smc fall 2005 frontiers

The annual ritual has begun. High school graduates are enrolling in college just as they have done for the last 94 years at SpartanburgMethodist College. The “freshman fifteen” will soon claim its standard

place on the waistlines of our students. Academic work and late night “bullsessions” in the residence halls help students stretch the limits of their knowledge and enable them to claim their new identity as they emerge fromthe cocoon of life at home. While spring is considered to be the season of newlife, at SMC, new life emerges more fully every fall!

In their first semester, freshmen experience what Thomas Wolfe once wrote: “You can’t go homeagain.” Students that dare spread new wings find this statement refreshing. And yet, for other students, the new life is tempered with a dose of nostalgia and a longing for the way things used to be.Just as one cannot step into the same river twice, students cannot return to the same home they leftwhen they began their college career. “Birth pains” come with new life.

In my first semester as a freshman at a two-year, residential, United Methodist college in NorthCarolina, I was scared, excited, filled with questions, but uncertain about my future. Fortunately, myjourney began in an environment much like that which exists today at Spartanburg Methodist College,where nurturing professors challenged me to learn at a much faster pace and in greater depth in subjects that I thought I had already mastered. It was a rude awakening when I received my first testgrade in college! Needless to say, the low grade motivated me to invest more time studying, to set better priorities, and to identify my learning style as I discovered that learning produces change!

My colleagues on the faculty and staff at SMC understand the importance of allowing students tomake decisions, to hold them accountable for their actions, and to remain steadfast to the standards weexpect of our students. Tough teachers who care challenge students to grow, to mature, and to developa life-long love for learning. We set our sights high at SMC because our future depends upon the outcome of our work.

I am proud of our students as they experience the birth pains of new life. They face many questions and struggle with the uncertainty of life in a world that is much different after 9/11 and thedestruction left in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Students ask many questions, but onethat is particularly penetrating: “Should I invest time, energy, money and long hours of study to facean uncertain future?” The resounding answer from those who have been down Longfellow’s “Road LessTraveled” is YES! Take the less traveled path, experience fully the joys and the challenges that everyoneencounters in life. Discover the truth that the journey is at least as important as the destination. Thoseof us who work with students year after year understand that the most rewarding part of our work isseeing students emerge as campus leaders, dedicated student-athletes, and mature young women andmen preparing to claim their place as our future leaders.

We could not help students develop into responsible adults without the generous support ofTrustees, faculty, staff, parents, and our many friends. Your support of our work and your prayers forour institution and the students we serve make a positive difference as we educate the leaders of tomorrow.

SPARTANBURG METHODIST COLLEGE

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Sincerely,

Charles P. TeaguePresident of the College

Contents4 — Sparrow Hall to be SMC's

Largest Residence Hall7 — First Paralegal Graduates8 — SMC Hosts NJCAA Half Marathon9 — Transcending Great Walls12 —Four Decades of Service14 —2005 Alumni Awards15 —For SMC Alum, There's No Business

Like Show Business23 —Freshmen Day of Service Marks Fifth Year24 —SMC Golf Classic

Features:6 — Happenings8 — Vision 2005

Update8 — Gifts 16 — Alumni Update16 — Alumni News22 —Spotlight on New

Faculty/Staff

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Spartanburg Methodist College Board of Trustees — 2 0 0 5 - 2 0 0 6 —

Chairperson — Mr. Daniel Foster Vice Chairperson — Mr. Jerry Calvert

Secretary — Ms. Mellnee Buchheit

Mr. Charles Atchison Mrs. Edie Bostic

Mrs. Martha ChapmanMr. Arthur F. Cleveland, II

Mrs. Phyllis DeLapp Dr. Edgar H. Ellis

Reverend James O. Gilliam, Jr. Mr. John Gramling

Reverend Larry Hays Mr. Patrick Henry

Reverend John W. Hipp Mrs. Anne Irwin

Mrs. Lucile A. Miller Ms. Jean Osborne

Mr. Bill Painter Mrs. Liz Patterson

Mrs. Patsy Simmons Mr. Howard Suitt

Reverend Kenneth B. Timmerman Mr. Andy Westbrook

Frontiers magazine is a publication by Spartanburg Methodist College, printed for alumni andfriends. Please Note: The address for Spartanburg Methodist College is 1000 Powell Mill Road,Spartanburg, SC 29301-5899. The phone number is (864)587-4000, and the fax number is(864)587-4355. Our website is www.smcsc.edu. — Ed Welch, Editor

GERRY PATE — SPARTANBURG HERALD-JOURNAL

44Officers of Spartanburg Methodist College

President Charles P. Teague

Vice President for Institutional AdvancementC. Sterling Case

Vice President for Enrollment ManagementDaniel L. Philbeck

Vice President for Business AffairsBruce E. Whelchel

Interim Vice President for Academic AffairsMark W. Gibbs

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COVER ART:The joy of achievement— Graduation 2005photos by Tom Nebbiaand Ed Welch


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Sparrow Hall is Under Way

Anew $4.8 million residence hall forSpartanburg Methodist College came a stepcloser to reality April 20 as the College’s

Administration and Trustees joined members of theSparrow family for a groundbreaking ceremony.

The new three-story residence hall is being namedin memory of the parents of Mr. John Sparrow, aLake City businessman, and in honor of the Sparrowfamily, strong supporters of SMC. During thegroundbreaking ceremonies Sparrow expressedthanks on behalf of his family for the opportunity tobe part of the College’s future.

“We believe that SMC is on a wonderful missionand we appreciate the Board of Trustees, administration and the faculty and all of you otherswho are helping to make this a successful journey,”said Sparrow.

Sparrow and his wife, Juanita, were joined by sev-eral family members: their son, Wesley, a 1978 graduate of the College; Rev. Mike Alexander and hiswife, Betsy, who is John Sparrow’s niece; HenrySparrow, John’s nephew, an alumnus and a formerDirector of Admissions of the College; Henry’s wife,Linda Sparrow; and their daughter Susie Dekle.

Before ground was broken, SMC President, Dr.Charles Teague, Trustees Chairman Dan Foster,members of the faculty and staff, and a studentexpressed their enthusiasm for the new residenceHall. Teague expressed his excitement about beingable to accommodate more students in the new facil-ity. Teague noted that Sparrow Residence Hall,

Members of the Sparrow family, along with PresidentTeague and College Trustees, turned the first shovels ofearth during a groundbreaking ceremony April 20 forSparrow Residence Hall. Pictured from left are WesleySparrow; John and Juanita Sparrow; SMC President, Dr.Charles Teague; and Trustee Anne Irwin.

Sparrow Residence Hall will be a 30,471-square-foot three-story facility that willhouse 123 students. McMillan Smith and Partners Architectural Firm is the Architectand Trehel Construction is the builder. (McMillan - Smith Architects sketch)

which is located across the street from the recently-completed Bridges Residence Hall, will not only housemore students, but will also have a larger lobby andshare a beautiful new courtyard with the adjacentBarrett Learning Center. Another addition Teague

Frontiers Magazine — Fall 2005

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noted was a new parking lot that will be constructedbehind Sparrow Residence Hall.

Rev. Candice Sloan, the College’s Chaplain, readthe 84th Psalm and gave a dedicatory prayer, givingthanks for the Sparrow family and praying for God’sguidance to the designers and builders as they worktoward completion of the residence hall.

Dan Foster, Chairman of the SMC Board ofTrustees, commended the Board’s Building andGrounds Committee, saying it would be hard to imagine the project’s outcome if it were not for theirhard work. Foster also noted the professional assis-tance of the facility’s designer, McMillan - SmithArchitects; the builders, Trehel Construction; andLandscape Architect, Mark Byington. Campusappearance, Foster said, is among the top three fac-tors students consider in deciding which college toattend. With that said, Foster expressed confidencethat the landscaping will enhance SMC’s attractiveness to prospective students.

“Upon this solid foundation, new generations ofstudents will be accorded a nurturing environmentfrom which to grow and prosper physically, spiritual-ly and academically. The Sparrow family commitmentto support the personal development of our youngmen and women is but an indication of their love forthe traditions we share so dearly at SpartanburgMethodist College,” added Foster.

SMC Trustee, Patsy Simmons, Chairperson of theBuilding and Grounds Committee, expressed the pos-sibility that Sparrow Hall could be opened to studentsas soon as August, 2006. “Your vision, John, andyour dream symbolizes your faith in an education atSMC,” said Simmons, projecting that the new residence hall would house as many as 7,000 students in the next 50 years, and that its presencewould also benefit Summer School students as wellas participants in athletic camps, conferences andseminars.

Joanndra “Shay” McCrea, a student fromJohnsonville who recently graduated, expressed gratitude to the Sparrow family for providing “a great living and learning environment.” McCrea shared hervision that lifelong friendships would be developed inthe form of activities programs, study halls, and mak-ing memories of the college experience.

“Bricks and mortar to a college are like flesh andbone to the human body,” said Dr. Arthur Hartzog,Dean of Students. “Permeating the physical nature ofthe bricks and mortar, however, is the spirit of theCollege begun with a vision and nurtured by thoseentrusted with it,” continued Hartzog. TerryStephenson, Chair of the Division of Mathematics,Natural Sciences, and Computer Science, stated thatSparrow Residence Hall “will enhance the quality ofstudent life and therefore improve the learning environment of Spartanburg Methodist College.”

Teague reminded those attending the ceremony ofthe many contributions of John Sparrow and members of his family, including the H. BookerSparrow Endowed Scholarship Fund, named for his

father. The lobby in Bridges Residence Hall, Teagueadded, is also named for his father. “Many studentscome through this institution and receive supportfrom the Sparrows in those ways,” said Teague.

Students and faculty members walk by as construction progresses onSparrow Residence Hall.

Location of Sparrow Residence Hall, showing parking and an attractive courtyard unifying the new facility withBarrett Learning Center.

Pyzon Moore of Trehel (left) checks the blueprints as foundation work moves forward.


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Dr. Thomas A.Wilkerson, whohas served asVice Presidentfor Academic

Affairs at SMC since 1997, was namedPresident of Bainbridge College inBainbridge, Ga. Wilkerson assumedthe presidency at Bainbridge July 1.Dr. Mark Gibbs, Professor of Religion,is currently serving as Interim VicePresident for Academic Affairs whilethe search proceeds for a new VP.

WWiillkkeerrssoonnAAssssuummeess BBaaiinnbbrriiddggeePPrreessiiddeennccyy

Sworn In

Erin Gainey was sworn in as president of theStudent Government Association duringConvocation, held September 14 at CamakAuditorium. Pictured from left: Liz Patterson,SMC Trustee; President Teague; Gainey; andDr. Arthur Hartzog, Dean of Students.

