ALUMNI Giving Back: Scenes from Campus and the 2023–24 School Year

One of the special aspects of our Country Day community is when our graduates come back as parents at the school. We are fortunate that many Country Day alumni are making a significant impact on our campus experience today through their service and leadership. We could easily fill the following pages with numerous volunteer spotlights. Below we highlight a few!

Kristin Sturges Hair ’95, Parents’ Association President

Growing up, Kristin Sturges Hair ’95 vividly remembers her mother Claudia Sturges serving Charlotte Country Day School as a volunteer. Claudia volunteered in a variety of capacities including as Big Saturday chair during the 1986–87 school year and as president of the Parents’ Association in 1991–92.

Witnessing her mother’s commitment to school service inspired Kristin to also give back to Country Day. As a young alumna, Kristin became involved with her reunions, alumni phonathons, and our Young Alumni Selwyn Society.

Most recently, Kristin has served in a variety of leadership roles that include serving as chair of the Middle School Country Day Fund, Lower School Parents’ Association Board, and co-chairing the April 2022 All-School Celebration and Auction.

This year, we are fortunate to have Kristin’s strong and steady leadership as president of the Parents’ Association— 33 years after her mother served in that very role.

Kristin and her husband Sean are the parents of Wesley and Everett ’26 and Ivey ’30.

Sammy Hood ’96, Trustee

At Country Day, Alumni Relations falls under the umbrella of all-school Advancement. Sammy Hood ’96 currently serves not only as a member of the school’s Board of Trustees but also as chair of the Advancement Committee of the Board.

As we continue to strengthen our alumni programming, Sammy has been an instrumental partner in our Bucs Together Days of Giving and overall alumni efforts.

Sammy and his wife Jane were also the inaugural chairs of our Fall in for Country Day Fund efforts. They championed a condensed Annual Fund drive for our parents and set this new approach up for success.

Sammy got his start volunteering for Country Day as a young alum in 2010 through our Young Alumni Selwyn Society efforts.

Sammy and Jane are the parents to William ’28, Katherine ’30, and Eleanor ’32.

Amanda Harry Stauffer ’94, All-School Celebration and Auction Co-Chair

Every two years, the Parents’ Association All-School Celebration and Auction is an opportunity for our parents, faculty, and staff to come together for a fun-filled evening of delicious food and drinks, dancing, and bidding in support of our school. This year, Amanda Harry Stauffer ’94, alongside her co-chair Megan Klein, pulled off a magical night in our new Harris Performance Gym. Amanda and Megan tirelessly planned for over 18 months and ultimately 700 attendees raised over $200,000 for the school.

However, the success of the event was no surprise! Amanda is no stranger to hard work having chaired Big Saturday during the pandemic with several starts and stops (and serving as chair for three years until we could safely host!)—Amanda and her co-chair Erin Cook planned and executed a great event in April of 2022.

Amanda and her husband Chuck have also served on the Country Day Fund Parent Cabinet, chairing the Middle School Division in 2023–24.

They are the parents to Charlie ’27, Anna Keels ’28, and Witt ’31.

Jeff Pilon ’92 Lacrosse Coach

Each year in athletics, program heads work hard to outfit the best coaching staff they can at each level of the program. In many cases, we rely on off-campus coaches to bring their energy and knowledge of the game to our programs. In a few cases, coaches are lucky to bring on an alum who spent their days at Country Day on the same field or court. For Coach Brad Touma and his lacrosse program, hitting the jackpot is an understatement. Jeff Pilon ’92 came back to the program in 2011 to volunteer on the Varsity Lacrosse staff. For 13 years, Jeff has been a staple in our coaching community and as a parent of children at Country Day.

“One of the highlights of my career at Country Day is the opportunity that I have been afforded to not only work with tremendous families, but because of my longevity, to now have the opportunity to teach and coach my former athlete’s children,” says Coach Touma. “It is so gratifying to coach alongside Jeff Pilon for the past 13 years, and to now be able to share this experience with his son Jack, who is a junior on the team. Sharing the sideline with Jeff, who lived our mission of Family, Faith, Academics in the early 90s, makes such a meaningful connection for our student-athletes.”