14 minute read
Lillian E. Smith Center update
the Lillian E. Smith Center
PIEDMONT UNIVERSITY
Banned Books Event Informs, Inspires Students
By Chris Pearce
On Sept. 21, 2022, Piedmont University’s Lillian E. Smith Center hosted National Book Award winner Nate Powell, illustrator of John Lewis’ March trilogy. Approximately 50 students, faculty, and staff attended the event where Powell and Dr. Matthew Teutsch, director of the Lillian E. Smith Center, discussed modern-day efforts to limit access to some books, particularly in schools and public libraries.
Responding to an uptick in book bans in public institutions and bookstores, Banned Books Week began in 1982. It typically takes place during the last week in September, and, as the American Library Association says, it “brings together the entire book community … in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.”
During the Piedmont event, Powell spoke about the considerations he and the creative team for March — Congressman John Lewis and comics writer Andrew Aydin — had to take as they wrote the series. Specifically, Powell recounted the story of a middle school librarian who didn’t want to adopt the book for fear of what parents and community members might say. March details Lewis’ role in the Civil Rights Movement.
Listening to Powell and Dr. Teutsch speak “about bills against the distribution of specific bits of information as well as the topics of books that have gotten banned,” Piedmont student Ananda Munoz Salas said, “really made me think about the way our society has and keeps being shaped.”
Dr. Jaydn DeWald, the director of the creative writing program at Piedmont University, said the event, “was not merely engrossing and informative, but politically profound. My creative writing students came away with a sharper understanding of what’s at stake when they engage with and create literature about issues such as race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, community, responsibility — which is to say, survival.”
The event concluded with a giveaway of some regularly challenged and banned books, including Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, George M. Johnson’s All Boys Aren’t Blue, and Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer.
Piedmont Welcomes Trustee Lisa Lord Black
By Rachel Pleasant
In fall 2022, Piedmont University welcomed a new member to its Board of Trustees — alumna Lisa Lord Black.
“We are grateful for Lisa’s willingness to continue serving our institution, an institution that I know is very dear to her heart. We look forward to incorporating her experience, expertise, and personal passion for Piedmont into the decision-making of the board,” said President Dr. James F. Mellichamp.
Black is an enthusiastic and innovative retired educator with more than 30 years of experience in Georgia’s public schools.
In 1988, she earned her bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Georgia. A two-time Piedmont University alumna, she earned her master’s degree in Early Childhood Education in 2001 and her Education Specialist in Curriculum and Instruction in 2007. She is also certified in gifted instruction and is a teacher support specialist.
Her son, Dusty Black, also holds a bachelor’s degree from Piedmont University in secondary education. He was also a member of Piedmont’s baseball team. Black has two grandchildren, Hudson and Hadlee, whom she adores.
In addition to serving as a Piedmont trustee, she is involved as past president of the Alumni Association Board of Directors, institutional programs chair, 2023 Yonahian Society Gala chair, and P-Club committee member. She is also a Yonahian Society member. When not volunteering for Piedmont, she works for Boots, Etc., in Commerce, Georgia, as a corporate account specialist, visits the beach, cares for her grandchildren, travels with friends, and spends time with her family.
OFFICERS
Nick Kastner ’03,
M ’06, President, serves as director of brand and digital strategy at Forum Communications, a full-service marketing agency. With more than 20 years of marketing experience, Kastner is a frequent speaker, instructor, and writer on the topics of brand, digital, and marketing strategy and has published articles in both professional and academic business publications. He is also an adjunct instructor of marketing at the University of North Georgia and founder of the Sneakers and Strategies podcast. Kastner and his wife, Brandy, live in Murrayville, Georgia.
Pamela Getman Fisher ’13, Vice
President, was born and raised in Hartwell, Georgia. Her business administration degree from Piedmont led to her career as a corporate account executive at burton + BURTON, a leading wholesale distributor of balloons and
DIRECTORS
Eddy Ariail ’80 Lisa Lord Black M ’01, Ed.S. ’07 Nicole Booth ’02
Jill Hallford Bradley ’80 Stefanie Watkins Couch ’07 Kanler Cumbass ’19 Kelsey Schaffernoth Gantz ’15 gifts. She has been a member of Piedmont University’s Alumni Association Board of Directors since 2014. Fisher volunteers for multiple nonprofit organizations. In 2021, she married her best friend, Paul.
David Abbot ’67,
Secretary, served in Vietnam as an officer after graduating from Piedmont. He retired from the Department of Veterans Affairs after 32 years of service and returned to school for a Master of Science degree in addiction counseling. He now has an office in Stephens County at the Hope Center of Toccoa, where he works as a certified addiction counselor helping those with substance abuse, anger, and domestic violence issues. Abbot and his wife, Virginia “Ginny” McDonald Abbot ’68, met at a Piedmont event and have been married for 55 years.