Happenings —

A group of SMC students traveled to Columbia April20 for University Day, organized by SCICU (SouthCarolina Independent Colleges and Universities). Whileat the Statehouse the college representatives were welcomed by Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer (center). Picturedfrom left are Carolyn Sparks, Assistant Dean of FinancialAid; Catie Mahanes of Moore; Addam Willingham ofGreenwood; Stephanie Raines of Pickens; Bauer; JohnJohnson of Hartsville; Danny Philbeck, Vice President forEnrollment Management; and Farran Fry of Little River.Gov. Mark Sanford proclaimed April 20 as “IndependentColleges and Universities Day.”

Representatives of various colleges came to Columbiato say “thank you” to legislators across the state forsupporting higher education opportunities for stu-dents to attend a private college in South Carolina.These opportunities, Philbeck adds, are made possiblethrough legislative support of the S.C. Tuition GrantsProgram. SMC is one of 20 member institutions ofSCICU. More than 31,000 students are served by inde-pendent colleges and universities located throughoutthe Palmetto State.

SMC Participates in University Day

SMC Troubadours Debut

LEFT: Members of the SMC Troubadours sang theNational Anthem just before the opening Kickoff of theWofford Terriers' season opener Sept. 3 againstGeorgetown (Ky.). BELOW: The Troubadours performed during Convocation Sept. 14 at Camak Auditorium.


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Eleven graduates have the distinction of being the first class in the Paralegal Certificate Program at SMC.During the August 13 ceremony at Davis Mission Chapel, President Teague presented the certificates toeach graduate. In his opening remarks, Teague commended members of the Paralegal faculty and advisory

committee for their efforts which made it possible to bring the program to SMC. Teague also commended the program’s director, Yvonne Harper, and Eugenia Hooker, Executive Director for Academic Services.

“You have definitely opened the door for all the classes that will follow,” Harper told the graduates. Graduationspeaker, Chuck Ewart, president of the Ewart Group, noted the historic significance of the ceremony in the lifeof Spartanburg Methodist College and said to the graduates, “It is a historic day in your lives as well.”

“Each one of you are influencers of souls,” said Ewart, noting the sacrifices the graduates and their familiesmade over the past couple of years. Ewart added, “Attitude is going to be the key to your success.”

LEFT: First graduates of the ParalegalCertificate Program at SMC. Picturedfrom left: (front) Carmen Jones,Sarah Wallace, Josephine Smith,Amy Wilborn, Nancy Mierek, (back)Jacquine Morris, Marjorie Jones, LisaStephens, Teresa Thomas, KimberlyWashburn. RIGHT: Sheila MichelleSinclair waves as she heads to DavisMission Chapel for graduation ceremonies.

Paralegal Program Graduates First Class

Plans are moving forward to expand the Phil BuchheitAdministration Building to accommodate increasingdemand for space. The expansion will include the VasseyInformation Technology Center, which will house a grow-ing computer services area. Also planned is a new board-room with state-of-the-art videoconferencing capabili-ties. McMillan-Smith Architects has been selected by theSMC Trustees to design the new wing, and TrehelConstruction has been selected to make the approxi-mately 5,000-square-foot expansion a physical reality. The Buchheit building was constructed in 1966, enlargedin 1979, renovated in 1995, and further expanded withthe addition of a new lobby in 1998. The building houses administrative offices for the President, VicePresident for Business Affairs, Vice President forEnrollment Management, Registrar, Executive Director ofInformation Technology and Computer Services, Dean ofAdmissions and Financial Aid and their respective staffs.The building also houses the Admissions Department.

SMC Plans to Expand Administrative Facility


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Retired Professor, alum, wills $500,000 to SMC

SMC administrators describe Robert “Doc” Warrenas a long-time supporter who is very interested in theinstitution’s work and ensuring that students overcome financial obstacles to attending college.

Warren, 83, is a retired history professor fromBloomsburg University (Pa.) who attended SMC.

Rev. Mike Bowers, Director for Gift Planning atSMC, was aware of a $300,000 will commitment to a scholarship fund he established many years ago.Warren announced the gift would be $500,000,exceeding the College’s initial expectations.

The initial intent of the fund, according to Bowers,was to provide a loan to students that would berepaid once they were in a career. Bowers added thatWarren later converted the fund to an outright scholarship and has provided regular support to thefund for many years.

“Dr. Warren is a long-time supporter and is veryinterested in the work of the College,” said Bowers,adding, “He is very interested in helping studentswho need financial assistance in order to attend college. It would not be out of character for Dr.Warren to be very generous in his estate plantowards the College.”

The purpose of the Spartanburg Methodist College$20 Million “Vision 2005” Total Funds Campaign isvery plain – provide financial resources to

strengthen the College. Scheduled to be completed byJune 30, 2006, the campaign has received commitments of $17,884,093 from the Annual,Capital, Endowed Scholarship and Program, PlannedGiving and Government Grant elements of the totalfunds effort.

To help the College acquire the remaining$2,115,907 needed to reach the goal, Drs. Edgar andCharlotte Ellis have offered a $1 million ChallengeGrant to the trustees of the College. To satisfy thechallenge, the College and the trustees must secure$1 million in new capital commitments by November30, 2005. To date, new capital commitments of$114,000 have been received with $614,000 in pend-ing requests still outstanding.

Since the beginning of our campaign in January2001, it is very evident how quickly contributions aregoing to work in the lives of our students:

Two new residence halls have been planned, one completed and one under construction;

Several older buildings have been upgraded or renovated;

New signage, landscaping and College entrances have been completed; and

Over 400 new students have begun classes this Fall.

These are just some of the accomplishments thatthousands of friends have helped us with over the lastfour years. Spartanburg Methodist College has beenhelping serve the higher educational needs of deserving students for 94 years. Our faculty, staff,alumni and Trustees continue to work diligently onproviding the best educational program possible.

Maintaining excellence in our higher educational programs is always ongoing. We hope you will contin-ue to help us maintain our mission. Your generosity isalways appreciated-and for that, we are grateful.

CHECK YOUR RECORDS...Please update your address list to includethe new address for SMC. Address all correspondence to:

Spartanburg Methodist College1000 Powell Mill Rd.Spartanburg, SC 29301-5899

Vision 2005Providing for the Future

SMC has been selected as a host site for the 2005, 2007 and 2009 NationalJunior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Half Marathon Championships. The2005 event will take place Nov. 19, with a 8:30 a.m. start at the corner of St.John and Church streets in downtown Spartanburg. The Half MarathonChampionships are open to any NJCAA college with a cross country program.According to Eric Cummings, Head Cross Country Coach at SMC, the bid to hostthe event was made in conjunction with Team Spartanburg and the SpartanburgConvention and Visitor’s Bureau.

Jules Bryant, Executive Director of the Spartanburg Convention and VisitorsBureau, is delighted that the Half Marathon is coming to Spartanburg and welcomes the opportunity to introduce these athletes toSpartanburg. Bryant added that the Half Marathon willhave a positive economic impact on Spartanburg,as area businesses such as hotels and restaurantssee an influx of visitors to the event.

“And then it seemed like we hadnever been without her, like we hadalways known her face, her spirit.Now I can’t imagine living withouther. What if we had given birth toa daughter and had never gone toChina? Where would Della benow, and how would we live without her? We thank God thatdidn’t happen.”

- Jill Evans’ paraphrase of adoptiveparent Elizabeth Gillespie. Quote fromAdoption is Another Word for Love.


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For Della Rose-Li Evans, the Great Wall was notthe fabled Chinese landmark that draws touristsfrom around the World, but rather the walls of an

orphanage in Liangping, China. Thanks to SMC alumand former staff member Jill Simpson Evans (’84) andher family, Della has gone past the walls that represented the only life she knew.

Jill, a former Director of Alumni Affairs at SMC, iscurrently the Executive Director of the Pickens CountyChapter of Habitat for Humanity. She and her husbandRicky Evans, who is Assistant Principal at PickensMiddle School, already had two older children. TheEvans family would easily be content with life at their comfortable home near Easley, S.C., but an unforgettable experience during a trip Jill took a fewyears ago changed all of that.

Discovery

“I went to Honduras on a global village trip forHabitat for Humanity in the summer of 2003 with no intentions of doing anything other than doing my mission trip thing – going, working hard, then coming home,” Jill recalled. But while there, Jillnoticed that the children of the village followed hergroup as they walked along the streets. She found outthat some of the children were orphans. Instead ofbeing annoyed by the children, Jill realized that anyspare bit of attention these youngsters could get as aresult of their constant pulling and tugging meant theworld to them. When Jill returned, she couldn’t put theHonduran children out of her mind, so she began to

pray. The more Jill prayedabout the situation, thestronger her convictions grew.

“In terms of 70 percent of the world’s population weare wealthy – not by American standards – but to theworld. I just really began to feel like we have so muchto offer a child who has nothing,” Jill commented. Jillbegan to discuss adoption with Ricky. Together theyweighed the pros and cons of adopting a child fromanother country. At the time Jill was nearing 40 andRicky had just turned 46. They wondered if age wouldbe a factor. While Ricky and Jill were pondering thepossibility of adoption, they communicated by e-mailwith a friend who had an adopted daughter fromGuatemala. Because the friend’s family is similar tothe Evans family in many respects, Ricky and Jill feltthey could adopt a child from a foreign country.

“Ricky’s heart is pretty soft, too, and before we leftwe pretty much knew we were going down that path,”recalled Jill. Their hearts set on adopting a little girl,Ricky and Jill visited Worldwide Adoption, an adoptionagency in Spartanburg, and spoke with Missy Ewing.While evaluating their options, Ricky and Jill becameconvinced that God was leading them to adopt aChinese girl. Although they could easily have adopted achild from any of several countries, China’s adoptionprogram is very well-organized, highly structured, andfair. Some of the programs in other countries are lessstable and less consistent with how they handle paperwork, requirements, fees, and other details. Somecountries, such as Russia, would have required two trips– one to see the child and approve them, then anothertrip following a lengthy approval process from the government. “We didn’t think emotionally we could dothat,” said Jill.

More than 1,500 orphanages exist in China, housingmostly girls. Female infants tend to become outcasts ofsociety because of cultural conventions that emphasizethe value of male offspring in Chinese families. Furtherexacerbating the plight of female offspring is the

The Evans family at China’s Great Wall, fromleft: Dewey, Jill, Dwight, and Ricky.

This photo, taken atLiangping SocialWelfare Institute,gave the Evans family their firstglimpse of Della,simply identified as“Li.”


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Chinese government’s “One-Child” policy. In China,baby girls are often abandoned by the side of the roador left on a doorstep or drive where they hope they willbe found and taken to an orphanage. The few boysfound in orphanages usually have a physical defect ofsome kind.

Ricky and Jill filed the first of the adoption paperswith the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Servicein November, 2003. In the days to come, they wentthrough a mountain of paperwork to complete theiradoption dossier. In February, 2004, the adoptiondossier was finally completed and sent to the ChineseCenter for Adoption Affairs. Another seven monthspassed before they received the first glimpse of theirdaughter – through a photo sent in the mail.

