Mutual

Alabama residents can show their Rams spirit and help students by choosing the University of Mobile affinity license plate. These specially designed UMobile license plates can be purchased for $50 above the regular vehicle registration fee. For every tag that is purchased, $48.75 is returned to the University of Mobile to benefit student scholarships through the Annual Fund. The process is quick and easy! Simply request your license plate at your local county tag office on your next visit! Go Rams!

For more information on UMobile car tags, email Hali Givens at umalumni@umobile.edu

If you are currently in need of health insurance, this plan has been approved and recommended by the University of Mobile. Plans start at $99/month and give you the best coverage at the best price online. It is guaranteed. You won’t be turned down. Access Health Partners has designed an affordable health insurance plan to give you and your family access to the healthcare you deserve. Visit www.alumnihealthcoverage.com for details.

Liberty Mutual offers group discounts to all University of Mobile alumni. This can be a savings of up to 10%! Visit www.libertymutual.com/lm/mobileu today to receive your free, no obligation rate quote.

umobile.edu 67

Alumni

Class Notes ’60s

Thomas Strong ’67- retired as Associate Vice President and Dean of Students, after serving for 40 years at the University of Alabama. He continues to coach University of Alabama’s Water Ski Team as a hobby. They have two sons, Chris and Britt, and a wonderful daughter in law, Jessica. Dr. Strong and his wife’s current joy are their baby twin grandchildren. He and his wife, Pam, currently live on Lake Tuscaloosa in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Thomas Lyles ‘68- retired 2 years ago from Railroad Claims industry after 37 years. Since then he has accepted a position as office manager for Burns, Cunningham, and Mackey law firm in Mobile. He serves on the Board of Directors for Belforest Water System in Daphne, AL, and is currently vice president after serving as president for 2008 and 2009.

Thomas Michael (Mike) Sullivan ’68 – retired, after 29 years with the Bureau of U.S. Customs, as Supervisory Special Agent. Since his retirement, he has taken up outdoor and nature photography, which has resulted in several competitive awards including Master Class Photographer of the Year from his local photography club. He and his wife, Marilyn, enjoy snow skiing and have skied almost every major resort in the western U.S. They have 2 sons and 1 daughter, and currently reside in Louisiana.

Charles Michael Bradshaw ‘69practicing law in Maryland where he has recently written a book for Maryland lawyers named “Legal Representation Agreement” and presented the book to Maryland Bar Association and at annual convention in June of 2010.

’70s

Carrie Riggs Brown ‘70- assistant principal at Brewton Middle School in Brewton, AL. Mary Lyles Garrett ‘72- retired in 1997 from Alabama School for the Blind. She does contract work teaching Braille to adults mainly linked to the Alabama School for the Blind, and also proofreads high school textbooks in Braille.

68 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

Susan Gattis ‘78- works part-time at Airport Blvd. Baptist Church as a financial secretary. She and her husband, Gerald, have 3 sons - Adam, working in IT; Grant, an Army SGT in the 25th Airborne Infantry; and Hunter, a senior in high school.

Rick Payne ‘79- practicing medicine since 1986 in Cartersville, GA, after finishing medical school at UAB and a residency in pediatrics at the University of Virginia. He and his wife, Lee, have one son, William, who is homeschooled. They attend First Baptist Church Cartersville, where he serves as chairman of the deacons and in the Children’s Department as chair of the Personnel Team. Dr. Payne has been named to the Board of Trustees for Brewton Parker College, a Georgia Baptist Institution. He has led medical mission trips to Ghana, West Africa, served as a delegate to the Christian Medical and Dental Association House of Representatives, been a founding board member of the American College of Pediatricians, and has been chairman of the board for the Children’s Health Network in Atlanta.

’80s

Robert Owen ’82 – served as school principal for 22 years and currently at Rockwell Elementary in Daphne, AL. He received the national distinguished principal of the year in 2009 for the state of AL. He is involved at Eastern Shore Baptist Church in Daphne, AL. Scott White ’80- married Ameilia “Millie”, who is also an alumna. He graduated from seminary at New Orleans in 1984 and has been serving in music/worship ministry for 30 years. He has been at First Baptist Church Woodstock for 17 years and served as the music director for the Southern Baptist Pastor’s Conference and Convention for 3 years. He recorded “Jesus Saves” live with Dove Award winner Travis Contrell. He and his wife have 2 children, Dallas and Olivia.

’90s

Bobby Wayne Gautney, Jr. ’91- after graduation was Children’s Worker for Life Action Ministries in Buchanan, Michigan

until 1993. From then until 2001 he was the Children’s Pastor at Travis Road Baptist Church in Mobile, AL, during which time he married his wife, Angela. He then served at Boone-Trail Baptist Church in Johnson City, TN for 5 years. In 2006, he returned to Mobile as the Director of Young Adult & Children’s ministry at Woodridge Baptist Church.

Scott Kennis ’93- serves with his wife, Christy, as missionaries to the United States Army. He is an Army Chaplain with the 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum, NY. They have four children, MaryCaroline, Samuel, Anna-Cate, and Isabella.

Brett Burleson ’93- earned his Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX after graduating from UMobile in 1993.

He earned his Doctor of Ministry degree from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. Having served in churches from south Florida to western New York, Brett and his wife, April, are glad to be back in Mobile where in 2009 he was called to be the Lead Pastor at Dayspring Baptist Church.

Clay Hahn ’99- completed Master’s Degree in Ministry from Tennessee Temple University and then a Master’s of Divinity with a concentration in Leadership from Liberty University. Has served as a bi-vocational pastor at several churches while also being the Senior Vice President of his family’s business, Burnum-Hahn, Inc.

2000s

Kelly Jo Hollingsworth ’00- selected as the 2007 Teacher of the Year for Auburn Early Education Center in Auburn City Schools. She is currently the music teacher at Richland Elementary School in Auburn, AL. Margaret Younce Williams ’04completed her law degree from the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University and has clerked for the Honorable John R. Lockett, Mobile Circuit Court Judge. As of November 2010, she is an associate with the Cummings Bound, LLC law firm. She is licensed to practice law in both Alabama and Florida.

Jaye Herrod ’09- was 2nd Runner

Alumni

Up after competing in the 2010 Miss Alabama pageant. Currently lives and teaches in Saraland, AL.

Marriages

Shannon Simmons Locklear ‘96 was married to Tim Locklear on November 29, 2008. They currently live in Atlanta, GA. Brad Cleveland ’08 married Meredith Boggs on January 9, 2010.

Brad and his wife live currently live in Raleigh, NC. Stacy Hallford Edwards ’09 married Carl Edwards on October 29, 2010 in Mobile, AL. They currently live in Jefferson City, MO where Carl is a youth pastor.

Births and Adoptions

Kris Nelson ’01 and Allison Trotter Nelson ’04 and ’06 are the proud parents of Lawson Ray, born February 12, 2010 at 7:48 a.m. He was 6 lbs 10 oz and 19 inches long. Lawson also has a big brother, Logan.

Marc Mahan ‘05 and Elizabeth Prater Mahan ‘04 announce the birth of their first child, Carson Dean, born February 26, 2010. He was 10 lbs 12oz and 22 inches long.

Daniel Givens ‘07 and Hali Williams Givens ‘04 joyfully welcomed their first child, Annalee Carr, on March 8, 2010. She weighed 7lbs 10 oz and was 20 inches long.

They currently reside in Mobile, AL. Brian Boyle, ‘94, and Amanda (Mandy) Shoemaker Boyle, ‘90 & ‘92 were blessed with McKenzie Joy on March 27, 2010. She weighed 4 lbs, 14 oz. and was 18 inches long. McKenzie was also welcomed by her big sister, Savannah.

Chris “Buff” McNickle, ’93, and his wife, Cissy, were blessed with the adoption of twin boys.

Jedidiah Crimson and Judah Bryant were born April 23, 2010.

Ashley Gully See ’04 and her husband, Steven See, announce the birth of their first child, Ethan Paul on May 21, 2010 in Albuquerque, NM. He weighed 7 lbs 9.8 oz and was 20.5 inches long.

Alicia Morris Atcheson ’02 and her husband, Ben, welcomed their first child, Baylee Diane, on August 6, 2010. She was 4 lbs 9 oz and 17.5 inches long. They currently reside in Chatom, AL. Shawn Alldredge ’08 and Jessica Lilly Alldredge ‘08 announce the birth of Bryce on September 17, 2010. He weighed 6 lbs 12oz and was 18.5 inches long. He is the first grandchild, great grandchild, and great, great grandchild. He was born the day before his great-great grandmother’s 99th birthday.

Scott Wallace, ’02, and Vanessa Neely Wallace,’02, welcomed their 3rd child and first daughter, Amelia Jane on October 15, 2010. She joins big brothers 4-year-old Noah and 2-year-old Ben.

We want to hear from our Alumni!

Would you like to be included in a future edition of Class Notes? Just send us the latest information on you and your career accomplishments, weddings, births, and/or adoptions. High resolution (300 dpi) photos may be emailed to magazine@umobile.edu, just please include your contact information in the email. Class Notes are printed on a space-available basis.

Mr. Mrs. Ms. Miss Dr. Name____________________________ Maiden Name_____________________ Spouse Name_____________________ UMobile Graduation Year____________ Major____________________________ Degree Earned_ ___________________ Home Address ________________________________ City_ ____________________________ State_ _______ Zip_________________ Country__________________________ Home Phone______________________ Cell Phone________________________ Email Address ________________________________ Employment Information: Company_ _______________________ Title_____________________________ Address__________________________ ________________________________ Work Phone_ _____________________ Other Information: _________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ Please list any news you would like to share with us.

Copy and fax this form to 251.442.2512 or mail to: University of Mobile Alumni Office 5735 College Parkway Mobile, AL 36613 Or submit the online form at www.umobile.edu/ClassNotes umobile.edu 69

Honor Roll of Donors

Torch Society $25,000 and above Alabama Baptist State Convention Mr. David S. Barringer, Jr. Chick-fil-A, Inc. Mr. Gabi Constantine Mr. James E. Daniel Mrs. Karlene Farmer Faulkner Florence Foundation Dr. and Mrs. Mark R. Foley Mr. & Mrs. Allen Fonde Hearin-Chandler Foundation Ingram Farms J. L. Bedsole Foundation Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation Dr. E. Grace Pilot Pilot Catastrophe Services, Inc. Regions Financial Corporation Scott Bridge Co., Inc. The Crampton Trust The Daniel Foundation Mrs. Susan Wilcox Turner UMobile Center for Performing Arts

Susan Wilcox Turner Owner, Longleaf Land & Timber Board of Directors, First Community Bank Susan Turner believes in the University of Mobile. She also believes in her community. So what could be better than combining those two passions by establishing an endowed scholarship to make a UMobile education possible for a deserving student from Washington County, Alabama?

