The Many Faces of Giving

TIME | TALENTS | TREASURES

Our school would not be the vibrant culture we enjoy if not for those who give so that our girls—and the adults who support them—can thrive. From volunteers who spend hours on campus in myriad roles to those who support our school with generous monetary gifts and even provide summer jobs so students can learn invaluable life skills, giving looks different for everyone. While support for GPS is innumerable, we share here four stories of folks who love GPS well with their giving. We are grateful to those who partner with us so we can provide the exceptional GPS experience to girls—present and future.

Tammy Combs ATTORNEY AND MOCK TRIAL COACH

Tammy Combs grew up in a family of girls—in fact, three generations of females—so choosing Girls Preparatory School for her daughters, Olivia ’19 and Julia ’22, and twin nieces Anna ’21 and Emma ’21, was an easy decision. She also knew from her experiences in historically male-dominated professions—first as a CPA and then an attorney—that she wanted them to be confident and discover their places without relation to their gender.

“I wanted them to find themselves without thinking, ‘I don’t know if I can do this because I’m not a man,’” Combs says. “I wanted them to be challenged academically and personally in a school that would encourage that inner person. Otherwise I knew they’d get bored, which could lead to trouble and a less than happy and fulfilled life.”

What hasn’t been as easy for Combs is seeing her girls’ time as students at GPS reach an end. In four short years, she will have attended three GPS commencement ceremonies for her four girls. But those bittersweet milestones have been peppered with lots of memories for not only the girls—who all attended from sixth through 12th grades—but for herself as well.

“My high school experience was very different,” she says. “We were into makeup and hair and trying to make an impression.” Combs liked that her four girls weren’t distracted by boys in the classroom. “GPS helped make them all independent—motivated them to find what mattered, to find something that interested them, to try everything and see where it would take them.”

Eight years ago, along with Judge Brian House, Combs started the school’s Mock Trial team, building on their first year with just enough students to field a team to last year’s two of five teams claiming the state championship title and the third-place finish, with more than 30 GPS girls participating.

Coaching Mock Trial remains a passion project for Combs. As an Assistant United States Attorney, her spare time is limited but she remains committed, along with Judge House, to the teams and plans to continue even after Julia graduates this spring. “It’s incredible to see the girls grow from being unsure of themselves to how they perform at the end of the season,” she says. Combs believes the skills the girls learn during Mock Trial are invaluable. “Not only do you have to think on your feet in a high-pressure situation where your words are being scrutinized,” she says, “but you also have to listen and prepare a thoughtful, intentional response. These are great skills for many settings, including job and college interviews, where they’ll need to talk about themselves but also respond to questions.”

According to Combs, students who join Mock Trial are blown away by what they accomplish. “They learn their style and what works for them,” Combs says. And while some might have their sights set on a career in law, “I think they want to do something that challenges them— to stand in front of people and present their ideas and to come together as a team. It’s a lot of work but a lot of fun.”

While all four of her girls were at home, Combs worked as a part-time AUSA, giving her time to also volunteer with Terpsichord by assisting with costumes and refreshments and providing extra support for the dancers, and with GPS theater productions, building and painting sets; assisting actors with hair, makeup, and costumes during production; and providing food for the actors. “I’ve loved every second,” she says.

Combs (center) with daughters Olivia ’19 (top right), Julia ’22 (bottom left), and twin nieces Anna ’21 (top left) and Emma ’21.

Chandler Key ’13

ALUMNAE AND ENGINEER

Chandler (left) with her aunt, Glynn D. Key ’82, and her twin sister, Calyn ’21. The Key family’s ties to GPS and McCallie run deep, but Chandler Key ’13 wasn’t convinced she wanted to stay the path. “I thought I wanted to go to Baylor,” she says. But she and twin sister Calyn followed in the Big Blue footsteps of her father, Charles Key Jr., who graduated from McCallie in 1980, and her late aunt Glynn Key ’82. “I really enjoyed my time at GPS.”

Chandler Key attended GPS summer camps and later worked as a volunteer counselor, but she blazed her own trail as a Bruiser athlete, playing soccer and basketball and running track. “Athletics meant a lot to me,” she says. “Sports are important for building teamwork and help you learn to be coachable. Constructive criticism sets you up to work well with others and realize you’re there for one goal. You learn to be somebody others can count on.”

While in college at Tennessee Tech, she tapped into her athletic ability as a way to meet people and keep her stress at bay. She played nearly every intramural sport she could—flag football, volleyball, kickball. “If I could play it, I’d try it,” she says. “I played to make friends and stay active and in shape. Sports definitely help me feel better.”

