2015 09 mhm

Let’s Build!

Building Our University: the Campaign for Mars Hill

INSIDE

Campaign Donors: Who

Are They?

2 Mars Hill, the Magazine | Fall 2015

MAGAZINE STAFF:

Editor:

Teresa Buckner, Assistant Director of Communications

Associate Editor:

Mike Thornhill ’88, Director of Communications

Contributors:

Bud Christman, Vice President of Advancement

Tim McClain, Director of Development

Rick Baker, Sports Information Director

Steven Grandy, Assistant Director of Sports Information

James Knight, Director of the Mars Hill Fund

Amy Garrison ’07, Director of Advancement Services

MARS HILL UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION

Dr. Dan G. Lunsford ’69, President

Dr. John Wells, Executive Vice President

Bud Christman, Vice President of Advancement

Neil Tilley, Vice President of Finance and Facilities Management

Dr. Grainger Caudle, Executive Director of Planning & Auxiliary Services

Joy Kish, Special Assistant to the President for Strategic Initiatives

Deana Holland, Director of Human Resources

Dr. Jason Pierce, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Information Services; Title IX Coordinator

Mars Hill [mahrz hil] noun 1. A site in Athens, also known as the Areopagus, where Paul used

persuasive reason and logic to preach Christ to the intellectuals of first-century Greece, as detailed in Acts 17:21 of the Bible.

2. A town in the mountains of North Carolina known for the beauty of its surroundings and its welcoming, small-town atmosphere.

3. A university in the town of Mars Hill which strives to provide the best in liberal arts education for its 1300-some students.

4. A concept (esp. for faculty, students, staff, and alumni of Mars Hill University) signifying that place where faith meets reason, to lay a foundation for a life of character and compassion.

Mars Hill, The Magazine of Mars Hill University is published regularly by the Office of 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, NC, 28754. Phone 828/689-1102. Fax 828/689-1292. E-mail [email protected].

Letters to the editor and all other correspondence regarding the magazine should be addressed to the Office of Communications, Mars Hill University, P.O. Box 6765, Mars Hill, NC, 28754. Phone 828/689-1304. Fax 828/689-1105. E-mail [email protected].

Postmaster: Send address changes to the Alumni Office, Mars Hill University, P.O. Box 6792, Mars Hill, NC, 28754.

Copyright 2015. All rights reserved.

Cover, background: Joyce Kilmer Forest, credit Marc Mullinax ’73. Foreground: MHU Residence Life Assistants, credit Teresa Buckner.

Mars Hill, the Magazine | Fall 2015 3

Letter from the President .................................. 4

Let’s Build Mars Hill University ........................... 5 Building Our University: the Campaign for Mars Hill

Capital Campaign Priorities:

Endowed Student Scholarships ..................... 6

Student Activities Center (Wren Renovation) ..... 7

Nursing Program Development ...................... 8

HuffmanResidenceHallRenovation ............. 10

The Mars Hill Fund ...................................... 12

Endowed Faculty Development .................... 14

Troy and Pauline Day Hall ............................ 16

Jo Ellen Ammons Athletic Fieldhouse ........... 18

Walter and Pat Smith ...................................... 20 Keepers of the Mars Hill Story

Awards of Note ............................................... 23

Lion Athletics .................................................. 24

NewFacultyandStaff ..................................... 25

Faculty/StaffAccomplishmentsandResearch ... 26

Class Notes ..................................................... 26

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Dr. Dan Lunsford ’69President


Being a university takes more than a name change. It takes people—trustees, administrators, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends—who are willing to build that university.Today, Mars Hill University is charged with answering the call of a new generation, with higher standards in programming, updated facilities, and the means to prepare students for employment, for service to mankind, for life itself, in the 21st

century. We have set a vision for the future through an ambitious strategic plan, but we need your help to get there.That’s the vision of Building Our University: the Campaign for Mars Hill. In the pages of this magazine, you will be introduced to each of the priorities of the campaign. You also will be introduced to some of the committed individuals who have already made strides in building our university. We have been humbled and blessed by the generosity of those who have provided the initial momentum for the campaign’s ultimate success. We believe that Mars Hill has been blessed by our God and by the gifts of generations of people. Now, we are calling on you. I encourage you to review our plans and give consideration to your own level of involvement and commitment. We know that ultimately, building our university will require dedication from each area of campus, and each person who believes in the mission of Mars Hill. We ask you to join us, and Let’s Build together!

