Berry Magazine - Summer 2023

Never Have I Ever

Actor Darren Barnet (13C) finds success in Netflix hit series

Summer 2023

A Berry College Publication

BERRY

Published since 2003 for alumni and friends of Berry College and its historic schools. Winner of numerous regional awards for writing, editorial and design excellence.

Editor Rick Woodall (93C, FFS)

Contributing Writer and Editor

Karilon L. Rogers (FFS)

Staff Writers

Catherine Hamrick, Debbie Rasure, Dawn Tolbert

Graphic Design and Production Craig Hall

Director of Photography

Brant Sanderlin

Giving Pages and Death Notices

Anja Buckwalter, Debbie Rasure, McKenzie Todd, Jennifer Wright (22G)

CONTACT INFORMATION

News From You: submit at alwaysberry.com/ classnotes or email classnotes@berry.edu

Change of Address: update online at alwaysberry.com/classnotes, email alumni@berry.edu or call 706-236-2256

Editorial: email rwoodall@berry.edu or mail to Berry magazine, c/o Dawn Tolbert, P.O. Box 490069, Mount Berry, GA 30149

BERRY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

President: Aaron Chastain (15C)

President Elect: Meredith Lewallen Roberts (07C)

Vice Presidents: Alumni Engagement, Callie McGinnis Starnes (07C); Berry Heritage, Jason Sweatt (88C); Financial Support, Allison Lounsbury Ritter (94C); Alumni Awards, Jeffrey Ramos (15C)

Chaplain: Jake Bruce (17C)

Parliamentarian: Rodney Chandler (90C)

Secretary: Larry Arrington (93C, FFS)

Senior Director of Advancement

Marketing and Communications

Jennifer Schaknowski

Assistant Vice President for Alumni Engagement and Development

Jean Druckenmiller

Vice President of Marketing and Communications

Nancy Rewis

Vice President of Advancement

Cyndi Court

President

Stephen R. Briggs

Cover by Rocco Ceselin; above by Brant Sanderlin

Viking All-American Bella Boston (right) competes in the Berry DIII Beach Bash, held this spring to help dedicate the new Briggs Beach volleyball facility (see page 4).

Actor Darren Barnet (13C) works hard in Hollywood and

with breakout role in Netflix hit series.

FOLLOWING A WHISPER

Charter nursing program graduate Peggy Earley (15C) follows a heavenly whisper to serve Ukrainian refugees with the Flying Doctors of America.

19 IT AIN’T OVER!

From the Hollywood Improv and Star Search to corporate retreats and conventions, comedian Leslie Norris-Townsend (77c) has kept – and keeps – people laughing.

Trejohn Skinner (23C)

Triumph! Young hero earns Berry degree

Commencement is a special day for every graduate, but this year’s ceremony – held May 6 on Williams Field at Valhalla – was especially significant for Anaiah Rucker (22C), a true hero who received a full scholarship to Berry as a child after saving her sister from an oncoming truck and losing her own leg in the process.

On hand for the occasion were Rucker’s parents, grandparents and sister Camry, who graduated from high school later in May. All were excited to celebrate the culmination of an incredible journey, which began on the dark, cloudy morning of Feb. 4, 2011.

That day started like many others, with the two sisters trekking across the highway to catch the school bus. Her hoodie pulled low to keep out the cold, Rucker was startled to suddenly see bright lights from a truck heading straight toward them. Only 9 at the time, she immediately pushed her little sister out of the way but was struck herself.

She awoke in the hospital after two weeks of fading in and out of consciousness, not yet realizing she had lost her leg. Rehabilitation followed as she adapted to life in a wheelchair and, eventually, learned to walk on her prosthetic limb.

We first shared Rucker’s story in the Winter 2011-12 issue of Berry magazine. At the time, Ty

Pennington and his Extreme Makeover: Home Edition crew had just worked their usual magic on the family home in Madison, Georgia. The big reveal broadcast on ABC brought another surprise – a full scholarship to Berry – the result of

encouraged me to start focusing. I knew that even though I had been awarded a scholarship, I still had to make it into Berry.”

Rucker arrived on campus in 2019 with dual enrollment credits, which already had piqued her interest in psychology – her future major. She added a minor in applied behavior analysis, fascinated by the prospect of helping individuals thrive in challenging environments.

After completing her degree requirements in December 2022, Rucker is taking some time off before heading to graduate school with the goal of a career on the therapeutic and counseling side of psychology.

“I’m just really thrilled that it’s come together,” said Brodrick, now chair of Berry’s Board of Visitors. “She did her part to earn the opportunity, and Berry made that opportunity totally available to her.”

a connection facilitated by Brian Brodrick (97C), who was working pro bono on the project for the Jackson Spalding public relations and marketing firm.

“I’m really thankful for that scholarship,” Rucker said. “When I got to high school, it

Rucker was one of approximately 460 graduates to receive their diplomas in May. They heard remarks from Georgia Lottery CEO Gretchen Corbin, a nine-year veteran of Georgia Trend’s list of the 100 Most Influential Georgians and a member of Berry’s extended family through service on the Board of Visitors and her marriage to David Corbin (93C).

“I knew that even though I had been awarded a scholarship, I still had to make it into Berry.”

Anaiah Rucker, on scholarship at Berry for her heroism in saving her sister’s life, accepts her diploma from President Steve Briggs. Photo by Brant Sanderlin

Morgan gift boosts campaign for health sciences building

Audrey B. Morgan has done it again. The Atlanta philanthropist who fell in love with Berry in the early 2000s has just made her largest gift to date – $10 million! And once again it is our students who will benefit.

This latest commitment includes a $6 million lead gift supporting construction of a health sciences building to house Berry’s existing baccalaureate nursing program as well as a new graduate-level physician associate program. The other $4 million will be used for scholarships in music and education.

Morgan already is renowned at Berry for her leadership role in establishing the groundbreaking Gate of Opportunity Scholarship Program. A champion for the fine arts, she also led fundraising for Sisters Theatre, named in honor of the love she shared with her late sister, M. Bobbie Bailey.

Most recently, Morgan committed $5 million to establish the Bobbie

Bailey and Audrey Morgan Nursing and Medical Professions Scholarship. That fund, combined with her Gate of Opportunity commitments, enabled her to invest in the lives of nearly 100 students in 2022-23 alone.

In May, the Berry College Board of Trustees held a special luncheon to honor Morgan, welcoming her as an honorary board member in recognition of her longtime friendship and support. Previously, she had been recognized as an honorary alumna and as recipient of Berry’s honorary doctorate and the Berry College President’s Award for distinguished lifetime impact.

With her gift providing early fundraising momentum, planning is well underway for the threestory health sciences building. Construction is expected to begin in 2024 on property east of the Moon Building, just south of the Cage Center. Watch for more details on

the facility and the opportunities it will make possible in our next issue.

For now, we want to keep the focus squarely on the individual whom President Steve Briggs once

praised for her “uncanny ability to see problems clearly, move toward them deftly and help solve them gracefully.”

Thank you, Audrey!

Tyler Perry uses Ford Dining Hall as set for World War II drama

Last year, the Ford Buildings played the role of the sinister Pennhurst Mental Hospital in an episode of the Netflix sensation Stranger Things. In January, the Berry landmark drew another film crew to campus, this time led by Tyler Perry.

The famed director came to Berry to shoot scenes for his upcoming Netflix feature, Six Triple Eight, a historical drama based on the true story of a battalion of predominantly Black women who served in the U.S. Women’s Army Corps during World War II.

This is the second time a Tyler Perry production has visited Berry, as episodes of The Haves and The Have Nots were filmed at Oak Hill in 2013.

Joining Perry for this latest shoot were several members of his all-star cast, including Kerry Washington (Scandal), Dean Norris (Breaking Bad) and choreographer/actress Debbie Allen (Fame, Grey’s Anatomy), along with hundreds of extras who were bussed onto campus for their scenes after prepping at nearby State Mutual Stadium.

Filming took place at Ford Dining Hall, which Hollywood magic transformed into the interior of a chapel in Great Britain. The windows were covered with newspaper to mimic wartime blackout conditions, with crane-mounted exterior lighting serving as the “sun” during evening shoots.

While the moviemaking took place indoors, students had the opportunity to watch from their windows as Allen led the huge crowd of extras through marching practice on the lawn outside Ford Gym. Afterward, the famous choreographer visited with those who had gathered to view the nighttime spectacle.

Among those working on and around the set were 10 students from the communication department who served as paid interns during the production. Also involved was alumnus Matt Pruehs (96C), now director of production rentals for Tyler Perry Studios.

Six Triple Eight could make its debut by year end.

Crane-mounted exterior lights help to create Hollywood magic inside Ford Dining Hall.

Audrey B. Morgan, second row center, with some of her Berry scholarship recipients during a spring luncheon.

Brant Sanderlin

Matthew McConnell (21C)

TERRIFIC TEAMS. FANTASTIC FACILITIES!

The ‘V’ in Valhalla easily could stand for victory based on the quality of the student-athletes who call it home. Since the stadium complex was completed in 2015, Berry teams have won regular-season and/ or postseason crowns in all three sports it helped bring to campus: football, lacrosse, and track and field.

This spring, a new team joined the Valhalla family following the completion of a beautiful beach volleyball facility across Maple Drive from the stadium entrance. At the same time, work began to reposition and expand the Dickey Field throws venue for track and field, further enriching the opportunities available to competitors in that sport.

These facility enhancements, like so many others across campus, were made possible by the generosity of alumni and friends, who contributed $2.5 million toward the two projects.

Leading the way once again was trustee Steve Cage (74C), the former Berry pole-vaulter whose previous gifts have helped to fuel a renaissance in the college’s athletic and recreation facilities, making possible the successful transition to NCAA Division III.

Other alumni with ties to Berry athletics also stepped forward as leadership supporters, including Mark (82C) and Judy Howard (82C) Keappler, whose daughter Anna Keappler Whitlock (14C) played volleyball for the Vikings; and former Berry runners Susan Wells Brodrick (97C) and her husband, Brian (97C), now chair of the Berry Board of Visitors and a trustee. Joining them were loyal foundation partners in Atlanta, longtime Berry friends such as the Daughters of the American Revolution and parents of current student-athletes.

Sunny days and sandy feet

With the March opening of Briggs Beach – its name coined by the project’s lead donor – the talented student-athletes competing in Berry’s newest varsity sport gained a first-rate venue in which to showcase their skills, with four courts and ample room for spectators.

Though grateful to have his name associated with the facility, Berry President Steve Briggs was quick to turn the spotlight back on Cage during remarks at the grand opening.

“To put it in volleyball terms, I think of Steve Cage as a great volleyball setter,” Briggs stated. “He makes everyone look better. We’ve had many others come along as well, and I’m grateful to them for their support, but you need a great setter to make the team work.”

The trailblazing program is certainly worthy of such support, having soared to the forefront of its fast-growing sport in just two years’ time.

After finishing their inaugural season with a No. 4 showing at the 2022 American Volleyball Coaches Association Small College Beach

by All-America recognition for senior Peyton Breissinger and sophomore Bella Boston.

With Briggs Beach as their stomping grounds, players, coaches and fans expect even more success in the years ahead.

“This new facility helps us continue to pursue championships and compete at the highest levels of NCAA DIII,” said Dr. Angel Mason, Berry’s director of athletics.

Room to throw

The Berry men’s track and field team raced to a second consecutive Southern Athletic Association championship in late April, shattering the SAA meet record for points in the process.

rival Hendrix College in the finals. Nevertheless, it was an incredible finish for head coach Caitlyn Moriarty (14G) and her team, further highlighted

Beginning this fall, student-athletes competing in the throwing events for the men’s and women’s teams will have even more reason to celebrate thanks to their new home in the expanse between Valhalla and U.S. Highway 27.

Upon completion, the reimagined Dickey Field will feature a trio of dedicated shot-put rings fanning out from the shadow of Valhalla’s visiting bleachers, flanked by fields for the discus, javelin and hammer throws. Previously, all four shared the same space, creating logistical challenges when hosting major events.

Walking the site, head coach Luke Syverson noted the “great spectator experience” available from Valhalla’s bleachers and the surrounding berm, as well as the message such an impressive facility will send to potential recruits: “It says we take throws seriously.”

Valhalla, which also includes eight-lane Clark Track circling Williams Field, proved itself worthy of hosting championship events sponsored by the likes of the SAA and Georgia High School Association even before Dickey Field’s relocation and expansion. With additional capacity for the throws, that list could grow to include NCAA championships or even professional competitions.

Steven Eckhoff

Berry’s new throws venue will be an ideal showcase for the likes of shot-putter David Billiard, who in 2023 qualified for outdoor nationals along with teammate Jahari Jones (All-American, 400-meter dash). A third Viking, pole-vaulter Alden McDonald, competed at indoor nationals.

Home on the range

The former pool house at Stonebridge Golf Club has been converted into a clubhouse for Berry men’s and women’s golf. The 1,000-square-foot building features locker rooms, meeting space and even an indoor practice area – all walking distance from the course.

Located on Berry property previously leased to Stonebridge, the house was renovated by the college and outfitted with support from individual donors and contributions to the golf program made through the Berry Vikings Booster Club. Highlights include an indoor putting green and an electronic swing simulator allowing video analysis of each player’s game.

Head coach Brian Farrer (02C, 04G), himself a former Berry golfer, is excited by the sense of ownership the new facility has kindled among his studentathletes, as well as the opportunity it affords for building connection among teammates in a largely individual sport. He also noted the potential for future development of outdoor practice areas immediately adjacent to the house.

“It’s been a great addition,” Farrer stated. “It shows the college’s commitment to the success of the program.”

MBA program to celebrate golden anniversary

Alumni with a Master of Business Administration degree from Berry’s Campbell School of Business should make plans now to help commemorate the program’s 50th anniversary this fall.

The signature event will be a celebratory luncheon at Oak Hill’s Christopher Browning Pavilion on Saturday, Nov. 4. Additional events also are planned.

Established by Berry legend Dr. Sam Spector in the early 1970s, the MBA program now boasts 609 graduates, including 30 this spring. Strong growth in recent years has been powered by the addition of focused tracks in professional and healthcare management, along with a fifth-year option for recent undergraduates. Classes are delivered in a hybrid format offering flexibility to working professionals while maintaining the personalized attention and support characteristic of a Berry education.