“It’s a wonderful thing to be able to send someone to college at a school where you know that Christ is foremost.

Students can get so much more out of an education when you can bring a Christian perspective to it,” she said.

Turner and her husband, former UMobile education professor Dr. Larry Turner (now director of the Alabama 70 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

School of Math and Science), contribute to the success of the university in several ways. She served as a member of the Board of Trustees for 12 years, he served as a professor and dean of the School of Education. Together they established the Bruce and Lillie Turner Endowed Scholarship Fund in memory of his parents. They have added to the fund through the years and been blessed to meet scholarship recipients at the annual scholarship luncheon.

“We designed the scholarship to help people who need it to fill the gap, for a family that might not otherwise be able to go to the University of Mobile and needs that little extra boost,” she said.

She contributes to the university in many other ways as well, including gifts through the Annual Fund, the UMobile Classic Golf Tournament, and even a special donation that enables professors in the School of Education to be involved in national education conventions and seminars.

“The University of Mobile is a wonderful place and there are so many

wonderful people there,” she said.

“Everybody always has such a concern for the student and also for presenting a Christ-centered education. It’s so unique to this area.”

Although she is no longer a member of the Board of Trustees, Tuner said the practice she began then of contributing to the university has continued.

“It is still a part of my donating and my tithing,” she said. “I consider it part of my duty to give.” m

Trustee’s Circle $10,000-$24,999 A. S. Mitchell Foundation Alabama Assoc. of Independent Colleges & Universities Mr. James W. Averett Dr. T. Massey Bedsole Ms. Vivian W. Beech Berea Health Care, Inc. Mr. Joel B. Bullard, Jr. Catfish Junction

Honor Roll of Donors

Community Foundation of South Alabama Mrs. Patricia H. Dorsett Estate of Jeannette G. Kretzer Faith Family Fellowship G. A. West & Co., Inc. Mr. Kenny Harris Mr. Ronnie Holladay Dr. Fred G. Lackey National Management Resources Corp.

Mrs. Deborah R. Nelson Mr. and Mrs. W. Davis Pilot, Jr. Sherwood Baptist Church Mrs. Lynda A. Snow State of Alabama, Dept. of Finance

Paul Stanley Entrepreneur Trustee, University of Mobile Community is important to Paul Stanley. As owner and founder of Catfish Junction restaurant, Parkway Machine and Metal Works Inc. machine shop and fabrication business, Process Pump Repair industrial pump repair, and Wise Technology information technology and software firm, his decision to build his companies in the city of Saraland in north Mobile County is a testament to his belief in the strength and future of the area.

Over the years, from his office just a few miles down the road from the 880-acre campus, he cheered on the growth of Mobile College, and watched with pride as it became the University of Mobile.

That sense of community led to his support of the annual University of Mobile Classic, the golf tournament that raises money for the annual scholarship fund.

“The tournament brings the community together. People who are so

busy otherwise have a chance to take the time to visit and really get a better look at the University of Mobile and meet (UMobile president) Dr. Mark Foley and others in leadership at the school,” Stanley said.

There is another benefit to being tournament sponsor for the past three years.

“Being a person with a competitive nature, I just enjoy playing golf,” Stanley said with a laugh.

Stanley said the university, which borders Saraland, creates a favorable environment for businesses and makes a “huge contribution” to the Mobile area.

Sponsoring the tournament not only helps the university; it also helps his business.

“It is an opportunity to get our restaurant’s name before the people who are part of the leadership of this community,” he said.

Recently, Stanley increased his involvement at UMobile by serving as a member of the Board of Trustees and on that board’s Development Committee.

“I truly believe that it’s an opportunity for me to participate in activities that benefit the university, and I do this simply because of what the university stands for and what it does. It provides

an opportunity for a Christian education,” he said.

Through the years, Stanley’s businesses have employed UMobile students. He and his wife, Carolyn, have enjoyed the opportunity to get to know the students and follow their careers.

“We are so proud of them,” he said.

Making that quality Christian higher education available to more students is another reason he supports the school.

“With the university not having the state support that some other schools might have, it is important that people blessed to the point they can contribute do that, in order to position the university in such a way that it can impact more lives. That’s important to me,” Stanley said.

(To learn how your business can support the University of Mobile, call Brian Boyle, vice president for institutional advancement, at 251.442.2287 or email brian@umobile.edu.) m

Honorary Fellow $5,000-$9,999 Baptist Foundation of Alabama Mr. Harwell E. Coale, Jr. Mr. Frank C. Daniels Dayspring Baptist Church Dogwood Church, Inc. Downtown Fellowship Church Ms. Vivian L. Duvalle The Dudley & Dorothy Ellis Foundation Highland Colony Baptist Church Dr. W. Clayton Hoffman Infirmary Health Systems, Inc. Mr. Carl E. Johnson Ms. Billie R. Kohen Mr. Christopher J. Laico Mr. & Mrs. Clint Matthews Mr. & Mrs. Mike O’Neill John E. and Aliese Price Foundation Northland, A Church Distributed Dr. Thomas S. Strong umobile.edu 71

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SummerGrove Baptist Church Dr. Joseph F. West Williams Charitable Foundation Mr. Fred H. Wilson

Dr. Tom Strong Class of 1967 Dean of Students Emeritus, University of Alabama As the first student body president of Mobile College – now the University of Mobile – Tom Strong worked sideby-side with new administrators and professors to build a college.

“I recognized not only at the time, but even now, how valuable the experience as student body president was for me.

It affected my entire career,” Strong said. “It gave me a chance to work with university administrators that I never would have had otherwise, which really was instrumental in my choosing to go into administration in higher education.”

In his long career as an associate vice president and dean of students at the University of Alabama, Tom’s goal was to recreate the small school atmosphere he first experienced at UMobile. In retirement, he continues to serve on several administrative committees at UA and coach the water skiing team.

Recently, he and wife Pam created an endowed scholarship at the University of Mobile that will generate scholarships for presidents of the Student Government Association.

“There are some students who would make wonderful leaders but would not have that opportunity because they have to work. I don’t think any student should be deprived of choosing to be a student leader because of money,” Strong said.

He encouraged other SGA presidents through the years to contribute to the new SGA Presidents Endowed 72 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

Scholarship Fund, where donations of all sizes will be invested and earnings will provide an annual scholarship.

“My hope is there would be some student who normally would not choose to run because of lack of funding, who would now choose to run and become an effective leader,” Strong said. “And that it would have a lifelong effect on them in terms of what they do and how they serve.”

To contribute to the SGA Presidents Endowed Scholarship Fund, contact the Office of Development at the University of Mobile, 251.442.2236. m

President’s Club $1,000-$4,999 Alabama Power Company Allied Mortgage Corporation Aloma Church Ministries, Inc. Mr. & Mrs. J. Thomas Arendall, Jr. AUSTAL USA Ms. Anna E. Baker Mr. & Mrs. Al Balderas Baldwin Mining Co., Inc. Mr. Paul S. Barnett BASF Corporation Bay Minette First Baptist Church Mr. Travis M. Bedsole, Jr. Bickert Family Foundation Birmingham Baptist Association

Mrs. Teresa W. Blakney Mr. Brian P. Boyle Mr. & Mrs. Thomas P. Boyle, Jr. Dr. Roger Breland Mr. William M. Breland Brewers Memorial Church Broadmoor Baptist Church Mr. & Mrs. Charlie Brown Mr. and Mrs. William G. Buchanan Mr. and Mrs. Fred Burke, Jr. Callis Communications Calvary Baptist Church Camden Baptist Church Cedar Grove Baptist Church Central Baptist Church Chevron Humankind Matching Gift Program Chickasaw First Baptist Church Cincinnati Insurance Company Mr. Michael Clarke Coale, Dukes, Kirkpatrick & Crowley, P.C. Compass Bank Mr. David J. Conner Mr. Bobby Cooner Major General J. Gary Cooper Copperfield Church Counselman Automotive Recycling, LLC Mr. Tyler Crane Daniel Metals Incorporated Dauphin Way Baptist Church Mr. Randall M. Davis Mr. Robert DeOliveira Dr. and Mrs. James Draper ECM Home Health Services, Inc. Elvera M. Bergdolt TTEE Enterprise First Baptist Church Dr. Audrey C. Eubanks Excel Baptist Church Fairhaven Baptist Church Mrs. Cynthia W. Fallon Dr. H. Wade Faulkner Fidelity Found. Matching Gifts to Educ. Prog.

Fifteenth Avenue Baptist Church First Baptist Church First Baptist Church First Baptist Church Atlanta First Baptist Church Jacksonville First Baptist Church of Crestview

Honor Roll of Donors

First Baptist Church of Dawes First Baptist Church of Honolulu First Baptist Church of Oviedo First Baptist Church of Panama City First Baptist Church of Plant City First Baptist Church of Snellville First Baptist Church of Sylvester, Inc. First Baptist Church Tillman’s Corner First Baptist Jackson First Baptist North Mobile Follett Higher Education Group For Life Ministries Fountain of Life Church Mrs. Rebecca Fox Franklin Primary Health Center, Inc. Mrs. Shawn B. Frost G and Z Investments Mr. Jim I. Ginnings Mr. Wayne Gordon Gulf Breeze United Methodist Church Gulf Equipment Corporation Hand Arendall, LLC Helmsing, Leach, Herlong, Newman & Rouse Heritage Church of God Ms. Deanna Hickman Hickory Hammock Baptist Church Hillcrest Baptist Church Hillwood Baptist Church Ms. Shirley M. Hoch Ms. Leigh Ann Holmes Ms. Sally A. Holmes Mr. Pfilip G. Hunt Jr. Idlewild Baptist Church Jackson Way Baptist Church Johnson, Slaughter, Elder & Northcutt, P.A. Mr. Dale W. Johnson Mr. Donald R. Jordan Mr. Roy E. King Lakeview Baptist Church Mr. William Bibb Lamar, Jr. Mr. Brian Landers Joseph N. Langan Charitable Trust Mr. David C. Lannie Jr. Mr. Forrest S. Latta Leavell Investment Management Mrs. Kimberly Leousis Liberty Baptist Church Liberty Baptist Church