“On September 10, 2004, we received our referralof Della. This packet contained the first photo we eversaw of Della, a briefdescription of her abandon-ment, and a brief health and personality report,” recalledJill. Within this package wasa form where they had torespond whether or notthey would adopt Della.Without further hesitation,Ricky and Jill responded“yes” and immediatelyreturned the paperwork toWorldwide Adoption.

“Those papers were thensent back to the ChineseCenter for Adoption Affairs,where they began makingplans for our group of ninefamilies to come to China toget our babies,” said Jill.The trip was organized byAmericans Adopting Orphans (AAO), a Seattle-basedagency that works directly with the Chinese Center forAdoption Affairs to plan the logistics of the trip.

“The paperwork – that’s the killer,” Ricky admitted,adding that Jill did 95 percent of the paperwork and hegot it notarized. They had to send paperwork toColumbia to get a state birth certificate, go through abackground check by SLED (State Law EnforcementDivision), and go through the INS (U.S. Immigrationand Naturalization Service) for fingerprinting andadditional background checks. Ricky and Jill creditState Sen. Larry Martin’s office for helping them navigate the red tape, as well as the guidance ofWorldwide Adoption, their international adoptionagency.

To ChinaOn November 1, 2004, the Evans family departed

for China. After flying into Beijing, they traveled toChongqing, the province where they and other adop-tive families would meet the children for the first time.

Although only one parent was required to go, Rickyand Jill decided it was important that their sonsDwight, then 12, and Dewey, then 10, experiencefirst-hand Della’s world and the adoption process.

Chongqing, which is located in Southeastern China,has 35 million people in a land area similar to that ofSouth Carolina, according to Jill. “Everywhere you look,there are high rises with dirty, grimy little apartments.Now when we went to Liangping, Della’s village, whichwas very rural and three hours from Chongqing, we feltwe were in old storybook China, with rice paddies andpeople with pointed hats,” she said.

Ricky and Jill had traveled in Europe before andwere able to get around on their own. But China is nota country to go to and just figure out, they noted.Traveling with other adoptive families helped, and theywere assigned a facilitator from the Chinese Center forAdoption Affairs to assist in processing the necessarypaperwork and gaining necessary approvals. “They

know every paper that hasto be notarized and everygovernment office she hasto go to. We didn’t have tofigure anything out,” said Jill.

Soon after their arrival atChongqing, the Evans family met their facilitator,Richard Chen, at a groupdinner on the evening ofNovember 7. At 2 p.m. thenext afternoon they went toa large Chinese departmentstore to purchase babyitems. At 4 p.m. the sameday, the Evanses and otheradoptive families arrived atthe Chongqing Civil AffairsOffice to meet the babies.

First Encounter

“We stood there and they brought the babies in – allnine at one time,” said Ricky, adding that at that pointthey were given 24 hours to make a decision and finalize the adoption. At 17 months old, Della was nextto the oldest baby in the group of nine babies beingadopted. It is not unusual for a girl baby to be abandoned within 48 hours of her birth, Jill noted,adding that Della’s birth mother probably held on toher daughter as long as she could, then abandonedher when she was five months old. Ricky and Jill knowDella’s birthday – June 10, 2003 – because her birthmother pinned it on her shirt.

Ricky and Jill’s initial encounter with Della didn’t goso smoothly. Jill recalled that Della cried most of thetime. She was shaking and hiding her face at first.There was little improvement when they took her totheir hotel. Jill said that Della cried consistently duringtheir first week together.

“Della had been with the same nanny for 12months. It was her life and she was comfortable with

With Della,

the Evansfamily is

now complete.

Great Walls (continued)


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it – she didn’t know anything else,” said Jill, addingthat Della had never seen Western faces and hadnever heard English. She was put on a bus for a three-hour ride to encounter strangers. Della would initiallyapproach Dwight and Dewey and start playing withthem, but she rarely approached Ricky, because of hismoustache and goatee, which are not worn by Chinesemen. To help ease Della’s fears, Ricky shaved off allfacial hair.

A difficult decision faced Ricky and Jill before theyleft China with Della when their facilitator kept encour-aging them to take her to the orphanage for a visit.Unsure of how the return would affect Della, Rickyreasoned that she had already been abandoned beforeand would probably think she was being abandoned again. The facilitator reassured Ricky andJill that the visit would give the baby a sense of closure to once again see her nanny and then leavewith her adoptive family.

“She saw her nanny, lunged for her and loved her,but she kept glancing back to see if we were stillthere,” recalled Jill. “After about 10 minutes, she justreached for me.” From that moment on, Della’s dispo-sition with her new family improved. Ricky noted thatonce Della figured out they would keep her, she was achanged child. Jill said that before leaving China, theywent to the U.S. Embassy in Guangzhou - where Dellareceived her passport and officially became a U.S. citizen.

Homecoming

They returned home November 21 and Jill said Dellaimmediately made herself at home. “By the time wecame home she was comfortable going to any of thefour of us. The night we got home it was 4:30 in themorning. She ran through the house like she had beenhere forever,” said Jill.

Dewey and Dwight appear to be adjusting well tohaving a little sister for the first time. “It’s different,”said Dewey. Dwight added, “It’s different, but we loveher a lot.”

Della now feels at home with her new family, picking up quite a bit of English with a Southernaccent. And unlike many of her American counter-parts, her favorite foods include broccoli and greenbeans. Jill explained that while children from Chineseorphanages aren’t starving, the orphanages have limited resources, including food. Because of this shesays the children tend to gorge themselves at meal-time. “It takes so long for them to understand thatthere is enough and there is going to be more, and soin those first few days with their new family they willeat until they make themselves sick,” said Jill, addingthat Della initially would cram her mouth full of foodwhen they started eating together.

“She’s doing wonderfully,” said Jen Kahn ofWorldwide Adoption, a caseworker for the Evans family. “She really had a tough start, but I would havenever dreamed that in such a short time she wouldhave adjusted so well. She’s just doing wonderfullyand that really is typical. When you are struggling atfirst then you think how is this ever going to work out– it always does. It’s just a matter of time sometimes.”

Once again the parent of a toddler, Jill reflected onhow different her life is from the time she was a youngmother with two baby sons.

“The things that used to undo me, I’ve learned withage what matters and what doesn’t. When my sonswere this stage, I was still working full-time at a veryhigh stress job, and I gave that all up several yearsago. It’s really been to me a joy to redo it at 40-some-thing, because you enjoy it a different way,” quippedJill. She said her faith has been an integral part ofadopting, saying that – out of thousands of children –God picked Della to be part of the Evans home.

Adopting Internationally

While there are advantages to adopting internationally from China, adopting families mustplan for an extended stay and consider expensesinvolved in the travel and the adoption process itself.The Chinese require a minimum two-week stay.However, the Evans family spent an additional weekfor sightseeing around Beijing.

Jill observed that the minimum two-week staymeans visitors spend money in Chinese shops, restaurants and hotels. But Ricky and Jill feel the outcome was worth the sacrifice and expense andencourage other families considering internationaladoption to contact them.

Ricky and Jill are available to speak about international adoptions and the processes involved.They also have a PowerPoint presentation aboutadopting internationally. Jill also serves on the ParentAdvisory Board of Worldwide Adoption. They can bereached at [email protected]. For additionalinformation, they encourage going to WorldWideAdoption’s Website: http://worldwideadoption.org. orcalling (864) 814-1336.

Della enjoys playing in her

new backyard


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Aname change. Four presidents. Computerization.Record construction of facilities. Those are but afew items in a long list of major developments

J.L. Geddis has seen during his 41-year tenure atSpartanburg Methodist College.

Members of Geddis’ family and friends joined pastand present colleagues for a luncheon May 10 to honorhis service. President Charles Teague recognizedGeddis during graduation ceremonies May 7 by sayinghe has “served the College with distinction.”

Geddis enrolled as a student at the College, thenknown as Spartanburg Junior College, in the late1950s. Like many students at the time, Geddis divided his time between studies and holding down ajob. Geddis worked at Lyman Printing and Finishing,where he inspected new textile material for defects.

“I grew up in the Gramling community a poor kid. Ididn’t have any money. I knew I would have to workto go to college,” said Geddis, who worked on the second shift and went to class in the morning. Geddisworked eight hours a day and managed to maintain afull-time course load as well. He continued working atthe plant while at Wofford College, although he said heworked fewer hours at the time. Geddis had amplemotivation to complete his education.

“I knew I was not going to stay on the farm and wasnot going to stay in textiles,” Geddis recalled. Aftergraduating from Wofford, Geddis continued at theUniversity of South Carolina, where he earned an MBAdegree. He also served in the Navy Reserve. Geddismarried Shelba Allison, whom he met while bothworked at Lyman Printing and Finishing. They werewed September 1, 1962.

While at USC working on his MBA, Geddis enjoyedthe graduate courses he took in money and banking.He interviewed with Wachovia, who considered placinghim at a bank in the Greenville, N.C. area. But neitherhe nor Shelba were interested in moving so far awayfrom home and family.

One day while shopping in downtown Spartanburg,Geddis encountered A. G. Carter, Spartanburg JuniorCollege’s Dean. With the distinguished voice of anEnglish Literature professor, Carter asked Geddisabout his future plans. Carter said that the SouthernAssociation of Colleges and Schools visited the Collegeand pointed out the need for a financial officer with aMaster’s degree. Carter then asked Geddis if he wasinterested in interviewing for the position. Geddisinterviewed with then-President, Dr. H. LesterKingman and was hired for the position of AssistantTreasurer with a starting salary of approximately$5,500 a year.

“When this opportunity came up, we decided wewould stay here and work for less money,” saidGeddis, who looks back with no regrets but admits itwas difficult to take the job at first because of limitedpay and limited resources.

“We would turn adding machine tape over and runit through again on the back side,” Geddis recalled,adding that there was also a lot of deferred maintenance, which showed in the building andgrounds at the time.

When Geddis started his job, the Business Officewas located where the circulation desk of the BurgessLibrary is currently located. Aswith any new employee, heobserved the routines andprocesses in the BusinessOffice. Geddis recalled that theCollege used to maintain onelarge ledger with cash transac-tions recorded on one side andcash payments on the otherside, a system used since 1911when the institution was found-ed. In the early 1960s Geddissaid much of the work was stillbeing done by hand.

Geddis’ first challenge camefrom Henry Gramling, Chair-

FOUR DECADES OF SERVICE

Geddis as a student, 1959

J.L. Geddis (center) with his wife, Shelba (left); daughter,Rhonda Wood; and son-in-law, Greg Wood (right); at a retire-ment luncheon May 10 at SMC. Geddis is seated in a rockingchair presented to him as a retirement gift.