Scenes from the “Building Our University” Campaign Kickoff: (1) Students and staff hold up numbers representing the $25 million-plus already raised during the “quiet phase” of the campaign; (2) President Dan Lunsford addresses a crowd of committed MHU supporters at the kickoff; (3) the event took place at Lioncrest on the Biltmore Estate; (4) Brenda

Nash, steering committee chair for the campaign, poses with Trustee Mark Cabaniss; (5) senior Jessica Woodburn gives

donors the student perspective on the goals of the ambitious capital campaign.


Mars Hill University

Let’s Build

Campaign Goals:

Endowed Student Scholarships ............ $9 Million

Wren Student Center ......................... $5.5 Million

Nursing Program Development ............ $5 Million

Huffman Residence Hall ....................... $3 Million

Endowed Faculty Development ......... $2.5 Million

Mars Hill Fund ................................... $2.5 Million

Day Hall................................................ $2 Million

Athletic Fieldhouse ............................ $1.5 Million

TOTAL ................................................. $31 Million

4

3

21

5


Endowed Student Scholarships $9M

Mars Hill University remains committed to making the university as affordable as possible by limiting student indebtedness through expanded scholarship offerings.Endowed scholarships equate to opportunities for students at Mars Hill University. Without them, many students lack the resources to obtain a Mars Hill education.

Endowed scholarships begin at $20,000 and result in specific annual awards, in perpetuity: Commitment .................... Annual Scholarship $20,000 ................................................. $1,000 $50,000 ................................................. $2,500 $100,000 ............................................... $5,000 $500,000 ............................................. $25,000

(full tuition scholarship) $1,000,000 .......................................... $50,000

We are asking people to invest in this place.…It’s about enhancing the experience for the students that are here today and will be here tomorrow. President Dan Lunsford ’69

building our University #buildmhu

Establishment of an endowed scholarship continues to be the single most direct and important way to impact a student’s life and to create a living legacy. The benefit from scholarships will continue to be substantial, as most of the university’s students come from modest backgrounds, and more than 95% of them currently receive some form of financial aid.

Mars Hill University is an important academic fixture, something that western North Carolina can be proud of.

Bill Barrett ’16


Student Activities Center (Wren Renovation) $5.5M

Wren Student Union, built in 1973, has never seen its full use and capacity due to design limitations. The building is currently out-of-date and underutilized.

The renovation of Wren will impact each floor of the current facility with significant changes and upgrades throughout. These changes will completely renovate the structure and will ensure that student life at the university is centered in a space which is modern, attractive, and functional.

The first floor will include a total renovation and relocation of the fitness center. This will include a fitness area for both universal and free weights, cardio fitness machines, additional exercise rooms, and an indoor cycling room. The first floor will also hold a refurbished/relocated post office and a new student recreation/game room facility.

The second floor will feature an upgraded Timberline lounge area, a total refit for the Lion’s Den café, and a reimagined multipurpose space in the area now

occupied by the Blue Lounge. This space will provide significant upgrades for conferences and training.

The third floor modifications will create space for all of the student development division to be housed under one roof for the first time in years. Additional areas dedicated to student organizations and meeting space are planned.

Artist’s rendering of the fitness center inside the renovated Wren Student Union.

The Student Activities Center will be a place where you can just hang out…a place where students can just get together and have some fun on Saturday nights.

Jordan Talley ’18



We don’t just want people to have nurses. We want people to have Mars Hill nurses.

Rev. Linda Judge-McRae ’86 Trustee

The Judge-McRae School of Nursing will provide a bachelor’s degree in nursing with a liberal arts focus, at a time when the demand for nurses with four-year degrees is growing in the region and the state. Nursing programs offered will be consistent with the university’s mission, as they will be grounded in the liberal arts, connected to the world of work, and committed to character development and service.

During the 2015-16 academic year, the university is offering an RN to BSN Program (registered nurse to bachelor of science in nursing program) through the Adult & Graduate Studies (AGS) program. A pre-licensure undergraduate bachelor of science in nursing program is due to begin in the fall of 2016, pending approval by the North Carolina Board of Nursing. The university received approval for the program from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges in March 2015.

Ferguson Health Sciences Center, currently under construction, is the future home of the planned Judge-McRae School of Nursing.