Key graduated from Tennessee Tech with a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering, spending multiple semesters on the dean’s list and receiving several awards—the Community Service Excellence Award and the Coretta Scott King Award. She served as a mentor for four years in a scholar’s program for minority freshmen to help their transition from high school to college and now works at Honda Manufacturing of Alabama in Lincoln as the Cylinder Head Quality Lead.

Key says her favorite class at GPS was physics with Mr. Bryant Haynes, who she also had for chemistry. “I really liked the hands-on labs we did. He’s great at explaining things and making it easier.” But her love of engineering was sparked in middle school, and she attended an engineering camp at University of Tennessee Chattanooga. “I was always interested in how things work and go together,” Key says. “So when I started college, that’s what I homed in on. I like the fast pace of manufacturing and like to be on the floor working with people and determining how to make their jobs better versus sitting at a desk. I’m constantly trying to make my team’s jobs more efficient from a quality standpoint.”

Key says she enjoys her job and life in Alabama but does consider an eventual return to Chattanooga, to possibly work with the family business. Her mom, Cheryl Key, is an owner of the John P. Franklin Funeral Home, named after her grandfather. Chandler’s great-grandfather, George W. Franklin, started Franklin Funeral Home in 1894, becoming the city’s first Black funeral director and embalmer. “My family members are big legacies in Chattanooga, and I feel a responsibility to maintain that,” she says. “There are high expectations for me, because of what my family has done, but I’m definitely up to the challenge.”

In the meantime, she stays connected to GPS through her giving. She continues to support the Glynn D. Key Memorial Scholarship Fund, gives to the annual Impact Fund, and has recently contributed to the GPS Black Alumnae Council Endowed Scholarship that provides tuition assistance to a current or incoming Black GPS student(s).

“My class had the most Black girls at GPS at the time, and I continue to stay in touch with a few of them,” Key says. “My Black classmates were a really important part of my GPS experience, and I want to do what I can to make that available to other girls.”

Few people can claim to have spent more time on the GPS and McCallie campuses than Mary Cherry. She and her late husband, Bill, lived at McCallie for 37 years while he worked as the Athletic Director from 1973 to 2008 and then while he remained at the school as a math teacher. Together they raised two daughters, McLean and Rachel, along with countless McCallie boys and GPS girls who called their home down the hill their own.

The Cherry girls would go on to graduate from GPS, McLean in ’87 and Rachel in ’92; granddaughter Liza Rogers ’21, Rachel’s daughter, is a GPS senior this year. McLean’s son, Bridger Bayens, has declared himself a McCallie boy after attending McCallie summer camp for several years, even though he lives in Aspen, Colorado.

When the Cherry’s 27-year home at McCallie was torn down to make room for a campus expansion, they moved to a second home on campus for another 10 years and then to a home over the Ridge where she still lives today. Liza has had slumber parties at her home as well as some teen gatherings. “Liza is more independent of me now, but she and her friends still show up sometimes,” Cherry says.

In that first home, Mary and Bill opened up their livingroom to the GPS | McCallie YoungLife group in the 1980s with assistance from GPS Bible teacher Jane Henegar. Each week the Cherry family would clear out furniture to make room for the students until the group swelled to more than 100 kids. “What a blessing that was to our family and to the teenagers,” Cherry says.

Cherry’s own career started off with an unpaid gig at The Bright School as a parent volunteer. She then went on to work as the school’s assistant librarian for 31 years before retiring. During that time she would also become McCallie’s coed cheerleading coach for six years, the first of which happened to coincide with Rachel’s senior year, much to her dismay. “I had no idea what I was doing,” Cherry says. “But I taught them stunts and nobody died. Sweet memories and dear friendships were made, so it was all good!” These last few years she has been found working the concession stand at McCallie football and basketball games.

Cherry says her girls’ GPS experience gave her a lifelong love for the school. McLean made such good friends that when she married at Snowmass (Colorado) 24 years after she graduated, all five of her bridesmaids were former GPS classmates. This school year, Cherry is enjoying granddaughter Liza’s final year, and she volunteered at the fall GPS Impact Fund Phone-A-Thon. “I’m not sure it’s my gift, but I called only people I knew so they’d feel obligated to give,” she says with a laugh. Cherry has also worked the used uniform sales, starting before The Golden Buckle had a permanent space in the Davenport middle school building.