Those seeking more information should contact Nancy Mercer, MBA program director and assistant dean of the Campbell School, at 706-238-5835 or nmercer@berry.edu.

Frasier star visits on personal quest

If you happened to be on campus in early March and swore you saw someone who was the spitting image of Dr. Frasier Crane, you weren’t imagining things.

Kelsey Grammer – the actor who breathed life into the fictional psychiatrist on not one but two legendary comedies, Cheers and Frasier – was conducting research for a book he’s writing about his late sister, Karen, who was murdered in Colorado in 1975 after attending Berry earlier in the decade.

During his visit, Grammer thumbed through Cabin Log yearbooks and other historical sources from his sister’s era, in addition to visiting places she could have frequented as a student.

Gracious and grateful for the opportunity to learn about his sister’s time at Berry, the award-winning actor also toured Sisters Theatre and posed for pictures with students, staff and President Steve Briggs.

BE RRY

BERRY GOLF

Brant Sanderlin

Matthew McConnell (21C)

Chris Kozelle

Something to ‘Crow’ about: Familiar face joins alumni relations

and Service Fellows is excited by the opportunity to help strengthen connections between fellow alumni and their alma mater.

She succeeds Jennifer Tucker Beard (93C, 00G), who continues to work with alumni and other Berry friends in the Office of Advancement.

Cecily Crow (94C) has taken on a new role as director of alumni relations after more than two decades at the helm of Berry’s student activities office. The former adviser of groups ranging from the Krannert Center Activities Board and Emerging Leaders to the Marthapalooza planning committee and Leadership

Possessing a “tried and true” Berry resume, Crow loves cheering on the Vikings, claims to bleed Berry Blue, and says #WeAllRow is her second favorite phrase after “Not to be ministered unto, but to minister.”

As a student, she earned a communication degree while working with the Cabin Log yearbook and KCAB; serving as a resident assistant, summer orientation leader and Peer Educator; and somehow finding time to play every intramural sport imaginable.

Promotion, Tenure and Emeritus Recognition

as approved by the Berry College Board of Trustees

Awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor

Dr. Xin Geng, accounting

Dr. Angela Poole (08C), biology

Dr. DeLacy Rhodes, biology

Dr. Anna Vredeveld, marketing

Promoted to clinical associate professor

Dr. Laura Flatow, animal science

Promoted to professor

Dr. Jill Cochran, mathematics education

Dr. Jim Watkins, English

Emeritus honors for retirees

Dr. Mary C. Clement, Professor Emerita, teacher education

Dr. George R. Gallagher, Professor Emeritus, animal science

Sherre L. Harrington, Director Emerita, Memorial Library

Debbie Heida, Vice President Emerita

Clay Hightower (86C), Head Tennis Coach Emeritus

Dr. Gerald D. Jennings, Professor Emeritus, psychology

Dr. Thomas D. Kennedy, Dean Emeritus, Evans School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences

After graduation, Crow represented Berry as an admissions counselor and assisted with the 1996 International Olympic Youth Camp, earning a bit of pre-Instagram fame when a photo of her carrying the Olympic Torch graced the cover of Berry Chronicle, forerunner to Berry magazine. She later completed a master’s degree from

the University of South Carolina before returning to Berry on a fulltime basis in 2002.

Since then, Crow has been active as an alumni volunteer, including service on the Alumni Council and class reunion committees. Now you can find her in the Ford alumni center when not attending local and regional events.

Board of Visitors welcomes Cathy, Yates

Amy Turner Cathy (05C) and Marcus Yates (03C) have joined the Berry College Board of Visitors.

Cathy is a philanthropist, experienced business professional, and dedicated wife and mother who currently leads the Amber Grace Community for special-needs adults. She also serves on the Cathy Family Foundation Coordinating Council, assisting with philanthropic giving.

She previously worked in the talent and training departments for Chick-fil-A, led the company’s Environmental Sustainability Team, and served as a restaurant owner/operator alongside husband Mark before becoming a work-from-home mom to the couple’s five children.

In addition to her Berry education, Cathy also completed the Families in Business program at Harvard Business School.

Yates is principal team leader of digital transformation and technology with Chick-fil-A’s Corporate Support Center. Previously, he was a senior partner with Meridian Group Partners and a senior executive recruiter with Lucas Group, both executive search firms.

He also worked as a regional sales manager for Attain Mortgage and began his career as a claims analyst for State Farm Insurance. Yates holds a Master of Divinity degree from Columbia Theological Seminary as well as his Berry degree.

Yates is married to the former Naomi Drinkard (02C). They have three children.

Clockwise from left, Maddie Jordan Miller (19C, 21G), Lizzie Hendrix Chastain (15C), Aaron Chastain (15C), Larry Arrington (93C, FFS) and Callie McGinnis Starnes (07C) surround Cecily Crow (94C) in the Cage Center.

Amy Turner Cathy

Marcus Yates

Brant Sanderlin

BRAVO!

Please join us in celebrating the achievements of the following faculty and staff members, all of whom were honored for excellence this spring:

Martindale Awards of Distinction

Dr. Chuck Lane (faculty) Professor, physics

Chair, physics, astronomy, geology

Drew Allison (staff) Director, enterprise systems Office of Information Technology

Eleana M. Garrett Award for Meritorious Advising

Dr. Kenneth L. Martin

Associate professor, physical chemistry

Vulcan Teaching Excellence Award

Dr. Carolyn J. Stufft (05C) Associate professor, teacher education

Dave and Lu Garrett Award in Teaching

Dr. Miguel E. Ampuero Assistant professor, psychology and applied behavior analysis

Mary S. and Samuel Poe Carden Award

Dr. Eliana K. Hirano

Associate professor, teacher education

John R. Bertrand Superior Work Supervisor Award

Kinsey G. Farmer (20C)

Peer-to-peer programming coordinator in the Academic Success Center

SGA Faculty Member of the Year

Dr. Jordan Rowan Fannin

Assistant professor, religion

SGA Staff Member of the Year

Theresia Melter

Dining hall cashier, Aramark

Asbury joins Board of Trustees

David Asbury (84C), senior principal at OneDigital Health & Benefits in Atlanta, now serves his alma mater as a member of the Board of Trustees after guiding the college since 2014 on the Board of Visitors.

OneDigital is a nationwide insurance, financial services and human resources consulting firm focused on creating greater value for employers and employees. Asbury was a founding partner and CEO at Northwestern Benefit Corporation prior to joining OneDigital. He also has spent 38 years with the Northwestern Mutual financial network, where he has been a nationally recognized sales leader.

In 2020, the Atlanta native joined wife Kelly, son Ben, daughter Grace and family friends in establishing the Samuel L. Asbury Foundation in memory of the couple’s late son, Sam, with the goal of supporting awareness and prevention efforts related to suicide and mental health challenges.

Hughes named dean of Charter School

After a national search, Dr. Alan Hughes has been named dean of the Charter School of Education and Human Sciences. He had held the post of interim dean since the 2020 retirement of Dr. Jackie McDowell, who led the school for 22 years.

Hughes, who earned a Ph.D. in experimental psychology from the University of Louisville, came to Berry in 2007 as associate professor of psychology after previously serving at Nazareth College. He was promoted to professor in 2014 and was department chair from 2016 until his appointment as interim dean.

Over the last 23 years, his scholarly activity has included conducting and publishing research related to visual neuroscience, collaborating with students on numerous research projects, and doing research as it relates to the scholarship of teaching.

“Dr. Hughes has a robust vision for the Charter School’s future related to applied learning, support of diversity and inclusion, community engagement, and program innovation,” said Interim Provost David Slade (97C).

Heller to lead Campbell School

Dr. Lauren Heller will serve as interim dean of the Campbell School of Business in 2023-24 while a national search is conducted to identify a permanent successor for Dr. Joyce Heames, now dean of the Jones College of Business at Middle Tennessee State University.

Heller joined the Berry faculty in 2010, the same year she earned a Ph.D. in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Since that time, she has served in a variety of roles, most recently as interim assistant provost of teaching and research responsible for faculty development, excellence in teaching, grants and sponsored programs, and undergraduate research. She also has led or co-led the Berry Honors Program since 2017.

Among Heller’s numerous Berry accolades are the Mary S. and Samuel Poe Carden Award, Campbell School Outstanding Mentor Award, First Year Advocate Award, Eleana M. Garrett Award for Meritorious Advising and Caring, and Student Government Association Faculty Member of the Year Award.

David Asbury

Dr. Alan Hughes

Dr. Lauren Heller

Milking Berry’s quality ratings

MOOve over academic and athletic excellence. Another area of distinction has aced its way into the spotlight: the Berry College Dairy, which achieved a perfect score of 100 during the State of Georgia’s most recent “surprise” inspection. Such an A+ assessment requires more of the dairy than content cows. Among the many areas inspected are farm facilities; tank, medicine and chemical washrooms; milking parlor; and water/ wash pipelines.

On average, 30 cows are milked twice each day. They produce milk known for its high butterfat content and lack of added hormones or preservatives. Dairy products, including a line of popular artisan cheeses, are available at The Shipyard, Berry’s student-enterprise retail store in Krannert Center, and at various farmers markets.

The “proof” is in the award

A TeXas Style Introduction to Proof by Dr. Ron Taylor, Samuel Henry Cook Professor of Mathematics at Berry, and off-campus collaborator Patrick X. Rault proved to be a grand success, winning the Mathematical Association of America’s Beckenbach Book Prize honoring distinguished, innovative books published by the MAA. Rault is professor and department chair of mathematics at Idaho State University.

Praise for the book was widespread, including this notable nugget from Dr. Michael Starbird, University Distinguished Teaching Professor of Mathematics at the University of Texas at Austin and 2007 Haimo Award winner:

“A TeXas Style Introduction to Proof  is truly delightful – full of humanizing charm that softens the hard edge of mathematical rigor … From this book, students and their instructors will find many proofs of the joy of mathematics.”

At the top ...

Two … two … TWO consecutive Top Undergraduate Paper awards have been won by Berry students at National Communication Association Annual Conventions! The latest was claimed by senior Morgan Thoem (left in photo), who brought home the 2022 trophy by besting finalists from such universities as Alabama and Nebraska-Lincoln. Ben Allee (21C) won the national prize the year before. Amazing!

Also noteworthy is the fact that the papers of both winners stemmed from work guided by Hope Stallings Willoughby (09C), lecturer of communication and assistant director of forensics (above right). We lauded Willoughby as a senior in 2009 when she won the Interstate Oratory Contest. Now we are wowed by her work as a teacher and mentor.

… in speech too!

Thoem followed up her Top Undergraduate Paper award with a fourth-place national finish in the 149th Interstate Oratorical Association national contest held on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. She is the first Berry student to reach the final round since 2009. Her outstanding oratory capped another strong year for Berry forensics.

Station of the Year!

Viking Fusion won a quintet of awards at 2022 competitions sponsored by the College Media Association and College Broadcasters Inc. Highlighting this impressive list was the student-run multimedia organization’s win at the CMA’s Pinnacle Awards for Four-Year TV Station of the Year, edging out Oregon State, Tennessee Tech, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Northwest Missouri State. It’s the second such Pinnacle Award for Viking Fusion, which also brought home the brass in 2016.

In the meantime, Ramifications garnered third place in the CMA’s Four-Year Literary Magazine of the Year category behind only Oregon State and New Jersey City University.

Matthew McConnell (21C)

Matthew McConnell (21C)

TOTALLY AWESOME! INFLUENTIAL

Georgia Trend presented its first-ever list of the state’s “500 Most Influential Leaders” in 2022, and President Steve Briggs was on the roster. Highlighting many examples of Berry-related progress, the publication praised his efforts to champion “educational pathways that advance the personal and professional development of students,” including the LifeWorks Program, Gate of Opportunity Scholarship and Berry Center for Integrity in Leadership.

ON THE WEATHER

Berry received a full 60 seconds of praise from Alex Wallace on The Weather Channel’s America’s Morning when he made Mount Berry his “City of the Day” selection. From Berry’s size to its natural beauty to the movies made on campus, he touched on it all. He also referred to a recent comparison made by Only in Your State (keep reading).

HOGWARTS?

Berry has been likened (physically) to Hogwarts, the wizarding school of Harry Potter fame, by Only in Your State, a comparison repeated on The Weather Channel (see above). With its tall stone walls, arches, towers and turrets, the castle-like Hogwarts might bear a resemblance for some to the Ford Buildings. But while the fictional Hogwarts has made-up magical powers, Berry’s real-life English gothic icons boast a powerful magnetism that has proven irresistible for generations of students.

GREEN

Berry is listed in The Princeton Review 2023 Guide to Green Colleges, a resource for students seeking schools with strong commitments to the environment in campus policies, programs and practices. Berry has become a staple in the annual guide.

GETTING RESULTS

Berry’s marketing and communications team was one of three national finalists for the American Marketing Association Foundation Higher Education Team Award. Sharing the spotlight were Texas State (winner) and the University of Arizona. The Berry team developed a new brand platform springing from the school’s historic strengths and implemented a multi-channel marketing strategy to increase and diversify enrollment. The marketing team also has worked with enrollment management and information technology teams to roll out new marketing software and data analytics with excellent results.

Voices of wisdom

Speakers of national and international renown shared knowledge and perspective with Berry students and other campus community members this spring. Though space prevents us from listing all of them here, we are pleased to present select highlights, all made possible by the generosity of alumni and friends.

Love your enemies

The Gloria Shatto Lecture Series brought to campus Dr. Arthur C. Brooks, who spoke about the importance of seeing past our differences and connecting on a human level with people on the other side of contentious issues, even if it means standing up to those with whom we agree.

The Harvard University professor and former president of the American Enterprise Institute is the author of 12 books, including Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt, as well as The Atlantic’s popular “How to Build a Life” column. Among many messages, he encouraged a large gathering in the Cage Center to express love in response to contempt and to always live in gratitude.

The Shatto Lecture is named in memory of Berry’s sixth president, the first woman to hold the title of college president in Georgia.

Art+Faith

Contemporary artist, international arts advocate, and Art+Faith: A Theology of Making author

Makoto Fujimura headlined the Cecil B. Wright III Integrity in Leadership Lecture. Speaking in the college chapel, he discussed how beauty emerges from brokenness and emphasized our common call to create beauty and bring justice. As an example, he pointed to Martha Berry herself.