Dock Sisk ’72, Treasurer, started his career in public education and was a school superintendent in Georgia for 15 years. Sisk and his wife, Nan, operate a farm in Homer, Georgia, and serve on several nonprofit boards. Both have a passion for officiating basketball, and both previously refereed for the WNBA. Sisk spent many years refereeing high school and college basketball, serving the Southeastern Conference for more than 27 years and the Atlantic Coast Conference for 25 of those years.
Matt Desing ’02, Alumni
Trustee, is a sales manager for Cogent Communications. After graduating from Piedmont in 2002, he became the assistant men’s soccer coach for the university. He also previously served as a senior district executive for the Boy Scouts of America Northeast Georgia Council. Desing has served as a director and committee chair for the alumni association since 2019. He and his wife, Mary, live in Roswell, Georgia.
Sumner Gantz ’15, M ’17 Rev. Dr. Roswell Lawrence, Jr. M ’09 Sierra Nicholson ’03
Evan Nissley ’08 Jessie Owensby ’15 Cale Padgett ’09 Mike Santowski, Jr. ’06 C. Walker Searcy ’06, M ’07 Juanita Shope ’81 Blake R. Thomas ’07, M ’09 Stephanie Rainwater Thomas ’08 Juanita Praria Weiss ’80
ALUMNI PROMISE SCHOLARSHIP
New Endowed Scholarship Fund Ensures Support for Future Generations
Dear fellow alumni,
A few months ago, I was honored to become president of the Piedmont University Alumni Association. Under the leadership of my friend and predecessor, Sierra Nicholson, the Alumni Association took on a challenge — raise $25,000 to help fund a new endowed scholarship known as the Piedmont Alumni Promise Scholarship. In our first meeting of this new academic year, we met that goal.
Now we offer the challenge to you, our fellow alumni. For every dollar you contribute to the Alumni Promise Scholarship, the Alumni Association will match it with one of our own, up to $25,000. Together we can create a $50,000 endowed fund for students.
Neither of my parents went to college, but thanks to support from my family, generous Piedmont donors, and wages I earned through a part-time job, I was able to complete my undergraduate degree, and later, continue at Piedmont to earn my master’s. Now, as my own children prepare to start college in just a few short years, I’ve thought a lot about legacy — not my own, but the legacy of those that supported me back then. Their legacy is the new educational standard within my family. Because of their generosity, barriers were removed. College became not a matter of “if,” but “when.”
This scholarship is a way that we, as alumni, can ensure future generations of students who just need a little extra financial support will be able to finish their degrees. This is an opportunity for you to be part of the legacy of Piedmont. Are you up to the challenge?
Alumni Promise Scholarship
Please make your gift to the fund before June 30, 2023. Starting in fall 2023, the scholarship will begin to be awarded annually to a junior or senior who has made significant academic progress but faces financial need. Since the scholarship is endowed, the contributions (corpus) will never be touched, with only the earnings awarded each year. Therefore, the scholarship will be available to numerous Piedmont University students for years to come. Please make your donation and double your impact today! Visit alumni.piedmont.edu/g/ alumni-promise-scholarship or scan the QR below for information on how to give.
This scholarship is a
way that we, as alumni, can ensure future generations of students who just Alumni Promise Scholarship need a little extra financial support will PIEDMONT UNIVERSITY
Many blessings,
By Rachel Pleasant
In just over a year, Marcus Shockley and Kristy Lightsey, whose love began when Kristy reached for Marcus’ hand on a late-night drive back to campus, will become husband and wife.
“Piedmont was always my dream school,” said Lightsey, a native of Richmond Hill, Georgia, who graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance in 2022 and is now pursuing her Master of Arts in Teaching Music Education.
“And it turns out that at Piedmont, I found the man of my dreams, too.”
Lightsey and Shockley, who also earned his bachelor’s in music performance in 2022 and is currently studying for his MAT, met through mutual friends in Piedmont’s music program. At first, Lightsey was far from impressed.
“He was too loud,” she said. “He wasn’t for me.”
The two would go on to join the Piedmont Singers, and slowly, as they spent time together, performing and playing Super Smash Bros. on their Nintendo Switch, Lightsey began to see more than a boisterous boy; she started to see a man who offered strength and comfort.
“He opens doors for me. He is so kind. He has a heart for people, and he loves helping others. To have someone like that with me, it’s just amazing,” Lightsey said.
Lightsey doesn’t enjoy being on the road at night, and she is prone to carsickness. When she, Shockley, and their friends would go out after class, she always rode in front, and one night, seeking reassurance, she slipped her hand behind the seat to find Shockley’s.
From then on, whenever the friends were in the car, Lightsey’s hand was in Shockley’s.
“His hands fit mine perfectly,” she said. “His hands were always warm.”
In time, the two shared their feelings with one another, and by spring 2021, they were a couple dreaming of a future together.
Lightsey recalled going to a church service in March of that year, to watch Shockley work as a worship leader. “I was watching him do his job, and in my mind, I heard the words, ‘Look at your husband up there,’” Lightsey said.
“It was scary at first, but comforting after I let that sink in.”