Volunteering at GPS has given Cherry a chance to see her granddaughter and to get to know the teachers. She also enjoys receiving hugs from former Bright students who remember her as their librarian.

“With both parents typically working, it’s hard for them to find time to volunteer. The grandparents are the ones with the time to help out,” she says. Cherry still plans to be a part of the GPS community, even after Liza graduates this May, and she hopes other grandparents will find ways to serve alongside her.

“I love this school,” she says of GPS. “It’s been wonderful for my girls and my granddaughter. I want to be here and be involved and feel useful. I’d rather be busy than to just sit and sip tea. Let me serve the tea!”

Mary Cherry PAST PARENT, GRANDPARENT, AND VOLUNTEER

“I love this school,” she says of GPS. “It’s been wonderful for my girls and my granddaughter. I want to be here and be involved and feel useful.”

The Rhodes Family

OWNERS OF LAKE WINNEPESAUKAH

Adrienne ’50 (bottom) with her daughters, Tennyson ’76 (left) and Talley ’82 (right).

“GPS provides not only a positive environment for learning, but also strong role models in faculty who challenge the girls and prepare them for life.”

Adrienne White Rhodes ’50, granddaughter of Lake Winnepesaukah park founder Carl Dixon, started her career at Lake Winnepesaukah, Chattanooga, Tennessee’s original family-focused amusement park, as an errand girl, sharpener of pencils, and deliverer of change. Over the years she held many positions, including driver and telephone operator, and eventually managed advertising, promotions, and office finances. Today President of Lake Winepesaukah’s multiple businesses, Rhodes continues the legacy of her grandfather and founder of the company with the support of her two daughters, Tennyson Rhodes Dickinson ’76 and Talley Rhodes Green ’82.

“I worked at the park through high school and college and then joined the business full time, as expected, later becoming a third generation of female business owners,” Rhodes explains. “Tennyson and Talley also grew up working at the park in the summers, and while they both pursued other careers after college, they were drawn back to add their respective business backgrounds to grow the business.”

Dickinson was President of Harrison Catalog Company, a publisher of direct mail catalogs for Coca-Cola, Campbell’s Soup, and other companies before returning to the family business. Today she serves as Treasurer of Lake Winnepesaukah, describing her chief role as “putting smiles on customers’ faces.” During her tenure with the park, she has seen a multitude of successes, admitting one of her proudest accomplishments was leading the expansion plans for Soak Ya, a 6.5-acre waterpark addition that has been acclaimed by the World Waterpark Association. “It was certainly a series of hurdles for which there is neither a textbook nor training,” she says.

As Secretary of Lake Winnepesaukah, Green’s responsibilities include advertising, publicity, entertainment, promotions, and special events. Before joining the family team at the park, Green worked at the Creative Discovery Museum, The Hunter Museum of American Art, and Tennessee River Gorge Trust in Chattanooga. She was even the youngest-ever proofreader at a local law firm. “GPS instilled in me a lifelong love of learning and a solid command of the English language,” she says.

The Rhodes women credit GPS with forming competent and confident women, hallmark qualities for solid leadership. “GPS provides not only a positive environment for learning, but also strong role models in faculty who challenge the girls and prepare them for life,” Dickinson says. “I am fortunate that GPS shaped me into who I am and has also shaped my daughters into women of integrity and purpose.” Individually they support GPS through their giving to the annual fund and special projects.

Together, Rhodes, Dickinson, and Green remain committed to the family values the park was founded on, as well as its long history of women in leadership positions. Similarly, the park and its leaders have provided a starting point for many young employees. Rhodes created an annual scholarship program in 2012 awarded to an employee who demonstrates outstanding dedication and service to the park. Green explains, “Lake Winnie’s scholarship program promotes the value of education along with work ethic.”

A part of the community since 1925, Lake Winnepesaukah is nearing its centennial, and the Rhodes family desires to continue to provide a family-focused, fun experience filled with sentimental charm. “Our goal remains to continue to provide safe, wholesome family fun for our guests,” Rhodes says. “It is our pleasure to see happy folks of all ages enjoying the park.”

“When you are involved in a family business, it reflects your life,” Dickinson adds. “I am proud to be in a business that can bring the precious commodity of joy to children. At a time when, Wordsworth’s words ‘the world is too much with us’ seem more true than ever, it is gratifying to see that our job of providing fun to children and families offers a reprieve from life that rejuvenates and puts countless smiles on faces.”

Save the Dates!

Online Auction March 4-13, 2022 and

Saturday, March 12, 2022