GeddisRetires

from SMC


13

man of the Trustees, to develop a budget that wasmore than just a one-page cash flow statement.

“They wanted an operating budget,” said Geddis,who visited his counterparts at Wofford College and decided to adopt their bookkeeping practices. The newprocedures worked, and the Trustees accepted it.Geddis saw the Business Office move into more sophisticated record-keeping and, some years later,computerization where ledger entries could be organized electronically. He is particularly proud thatduring his tenure the auditors consistently gave thecollege a clean financial bill of health.

Other key improvements, according to Geddis, included the development of an Administrative Cabinetwith a new structure of Vice Presidents responsible forkey institutional areas, and a revitalized DevelopmentOffice. Geddis became Vice President for BusinessAffairs under that new organizational structure.

Dr. George Fields, a former SMC President, recalled,“I can remember coming here without experience tostart a development program and a capital fund campaign. People like J.L. helped me get a kick-startand for that I am very grateful.”

Geddis also recalled that in the 1980s the Collegepurchased its own telephone switching equipment,saving thousands of dollars on telephone bills while atthe same time enabling rooms in the residence halls tohave phones. At the same time cables were laid for anew computer system, a development Geddis says putthe College years ahead many other private colleges.He credits Federal Title III funding for enabling themto add technology to the College, which included a computer network and accounting software that wasused by the college for many years.

Each semester Geddis would step out of theBusiness Office and into the classroom, where hewould share his knowldege as a professor ofAccounting, Economics and other business courses.Geddis loved the classroom and working with studentsand would often teach more than one class eachsemester. The most rewarding aspect of teaching forGeddis was to watch students gain confidence in theirabilities.

One student success story Geddis is proud of is DanFoster, a student in the 1970s whose progress he followed when he attended Clemson University andbecame successful in the local business community.Foster, who currently chairs the SMC Board ofTrustees, acknowledged Geddis’ lasting impression bysaying, “In a lifetime I think you meet one or two people who really make a difference in your life. J.L. iscertainly one of those two for me who have come hereand had someone to take me under their wing andinstill some confidence in me.”

Geddis also saw his daughter Rhonda attend SMCand graduate. “I was proud to see her go here andthen to Converse, where she received two Master’sdegrees,” said Geddis, noting that SMC and the motivation of faculty members gave her a good start.

Numerous construc-tion projects in the1960s and 1970s keptthe activity level up inthe Business Office.Projects in the 1960sincluded the BuchheitAdministrative Building,Burgess Student Centerand Willard Hall. In the1970s Kingman Hall, thecurrent MontgomeryScience Building, andBarrett Learning Centerwere added to the campus, as well as improvements to severalexisting buildings. Henoted that extensivelandscaping transformedthe campus from reddirt to a grassy, beautiful campus. During the 1980sand 1990s, outdoor athletic facilities were also great-ly improved.

Geddis retired from the business office in 2002 andfocused on being a faculty member. He kept a teaching load for three more years, where he couldstay in the classroom and continue to work with students as a professor of Business and Economics.

Geddis currently enjoys retirement at his Lymanhome with Shelba. He said he has more time now totravel. He also looks forward to spending more timewith his new granddaughter, as well as working in hisgarden and playing golf. But Geddis’ love for his fieldis evident as he continues to keep abreast of the StockMarket and follow current economic trends.

“I am going to look for an intellectual challenge infinance or something like that – not a job,” statedGeddis, who is interested in the area of InternationalFinance.

President Teague recognized J.L. Geddis and hiswife Shelba (left) during graduation ceremoniesMay 7.

Geddis in theBusiness

Office, 1972


14

2005 ALUMNI AWARDSDuring Alumni Weekend April 2, SMC recognized some of its graduates for their achievements. TheDistinguished Service Award went to Alex and Louise James of Greenville, S.C. The Distinguished Service

Award is given each year to highlight the exemplary leadership the recipients have given toadvance the mission of the College, demonstrated by their loyalty, support, and continuedinterest in the work of the institution. Alex is a man-made fiber scientist and has been a pro-fessional engineer since 1956. He received two Bachelors of Science degrees in bothChemistry and Chemical Engineering. James founded his own firm, Alex James andAssociates. He is also the Technical Editor of the International Fiber Journal and is a memberof several engineering and technical societies. Louise was employed with Southern Bell for 10years and for Alex James and Associates for 18 years. She enjoys volunteering with Meals onWheels, the Greenville Symphony Guild, and the South Carolina Professional EngineeringAuxiliary. She is a former Greenville United Methodist Conference District Trustee and has

served on many local Methodist Committees and Official Boards.

Roger White (right) expresses appreciation to Spartanburg MethodistCollege after receiving the Alumni Arts and Humanities Award, presentedby President Teague during an awards luncheon April 2, part of theCollege’s Alumni Weekend. White attended SMC from 1983 to 1985. Whitecurrently works with advertising and publicity and as AuditionsCoordinator for the Dollywood winter audition, which searches for talent toperform at Dollywood, the popular theme park located at Pigeon Forge,Tenn. (see his story on the facing page)

Pat and Marvis Henry receive the Alumni of the Year Award fromPresident Teague (right). The Henrys are both graduates of the College(then known as Spartanburg Junior College). An attorney and currentSMC Trustee, Pat is President of Thompson and Henry, P.A. He has alsoserved on the Board of Trustees at both Garden City Chapel and ConwayHospital, as well as on the Advisory Board for Wachovia Bank. Marvistaught school for several years in Texas, Alaska, Myrtle Beach andRichland County, South Carolina where she was named Teacher of theYear in 1970. She is active in their community, lending a hand with localcharities in their time of need.

Brian Edward Pruitt receives the Young Alumnus of the Year Awardfrom President Teague. As a student at SMC, Pruitt played baseball andgolf. Upon graduation he transferred to Furman University and then to theUniversity of South Carolina Upstate where he earned a computer science degree. At USC Upstate Pruitt was President of the ComputerScience Club. Pruitt worked with Milliken and Co. in the information sys-tems division and is currently a Systems Programmer for QS/1 DataSystems in Spartanburg where he has been employed for five years. Heand his wife, Leah, also a SMC alum and Director of Alumni Relations,reside in Inman.

Students, faculty and staffdonated 80 health kits and two

flood buckets to UMCOR (UnitedMethodist Committee on Relief).The kits contained basic personalhygiene supplies, which includedtowels, combs, nail files, soap,toothbrushes, toothpaste, andsterile bandages. They also madea $100.00 donation to UMCOR.

Also, Atchison Transportation,owned by SMC Trustee, CharlesAtchison, sent several buses toLouisiana and Texas to transport

hurricane victims in September. Afew days after Hurricane Katrinadevastated the Gulf Coast,Atchison sent six buses to NewOrleans Convention Center totransport approximately 600evacuees to Houston, Texas.A few weeks later, Atchisonsent four buses to theWestern Louisiana coast andthe Beaumont, Texas area totransport residents displacedby Hurricane Rita. The FederalEmergency Management

Agency (FEMA) Transport Manage-ment Services office contractedthe service with Atchison.

Reaching Out to Hurricane Victims


15

for SMC Alum

White Finds Niche in Theme Park Entertainment

For most of his life, Roger W. White (’85) hasbeen mesmerized by the bright lights andexcitement of show business. His efforts were

recognized this past spring when SMC presented himwith the Alumni Arts and Humanities Award duringAlumni Weekend (see previous page).

While attending SMC, White continued his involve-ment in theatre, taking classes from Drama professorKent Newberry and working in SMC Players produc-tions. He also worked as a public relations assistantand sports information assistant and wrote for theTrailblazer. White was elected SGA Vice-President asa freshman and SGA President as a sophomore.While he was involved in many areas on campus,White also was a part-time announcer and newscaster at WSPA-AM.

White has been very active in the theatre since hewas in the eighth-grade, performing in student pro-ductions of The King and I, Arsenic and Old Lace,Once Upon a Mattress, Wiley and the Hairy Man, TheLiberty Cat, and A Funny Thing Happened on theWay to the Forum.After attending SMC, White graduated from theUniversity of Montevallo with a Bachelor of Fine ArtsDegree in Theatre.

White’s credits include Playhouse on the Square inMemphis, Tenn., Busch Entertainment Corporation(Busch Gardens) in Tampa, Fla. and Williamsburg,Va. and Richard Porter Productions in Las Vegas.

In 1993, White found that the Smokies and showbusiness were a great combination. He joinedHerschend Family Entertainment, which producesshows at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. While at

Dollywood, he has worked as Production StageManager for shows such as Fire on the Mountain,Christmas in the Smokies, Let the Good Times Roll,and Buddy Baxter’s Bandstand USA. This past seasonhe was Production Stage Manager for Randy Parton’sCountry Heart and Soul concert show.

White has also worked as Stage Manager forChina’s Dragon Legend Acrobats and concert artistssuch as Kenny Chesney, Patty Loveless, ConnieSmith, Terri Clark, Aaron Tippin, and Dolly Parton.

Currently, White works as Auditions Coordinator,which includes identification, set-up and operation ofDollywood’s winter audition tour when the themepark searches for talent to fill slots for the upcomingseason. This position also includes coordinating publicity and advertising for the tour.

Although he initially had concerns about whetheror not a career in theatre would pay off, White sayshe found his niche in theme park entertainment.

“I would encourage anybody looking for a careerto find something you really like to do and makeyour career out of it. You will not go wrong,” saidWhite, adding a note of gratitude to SMC for providing him with opportunities to learn and grow.

White is proud of his two intelligent, beautiful andtalented children, Dalton, 7, and Hannah, 4. Heserves on the parish council at Holy Cross CatholicChurch, is a lector (reader) during Mass, and is acertified Catechist. This past Christmas, he producedan original play at the church that he wrote anddirected called The Gospel According to Gabriel, aunique look at the birth of Christ as seen through theeyes of the Angel Gabriel. White has also been veryactive with Sevier County Relay for Life, an annualcancer fundraiser.

Country performer Country performer Margo Smith (right) Margo Smith (right) discusses her performance indiscusses her performance inDollywood’Dollywood’s s Back Where I ComeBack Where I ComeFromFrom show with Rshow with Roger White.oger White.

White (left) talks about a performancewith the Back Where I Come From castmembers Amy Bebout, Shane VanCampand Jonathan Cobb at Dollywood.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF DOLLYWOOD


16

As you know, in the spring we celebrated Alumni Weekend 2005. We enjoyedmany exciting events including dinner at the Fire Mountain Grill, ClassReunions, Drama Recognition and Production and, best of all, the Alumni

Awards Luncheon. During this special time several alumni asked how they individually, or with their class, could help support a scholarship for current andfuture students. I would like to present you the opportunity to join with otheralumni and help our students. Show your Pioneer Pride by simplyenclosing your contribution in the envelope provided in this magazine. By giving to the Alumni LoyaltyFund, you will be giving another young person the opportunity to become one of us, a proud SMCAlumnus.

