David Riggins Retires after three decades as coach and a.d.
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The Magazine of Mars Hill University | Spring 2019
MAGAZINE STAFF: Editor: Teresa Buckner, Director of Publications Associate Editor: Mike Thornhill ’88, Director of Communications Additional Contributors: Rick Baker, Interim Athletic Director; Ryan Bell, Bailey Mountain Project Liaison and Director of First Year Academic Success; Greg Clemons, Ph.D., Professor of Spanish; James Knight, Director of the MHU Career Center; Adam Williams, Interim Sports Information Director.
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President’s Leadership Team:
Tony Floyd, J.D., President
John Omachonu, Ph.D., Provost
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Rick Baker, Interim Director of Athletics
Grainger Caudle, Ph.D., Senior Director of Planning and Strategy
Bud Christman, Vice President for Advancement
Samantha Fender, Senior Director of Marketing and Communications
IN THIS ISSUE
Joy Kish, Ed.D. ’82, Senior Director of University Services
Letter from the President
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MHU Celebrates MLK Day
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Rev. Stephanie McLeskey, University Chaplain
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Neil Tilley, Vice President for Finance
End of an Era David Riggins Retires as Coach and A.D. Stanford Arena Floor Renamed
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Mars Hill, The Magazine of Mars Hill University is published regularly by the Office of Marketing and Communications. It is distributed, without charge, to alumni, donors, and friends of the university. Notices of changes of address and class notes should be addressed to the Alumni Office, Mars Hill University, P.O. Box 6792, Mars Hill, N.C., 28754. Phone 828/689-1102. E-mail alumni@mhu.edu. Letters to the editor and all other correspondence regarding the magazine should be addressed to the Office of Marketing and Communications, Mars Hill University, P.O. Box 6765, Mars Hill, N.C., 28754. Phone 828/689-1304. E-mail tbuckner@mhu.edu. Postmaster: Send address changes to the Alumni Office, Mars Hill University, P.O. Box 6792, Mars Hill, N.C., 28754.
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Trustee David Costner Receives Baptist Heritage Award
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Au Revoir Mon Ami A Remembrance of Dr. Richard Knapp
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The Making of a Leader Student Profile - Gabriella Siegfried ’19
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Life Coming Into Focus Student Profile - Brittany Leckrone ’19
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Point of Inspiration Smith Farm Purchase Ensures Access to Bailey
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Scaling New Heights
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Lions Athletics
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Around Campus
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Faculty Focus
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Class Notes
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Copyright 2019. All rights reserved.
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Scenes from the Inauguration of Tony Floyd Three Inducted into the Hall of Fame Update on the Ammons Athletic Center
Mars Hill, the Magazine | Spring 2019 3
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
It is spring break on The Hill as I write this, and as we approach Easter and my first spring graduation, I wanted to begin this letter with a word of thanks. The Mars Hill University community has risen to the occasion. The community has welcomed a new president and his family and a new provost to lead the university. Dr. John Omachonu and I appreciate the outpouring of goodwill and support as we go through our first year together. We both feel incredibly blessed to have been invited to come here. Your enthusiasm for this special place stands out in my mind. Your enthusiasm has become contagious and is spreading! Last week, we completed a record-breaking Day of Giving as the university raised $100,329 in one day. In one day! That eclipsed the prior record by over $80,000. Your social media posts and the posts of our students were heartwarming as many expressed their love for MHU and their love for their professors, each other, and this place. Thank you! We asked the community to break records and that is exactly what happened. We are absolutely determined to continue to break records here. We want to do more than set fundraising records here. We want to set records for internships; we want to set records for being involved in the local community; we want to set records for graduation rates; and we want to set records for transforming the lives of our students. To do this we need your continuing help. It is about more than money. It is the Mars Hill Lion spirit. Come back to campus; go to an alumni event in your area; post on social media your love and support for this beloved place; and help us to recruit students. We need you now more than ever. Our inaugural theme was Scaling New Heights. That is exactly what this campus is determined to do. We are going to work to lift up our students with a vigor and effort the likes of which have never been seen here before. We are going to do everything within our power to help them graduate, succeed in the world, and to find a place to do their life’s work to make western North Carolina and the world a better place. Our energy and determination is renewed in a world that sorely needs Mars Hill Lions. Our Board of Trustees will be meeting in late April to plan the future of MHU. It will be a future that embraces the new generation of Lions coming our way, a future that invests in our people and their development, a future that invests in our campus, and a future that embraces the power of technology as we enter a modern era in learning, living, and serving. Thank you, again; our future is bright and exciting!
by Mike Thornhill Director of Communications
Mars Hill University scheduled a full day of events to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, January 21, 2019. Classes were canceled for students, with a series of educational and service activities happening on- and off-campus.
MHU students, faculty, and staff participate in the MLK March for Peace.
The day’s events, coordinated by the university’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, included: Peace March: Students gathered to make posters to display at Asheville’s MLK peace march and rally, then traveled to the march. Alaysia Black-Hackett, director of MHU’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, was the emcee for the event. “At the River I Stand: King’s Final Days,” a documentary screening and discussion led by Sociology Professor Brett Johnson.
Prof. Jonathan McCoy leads the “Helms vs. Gantt” program
“Helms vs. Gantt - The 1990 N.C. Senate Election; Voter Suppression Then & Now,” a presentation and discussion led by History Professor Jonathan McCoy. “Beyond Vietnam” a presentation and discussion about Dr. King’s revolutionary and prescient views of poverty, militarism, and racism, led by Political Science Professor Heather Hawn. Community Service Project: led by MHU’s Center for Community Engagement at Mars Hill Methodist preschool.
Dr. Heather Hawn leads “Beyond Vietnam.”
MLK Peace Candlelight Vigil: held on the Upper Quad (Lunsford Commons).
Go Lions! Tony Floyd, J.D. President
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MHU Celebrates MLK Holiday with Full Day of Events
In addition to events on Monday, January 21, the university’s Gospel Choir was the guest musical group at the 2019 MLK Prayer Breakfast in Asheville on Saturday, January 19. Candlelight Vigil on the Upper Quad
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End of an Era
David Riggins Retires as Head of the Lion Pride by Rick Baker Interim Athletic Director
Athletic Director David Riggins retired on December 18, 2018. He served Mars Hill for 32 years. Riggins stated, “When Rita and I arrived at Mars Hill in 1986 we agreed to stay until we found a better place. Thirty-two years later we are still here and that says a lot about Mars Hill and the people affiliated with the university. There is simply something about this place.” He assumed the athletic director’s duties on September 1, 1998, after serving as the assistant athletic director at Mars Hill since 1993. He began his head basketball coaching career at MHU in 1986. Riggins is the winningest head men’s basketball coach in school history. He accumulated 431 victories as a head high school and collegiate coach which together spanned 23 years. His high school teams collected eight conference championships and three State Championships while making nine playoff appearances. He guided his Mars Hill teams to three post-season appearances including the 1994 SAC Championship title. He was named the South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year in 1994.