The three-story, 28,731-square-foot facility will be located at the corner of NC Highway 213 (Cascade Street) and Dormitory Drive. It is expected to be completed by fall 2016. The building will include classroom and meeting space, as well as state-of-the-art clinical spaces and simulation labs.

Nursing Program Development $5M

Ferguson Health Sciences Center See construction progress at

www.mhu.edu/about-mhu/construction-updates



“Education is what will build our community,” according to Jack Ferguson. “Those with a better education have a better chance at a better life.”This desire to enable other people to seek a better life is the primary philosophy that has driven Jack and Carolyn Ferguson to contribute generously to Mars Hill University over the years. In 2004, the Fergusons made a major gift to Mars Hill University which enabled the institution to build Ferguson Math and Science Center, located at the intersection of NC Highway 213 and Athletic Street. In 2013, the Fergusons made another major commitment which will help Mars Hill to give its nursing program a home. At the same time, they made a foundational gift which will establish the Jack and Carolyn Ferguson Nursing Scholarship for students going through the program.Residents of Candler, NC, the Fergusons keep busy with a number of community and church involvements. Jack Ferguson is a member of the Mars Hill University Foundation Board. Carolyn Ferguson has served two terms as a trustee of the

university (2001-04 and 2006-09). In 2004, they were named Philanthropists of the Year by Mars Hill, and in 2006, Mars Hill awarded the Fergusons with doctorates of humane letters.

“Mars Hill is a good school, with a wonderful Baptist heritage,” Carolyn Ferguson said. “We wanted to do what we could to help the university remain true to that mission.”

The Donor DifferenceDrs. Jack and Carolyn Ferguson

The Donor Difference

Norman and Linda Judge-McRaeNorman ’84 and Rev. Linda Judge-McRae ’86 are the owners of Caris Healthcare, a provider of private hospice healthcare based in Knoxville. The McRaes’ interests in both healthcare and ministry is reflected in their philanthropic choices at Mars Hill University. Several years ago, Linda co-founded the Fitzgerald-Bean scholarship for women who plan a career in the ministry. Then, in 2013, the McRaes made a sacrificial gift to the institution which allowed for the creation of the Judge-McRae School of Nursing. That same year, they were named Philanthropists of the Year by Mars Hill University. Linda also gives her time and leadership to the university as a trustee.

The McRaes’ goals in making the gift, they said, are not only to help provide nurses for the region, but to provide an education for those nurses that emphasizes the deeper lessons of service to mankind.

“The thing about Mars Hill, is that it grounded us in service,” Norman said. “It gave me confidence and leadership skills, but it also taught me deeply that, whatever your job or discipline, life is about service.”Linda agrees: “We don’t just want people to have nurses. We want people to have Mars Hill nurses.”

At the groundbreaking ceremony for Ferguson Health Sciences Center, (l-r) Linda Judge-McRae, Caroline McRae, Norman McRae,

Carolyn Ferguson and Jack Ferguson



I lived in Huffman my freshman year....To see a building like that preserved and more comfortable to live in but with the history still there, is so beautiful to me.

Jessica Woodburn ’16

Huffman Residence Hall Renovation $3M

Huffman Residence Hall is a 26,932 square-foot dormitory constructed in 1947. The dormitory is currently undergoing a dramatic renovation which will include new plumbing, lavatories, windows, doors, flooring, roofing, fire sprinkler system, and electrical systems. Repurposed student lounges

with new furnishings will offer attractive, more welcoming student gathering spaces in which to build community.

Planned for completion in fall 2015, the renovation of Huffman Hall is one of several residence hall upgrades accomplished or planned at Mars Hill as part of the institution’s strategic plan. These upgrades preserve the traditional look and feel of the institution. They also reflect the university’s commitment to historic preservation and sustainability, while remaining more cost-effective than a new structure featuring the same number of beds.

The renovations at Huffman Residence Hall will allow one of the oldest residence halls on campus to meet the needs of the students in 2015 and beyond. Huffman Residence Hall



For Tom ’66 and Brenda Nash ’66, contributing to the renovation of Huffman Residence Hall is not just a charitable donation to Mars Hill University. It is also helping to maintain a bit of history in their own lives.

“I lived in Huffman as a sophomore at Mars Hill,” Brenda Nash said recently. “For that time, at least, it was my home, and no one wants to see her home in need of repairs.”