Sincerely,Leah L. Pruitt ‘98Director of Alumni Relations

With Christmas around the corner, honor your loved one with a personalized brick for our “Walk of Memories.” Contact Leah L. Pruitt at (864) 587-4225 or [email protected] for more information and ordering.

Greetings from the Alumni Office

AlumNewsT I I — S J C — S M C

1930S

Mae Young Allen (‘36) isenjoying retirement inSpartanburg, S.C.

Jack M. Andrews (‘34) isenjoying retirement inGreenville, S.C.

Edward Cameron (‘36) isenjoying his retirement inOlivia, N.C.

Sarah H. Lineberry (‘35)of Spartanburg, S.C. isenjoying retirement.

Mary S. Thrower (‘38) ofCharleston, S.C. is aliveand well. We received newsthat she was deceased andher name was noted in ourlast issue as beingdeceased. We apologizefor the error and arethrilled that she is aliveand well.

Winifred Dean Turner(‘38) of Alma, Ga. isretired from Southern Bell.

M. Scott Willis Sr. (‘38) isenjoying his retirement inAiken, S.C., while supporting his Alma Mater.

1940s

Nannie Love Allen (‘40)writes that she has beenmarried 61 years as ofJanuary 6, 2005, to Dr.Leonard R. Allen. Both livein Clemson, S.C. Nannie isa retired school teacher.

Thomas W. Barksdale(‘40) recently wrote thefollowing, “I am retiredafter 50 years with thesame company. I was aPOW with Germans for 15months in Stalag XVIIB. Iam now totally disabled.”

Vivian C. Edge (‘40) isretired and lives inReidville, S.C.

Lucy Tedder Davis (‘41)recently wrote that, thoughretired, she is “busier thanever.” She spends her timedoing visitation for herchurch and does volunteerwork for several agencies.

Grady L. Fincher (‘41) ofSumter, S.C. is enjoyingretirement.

Ray P. Lybrand (‘41) ofAlbemarle, N.C. and his

wife Edna are enjoyingretirement.

Tyrus Wood (‘41) isenjoying retired life inSpartanburg, S.C.

Col. Thomas H. Nichols(‘41) is retired and lives inGreenwood, S.C. with hiswife, Eyra K. Nichols.

Ruby Bishop Pagano(‘42) of East Brunswick,N.J. recently lost her husband, Ralph. Our deepest sympathy to Rubyand her family.

Hazel J. Stringfield (‘42)writes, “I am very sorry tomiss Alumni Weekend thisyear (2005). My sister isvery ill.” Hazel lost her sister, Laura Barkley, aftershe wrote this message.Our deepest sympathy toHazel, Ruby Pagano(Hazel’s SJC classmate andfriend), and Laura Barkley’sfamily and friends.

Marian B. Easler (‘43) isenjoying retirement inSpartanburg, S.C.

Margaret HughesHanning (‘43) is retired inRock Hill, S.C.

Faye Nix Jay (‘43) ofGreenville, S.C. proudlyhas a granddaughter, LeslieDay, attending SMC thisyear.

Anna Divver VaughanAllen (‘44) is a profession-al volunteer. She recentlywrote, “One day I’m goingto write Divver’s Epistle tothe ‘old alums’ and it willinclude more than when Iretired and how manygrandchildren I have. Iwant to know what hashappened to all of you!”

Ms. Betty H. Barkley(‘44) of Gastonia, N.C.writes, “I’m a widowapproaching 80 and enjoy-ing retirement to the“fullest.” I am blessed withgood health and a wonder-ful family!”

Marguerite SmithCompton (‘44) recentlywrote, “I certainly do enjoyreading the Frontiers mag-azine (this widow at age80-plus) with so muchgood news and photos. Isave all of them. If I getlonesome, I start re-read-ing again!”

Beth Mahon McCarter(‘44) is enjoying life inFountain Inn, S.C.

Mary ElizabethO’Sullivan (‘44) is retiredin Savannah, Ga.

Virginia R. Boiter (‘45)retired from theSpartanburg CountyLibrary. She enjoys travel-ing to Arizona to visit her


17

daughter and family andalso to Maryland to visither son and his daughter.

Sara Calvert (‘45) is ahomemaker in Eatonton,Ga. She and husbandGrady are enjoying retirement years.

Guy F. Fain Jr. (‘45) wentinto the U.S. Army AirCorps and finished WoffordCollege in 1949. He is married to Naomi ScottFain (1949).

Betty Woodfun Pope(‘46) and her husband, Ray(‘45), live in Inman, S.C.

Betty Crocker Shuler(‘46) of Holly Hill, S.C. isenjoying retirement.

Lois Lewis Brown (‘47) andWalter Brown are retiredand living in Pickens, S.C.

Grace Kellett Junker(‘47) is proud that her giftsto the College are matchedthrough a Matching GiftCompany.

J. Fred Lister (‘47) isenjoying retirement inColumbia, S.C.

Edward T. Hinson (‘48) isenjoying retirement in RockHill, S.C.

Gilbert W. Littlejohn(‘48) is retired inGreenville, S.C.

Lafayette H. Thompson(‘48) is enjoying life inAsheville, N.C.

Noami Scott Fain (‘49)and her husband, Guy F.Fain, Jr. (‘45) have beenmarried for 55 years andlive in Moore, S.C.

Albert Bernard Martin(‘49) of Spartanburg, S.C.is enjoying his retirementyears.

Leonard A. McDowell(‘49) is retired and residesin Chesnee, S.C.

Alma Jolley Riley (‘49) isretired and lives inColumbus, Ohio.

1950s

Helen Gregory Sanders(‘50) is enjoying life inCharleston, S.C.

Frances Austin Day (‘51)retired after teaching 40years in Whitesburg, Ky.Elementary School. She

has two sons and fivegrandchildren.

Rev. Samuel H. Poston(‘51) is Older AdultCoordinator for theSpartanburg District of theS.C. UMC; received theDavid Camak SocietyHuman Gold Award May29, 2005; and he coordi-nated Yah-Yah Fund Dayfor Older Adults on August17, 2005 at St. James UMCin Spartanburg, S.C.

Saralyn T. Overstreet(‘51) is enjoying life inHazlehurst, Ga.

Eugene L. McLean (‘51)of Rockingham, N.C. is aretired Industrial Engineer.

Lawrence M. & Betty V.Jamerson (‘51) are retiredin Virginia Beach, Va.

Ray F. Smith (‘51) andwife Nell (‘55) lived inGreenville, S.C. where Rayis enjoying retirement.

James E. Brantley (‘52)of Cartersville, Ga. retiredfrom the HanoverInsurance Co. He is enjoy-ing retirement with hiswife, Elizabeth.

Joseph H. Frye (‘52) isenjoying retirement inSpartanburg and he lovesto fish.

M. JeannetteHatzenbuhler (‘52) isenjoying living in Jupiter, Fla.

Maxine Fogle Owen (‘52)is retired and lives inNorth, S.C.

Betty Angel Ridings (‘52)is enjoying retirement inSpartanburg, S.C. andloves life!

Ruth Kelly Cannon (‘54)is secretary at Cannon’sCampground UM Church inSpartanburg, S.C.

Roland Elmore (‘54) isPresident of Fabric andYarn Associates ofSpartanburg, S.C. (In theSpring issue there was aRoland Elmore

Allen E. Long (‘54) ofPacolet, S.C. is a retiredUnited Methodist Minister.Rev. Long is married toJean Bell Long (‘55).

Mary Artur Sims Powers(‘54) of Union, S.C. isretired.

Betty McNeill Sells (‘54)and husband, Ed, recentlycruised on the Queen MaryII to Alaska this pastAugust. They are enjoyingtheir three grandchildren.Betty is retired and enjoying substitute teach-ing in the Mobile County,Ala., School System.

Ralph D. Vaughan (‘54)lives in Galax, Va. andenjoys his retirementyears.

Judith Casey Bishop(‘55) and J.D. traveled toThailand in March 2005 fora fabulous tour of Bangkokand Chiang Mar areas. Theylive in Spartanburg, S.C.

Nora Hutchins (‘55) livesin Spartanburg, S.C.

Carolyn FergusonPatterson (‘55) is aretired educator inGreenwood, S.C.

Jean Bell Long (‘55) is aretired public schoolteacher. She is married toRev. Allen E. Long ofPacolet, S.C.

Barbara H. Murphy (‘55)is enjoying life inGainesville, Va.

Dorothy Williams Bales(‘56) lives in Georgia.

Mark Causey Jr. (‘56)lives in Supply, N.C.

Wanda MatternDoverspike (‘56) lives inYork New Salem, Pa. withher husband, who is aretired Methodist Minister.They have three children.

Shirley Childress Hanson(‘56) and husband, Bob,live in Crocker, Mo.

Wirron Leonard (‘56)attended SJC for one yearand transferred to Woffordwhere he graduated n1958. He is now retiredfrom the banking business,most recently being associated with BB&T.

Eunice Amerson Rowell(‘56) lives in Greenwood,S.C.

Bates Scoggins (‘56)graduated from WoffordCollege in 1958, retiredfrom Kohler Co. after 39-and-a-half years in 1997.He and his wife, Pat, live inUnion County, S.C. Theyhave two children and

three grandchildren.

Benita Davis Stavely(‘56) has retired fromteaching.

Barbara T. Stone (‘56)resides in Greenville, N.C.

Ruby Dority Marshall(‘56) lives in Hartsville,S.C.

Walter Corn (‘58) and hiswife, Patricia Davis Corn(‘59), are both retired andenjoying life in Spartanburg.

Wayne Fields (‘59) ofLancaster, S.C. is retired.

Elizabeth Jack (‘59) isstill enjoying retirementand living in Spartanburg.

1960s

William S. Frey (‘60) isVP Operations with WilliamB. Reily & Co., Inc. in NewOrleans, La., but he residesin Kenner, La.

Philip D. Greer (‘60) hasretired as a special agentwith the Internal RevenueService in Columbia, S.C.

Patricia S. Wood (‘60) isa retired United MethodistMinister. She lives inGreenville, S.C.

Sidney Lee Williams(‘61) has retired fromLaurens County Schools asan attendance clerk.

Duane Turner (‘62) isemployed with Milliken &Co. in Spartanburg, S.C.Duane’s wife, “Bootsie” isMilliken & Co.’s SeniorEmployment Manager.

Mr. Robert MacInnes(‘63) of Charleston, S.C.has retired.

Wallace Burns (‘63) ofBowie, Md. is self-employed as a BusinessResearch Analyst.

Dale Norris Reily (‘63) isa retired teacher nowhomemaker in Destin, Fla.

Patricia Moore Byrd (‘64)lives in Pawleys Island,S.C.