Basketball coach David Riggins, above, in his office in the 80s. At right, Riggins stands on the football field during his induction into the MHU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007. Far right: The Riggins family (top) early in David’s tenure, and (middle) more recently (l-r) David, Rita, Kyle, Chase’s wife Lauren, and Chase. Far right, bottom: Riggins poses with Pam Weaver and her husband Todd. Weaver also retired in 2018 after ten years as Riggins’ secretary (or, in her words, his “sidekick”).
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Riggins has been actively involved in NCAA committee work, having served as chair of the NCAA Championships Committee. He also served on the NCAA Legislative Committee, NCAA Budget and Finance Committee, as well as the NCAA Playing Rules Committee. Riggins served two years as vice chair of the NCAA Division II Management Council. He also served on the NCAA Division II game environments committee. That group initiated its work in July of 2007 with a summit held in Washington D.C., which Riggins chaired. He also chaired the NCAA task force regarding NCAA Division II eligibility issues. During his tenure at Mars Hill University, he coached 16 All-Conference players, one All-American, two-All-Region players, two SAC Freshman of the Year, one SAC Player of the Year, one SAC Male Athlete of the Year, and 11 of his players entered the school’s 1,000-point club. Riggins has the distinction of having three former players who have been inducted into the South Atlantic Conference Hall of Fame. Riggins was inducted into the Mars Hill Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007. Mars Hill, the Magazine | Spring 2019 7
Since Riggins assumed the role as Director of Athletics in 1999, the Mars Hill athletic complex has seen a face lift. Meares Stadium saw the installation of synthetic turf and the W. Scott Merrill Press Box along with refurbished seating for the home grandstand and improved visitor seating. Upon completion, the complex assumed the name of Ammons Family Athletic Center and Meares Stadium. It now serves as the home for the football, men’s and women’s lacrosse, and men’s and women’s soccer teams. In addition, a new softball facility was completed on Ponder Field along with the construction of two football practice fields. Belk Field saw the addition of a new practice facility which houses men’s and women’s soccer and men’s and women’s lacrosse. That facility was upgraded
with a new irrigation system and installation of natural turf. In spring of 2013 the Lions baseball team moved into the new Henderson Field. The 2012-13 year also saw the addition of a new 2,100-square foot weight room in Chambers Gym. This fall, the Lions will move into the new Jo Ellen Ammons Field House which will be home for football, women’s soccer, tennis, and golf. Coach Riggins played basketball in college at Francis Marion University before receiving both his bachelor’s degree (1974) and master’s degree (1980) from the University of South Carolina. He and his wife, Rita, reside in Weaverville. They have two grown sons, Chase and Kyle; and three grandsons: Ryles, Brooks, and Davis.
Stanford Arena Floor Renamed for David Riggins SAC Names the David Riggins Service Award
Becky and David Costner. (Photo credit: Photographs with Julie O’Kelly)
David Costner Receives Baptist Heritage Award from Mars Hill University
Mars Hill University coaches gather with President Tony Floyd during a ceremony celebrating the renaming of the David Riggins Court in December 2018.
Mars Hill University has renamed the playing surface in Stanford Arena in honor of retiring Athletic Director David Riggins. Riggins Court is home to the university’s Mountain Lions basketball and volleyball teams. At a retirement celebration on December 4, 2018, university trustees chair Wayne Higgins announced that the trustee board had voted to name the playing court in honor of Riggins. The board passed a resolution citing Riggins’ “distinction, honor, and integrity,” calling him a role model and “a
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credit to his profession and to Mars Hill University.” The resolution described him as “beloved by his university and those whose lives he has touched as coaches, players, students, and colleagues.” At that same ceremony, the commissioner of the South Atlantic Conference, of which Mars Hill is a member, announced a new award called the SAC David Riggins Service Award. It will be awarded each year to an administrator for outstanding service to the conference.
Mars Hill University presented its 2018 Baptist Heritage Award to David Costner of Leicester, North Carolina. Each year at the Baptist Heritage Awards Banquet, North Carolina Baptist entities honor people who have contributed to the individual organizations in unique ways. The 2018 banquet was held April 10, at the Joseph S. Koury Convention Center in Greensboro. The event was co-sponsored by the Baptist State Convention of N.C. and the N.C. Baptist Foundation. Costner is a graduate of Mars Hill, class of 1970. The Costner family has a long history with the institution: both of Coster’s parents attended the school, as did his sisters and the woman who ultimately became his wife. He met Becky on the
first day of classes in 1966. Following graduation, he taught and coached in Buncombe County while also serving in the U.S. Army Reserves, then in 1975 began a career in the transportation industry. He retired in 2013 as director of national account sales at Continental Freight Company. Following retirement, David and Becky Costner returned to western North Carolina. He served on the Mars Hill University board of advisors and in 2014 joined the board of trustees. “What a joy it is to serve God and this great university,” Costner said. “ I am honored to give back just a portion of my time for the many opportunities MHU has given to me.”
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MHU LEGACIES
Au Revoir Mon Ami A Remembrance of Dr. Richard “Dick” Knapp By Dr. Greg Clemons, Professor of Spanish
Dr. Richard Gilbert Knapp taught French and general studies at Mars Hill College/University for 31 years. He joined the MHU faculty in 1971, two years after he received his Ph.D. in French from Columbia University. That was also the same year he published his book, The Fortunes of Pope’s Essay on Man In 18th Century France. Few people knew that Dick was an eminent scholar on the French writer Voltaire and 18th century French literature. In fact, few probably knew what a towering intellect and enjoyable person he was. I joined the MHU faculty in 1996 and for six years, he was my colleague in the department. I remember meeting Dick for the first time when I was new to MHU. My first impression, honestly, was that he was snobbish and elitist. But, over the years that I knew him, that impression changed completely. Dick lived in a beautiful home off Kimberly Avenue in North Asheville. Inside were artwork, ceramics, and beautiful pieces that he had collected over the years. In fact, his home was like a museum: around each corner was another treasure that was matched only by the elegant furnishings, carpets, and rugs. I remember sitting on the welcoming front porch in warm weather just laughing and talking about anything and everything with Dick. That was the beauty and joy of Dick Knapp: he knew so much that I always considered him a walking encyclopedia. 10 Mars Hill, the Magazine | Spring 2019
For a stretch in the early 2000s I would meet Dick along with MHU social work professor emerita Julia Nooe for brunch in North Asheville each Sunday. On one Sunday, when I was on my sabbatical from MHU to translate a novel from Spanish into English, I had a few questions about cultural norms of the middle ages. After I asked him my questions at brunch, he rattled off the top of his head dates, names, and places of medieval Europe as if he were reading from a book. Professor Emeritus of Theatre C. Robert Jones remembers that the incoming faculty class of 1971 was large—at least 20 professors that year began their careers at MHU. According to C. Robert, Dick stood out because of his non-Southern demeanor. Being from New England, Dick was not quite sure how to maneuver the Southern way, which was at times circuitous and not to the point. C. Robert notes that Dick was truly cosmopolitan in how he dressed. His stylized use of French and his worldliness was a refreshing element for the college and for the small town of Mars Hill. It wasn’t that Dick didn’t fit in at Mars Hill; he brought culture to the campus and town of Mars Hill. As C. Robert put it, it was as if Dick stepped out of the pages of Esquire magazine. C. Robert concurs that Dick’s personality could be misunderstood: he was ironic, deprecating, and very blunt, someone who, C. Robert said, “took no
prisoners.” But the truth was that he was also funny, quick with a comment or opinion, and dedicated to his career of teaching. He loved his scholarly pursuits, but unlike his peers at larger colleges and universities, Dick never spent his time worrying about publishing. Truth is, I don’t even remember him talking about pursuing research, which was something quite refreshing actually.