“She saw in a little cabin how this place could be … that little cabin is now the biggest campus anywhere,” Fujimura stated, praising the Berry founder as a fellow artist whose life experience reflected the importance of asking impossible questions and seeing where a mustard seed of faith can lead.

The artist’s visit also included a seminar presented in tandem with his wife, Haejin Shim Fujimura, as well as an exhibit of select works at The Martha Berry Museum.

Named for Berry trustee Buster Wright (73C), this lecture series supports the mission of the Berry Center for Integrity in Leadership, now in its 10th year (see page 10).

History through a unique lens

The Civil Rights era as depicted in comics and graphic novels was the subject of the McCoy Southern Women Writers Lecture presented by Dr. Qiana Whitted.

With a focus on comics produced during the 1950s and ’60s, the chair of the International Comic Arts Forum and director of African American studies at the University of South

Carolina discussed the activism of Southern women and how comic books have chronicled their work.

Her appearance was funded by the generosity of Barbara Mote McCoy (61C) and her husband, Buzz.

Brant Sanderlin

Brant Sanderlin

Brant Sanderlin

Conviction and character

In the beginning

Imagine yourself, a recent Berry graduate with an appealing first job as a user consultant for a successful software company. As you learn your craft, you become increasingly aware that the sales division regularly oversells its products, promising capabilities not yet available. This discrepancy is apparent as you strive to meet the expectations of your customers. What should you do when company culture tolerates (and compensates) behaviors that make you personally uncomfortable? Don’t most companies embellish the potential of products and features still in development? Isn’t that part of staying competitive? But how do you then respond to the frustration of your customers?

After retiring from his leadership role in the financial services industry, Cecil B. “Buster” Wright III (73C) felt compelled to help Berry students consider ethical issues of this sort before being confronted by them in the professional workplace. Buster studied other leadership programs at universities around the nation and became convinced that Berry could offer its own distinctive and practical program by connecting students directly with accomplished leaders – local men and women known for their character who exemplified Berry’s commitment to serve well the needs of others. And so was conceived the Berry Center for Integrity in Leadership and its mentoring program.

Ten years ago, an inaugural group of 50 juniors and seniors, in groups of five, were paired with 10 professionals from the Rome area. The program’s credibility was assured from the outset by the stature of these mentors: two physicians, a retired school superintendent, a retired state Supreme Court judge, a former mayor and a former pastor, as well as several business executives and a nonprofit leader. At first, as Trevor Sutton (14C) put it, “we had no clue what to expect.” But he soon realized BCIL could teach him how to translate lessons learned at Berry in ways that would have a strong impact after college. The substance of the program emerged in frank and open conversations about how to navigate tough decisions and difficult relationships.

Aaron Chastain (15C) remembers one night when his group discussed a scenario that seemed straightforward; the group quickly came to consensus on the “right” course of action. Then, as more details emerged, the group began to disagree as each person’s ethical boundaries became evident and were challenged. Members had to define for themselves an operating principle and wrestle with their moral compass or “true north.”

Now working as a senior investment advisor – and also serving as president of Berry’s Alumni Association –Aaron credits BCIL with helping him understand how critical it is to build trust in the workplace. In part, that means focusing on how everyday decisions impact others and looking downstream to anticipate the positive and negative effects of your actions.

Trust also means nurturing the relational tension required to work productively with others. As a research manager for user experience, Rachel LeRoy (15C) worked on a team to design innovative products. Each member had a different area of expertise, and the team’s success depended on collaboration. She pictures the work in terms of a trust

exercise: “Everyone sits in a circle, holds hands and tries to stand up together. Everyone needs to pull equal weight to stand up gracefully. When one person pulls harder than the rest, the group will fall.”

Rachel learned from her BCIL experience to speak up tactfully but candidly when a member undercut the team by promoting his or her own goals and contributions above others.

By the numbers

The 50 students in the inaugural BCIL mentoring class have achieved considerable professional success. Nearly 60% have earned advanced degrees, including nine in medical fields ranging from physician practice to cardiovascular research; nine in management or marketing; and three each in information technology, talent acquisition and finance. In addition, there are teachers,

intentionality of the mentors, who were meticulous in their relationship-building and willingness to invest in Berry students. Now a professional in legislative affairs, she recognizes that it takes committed leadership to sustain institutions. Dr. Leah Bolden (15C), an internal medicine resident, remembers discussing ethically challenging medical cases in her BCIL group and now draws on principles learned as she leads a medical team and interacts with patients and families.

Soon after its inception, the mentoring program was endowed with a gift and became the Carper Mentoring Program in honor of a legendary history professor whose impact on students remains profound and lasting. Dr. Gordon Carper and his wife, Joyce, dedicated much of their lives to mentoring students

writers and individuals working in government agencies. The BCIL mentoring program was meant to help students develop an ethical framework no matter their future career, and these alumni have indeed pursued divergent professional paths.

Reflecting on her experience, Charlotte Collins Davis (14C) remains impressed with the

in ways that, as one alumnus put it, “changed the course of our lives entirely and forever.”

As of this year, some 500 students have been selected for the Carper program; many were involved for two years, for a total of 928 student participants. They joined with 53 mentors to form 175 groups in 10 years. Having started with 10 groups

Dr. Stephen Briggs

Physician assistant Amanda Preteroti (16C), who spent two years in the BCIL mentoring program, now feels compelled to invest in the next generation of Berry students as a mentor herself. She is pictured (center) with students and Interim Provost David Slade (97C).

(and 50 students) meeting twice monthly a decade ago, the program has grown to 22 groups and 132 students. New mentors participate each year (three in 2023), but many have participated multiple times, including six who have led eight or more groups: three members of Berry’s Board of Trustees [Dr. Brad Bushnell, Rick Gilbert (77c) and Buster Wright] and three respected members of the Rome community (Dr. Missy Dillmon, Sam Echols and Dr. Gayland Cooper).

A good name

In 2017, John Edward “Ed” Sims made a $2 million gift to honor his parents by endowing BCIL’s Elvin and Fleta Patterson Sims Directorship. His parents were both 1935 graduates of Berry College. The gift was inspired by his recognition of their lifelong work as community leaders in Georgia’s Turner and Dooly counties. While they lived modest lives – Elvin, as a school principal and part-time pastor, Fleta as a home economics teacher – they quietly and caringly shaped the character of their own two sons and countless others by their consistent emphasis on serving their community with integrity. The remarkable gift from Ed Sims ensures that generations of emerging leaders will have an opportunity to think deeply about issues of conviction and character as part of their Berry experience.

In summer 2022, Dr. Robert Reimer joined Berry as the Elvin and Fleta Patterson Sims Director, succeeding the inaugural director, Dr. Nate Pearson, who was appointed dean at a Florida university. A retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, Dr. Reimer is exceptionally well-qualified for the role, having served as director of the Leadership Core at the U.S. Air Force Academy. With a Ph.D. in industrial organizational psychology from Pennsylvania State University, his expertise lies in enhancing workplace performance through leadership and talent management.

The broader BCIL vision

Dr. Reimer was attracted to Berry by the opportunity to champion campuswide efforts to prepare students to be accountable, humbly confident and steadfast leaders of character. As he recently made clear to the Berry Board of Trustees, BCIL’s mentoring program is exemplary, a distinctive and compelling program that would be difficult to replicate elsewhere. However, extending the benefits of BCIL beyond current participation levels – 5% of Berry’s students – will require complementary programming. One public and visible opportunity is the Cecil B. Wright III Lecture Series, which brings a major speaker to campus most every semester for an evening lecture, preceded by a dinner with students and special guests and often followed by a half-

day of classroom visits. This March, the Berry College Chapel was full for a lecture by the acclaimed artist Makoto Fujimura, who described how beauty can emerge from brokenness in the context of a caring community.

In addition to drawing attention to issues of integrity, these lectures also introduce students to resources available through BCIL, including a more recent offering – the opportunity for Berry students to participate in the Collegiate Leadership Competition.

Other components of BCIL include the Kathy Brittain Richardson Fund for Faculty and Staff Development and the Buzz and Barbara Mote (61C) McCoy and Ted Owens funds supporting faculty in curricular development activities.

Dr. Reimer believes programs focused on faculty and staff development are especially important for extending BCIL’s reach and benefits to all students. Faculty and staff already have relational credibility with students, so it makes sense to invest in their skills as mentors whose impact will extend to generations of students.

Full circle

In an era when “selfies” are the defining feature of social media and we are encouraged to invest in our “personal brand,” how do we lean into Martha Berry’s vision for developing young people who will care deeply about the needs of others? How do we

cultivate a “good neighbor mindset” and a community of belonging in keeping with the college’s enduring motto?

As a student, Amanda Preteroti (16C) benefited from working through scenarios provided by Dr. Missy Dillmon and Dr. Brad Bushnell in her two years in the mentoring program. From Dr. Dillmon she learned to be attentive to the emotional and relational side of medicine, and with Dr. Bushnell she learned to be alert to the business aspects of medicine as well.

Amanda is now practicing locally as a physician assistant in the area of cardiology and has become the first BCIL graduate to return to the program as a mentor. While busy with the demands of her own professional life, Amanda – like Elvin and Fleta Sims and her own mentors – feels called to invest in the next generation of students as they climb the steep path of learning to lead with conviction and character.

She explains her passion simply.

“My BCIL mentors helped me think through how I would deal with ethical issues as a practicing clinician. I gained confidence in my judgment. And I remember how much it meant to have them walk alongside me during times of uncertainty. Their words of wisdom have stayed with me, and I am grateful and honored to lend an encouraging hand to others as they pursue their own Berry journey.”

Dr. Robert Reimer, left, with Ed Sims, the Berry benefactor who endowed the BCIL directorship Reimer now holds.

Buster Wright greets news executive and journalist Parisa Khosravi, a 2019 Wright lecturer.

Brant Sanderlin

Brant Sanderlin

NEVER HAVE

STORY BY RICK WOODALL

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROCCO CESELIN

I EVER

Darren Barnet (13C) anxiously counted the minutes as midnight approached on the evening of April 26, 2020. The next day was his birthday, but that wasn’t the source of his nervousness and excitement. Rather, it was the Netflix “drop” of Never Have I Ever, a highly anticipated teen comedy-drama in which he played a prominent role.

Aspiring actors learn quickly not to get too excited until they see themselves on screen. Barnet had witnessed the crushing disappointment of friends who staged viewing parties celebrating a new role only to discover their hard work had wound up on the cuttingroom floor.

That wouldn’t be an issue in this case. One, there was no viewing party – the world was in lockdown due to the onset of COVID-19. Two, his character, heartthrob Paxton Hall-Yoshida, was central to the plot.

Barnet hadn’t really expected to get the part when he showed up for auditions the year prior. More than half a decade on the Hollywood “roller-coaster” had delivered many lessons in managing expectations.

This time, however, he won the role, which offered the promise of steady work as a series regular on a show buoyed by the creative involvement of acclaimed writer, comedian, actress and producer Mindy Kaling. On set, he quickly found himself immersed in a “playground of creativity” that made it “a joy going to work every day.” Still, there were no guarantees the show would find an audience.

So, Barnet waited. Tick, tick, tick. At midnight, he turned on Netflix … and nothing happened. His Wi-Fi had completely shut down. In that moment, he thought, “Maybe this is a sign. I’m just going to go to bed.”

Barnet awoke the next morning to a flurry of congratulatory calls and messages, not to mention an Instagram following that had spiked by 200,000 overnight. The show was a hit, topping Netflix charts domestically and abroad. The service later reported that 40 million households tuned in during its first four weeks on the platform.

Soon, a second 10-episode run was ordered. Then a third. And now a fourth and final season, which hit Netflix in early June.

“It has completely changed my life,” Barnet praised. “I was starting to get really at the end of my rope. I was like, ‘I’m about to be in my thirties soon. I don’t have a dime to my name. I’m job to job.’ It brought a lot of opportunities to the table. And it made me feel like, ‘OK. Yeah. I’m here to stay.’ Until the job ends. And then you’re like, ‘Wait, am I here to stay?’”

Such is life for a working actor.

Call of the stage

When Barnet arrived at Berry as a freshman in fall 2009, he had no plans to pursue acting, at least not openly. His parents were less than enthused when he first voiced an interest in the profession as a young child. An audition verdict of “very shy” not long after only validated their reservations.

He gave it another try after relocating with his mother from his childhood home of Los Angeles to Orlando, Florida, for his adolescent years, but again the experience “didn’t click,” so Barnet focused instead on academics and athletics, knowing he needed all the help he could get to attend college.

The necessary assistance ultimately materialized in the form of Berry’s work-based Gate of Opportunity Scholarship, which opened the door to a wide range of experiences in video production, including work on both sides of the camera that would prove invaluable in his future career.

Still, acting wasn’t at the forefront of his thoughts until the spring of his junior year when a friend announced his intention to audition for a Berry College Theatre Company production. Hearing this, Barnet immediately perked up, declaring out of nowhere, “I’m going to do it too!”

Barnet spent hours researching the role in preparation for his audition, even going so far as to record himself so he could be sure his portrayal was on point, only to arrive late. No matter. He got the part, playing Joe Farkas in the spring 2012 production of The Last Night of Ballyhoo

Standing on the Berry stage, awash in the adrenaline rush of live theatre, Barnet felt at home. And his childhood dream suddenly seemed very attainable.

“It was the first time I felt like I found something I was truly good at,” he said. “Even though I was new at it, I felt like I had this knack for it, and all I wanted to do was explore it more.”

That summer, he interned at a production company in Los Angeles. When his boss mentioned the prospect of a full-time job after graduation, Barnet declared that he would indeed be returning to L.A. the following summer, but not for a production job. He wanted to be an actor.

Power of persistence

True to his word, Barnet headed west after graduation. In his mind, there was no “Plan B.” As a small boy watching blooper reels of Jim Carrey, he imagined that acting had to be the best job in the world. Now he would find out.

“I was just so dead set on it at that point, and it just clicked,” he said. “To my mom’s chagrin, I did it. But now I think she’s happy I did.”

A Craig’s List search yielded early results in the form of a casting call for extras. He showed up, only to find he didn’t have the $20 fee necessary to sign

up. He declared: “I need to go find $20; I will be back tomorrow.”