Lindsay Lane Baptist Church Dr. Anne Lowery Luke 4:18 Fellowship Dr. Sven-Peter Mannsfeld Mr. James H. Massey Maytown Baptist Church Dr. Robert H. Maxwell Mr. Roger E. McConnell Mr. W. Ken McElhaney, Sr. Dr. Robert B. McGinley Mr. Christopher McManus Mid South ITI User Group Mr. & Mrs. Oscar Miskelly Mr. George R. Montgomery Mr. & Mrs. Lawrence S. Morgan Mount Zion Baptist Church Mr. Michael G. Myles Dr. John Myrick NewSong Ministries, Inc. North Central Baptist Church North Jacksonville Baptist Church, Inc. Oak Grove Baptist Church Office Equipment Company Olive Baptist Church Osborn Transportation, Inc. Mr. Dean N. Parker, Jr. Dr. W. Rick Payne Dr. Hazel A. Petersen-Walter Mr. Will G. Phillips Pine Terrace Baptist Church Mr. John M. Plunk Ms. Glenda A. Presley Precision IBC, Inc. Premiere Speakers Bureau Prism Music, Inc. Dr. Virginia L. Quandt Rangeline Baptist Church Rev. Allen M. Ray Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund Mr. & Mrs. James C. Richardson Mr. Douglas Rigney Rikard Charitable Trust Roberts Charitable Foundation Rocky Creek Baptist Church Rev. Emmett P. Roper Ms. Joelle G. Rosen Salem Baptist Church Dr. Yetta G. Samford, Jr. Dr. Pete Sanchez, Jr.

Satsuma First Baptist Church SCHOOL inSITES.com, LLC Semmes First Baptist Church Mr. Tom Sharp Mr. David P. Shepherd Dr. Phillip L. Shouppe Silver Heights Baptist Church Mr. & Mrs. James Eugene Sims, Jr. Smith, Dukes & Buckalew, LLP Snow Road First Baptist Church Mr. Roswell Sloan, Jr. Sonny Callahan and Associates, LLC South Coast Church Spring Hill Baptist Church Springhill Memorial Hospital St. Andrew Baptist Church St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Mr. & Mrs. David J. Stallard, Jr. State Farm Companies Foundation Mr. Fred T. Stimpson Mr. W. Sandy Stimpson Ms. Jean Street Dr. Cecil R. Taylor Dr. Diana S. Tedder The Church of the Cove The First Baptist Church of Orlando, Inc. The Oasis Church, Inc. The Orthopaedic Group, P.C. The UPS Foundation Thomasville Baptist Church Tractor & Equipment Co. Foundation Mr. Adam Turnipseed UMobile Campus Ministries United Way of Southwest Alabama, Inc. University of Mobile Urology and Oncology Specialists, P. C. UTOPIA, LLC Valley View Baptist Church Col. Eli L. Veazey, Ret. Vessel Holdings, LLC Village Baptist Church Volunteers of America Wade Baptist Church Wanda Barnett Charitable Foundation, Inc. Dr. Howard S. J. Walker, Jr. Mrs. Debbie R. Ward Mrs. Joan C. Watterson Dr. William K. Weaver, Jr. Mr. Steve Weller

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Ms. Jessie B. Werdung Mr. Gary A. West, Sr. Dr. James L. West Westmeade Baptist Church Westside Baptist Church Mr. Charles Wilbanks, Jr. Willis North America, Inc. Wilmer First Baptist Church Winfield First Baptist Church Wiregrass Church Woodlawn Baptist Church Woodridge Baptist Church Xante Corporation

Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation Continues Legacy of Remarkable Woman Hundreds of female students at the University of Mobile have been able to pursue their dreams of higher education through the generosity of a remarkable woman and her family.

UMobile is among more than 200 institutions which participate annually in the Lettie Pate Whitehead scholarship program. Through this foundation, chartered in 1946, scholarships are awarded based on need to Christian women who live in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

For more than 25 years, the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation has awarded more than $1.7 million to UMobile, which is distributed in varying amounts to eligible recipients.

Lettie Pate Whitehead was born Letitia Pate in Bedford County, Va., in 1872 and educated at private schools in Bedford and Lynchburg. In 1895 she married a young attorney, Joseph Brown Whitehead and had two sons, Joseph B., Jr. and Conkey Pate.

In 1899, Mr. Whitehead and an 74 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

Photo by Ben Finch associate approached The Coca-Cola Company with the idea of bottling Coca-Cola, a fountain beverage then growing in popularity in the South. The two entrepreneurs secured an exclusive contract to bottle and sell Coca-Cola throughout most of the U.S. The Whiteheads moved to Atlanta in 1903, and Mr. and Mrs. Whitehead quickly became business, church and civic leaders in Atlanta.

When Mr. Whitehead died at age 42 in 1906, Mrs. Whitehead immediately assumed responsibility for the family’s business affairs, overseeing not only the expansion of the Coca-Cola bottling business, but also the family’s real estate investments. She became one of the first women to serve on the board of directors of a major American corporation, serving as director of The Coca-Cola Company for almost 20 years beginning in 1934.

Seven years after Mr. Whitehead’s death, Mrs. Whitehead married Col. Arthur Kelly Evans, a retired Canadian army officer. They moved to Hot Springs, Va., where she became active in cultural and civic affairs.

Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans felt a

keen sense of duty to those in need, contributing to numerous charities in Georgia and Virginia during her lifetime.

Her benevolence extended also to England and France. She made personal donations to the Queen’s Fund for air raid victims, furnished ambulances for the French, and served on the board of the American Hospital in Paris.

She survived both of her sons and her second husband. Her oldest son created the Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation as a memorial to his father. Her youngest son founded the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation. Before her death in 1953, she established the Lettie Pate Evans Foundation.

Grants from foundations such as the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation are vital to the mission of the University of Mobile. The scholarships awarded through the generosity of the Whitehead family provide today’s young women with opportunities to “pay it forward” as leaders in business, church and civic life – and to pay tribute to the leadership of one remarkable woman who led the way.

Do you serve on a foundation that strives to make a difference in the world?

Honor Roll of Donors

For information on how the University of Mobile can help your foundation change the world through our students, contact Marty Pittman, Office of Institutional Advancement, at 251.442.2236 or email mpittman@umobile.edu. m

Dean’s Circle $500-$999 Academy Sports Mr. Spencer M. Adams Alabama Humanities Foundation Ms. Suzie Arseneault Aliceville First Baptist Church Artcraft Press, Inc. Mr. Erk Ashbee Mrs. Alicia M. Atcheson Mr. Spencer L. Bailey BankTrust Barnett Millworks, Inc. Mr. Edward Baxley Dr. Barry Booth Mrs. Mary A. Boresky Mr. C. Earnest Boshell Dr. Janice Bowers Mr. Richard L. Bragg Dr. Robert R. Brinson Ms. Carolyn S. Brooks Dr. Donald E. Brown Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Franklin D. Brown Dr. Kaye F. Brown Dr. Lonnie A. Burnett Canaan Baptist Church Mrs. Carol M. Camp Christ Covenant Church Christ the Redeemer Church, Inc. Church on the Eastern Shore Circlewood Baptist Church Clearview Baptist Church Ms. Courtney Colbey Mrs. Rachael B. Counselman Cottage Hill Baptist Church Cottage Hill Baptist School System Mrs. Mary M. Cox Creola Assembly of God Dempsey Oil Company Donna L. Jordan Revocable Living Trust

Double Springs First Baptist Church Mr. Robert T. Drew Mr. Timothy P. Duke Ms. Carolyn Durant Enon Baptist Church Mr. Bruce A. Earnest Fairhope First Baptist Church Ms. Patrice M. Ferguson Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund First Baptist Church of Headland Five Star Heating & Cooling, Inc Ms. Brittney M. Flowers Mrs. Shirley J. Foley Frank R. Wade Office Equipment Green Gates Market Gulf Coast Federal Credit Union Gulf Coast Financial Associates Mr. Terry H. Harbin Mr. Bill F. Hart Mrs. Pamela T. Henson Harvest Church Hillcrest Baptist Church Mr. Jim S. Holland, Sr. Holly Creek Baptist Church Home of Grace for Women, Inc. Mr. A. Pharr Hume In Worship Interstate Heating & Cooling, Inc. Mr. Herbert A. Irish Ms. D. J. Johnson Mrs. Jennifer Jones Karat Patch Knollwood Assembly of God Ms. Bertha Arnold Lammert Mr. Neal Ledbetter Mr. William H. Ledbetter, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Carson Looney Mr. Christopher E. Lovely Light for Living Madison-Ridgeland Academy Manning, Inc. Mrs. Doraine P. Mayo Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast Mr. C. Dennis McCann Dr. Mike McLemore Mrs. Nancy M. Melton Mobile Baptist W.M.U. Mobile Gas Service Corporation Mobile Rock & Gem Society Myers Memorial Baptist Church

New Grace Christian Church New Life Baptist Church Mr. James W. Perkins, Jr. Mr. Brian P. Person Ms. Susann F. Pierce Mr. Curtis F. Pilot Mr. & Mrs. Rodney Pilot Ms. Brenda J. Pope Mr. R. Malcolm Privette Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church Randy Davis Campaign Fund Mr. & Mrs. Barry Reeves Ms. Melissa M. Reeves Ridgecrest Baptist Church Dr. Faye D. Roberts Mr. Russell D. Roberts Ms. Deborah A. Robinson Mrs. Roxanne Rosen Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation Ms. Teresa Sands Sav A Life, Mobile, Inc. Mr. Phillip C. Savage Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Ronald W. Schierer Mr. Charles C. Seymour Mr. James Shore Ms. Margaret L. Skinner Southeastern Council of Foundations, Inc. Dr. Dwight M. Steedley Mr. Frank Tegnander The Trust Co. of Sterne, Agee, Leach, Inc. Tibbie Baptist Church Mr. & Mrs. Bobby E. Tidmore Mr. & Mrs. T. Steen Trawick Trinity Baptist Church Trinity Interiors, Inc. Mr. & Mrs. James A. Turnipseed Twilley Builders, Inc. UMobile Summer Music Camp Walt Massey Automotive, Inc. Mrs. Benita S. West Mr. William Clay Whittington Mr. & Mrs. David Wiggins Mr. Charles Wilbanks Mrs. Edith J. Wilcox Willis HRH Mr. Robert E. Wojohn

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“We have been very blessed through the years and want to use these blessings to serve God,” Barringer said.