When he died in January, I knew that I would miss him terribly, for he was always capable of making me laugh and smile. And, memorably, he had the uncanny ability to make me marvel at his intelligence and aspire to his level of scholarship. To my friend, I say: qu’il repose en paix (Rest in Peace).
My MHU Spanish colleague Gordon Hinners remembers how Dick was always quick to laugh. He had an elfish, mischievous, and knowing smile, as Gordon tells it. His intelligence came through in all he said and did—his humility about his incredible intellect was perhaps one of his greatest features. One MHC alum from the class of 1981, Carol, who majored in French and minored in German, speaks glowingly of Richard, remembering his strong personality and interesting demeanor. Dick was the son of a veterinarian (who was an alum of Cornell University). That love of dogs must have passed to him because he owned Doberman pinschers for years, but as he aged he was the owner of dachshunds. His small, dear dog Peanut, a beautiful tawny dachshund, would bark as loud as possible to announce that visitors had arrived at their house! A few years before his death, he suffered a stroke which limited his physical abilities. Even when he was in rehab at Thoms Rehabilitation Hospital in Asheville, his sense of humor shone. He had his moments as he recovered. I can remember his frustrating groans as he would try to pull his leg out of the passenger side of my car. Within minutes he was on his feet and his humor returned: he would perhaps curse at his walking cane or laugh at his own limitations. It seems that his stroke, while it affected him physically, did not stop him from a comment or two about politics or even the weather! Dick Knapp at his desk during his tenure at Mars Hill
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Student Profile
The Making of a Leader
When it came to choosing a college, Gabby said she wanted a small, liberal arts school where she could play soccer (she starts at center back, a defensive position). Mars Hill made the short list, and then, she said, conversations with Tom Gott (who was then soccer coach) and political science department chair Heather Hawn sold it for her.
by Teresa Buckner
Spend a few minutes with Gabriella Siegfried ’19, and you will quickly understand why her fellow students have elected her as student body president. Gabby is the sort of young woman whose intelligence and confidence blow into the room like a force of nature, and it’s clear that whatever she does, at MHU or elsewhere, she will create waves.
“In an abstract sense, my goal is to have peace with myself and be able to self-reflect and not ever be too proud to do that,” she said. “One of my goals also is to hopefully work at a grass roots level doing political activism and changing the world from a place where I can see the injustice and hopefully fix it, or at least make steps to fix it.”
Her goals for her life are not modest ones. She wants to be at peace with herself, and to change the world. Such goals might sound trite in other contexts, but Gabby has clear ideas about how she wants to go about effecting change and exactly what corner of the world she’d like to influence.
Gabby said she has good role models, in a paternal grandmother who has been politically active in the Orlando area all her life, and two older sisters who have influenced her. One works for the Department of Children and Families in Orlando. The other sister has worked for international relations and
In addition to soccer, Gabby said she wanted to be active in Student Government Association from day one at MHU. “I said to myself before I came to Mars Hill, ‘if I’m going to go to such a small school, I really want to be a big fish in a small pond, and I really want to have a voice on campus, and hopefully have a leadership role.’” In her first two years at MHU, she has served as freshman class president and then sophomore class president. She began her junior year as student body secretary, but when an internship prompted senior Kyler Kee to step down from the president’s seat, Gabby ran for it, and won. non-governmental organizations in Senegal, Haiti, Nepal, and now in Cambodia. “So, she’s worked all over the world doing the grass roots work that I wish I could do,” Gabby said. “My two sisters are definitely doing the good in the world and have influenced me in that way.” In particular, Gabby would like to work with displaced people and refugees in Latin America. That’s why one of her majors is Spanish. Her other major is political science, and she is minoring in international studies. In addition to Spanish, Gabby would eventually like to speak French fluently.
Gabby often represents the student body in meetings with university administration. Here, she talks with Provost John Omachonu.
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This is because she actually holds dual citizenship in the U.S. and in France. Gabby grew up in Winter Park, Florida. But while her father’s family lives primarily in Florida, her mother’s family is from Guadalupe, an island in the West Indies. Since citizens of Guadalupe and their children are citizens of France, Gabby qualifies.
Gabby is currently working with administrators and other staff to make service in SGA a more professional experience for students. She said she wants students to be proud of their SGA and realize what a privilege it is to serve in this capacity. She plans to work over the summer to plan leadership development classes for SGA members. She also plans to help coordinate a retreat for SGA members when they return after summer break. Gabby is on track to graduate early, in December 2019. She feels she has a lot to accomplish with respect to SGA, so that when she graduates, the new president will have the tools to keep moving the organization in a more professional direction. “I’m excited. I feel that this is really going to be a year that we take off and set a pace for SGA in the future,” she said.