When Barnet returned, the agency next door invited him in for a quick reading. He wound up signing a contract, a stroke of good fortune he now chalks up to “right place, right time,” adding, “I

it my talent?’ And then you self-destruct. These are the things you need to learn not to do.”

Between casting calls, he did everything he could to make ends meet, working an assortment of odd jobs all over town – manning the front desk at a bike shop, handing out samples at a grocery store, building movie lights in a factory – whatever it took to keep a few dollars in the bank.

While blessed to have family close by, Barnet was careful not to overstay his welcome. Thus, he surfed from couch to couch, living as a selfdescribed “nomad” out of the trunk of his car.

Did he ever have doubts? Absolutely. Yet he pressed forward, encouraged at one point by his still not-quite-convinced mother, who nevertheless told her son, “Darren, I can’t let you give up on something that you haven’t actually tried yet.”

Making it

With time and determination, Barnet began to accumulate film and TV credits. One notable breakthrough came in 2017, when he was cast as the younger version of family patriarch Jack Pearson for an episode of the hit NBC drama This Is Us. Later, there was a two-episode turn as the villainous Wilfred ‘Freddy’ Malick on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

These roles and others enabled Barnet to gain a greater foothold in the industry. While growing visibility offered an advantage in the otherwise arduous audition process – which can consist of multiple callbacks, producer/director sessions and chemistry reads with potential castmates – he has never taken anything for granted, bringing the same level of commitment and work-ethic to every opportunity.

Through it all, he has strived to be grateful for his successes while doing his best not to allow setbacks to define his self-worth.

His gratitude overflowed in the days leading up to Never Have I Ever’s 2020 debut. Posting on Instagram, Barnet recalled how he once had to walk a mile to work each day at a bike shop on Sunset Boulevard because he couldn’t afford the parking fee. Along the way, he would look up and see ads for new shows and movies. Now his was among them.

have friends still struggling to this day to find a representative.”

Even with others working on his behalf, it was a slow go. One minute, he would hear, “You’re amazing!” The next, crickets. Over time, casting directors started to remember him and request that he audition, but there were still more lows than highs.

“I go up to a network to test for a huge pilot; it’s between me and one other guy, and they choose the other guy,” he ruefully recalled. “You get thoughts in your head like, ‘Is it my face? Is it my height?’ Is

“Every time a fan comes up for a photo I always say yes, because this person is the reason I have a job.”

Never Have I Ever, courtesy of Netflix

Never Have I Ever, courtesy of Netflix

He enthused: “The climb certainly continues but I cannot express what a milestone it is for me to see our show all up and down Sunset today. Thank you to those who encouraged me and also to those who told me to get ‘realistic.’ You’ve all motivated me to do one thing … keep going. I challenge you to do the same. Whatever it is you’re after.”

Three years later, that same sense of appreciation resonates in the way Barnet talks about his career and especially his attitude toward fans.

“Every time a fan comes up for a photo I always say yes, because this person is the reason I have a job,” he said. “I’m so thankful. It takes two seconds of my time to give someone a smile.”

New horizons

With his most prominent role to date now behind him, Barnet is excited to see what comes next.

Recently, he traveled to the Dominican Republic where he worked with Jake Gyllenhaal and Conor

hisFinding Opportunity

College was never a question for Darren Barnet (13C). His mother made that perfectly clear. How to pay for it? That was another matter.

Enter Berry and the Gate of Opportunity Scholarship, then a brand-new program offering the chance for students to work their way through school with the prospect of graduating with little to no debt, all in partnership with a college benefactor.

Barnet, who had excelled academically and athletically at Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, Florida, was among the handful chosen for the inaugural cohort. He had been introduced to Berry by family friend Bill Pence (76C), a “second father” in the absence of his own dad, who had died suddenly not long before.

Once on campus, Barnet made the most of the work opportunities available to him, thriving under the mentorship of staff members like then-interactive and social media specialist Blake LeGate (12G, FFS), an “amazing guy who taught me everything I knew about cameras at that time.” There also was Dr. Brian Carroll, a faculty member in the communication department who always lent a supportive ear.

Above all, there was Audrey B. Morgan, the longtime Berry friend whose generosity not only helped to launch the Gate Program but also funded Barnet’s scholarship.

The unique nature of the program yielded several opportunities for Barnet to interact with Morgan during his Berry years. Praising her “brilliant humility,” he warmly recalled the unconditional acceptance she extended when he shared his dream of a career in acting.

“You’re so scared to say that to people before you start acting because it’s like, ‘Oh great, so you basically want to be an astronaut,’” he related. “But with Audrey, I told her that, and there wasn’t a blink in her eye. She was like, ‘Great! I look forward to seeing you progress.’

Afterward, Barnet could only marvel: “This woman doesn’t think I’m absolutely out of my mind. That’s awesome!”

His gratitude evident, the now successful actor added, “And I really appreciated that,” proud to have rewarded her faith.

McGregor on a remake of Road House. He’s also been to Budapest, Hungary, to work on Gran Turismo, a racing biopic with Orlando Bloom and David Harbour.

“One minute, you’re sitting there watching a movie with them in it thinking, ‘Man, how cool would it be to work with them?’ And then the next day you’re working with them. It’s insane!” Barnet exclaimed.

In addition to another movie shoot in Australia, he’s also engaged in other high-profile projects such as a promotional partnership with PINK, sister brand of Victoria’s Secret. Barnet’s work as PINK’s first male celebrity ambassador has included promotion of a gender-free collection of lounge/active wear, as well as related mental health awareness initiatives for young adults, a connection he truly appreciates.

Continuing onward, he aspires to even greater heights.

“I want to be leading films,” Barnet stated. “I want to be telling compelling stories that start a

conversation, that can be controversial, that can move people, inspire people, whatever it is. I really want to get more into writing.”

One project of particular interest would focus on the life of Charlie Barnet, a famed jazz musician in the 1930s and ’40s who also happens to be his grandfather.

“I’m reading his autobiography right now, which I really want to adapt,” he said.

Like his grandfather, the younger Barnet also has an interest in musical performance – hip-hop specifically – which he hopes to pursue in greater depth. He’d also like to try his hand at directing, having already worked as a producer, among other off-camera roles.

However, his greatest passion remains acting, and he plans to do that as long as he can.

“They say this career is like one in a million,” Barnet said. “But I really feel like if you’re persistent, the odds can be more on your side.”

Overcoming the odds – yet one more thing this dreamer can scratch off his “never have I ever” list.

Following a

Story by Karilon L. Rogers

Shelter photography by Michael Altman, Flying Doctors of America

Portraits by Brant Sanderlin

If you don’t think a new college program can make a difference in an expanding network of lives, you don’t know Peggy Earley, RN (15C). Becoming a charter graduate of Berry’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing program not only empowered her to live the life of service she so deeply desired, but it also allowed her to follow a heavenly whisper to Poland and 1,500 Ukrainian refugees.

Peggy Earley (Stein while at Berry) flew out of HartsfieldJackson International Airport on Sept. 2, 2022. Her destination: Warsaw, Poland. Her plan: To join a small group of health care professionals serving a weeklong Flying Doctors of America medical mission at a Ukrainian refugee shelter 25 miles outside that ancient city.

At the shelter, Earley and the team found more than 1,500 human beings – old, young, singles, couples – who had fled the Russian

onslaught on their nation with only the possessions they could drag, carry or wear on their backs. Many had spouses, fathers, sons or daughters in significant danger back home. None likely anticipated living in the clean but stark warehouse structure, sleeping on a cot, and using community showers and toilets for such an extended period. Many were in desperate need of the most rudimentary medical care.

“The shelter was well run,” Earley emphasized, “but it also was an empty shell of a place with absolutely no privacy.”

The team jumped right in, setting up stations of plastic chairs and tables where they could provide basic care. It didn’t take long for these strangers to win the confidence of the refugees.

“We served maybe 60 patients the first day,” Earley stated, “but that quickly grew to up to 300 a day.

“We had doctors, dentists, nurses, a PA and a paramedic,” she described, “and saw such things as untreated high blood pressure, infected dog bites (people brought their family pets to the shelter), emphysema (everyone smokes!) and so many other conditions. We even had an infant who hadn’t eaten in weeks. We were able to get him eating again!”

The team also provided a great deal of dental care – pulling teeth and the like. Patients sat in straight-back plastic chairs with heads flung back while infected teeth were pulled. No comfy, reclining dental chairs were available for the distinctly uncomfortable procedure, but they did have dental anesthesia, thank goodness.

“I had been on a trajectory for this for so long,” Earley declared. “I had wanted to be of service in something like the Peace Corps, but what could I do before I got my nursing degree? Once I had it, I got emails from the Flying Doctors, but the money wasn’t there to go.”

The donation for each volunteer to go on a medical mission trip abroad runs in the several thousands, more than Earley could afford. Then something amazing happened.

“I served as a nurse for my kids’ camp in the summers,” she explained. “The internet at the camp was VERY spotty. Usually, I had to walk up to the road to get my missed calls and emails for the day. But one night last summer, as I prayed my usual prayer to God to walk beside me and whisper in my ear what He wants me to do, I immediately heard a ‘ping’ from my phone. It was an email from the Flying Doctors about the trip to Poland for the refugees. For some reason it had gotten through! I immediately told God, ‘I hear You. I will go.’”

Despite such conditions, the Flying Doctors team had many repeat customers.

“They were so grateful and thankful for us,” Earley recounted. “The tears of gratitude were heartwarming. They just wanted someone to care. I found that treating someone with severe loneliness was just as important as treating someone with emphysema.”

Earley’s assignment was dispensing medicines provided by the Flying Doctors, medicines to which the refugees had no other access. She busily took the prescriptions written by the physicians, matched them to the medications on hand and then worked with Polish and Ukrainian interpreters to deliver instructions the patients could understand. The role kept her hopping.

She also was busy with the far end of her “dispensing area,” a section dedicated to the many small toys the volunteers had brought halfway around the globe to distribute daily to the children.

When her mission trip ended, Earley realized how much she had learned about the reasons behind the Ukrainians’ will to fight, why Poland provided so much support, and how her own daily trials and tribulations stacked up to those of her Ukrainian patients.

“I realize now that while I might have worried about paying my electric bill, the refugees worry if they will ever find their house again! Or if they will ever see ‘Tom’ who lived on the corner again. It really gives you a different perspective to step out of your own environment,” Earley said.

She heard the whisper

Per the organization’s mission statement, Flying Doctors of America was founded in 1990 to bring together teams of health care professionals to care for people who otherwise would not receive medical care. They operate under the “Mother Teresa Principle” of focusing on the “poorest of the poor, living in conditions that are difficult for most Americans to imagine.”

But there still was the money issue; the donation for the trip was $5,000. Earley was able to come up with half herself. She put out a request to her Facebook friends for the rest, and “they came through for me!”

Long time coming

The youngest of 10, Earley started life in Maryland but grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She was able to attend college thanks to academic scholarships, first at the University of Texas at Arlington and later Norfolk State University, where she studied journalism.

While growing her family, she worked a variety of jobs in a variety of locations, including service in the restaurant and catering industries and later as a hospital labor and delivery unit secretary and then as a physician practice manager. But her mother always said she should be a nurse, and her mother was right.

“I always wanted to serve,” Earley said simply. “When I turned 40, I decided I didn’t want to have any regrets; I wanted to go to nursing school. But then I had an unplanned pregnancy for my youngest child, and that delayed me. So, I was 42 when I went to Kennesaw State and started taking my science classes.”

When it was time for her to start a nursing program, it was a no-go at KSU. No spots were open to her with hundreds of applicants vying for relatively few spots.

“But someone there did tell me about Vanice Roberts setting up a new program at Berry College and suggested I call her,” Earley said. “I did, and she encouraged me to come up for an interview.

“I became one of the first 15 graduates of Berry’s BSN program. All were younger than me. Only one, Connie Burchfield (15C), was a mother too, and as she also lived in the Atlanta area, we carpooled, taking turns with one driving and the other reviewing notes and quizzing the other.”

The duo remains close today.

The donation for each volunteer to go on a medical mission trip abroad runs in the several thousands, more than Earley could afford. Then something amazing happened.

“Connie was my cheerleader,” Earley emphasized. “Everyone was working hard to get through the program. But I also was trying to keep my family together – making sure each of my six kids had birthday parties, etc.”

Dr. Vanice W. Roberts, RN, now retired, knows she made an excellent decision accepting Earley into the program, even if Earley was older than her traditional-age classmates.

“That first class was hard,” Roberts stated. “We went full steam for 15 months. Peggy accepted all the challenges; her empathy, patience and ability to connect with people, with patients, were truly exceptional. She also was the favorite of her classmates. She treated everyone special, and everyone loved her. She won’t like me saying this, but she was ‘Class Momma.’”

Expanding network of caring

Today, Earley works as a labor and delivery nurse at WellStar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, Georgia, and with Advanced Care Partners providing inhome care for children with severe medical needs, such as those with feeding tubes or breathing machines. She also recently became qualified to work as a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner with Live Safe House, where victims are brought for rape kit examinations following attacks.

In addition, Earley volunteers with Journey Through Bereavement, a program of WellStar Health System that enables her to walk alongside maternity patients – during pregnancy and after – who choose to continue their pregnancies even though their babies are not expected to live very long after birth.

New really can matter

If Berry College’s new baccalaureate program in nursing hadn’t welcomed its first students in the 2014 spring semester, would Peggy Earley have had the chance at the age of 49 to start nursing school with students less than half her age? Would she be helping to deliver babies, assisting sick children in their homes, caring for sexual assault victims and walking alongside women at one of the worst times of their lives? Without that program, would she have been able to care for hundreds of Ukrainian refugees forced to flee their homes when their country was mercilessly attacked? Would she be continuing to make a difference in an ever-expanding network of lives?

While the expanse of human care the program has engendered over the last 9½ years is beyond measure, its effect on one charter member is well-defined.

“Vanice Roberts changed my life by giving me the opportunity to be in Berry’s nursing program,” Earley stated emphatically, continuing with a breaking voice: “The program allowed me to become the person I was always supposed to be. A person who serves.”