The monthly support and prayers enable the CPA to provide the high-level professional instruction that prepares students to excel. m

Benefactor $150-$499

David Barringer Kingdom of Bahrain As a partner with a global professional services firm, David Barringer leads the firm’s oil and gas practice in the Middle East and had previous posts in London and Houston. But his global perspective isn’t limited to his career – he also has a global perspective of ministry.

That’s why he has chosen to support the University of Mobile and, specifically, the Center for Performing Arts, through monthly financial contributions and prayer.

“As Christians, we all need to reach out to as many as possible to share God’s word. We all have different gifts, means and ways of doing this. For us, we can reach more people through the ministry of others and have always felt music was a powerful way to do this,” he said.

Barringer’s connection to the University of Mobile began with a personal connection to Dr. Roger Breland, a lifelong family friend and now vice president for special projects and executive director of the Center for Performing Arts (CPA) at UMobile.

76 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

180 Communications, Inc. Ms. Sandy Akers Alabama Christian Foundation Anderson & Wells, PC Ms. Cheri L. Andrews Dr. H. Morgan Ashurst Rev. John E. Baldwin Mr. James M. Barnes Mr. Joseph L. Bedwell Mr. James R. Bellew Ben M. Radcliff Contractor Mrs. Janette M. Bergdolt Lt. Col. Jeff C. Bergdolt Dr. Kenneth Bergdolt Dr. Donald K. Berry Mrs. Diane S. Black Dr. & Mrs. James E. Blackman, Jr. Mr. Sidney B. Bledsoe, Jr. Ms. Quinnie D. Blizzard Mr. David F. Bolling Mr. Ricky Brackins Mr. Charlie G. Bridges Ms. Faye Brooks Mr. Kent Brooks Mrs. Melba S. Brown Rev. R. Gary Browning Mrs. Cynthia Bruns BRC Consulting LLC Ms. Virginia A. Campbell Capshaw Baptist Church Mrs. Diann Carithers Mr. J. Paul Carter Mrs. Cynthia M. Catlett Mr. Robert G. Chalmers Mr. and Mrs. Randy Chambers Chilton Baptist Association Ms. Betty Counce Mr. & Mrs. Carey Lee Counselman Mr. James A. Crane Mrs. Violette H. Darnell Mr. Michael Davis Rev. Odie Davis, Jr. Mrs. Kathy P. Dean Ms. Janice O. Deuel Rev. William C. Dobbs, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. David H. Doolittle Mrs. Kathy Dunning Mrs. Margaret D. Dunstan Eagle Heights Church Mr. Doug Eden Mr. Charles D. Enfinger Faith Academy, Inc. Fantasy Sports Media Ventures, LLC Mrs. Shirley W. Fields Ms. Susan S. Fields Dr. Jane H. Finley First Baptist Church of Eclectic First Baptist Church Woodstock, GA First Coast Baptist Church Ms. Edeen H. Galbreath Mrs. Donna Kay S. Gambrell Mr. Randy L. Garn Ms. Cheryl A. Gibbs Mr. & Mrs. Phillip Gilbert Government Street Baptist Church Greater Gulf State Fair, Inc. Mrs. Elizabeth J. Grizzle Grove Level Baptist Church Gulf Coast Christian Center Gulf Coast Tours, Inc. Gulf Coast Worship Center Mrs. Suzanne C. Hagan Ms. Elizabeth Hamilton Mr. Hugh E. Hardaway, Sr. Pastor Andy Hepburn Mrs. Karen P. Hicks Mr. John R. Hill Insurance & Investment Consultants, Inc. Integrity Media, Inc J & K Enterprises Mrs. Yolonda T. Jarman Jim Boothe Contracting Ms. Teressa R. Jones Mrs. Elaine Kyser Lachappelle Electric Company Ms. Veronica W. Lachappelle Mrs. Jana’ Lassiter Ms. Sammie T. Laster Mrs. Kathy P. Lee Mrs. Sybil Lee Mr. & Mrs. Edward Leonard Ms. Mary Leousis Life Church of Mobile, Inc. Dr. Edward H. Litton Living Word Church, Inc. Mr. Maury E. Lomax Mr. Henry E. Lowery, Jr. Mr. Thomas L. Lyles Mrs. Linda Maloy Mr. Jere W. Marques Mars Hill Ministries Mary G. Montgomery High School

Honor Roll of Donors

Ms. Veronica S. Masters Ms. Glenda H. Mathis Ms. Mary G. May Mr. Gordon B. McBryde Ms. Trisha McConnell Dr. Richard F. McElhaney, Sr. Ms. Carole D. McKee Ms. Virginia K. McKinney Mr. Randy E. McManus Mrs.Terri McNellage Mrs. Elizabeth Megginson Ms. Allison H. Miller Dr. Pamela B. Miller Ms. Eloise Y. Mims Ms. Sandra A. Mims Mobile Bay Area Veterans Day Commission, Inc. Mr. & Mrs. Leland T. Moore, Sr. Ms. Joan M. Murphy Mr. A. Farrar Nettles Mr. Joseph P. Niland Ms. Tarah L. Olewski Ms. Jennie B. Osborne Mr. & Mrs. Robert F. Owens Mrs. Lisa L. Patterson Mr. & Mrs. Frank J. Person Mrs. Kasie B. Person Mr. Martin S. Pettit Mrs. Janice E. Pittman-Britton Ms. Carla M. Pope Mr. James D. Preachers, Jr. Mrs. Dale Prentiss Mr. William E. Pruden Mrs. Michelle M. Quimby Mrs. Helen W. Reeves Mr. & Mrs. Steven M. Reynolds Dr. W. A. Ritchie Mr. Arnold W. Rosen Ms. Doris Ruff Mrs. Judy Rush Mrs. Jamie C. Saad Safe Harbor United Methodist Church Mr. Toby C. Seay Shalom Baptist Church Mrs. Melanie M. Sharpless Mr. Herman R. Shoemaker Mrs. Sally Shouppe Singing River Regional Facilities FND, Inc. Ms. Melinda Sipress Mr. Frederick M. Smith, Sr. Sonrise Baptist Church Mr. & Mrs. J. H. Sorrells Southside Baptist Church Mrs. Carolyn St. John Ms. Jacqueline L. Stearns Dr. Todd F. Stearns Mrs. Charlene B. Steedley

Mrs. Shirley Sutterfield Mr. Christopher T. Sylvester Ms. Heather N. Szymanski Mr. Darrell Taubel Mr. Davie J. Taulbee, III Dr. Lemuel Taylor, Jr. Dr. James C. Taylor, Jr. The Ararat Foundation The River Mr. Aubrey M. Thompson Mr. & Mrs. Joshua A. Thompson Ms. Karen Tidwell Training in Mission Evangelism UMobile Development Office UMobile Friendship Fund Mr. Steven Walker Ms. Sally Walley Ms. Connie D. Walton Ward Properties, Inc. We Care Program Mr. Jeffrey B. Wells Mr. Darrell West West Mobile Baptist Church Mrs. Mary Lou E. Westover Mr. Richard B. Whatley White-Spunner Construction, Inc. Mrs. Michele M. Whittington Rev. Kevin C. Wilburn Mrs. Albert F. Willis Dr. Roger D. Willmore Mr. B. Maxwell Woodruff, Jr. Dr. Dale Younce

Friend $20-$149 Ms. Jennifer M. Abner Mrs. Carole Adams Mr. Michael Adler Ms. Amanda L. Akey Mrs. Brynn G. Albretsen Mrs. Anita G. Albritton Mr. Anthony L. Alderman Ms. Anna L. Allen Rev. Elemuel L. Allen Mrs. Lynda Allen Ms. Terri Allen Mrs. Donna J. Allen Mr. Sammy Allred Dr. James L. Allums Aloha Park LLC Ms. Charlene Alvey Mr. Kevin S. Amacker Mr. & Mrs. Harry O. Amos Ms. Leona Anderson Mrs. Mary I. Anderson

Mrs. Iris L. Anderson Ms. Kimberly D. Andreoli Ms. Brenda S. Andress Mr. Noel V. Andrews Mrs. Mary E. Andry Mr. R. Thomas Ankerson, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Matthew H. Appleby Ms. Stephanie E. Archer Ms. Ann Armstrong Mr. Larry E. Armstrong Ms. Susan Armstrong Ms. Cyndi M. Arnold Mrs. Diane C. Arnold Mr. Robert Askelson Ms. Irana Rae Aumann Ms. Cindy Austin Mr. Kenneth H. Aycock Mr. Abdolali Badri Ms. Myriam Baggett Mr. John O. Bagley Ms. Pamela D. Bagley Mr. Owen Bailey Ms. Patty Bailey Ms. Alyssa J. Baker Mr. Jamie E. Baker Ms. Lenora G. Baker Ms. Pamela Baker Ms. Trina Baker Mrs. Dotti R. Baker Mr. Richard A. Ball Mr. & Mrs. Kent M. Ballard Ms. Lissa N. Bardin Mrs. Mary Jill Barfoot Ms. Stephanie A. Barnes Ms. Kathleen B. Barnum Ms. Janice Q. Barrett Ms. M. Babe Barrett Mr. Jeff Barton Ms. Margaret P. Bass Mr. & Mrs. Billy Bates Mrs. Marie Batson Ms. Deborah A. Bauerkemper Mr. Wyatt Bayer Miss Sharron A. Beasley Mr. William K. Beatty Rev. Jerry L. Beavers Mr. Sean C. Bebbington Mr. George M. Beck Ms. Janelle R. Beiler Ms. Jennifer N. Beiler Mr. Richard F. Beirne, IV Mr. Matthew P. Beisel Mrs. Wendy Belcner Ica G. Bell Ms. Lisa M. Bell Ms. Melinda G. Bennett Mr. Dan Bernard Mr. James E. Berrian Mrs. Bonita B. Berry Beverly Tanner Sun. School