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Student Profile
Life Coming Into F
cus by James Knight Director of the MHU Career Center
Florida native Brittany Leckrone ’19 fell in love with the mountains of North Carolina while on family vacations throughout her childhood. The dramatic change of scenery from her home town of West Palm Beach, Florida, was captivating. The pull of the area got stronger as she surveyed schools to attend after high school. Being a dancer from an early age, she saw the energy and spectacle of the Bailey Mountain Cloggers as nearly irresistible and chose to come to Mars Hill and try for a spot on the team. It didn’t take her long to learn the ropes and carve out a place for herself on the team and on campus. Despite some initial indecision, Brittany chose graphic design as a major. The subject went hand-in-hand with her interest in photography, an interest that started around age 12, when she hijacked her mom’s brand new camera and started shooting pictures in her neighborhood. Her course work at Mars Hill showed her a vast landscape of opportunities and further spurred her passion and curiosity for the skill and craft needed to portray stories through images. One day, a classmate who had just returned from studying abroad told her about living and learning in Italy. Inspired by the classmate’s stories, Brittany began exploring what it would take to have a similar experience. In the summer of 2018 she set off to study art history, design, and photography in the cradle of the Renaissance, Florence, Italy. Her host school, Lorenzo de Medici Italian International Institute, offered a rigorous learning environment and schedule, but also allowed plenty of time to find awe and inspiration in the buildings, emporiums, and countryside. “I learned a lot while studying in Florence,” she says. “It taught me how and where to focus my attention–on what’s important to me–and that’s connection! When you’re shooting fashion shoots, 14 Mars Hill, the Magazine | Spring 2019
there is something about working with people that is exciting. There’s a connection with the models as people that has to happen to tell a story that’s unique and inspiring,” she said. Brittany said she became curious and fascinated with food photography because of its slower, more methodical pace. “It has to be precise and intentional,” she says. “Fashion is fast-paced. It’s exciting and glamorous! But I like the steady pace of food photography. It could take a whole day to get that ONE perfect shot. It takes careful planning to pull it off.” She admits that coming back to the States and back to the mountains was a bit of a culture shock in reverse. She found it hard to get back into a rhythm and concentrate her first semester back, but then an unexpected encounter changed her view. Brittany has been helping a growing church fellowship in Asheville, North Carolina, with its social media and marketing presence. The job gave her the stability and scheduling rigor she needed and allowed her to reflect and find calm and purpose. “Looking for happiness can sometimes feel empty; it’s not the same as finding purpose. As I serve creatively at my church, it’s added something I never expected–personal and professional growth for me.” Brittany’s professional growth received a huge boost in February, when she received a silver award for piece called “Lines and Angles,” from the western N.C. chapter of the American Advertising Federation. Her work will now go on to the judged at the district level. You can find an interview with Brittany in the Mountain Movers series on our website at www.mhu.edu. You can also see more of Brittany’s work on her professional website: www.brittanyleckrone.com.
Background, Brittany in Florence, Italy. Above, left: While she was in Europe, Brittany had the chance to visit the original Mars Hill, in Greece. Above, middle: A sample of Brittany’s food photography. Above, right: Her awardwinning photographs, “Lines and Angles”.
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Bailey, young hearts call out to thee – Hearts that are young for the cares to be, And call to thee in different lights
Point of Inspiration Smith Farm Purchase will Ensure Continued Access to Bailey
And seek thee out through weary night;
By: Ryan W. Bell Bailey Mountain Project Liaison and Director of First Year Academic Success
And they look to thee for their strength of will; Grant them their prayer, O rock-rimmed hill ! ~Annie Vinne Tillery, 1913
Mars Hill University has been called “a gem in an emerald ring of hills,” and if that is true, then certainly the most iconic of these emerald hills would be Bailey Mountain. Any MHU student’s residence hall or classroom window may very well frame Bailey, who oversees their intellectual adventures and athletic battles. Yet as calm and steadying as Bailey is apt to seem, she also represents exciting recent news for those who hope to see her slopes welcoming MHU students for years to come.
Also along Connor Ridge, the Smith property adjoins the Bailey Mountain Park, which contains the valley beyond, including the headwaters of White Oak Creek and Hamp Gap. Bailey Mountain Park is another property open to the public and is owned by the Richard L. Hoffman foundation. (The Park is accessible via a right-of-way from Phillips Valley Road off Route 213.) The approximately 200-acre Bailey Mountain Park purchase began when two parcels went up for sale in 1997 and was completed in 2006 thanks to a sizable donation.
On December 28, 2018, the Town of Mars Hill completed purchase of an 87-acre property off Forest Street commonly known as the Smith Farm. The sale of the Smith Farm capped off a campaign among several Mars Hill alumni, residents, and benefactors begun in 2015. Owned and managed by the Town of Mars Hill, the 87-acre Smith Farm will be publicly accessible. A recreational management plan is currently under development, pending a public input period.
Both efforts ensure that MHU students may continue to court discovery on the slopes of Bailey, whether it be biology students on plant walks and stream wades or gazing artists seeking inspiration. Furthermore, students connect through Bailey, in time and space–sharing the labor MHU students Brad Barbee and stewardship of the and Shay Sargent work on trail and the conquest trails on Bailey of the ascent, orienting themselves in adulthood and the region, and glimpsing the same expansive view and the possibilities it portends.
The Smith Farm purchase is the latest in a local long-term grass roots cooperative effort to preserve the iconic Bailey Mountain from private development. The effort preserves the landscape and horizon of the town itself. And, for the average Mars Hill University student, the purchase of Smith farm ensures increased access to a substantive feature of the MHU student experience.
Background: Students ascend Bailey on Labor Day 2018. For more information on Bailey Mountain, visit: www.baileymountainpark.org or email baileymtn@mhu.edu. Find Bailey Mountain Park / Richard L. Hoffman Foundation on facebook!
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Looking from campus, the eye follows Connor Ridge to Bailey’s summit, which is likely the route taken for the historic and notorious “initiation” hikes of bygone first year Mars Hill College students. A similar tradition may now be renewed for today’s bolder incoming students. MHU’s new President Tony Floyd led a hike this past Labor Day, and over 150 of the determined joined him to hear inspirational words from a scenic viewpoint; most continued to the summit.
Timeline 1940: New college seal incorporates Bailey Mountain 1996: Two parcels totaling approximately 200 acres up for sale 1998: Richard L. Hoffman Foundation begins purchase with private loan and donations 2006: $10k donation completes purchase of Bailey Mountain Park 2015: Campaign begins to purchase Smith Farm 2017: Benefit concert at Mars Hill Theatre December 2018: Smith Farm sale is closed
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Scaling New Heights Scenes from the Inauguration of John Anthony Floyd November 9, 2018
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(1) Tony Floyd with his daughters, Olivia and Sarah, both of whom had a part in the inauguration ceremony. (2) The Floyd family poses efore the inauguration: Sarah, Terry, Tony, and Olivia. (3) Rev. Kevin Barnette leads the invocation. (4) Dr. Robert L. Wyatt, president of Coker College, brings remarks. (5) Kyler Kee, (then) president of the MHU student body, welcomes the new president. (6) Delegates to the inauguration and (7) the MHU Board of Trustees pose with president Floyd. (In all. 24 institutions and organizations sent delegates.) (8) Floyd poses with former MHU President Dan Lunsford.
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The Blessing Service November 8 2018
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The MHU Chaplains’ Office hosted a Service of Blessing on November 8 2019, to invite the university community to join in prayer for the blessing of God over the university, and the leadership of Tony and Terry Floyd. (1) The Floyd family, MHU Chaplain Stephanie McLeskey and Assistant Chaplain Andrew Hoots, listen during the service. (2) Dr. Robert Cline, senior campus pastor for Anderson University, was the keynote speaker for the service. (3) The Floyds’ daughter Sarah sang How Great Thou Art. (4) The MHU Gospel Choir performed several numbers during the ceremony. (5) Wayne Higgins, chair of the MHU Board of Trustees, presented Floyd with a Bible from the board.