Michael D. Clayton (‘64)of Seneca, S.C. is retired.

Ralph C. Driggers, Jr.(‘64) is enjoying retirementin Pawleys Island, S.C.

Mary Ruth FindleyHauser (‘64) of PilotMountain, N.C. has been


18

Janis C. Patton (‘71) isthe owner of PattonPharmacy in Woodruff, S.C.

Paul E. “Bucky” Tillotson(‘71) has taught andcoached for 30 years atAiken High School.

W. Bernard Welborn(‘70) recently wrote a let-ter of thanks to SMC forenhancing his quality oflife. He is retired and liv-ing in Greenwood, S.C.,and is an avid golfer.

Dewey L. Whaley (‘71) ofElizabethton, Tenn. isemployed with theDepartment of Energy.

Michael A. (Tony) Smith(‘72) of Summerville, S.C.is a Senior Special Agentwith DHS/ICE.

Charlie Sams (‘72) is thePastor of Starnes CoveBaptist Church inAlexander, N.C.

Stephanie Bailey Sloan(‘72) is in real estate salesin Murfreesboro, Tenn. Shehas a son, Matthew.

Barbie Smith (‘72) ofEasley is an Officer withAmerican Security. Barbiewas adopted and found herbiological mother in 1983.Her story caught the atten-tion of an area newspaperthat year. The newspaperarticle was about Barbie’sconcern on how her adoptive parents would feeltoward her biological moth-er. It turns out they becameone happy family. Barbiealso has an adopted sister,Mrs. Betty Webb ofLeesville, S.C.

Wayne W. Federline(‘73) works for ShrinersChildrens Hospital inGreenville, S.C. He has adaughter: GabrielleHannah, 8.

Donald Babb (‘74) ofArden, N.C. is a lieutenantwith the city of Asheville,N.C., Police Department.

Morris O. Woodring (‘75)of Mountain City, Tenn., isa Principal and teacherwith Johnson City MiddleSchool.

Jennifer Carswell Wade(‘75) works for PCAInternational PhotographyCompany. She has two

children: Charles David,24, who works atShaumaker, Inc.; andMegan Lee Wade, 18, aClemson University sophomore.

Gloria Alma Elledge (‘76)retired from the FederalGovernment and is ateacher in K-4 at DuncanFirst Baptist Church CDP.She wanted to use thedegree she received inEarly Childhood Educationbefore she retired again.She loves working withchildren.

John Dean Hamrick (‘76)is a retired Greenvillecounty Deputy Sheriff. Helives in Landrum, S.C.

Foster M. “Billy” Routh III(‘76) of Columbia, S.C. isProgram Manager-StrategicCommunication with theS.C. Budget and ControlBoard.

Debbie Ballenger Austin(‘77) is a kindergartenteacher with UnionMethodist Kindergarten inColumbia, S.C.

Jack Bishop (‘78) ofSpartanburg, S.C. hasbeen employed with theSpartanburg CountySheriff’s Office since 1978.He is currently in charge ofthe Sex Offender Registry,however he was sergeantof Forensics for more than27 years.”

Darryl McClure (‘78) ofBelmont, N.C. is aSupervisor II with the Cityof Gastonia, N.C. He has adaughter, Terra. Darryl isthe director at ErwinCommunity Center, City ofGastonia Recreation andParks Department.

Patsy M. Davis (‘79) is aMedia Specialist with AikenMiddle School. She hastwo daughters, aged 10and 17.

S. Eric Lowman (‘79) isan Area Senior VicePresident with BB&T. Helives in Beaufort, S.C.

Robert M. Sherfield, Ph.D.(‘79) is a Professor withthe Community College ofSouth Nevada.

Patricia Jolly Tate (‘79)of Pacolet, S.C. is anExecutive Assistant.

1980s

Angle “Gus” Clark (‘80)graduated from KellerGraduate School ofManagement of DevryUniversity this past Junewith a MBA in Marketing.

Tony L. Hollifield (‘80) isemployed with Provident-Piedmont Farm and Garden.He resides in Chesnee, S.C.

Karen L. Anders Turner(‘82) and her family aremissionaries with theWycliffe Bible Translators inTanzania, East Africa.

Carmen Stokes SimonsWilliams (‘83) of Mt.Pleasant, S.C. and husbandCharles Henry RaymondWilliams wed October 17,1992 and have a sonDaniel, 10. Carmen alsohas two other children,Theodore Jervey SimonsVI, 17, and Taylor AnneSimons, 15.

Keith Wall (‘83) is a student at theSoutheastern BaptistTheological Seminary inWake Forest, N.C.

Lassie “Ann” Hewatt(‘84) of Dunwoody, Ga.wrote that she was havinga “crazy” spring and summer. By the time thisissue of Frontiers hits themail, maybe she will bewanting the “crazy” toreturn. We are proud tohave Ann for a SMC grad!

Terri Rollins Kemmerlin(‘84) is a BusinessEducation Teacher withWade Hampton HighSchool, Hampton District 1,Varnville, S.C.

Matthew Coffin (‘85) hasbeen a state trooper withthe S.C. Highway Patrolsince 1993 and is stationedin Columbia, S.C. He is married to Lisa, a homehealth nurse. They have two children, aged 11 and 14.

Laurie Darragh Fallaw(‘85) has been working forthe past 15 years with thealcohol and drug abuseprevention field as theDirector of CommunityOutreach in Greenwood,S.C. She and husbandKevin have one child,Hampton L. Fallaw.

married for 42 years toTom Hauser. Tom will retirein March of 2006 after 40years with First CitizensBank. They have twograndchildren, 6 & 8. MaryRuth works with Cox-Needham Funeral Home asAdministrative Assistantbut is semi-retired.

J. Ron Faulkenberry(‘64) is the Dean for theSchool of Education ofFrancis Marion University inFlorence, S.C.

Kay D. Waddell (‘64) is aIT Consultant with FidelityInformation Solutions.

Charles H. “Chuck”Johnson (‘66) is owner ofSpartan Marketing inSpartanburg, S.C.

James D. “Jimmy” TroutJr. (‘66) and his wife,Elaine Kelly “Lanie” Trout,are enjoying the birth oftheir new granddaughter,Sarah. Sarah’s mother isBetsy Trout Kneisley (‘96).

Nancy Foust Watson(‘66) is enjoying retirementin Chesnee, S.C.

Norman W. Kirkland(‘67) of Mt. Pleasant, S.C.is a Network Manager withBellSouth.

Brenda Libner (‘67) isAdministrative Specialistwith USC-Sumter.

David H. Clark (‘68) ofHolly Hill, S.C., is a managerwith the Holly Hill Farm andHome Supplies company.

Roger L. Ezell (1968), aself-employed Marshall,N.C. plumbing contractor,enjoys supporting SMC.

Robert N. Davis (‘69) ofPomaria, S.C. is employedwith Winn-Dixie as aManager.

1970s

G. G. Cutter (‘71) and hiswife Ann King Cutter live inManning, S.C. They havetwo children: John andKing. G.G. was on theSMC Baseball Team in1970-1971. He is employedwith First Palmetto SavingsBank.

B. T. DeShields (‘71)resides in Piedmont, S.C.

News (continued)


19

Kiffin Hope (‘86) andwife, Jennifer, reside inMissoula, Mont. Kiffinmoved out west in 1994,first to Denver, Colo. thenMissoula. The couple hastwo children: Katie andLizzie. Kiffin has under-graduate degrees fromUSC-Upstate and SMC. Heearned his Master ofHumanities degree fromthe University of Colorado-Denver in 2001, where hisstudies and thesis workemphasized deep ecologyand environmental philosophy. Kiffin has vol-unteered for numerousnonprofits over the lastseveral years and presentlyserves on the boards of theSierra Club’s Bitterroot/Mission Group and theMissoula Food Cooperative.He works at Wildlands CPRin Missoula, a nationalgrassroots conservationgroup emphasizing forestrestoration.

Mary A. Sczechowicz(‘85) is Financial Secretarywith St. James UM Church,Spartanburg, S.C.

Jacqueline CourtneyJohnson (‘86) is EducationAssociate with the S.C.Department of Education inColumbia, S.C.

Tammie Brownlee Jones(‘88) and her husband,Willie, live in Lexington,S.C. Willie was deployedto Afghanistan for oneyear. They have been mar-ried since July, 1988, andhave a son and a daughter.The military family spentthree years in Hawaii.Tammie completed aBachelors Degree inPsychology 1998 atMarymount University inArlington, Va. In 2004, shereceived a MBA from theUniversity of Phoenix atthe Hawaii campus. She isthree classes away fromcompleting a secondMasters degree from theUniversity of Phoenix(online campus) inManagement of HumanResources. She will beginworking on a Ph.D. inBusiness Administration inJanuary of 2006. She ownsthe Teecoffeeshop, anonline business. Tammierecently wrote, “I justwanted to take this oppor-

tunity to thank SMC for mybeginning and let themknow that they are alwaysin my thoughts.” Tammieadds that they plan tomove in June. “I am notsure where we will go butSMC is always on mymind.”

Damon F. Manale (‘88) isthe owner of ManaleLandscaping LLC in NorthCharleston, S.C.

Mike McGee (‘88) is a P.E.teacher with the UnionCounty Schools atLockhart, S.C. He hasspent five years as thehead baseball coach, threeyears as assistant footballcoach, and athletic directorfor two years. He is theproud daddy of daughterMallory, 7 and son Jake, 3.

Sherry Lawson Waddell(‘88) is a BenefitsAdministrator with R.D.Anderson AppliedTechnology Center. Sheresides in Woodruff, S.C.

Charles Williams (‘88)and his wife Ashley weremarried in 1991 and havetwo children: Charles andHarrison.

1990s

Randy Anderson (‘90) ofAnderson, S.C. is a supervisor with AlltelCommunications.

Suzanne WisenbakerKenrick (‘91) marriedSteve Kenrick in 1999.Suzanne has beenemployed by Departmentof Veterans Affairs as aRecreation Therapist since1995. They have threechildren: Justin, Shelby,and Shane.

Lee Miller (‘91) and hiswife, Amy, and their sonRobert live in theLowcountry where Lee is aphysical therapist. He hasbeen practicing for aboutseven years.

Jerry C. Smith (‘94) isVice President of BB&TInsurance Services andlives in Roebuck, S.C.

Wells Shepard (‘95) isthe Director of Admissionsfor LaGrange College,LaGrange, Ga. Wells is aformer employee with theSMC Admissions Office.

Jean Parker Carter (‘60) at a Christmas in April party forher daughter, Kacee Lominack (right) and son-in-law,Andrew Lominack (left). Pictured at center is Jean anddaughter Cara.