Bachelor of Science in Nursing program highlights

Nursing Program Goal: To grow the number of BSN students graduating annually to 80 in five years”

• Nursing program on-time graduation rate: 91%

• Nursing students with job offers before graduation: 100%

• Nurses graduated since program inception: 259

• In the last three years:

- Registered nurse licensure exam first-time pass rate: 86% (national average 80%)

- Pass rate within 3 attempts (known): 96%

• Survey of employers who believe Berry nurses are well prepared for their entry-level roles: 100%

• Three-year-out nursing alumni involved in community service: 100%

It Ain't Over!

eslie Norris-Townsend (77c) spent the first part of her life being good at playing someone else – a role on stage, Hollywood starlet or character on your TV screen. But when someone suggested she play herself through stand-up comedy, she “killed it,” as they say in the business, and never looked back.

Today, Norris-Townsend is a “clean comedian” with home bases in Nashville and, surprisingly, a more than 100-year-old family farm in rural Celina, Ohio. She performs an average of four shows monthly, using her own life experiences as the basis for her routines – no swearing or suggestive material involved.

“Stand-up is the best therapy you can ever have for free,” she declared. “You mine yourself for material. I love it!”

by Karilon L. Rogers

Norris-Townsend’s career in stand-up began when she was living in Los Angeles making appearances in such sitcoms as Silver Spoons, One Day at a Time and Sledge Hammer. She previously had chosen beaus on The Dating Game as an employee of Chuck Barris Productions and hawked Toyotas, refrigerators and Mattel toys in national commercials, among countless other gigs. Discovering that many people found her funny, she took the Harvey Lembeck Comedy Workshop at Paramount Studios and excelled, especially with a “Miss America” character she created. An agent signed her, advising that she take the character to stand-up at the Hollywood Improv. “I did it,” Norris-Townsend exclaimed, “and it killed!”

Photos courtesy of Leslie Norris-Townsend

Working her way from opener to featured performer, she fearlessly left “Miss America” behind and became herself. That led to scores of comedy club shows and impressive TV appearances.

She almost struck the motherload on Ed McMahon’s Star Search (a precursor to such shows as America’s Got Talent), making it to the grand finale for comedy only to feel the $100,000 prize slip through her fingers, dollar by dollar, when she finished second.

“I cried like Lucy for a week,” she remembered, referencing the “wail” made famous by the late, great Lucille Ball. “I had truly thought, ‘This is the moment!’”

Her own Green Acres

Not long before Star Search, her attention and her heart were captured by Tim Townsend, a production manager and sound engineer for such country artists as Loretta Lynn, Brenda Lee and the Oak Ridge Boys. He worked out of Nashville, she Los Angeles, so they had a longdistance marriage until their sons were born. She then used Music City as a base, although work still required both parents to be away from home for long periods. With two young boys, this was untenable. Add to that, the couple was helping keep afloat his family’s old farm in Ohio, both before and after his father’s death. Her answer?

Move to the farm with the kids to give them a better life, even if her career suffered. It was a true fish-out-of-water experience for her. Her husband eventually joined her on the farm, and together they started a variety of entrepreneurial enterprises, some successful, some not. Before there was American Idol, they created a singing competition that ran for 10 years on their local NBC station. They also bought a 450-seat theatre for plays that “no one would buy a ticket to see.” In the meantime, she was still performing, even appearing in “Pitch to America” segments on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show twice.

In 2010, with friends in the stand-up world serving as judges, she launched The Clean Comedy Challenge that continues today. New comedians from across the country participate in the three-day comedy bootcamp, competing for $1,000 in prize money and an opportunity to get a leg-up in the business.

Norris-Townsend still appears at comedy clubs, but conventions, church-affiliated events and corporate retreats are her bread and butter. She wins rave reviews with acts that often are described not just as shows but parties with laughs, music and audience participation. She is loaded with material from her life on the farm, making her a natural for Farm Bureau conventions, with audiences as large as 5,000.

She also is a regular on TBN’s Huckabee, appears on Circle TV’s Stand Up! Nashville at Zanies Comedy Night Club and is featured in a 30-minute Dry Bar Comedy special entitled “Outstanding in my Field.” [She headlined at The Spires at Berry College while visiting for Mountain Day 2021!]

Berry was the best thing

Fifteen hours on a Greyhound bus transported Norris-Townsend from a difficult childhood to a career that would span a lifetime. That’s how long it took her to travel to sight-unseen Berry College where she’d won a full-tuition drama scholarship.

“I’m not sure how it happened,” she mused. “But going to Berry was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Norris-Townsend almost had a happy childhood. Her father was a Duncan Yo-Yo champion who became a successful salesman for the company in New Jersey. Their seemingly idyllic American family life was shattered, however, by his drinking and gambling, which led them to flee with nothing in the middle of the night for his hometown of Pensacola, Florida. There, the family regularly careened from flush to bust, based on his gambling luck, although no one outside the home would ever know there was trouble. They always kept up appearances.

When it came time for Norris-Townsend to

attend college, her mother – now dying of cancer – was determined her daughter would go. Norris-Townsend was young for college at 17, but studying drama was a dream. She loved theater, having acted and sang on stage from grammar school through high school, as well as competing in Junior Miss pageants.

“On stage is where I felt comfortable and almost normal,” she remembered, “because I felt like a misfit otherwise due to my family life.”

So she climbed on the bus – heading in her mind to who knows where – and the miraculous happened.

“I got off the bus, and there I was at Berry,” she said. “I got there on a wing and a prayer, and I found a career that I love.”

The first thing Norris-Townsend did at Berry was win the talent show. The experience thrilled her, as did the opportunity to appear in multiple theatre productions. But she didn’t do well academically and wonders now if it was lack of ability or lack of attention caused by her love of performing and the distraction of competing in beauty pageants.

In her first two years, she won the local Miss Cedar Valley pageant and twice participated in Miss Georgia pageants, finishing first in the top 10 and then as first runner-up and talent competition winner. These pageants helped

cover her Berry room and board, though her success was tempered by the feeling that she had “lost” by not finishing first.

Pageant gowns were paid for with wages earned in the Berry cafeteria, where she worked in the wee hours of the morning to avoid being seen by other students.

“I was embarrassed that I had no money,” she said. “I was the pageant ‘queen,’ after all.”

The habit of keeping up appearances was deeply ingrained.

At the end of her second year, life changed for Norris-Townsend. She still “loved Berry more than anything” but continued to lack funds, a fact she never admitted to anyone at the school. She realizes now that if she’d been open about her plight she may well have received help to stay.

Then came an offer she couldn’t refuse. She saw a sign on a bulletin board in Assistant Professor of Speech LeRoy Clark’s class about sending an audition tape to Disney. So, with his assistance, she did and was picked from among thousands of applicants to open a new show at Walt Disney World in Florida – Hoop De Doo. Then she was offered a five-year contract.

“I couldn’t believe I had to quit Berry,” she said. “But I had no money, and I thought the Disney job would be show business. It wasn’t, but it did give me a start.”

Norris-Townsend ended up doing two HoopDe-Doo shows five nights a week while attending Florida’s Rollins College. She also entered the Miss Florida pageant as Miss Orlando, again finishing as first runner-up. Not long after, Disney offered her a job at Disneyland in California, and she soon found herself in Los Angeles, making connections and getting more and more work. And so her story went.

The show must go on Norris-Townsend is clear why she continues to work.

“Getting applause or laughs … there is nothing like it, no matching feeling,” she explained. “If the audience is with you, it’s like winning the lottery, getting the crown. It is kind of an addiction. Sometimes I wish I hadn’t experienced it. My life would have been easier, perhaps. But doing a show that works is like falling in love again.”

As for Berry, she gives the college much credit.

“It was a dream come true for me. In all the chaos of my home life – and it was chaos –Berry focused me. Then in one class, one sign on a bulletin board about that Disney audition started my career. It happened for me. It happened at Berry.”

As for her career in the future, she declared simply: “It ain’t over!”

“I got off the bus, and there I was at Berry.

I got there on a wing and a prayer, and I found a career that I love.”

In good times and bad, the generosity of alumni and friends emboldens our efforts to provide students the type of opportunityrich education found only on Berry’s historic campus. Here, we gratefully acknowledge gifts, pledges and realized planned gifts of $25,000 or more made between Sept. 1, 2022, and Feb. 28, 2023. We extend sincere appreciation to these leadership supporters and to all who prioritize Berry students in their giving.

Anonymous, $400,000 for renovation and restoration of Frost Chapel and expansion of facilities at Valhalla

ARAMARK Corp., $42,561 for the general fund

Betty Anne Rouse Bell (52H, 56C), $225,000, including $200,000 for the Robert H. Bell Scholarship and $25,000 for the Betty Anne Rouse Bell Endowed Gate of Opportunity Scholarship

Randy and Nancy Berry, $200,000 for the Griswell Scholarship Program

Brian (97C) and Susan Wells (97C) Brodrick, $50,000 for expansion of facilities at Valhalla

Steve Cage (74C), $1 million for the Briggs Beach volleyball facility

Raiford T. (66C) and Patricia Cartee Cantrell, $50,000 for the Alma and Jim Cantrell Memorial Endowed Scholarship

Paul (88G) and Shannon Clark, $60,000, including $50,000 for the golf program endowment and $10,000 for the Berry Vikings Booster Club golf team fund

John (04C) and Jackie Feit (05c) Coleman, $100,000 for the Coleman Endowed Griswell Scholarship

Doug and Cyndi Court, $25,000 for the Berry Information Technology Students (BITS) Endowed Directorship

Tommy (78C) and Kelley Dopson, $50,000 for the Tommy and Kelley Dopson Endowed Scholarship

John Eadie (83C), $100,000 for the Berry Information Technology Students (BITS) Endowed Directorship

Edward (57C) and Evelyn Quarles (57C) England, $25,000, including $20,000 for the Edward and Evelyn England Endowed Scholarship and $5,000 for the George W. Cofield Memorial Scholarship Fund

Roger and Elaine Estill, $50,000 for the Bambi Estill Waters Endowed Scholarship

Joan Fulghum, $100,000 for the Tommy Fulghum Endowed Scholarship

Georgia Independent College Association, $32,069 for the general fund

Walter Gill (63C), $25,000 for the Lyn Gresham Gate of Opportunity Scholarship

Guanacaste Ventures, $544,000 for the Pattillo Scholarship Program

Michele Irwin Griswell (70C), $150,000 for the Berry Information Technology Students (BITS) Endowed Directorship

William Randolph Hearst Foundation, $200,000 for the William Randolph Hearst Foundation LifeWorks Scholarship

Hubert Judd Charitable Trust, $25,000 for the Griswell Scholarship Pooled Endowment Fund Mark (82C) and Judy Howard (82C) Keappler, $50,000 for the Briggs Beach volleyball facility

John (54H) and Debra Lie-Nielsen, $50,000 for the John Lie-Nielsen Gate of Opportunity Scholarship

Roger (79C) and Candy Caudill (82c) Lusby, $109,000, including $84,000 for the new Roberto Clemente Scholarship and $25,000 for the Berry Information Technology Students (BITS) Endowed Directorship

Wanda and William Mack, $25,000 for the Sally Keown Riggs Endowed Scholarship

Bowen H. and Janice Arthur McCoy Charitable Foundation, $25,000 for the Science Scholars Program.

Buzz and Barbara Mote (61C) McCoy, $50,000 for the McCoy Berry Center for Integrity in Leadership (BCIL) Faculty Development Endowed Fund

OPPORTUNITY

Impart wisdom, share gifts, improve lives

BerryInformationTechnologyStudents(BITS)StuartCopeland,left,andBrendenSmothers.

Brant Sanderlin

Investing in Berry students

lifeline to students facing sudden financial distress due to unforeseen circumstances like the illness of a parent or the loss of family income.

Parks’ annual gift of $1,000 for the next five years qualifies her for the Martha Berry Society in each of those years. She joins hundreds of other alumni and friends who prioritize annual giving to Berry at a leadership level.

“It’s about giving back and making a difference in students’ lives,” Parks said. “Berry is still dear to my heart. It makes me excited and happy to be able to help students who look like me stay at Berry. Besides, I know that recipients of this scholarship will change their families and impact the overall community by earning their Berry degrees.”

Hester Parks (95C) has a lot of experience finding solutions for tough challenges, so when she learned hardworking Berry students might have to give up their college dreams, she knew she had to help.

The founder of Atlanta’s award-winning Park Avenue Events and recipient of the Berry Alumni Council’s 2021 Entrepreneurial Spirit Award recently stepped forward with a $5,000 leadership gift, payable over five years, to help establish the Berry African American Alumni Chapter Save a Student Scholarship.

She and other chapter members hope to raise a minimum of $50,000, thus creating a permanent endowment. This would ensure funds from their scholarship are available each year to offer a

Parks appreciates the opportunity to break her total commitment into smaller recurring gifts paid over multiple years because it enables her to do more than otherwise would be possible. She also plans to give over and above her current commitment, as she is able.

“We’re supposed to give back,” Parks said. “We’re God’s hands and feet here on earth. As Christians, we’re supposed to love our brothers as ourselves. I believe wholeheartedly in that. Giving back to Berry is one way I fulfill God’s call on my life.”

If you’re interested in supporting the Berry African American Alumni Chapter Save a Student Scholarship or have questions about other giving opportunities within the Save a Student family of scholarships, please contact Jean Druckenmiller at jdruckenmiller@berry.edu or 706-238-7938.

CONTINUING THE WORK

The Martha Berry Society is a special group of alumni and friends whose collective generosity turns obstacles into opportunity for Berry students. This designation honors those who make annual cash contributions or pledge payments of at least $1,000 (or equivalent for members of the Young Alumni Leadership Giving Circle). Gifts made between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024, count toward MBS membership in 2023-24. Learn more by visiting alwaysberry.com/MBS or contacting Cyndi Court, Berry’s vice president of advancement, at ccourt @ berry.edu or 706-236-1713.