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LION ATHLETICS
Jo Ellen Ammons Athletic Field house Nearing Completion The Jo Ellen Ammons Athletic Field House is nearing completion. According to John Legerton, architect, the current estimated completion/ occupancy date is sometime in mid- to late-April, depending on the weather and completion of the sitework around the building.
Tony Floyd (left) and coach Monica Gordy (right) with new MHU inductees Ramsey, Osborn and Grant. At right, from top: Grant, Osborn and Ramsey.
Retiring Athletic Director David Riggins said: “This amazing new facility will be home to our football, women’s soccer, tennis, and golf teams, and will feature modern locker rooms, coaches’ offices, and state-of-the-art athletic training services. As the South Atlantic Conference continues to become ever more competitive, we believe the Ammons Athletic Field House will enhance our ability to recruit and retain student-athletes whose abilities and character embody the best of Mars Hill.”
by Rick Baker
Lions Induct Three Into Hall of fame by Rick Baker
The Lions’ Athletic Department inducted its 2018 Mars Hill Athletic Hall of Fame Class on November 10. Inductees were: Michael Grant, Kristina Osborn, and Jerome Ramsey. Michael Grant was a member of the Lions’ football team from 2002-03. He was a two-time All-SAC first team defensive back (2002 & 2003) during his time at Mars Hill. Grant was team captain during those seasons and in 2003, versus Stillman, recorded three interceptions, which remains a school record. Grant also played in the DII All-Star Cactus Bowl and was named a DII Kodak All-American Honorable Mention in 2003. While in school, Grant was a member of the Student Judiciary Board of student government, Fellowship of Student Athletes, and served as a resident assistant. Grant was also recognized on the dean’s list. He graduated cum laude in 2003 with a degree in business administration. Following his playing career at Mars Hill, Grant was signed as a free agent by the Cleveland Browns for the 2004-05 season.
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His jersey at Shaw High School in Columbus, Georgia, has since been retired. Grant has worked with the Georgia State Senate Resolution for Community Service and Life Accomplishments and served as a senior pastor of the Faith Worship Center in Columbus, Georgia. He graduated summa cum laude with his Master of Divinity degree from Kingdom Truth University in Jacksonville, Florida. Kristina Osborn was a member of the Mars Hill softball team from 2004-08 and holds several school records. She holds the record for highest batting average with .484 in the 2006 season, 22 doubles in the 2008 campaign and 61 career doubles during her tenure at Mars Hill. She places second in school history in single season hits (68 in 2007), 64 career walks and is third in single season on-base percentage (.542 in 2006) and 668 career putouts. She ranks fifth in career batting average (.362), career on-base percentage (.431), sixth in career slugging percentage (.569) and seventh in career runs scored (107). Her career doubles place her fourth all-time in the South
Hall of fame, continued...
Atlantic Conference and her single season doubles total ranks fifth all-time in the conference. At the conclusion of the 2007 season, Osborn was named to second team All-SAC and second team Academic All-District. After her senior season, Osborn was named first team All-SAC, first team Academic-All District, third team Academic All-America with a 3.99 GPA in biology and was also named 2008 SAC Scholar Athlete. A Grayson Scholar, Osborne was valedictorian of her class and the softball team captain her junior and senior years, as well as being named the team’s Most Valuable Player those two seasons. She attended the University of Alabama School of Medicine from 2008-12, then attended the University of South Alabama Family Medicine Residency. Osborn currently works as a travel emergency medicine physician in three hospitals in Alabama and is also licensed to practice medicine in Mississippi and Tennessee. Jerome Ramsey was a member of the men’s basketball team from 2000-04. He was a three-time
South Atlantic Conference Scholar Athlete and team captain during the 2003-04 season. The SAC Scholar Athlete award recognizes excellence in academics, athletics, service, and leadership. The SAC Faculty Athletic Representatives Committee selects the winner in each of the conference’s championship sports. During his four-year basketball career at Mars Hill, Jerome played in 106 games and started in 68. He scored 658 points averaging 5.8 points per contest. He had a career three-point field goal percentage of .333 and hit 70% of his free throw attempts. Jerome recorded 184 career rebounds, 258 career assists and 128 career steals. Ramsey was a member of dean’s list and a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes all four years at Mars Hill. Upon induction, Ramsey was the head men’s basketball coach and taught math and physical education at East Burke High School. He was selected the South Mountain Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year in 2016.
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CAMPUS NEWS Winterfest The Campus Activities Board hosted two evenings of fun at Wolf Ridge Ski Resort for the MHU campus community. On January 31, and February 1, MHU students, faculty and staff could receive a lift ticket and a ski or snowboard rental free.
New Trustee Chair and Vice-Chair Mars Hill University rang in the new year with new leadership on its governing body. The university’s board of trustees began 2019 with a new chair in Linda Judge-McRae and new vicechair in Mike Kelly.
Over 500 students, faculty, and staff took advantage of the opportunity. Dan Morris, Director of Student Involvement and Campus Recreation said he hopes to make Winterfest an annual event.
Linda Judge-McRae ’86 owns Caris Healthcare in Knoxville, Tennessee, with her husband Norman McRae ’84, and provided fundamental vision and financial support to establish the Judge-McRae School of Nursing at Mars Hill University. JudgeMcRae joined the board of trustees in 2014. Mike Kelly ’82 lives in the Cincinnati suburb of Mason, Ohio. A former vice president at Macy’s, he now owns Kelly Financial Planning and with his wife, Melinda, operates Right Path Enterprises, a consulting, training, and coaching firm. He also joined the trustee board in 2014. New trustees for the 2019-2022 term are Steve Francis of Columbia, South Carolina, and D. Sigsbee Duck of Rock Springs, Wyoming. Francis is a 1972 Mars Hill graduate and retired vice president with Agfirst Farm Credit Bank. He previously had served on Mars Hill’s board of advisors. Duck is a Mars Hill alumnus who practices otolaryngic allergy and was named the 2017 Wyoming Physician of the Year. He is the son of Dr. Otis Duck, a longtime general practitioner in Madison County and former chair of the board of trustees.
The Immigrant Journey
Student Leadership Summit Nearly three dozen MHU students took advantage of an opportunity to learn from one of the region’s top business training programs. The students participated in the Student Leadership Summit presented by the Biltmore Center for Professional Development. The aim of the summit was to inspire students to develop their life goals, vision, and story, while getting a look at professional success from the perspective of a private company like Biltmore. President Tony Floyd made these photos of students during a lunch presentation with executives from the Biltmore Company.