KRISTY + MARCUS
The two went on a road trip to Lightsey’s hometown and met each other’s parents. In August 2021, Shockley asked Lightsey’s father for permission to propose, but he was told to wait.
In January 2022, Shockley couldn’t put off popping the question any longer. A friend helped him find a ring, and the night before he proposed, he slipped into Lightsey’s room in Mayflower, wanting to make sure it fit.
“She says she was awake, but she was asleep,” he said. “I slipped it on her finger.”
On Jan. 14, 2022, Shockley again phoned Lightsey’s dad.
“I told him I wanted to take her hand, provide for her, and make her happy,” Shockley said. “This time, he welcomed me to the family. I was in tears.”
A few hours later, Shockley took Lightsey to Cornelia. Lightsey’s dad works for a railroad company, and she loves trains. Shockley took her to the railroad tracks at sunset — Lightsey’s favorite time of day — and got down on one knee.
She said yes. The two have set their wedding date for Jan. 14, 2024, two years to the day from their engagement, and just a few months before they’ll graduate with their master’s degrees. They expect many of their Piedmont faculty members and friends to be in attendance.
Looking to their future, they envision two — maybe three — children and a music studio in North Georgia. Lightsey will teach voice and piano. Shockley will teach instrumental lessons and band.
Music has always been at the heart of their love story. They can’t imagine a life without it.
“Music is at the center for us. When I hear Kristy sing, it’s like hearing angels,” Shockley said.
ALUMNA JACKSON MADE HER ‘SMOKIN’ HOT’ SUCCESS HAPPEN
Abby Jackson ’84 did not wait for success. She went out and made it happen.
Like many college graduates, Jackson left home to learn about the world and find her calling. She discovered that she had a gift for sales. As a national sales manager for a New York-based gift company, she supervised six sales representatives and created a display program the grocer Publix used in 800 stores.
When Jackson returned to Habersham County in 2006, she “got very busy doing things I really had a passion for.” In 2011, she started creating food products that today are marketed under her Abby J’s Blackhawk label.
Jackson’s Field to Fork Sweet Fire Pickles won the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences Flavor of Georgia Contest in 2016. Her Smokin’ Hot Okra was a finalist in 2019.
Abby J’s Blackhawk Gourmet products are available in grocery stores like Kroger, The Fresh Market, and Ingles Markets. She was the first celebrity chef for Ingles Markets and now hosts a cooking show sponsored by the grocery company called “Field to Fork with Abby J.”
Jackson develops and creates original recipes for Ingles Table magazine and videos to help home chefs prepare them. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Jackson visited local farmers who supply produce for Ingles for the video series “What’s in Season at Ingles Market.”
Jackson’s dishes are enjoyed by guests at Blackhawk Flyfishing, a destination for anglers that Jackson owns with her husband, John. The business is based out of a charming 1860s farmhouse the Jacksons renovated. Guests flyfish a two-mile stretch of the Soque River that runs through their 125-acre property. Blackhawk Flyfishing draws those who want to experience the thrill of catching rainbow and brown trout while taking in the beauty of the Northeast Georgia mountains. Garden & Gun magazine calls it a “fisherman’s paradise.”
One notable guest was David Zelski, a producer for Georgia Public Broadcasting. Jackson met him at Mark of the Potter. He was in Clarkesville filming his weekly “Georgia Traveler” program. She invited him to Blackhawk Flyfishing. “He caught some fish, ate five bowls of my chili, and told me to jar it. That is exactly what I did. Now I have nine products on the market,” Jackson said. “We fed off each other.”
Zelski went on to create a show called “Anglers and Appetites.” The sixth episode features Blackhawk Flyfishing — and Jackson’s cooking. Jackson said she has “spoiled” Blackhawk guests with dishes that feature garden-fresh ingredients. Abby J’s Farm Style Living Cookbook, published in 2016, is filled with Jackson’s authentic farm-to-table recipes.
Growing up on a farm, Jackson learned to grow and can vegetables like her mother and grandmother before her. Blackhawk Flyfishing guests reap the reward.
“Every year, I put up about 150 quarts of my soup base to make chili for my fly fishermen. They ask for it. I don’t ‘have’ to do it. I want to. I love what I’m doing,” Jackson said.
Jackson encourages Piedmont students to find a profession that feels like something they “get” to do instead of “have” to do.
“You really need to get out there and find your calling in life. I would not just settle for something and not be happy. Work hard and go for it,” Jackson said. “You need to enjoy life.”
Jackson also strongly believes in community and giving back. The farmhouse where Blackhawk Flyfishing is based has hosted events that helped raise thousands of dollars for local nonprofits, like the domestic crisis intervention organization Circle of Hope.
Jackson also gives generously to Piedmont and was one of the university’s first Yonahian Society members, who each provide a minimum $1,000 gift annually.
“I love Piedmont and what it has to offer. I love that it has grown,” Jackson said. “We need to create more awareness around Piedmont and expose other people to the university. It is a great place to go to school, and there is so much to do here in the beautiful Northeast Georgia mountains.”