Audrey B. Morgan, $10.1 million, including $6 million for the new health sciences building, $2 million for the Audrey B. Morgan Scholarship for Teachers, $2 million for the Dr. Bobbie Bailey Scholarship for Music, and $100,000 for the Berry Information Technology Students (BITS)

Endowed Directorship

Peter and Tamara Musser, $25,000 for the Berry Information Technology Students (BITS)

Endowed Directorship

National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, $56,000 for the NSDAR Gate of Opportunity Scholarship

Jim and Lonnie Puhger, $28,585 for The Judge James and Mrs. Ilona (Timko) Puhger

Endowed Scholarship

Brent (88C) and Georgia Ragsdale, $50,000 for the Berry Information Technology Students (BITS) Endowed Directorship

Sam (76C, 78G) and Nancy Duvall (77C) Ratcliffe, $50,657 for The Generation One Endowed Scholarship

Reg (51C) and Maxine Strickland, $50,000 for the Frost Chapel renovation and restoration

Robert (04C) and Tessa Frye (07C) Swarthout, $50,000 for the Berry Information Technology Students (BITS) Endowed Directorship

Martha and Ronald D. Taylor Sr., $64,432 for the Clarke-Taylor-Goodwin Endowed Scholarship

Jim (70C) and Barbara Van Meerten, $25,000, including $19,500 for the James Van Meerten Endowed Study-Abroad Scholarship, $1,000 for the Dr. Sam Spector Endowed Scholarship, $1,000 for the Campbell School of Business Dean’s Fund, $1,000 for the Class of 1970C Endowed Scholarship, and $2,500 for the James Van Meerten Expendable StudyAbroad Scholarship

Joe and Marti Walstad, $125,000 for the Berry Information Technology Students (BITS) Endowed Directorship

Watson-Brown Foundation, $55,500 for the Frost Chapel renovation and restoration

Mack (62C) and Wanda Hixson (62C) Weems, $50,000 for the Mack and Wanda Weems Endowed Scholarship

Oliver Welch (52H), $46,053 for the H. Oliver and Patricia Welch Endowed Nursing Scholarship

WEM Scholarships Inc., $30,000 for the Griswell Scholarship Current-Use Fund

Claudia Moore Williams (76C), $50,000 for the Leland and Bert Moore Endowed Scholarship

Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation

$750,000 for the Lettie Pate Whitehead Scholars Fund

WinShape Foundation, $289,156, including $200,000 for the WinShape Scholarship, $14,500 for the WinShape Appeals Fund, and $74,656 for the WinShape Founder’s Scholarship

Buster (73C) and Janice Wright, $34,000 for the Nursing Immersion Program.

REALIZED PLANNED GIFTS

Estate of Marie L. Barlieb, $526,466 unrestricted bequest

Estate of Mary Shay, $872,491 for the Mary Therese Shay Scholarship

David, Helen and Marian Woodward Fund, $200,000 to establish the David, Helen and Marian Woodward Fund-Atlanta Endowed Griswell Scholarship

INIJE

Brant Sanderlin

NEWS FROM YOU

1950s

Church in Albany, Ga. When not serving at church or coaching youth baseball and soccer, Mike loves to play golf and do yardwork. He hopes to visit Berry soon.

Names are followed by a number and letter indicating Berry status. Uppercase letters denote graduates; lowercase letters denote attended/ attending and anticipated year of graduation:

C, c College

G, g Graduate school

A, a Academy

H, h High school FS Faculty/Staff

James Cantrell (55C) and Billie Ann Allen Cantrell (57C) celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary on Dec. 29, 2022. Their Berry family includes granddaughter Kacy Jones Trueman (20C), who happily shared this announcement.

1960s

Charles Hunt (66C) traveled to Poland last summer to assist Ukrainian refugees as a volunteer from Perimeter Church in Johns Creek, Ga., serving with the Bread of Life ministry. He can be seen standing back row center (with green shirt) in this July 4 photo of refugees and volunteers.

1970s

Mike Thompson (71A) is retired after a 34-year career with the federal government and U.S. Marine Corps, the last nine as a contracting officer’s representative (COR). He is actively involved in several ministries at Sherwood Baptist

Dr. Dale Hartley (73A), a psychologist and professor, is pleased to announce the forthcoming publication of Machiavellians: Gulling the Rubes, which explores the phenomenon of master manipulators and how to protect oneself.

years on the bench. Prior to his appointment by then-Georgia Gov. Zell Miller to serve the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit, Ralph spent eight years as district attorney in that same area. He also has served on several state-level committees and is presently a member of the Board of Governors at the State Bar of Georgia, in addition to his association with the firm of Patty & Young in Ringgold.

David Akins (75C, 80G, FFS) and wife Karen Brantley Akins (81C) have moved to Arcozelo, Portugal.

1980s

Greg Hanthorn (82C) made the 2023 Georgia Super Lawyers list for business litigation, the 11th straight year (and 13th overall) he has been so recognized. Thomson Reuters, who oversees selection, notes that the “Super Lawyers” designation is reserved for those who exhibit excellence in practice; only 5% of Georgia attorneys are chosen each year. Greg practices with the Atlanta office of the international firm Jones Day.

Dr. Guadalupe Sanchez (74C) has retired after a long career in dermatology. The Harvard Medical School graduate has a message for any Berry classmates traveling through St. Louis: “Let’s get together and catch up!”

Jeri Oxenreider Barrett (78A) recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of Herbal Solutions in Aiken, S.C. In that time, her business serving people and animals has added products and services while growing from 600 to 3,000 square feet. “My grandfather told me a long time ago to find what you like to do and you’ll never have to work,” she stated. “Over the years, I’ve stuck to three pillars because I believe in them – natural products for people, natural products for pets and massage. … I just love to share those things with people!”

Kim Almand Lane Casey (87C, 92G) married David Allen Casey on May 10, 2022, in Rockmart, Ga. The bride’s dog, Cap Seavey, was the only attendant.

Ralph Van Pelt (74A, 77C) has retired from his duties as superior court judge after 26

Joel Rogers (88C) and wife Lara are “loving retirement” after 30 years teaching public school. Joel is now employed with Habitat for Humanity of North Georgia.

NO RAIN ON HIS PARADE!

For years, Mack Godfrey (69C) imagined the thrill of marching through New York City in the famed Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, even jotting the goal on his lifetime inventory of “Things to Do” well before the idea of a “bucket list” entered the national vernacular. He relished the challenge of securing a spot in the holiday extravaganza and could almost hear the cheers of its 2 million spectators.

On the crisp, sunny morning of Nov. 24, 2022, he earned the right to check that long-held ambition off his list, joining daughter Ashley as volunteers on a team of 22 handlers, three alternates, a pilot and three copilots responsible for guiding the 42-foot, 450-pound Smokey Bear balloon through the heart of the city. Both served as handlers for the big bear, while Godfrey’s beloved wife, Linda, and son-in-law Michael cheered them on.

The experience was better than Godfrey had dared dream, and he came away incredibly impressed by the

1990s

Ray Rodrigues (92C) is the new chancellor of the State University System of Florida, earning the unanimous approval of the Board of Governors. He is now chief executive of the nation’s second largest public university system, with 12 universities and more than 430,000 students. The former state representative and senator most recently served as director of interagency partnerships at Florida Gulf Coast University. He is married to Ruth Lindsey Rodrigues (92C).

picture books appropriate for middle-grade students.

proud parents of two grown sons, he and wife Judy look forward to retirement in two years.

Alison R. Hill (98C) has accepted a position with Synovus Bank as an ATM and cash management coordinator, relocating to South Carolina.

coordinated precision of the gigantic operation, which requires a year’s worth of planning and execution by some 1,500 employees. An additional 5,000 volunteers attend required, task-specific online classes in advance of parade day, which begins at 6:30 a.m. with costume pickup, then continues with a bus ride to the starting line, dress rehearsal and, finally, the 9 a.m. start.

Exhausting? Not for the Godfreys. They made a three-day adventure of their New York holiday, seeing the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular, dining at Tavern on the Green and sharing Thanksgiving dinner with the friend who helped get them in the parade as volunteers. The parade now joins other fulfilled goals on Godfrey’s list, including speaking at his 50th Berry reunion. He’s not looking back, though. Rather, his focus is on experiences as yet unchecked, such as attending a World Series game and visiting the Holy Land and Rome (the other one)

2000s

Leigha Young Burnham (94C) has received a 2023 Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE) Educator Grant to support her work at Summerville Middle School in Chattooga County. With these funds, she plans to implement the Picture Book Nook project in the school’s library media center, adding text-rich, diverse

Dr. Jeffrey Blackmon (98C) has moved to Bend, Ore., to begin a new job as a family physician and obesity specialist at High Lakes Healthcare.

Allison Brown Hattaway (99C) has returned to Berry as assistant director of stewardship in the Office of Advancement.

Jennifer Ray Walter (00C) earned a Master of Information and Library Science degree from the University of South Carolina in December 2022.

Brad E. Hayes (98G, 01G) recently earned inclusion in Marquis’ Who’s Who in Education and Ministry. He has worked as a coach, teacher, assistant principal, principal, central-office administrator and school-board member while serving students in elementary, middle and high schools. Also a gospel preacher, Brad is associate minister and elder at Pennville Church of Christ in Chattooga County, Ga. The

Jeff Gable (99C, FFS) is the inaugural recipient of the Northwest Georgia Tip-Off Club’s Randy Davis Award, which honors the memory of a beloved local radio broadcaster by recognizing outstanding coverage and support of high school basketball. Jeff has covered sports for print and electronic media in the area since the 1990s, currently on a freelance basis. He also works at Life Time Fitness in Woodstock while living in Roswell with wife Beverly Rooks Gable (00C), the senior paralegal for Neff Injury Law.

Rene Lovingood Howey (99C) was named 2022 Middle School Counselor of the Year for the Paulding County, Ga., school district. In addition to her 21 years as a school counselor, Rene is also a therapist for teens at Barden Behavioral Health Group. She and husband Dustin have been married for 20 years and have four children.

Andrew See (02C) has retired as a U.S. Army major after 20 years of active duty. He and wife Maggie now live in Lansing, Kan., with sons Ryder (14) and Beckett (9).

Tara Bickel Amos (03C) has been promoted to executive case specialist in customer relations at Porsche Cars North America’s corporate headquarters in Atlanta. In addition to providing customer service and conflict

management for all executive cases in North America, she also serves as a Porsche Brand Ambassador at national events such as South by Southwest, Petit Le Mans, Rennsport Reunion and the L.A. Auto Show.

Georgia Travel Association takes great pride in the transformation of a “sleepy train town” into a thriving community of restaurants, shops, residential options and other attractions.

measured 20.5 inches in length. Elizabeth happily reported: “Mom and baby are doing well!”

social media/website content for writers, publishers and small businesses. In this work, the Berry marketing grad leverages 15 years experience in brand marketing, content creation and editing.

Tiffany Abbott Fuller (03C, 07G) was invited to serve on the illustrating team for Jennifer Serravallo’s newest book: Reading Strategies 2.0, published by Heinemann in January 2023. More than 50 of Tiffany’s classroom anchor charts were featured.

Amanda Friswold-Atwood (04C) has been promoted to regional distribution center manager at Behr Paints in Denver, Colo. She joined Behr in June 2022 as an assistant distribution center manager.

Anthony Chiles (05C) is the new principal of Waynesboro (Ga.) Primary School, serving 1,000 students from pre-K through second grade.

Dr. Ted Goshorn (06C) explores the transformative practice of prayer in a new book published by the Advocate Press. Prayer Changes Us takes readers on a journey of self-discovery highlighting ways in which different types of prayer can be incorporated into the rhythms of life, resulting in strong discipleship and a deeper relationship with God. An ordained United Methodist elder in the South Georgia Annual Conference, Ted currently serves as pastor of Mulberry Street United Methodist Church in Macon.

Ryan Simmons (07C, 14G) and Helen Thomson Simmons (07C, 22G, FFS) celebrated the arrival of first child Lily Eloise on June 12, 2022. Helen completed Berry’s MBA program just in the nick of time, graduating a few weeks before Lily’s birth.

Kyle Bennett (05C) made Georgia Trend’s 40-under-40 list of the state’s best and brightest young professionals in 2022 for his accomplishments as tourism manager for the city of Woodstock and Visit Woodstock GA. With roots in Cherokee County dating to the 1840s, the longtime manager of Woodstock’s award-winning visitor center and three-term president of the Northwest

Beth Lyday Hinshaw (05C) was named 2022 Elementary Counselor of the Year by the Ohio School Counselor Association. She has spent the last five years at Indian Trail Elementary School in Canal Winchester, seeking to remove barriers to learning and earning praise from her principal for the “amazing rapport” she shares with students, parents and staff.

Nicole Fayard Layfield (06C) graduated from the University of Georgia in December 2022 with a master’s degree in special education. She teaches at Barnett Shoals Elementary School in Clarke County.

Amanda Adams Winstead (07C) completed a master’s degree in nursing from Emory University in May 2022. She now works as a hematology/oncology nurse at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, living in nearby Lawrenceville with husband Ben and sons Parker (8) and Jacob (4). Amanda offered these words of encouragement to classmates: “It’s never too late to follow your passion and go back for another degree.”

Leslie Kirk Houck (08C) has joined the team at CARON Treatment Centers in Wernersville, Pa., as a student assistance program specialist, a role that delivers substance abuse prevention and early intervention programming to schools and youth while serving agencies throughout the state of Pennsylvania.

Elizabeth Chastain Berry (06C) and her husband welcomed son Beauregard Andrew on Nov. 5, 2022. He weighed 7 pounds, 8 ounces and

Dr. Jerid W. Robinson (06C) has been promoted to senior manager, field application scientists at NanoString Technologies. He lives in Minneapolis, Minn., with new wife Cassandra Hortsch.

Leigh Ann Harrell Dukes (08C) recently celebrated the first anniversary of her freelance editing company, The LAD Agency. She specializes in copyediting and proofreading manuscripts, brochures, articles, online curriculum and

Dr. Colten Allison (09C,

has started a new job at a Level 1 trauma hospital in Fort Worth, Texas, after earning a doctorate in nursing anesthesia from Augusta University in December 2022.

FFS)

Christin Thompson Knowles (09C) married Jonathan Knowles on Dec. 10, 2022, in Adairsville, Ga. Danielle

Rainer (11C) was a bridesmaid; Natalie Huggins Childers (09C), Laura Payne Market (09C) and CC Camboia Cassity (10C) also attended. Christin is billing manager for ROC Physical Therapy; Jonathan works as a signal technician for the Georgia Department of Transportation. The couple lives in Armuchee.

2010s

Briona Arradondo (10C) has been promoted to a news anchor position at WTVT-TV FOX13 in Tampa, Fla., after four-plus years as a general assignment reporter. In addition to her reporting duties, she now anchors the 6 p.m., 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. weekend newscasts.

