Katie's Corner

REVVING UP TO OUR 125TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

Dear alumni,

Thanks to you and our amazing community, Homecoming 2021 was a huge hit. We brought new life to the Arrendale Amphitheater with the Atlanta Rhythm Section and the Ivan Duke Band. We even had a few student performers. For the first time in Piedmont history, libations were available for purchase on campus, along with food galore. With more than 300 alumni and community attendees, the event was a huge success!

In April, we teamed up with Habersham Chamber of Commerce to host our first annual LionFest celebration. Once again, the Ivan Duke Band rocked the Arrendale Amphitheater. A student band, Mayflower Maniacs, entertained us all with their unique arrangements and the enthusiasm that only the next generation of artists can bring. We had live karaoke with the Ivan Duke Band, led by Stefanie Watkins Couch ’07, one of our outstanding and talented Alumni Association directors. Stefanie and student Edith Gonzalez were standout performers and crowd favorites.

LionFest brought more than 25 craft vendors, including several student artists, food vendors, and, of course, a beer and wine tent, to our campus. Throughout the course of the beautiful spring day, we had a great turnout of approximately 200 visitors.

As you can imagine, we want to keep the momentum going and make our next celebrations bigger and better. Lucky for us, September marks our 125th anniversary. Throughout the course of this academic year, we will have several smaller celebrations to mark milestones in our history. Keep your eyes peeled for invitations to those events.

And mark your calendars for Homecoming 2022 on Oct. 22, 2022. We will be hosting class reunions, affinity gatherings upon request, the Alumni Awards and Sports Hall of Fame Celebration, and much more. We will also be revealing the newly renovated Alumni Plaza, where your

Stefanie Watkins Couch ’07 was a karaoke favorite at LionFest.

alumni tribute pavers will be displayed. And, of course, what is a celebration without music? Rest assured, we will have live performances by local artists and students!

To make sure you don’t miss any of our announcements, please make sure we have your most up-to-date contact information on file. You can update your information online at alumni.piedmont.edu or by contacting me at kdeal@piedmont.edu or 706-776-0146. If you would like to plan an affinity group reunion or an alumni sports gathering, email me!

125 years is certainly something to commemorate. Come celebrate with us!

Katie Deal Comeau ’02

Director of Alumni Engagement and Development kdeal@piedmont.edu | 706-776-0146

Rogers Endowed Scholarship

ESTABLISHED TO HONOR MEMORY OF FORMER PIEDMONT DEAN

By Terrie Ellerbee ’95

Dr. Jonathan Clark Rogers taught mathematics and served as basketball coach at Oakwood Seminary in New York before returning to Piedmont.

Dr. Jonathan Clark Rogers was a Piedmont graduate who went on to a distinguished career in higher education, including returning to Piedmont to serve as dean for many years.

An endowed scholarship in his name, bolstered earlier this year with contributions by his granddaughters, Anne W. Chenault and Mary F. Raymer, continues his lifelong work to ensure educational opportunity for the students of Georgia.

Raymer said her grandfather was an extraordinary teacher. She recalled when her brother, Edwin, turned to “Granddaddy Rogers” for help understanding algebra.

“He went to Dahlonega (Georgia) to stay a week just to work with Granddaddy,” she said. “Our grandfather had a way of teaching that gave our brother total confidence, and he just went whizzing through the rest of mathematics.”

Rogers was born in 1885, in Richmond, Indiana. His family moved to Demorest in 1892, and in 1903, when he was 18, he enrolled at Piedmont. Rogers earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1906 and continued his education at Earlham College, where he received an engineering degree in 1907. In 1927, he graduated from Columbia University with a master’s degree.

Rogers began his career in education at Oakwood Seminary in New York, where he taught mathematics and served as the basketball coach and a dormitory proctor.

In 1909, he returned to Demorest to serve as principal of the Piedmont Academy and Elementary School, which was then part of the university. In 1911, he was named professor of mathematics and began his 22-year tenure as dean. In 1934, Rogers became Piedmont’s vice president and local executive officer. That same year, Piedmont honored him with an honorary doctorate in education. Also in 1934, Rogers was named president of North Georgia College (now the University of North Georgia) in Dahlonega. During his 15 years there, he helped the college grow from a two-year school to a four-year college. Enrollment increased from 160 to 720 students under his leadership.

In 1949, the state’s Board of Regents named Rogers president of the University of Georgia.

“Perhaps Granddad's greatest accomplishment at UGA was in maintaining it as a single flagship university rather than having it split into various colleges and schools,” Chenault said.

After serving just under two years as UGA president, Rogers went on to become director of Tallulah Falls School from 1951-53.

In the 1950s, his former home in Demorest was torn down to make way for a new library at Piedmont.

Rogers returned to teaching in 1957 when he joined the Reinhardt College faculty as a math professor and counselor until 1962. He also worked with others to plan and establish a system of junior colleges across the state to increase access to educational opportunities.

In 1966, Rogers was named an honorary trustee at Reinhardt. Rogers Hall, on UNG’s Dahlonega campus, stands as a tribute to his contributions to the field of education.

Rogers died on Oct. 24, 1967.

The Dr. Jonathan Clark Rogers Endowed Scholarship will be awarded annually to students selected by the Office of Financial Aid who are making satisfactory academic progress. Raymer hopes mathematics majors will apply.