Nash hopes that the total renovation now ongoing at Huffman Residence Hall will help preserve the history of the institution, as well as the memories of generations of Mars Hill students.

“Those old buildings like Huffman, they are the history of Mars Hill University,” she said. “They have a memory in people’s hearts as just being so very special, and that’s why we wanted to be part of preserving this building for the future.”

Residents of Asheville, Tom and Brenda Nash are both alums of Mars Hill. Tom retired as the owner of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company, headquartered in Asheville. In earlier years, Brenda dedicated her life to raising the couple’s four children, and in recent years, she has given innumerable hours to various volunteer and fundraising endeavors for worthy organizations in the area, such as Mission Hospitals, the Salvation Army, and Carolina Day School. In addition, she has written and taught topical Bible Studies at churches in the area for over 40 years.

Brenda is a current member and Tom a former member of the Mars Hill University

Board of Trustees. They have been supporters of the university for many years and have given sacrificially to the renovation of Nash Education

Building, to MHU athletics, to the Fred Bentley Scholarship, and to other efforts on the campus. In recognition of their commitment to the institution and their success in their various endeavors, President Fred Bentley presented them with honorary bachelor’s degrees in commerce (Tom) and human services (Brenda) during his tenure as president.

Nash recalls the lean years that followed her marriage to Tom Nash, and said she is thankful for the ability to give to others, including Mars Hill University. But she also emphasized that every

gift, large or small, is important.

“Everybody can do something,” she said. “When you give from your heart, God blesses you far above what you give. Every gift is a big gift in the sight of God. It just depends on your attitude.”.

It is essential for the school to offer attractive, modern housing. The renovation of our old dormitories is a key component in this campaign.

Rev. Dr. J. Dixon Free, former chair, Board of Trustees

The Donor DifferenceTom and Brenda Nash


Brenda and Tom Nash


When you give to the Mars Hill Fund, you help support our students directly through scholarship assistance. Every year, 98% of our student body receives financial aid of some form, including substantial scholarship money from the school. Your support of the school is not just a vital vote of confidence, but also crucial to the success of our students.

The 1856 Society

Since its humble beginnings in 1856, the institution has thrived due to the generosity and leadership of its alumni and friends.

To celebrate those who sustain the university at the $1,000 giving level annually, we created the 1856 Society. Becoming part of this notable circle of donors signals your commitment to the school’s mission, and shows the world that Mars Hill is a priority in your life.

The Mars Hill Fund $2.5MThe Mars Hill Fund also enables the university to react quickly to evolving needs, unexpected opportunities, and fresh innovations as they arise. Whether it’s upgrading classroom technology or providing additional campus security, your gift to the Mars Hill Fund provides funding to educational initiatives that student tuition alone doesn’t cover.

Mars Hill has something here for everyone. They can find what makes them shine.

Savannah Maynor ’16



P h o n a t h o n 2 0 1 5

This Fall... Answer the Call!

Tell us what’s new with you.

Catch up on campus news.

Make a gift and support your school!

Our students are eager to hear about your time on The Hill. Take a moment to get to know some of our “Alumni-in-Training!” Make a gift and take

pride in knowing you’ve made a difference to the school and your fellow Mars Hillians!

I feel like Mars Hill gave me that sense of community that I was lacking in high school. It was the first time I felt since moving to North Carolina, that I had people believe in me. It is important for students to be able to excel in class and grow before being put in the real working world. With the time, talents, and money that I am able to give back, I hope students are able to prepare to be successful with whatever they decide to do.

McKelle Ulm ’02, Athletic Trainer MHU Alumni Board



Endowed Faculty Development $2.5MMars Hill University encourages a vibrant learning environment where faculty investigate, explore, learn, and then pass along that knowledge to students.

The endowed faculty development initiative will support the university’s need for a strong, challenging, engaged faculty who not only teach but also model lifelong learning. Through the endowment, opportunities for learning and growth will include everything from scholarly research opportunities to advising student research projects and independent study.

Mars Hill alumni often cite positive relationships with faculty as an integral part of the Mars Hill experience. Those positive relationships are also among the primary factors that students give for remaining at the university. The endowed faculty

development initiative will ensure an atmosphere of constancy, in which engaged, thought-provoking faculty members remain invested in the university and its students for many years, continuing a tradition of outstanding teaching into the future.