Lee Sivertsen (09C, 11G) earned the title of certified franchise executive while working as paralegal and licensing manager in Bojangles’ corporate office in Charlotte, N.C.

Dr. Alex Whitaker-Lea (10C) is a neurosurgeon at Harbin Clinic in Rome. A graduate of the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University, the former Berry runner and basketball player completed postdoctoral training in neurosurgery at Virginia Commonwealth University. In her new role, she is excited to again be part of a team, partnering with others to provide the best care possible. “I aim to be relatable because walking into a neurosurgery office can be scary,” Alex shared. “I can’t remove all the fear and nervousness, but I can help people feel heard, understood, and maybe a little more at ease.”

DELIVERING SMILES

Candace Foster Story (09C) and Jimmy Story (10C, FFS) are pleased to announce the March 4, 2023, birth of daughter Quinn Rose, weighing 8 pounds, 13 ounces. She joined big brother Gates at the family home in Powder Springs, Ga. In other news, Jimmy has started a new job as executive director of institutional advancement for Georgia Highlands College, overseeing recruitment, marketing and financial aid. Candace is director of national accounts at Greenfiber.

Megan Jones Nowicki (10C) and husband Matt celebrated the birth of second child Levi Matthew on Jan. 11, 2023. Reported Megan: “Levi’s big sister, Madeleine, can’t wait to teach him everything she knows!”

Chad Rowell (10C) and wife Lauren welcomed son Elias Daniel on Jan. 6, 2023. He weighed 7 pounds, 5 ounces. The family lives in Leonard, Texas.

Emily Boyd Earp (11C) and husband Austen welcomed son Kieran in February 2023. In addition, Emily has started a new position as senior marketing and patient experience manager at Harbin Clinic in Rome. She stated: “It’s been a rewarding three years working in marketing for the organization, and I’m excited to incorporate this new aspect of patient care into my career.”

Dr. Felippe Sartorato (12C) recently traveled more than 7,500 miles from his New Jersey home to Lusaka, Zambia, as part of a team of doctors tasked with operating on 50-plus children over a five-day period. The self-funded medical mission was perfect experience for the first-year plastic surgery fellow at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson, New Jersey, and represented a milestone on his much longer journey in health care training.

Working under the guidance of his mentor and department director, Sartorato and his fellow fellows performed dozens of surgeries to correct congenital craniofacial defects such as cleft lips and palates, serving first as surgical assistants and later in the week as lead surgeons under the director’s oversight. Patients and their families traveled hundreds of miles for the treatment, offered at no cost, drawn by the post-surgical promise of improved nutrition, growth, speech and social development.

The experience represented a full-circle moment for Sartorato, who first took part in a surgical mission while at Berry. Then in Ecuador, he provided basic care such as physical exams and simple wound repairs. This time, after medical school and five years of general surgery residency, he was among those performing life-changing procedures, bringing smiles to parents, children and surgeon alike.

Alice Coughlin Shiflett (12C, FS) earned an M.Ed. in higher education administration from Georgia Southern University in December 2022. She credits husband Clay for greatly supporting her in this dream. Alice is student enrollment services manager at Berry.

Kyley Barton Ramey (13C) and husband Jordan welcomed first child Brooklyn Lee Danielle on Nov. 1, 2022. Kyley is a special education teacher at LaFayette (Ga.) High School. She completed the Georgia Teacher Academy for Preparation and Pedagogy (GaTAPP) in 2022.

JET SETTING

When Susan Wiley Sherman (91C) earned her private pilot’s license at Rome’s Richard B. Russell Airport her last semester at Berry, she couldn’t have imagined the places it would take her.

Today, the crystal blue skies over America’s largest state are her workplace, with the captain’s seat of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 offering a view no corner office can match.

Based out of Anchorage, Sherman regularly flies into places like Nome (finish line of the famed Iditarod dog-sled race), Barrow (northernmost point in the U.S.) and Deadhorse (home to the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field). There’s also the state capital of Juneau –accessible only by air or water – Sitka and Kodiak (pictured).

While she got her first taste of piloting in Rome, Sherman’s career really took off in 1998 with her decision to start a fulltime flight training program in Arizona. Finishing in less than a year, she worked first as a flight instructor and then as a corporate pilot before joining Horizon Air, a small regional airline/sister company to Alaska Air, in 2003.

Fast forward 11 years, and Sherman moved north – WAAAAY north – to Anchorage as a newly promoted captain for Horizon. She changed airlines in 2016, transitioning back to the role of first officer in the process, but last year earned her captain’s wings once again.

“I feel pretty fortunate to get to fly to all the places I do!” she exclaimed, marveling at a career that just keeps soaring.

Kerri Brewer (13C) is working as a speech-language pathologist at an outpatient pediatric clinic in Loganville, Ga., after graduating from Eastern New Mexico University with a Master of Science degree in communicative disorders in December 2022.

Haley Fortune (14C) has started a new job as an education specialist at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C., helping to educate visitors from all over the world about the work of Congress and the history of the legislative branch.

Trevor Sutton (14C) is excited to be strengthening Berry’s presence in his hometown as the leader of Talent Solutions for the Birmingham (Ala.) Business Alliance. He is tasked with creating strategic partnerships connecting business and education and developing strategies to retain and attract talent to Birmingham. His responsibilities include implementation and management of OnBoard Birmingham, a regional talent attraction campaign.

Alyssa Hollingsworth (13C) is living in England and working as an assistant content producer in the technology group for the BBC.

Dr. Mary Cate Miller (14C) married Caity Hamilton on Feb. 3, 2023. The couple lives in Savannah, Ga.

Richalyn Miller (14C) is the new public information officer for the 15th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida.

Andy Watts (14C) and wife Emily gathered with family and friends last July for a longdelayed wedding celebration in Chattanooga, Tenn. The couple was married in March 2020 at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

DeLaney Stewart Campbell (15C, 19G, 22G) graduated from Berry for a third time in December 2022, this time with an education specialist degree in curriculum and instruction.

Dr. Alisa DeGrave (15C) has earned a Ph.D. in cardiovascular science from Georg August University in Göttingen, Germany, and now is serving as a postdoctoral fellow in the Cardiovascular Institute at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. She is pictured wearing a hat decorated by her principal investigator and lab group as part of a special tradition reserved for students at Georg August who have completed their doctorates.

Bo Heard (16C) and Bethany Harris (16C) were married in October 2022 at Lillian Gardens in Newnan, Ga. The wedding party included Benson Phinazee

(13C), Meaghan Hughes-Davis

(16C), Catheryn Kightlinger

(16C) and Lainey Battles

Ree Palmer Easton (16C) married Tony Easton on Oct. 2, 2022. The couple met in graduate school at Indiana University-Bloomington, where they now are employed. Alex Moon (16C), Carroll Autry Clavijo (16C), Phoebe Wilborn (16C) and Megan Boswell Betts (16C) were in the bridal party.

(16C). Bo is a math teacher and football/soccer coach at Sandy Creek High School. Last fall, he was named Region Assistant Coach of the Year by the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association after helping the school win a state football championship. Bethany, who recently completed a master’s degree in public administration at the University of Georgia, is currently working to launch a new art and technology initiative for the Fulton County government. The couple lives in Newnan.

Hannah Crouse Halkias (17C) and Athanasios Halkias (17c) were married in Nashville, Tenn., on Dec. 4, 2022, after meeting in the spring of their freshman year at Berry. Mitchell Norden (17C), Mekayla Mekara Norden (17C), Mollie Bradshaw (17C) and Edien Fernandini (17C) joined them in the wedding party.

Dr. Jacob Harrison (18C) has completed medical school at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine – Auburn. A four-year participant in the Air Force’s Health Professions Scholarship Program, Jacob entered medical school as a second lieutenant and was promoted to captain upon graduation. Next up is five years of residency training in general surgery at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss.

United States. Attending Berry as a Bonner Scholar, she served locally and internationally while pursuing a sociology and anthropology degree, at one point assisting refugees and asylum seekers in Paris, France. She now seeks to contribute to ending violent conflicts, promoting peace worldwide and empowering young people with refugee backgrounds.

Kyle Harris (16C) and wife Rachel Dorris Harris (16C) completed the 127th Boston Marathon in 2 hours, 36.02 seconds and 3:29.04, respectively.

Katie O’Rourke Price (16C) and Trevor Price (17C) welcomed baby girl Callaway Jane on Dec. 30, 2022.

Drew McCollum (17C) and Cate Williams McCollum (19C) were married in St. Augustine, Fla., in June 2022. The officiant was Dr. Casey Dexter (FS), one of Cate’s Berry professors. The wedding party included Bryan Patrick (17C), Trevor Price (17C), Joanna Wall (18C), Samantha Schoppy (19C) and Carmen Angel (20C)

Savanna McKellar McIlwain (18C) and husband Don McIlwain III (18C) welcomed son Don IV in October 2022.

Erin Nye (18C) has completed a Master of Arts degree in teaching and curriculum from Michigan State University. She now teaches high school English in the Myrtle Beach, S.C., area.

Jake Hager (18C) has started a new position as Georgia market foundation director for AdventHealth.

Andy Hall (18G) is the new principal of Cherokee High School in Canton, Ga.

Bertha Nibigira (18C) has completed a master’s degree in international development with a concentration in peacebuilding and youth empowerment from American University’s School of International Service. Her lifelong journey began when she and her family fled the Democratic Republic of Congo for Tanzania and eventually the

Dr. Hannah Youngblood (18C), left, started a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Georgia Institute of Technology after completing a Ph.D. in cellular biology at Augusta University/Medical College of Georgia. She is pictured with Karla Perez Castellanos (18C), who also graduated from AU/ MCG in December 2022 with a master’s degree in nursing. Karla and Hannah met their freshman year in a class taught by Dr. Chris Mingone (FS). The two revived their friendship in graduate school alongside Josie Tanner (18C), who completed AU/MCG’s Master of Physician Assistant program in May 2022.

Berry extends sincere condolences to family and friends of the following alumni and former faculty/staff members. This list includes notices received Sept. 1, 2022, to Feb. 28, 2023.

1930s

Daphine Lummus Rooks (38H, 42C) of The Villages, Fla., Oct. 21, 2022

Horace Brown (39C) of Durham, N.C., Oct. 12, 2022

1940s

Theodora “Theda” Nettles Gandy (43C) of Valdosta, Ga., Feb. 18, 2023

Richard Russell (45H) of Quincy, Fla., March 9, 2022

Evelyn Branch Bond (46C) of Auburn, Ala., Dec. 26, 2022

Evelyn McGehee Etheredge (46c) of Chiefland, Fla., July 7, 2022

Duncan Fields (46H) of Greer, S.C., March 16, 2022

Bennie Shipp (47H) of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Nov. 26, 2022

Novelle Yarbrough Dennis (48c) of Newnan, Ga., Oct. 29, 2022

Ted Fox (48H) of Rome, Feb. 6, 2023

Melba Griffin Sheffield (48C) of Quitman, Ga., Sept. 9, 2022

Paul Smith (48C) of Rome, Dec. 21, 2022

1950s

William McKinnon (50H, 54c) of Melbourne, Fla., Feb. 9, 2023

Joan Kitchens Myers (50H) of Renton, Wash., Sept. 14, 2022

Sheldon Bennett (51C) of Union, S.C., Dec. 8, 2022

Doris Shipp McKeehan Neese Price (51H) of Rossville, Ga., Jan. 21, 2023

Clive Hallman (52C, FFS) of Rockingham, Va., Nov. 28, 2022

Tina Sue Ward Lane (52C) of Northport, Ala., Oct. 29, 2022

Leon Arnold (53H) Jan. 31, 2023

Arnold E. “Jack” Berry (53C) Dudley, Mass., Dec. 4, 2022

Florence “Deen” Lister (53c) Cumming, Ga., Feb. 18, 2023

Patricia Diane Miley Sizemore (54c) of Ray City, Ga., Jan. 10, 2023

Mary Cannon Arnold (56C) of Fairmount, Ga., April 29, 2021

Sue Hegwood Howel (56C) of Rome, Nov. 23, 2022

Larry Eidson (57c) of Johns Creek, Ga., Aug. 7, 2022

Tom Mullis (57C) of Milledgeville, Ga., Aug. 25, 2022

Clo Clark Owens (57C) of Jonesborough, Tenn., Oct. 20, 2022

Ellen May Partridge (57C) of LaGrange, Ga., Aug. 20, 2022

Frank Windham (57c) of Macon, Ga., Dec. 26, 2022

Russ Jackson (58C) of Mount Pleasant, S.C., Sept. 7, 2022

Carol Ann McKinnon Morrison (58C) of Lumpkin, Ga., Jan. 22, 2023

1960s

Nora Smith Weeks (60C) of Randleman, N.C., Feb. 15, 2023

Peggy Stone Hall (61c) of Rock Hill, S.C., Sept. 27, 2022

Al Provost (61C) of Lawrenceville, Ga., Sept. 9, 2022

Jane Vaughn Davis (62C) of Rome, Sept. 19, 2022

Jerome Moyers (62H) of Willoughby, Ohio, May 29, 2022

Johnny “Dean” DeLaigle (63C) of Madison, Ga., Oct. 7, 2022

Virginia Kell Franklin (63C) of Columbia, S.C., Feb. 19, 2023

S.C., July 23, 2022

John “Greyson” Whiteside (66A) of Rome, Oct. 24, 2022

Edgar “Ed” Baughn Jenkins (67c) of Carrollton, Ga., Sept. 24, 2022

Ellen Thomas Richardson (67C) of Monroe, N.C., Nov. 27, 2022

Joyce Pierce Fitzgerald (68c) of Danville, Ala., Oct. 15, 2022

Linda Gaston Hanson (69c) of Rome, Oct. 28, 2022

Barry Wright (69C) of Calhoun, Ga., Feb. 7, 2023

1970s

Norman Skidmore (70C) of Rome, Jan. 10, 2023

Beverly Bridges Thomas (70C) of Snellville, Ga., Feb. 10, 2023

James McFerrin (71A, 75C, 79G) of Woodstock, Ga., May 1, 2022

Terry Ezzell (72C) of Mableton, Ga., May 7, 2022

Sharon Riel (73c) of Cedartown, Ga., Sept. 13, 2022

Edna “Paulette” Burkhalter (74C, 80G) of Canton, Ga., Jan. 29, 2023

Joan Selman Jarrett (74C, 77G) of Summerville, Ga., Feb. 22, 2023

Martha Carswell Biedenkapp (75C) of Fernandina Beach, Fla., Jan. 2, 2023

Alan Reeves (76C) of Cave Spring, Ga., Oct. 3, 2022

Sue Pilkington Brown (77C) of Newnan, Ga., Feb. 18, 2023

Lawrenceville, Ga., Dec. 15, 2022

Jean Waters Rhoades (78C) of Rome, Jan. 7, 2023

1980s

Kevin McClain (82G) of Bridge City, Texas, Sept. 1, 2022

Bettie Daniel (84C, 87G) of Rome, Feb. 23, 2023

1990s

Tom Dentmon (90C) of Rome, Oct. 11, 2022

2000s

Andrew Spencer (02c) of Andover, Kan., Nov. 16, 2022

Jon Conner (03C) of Rome, Sept. 13, 2022

2010s

Will Blackwell (10C) of Decatur, Ga., Jan. 8, 2023

Former Faculty and Staff

Laura Rice Anderson of Cedartown, Ga., Jan. 31, 2023

Aaron Jermundson of Canton, Ga., Nov. 29, 2022

Mabel “May” Parish O’Neal of San Antonio, Texas, Dec. 28, 2022

James Pruitt of Fernandina Beach, Fla., Feb. 8, 2022

George William Thurmond of Cartersville, Ga., Aug. 4, 2022

Remembering Pat Pattillo

A 30-year member of Berry’s Board of Trustees (1970-2000) and five-year chair whose legacy at the college remains powerful died Feb. 18, 2023, at age 96.