Dr. Greg Clemons, professor of Spanish, is pictured above with MHU Spanish students Natasha Castellano, Jen Evan, and Gabby Siegfried, and Karina Byers. The group met at Gypsy Queen restaurant in Asheville to talk with Byers about her journey as an immigrant in the United States. Byers is originally from Chile and is now a resident of the U.S. The students are taking Clemons’ class, Immigration Literature in Spanish.
Lion Cubs (1) Preston J Gilbert, 7 months, is the son of MHU computer science professor Marty Gilbert ’99, and his wife, Sarai. (2) Libby McLeskey, 5, is the daughter of MHU Chaplain Stephanie McLeskey and her husband, Ken. Here, Libby is enjoying a pottery booth at the Lunsford Festival. 1
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Spirit Teams Announced Cosmo is getting some more company in spreading Mars Hill spirit. The university is bringing together the Bailey Mountain Cloggers, the university cheerleaders, and a brand new sideline spirit dance team. Danielle Plimpton ’06, currently the managing director of the Bailey Mountain Cloggers, will lead the new Spirit Teams initiative. She’s planning tryouts for the three performance teams over the spring and summer. Look for the new spirit teams on the sidelines of Lions athletics games, and in the surrounding community, beginning this fall. 24 Mars Hill, the Magazine | Spring 2019
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(3) and (4): Lily Plemmons, 8, and little brother Raylan, 19 months, have been cheering on the Lions all their lives. Their Nana, Cindy Whitt ’06, takes photos of the team, in addition to being senior business analyst for the MHU IT Department. 4
Want to share photos of the “Lion Cubs” in your life? Send snapshots of your little ones in MHU t-shirts, bibs, hats, etc., to tbuckner@mhu.edu. Email must include a brief statement of consent from a parent. Mars Hill, the Magazine | Spring 2019 25
FACULTY FOCUS
Gilbert Receives grammy nomination A Mars Hill University history professor was among the nominees for the 61st annual Grammy Awards. David Gilbert was nominated in the category of Best Album Notes for the album The Product of Our Souls: The Sound And Sway Of James Reese Europe’s Society Orchestra. The album is a companion to Gilbert’s book The Product of Our Souls: Ragtime, Race, and the Birth of the Manhattan Music Marketplace. The Product of Our Souls was one of six albums nominated in the category. “I have been a working musician all of my adult life and am very passionate about my research topics in African-American cultural history,” Gilbert said, “but I never imagined getting such recognition.” The opportunity even to be part of the project came about because of his book. Gilbert said Archeophone Records had put together the album and contacted him to write the liner notes, because of his authority about James Reese Europe, established through The Product of Our Souls book. The book explores African-American musicians and stage entertainers in New York City in the first two decades of the 20th century and shows how black entertainers made Broadway Avenue and Tin Pan
Alley song publishers in New York synonymous with American popular culture. Archeophone specializes in preserving, restoring, and publishing recordings from 1890 through 1925. The liner notes Gilbert wrote ended up being a 56-page full-color insert of what Archeophone describes as “incisive musical and cultural analysis, establishing James Reese Europe’s prominence of position among the great musical forces of the 20th century.” The Grammy in this category was awarded in February for Voices Of Mississippi: Artists And Musicians Documented By William Ferris.
Knapp has been a member of ACS since she was an undergraduate at Xavier University. In fact, she credits her involvement in that organization at the local level with inspiring her to pursue a degree in
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undergraduate students presented their research in a poster session; and a monthly meeting at MHU in November which brought professionals and students from other areas of the section to Mars Hill, allowing MHU students to be exposed to new and innovative research and ask questions about graduate school and life as a chemist.
CLASS NOTES Mars Hill, the Magazine of Mars Hill University welcomes your personal snapshots when you send in news of weddings, babies, accomplishments, etc. Send your news and photos to alumni@mhu.edu, or Alumni Office, P.O. Box 370, Mars Hill, NC 28754.
Gilbert and his book, The Product of our Souls.
Knapp Makes Her Mark as Chair of the WNC American Chemical Society Amanda Knapp, professor of chemistry at MHU, recently completed a year as chair of the Western Carolinas section of the American Chemical Society (ACS). According to Meredith Newman, chair of the chemistry department at MHU, her role as chair is one of many ways that Knapp shows her dedication to her students here at MHU. “She has such a passion for her students and wants to do what she can to prepare them for life after their time at Mars Hill. Part of that is staying connected to professionals in the area through the Western Carolinas section of the ACS.”
during 2018 including: a program centered on the solar eclipse of 2018, where WCACS members and guests learned from the eclipse and enjoyed a planetarium show; a tour of Ionic Technologies, a local industry, and a meeting hosted at Michelin; a banquet honoring long-standing members of the ACS which included 50-, 60-, and 70-year members as well as one 75-year member; a poster session and awards banquet where local
chemistry and ultimately leading her on the path to becoming a chemistry professor at Mars Hill University. In her role as chair of WCACS, Knapp planned a variety of monthly meetings and events
1940s
Ruth Taylor Gray ’43 recently retired as the organist of First Baptist Church of DeFuniak Springs, Fla. At 95 years old, she has been the organist for over 38 years, and she continues to teach a very popular Sunday School class in the church, called Joyful Hearts.
1970s
Richard DeWitte Sparkman ’72, attorney at law, has been inducted into Business North Carolina magazine’s Legal Elite Hall of Fame. He is a board certified bandruptcy law specialist and a certified mediator. 2019 marks his 40th year in private practice in Angier, N.C. Dr. Robert David Gasperson ’74, has completed a biography of Southern Baptist missionaries J.C., Rosa, and Mary Hester Powell, titled, The Powells of Nigeria: 87 Years of Missionary Service. It is available through Amazon. The Powells of Edwin “Ed” Sams, Jr. ’74 won Nigeria, by David “Best of the Week” in the Players Gasperson Theatre Short Play and Musical Festival in New York City, in October for his play, “The Circle Rules.” The play
had four performances in the Players Theatre in Greenwich Village. Sams is a lecturer in the English department of San Jose State University and he and his wife own and operate the Yellow Tulip Press (www.curiouschapbooks.com). Dr. Sigsbee W. Duck ’74, trustee of MHU, has been elected president of The American Laryngological, Rhinological, and Otological Society, Inc., also known as The Triological Society for 2018-2019. Dr. Duck was inducted into the Society in 1997 after acceptance of a peer reviewed thesis. He is a resident of Rock Springs, Wyoming. Carolyn Holtkamp Moser ’79 has been named the North Carolina Health Director of the Year by the N.C. Association of Local Health Directors. The statewide honor is given to an individual for outstanding leadership in public health and community involvement.
