a Word from your Editor
F
rom start to finish, publishing a magazine is a five-tosix month process. First you gather story ideas, and assign writers to develop those stories. Then you imagine creative ways to tell those stories on the page and begin to collect images. After that are many stages of layout, approvals, proofing, and printing, which can take three weeks. As COVID-19 grew from a concern to a full-blown crisis in less than two weeks, we were about halfway through this process. As Northeast Georgia shut down, we had to shelve some stories for many different reasons. Getting professional photographs was a big concern. So, some of the images in these pages do not sparkle. Some were taken in quarantine with phones by friends and spouses. We make no apologies and simply did the best we could. For many days, our group discussed how we might represent the coronavirus in these pages. Ultimately, we decided to let our alumni tell their stories. We connected with some heroic ones who were fighting on the front lines against the disease. Somehow, amid the chaos, they found time to speak with our writers. To a person, all acknowledged the gravity of the fight. But they were hopeful, even optimistic for the future. At the time of this writing, all were in fullbattle mode. The image on the cover reflects that grit. Thanks to all of them for sharing their stories. I know we are better for reading them.
John Roberts, Editor
In praise of Ayers feature I really enjoyed reading the recent Journal article by John Roberts on my great Uncle “Doc” Ayers. Doc is the brother of my dad’s mom. It’s one of the best written articles I have read on him. I am proud to say that my father, Gary, is a member of Piedmont’s Class of 1969. Below is an image of him as a child with Uncle Doc (in the Navy uniform) and his Uncle Bill Ayers (Doc’s brother). – David G. Stephenson, Ph.D.
Through the years of my husband’s (Howard “Doc” Ayers) wonderful coaching career, he has had many articles written about him. However, I want to thank you for the outstanding article that appeared in the Fall 2019 edition of Piedmont College Journal, “A Beloved Legend.” So many of his family and good friends saw the article and contacted us to say how much they enjoyed reading it. This was very special to Doc. There was so much information about his career, as well as his family. Doc, after reading it, said it brought back so many wonderful memories. On behalf of Doc, his family and friends, thank you so much.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS We welcome letters on any topic covered in the Journal. They should be limited to 150 words, refer to a subject from the most recent issue, and include the writer’s name, city/state, and class year/degree (if applicable). Your notes may be emailed to Journal@piedmont.edu. Letters are published at the discretion of the editor and may be edited for length and clarity.
Piedmont College and the wonderful people that represent it are very special to Doc. – Mrs. Doc (Glenda) Ayers
PIEDMONT COLLEGE JO U RNAL
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