Class Ms. Bonnie C. Beviacqua Ms. Sarah G. Beyette Dr. Cynthia Biegler Ms. Nancy Bigelow Dr. Thomas E. Bilbo Mr. & Mrs. Jim Bingaman Ms. Diana M. Bird Ms. Margaret R. Bird Ms. Suzanne Bird Ms. Shirley F. Bishop Mrs. Martha V. Bishop Mr. & Mrs. Billy W. Black Ms. Deana H. Black Ms. Jennifer C. Black Mrs. Vanice S. Blackman Ms. Glinda Blackshear Mrs. Melissa W. Blake Mr. Nathaniel Blanks, Jr. Ms. Diane Blanton Ms. Mary M. Bode Mr. Milton J. Bolling Ms. L ee Bonds Mr. Lindsey C. Boney, III Mrs. Miranda D. Bonner Ms. Christine L. Bookbinder Mrs. Sheila C. Booker Mrs. Judith Ruth Boone Mr. & Mrs. William J. Boor Borden and Morris Consulting Engineers Ms. Melissa A. Boudreaux Ms. Barbara L. Bowar Mr. & Mrs. Judson Bowen Ms. Janice Peoples Boyles Mrs. Kay Brackett Mrs. Maxine Brackin Mrs. Rebekah L. Metts Mr. & Mrs. Rick Bragg Ms. Cynthia W. Brannon Ms. Katelynd E. Branum Mr. & Mrs. Wayne Brasell Ms. Regina Bray Ms. Megan L. Brazel Mrs. Sharon Brazel Mr. David Breeden Ms. Mary Jo Breland Ms. Betty F. Brewer Ms. Peggy Brewer Ms. Teresa Joiner Broadus Ms. Delana Brockett Mr. Adam Brooks Ms. Ashley Brooks Mr. John C. Broussard Ms. Julia B. Brown Ms. Karla Brown Ms. Mary M. Brown Ms. Mary Katherine Brown Mrs. Tammie D. Brown Mr. T. Jeremy Brown umobile.edu 77

Honor Roll of Donors

Friend Continued Mr. Timothy L. Brown Mrs. Charlene S. Brown Mrs. Sharon K. Brown Mrs. Wanda R. Brown Ms. Courtney S. Browning Ms. Deborah L. Browning Ms. Gwyn Bruner Mr. John G. Bruns Mr. & Mrs. Otis H. Brunson Jr. Ms. Saundra D. Brunson Ms. Elizabeth A. Bruxvoort Mrs. Angela D. Bryan Ms. Erica W. Bryan Mr. J. H. Bryan Ms. Brenda E. Bryant Rev. Glenn F. Bryars Mrs. Mary Jo Bryars Ms. Pamela S. Bryars Ms. Tori W. Buchanan Ms. Jennifer Buckland Mrs. Tara S. Bufkin Ms. Beverly B. Bullard Ms. Shaaron J. Bumpers Mr. Kelly O. Burdette Mrs. Joy B. Burge Rev. Stephen D. Burgett Mrs. Vicki Burgin Mr. J. Rhett Burleson Ms. Linda Burnash Ms. Debi L. Burnett Rev. Art Burroughs Mr. Louie E. Burrus, III Mr. Kenneth A. Bush Ms. Sandra K. Bush Ms. Victoria A. Busig Ms. Paula D. Butte Ms. Rhonda C. Buzbee Mrs. Melissa M. Buzzard Ms. Cynthia D. Byrd Mr. James Kent Byrd Ms. Darlene Byrd-Phillips Mrs. Teresa B. Callan Ms. Jennifer Callaway Mr. John W. Calton Ms. Joyce W. Calvert Mr. C. H. Campbell Jr. Mr. Carl H. Campbell Ms. Kourtney R. Campbell Mrs. Anna S. Campbell Ms. Barbara Cantaline Mr. Robert L. Cantwell, Jr. Mrs. JoAnne Y. Carey Ms. Imogene Carhart Ms. Marianne Carhart Ms. Judy T. Carlis Mrs. Barbara L. Carlson Mr. & Mrs. Dale V. Carpenter Mr. William R. Carr 78 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

Ms. Delores Carter Mrs. Mitchell S. Carter Ms. Bethany J. Case Mr. & Mrs. Bernard J. Cassity Ms. Tamara Catrett Mr. Gary J. Cavnar Mr. & Mrs. Darren Chafin Mr. & Mrs. David S. Chalker Ms. Laura G. Champion Mrs. Debra H. Chancey Ms. Callie A. Chandler Ms. Wanda G. Chandler Mr. & Mrs. Carl Chapman Ms. Brenda Chastain Ms. Cindy Chastain Ms. Linda L. Chastang Ms. Carolyn Anne Cherry Mr. Gerald Nolan Cherry Mr. W. Warren Chesser Ms. Charlene Chisum Ms. Gladys R. Christian Ms. Olivette Roy Christie Mr. & Mrs. Earnest Cisneros Ms. Gretchen L. Clanton Mrs. Jacqueline R. Clarke Coast Safe & Lock Co., Inc. Mr. Dale L. Cobb Ms. Merle Cobb Ms. Tammie W. Coburn Ms. Donna L. Cochran Mr. Stephen E. Cochran Mrs. Virginia H. Cochran Ms. Patricia A. Coffman Ms. Melanie G. Cole Mr. D. V. Coleman Mrs. Debbie Coleman Ms. Jeanenne G. Coleman Ms. Charlene C. Collier Mr. Charles M. Collins Mr. & Mrs. John R. Collins Mrs. Joy P. Collins Ms. Amber Lee Collinsworth Ms. Jane Q. Conkin Ms. Michelle Conley Mr. & Mrs. David Constantine Ms. Lara K Constantine Ms. Kimberly Cook Ms. Christina F. Cooley Mr. & Mrs. Steve D. Cooner Mr. Hal Cooper Mr. William T. Cooper, Jr. Ms. Betty Sorrells Copeland Ms. Jacqueline H. Copeland Ms. Patricia A. Corder Mrs. Mary Ann Corgill Mr. Eric Cottingham Ms. Brenda J. Counce Mr. & Mrs. Billy R. Cowan Ms. Mary Anne Cowgill Mr. Gerald W. Craft

Mr. & Mrs. Scott Crane Mr. & Mrs. Scott Crane Ms. Sherry E. Cribb Mr. Jamey Crosson Crosswater Community Church Mrs. Iris Y. Crowe Crown Ribbon Company Mr. Robert B. Culver, II Mr. & Mrs. Charles Cummings Mr. J. Reid Cummings Ms. Linda Currie Ms. Yolanda O. Curry Mrs. Annetta Curtis Ms. Stacie D. Dalrymple Ms. Donna Darrah Ms. Annette Daugherty Ms. Heather Daugherty Mr. Michael Tyler Davenport Ms. Sheila C. Davidson Mr. Campbell Grey Davis Mr. and Mrs. John I. Davis Ms. Karen M. Davis Ms. L. Jane Davis Mr. Larry Davis Mr. M. Scott Davis Mrs. Marsha C. Davis Mr. Michael J. Davis Mr. Ronald Davis Ms. Sheryl R. Davis Mrs. Wanda A. Dawson Ms. Kathleen Day Mr. Glenn P. Deal Ms. Beth Dean Ms. Carla Thompson Dean Mr. Chip Dean Mr. Rowland H. Dean Mr. Scott Dearmon Ms. Frances C. Dees Mrs. Janeice H. deLange Mr. Nathan P. Delauder Mr. and Mrs. Terry Delcuze Ms. Laura A. Delegal Mrs. Doris B. Delmarter Ms. Nancy W. Dennis Ms. Philomena M. Devine Mrs. Deborah A. Dial Mrs. Cindy Dickerson Ms. Lyn L. Difenderfer Ms. Joanie Doggett Ms. Ann M. Dolan Capt. James W. Donahue III Ms. Jeanne D. Donald Mr. Joel W. Donald Ms. Heather D. Donaldson Ms. Heather A. Donner Dr. G. Wayne Dorsett, Jr. Mr. Martin E. Dorsett Mr. & Mrs. Sam Doswell Ms. Sadie Douglas Mrs. Lisa W. Doyle

Ms. Myrna J. Dozier Mr. Gerald D. Drakeford Mr. Clarence E. Drakes Ms. Michelle Drashman Mr. & Mrs. William E. Drew, Jr. Mr. Ralph A. Driggers Mr. C. Daryl Drinkard Mrs. Sarah C. Driskell Ms. Janice R. Dubberly Mr. Michael Dubbs Mr. James M. DuBose Mr. Jerry G. DuBose Mr. Aubrey B. Duncan Ms. Lola Duncan Mrs. Donna R. Dunn Rev. H. Haskell Dunn Mr. Marc A. Dunn Mrs. Patricia L. Dunn Ms. Amy Dye Mr. Wayne A. Dyess Dykes Veterinary Clinic Ms. Victoria Dykes Mr. & Mrs. Jerry W. Eady Ms. Emily M. Ealum Mrs. Susan D. Eastburn Mrs. Mattie R. Easter Mrs. Jean Easterling Eastern Hills Baptist Church Ms. Shelia Eaton Mr. Eddie Eckerman Ms. Gwendolyn Elliott Mr. Watson E. Ellzey Mr. Joe Endry Mrs. Audra K. Englebert Ms. Linda M. Englert Ms. Laura Ericson Escape Landscaping & Lawn Care, Inc. Ms. Pauline S. Essary Ms. Paula J. Estep Ms. Nakeshian Esters Ms. Bonnie Evans Mr. Eugene E. Evans Mr. Chris J. Evelsizer Dr. Kenneth L. Farley Ms. Rene Farmer Ms. Susan Farni Ms. Eve H. Farrier Mrs. Konnie N. Fayard Ms. Sharon P. Feaster Ms. Marilyn Feller-King Ms. Debora F. Fetters Ms. Ann Lee Fillers Ms. Rosemary S. Fish Ms. Kim H. Fisher Mrs. Debra L. Fisher-Bridges Mrs. Allison Fleming Ms. Janet W. Fleming Ms. Oma I. Fockler Foley Framing