1980s
Mark Cabaniss ’82, trustee of MHU, has published a new book, Music Business Essentials: A Guide for Aspiring Professionals. The book was published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2019. It is available through Amazon and most other booksellers. Joe Pizzo ’87, has been
Music Business Essentials, by Mark Cabaniss
Mars Hill, the Magazine | Spring 2019 27
CLASS NOTES named Offensive Coordinator at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Pizzo came to UTC from Mercer University. He has had a 30-year coaching career which includes five seasons as the offensive coordinator at North Greenville University in South Carolina, and 14 seasons at Gardner-Webb University (Boiling Springs, N.C.)
IN MEMORIAM Jeff Miles ’01 has been named the Head of School at Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School, a private boarding school in Rabun Gap, Ga. He will assume his new job as head of school on July 1, 2019. He and his family will reside on the Rabun Gap campus.
Scott McKinney ’89 has joined West Virginia Wesleyan College as its new chief financial officer. He was previously at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, N.C.
Erin Babb ’04 and her husband, Bill Kern, welcomed their first baby, Liam, on December 28, 2018. Erin is a music teacher in Shanghai, China.
1990s
Dr. Rachel M. Desmarais ’92 has been chosen as the next president of Vance-Granville Community College. She is the 7th president in the history of the college, which is located in Henderson, N.C. Previously, she was the executive vice president and chief operating officer of Forsyth Technical Community College in Winston-Salem, N.C. Mike Houston ’94 has been named as head football coach at East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C. Previously, he coached at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va. Jim Beatty ’95 has been hired as the head football coach of North Henderson High School in Hendersonville, N.C. Beatty was a member of North Henderson’s coaching staff last year and previously coached at McDowell High School in Marion, N.C. He also spent eight years as head coach at Roberson High School in Asheville, N.C. Jeff Whitt ’96, principal of Chesterbrook Academy Elementary School in Cary, N.C., has been named K-12 Principal of the Year by the Nobel Learning Communities, Inc. NLCI is a national network of 200 private schools across the nation. 2000s
Richard Stubbs ’01 has been hired at Brevard High School as a civics/economics teacher and women’s tennis coach.
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2010s
Mark Gagliano ’10 married Liam Kern Lauren Nichols on October 6, 2018 at the Laurel Ridge Country Club in Waynesville, N.C. The couple lives in Statesville, N.C. Brittany Marcum ’12 is the new branch manager at the downtown office of United Community Bank in Brevard, N.C. Marcum is a native of Transylvania County and enjoys volunteering with United Way and the Brevard/Transylvania Chamber of Commerce. Jacqueline Magalhaes Rouquet ’12 has recently been chosen as the supply leader of Decathlon Brazil. She will be working with international logistics for 30+ racket equipment stores in Brazil. Janis Michele Hendrickson Schwartz ’12 married Peter Schwartz on December 16, 2018. The couple lives in Fort Mill, S.C. Eric Stephen Schiffhauer ’13 graduated cum laude from Cooley Law School at Western Peter and Janis Michigan University in August Schwartz 2018 with a concentration in litigation. He has also been accepted into Phi Delta Phi National Legal Honor Society.
Since the last issue of Mars Hill, the Magazine, we have learned of the following deaths of alumni and other members of the MHU community.
1930s
Clara Mae Shoffner Ross ’37, Forest City, N.C., September 2, 2018 Hattie “Kitty” Elizabeth Bass Ulmer ’37, Jacksonville, Fla., September 13, 2018 Georgia A. Bailey DeForge ’38, Hermitage, Tenn., February 8, 2018 George Thomas Dickie ’39, Richmond, Va., September 5, 2018 Dr. Mary Elizabeth “Liz” Coppedge Krebs ’39, Tucson, Ariz., October 20, 2018 Dorothy Rebecca Drake Sutton ’39, Lexington, Ky., September 7, 2018 Lou Alice Hamrick Whisnant ’39, Shelby, N.C., December 23, 2018
1940s
Willie Frank Stubbs Rogers ’40, Fort Mill, N.C., November 29, 2018 Cicely Anne Laws Anderson ’42, Tampa, Fla., August 3, 2018 Edgar “Hatcher” Crenshaw, Jr. ’42, Richmond, Va., October 14, 2017 Ormand Carvel Williams, Sr. ’42, Weaverville, N.C., December 7, 2018 Dorothy “Dot” Marietta Robbins Bounds ’43, Knoxville, Tenn., September 14, 2018 Patti Sue Lewis Farris ’43, Jefferson City, Tenn., October 19, 2016 Margarette “Alline” Rhoads Dermid ’44, Richardson, Texas, March 11, 2017 Hunter Dalton Heggie ’44, Signal Mtn., Tenn., December 22, 2018 Sadie Elizabeth Wallin ’44, (former member, MHU Board of Advisors) Mars Hill, N.C., January 30, 2019
Nan “Carolyn” Reed Grobe ’45, Greenville, S.C., October 4, 2018 James Emmett Johnson ’45, Marion, N.C., April 11, 2018 Robert “Bob” Horace Jones ’45, Dunn, N.C., October 26, 2018 James “Jim” Merritt Winstead ’45, Greensboro, N.C., September 14, 2018 Dorothy Davis Carpenter ’46, Dahlonega, Ga., July 22, 2018 Mildred “Millie” Frances Fox Greer ’46, Hickory, N.C., December 27, 2018 Mary Lela Sparks Sherburne ’46, Charlotte, N.C., July 16, 2018 Gretchen Louise Philbeck Jones ’47, Memphis, Tenn., August 30, 2018 Doris Elizabeth Brown McKinnish ’47, Clyde, N.C., December 5, 2018 Boyce Conway Medlin ’47, Raleigh, N.C., December 25, 2018 Carol Suzanne Reagan Pyron ’47, Asheville, N.C., October 8, 2018 Doris “Jean” Ayers Rymer ’47, Rogersville, Tenn., July 17, 2018 Wanda Mae Sams Winecoff ’47, Clyde, N.C., January 2, 2019 Alma Lee Casey Winkler ’47, Boone, N.C., December 21, 2018 Ruth Virginia Childs Brown ’48, Laurens, S.C., October 25, 2018 Mary Elizabeth Marshall Finger ’48, Lincolnton, N.C., February 15, 2018 Dowd Litton Primm, Jr. ’48, Harrisburg, N.C., April 3, 2017 Edwin Benjamin Stokes ’48, Lafayette, Calif., November 28, 2018