“My memories of SJCare very fond. I was acheerleader, in the Maycourt, chorus, was votedthe Prettiest Girl in thefreshman class, worked atFowler Brothers’ Cleaners,the library, and worked inthe kitchen. My studiestook me to (then)Winthrop College where Iparticipated in the Metho-dist Student Foundation.

After graduation fromWinthrop, I married myhigh school sweetheart,Steve Cooper, son of thelate UM Rev. and Mrs.George “Sam” R. Cooper.Steve and I lived on thecampus of WoffordCollege. Steve’s fatherwas minister at DuncanStreet UMC. While Steveattended classes atWofford, I worked as asecretary for the Rev.Voight Taylor at BethelUMC.

During our time atWofford, Steve served asa lay preacher at a nearbyrural UMC, I taught theladies’ Sunday Schoolclass. The Rev. Dr. RobertDuBois was the districtsuperintendent.

Steve and I moved toAuburn, Ala., where hecontinued his studiesbeyond his degree fromWofford. While in Auburn,Steve passed away. Imoved to Columbia andattended St. Mark UMCand worked as an admin-istrative assistant at theS.C. Dept. of Education.Later I returned to myhome in Colleton Countyand began a teaching

career. Later I remarried andbecame the mother oftwo wonderful daughters,Kathleen Carter (Kacee)Parker Lominack andMary Caroline “Cara”Parker. After joining thestaff at the S.C. DOE, mydaughters and I moved toColumbia and becamemembers at ShandonUMC. Kacee is a graduateof Presbyterian Collegeand was married in June2004 to Andrew BlalockLominack of Greenville.She is with the GreenvilleFamily Partnership andAndrew is with theCorporate Office of Ryan’sin Greer. Cara is a graduate of ColumbiaCollege and is now anadmissions counselor atColumbia College.

After my retirement of30 years in education, Ihave worked in variousinteresting positions—WIS- TV, LoganCommunity School,Congaree Land Trust, andnow as secretary to the(retired) Rev. Joe Alley(part-time supply pastor)at Whaley Street UMC. I have spent my otherhours volunteering as aCharter Board Member ofthe Palmetto Chapter ofJuvenile DiabetesResearch Foundation,Meals of Wheels, Habitatfor Humanity Store, S.C.Chapter of Leukemia,Lymphoma, Myeloma,and Canoeing for Kidswhich was founded by JayAlley, son of Joe Alley.”


20

Stephen McNeill (‘97) is aMinister at MillbrookBaptist Church in Aiken,S.C. and is married to afourth-grade teacher.

Todd Monteith (‘98) is aNetwork MarketingSalesman in Greenville, S.C.

Tiffany Harmon Whittle(‘98) and husband, WesleyT. Whittle (‘97) celebratedtheir second WeddingAnniversary. Tiffany waspresented three awards ata state medical technologyconference: the OmicronSigma award; the Keys toThe Future award; and theSCSCLS Member of theYear Award for 2004-2005.She will become the nextPresident of the SouthCarolina Society of Clinicaland Laboratory Science in2006.

Catrina Harris (‘99) ismarried to Scott Fernanders.Catrina is employed with theSpartanburg HumaneSociety as a VeterinaryTechnician. She wrote thefollowing note to SMC,“Over the past six years Ihave grown a lot mentally. Igive my parents the creditmost of all, but my professors at SMC reallymade an impact on my life.”

2000s

Denise Brognano (‘01)graduated from Converse inMay, 2004, with a BA in ArtTherapy, Studio Art. She is avolunteer at SAFE Homes inSpartanburg, S.C.

Robyn Elizabeth Greene(‘01) graduated fromColumbia College in May,2003, and graduated fromWestern Carolina Universityin May, 2005, with aMaster of Science degree inSpeech-LanguagePathology.

Denise Jones (‘01) gradu-ated from Coastal CarolinaUniversity with a degree inPsychology. She is nowattending graduate school.

Terrance Miley (‘01)graduated from SouthCarolina State University inDecember, 2004, with adegree in BusinessManagement.

Ben Motes (‘01) is attend-ing college and planning tobe a history teacher.

Debra Lynn Newman(‘01) recently wrote, “The18 months I spent at SMCwas one of the mostrewarding experiences ofmy life. I’ll carry it with mealways!”

Aaron Gash Pickens (‘01)expects to graduate in2005 from USC Upstatewith a major in PhysicalEducation/CorporateFitness. He wrote, “Ms.Porter, thanks for your letter. It’s good to hearfrom you and keeping intouch with SMC.”

Nicholas Ware Tarver(‘01) graduated fromValdosta State Universitywith a degree inAccounting on December12, 2003. He is currentlyemployed with EquityResidential Properties inAugusta, Ga. He wrote, “Iam a regional accountantfor Equity ResidentialProperties and have 25properties in NorthCarolina for which I amresponsible. I am engagedto be married Oct. 15,2005 and have recentlybought my first house inNorth Augusta, S.C.Special hello to Mrs. Corn,Ms. Porter, and CoachKenneally.”

Bret McIver (‘02) ofJackson, S.C. received abachelor’s degree inCommunications andTheatre (Emp.Communications) and aminor in religion atCharleston SouthernUniversity this past May.

Annie M. Ferguson (‘02)is a Sales Manager withPalmetto Dunes Resort,Bluffton, S.C.

Nicklaus Sprouse (02)wrote that he recentlygraduated from CoastalCarolina University with aBA in Psychology. He is inthe early stages of employ-ment with a law enforce-ment agency and plans toeither stay in the Upstateor move to Columbia.

Jill Viles (‘02), formerSMC soccer player, coacheda Special Olympics team at

the Georgia SummerGames this past year. Shehas been running the soccer venue at EmoryUniversity in Atlanta, Ga.There are more than 2000athletes participating in 20sports.

In Military ServiceW. Sterling Anderson, II(‘93) is with the U.S. Army.He was called back toactive duty on Jan. 10,2005 and is serving as aJAG officer. He is part ofthe mission for homelandsecurity in the Washington,D.C. area.

Lt. Col. Charles E.“Eddie” Edge (‘85) continues to serve onactive duty with the U.S.Army at the Pentagon inWashington, D.C.

Jeff Fulton (‘04) is servingwith the U.S. Army inAfghanistan as a CombatEngineer. He plans to finisha degree at ClemsonUniversity when he returnsfrom Afghanistan.

Elizabeth Hartley (‘03)lives in Great Falls, Mont.,and is with the U.S. AirForce Security Forces.

Angela Marie Lowery(‘01) is serving a secondtour of duty in Iraq.

David Padgett (‘88) wasreactivated into the military service inKuwait/Iraq. From 2003 to2004, he spent more thana year serving with the812th TransportationBattalion as the S-4/Logistic Officer. He wasawarded the Bronze Starfor his work in logisticsplanning and Up-armoringover 500 Humvees andTrucks within the battalion.He is glad to be back homewith his wife, Renee, andtheir two children, Jamesand Carlina. He isemployed with theCharlotte MecklenburgPolice Department both aPolice Officer and Re-search, Planning &Analysis.

BirthsBetsy Trout Kneisley(‘96) gave birth to adaughter, Sarah on April 5,2005. Betsy is a formeremployee of the College.

Autumne Kirby Relich ofLexington, Ky. and husbandMark are parents of CurtisKirby Relich, born March21, 2005. He is 8 lbs. 6 oz.and 21-1/2 inches long.They have two other chil-dren: Christina Elizabeth(almost 6) and NicholasAlexander (almost 3).

News (continued)

Samantha HarrisonRogers (‘96) is married and has abeautiful daughter,almost two years old,named Madison JoAnn(above). Samanthaworks as a preschoolteacher while workingtoward an Associates inEarly ChildhoodDevelopment Degree.

Stacie LuedeckeWilliams (‘96) is pictured with her husband Craig Williamsand their daughterSavannah and sonGarrett. The Williamsfamily recently enjoyeda vacation to Cape SanBlas, Fla., where Staciewrites that the beacheswere beautiful and thesunset spectacular.Highlights includeddeep-sea fishing andjust relaxing at thebeach watching theirdaughter building sandcastles.


21

MarriagesGretchen Anderson (‘94)wed Jamie Reeves onDecember 28, 2003. Theylive in Pickens, S.C.

Laura Mary Barnes (‘99)of Greenville, S.C. marriedJason Everett Putman ofAnderson, S.C. onSaturday, July 9, 2005 atFairfield Mountains Chapelfollowed by a reception atLake Lure Golf and BeachResort. Laura graduatedfrom The MedicalUniversity of S.C. with anMS in OccupationalTherapy and works for theGreenville Hospital System.

Kelly Turner Harvey(‘02) married Jay Harvey(‘02) on July 17, 2004.Kelly graduated fromWofford College in May,2004, with a BA in Finance.She is employed by Atkins& Associates FinancialPlanning.

Daniel Holder (‘90) married Tracey Watson onMarch 20, 2004.

Brandie Davis Love (‘98)married Nathan C. Love onAugust 7, 2004 and is living in Columbia, S.C.She graduated fromColumbia College in 2000with a BA degree in PublicAffairs and worked atColumbia College for three-and-a-half years in theAnnual Fund Office. Herhusband, Nathan, is a1997 graduate of theCitadel and works forSynovus Trust. Brandiebegan working at USC inthe Donor Relations Officein August of 2004.

Shannon E. Montgomery(‘91) recently marriedMatthew Grady, a Major inthe U.S. Army stationed atFort Bliss, Tex. She is currently working on aMasters Degree at WebsterUniversity. Maj. Grady is a1994 West Point Graduate.The couple live in El Paso,Tex.

Diana “Jamie” OwensBright (‘05) of Enoree,S.C. and JamesChristopher Bright ofMoore, S.C. were marriedMay 14, 2005. Jamie was arunner in the Women’sCross Country Team and

has returned this year asthe team’s assistant coach.

James Donald Powell(‘81) married his highschool sweetheart, Lori.Graduates of ClemsonUniversity, they have threechildren. He has been aBenefits Consultant for 20years. Lori is a ChemicalEngineer but worked as aResearch Chemist for fiveyears.

Andrew Whitney (‘87)married Tina Carraway onOctober 4, 2001. Andrewis Senior Manager for RadioShack in Florence, S.C. Hehas been with the companyfor more than 14 years.

DeathsDevan Marie Advincula(‘05) of Charleston, S.C.,died July 26, 2005 in a caraccident. Our deepest sympathy to friends andfamily. Marie was on boththe President’s and Dean’sLists at SMC.Vada Hartley Kovolski(‘41) of Durham, N.C. haspassed away. Our sympa-thy to her daughter, JoannRichards, and family.Claude Dyches Jr. (‘69)died on Feb. 15, 2005. Oursympathy to his wife, JaneReed Dyches (1965), fami-ly and friends.

Guy Fowler (‘57) died July22, 2005. He married FayeEffler, also an SMC alumwho served on the AlumniCouncil for a term. Ourdeepest sympathy to Faye,family and friends.

