week long trip to remote areas of Honduras on their third medical mission trip, Harper and her sons, Austin (18) and Evan (13), went diving off the coast of Honduras at Roatan. The family lives in Altamonte Springs, Fla. Dr. James (Jay) Lawrence was presented the Excellence in Leadership Award by the National Conference of Gerontological Nurse Practitioners in September 2007. Lawrence also received the 2008 Nurse Practitioner State Award for Excellence. This award is given annually to only one nurse practitioner from each state. Lawrence lives in Atlanta, Ga. Living in Florence, S.C., Ronald G. Vereen is a project manager for the Internal Revenue Service.
1989 Reunion, Homecoming 2009 Class Chair, Michael R. Sullivan The Laurens County Chamber of Commerce announced the appointment of Dr. Cynthia Jones Pitts to its board of directors on June 30, 2008. Pitts is the Upper Savannah Regional Education Center coordinator. She lives in Clinton, S.C.
1990 Reunion, Homecoming 2010 Class Chair, Scott W. Cashion
Paula Blackwell Bulman and her husband, Jamie, announce the birth of their son, Lucas Ray Bulman, June 18, 2008. He joins big brother Jake. The family lives in Matthews, N.C. Artie Hendricks and his wife, Valerie Skinner Hendricks, announce the birth of their son, Talmage Kirkwood Hendricks, Oct. 8, 2007. He joins big sister Smith (6). Artie is director of operations for Partners in Caring at Duke University Medical Center, and Valerie teaches English at Leesville Road High School. The family lives in Raleigh, N.C. Lisa Deavenport Ireland, her husband, Eric Ireland ’92, and their two children, Grace (5) and Eli (2), moved to Simpsonville, S.C., in February 2008. The couple had lived in Ohio for the past 14 years. Lisa is director of talent acquisition and diversity for Ashland Inc. and Eric is global marketing manager for Hexion Specialty Chemicals. Lisa says that they are “looking forward to reconnecting with friends and getting involved with local Wofford events again!” Kevin Martin, his wife, Diana, and children, Daniel and Ryan, live in Atlanta, Ga. Martin is a partner of Leblon Cachaca, one of the fastest-growing spirits companies in the U.S. Living in Hendersonville, N.C., Susan Christos McKenney is a nurse practitioner with Western Carolina Medical Associates in Fletcher, N.C. She also has obtained board certification in advanced diabetes management. It was nice to receive an update from Richard Shealy, who lives in Kearny, N.J. Shealy wrote us that he has had the pleasure of becoming a beta reader for New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher. Beta readers check spelling and grammar and also keep a close eye on continuity, theme and character development. Shealy says that “it’s demanding but rewarding work.”
1991 Reunion, Homecoming 2011 Class Chair, Leslee Houck Page
Dr. Christine Christensen Phillips and her husband, Mike, live in Zionsville, Ind. Phillips works for Eli Lilly and Co. as principal regulatory scientist. In this role she negotiates with the Federal Drug Administration for approval of new drugs to treat neurological and psychiatric diseases.
1992 Reunion, Homecoming 2012 Class Chair, Nikki Palmeri Chunn John Richard Baggenstoss is sales director for Merced Systems, a company that develops advanced performance management products. Baggenstoss and his family live in Decatur, Ga. Will Britt became a partner with the law firm of Bruner, Powell, Robbins, Wall & Mullins, LLC, in May 2008. Britt and his family live in Columbia, S.C. Congratulations to Jerome Hall and Andrew Hewitt ’06 who earned the top prize in the charity golf tournament that preceded the BMW Pro-Am golf tournament in May. Hall and Hewitt finished the round with a 10-under-par score, winning $20,000, which they donated to the Spartanburg Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Mark Ward and Anne Thompson Ward ’95 proudly announce the birth of Charlotte Neal Ward, born Dec. 12, 2007. She joins big brother, Layton, age 7 and big sister Madison, age 5. Mark and Anne are enjoying living in Spartanburg and look forward to seeing everyone at the Wofford football games this fall.
1993 Reunion, Homecoming 2013 Class Chair, Sarah Copeland Sawicki Dr. Noel Brownlee lives in Piedmont, S.C., with his family. Brownlee is a pathologist at Pathology Associates and Consultants of Greenville. He will teach a biology course at Wofford in the spring of 2009. Jody Patrick Legare and his wife, Stephanie, announce the birth of their daughter, Peyton E. Legare, June 19, 2008. The family lives in Indian Trail, N.C. Living in Duluth, Ga., Frank Dyer is director of product marketing for Onity, a facility management technology company. Prior to joining Onity’s management team, Dyer was a senior product marketing manager for AT&T. Michelle Carey Parks is project manager for First Federal. She lives with her family in Charleston, S.C. Heidi Avera Putnam and her husband, Matthew Putnam ’94, live in Greenville, S.C., with their daughter, Miller Kate. Heidi is a landscape designer with Cityscape Design, and Matthew works for Customer Effective as a software consultant. Midlands radio and TV personality Jeff Roper has joined Orangeburg’s STAR 105.1 as morning host. He is a two-time winner of the Country Music Association Broadcast Personality of the Year award while with WCOSFM in Columbia and WSOC-FM in Charlotte. Roper and his wife, Angie, live in Lexington, S.C.
Harris dresses Kambui School children out in Wofford gear
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reg Harris ’90 played soccer for the Terriers. He also served in the U.S. Peace Corps from 1998-2000. These two threads became connected at a Wofford Alumni game this past April. Harris had taught at the Kambui School for the Deaf in Ngewa, Kenya, while in the Peace Corps. Having already gone back to Kenya three times, he was determined to bring something back with him on his fourth return trip this summer. “I love the people, the culture, and the natural beauty of the place,” explains Harris. “It’s such a diverse country, with the beauty of the landscape and everything. It’s not just a National Geographic experience, looking at wild animals.” While elephants, giraffes, gorillas, lions, and zebras are all native to the Dark Continent, terriers are not. Harris decided he could at least dress people like Terriers. “I got in touch with (new Wofford soccer coach Ralph) Polson and asked him if I could take some uniforms back with me,” says Harris. “He was all too happy to help out. He gave me 25 sets of full uniforms…jerseys, shorts and socks. Because of him I was able to make the donation to the athletics program at my old school.” When he returned to Ngewa, Harris saw students he had taught eight years ago. It was nice to see their faces again, especially when he popped open the boxes containing the uniforms. “Sheer delight,” said Harris of their faces. “You don’t see a lot of American clothing items over there, especially in the rural areas. Maybe second-hand or hand-me-down items, if that. These were sharp-looking new black uniforms. They really stand out, and the coolest thing is they all have the Wofford logo on them.” Harris says the uniforms will be used by the men’s and women’s teams, in soccer and in volleyball. They won’t provide extra leaping ability or foot speed, but figuratively they could put an extra bounce in each athlete’s step. “What’s the old adage? If you look good, you feel good?” asks Harris. “I’m hoping that’s the case here.” by Brett Borden
Fall 2008 • Wofford Today • 23