Honor Roll of Donors

Ms. Samantha L. Folse Mrs. Kristyn L. Ford Ms. Jill Fore Dr. Daniel B. Forshee Ms. Diana Friend Foster Ms. Jacqueline B. Fountain Ms. Barbara R. Fowler Mr. Samuel Fowler Ms. Stella J. Fowler Mr. Ben Fowler Mr. Timothy A. Fox Mr. Richard E. Frank Ms. Celia Franklin Ms. Marsha L. Franklin Ms. Rianna M. Freeman Mrs. Angela S. Frego Ms. Debbie Friend Ms. Rhonda L. Fryer Ms. Edith N. Fuller Ms. Katey L. Fuller Ms. Shawna Fuller Mrs. Leah S. Funderburk Ms. Kris J. Gaikowski Ms. Joan C. Gainous Mr. Gerard P. Galle, Jr. Ms. Gaye E. Gandy Mr. Raymond D. Gardiner Ms. Eileen K. Gardner Mr. Brett Garrett Ms. Katherine Garrett Mrs. Mary L. Garrett Ms. Patricia Y. Garrison Mr. Sammy Gates Mrs. Susan B. Gattis Ms. Judy E. Gay Ms. Donna L. George Ms. Jacqueline J. Gillman Mrs. Sharon Girkin Mr. D. Brian Glazner Ms. Carol Glidewell Dr. Sue Gober Ms. Karen N. Gochey Mr. & Mrs. Scott R. Godheim Ms. Kathleen R. Godsoe Ms. Hope Goff Mr. Jacob M. Goforth Ms. Patricia M. Goodman Mr. Andrew S. Goodwin Mrs. Jenna H. Goodwin Mr. Gerritt Gordon Mrs. April N. Gordon Ms. Karen J. Gotshall Mrs. Phyllis A. Gottlieb Mr. Kingston Govati Mr. John M. Graham Ms. Katelyn R. Graham Ms. Marsha Graham Mr. Stephen B. Graham Ms. Tamra Graham Ms. Michelle L. Grant

Ms. Laurel L. Graves Sgt. Angela E. Gray, USARG Ms. Phyllis B. Gray Mr. C. E. Green Mr. William E. Green Mr. J. David Greene Mr. & Mrs. John H. Greene, III Mrs. Renea R. Greene Ms. Dianne B. Greer Ms. Kerri A. Grell Ms. Donna H. Gremillion Ms. Ida L. Gremillion Mr & Mrs. James R. Grierson Mr. Daniel Griffin Rev. Ronald G. Griffin Mr. John W. Griffith Mr. Russell Grigsby Ms. Rita P. Grippa P. A. Grogan Mrs. Carolyn H. Grube Mr. Jay Guild Gulf Coast Electric Co-Op, Inc. Mrs. Kim M. Gully Ms. Teri Gurley Ms. Carol S. Hackbarth Mr. Clayton N. Hahn Ms. Christina N. Hall Mr. Dale Hall Mr. & Mrs. Heyward Hall Ms. Lauren L. Hall Ms. Lucille J. Hall Ms. Mary Susan Hall M. Vandolyn Hallford Ms. Ann Hammack Ms. Linda J. Hammon Ms. Janis H. Hand Ms. Suzanne M. Hand Ms. J. F. Handinero Ms. Karen G. Hanlon Ms. Marjorie A. Harding Ms. Kellie C. Harford Mr. & Mrs. David E. Harle Mrs. Sandra C. Harmening Ms. Jane R. Harper Mr. & Mrs. Don Harrell Mr. Thomas L. Harrell Mr. Jeff Harris Mrs. M. E. Harris Mr. Dan Harrison Mr. & Mrs. Robert L. Harrison Shannon Harty Mrs. Alice Harvill Ms. Melinda Harvison Ms. Marcelle Havard Mr. & Mrs. Charles W. Hawk, Jr. Ms. Rhonda Hawkins Ms. Mary Beth Hayes Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Hayes Mrs. Sharon B. Hayes Ms. Lavenia Hayles

Ms. Elizabeth A. Hedaria Ms. Brenda G. Hedrick Ms. Sharon L. Heggeman Mrs. Patricia P. Hegwood Ms. Sally P. Helmchen Ms. Alyson Helton Ms. Nancy E. Helton Ms. Virginia G. Hemphill Ms. Cheryl P. Henderson Mr. Kenneth R. Henderson Ms. Phillis S. Henderson Mr. & Mrs. Wayne W. Henderson Dr. & Mrs. William Hendrickson Mr. John M. Hendrix Ms. Audrey Q. Henley Ms. Carolyn M. Henley Ms. Tiffany L. Henry Ms. Tracey L. Henry Mrs. Juanita A. Henson Ms. Karen Herfurth Ms. Kristin M. Herrmann Ms. Jaye E. Herrod Mr. James C. Hess Ms. Judith T. Hicks Mrs. Michelle Higdon Ms. Laura S. Highlander Mr. & Mrs. Charles E. Hill Ms. Leigh B. Hill Mrs. Shannon C. Hillier Mrs. Susan L. Hines Mrs. Sharon G. Hirsch Mrs. Angela Lettrice Hobdy Mr. Robert Hochstetter Mr. J. Bryant Hodges Ms. Joy Hoeft Dr. J. Scotty Hogan Ms. Regina L. Holberg Ms. Estelle Holemon Ms. Shirley B. Holladay Ms. Martha M. Holley Mr. James R. Hollingsworth Mr. Jerry R. Hollingsworth Ms. Bethany Hollis Ms. Ashley Ruth Holmes Ms. Ada Holyfield Ms. Vicky J. Hood Mr. Marvin R. Hooper Ms. Mary W. Hopkins Mr. David T. Horn Mr. Michael Houston Ms. Donna M. Howell Ms. Juanita Howell Ms. Kathryn B. Howell Ms. Kelly S. Hudson Ms. Susan Rush Hudson Dr. Nancy H. Huff Ms. Jennifer Hughes Mrs. Donnette’ H. Hulsey Mr. Torez L. Hunt Sr. Ms. Kristi Hunter

Ms. Megan D. Hunter Mr. & Mrs. Mel F. Hurlbert Mr. & Mrs. Jeff Hurse Ms. Katie Hurse Mr. Leon Hurse Ms. Betty Hutchison iGive.com Holdings LLC Mr. Jason R. Inge Ms. Jean P. Inge Mr. Darrell Ingram Rev. Michael J. Ingram Ms. Margaret S. Inlow Mrs. Joyce O. Inman Ms.Cynthia A. Irvine Ms. Karen Isbell J. F. Pate & Associates Contractors, Inc. Ms Connie Jackson Ms. Helen Jackson Mrs. Kay W. Jackson Ms. Merrier A. Jackson Mrs. Patricia S. Jackson Ms. Sally B. Jackson Ms. Sheila Jackson Mr. Timothy T. Jackson Mrs. Angeline J. Jackson Mr. Steven James Ms. Catarina Jamison Mrs. Miriam C. Jarman Ms. Lois G. Jemison Ms. Judy Jenkins Mr. William R. Jenkins, Jr. Jernigan’s Inc. Ms. Michelle Jessee Jim Yant Ms. Rebecca G. Johns Mr. & Mrs. B H Johnson Jr. Ms. Cindy S. Johnson Mr. & Mrs. Curt D. Johnson Ms. Gloria J. Johnson Mr. Greg E. Johnson Dr. Howard M. Johnson Jr. Mr. Jonathan Johnson Ms. Mireya P. Johnson Mrs. Richard Johnson Ms. Sherry R. Johnson Mrs. Kay G. Johnson Dr. Alan Johnston Mr. Clifton H. Johnston Jr. JohnTracy LLC Ms. Krystin L. Jolly Mr. B. Scott Jones Ms. Betty B. Jones Ms. Carola R. Jones Ms. Irma J. Jones Mr. & Mrs. J. Scott Jones Mr. J. Casey Jones Mr. Jack E. Jones Mr. Michael K. Jones Ms. Rebecca F. Jones umobile.edu 79

Honor Roll of Donors

Friend Continued Ms. Shirley M. Jones Mrs. Susan T. Jones Ms. Betty E. Jordan Mr. and Mrs. Thomas W. Jordan Ms. Adley M. Joyce Ms. Ingrid Kahn Ms. Candace D. Keebler Mr. & Mrs. Floyd M. Keefe Mr. Kerry A. Kelley Ms. Barbara Kelly Mr. Michael P. Kelly Mr. & Mrs. Christopher J. Kerfoot Ms. Jackie Kerr Mrs. Linda Kile Mr. Dennis E. Kilheffer Mr. Greg Kimbrell Mr. Troy Kimsey Mr. B. Franklin King, III Ms. Lynn G. King Mr. Murray King Dr. Peter Kingsford Mrs. Vicki Kitchens Ms. Kimberly Kittle Mrs. Michelle Kittle Mr. J. David Kizziah Ms. Beth Leah Klees Mr. Jeffery A. Knabusch Mrs. Joan D. Knight Mrs. Wanda S. Knight Ms. Pamela A. Knox Ms. Margie Kohn Mr. William E. Kokas CDR Brett J. Korade USN Ms. Tricia Korea Ms. Teresa Kress Mr. Gary R. Lachappelle Ms. Helen Lackey Ladies Bible Class W. A. B. C. Mrs. Lisa C. Lancaster Mrs. Mary Beth Lancaster Ms. Deborah A. Landis Mr. & Mrs. Richard D. Lane Mrs. Alice F. LaPlace Mr. Anthony W. Large Ms. Amanda Latona Lawrence & Lawrence, PC Mr. Joe C. Lawrence Mr. Lucas Scott Lawrence Ms. Tammy L. Lawson Mr. William H. Leahart Mrs. Landrum P. Leavell Ms. Joann H. Ledbetter Mr. Dennis E. Lee Ms. Dianne Lee Mr. Dustin M. Lee Mr. J. Ryan Lee Mr. & Mrs. Lance Lee 80 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

Mr. Richard A. Leedy Ms. Cynthia C. Lensing Mr. Mark Leousis MSGT Charles E. Lerner Ret. Mrs. Mona P. Lester Mr. & Mrs. Randy K. Lett Mrs. Linda B. Lewis Ms. Valorie F. Lewis Mr. Anderson Ligon, Jr. Mr. John Lippa Ms. Mary Lippa Mr. Albert M. Lipscomb Ms. Tonya E. Little Mrs. Selena D. Lloyd Ms. Susan H. Lockwood Mrs. Peggy S. Logan Mr. J. Andrew Long Longshot Planting Co. Mr. & Mrs. Homer N. Loper Mr. John R. Loper Mrs. Nelda H. Loper Ms. Laura Lovelady Ms. Anne M. Lowery Mrs. Julie H. Lowrey Dr. William R. Lucas Ms. Lenora Luker Mr. William Luker Ms. Pamela D. Lumpkin Ms. Judy Luther Ms. Karla Luttrell Ms. Paige Luttrell Ms. Cynthia J. Luty Mr. Bruce A. Lynd Jr. Mrs. Patricia M. Lyon Ms. Suzel MacCallum Mr. & Mrs. James A. Mack Mr. Jonathan C. Maddox Ms. Mary Maddox Ms. Kelly M. Madison Mr. Anthony L. Madson Ms. Connie Magott Mrs. Elizabeth P. Mahan Mr. Robert H. Mahan Mrs. Sharon M. Mahan Mrs. Karen G. Maier Ms. Romona Mallette Mrs. Maureen F. Mangon Ms. DeAnna M. Mann Ms. Lauren Mann Ms. Mary W. Manry Mr. Anthony P. Marine Ms. Maarah B. Marks Ms. Judy Marshall Ms. Carlissa F. Martin Mr. Robert Hayes Martin Mrs. Sarah J. Martin Ms. Abigail Mason Mrs. Lawrencine A. Mason Mrs. Sherene M. Mason Mr. Kerry D. Matheny