H.G. “Pat” Pattillo was a strong, generous and kind “mover and shaker” who never forgot his roots growing up on a tenant farm even as he built – with his father and brother – one of the most successful construction companies in Georgia. His beloved wife, Betty, was his steadfast partner, his rock.

Invited to sit on the boards of numerous civic clubs, Georgia companies, colleges and universities, as well as serving as chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta and cofounding Leadership Georgia, Pattillo always strove to help others.

In Memoriam

After retirement, he dedicated himself to developing Hacienda Pinilla, a beach resort community on 4,500 acres of Pacific Coast property in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica. In addition to providing jobs, he founded a nonprofit organization to strengthen education, health care and housing in the region.

Pattillo’s efforts led to Berry’s involvement in the area, seeding a partnership with Guanacaste and its people that has endured for many years. Costa Rican students have come to Berry through the Pattillo Scholarship Program, and numerous Berry students have traveled to Guanacaste for a summer immersion experience.

“I will never forget,” President Steve Briggs was quoted in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “sitting at a campfire on a beach on the coast of Guanacaste listening to Mr. Pattillo describe to Berry students how he hoped their experience in the local villages and schools would inspire them to be ambitious in service to others.”

Costa Rica native Alessandra RodriguezPeters Elliott (95C) personally was inspired by Pattillo, a man she describes as “an incredible human being.” The bonds connecting her family and his run deep, tracing back to before she was born. When it came time for college, Pattillo gave her a scholarship to attend Berry, even inviting her to stay with his family during school breaks.

“Among other things, I admire and try to emulate Mr. Pattillo’s kindness, generosity and humility,” Elliott wrote for his memory book. “That was the biggest lesson he taught me. Never forget where you came from, but try to help others if you are able to. I’ve had an absolutely blessed life. He gave me an opportunity I would have not had otherwise, and I’ve made it my mission to pay it forward, any way I can.”

Berry has lost a friend, supporter and servant in Vernon Davis Grizzard Sr., who died June 16, 2022, at 94. Described as an “optimistic entrepreneur,” the former U.S. Marine and longtime leader in Rome’s business community was a member of the Berry Board of Visitors from 1974 to 1977. He also supported the college generously through gifts to the Gloria Shatto Lecture Series and Steven J. Cage Athletic and Recreation Center, as well as the establishment of a family scholarship. Survivors include wife Gaynelle Parrish Grizzard, a former Berry trustee, and daughter Bonnie Lou Grizzard, who followed in her father’s footsteps by serving on the Board of Visitors.

Cassi were married on Dec. 17, 2022. The couple lives in

2020s

Brett Cain (19C) and Danielle Bowling Cain (19C) celebrated the new year with their marriage at Frost Chapel. They now live in Decatur, Ga.

Meghan Kelly Heilmann (20C) and Christopher Heilmann were married on Nov. 12, 2022, in Roswell, Ga., with Meghan’s two Berry roommates serving as bridesmaids. Now living in Fort Worth, Texas, the couple dated for eight years starting in high school and continuing through college, with Meghan at Berry and Christopher at Auburn. They attended every Berry Casino Night together, at one point getting “married” in the “Vegas” chapel.

Bryce Koon (19C) is building on sports communication skills honed at Berry as a digital content creator covering Louisiana State University athletics under the CBS/Paramount umbrella. Previously, he covered Georgia Tech on a freelance basis. A former voice of Berry athletics (with more than 120 Viking events to his credit!), Bryce has broadcast a wide variety of sporting events for the ACC Network and ESPN+, in addition to his work as a radio voice for Mercer University football. “The best thing to happen to me was to have the hands-on experience at Berry,” he remarked, lauding mentors Blake Childers (15C, FFS) and Dr. Brian Carroll (FS).

Ben Marx (20C) has earned a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and moved to Chattanooga to start his career.

Coleman Ott (20C), a U.S. Army sergeant, recently celebrated two years in the Arctic with wife Sierra by fishing, hunting and surviving the sub-zero weather under the Northern Lights. Married on Dec. 21, 2021, the couple lives in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Bethany Hancock Pence (20C) and Brice Pence (19C) announce the Jan. 26, 2023, birth of first child Franklin “Brooks,” weighing 7 pounds, 10 ounces and measuring 19.5 inches. The family lives in Rome, where Bethany is a teacher and Brice a firefighter.

Amberlee Williams Prescott (20C) and Ben Prescott (22C) were married in Eatonton, Ga., on Dec. 17, 2022. They met at Oak Hill & The Martha Berry Museum while students and are happy to be starting this new chapter of their lives together. The couple lives in Harlem, Ga.

Nick Fernandez (21C) has been the subject of stories published by Shoutout Atlanta and Voyage ATL highlighting his success as founder of Upsway Marketing LLC. Tracing the roots of his business to the COVID summer of 2020, he credits experiences at Berry with fueling his success. In addition to his work with Upsway –recently recognized as one of Atlanta’s top digital marketing agencies by DesignRush – Nick also is a full-time marketing manager for AdMedia, all while finalizing an MBA through American University.

SCIENTIFIC CONNECTION

Dr. James Hairston (68C) and Dr. Eve Funderburk Brantley (93C) graduated 25 years apart – his degree in chemistry, hers in biology – but a mutual appreciation for Berry and a shared passion for the environment brought them together as coworkers and friends at Auburn University.

They first met in the late 1990s when Brantley came to Alabama as watershed project coordinator for the Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.

Lauren Hanna Olsen (21C) is making a name for herself as a graduate student at Jacksonville (Ala.) State University working toward a master’s degree in applied behavioral analysis. Bragged Assistant Professor of Psychology Thom Ratkos (FS): “When a journal editor reached out to me recently about an article review, he added a note telling me that Lauren was one of their graduate program’s best students! Berry graduates keep winning!” Editor’s note: We couldn’t agree more!

Dent (21C), Adam Francia (21C), Michael Crowe (21C) and John Catton (20C) also were in attendance.

Caroline Landers Runkle (21C) graduated from Louisiana State University with an MBA in July 2022. Not long after, on Sept. 18, she married Matt Runkle. Kimberly Resendiz Chavez (19C) and Isabelle Rousseau (22C) were bridesmaids, while Maggie

By then, Hairston was already a faculty member at Auburn, the latest step in an eventful post-Berry journey that included service as a combat paratrooper during the Vietnam War. In the years that followed, they grew to become research collaborators and ultimately colleagues.

Today, Brantley is full professor and Extension specialist for water resources in Auburn’s Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Department, the same title

Ethan Barker (22C) will be teaching English in Colombia the next two years as a member of the Peace Corps. Sharing his good news with Berry mentor Dr. Julia Barnes (FS), the Spanish major with minors in English and teaching English as a foreign language praised: “It was your Spanish in Context class I took in my first semester at Berry that convinced me to study Spanish, and it was also through that same class that I first got involved with Berry’s ESL program. I don’t know where I would be right now had I not discovered my passion for Spanish and for teaching.”

Georgia Harm Reduction Coalition. In that role, she supports efforts by the community-led nonprofit to promote health and dignity by reducing the impact of HIV/ AIDS, STDs and substance use within vulnerable communities. Sydney credits public health policy research inspired by her One Health and Philosophy of Law courses at Berry with shaping her current direction. “I could not be more excited to begin my professional journey here,” she exclaimed.

“I’ve always dreamed of doing nonprofit work and helping to save lives, right here in Georgia.”

Sydney McKee (22C) has accepted a development position with the Atlanta-based

Blake Baxter (23C), pictured from left, Dr. Anna Katharine Sanders Scott (99C), Dr. Robert Bice (06C, FS), Chuck Bryant (97G, FFS) and Kristi Woodring Sutton (05G) celebrated their Berry roots at the National Science Teaching Association spring conference in Atlanta. All are working educators: Blake at Woodland High School in Bartow County, Ga., beginning this fall; Anna at Athens (Ga.) Academy; Chuck and Kristi at Model High School in Rome; and Robert at Berry.

Hairston retired in 2009, though he continues to maintain an office on campus.

Hairston once held. She also directs the Auburn University Water Resources Center, which he was instrumental in establishing.

“It’s been a blessing for me to work with Jim at Auburn,” praised Brantley. “The Berry connection makes it even more special. We’ve had several graduate students from Berry come through this department; the latest is current Ph.D. student Savanna Wooten (17C). She’s continuing the tradition of being a great representative of BC.”

A.R. Reddy (20C) is a licensed associate professional counselor working as a therapist for the Forsyth County, Ga., school system.

IT’S ABOUT THE STUDENTS

Amazing talent, awesome dreams

By Catherine Hamrick

Artist and future music producer Trejohn Skinner (23C) savors the moment when he knows he has reached his audience.

“I feel like it’s a connection, especially at the end of a piece that’s sentimental or very touching,” the accomplished tenor explained. “The pause when the audience doesn’t applaud right away, I love when that happens.”

Such moments were unmistakable during Skinner’s senior recital in April, as hushed appreciation gave way to rousing applause. Two selections – H.T. Burleigh’s arrangement of the spiritual Steal Away and Charlie Smalls’ Home from The Wiz – were particularly resonant, evoking the emotions of transition just before graduation.

“With Steal Away, the lyrics speak to me, especially at the end with ‘I ain’t got long to stay here,’” he related. “Every time I sing it, I feel this

InToneNation, a national championship a capella group from New Manchester High School in Douglasville, Georgia.

“I quickly found out his name and encouraged him to apply,” Neal recalled. “Also, I went to the Georgia All-State Choir performances in Athens and spoke with Trejohn after his audition to let him know how much we wanted him at Berry. He was one of our top recruits that year.”

That personal touch made all the difference for Skinner, who chose Berry over Berklee College of Music, Louisiana State University and the University of Tampa.

He initially envisioned a career in music education, but the opportunity to use Logic Pro X

up trash and having ponchos on hand for artists’ crews in case of rain.

Whatever the task, Skinner applied the work ethic instilled by his mom and reinforced at Berry. His dedication paid off in the form of a full-time gig with LiveNation post-graduation that will enable him to work at venues around the country.

While excited by the prospect of experiencing such musical hotbeds as Nashville, Austin and L.A., Skinner dreams of one day returning to Douglasville to develop his first studio. He envisions creating a welcoming environment for artists of all types with space to perform that currently does not exist in his hometown on the edge of the Atlanta suburbs.

“Douglasville has a lot of different artists trying to create music, but they don’t have anywhere to go,” he stated. “I’m thinking about opening a studio not just for the business, but for bringing community within the studio.”

Though visionary, Skinner is plugged into reality. As a studio owner, he’ll apply technical, artistic and business skills as he pivots to roles like audio engineer, producer, marketer and advisor.

emotion of wow, I’m really leaving college, and I’m going to be in the real world now. It’s like a farewell to everybody and the previous chapter of my life.

“Home makes you feel like you’re going home to something,” Skinner added. “And that really feels good.”

For the last four years, Berry has been home, offering a supportive and encouraging environment in which to develop his talents while revealing new ways in which his artistry can be shaped into a career.

Skinner was recruited to Berry by Dr. Paul Neal, director of choral activities, who knew he had struck gold when he saw him perform with

professional audio production software jumpstarted his ambition to one day own a studio and motivated a change in major to music with elective studies in business.

“In the production side of music, there will be times when I will have to be an accountant or do my own finances,” Skinner noted.

Seeking a toehold in the industry, he secured an internship with LiveNation as a venue operations assistant for Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park in Atlanta. There he worked in collaboration with a small team responsible for everything from preparing the gates and setting up backstage rooms for performers to picking

Neal anticipates a bright future for his former student, pointing to Skinner’s tenacity and the gift he possesses for inspiring others to do their best.

“This semester, he has served as the director of our a cappella group, Berry Voices. I have never fully given the group over to a student, but Trejohn is a special case,” the Berry faculty member praised. “He has done wonders, and they sound amazing.

“Even more so than music, his interest in and knowledge of branding, marketing and organization of such a group have been invaluable,” Neal added. “This has really helped shape him into a remarkable young man who is ready to take on the music business world. With his talent and skill, the skies are the limit!”

Star performer has ambitious business plans

Photos by Brant Sanderlin

“I’m thinking about opening a studio not just for the business, but for bringing community within the studio.”

— Trejohn Skinner

Trejohn Skinner performs with accompanying pianist Jennifer Williams.

Berry College, Inc.

P.O. Box 495018

Mount Berry, GA 30149-5018

Worth celebrating!

At press time, the Berry Vikings softball team was bound for its second straight NCAA Division III World Series after claiming conference, regional and super-regional crowns. Visit www.berryvikings.com for more on their incredible season.

Photo by Matthew McConnell (21C)