By Katie Deal Comeau ’02

GINNY + DAVID

Love was blooming in the spring of 1964 as little Virginia “Ginny” McDonald Abbot ’68, a senior at North Habersham High School, watched in awe while the Piedmont Choir sang at her school. But it was not the choir that drew her attention; it was the handsome young man playing the piano. David Kimball Abbot ’67, a freshman at Piedmont, gave an encore performance of “I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’” from Porgy and Bess. He was talented and funny, and he dazzled the teenage girls of North Habersham High, most of all Ginny.

Maybe it was the short distance between the Demorest campus and her hometown of Hollywood that enticed Ginny to enroll at Piedmont in the fall of 1964. Or maybe it was that cute piano player she had seen the previous spring. She’ll never say for sure.

As it turns out, the young man had his eye on her, as well. While on a group hike of Yonah Mountain that fall, David snapped a photo of the beautiful Ginny. He didn’t even know her name; he hadn’t yet worked up the courage to speak to her. The photo was his icebreaker, and it worked.

Soon Ginny and David became friends, but David was not the only one who was keen on her. Russell “Ted” Just ’67, David’s roommate and close friend, asked Ginny to accompany him to the Piedmont Choir Christmas party, beating David to the punch. At the party, David turned up the charm and finally confessed his feelings to Ginny. The following day, he attended the United Federalist Church with Ginny, a requirement set by Mr. McDonald in order to date any of his three daughters. Ginny took this opportunity to chide David for delaying their courtship. How had he not noticed that she had been interested in him for months?!

David and Ted remained friends, and all tension dissipated once Ted met Ginny’s younger sister, Linda McDonald Just ’73. David continued to attend church with the McDonald family. He and Ginny found they had much in common. They were both musically talented and sang in the Piedmont Choir together. They both spent a lot of time in the library — Ginny as a student worker, David as an admirer. Both were good with numbers — Ginny was a mathematics major, and David was an accounting major — but he got distracted in calculus. He finally implored her to sit behind him so he could concentrate. Her outgoing, loveable personality was — and still is — irresistible to him.

David and Ginny married on August 5, 1967. Ted and Linda married shortly after and remained together until his passing in 1980. David and Ginny have enjoyed a life of travel, family, love, and friendship. As they approach 55 years of marriage, their secret for marital bliss is simple: place God above all, and He will be the keystone that keeps your relationship whole.

David and Ginny have four children: Stephanie, Beth, Matt and Jennifer Abbot Pendleton ’01. One of their grandchildren, Jared Parks, will be starting at Piedmont this fall.

If you have a Piedmont love story to share, please email kdeal@piedmont.edu.

Piedmont Welcomes THREE NEW TRUSTEES

By Rachel Pleasant

In spring 2022, Piedmont University welcomed three new members to its Board of Trustees.

“We are thrilled to welcome Matt, Walter, and Barbara to the Board,” said President Dr. James F. Mellichamp.

“Each brings unique professional experiences and personal perspectives, but they all believe in Piedmont, its mission, and its future. I look forward to all we will accomplish together.”

The new Board members include:

MATT COOK

Matt Cook is a native of Rabun County and a first-generation graduate of Piedmont University. He grew up in Northeast Georgia, the son of a single mom. He spent three years working in cotton mills and other manual labor jobs before graduating from Piedmont and attending law school at Mercer University. He joined a nationally renowned trial lawyer firm, where he spent six years as an associate and five years as a partner, handling a broad range of complex, catastrophic injury and death cases across the U.S. Cook secured more than $225 million for clients in just the past 10 years. He is a frequent speaker at trial lawyer seminars, has published numerous articles, and has served as an expert witness in several cases. Cook is also an aviation enthusiast and has his private pilot's license.

“I am proud to support this University, which has for over a century provided vital educational support to the Northeast Georgia mountain communities. I met some of my best friends as a young man at Piedmont, and learned lifelong lessons on this campus.” WALTER CROWDER

Walter Crowder is a native of Habersham County and graduated from Habersham Central High School. He and his wife, Kathy, raised their two sons in Decatur, Georgia, but they recently moved to Cornelia and are happy to be back home. He has more than 30 years of experience in organizational leadership and strategy. He serves as an executive for Lexmark, a Lexington, Kentucky, corporation. He holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing and finance from Emory University. He is an Eagle Scout and volunteers with the Boy Scouts.

“To be part of an important institution and bring fresh ideas and energy as we drive toward excellence for the Piedmont University student body — that’s my goal as a Board member.” BARBARA STRAIN

Barbara Strain began her professional life as a social worker with the Habersham County Health Department. She served as the social services coordinator for the 20-county Ninth District Head Start Program and provided consultant training for Head Start Programs throughout the southeast. In 1981, she joined her father as managing broker for his real estate company, Shield Realty. The company grew to eight offices with 28 agents and was considered one of the top real estate agencies in the area. She became a partner in the family company and helped successfully develop many neighborhoods. In 1991, Shield Realty was bought out by its current owners. Strain eventually retired from professional work and became a full-time wife, mother, and community volunteer. She served with the Habersham Medical Center Authority, including on the executive committee, for several years. She was also chairman of the Habersham Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Downtown Development Authority representing the City of Cornelia, and an active member of the Habersham Rotary Club; in the latter role she was a longtime trustee of the Rotary’s scholarship fund. Appointed by former Gov. Sonny Purdue, she served two terms on the Georgia Council for Families and Youth. She is a certified relationship coach and is facilitating a national church-sponsored singles mission.

“I have spent my life serving the Habersham community, and I look forward to continuing this work as a Piedmont Board member. I am committed to helping Piedmont and Habersham grow — and thrive — together.”