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IN MEMORIAM Barbara Ethel Hale Edwards ’49, Anderson, S.C., September 20, 2018
Martha Jo Dillingham Carter ’54, Mars Hill, N.C., November 7, 2018
Betty “Jean” Scott Gunn ’49, Burlington, N.C., November 12, 2017
Oie Hall ’54, Weaverville, N.C., July 26, 2018
Harry Franklin Jackson ’49, Fuquay-Varina, N.C., September 24, 2018 Reba Juel Swink Jones ’49, Pfafftown, N.C., November 6, 2018 Martha Jean Norman ’49, Hampton, Va., October 13, 2018 Margie Lee Packard ’49, Cliffside, N.C., September 13, 2018 Betty Gene Sanders Snyder ’49, Greensboro, Ga., December 13, 2018 William “Mac” McNeil Woody ’49, Durham, N.C., April 10, 2017
1950s
Theodore “Ted” Floyd Adams, Jr. ’50, Midlothian, Va., January 24, 2019 Wilfred “Earl” Holman ’50, The Woodlands, Texas, October 21, 2018 Dr. Fred Carroll “F.C.” Ellenburg ’51, Pineola, N.C., October 25, 2018 Dixie Virginia Foshee Hardin ’51, Dunedin, Fla., October 8, 2018 Helen Elizabeth Turner Penland ’51, Candler, N.C., October 28, 2018 Etta Eugenia “Jean” Jarvis Phillips ’51, Laurens, S.C., August 10, 2018 Walter Thomas “Tom” Wood, Sr. ’51, Columbia, S.C., November 26, 2018 Mary “Wanda” Peek Brantley Sykes ’52, Charlotte, N.C., August 22, 2018 Edward “Ed” W. Nuckolls ’52, Hendersonville, N.C., July 23, 2018 Wanda Louise Hart Haga, ’53, Charlotte, N.C., November 26, 2018 Eliza Mae Jarvis Norris ’53, Vilas, N.C., May 12, 2018
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Ernest “Ernie” Eugene Hendrix ’54, Statesville, N.C., January 12, 2019 James “Jim” Robert Jester ’54, Charleston, S.C., August 22, 2018 Betty Ellen Pearson Austin ’55, Concord, N.C., November 28, 2018 Joyce Pearl Baldwin Swafford ’55, Franklin, N.C., September 19, 2018 John Burns Bailey ’56, Green Mountain, N.C., November 26, 2018 Dr. Charles Parks Bentley ’56, Wilkesboro, N.C., October 23, 2018 Joyce Bishop Cook ’56, Belmont, N.C., December 16, 2018 Jerry Crowe ’56, Purvis, Miss., October 1, 2018 Eleanor Elaine Reese Huneycutt ’56, Inman, S.C., September 13, 2018 William Avery Huneycutt ’56, Inman, S.C., January 16, 2019 Jo Ann Phelps Wilhelm ’56, Winston-Salem, N.C., November 14, 2018 Margaret Ann Hood Howell ’57, Greer, S.C., September 6, 2018 Carolyn Louise Lewis Moore ’57, Signal Mtn., Tenn., December 23, 2017 Addison “Judson” Rotan ’57, Asheville, N.C., October 8, 2018 Lloyd Funk “L.F.” Wood, Jr. ’57, Charlottesville, Va., October 11, 2018 William “Scott” Torrence ’58, Lenoir, N.C., August 13, 2018 Lucinda Carol Pace Watkins ’58, Mars Hill, N.C., January 4, 2019 Joseph Holly Case ’59, Greenville, S.C., August 16, 2018 Mary “Linette” Harwood Watkins ’59, Raleigh, N.C., November 3, 2018
1960s
1970s
Francis “Frank” Beatty Fishburne, Jr. ’60, Asheville, N.C., January 3, 2019
Roy “Garland” Hill, III ’70, North Wilkesboro, N.C., September 21, 2018
Richard Elbert Buzhardt ’61, Leesville, S.C., October 15, 2018
John Cyril “J.C.” Cousart ’72, Bedford, Va., March 21, 2017
Judith “Judy” Deanna Clodfelter Dodge ’61, Gainesville, Ga., December 5, 2018
James Robert Phillips ’73, Mars Hill, N.C., December 8, 2018
Thomas “Tommy” Mast Hayes ’61, North Wilkesboro, N.C., November 14, 2018
Donald Keith Long ’75, Durham, N.C., November 30, 2018
Jeanette Metcalf Gwinup ’62, Mars Hill, N.C., December 7, 2018
Janella Hall Boone ’79, Granite Falls, N.C., December 6, 2018
James Vannoy “Van” McIntosh ’62, Troy, N.C., November 21, 2018
Melinda Ann Brown Howell ’79, Savannah, Ga., November 3, 2018
Russell Eugene Webb ’63, Candler, N.C., August 17, 2018
Alvin Conley Morgan ’79, Fuquay-Varina, N.C., January 13, 2019
Ted Lee Mathis ’64, Asheville, N.C., January 5, 2019
Betty Ann Sherrill Oates ’64, Hendersonville, N.C., November 16, 2018 Harold Coy Earley ’65, Rutherford College, N.C., August 8, 2018 Linda Lou Davis Rutherford ’65, Winston-Salem, N.C., December 31, 2018 David Hardwicke McElroy ’66, Marshall, N.C., August 29, 2018 Kathleen Johnson Penland ’66, Memphis, Tenn., September 29, 2018 Robert “Bob” Guinn Whisnant, Jr. ’66, Albuquerque, N.M., July 10, 2018 Karanne “Kandy” Georgette Garland Tucker ’67, Waynesville, N.C., October 18, 2018 Douglas “Thomas” Worsham, Jr. ’67, Waynesville, N.C., October 17, 2018 Wayne Allen Barber ’68, Chattanooga, Tenn., August 29, 2016 Earl Thomas Eller ’68, North Wilkesboro, N.C., September 16, 2018 Teresa Gail Metcalf Stern ’68, Retired Faculty, Mars Hill, N.C., December 7, 2018
1980s
Carol Elaine Beasley ’80, Fresno, Calif., October 28, 2018 Marie Jaquelin Watters Colton ’80, Asheville, N.C., September 25, 2018 John Ridley Steele ’82, Mount Ulla, N.C., September 29, 2018 Linda Greene Chapman ’83, Lake Toxaway, N.C., November 2, 2018 Frankie Miller McMillan ’86, Murphy, N.C., February 25, 2018 Ann Corn Briggs ’89, Mars Hill, N.C., December 19, 2018
1990s
Marcia Lynn Young ’99, Burnsville, N.C., December 31, 2018 FACULTY/STAFF
Pauline “Polly” Cheek, former director of the MHC MMY (Madison, Mitchell, Yancey) program, Mars Hill, N.C., February 1, 2019
James Sumner Healy ’69, Sanford, N.C., September 7, 2018 Mars Hill, the Magazine | Spring 2019 31
PO Box 370 Mars Hill, N.C. 28754
Thank You D A 3 Y 4 5 M 19 H U
DAY4MHU, Mars Hill’s annual day of giving, was an incredible success thanks to our graduates and friends of the institution. We set a fundraising goal of $30,000 for this day, and in true Mars Hill form, you shattered this goal, with a historic amount for one-day fundraising:
$100,329.00 Thank you for being #LionLifters during #DAY4MHU! Go Lions!
#DAY4MHU