Mr. & Mrs. Robert P. Mathis Ms. Morgan N. Mathison Ms. Brenda Matthews Ms. Jennifer May Ms. Pamela McAdory Denise D. McAdory, PhD Ms. Darlene McAllister Ms. Margaret McCarthy Mr. Miles T. McCauley Mrs. Cecelia R. McCloud Ms. Jenny E. McClung Ms. Sharon P. McCluskey Ms. Sara J. McCormick Mr. & Mrs. Mahlon P. McCracken Dr. Thomas D. McCrary Mrs. Agnes McCreadie Mr. Mike H. McCrory Ms. Phyllis McCugh Mrs. Adrienne S. McCulloch Mr. James C. McCulloch Ms. Kathy McCutcheon Ms. Brenda McDaniel Ms. Kimberly S. McDaniel Mr. Bill H. McDonald Mr. J. Albert McDonald Mr. & Mrs. David M. McGonegal Ms. Myra F. McGraw Ms. Candace L. McIntosh Ms. Michelle McKay Mr. & Mrs. Jerry L. McKnight Mr. James R. McLain, Sr. Ms. Wendy McLeod Mrs. Pamela E. McMahon Mrs. Ramona A. McMillian-Evans Ms. Susan McQuillin Ms. Bobbie M. Meacham Ms. Wendy R. Mead Ms. Dakota M. Meece Mr. Michael J. Melendez Ms. Mona N. Meredith Ms. Amy F. Messer Mr. Jeremy W. Messer Mr. Mark D. Messick Ms. Meredith Middlebrooks Ms. Julie W. Middleton Ms. Rosanne M. Middleton Mr. Thomas G. Middleton Jr.

Mrs. Cassandra G. Miller Ms. Elizabeth Miller Ms. Emogene J. Miller Ms. Erin Miller Ms. Jean P. Miller Mrs. Joann W. Miller Mr. J. Paul Miller Mr. Biron A. Mills Mr. Evan T. Mitchell Ms. Karla L. Mitchell Mr. Matthew R. Mitchell Ms. Nancy E. Mitchell Ms. Susan Mitchell Mobile Section Alabama AGC W. D. Mobley Mr. John Michael Mohney Ms. Debra L. Montgomery Ms. Sophie R. Montgomery Mr. Jason H. Montz Ms. Patricia V. Moody Ms. Sharon Moody Ms. Winifred Moody Mrs. Beverly E. Mooney Col. Charles L. Moore Ms. Janet Moore Mrs. Lesa Moore Mrs. Patricia W. Moore Mr. Daniel P. Moran Mr. James H. Morgan Ms. Susan A. Morgan Ms. Christine Siler Morin Ms. Margaret Morris Dr. Troy L. Morrison Mrs. Ashleigh W. Morton Mr. Joseph L. Morton Mrs. Mary S. Morton Mr. Earnest A. Morton Dr. Robert E. Morton Mrs. Charmein S. Moser Ms. Jill R. Mosow Mr. Howard D. Mostellar Ms. Alyssa J. Mueller Mr. Kennedy K. Mulinge Mr. Mark Mullins Ms. Lorri K. Murphy Ms. Catherine L. Nabors Ms. Ronda Nash Mr. Wendell Nash

Honor Roll of Donors

Mrs. Marty A. Naugle Mr. Robert E. Neal Mrs. Ann Elizabeth Neely Ms. Rebecca Neill Mrs. Anna J. Nelson Mr. Marc C. Nelson Mrs. Marilyn B. Nelson Rev. L. Reid Nettles Mr. Samuel L. New Ms. Cynthia H. Newman Ms. Britni C. Nicholson Mr. Joshua N. Nicholson Mr. T. Allan Nix Ms. Tawana Kay Nix Ms. Augustine Nobles Dr. Richard O. Noblet Rev. Kenneth D. Norman, Jr. Northrop Grumman Foundation Dr. William A. Nutt Ms. Jennifer Obiol Mrs. Kimberly A. Ochab Ms. Catherine G. Odom Ms. Marie Odom Ms. Kimberly R. ODonnell Olin Corp. Charitable Trust Mr. James C. Oliphant Ms. Kristin A. Oliver Mr. Trey Oliver Mrs. Dalene B. Olson Mr. William Orchard Mrs. Marjorie Osako Mr. Gerald Lee Osborne Ms. Susan L. Osborne Mr. & Mrs. Henry H. Otto III Ms. Denise Ouellet Mr. Vincent W. Overholt Mr. Jeremy Overstreet Ms. Elizabeth E. Owens Ms. Sharon Owens Mr. Joe P. Palmer Ms. Sherrell D. Park Ms. Billie Parker Mrs. Evelyn R. Parker Ms. Kathleen A. Parker Mrs. Martha W. Parker Ms. Tracy Parker Dr. Larry D. Parks Mr. Cecil H. Parmer Dr. Lavada Parmer Ms. Belva L. Parrett Mr. Brantley Parsley Ms. Patricia W. Parten Ms. Debra C. Pascal Mrs. Gertrude S. Patrick Mr. & Mrs. Henry A. Patterson Mr. Nathan T. Patterson Mrs. Randi R. Patterson Ms. Geneva J. Patton Mr. Jerry D. Patton

Mr. Michael P. Payne Mr & Mrs. Bryan D. Peacock Ms. Laura J. Peacock Ms. Donna Peck Mr. Jesse M. Pederson Ms. Kathleen L. Pefley Mrs. Cherry S. Penn Ms. Linda Pennington Ms. Leah T. Perez Mr. Avery W. Perkins III Dr. R. Gene Perkins Ms. Cynthia J. Perna Mrs. Tina Rochelle Perry Ms. Holly M. Person Mr. & Mrs. Jonathon M. Peters Mrs. Zoia L. Pettaway Mrs. Ellen Pettis Ms. Lona W. Phillips Ms. Marie V. Phillips Mrs. Michelle E. Phillips Ms. Carolyn O. Pierre Mrs. Tish Pigford Mr. Jarred S. Pike Ms. Laura N. Pilcher Ms. Tammy Pirkle Ms. Nanette D. Pitcher Mr. & Mrs. Don R. Pittman Ms. Marty J. Pittman Mr. Samuel B. Platt, V. Ms. Carissa Pletcher Ms. Mary Jane Pointer Ms. Barbara E. Porter Mr. Eshan Porter, Jr. Mr. Henry D. Pough, Sr. Ms. Connie B. Pouncey Ms. Tracey H. Powell Ms. Claire Bledsoe Pratt Rev. Clint Pressley Mr. W. L. Preston Mr. Rory E. Price Ms. Gail Priester Mr. James W. Pruett Ms. Terri Pruett Mr. John Purdum Mrs. Nicole Purl Mr. Marion A. Quina, Jr. Mrs. Rebecca D. Quinnelly Ms. Tina Rabren Mrs. Sandra A. Rackard Ms. Virginia T. Radney Rev. Thomas D. Raines, Jr. Ms. Angela Ray Ms. M. Rebecca Ray Read Dental Lab Mr. James M. Reaves Mr. James Rebarchak Ms. Sandra G. Redding Ms. Lisa L. Reed Ms. Shantee M. Reed Ms. Christy Reese

Ms. Marilyn P. Reeves Ms. Melissa Reeves Regions Financial Corpration Foundation Mr. Ricky V. Retherford Mrs. Amber B. Reus Ms. Felicia J. Reynolds Rhonda Norris and Associates, L. L. C. Mr. Slayton Rice Mr. Tim H. Rice Mr. Daniel O. Richardson Ms. Tiffany G. Richardson Rick’s Hydraulic Supply Ms. Elexia Ridaught Ms. Sheila Rikerd Mr. & Mrs. Christopher N. Riley, II Mr. Gregory F. Rippey Mrs. Mary V. Ritter Mrs. Maggie G. Rivers Ms. Judith A. Roberts Mrs. Melissa Roberts Ms. Sharon G. Roberts Ms. Brenda L. Robertson Mr. & Mrs. David A. Robertson Rev. Joel C. Robertson Ms. Alison N. Robinson Ms. Caroline T. Robinson Mr. Deryl W. Robinson Ms. Kristyana L. Robinson Rocky Creek High School Class of ‘56 Mrs. Shannon S. Roe Ms. Sharon Rogers Mr. and Mrs. Brandon Roney Ms. Linda Roquemore Mrs. Dolores Rose Mr. Glenn Rose Mrs. Bridget C. Rose Mr. John T. Rouse Rev. Ernest A. Rouse, Sr. Ms. Donna Routt Mrs. Gloria C. Rowe Mrs. Shelba N. Rowe Mr. Donald A. Rumore Ms. Mary H. Rushmore Mrs. Janet A. Russell Mr. Edward M. Rutledge Ms. Lisa Ryan Mr. Michael R. Safford Mrs. Candice M. Saltzman Ms. Rebecca A. Salvanera Mr. Robert M. Samford Ms. Jody H. Sanders Ms. Amy A. Sanderson Mrs. Ramona C. Saucier Mrs. Marlene B. Sauer Ms. Claudia Sawyer Ms. Mary Ann Sawyer