Henry G. Flynn Jr. (‘50)of Boiling Springs, S.C.passed away on April 1,2005. Our deepest sympa-thy to his wife, Betty RuthDodd, family and friends.Henry graduated fromWofford College in 1952.He retired from textilemanagement after workingwith Spartan Mills andButte Knit in Spartanburg,S.C. He served in theMerchant Marines from1945-1946, was in theU.S. Army, where he was aparatrooper with theOccupation Forces inJapan, and joined the S.C.National Guard as aCommissioned Officer in1950. He retired in 1978as a Lieutenant Colonel,

commanded the 178thField Artillery Battalion,received the WWII VictoryMedal, Army OccupationMedal (Japan), State ofS.C. Meritorious ServiceMedal, Armed ForcesReserve Medal, ArmyReserve ComponentsAchievement Medal, andS.C. State Service Medal.He is also survived by adaughter, two sons, sevengrandchildren, and twogreat-grandchildren. Hewas predeceased by adaughter.

Olivia L. Gibboney, former Women’s BasketballCoach at SMC, died atSunnyside RetirementCommunity inHarrisonburg, Va. Ourdeepest sympathy to family, friends and formerstudents/colleagues.

Robert (Bob) Stancil,SMC Freshman EnglishTeacher and Dean of Menin 1950, passed away onApril 30, 2005 in TheMethodist RetirementCenter in Charlotte, N.C. at79 years of age.

A. Allen Leonard (1958)of Reidville, S.C., retiredPharmacist from Al’sPharmacy, died in June of2005.

O. Ruth Alverson McNutt(1938) of Coal City, Ala.died on January 23, 2005.Her father is the late Rev.Lonnie Gordon Alverson,her mother, Bessie EleanorMoore Alverson. She was alifetime teacher in Alabamaand Florida and left behindeight grandchildren and 10great-grandchildren.

Walter Plexico, formerSMC faculty member, diedJune 16, 2005. Our deep-est sympathy to his familyand friends.

J. Marshall Reid (‘48)died on Friday, July 1,2005 in Inman, S.C. Ourdeepest sympathy to family and friends. Mr. Reidwas both a SJC andWofford College graduatewith a Master’s degreefrom The University ofAlabama. He served theSpartanburg area educational school systemfor more than 57 years.

Whitney Tilley (‘05) ofAbbeville, S.C., died July23, 2005. While at SMC,she was a captain of theWomen’s Cross CountryTeam. She was active inathletics and was also alifeguard. She is survivedby her parents, Gary andKaty Tilley, and twin sister,Courtney Tilley, who alsoattended SMC.

James Robert Turner(‘43) of Spartanburg diedJuly 20, 2005. Our deepestsympathy to wife Patty,son Richard and wife Kathyand their children:Cameron John, HamiltonJames, and Miles EmoryTurner of Arlington, Va.,and seven sisters. Jameswas a 1941 honors gradu-ate of Wellford-Lyman-Tucapau High School. Hereceived degrees fromBuckwell University,Harvard School of BusinessAdministration, and theUniversity of SouthCarolina Law School. Heserved in the U.S. Navy AirCorps in the Pacific Theatreduring World War II. Heserved in the S.C. House ofRepresentatives 1954-1957and was Children’s CourtJudge 1957-1964. He wasfounder and president ofthe S.C. Trial LawyersAssociation (1958) and waspresident of the Spartan-burg County Bar Associa-tion. He was a member ofBethel UM Church, inSpartanburg, S.C.; HejazTemple of Greenville, S.C.;the Mid-City Shrine Club;and the Spartanburg LionsClub.

Donald Miles West (‘50)of Spartanburg died June,2005. Our deepest sympathy to family andfriends.

William D. White Jr.(‘67) of Bishopville, S.C.was killed in a car wreckon February 2, 2005. Ourdeepest sympathy to hisfamily and friends.

Phyllis E. Wooten (‘84) isdeceased.


22

New Faces

FACULTYDavid Ashmore, Professor ofSociology comes to SMC withmany years of teaching experienceand as a caseworker with variousHuman Services agencies. He mostrecently worked with the S.C.Department of Health and HumanServices in Abbeville. Ashmore hasalso taught at Southern IllinoisUniversity and Western CarolinaUniversity. He has a Master of ArtsDegree in Sociology from SouthernIllinois University and a A.B. Degreein Sociology from IndianaUniversity. He is currently workingon a Doctorate in Sociology fromSouthern Illinois University. Walter Bolter, Ph.D., Professorof Accounting and Economicscomes to SMC with a wealth of experience as an economist and asa professor of economics andfinance. He has taught at WoffordCollege, Spartanburg TechnicalCollege, Flagler College and was aChair of the Business Administrationand Economics Department ofMontgomery College in TakomaPark, Md.

Bolter also worked in Washington,D.C., as a chief economist for theU.S. House of RepresentativesCommerce Subcommittee onTelecom, and as Chief of theDivision of Economics, Accountingand Depreciation for the FederalCommunications Commission. Hewas also a Senior Economic Fellowat the Center for InternationalResearch on Communications andInformation Technology inMelbourne, Australia.

Bolter earned his Ph.D. andMaster’s degrees at the Universityof Maryland. He also holds Master’sdegrees in Accounting andEngineering, as well as a Bachelor’sdegree from Georgia Tech. Bolterhas also been a CPA in Marylandand West Virginia and a PE-EIT inGeorgia, Pennsylvania and NewJersey. A native of New Jersey,

Ashmore Bolter Harwood Caulk Mancebo Reese

Bolter has lived most of his life inthe Southeast. He now resides inChesnee.Jessica Harwood, Professor ofBiology, has a teaching back-ground in higher education and highschool, having taught FreshmanEnglish Composition at ClemsonUniversity, Introductory Literatureat Piedmont Technical College andScience at T.L. Hanna High School inAnderson. She has a Master of Artsdegree in Professional Communi-cations from Clemson University, aMaster of Science Degree in Botanyfrom the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Bachelor of ScienceDegree in Biology, Summa CumLaude, from Ohio WesleyanUniversity.

At Clemson, Harwood also editedonline publications and designedand maintained Web sites. She wasalso a Tissue Culture Technician andScience Writing intern at CAMBIA(Center for the Application ofMolecular Biology to InternationalAgriculture) in Canberra, Australia;and a public relations intern atEmory Healthcare in Atlanta, Ga.Her academic achievements includea Sigma Xi Research PresentationAward and memberships in PhiSigma (Biology honorary society),Sigma Tau Delta (English honorarysociety) and Phi Beta Kappa.Harwood also has a MasterGardening Certificate.

STAFFAllison Jean Caulk, AdmissionsCounselor is a 2002 SMC graduate. Caulk also received aBachelor of Science degree inExperimental Psychology from theUniversity of South CarolinaUpstate. She has served as a vol-unteer with Big Brothers – BigSisters of Spartanburg. Caulk is anative of Roebuck, S.C., and is agraduate of Dorman High School.She is the daughter of Steve andLou Caulk. Caulk plans to continue

her education in counseling at the graduate level.

Mark Mancebo, Director ofAthletic Training is a CertifiedAthletic Trainer and received hisMaster’s Degree in Health Scienceand Education from WesternCarolina University. He alsoreceived a Bachelor’s Degree inKinesiology at California StateUniversity-Sacramento. A native ofCitrus Heights, Calif., Mancebo isthe son of Dennis Mancebo andCharlene Mancebo.

Michael Reese, Director of AthleticFundraising, is a graduate ofClemson University, where hereceived a BS degree in Parks,Recreation and Tourism Manage-ment. Reese has also been associat-ed with Krispy Kreme of Spartan-burg. A native of Boiling Springs,Reese is a 2000 graduate of BoilingSprings High School. He has alsoworked as an intern for IPTAY,YMCA, and the Wofford CollegeAthletic Department. He is the sonof Spartanburg businessman andState Senator Glenn Reese (D-Spartanburg) and Janis Reese.

Teresa Sims, Assistant Directorof Residence Life – No stranger toSMC, Sims has served as a resi-dence hall director at SMC since2003. She is now in the full-timeposition of Assistant Director ofResidence Life. Sims has been aninstructor of Reading and English atSMC, Director of the AdvisementCenter at USC Upstate, Director ofAdvisement in the College ofArchitecture, Arts and Humanitiesat Clemson University, and anadmissions counselor at ClemsonUniversity. Sims received a Masterof Arts and Bachelor of Arts degreefrom Clemson University. She hasalso done course work in a M.Ed.program for Student Affairs atClemson and doctoral work in anEducational Leadership Ph.D. pro-gram at Clemson.

Sims


23

Assignment 1: ServiceIncoming Freshmen Reach Out for Fifth Year in a Row

The first assignment for incoming freshmen atSpartanburg Methodist College didn’t involvepicking up a pencil or opening a book. Instead,

some put on work gloves and picked up paintbrushesor gardening tools, while others spent time with nursing home residents or youngsters. The assignment was Freshmen Day of Service. On Aug. 20, students, faculty and staff went to 20 different sitesaround Spartanburg County in an outreach to citizensin the surrounding community.

Students worked at the following sites: AndersonMill Elementary School, The Arts Partnership,Bethlehem Center, Bethel UMC, Camp Mary Elizabeth(Girl Scouts), Charles Lea Center, Divinity Care Facility,Habitat for Humanity, The Haven and SecondPresbyterian Soup Kitchen, Middle Tyger CommunityCenter, Middle Tyger YMCA, Mobile Meals, Pine StreetYMCA, SAFE Homes-Rape Crisis Coalition Thrift Store,South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind,Spartanburg Children Shelter, Spartanburg HousingAuthority, Spartanburg Humane Society, Spring ArborAssisted Living, and Windsor House West.

For many of these students, Freshmen Day ofService is just the beginning of a lifestyle of service toothers. Through Kappa Sigma Alpha service fraternityand other organizations, SMC students return to manyof these sites and others to engage in additional service to their community.

SPARTANBURG METHODIST COLLEGE1000 Powell Mill RoadSpartanburg, SC 29301-5899

Change Service Requested

FRONTIERS

SMC Public Information Office

Non-Profit ORGU.S. Postage

PAIDPermit 113

Greenville, SC

One of the largest fund-raising tournamentsin the Greenville - Spartanburg, SC area! Your participation benefits nearly 300 student-athletes.

RIVER FALLS PLANTATION IS LOCATED ALONG HIGHWAY 290, DUNCAN, S.C., JUST OFF I-85.SHOTGUN STARTS: 8:00 A.M. AND 1:30 P.M.

For details on the Fall Golf Classic and the 2006 Spring Golf Classic, contact Michael Reese, Director of AthleticFundraising for details by phoning (864) 587-4310 or

E-mail [email protected] can also go to our Website: www.smcsc.edu.