Ms. Patricia M. Scanland Mrs. Inda L. Schell Ms. Ina E. Schmidt Mrs. Hans Schneider Ms. Ashley K. Schultz Mr. Richard D. Schultz Mrs. Miyoko Scoggin Ms. Janiece K. Scott Mrs. Sheila K. Scott Mr. Michael A. Sealy Mr. George T. Searcy Jr. Mr. Edwin R. Sells Mr. John K. Severn Ms. LaTonya F. Sewell Ms. Amanda Shankles Mr. Woody Sharitt Mr. James O. Sharpe Jr. Ms. Carol Shaw Ms. Marjorie Shaw Ms. Melanie P. Shaw Mrs. Lorane M. Sheffield Mr. Robert P. Shepard Dr. Richard L. Shepherd PHD Dr. Kathryn J. Sheppard Ms. Martha Sherbert Ms. Megan L. Sherrer Mrs. Mary R. Shirey Dr. & Mrs. Anis Shorrosh Ms. Jennifer E. Short Mr. Alfred M. Sibley Ms. Debra Diane Sibley-Randall Ms. Shirley D. Silverman Mrs. Donna D. Simmons Ms. Kenya Simmons Ms. Patti Simon Ms. Dawn Simpson Ms. Belinda Sims Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Singleton Mr. George D. Sirmon Mrs. Deidre C. Skelton Ms. Karen L. Skinner Mr. Hunter Slaton Ms. Charlotte L. Slaughter Ms. Roberta F. Slay Mrs. Helga H. Small Ms. Amanda Leigh Smith Mrs. Bessie P. Smith Ms. Brooke Smith Mr. & Mrs. C. D. Smith Jr. Mrs. Cynthia H. Smith Ms. Diederra Smith Mrs. Eddie Mae Smith Mr. James M. Smith Ms. Kelly E. Smith Mr. Kelly A. Smith Ms. Nyla W. Smith Mr. Richard W. Smith Mr. Stephen B. Smith Ms. Treva A. Smith Mr. Zack Smith umobile.edu 81

Honor Roll of Donors

Friend Continued Mrs. Faye W. Smith Mrs. Pamela R. Smith Ms. Glenda F. Smith-Lee Ms. Aimee E. Snead Ms. Barbara Snider Mr. Blake Snider Ms. Charlotte S. Sonora Ms. Misty N. Sparkman Mr. Daniel A. Spence Mrs. Sidra S. Spies Ms. Jill Sprehe Mrs. Amanda N. Spybey St. Dominic’s Jubilee Club Mr. Patrick E. Stacey Ms. Janalee Stadler Standard Furniture Manufacturing Co., Inc. Ms. Patricia M. Stanford Ms. Beth Stanley Mr. C. Keith Stanley Mr. William R. Stanton Mrs. Gayle C. Stasiak Mr. Gene A. Steffanetta Mrs. Sharon L. Steffanetta Ms. Terri Steffen Ms. Jennifer Stephens Mr. C. Jackson Stevens Ms. Shannon Stevens Mrs. Jennifer S. Stevens Mr. Eldridge Stewart Mrs. Erica Stewart Ms. Ginger L. Stewart Mr. Jimmy Stewart Mr. Richard Stimpson Ms. Ruby E. Stogsdill Ms. Garnette C. Stohr Mr. Thomas N. Stokes Ms. Raymetta Stowers Ms. Lisa Strain Ms. Gloria Stringer Ms. Angelique Sturm Dr. Martha L. Sullins, DMin Mr. Thomas M. Sullivan Ms. Patricia L. Supplee Ms. Ann Swanson Mr. & Mrs. Clay Swanzy Sweet Adelines International, multiple chapters Mrs. Patricia W. Talley Mrs. Christine Tambornini Mrs. Angela G. Tapley Mr. Randall K. Tarwater Ms. Lori Tate Mrs. Elizabeth F. Taupeka Mrs. Helena Tawzer Ms. Elayne Taylor Mr. Frank J. Taylor Mrs. Nicanora E. Taylor 82 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011

Mrs. Laraine Teasley Mr. & Mrs. Rodney G. Templer Ms. Carol Teplick Ms. Lana Teplick Terry Veazey Ministries, Inc. The Berry Patch The Giving Tree The Mitchell Company Ms. Kim B. Thielker Mrs. Laura C. Thigpen Maj. USA Ret. & Mrs. Bobby F. Thomas Ms. Felicia E. Thomas Ms. Inez G. Thomas Ms. Myra Thomas Mr. Raymond E. Thomas Mrs. Susan W. Thomas Mr. & Mrs. Anthony M. Thomason Dr. Dick Thomassian Mr. Albert A. Thomaston Ms. Bobbie L. Thomley Mr. & Mrs. Gregory K. Thompson Ms. Lisa D. Thompson Ms. Maria Thompson Mrs. Marlana E. Thompson Mr. Phillip K. Thompson Ms. Renee Thomsen Mrs. Sheryl S. Thornton Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Foundation Mr. Chris A. Tibbs Mr. Austin T. Till Rev. Arnold L. Tillman Ms. Ann H. Tobias Ms. Beverly M. Tompkins Ms. Cecilia Totera Mrs. Vicki Treadwell Ms. Gwendolyn W. Trippi Mr. Kirk M. Trotman Ms. Diane Tryner Rev. Johnny W. Tucker Mr. David Turner Mr. & Mrs. Herbert E. Turner Mr. Mathew T. Turner Mr. Ronald D. Turner Ms. Sheila P. Turner UM Nursing Faculty and Staff Rev. Joe E. Underwood Union Baptist Church United Methodist Men Mrs. Janet T. Valentim Mr. Donald Van Beek Mr. LaDonn Van Erman Mr. Jordan K. Van Matre Ms. Karla J. Vanhooser Mr. & Mrs. Keith Varden Ms. Lisa C. Vaughan Mr. Billie M. Veasey Mr. Grady Veasey

Mr. Ralph T. Veasey Jr. Ms. Charlene Veazey Ms. Mary C. Veazey Mr. Richard Steve Vickery Ms. Sally Voges Mr. George W. Vogtner, Jr. Mr. Nicholas A. Vrakelos Ms. Evelyn S. Walker Ms. Sally F. Walker Mrs. Elizabeth M. Walker Ms. Doris A. Walker-Porter Mr. & Mrs. Michael W. Wallace Mr. & Mrs. William Calvin Waller Ms. Elizabeth E. Walmsley Ms. Dawn D. Walters Mr. Charles C. Ward Ms. Allison Ware Mrs. Marilyn J. Warner Mr. Mark Stephen Warren Mr. Bobby H. Washington Ms. Temeka N. Washington Mr. Austin T. Waters Mr. Adam Paul Watkins Ms. Adrienne Watkins Ms. Julie R. Watson Mr. Thomas D. Watts, Sr. Ms. Ethel T. Weathers Ms. June Weathersby Ms. Sherry B. Webb Ms. Bettie J. Weber Mr. Philip L. Weber Mr. Joseph Webers Mr. Kyle Weeks Ms. Roberta K. Weeks Welcome Friends Ms. Kimberly H. Weller Ms. Carla Wells Ms. Pam Wells Mrs. Gena Welsh Ms. Linda L. Wentworth Mr. Charles F. Wesley Ms. Anica M. Whaley Ms. Connie Whiddon Ms. Cheryl White Ms. Debra W. White Ms. Dorothy F. White Dr. & Mrs. Edward L. White Ms. June E. White Ms. Janice Whitehead Rev. Glen A. Whitfield, Jr. Mr. Ryan K. Whitfield Dr. William E. Whitfield, Jr. Ms. Frances G. Wiggins Mrs. Tera Wiggins Ms. Kathryn L. Wilcoxson Mr. Ronald Wilcoxson Stacey L. Wilken Ms. Allie Wilkerson Mr. & Mrs. James C. Wilkerson Mrs. Donna K. Wilkins

Ms. Elizabeth Faye Wilkins Mr. Ray Wilkins Mrs. Doris J. Wilkins Mrs. Becky Williams Mrs. Carol C. Williams Ms. Elizabeth T. Williams H. Ramsey Williams Mr. Jeremy R. Williams Ms. Maria Williams Ms. Renee Williams Shannon K. Williams Mr. & Mrs. Wayne Williams Mrs. Sue F. Williams Mrs. Vicky J. Williams Ms. Charity N. Williamson Mrs. Theresa Williamson Ms. Jennifer D. Willyerd Ms. Sonja F. Wilsey Mrs. Georgia K. Wilson June E. Wilson Mrs. Karen M. Wilson Mr. & Mrs. Tallie Wilson, Jr. Mr. Matthew B. Wilson Mr. Willard Winchester Mr. Tait Windham Ms. Teresa Winget Mrs. Charity Wittner Mr. George S. Wolf Ms. Patty A. Wolfhagen Ms. Daniell Womack Mr. C. Wayne Wood Dr. Jan C. Wood Ms. Sonja K. Wood Ms. Theresa R. Wood Ms. Lynn Woodard Mr. Nathan R. Woodward Mrs. Kristi R. Wooldridge Ms. Romona A. Wooldridge Dr. Margaret Lambert Woolley Mrs. Mary T. Wortham Mr. & Mrs. Tommy Wrenn Ms. Elizabeth L. Wright Ms. Rita K. Wright Mr. and Mrs. Wilton Wright Ms. Catherine G. Wynn Ms. Rhonda Wynn Ms. Lisa W. Yearwood Ms. Deborah L. York Mrs. Alice Younce Mr. Michael S. Young Ms. Enen Yu Mr. Howard L. Zach Ms. Gail Zeigler Ms. Christine G. Zuercher Ms. Rebecca Zugaro Mrs. Lialine G. Zydiak Mr. William D. Zydiak m

A Word from the Vice President

Brian P. Boyle Vice President for Institutional Advancement Class of ‘94

O

Dear Fellow Alumni, ne advantage of being a young and growing university is the opportunity to participate in many “firsts,” from the first graduation ceremony to the first Christmas Spectacular. It is my privilege to have presented you with another significant “first” - the University of Mobile Alumni Magazine.

And what an exciting time to introduce this publication! Celebrating our 50th anniversary, reflecting on the recent visit from former President George W. Bush, launching the Twelve23 Movement, enjoying unprecedented campus growth; what a great time to be a Ram! Inside these pages you have seen some familiar faces, read about old friends, and learned what the current generation of Rams is doing to impact the world.

Twice a year, in the spring and fall, we will bring you news about your university and the people who love and support it.

Each day as I drive through the new front entrance and beneath the old oaks, I am reminded that there is so much to take pride in at the University of Mobile. It is my hope that, within these pages, you have found new and unexpected ways to experience that pride as well.

Go Rams!

Brian Boyle P.S. We want to hear from you regarding what you would like to see in future issues of your alumni magazine. Please send us an email at umobilemagazine@umobile.edu.

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84 University of Mobile Magazine | SPRING 2011