Mars Hill’s faculty is phenomenal, the envy of our peers. They’re the people that commencement speakers thank and alumni recall so fondly. Simply put, they change lives.

Dr. Jason Pierce, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs & Information Services and Associate Professor of English


Mars Hill University is where life changing, transformational experiences take place. My Mars Hill experience will forever be a beloved indelible thread interwoven into the very fabric of my life.

Cheryl Pappas ’70, Chair, Mars Hill University Board of Trustees

It may have seemed that it was basketball that brought Mike Kelly to Mars Hill College, but according to Kelly, it was ultimately a “God thing,” that set him on a path of transformation for the rest of his life.

“It was challenging,” he said. “I was an African American coming from Cheraw, SC, where there wasn’t a lot of interaction between whites and blacks. When I came to Mars Hill, it was probably 97 percent white, so, it was quite a culture change.”

Kelly majored in business administration with a concentration in management and says that, between studying and playing basketball, he had time for little else during his college days. Despite the hard work, he sees his Mars Hill years as a high point in his life. “I grew as a person in so many different ways,” he said. “And that experience, over those four years, helped me understand that we’re all people. God loves us all and we all have something to contribute. We’re

The Donor Difference

Mike ’93 and Melinda Kellyrelational beings, and it’s important that we learn to love and serve each other.”

After graduation from Mars Hill, Kelly held a couple of management positions in South Carolina before joining Michelin Tire Corporation in 1990 as a production supervisor. From there, his career took a meteoric path. Over the next 16 years, he obtained a master’s degree, transferred to Cincinnati, OH, and continued to move up in the company. In 2006, Kelly went to work for Macy’s Credit and Customer Service Division, where he is now the vice president of learning and development.

Today, Kelly hopes to give back to Mars Hill University, as a member of the board of trustees and as a significant donor to the

“Building Our University” campaign. In particular, Kelly and his wife, Melinda, have chosen to support the faculty endowment campaign priority.

In 2014, Kelly was chosen as an alumnus of the year for Mars Hill University for his commitment to the institution. What he gives in resources and time to Mars Hill, he said, is small compared to what he has received, over the years. “I want to be part of maintaining that legacy of learning and holistic transformation, so that young people have a chance to experience what I’ve experienced.”



Mike and Melinda Kelly

Mike Kelly is recognized as one of two 2014 alumni of

the year. He is pictured with Rev. Anne Sherer and Dr. Dan

Lunsford


Artist’s rendering of Day Hall

Troy & Pauline Day Hall is the future home of the undergraduate business program, which continues to be the largest department at Mars Hill University.

In addition to classrooms and laboratories, Day Hall will have space devoted to retail enterprises including the MHU Bookstore and a cafe. The building also will allow for enhanced accessibility to Owen Theatre and will feature a “black box” theatre.

Day Hall is named for major donors Troy Day ’48 and his wife Pauline, and is being built on the corner of Main Street and College Street in Mars Hill.

The university broke ground on the structure in October 2014. The structure is due to be complete by summer 2016.

According to President Dan Lunsford, the building will not only modernize classroom and retail spaces for the campus, but because the building is located on Main Street, it will essentially change the landscape of the town.

“Day Hall will be a large and attractive structure, which we believe will be a positive addition to downtown Mars Hill,” Lunsford said. “Our hope is that it will directly benefit our students, obviously. But also, we expect that this building will bring new energy to the town, as the retail spaces and black box theatre draw both students and members of the public.”


Troy and Pauline Day Hall $2M

The continued development of the business program will be greatly enhanced by having quality teaching and meeting spaces. Day Hall will provide such space as well as offering retail options and easier access to Owen Theatre.

Dr. Grainger Caudle, Executive Director of Planning and Auxiliary Services; Chair, Department of Business Administration


The first time that Troy Day came to Mars Hill College, he was only able to stay a couple of months.

“I barely got started,” he said. “And then I got my ‘invitation’ to serve in World War II.”

Day served in the US Navy during World War II, and continued his service in Japan for a year and a half. After the war, Day was discharged in Memphis, TN, and on his way home to Connelly Springs, NC, he stopped at Mars Hill College to make arrangements to come back for the fall semester. He returned to school at Mars Hill that fall, and graduated in 1948.

After graduation, Day went into banking, and spent many years with First Union National Bank. Then, in 1966, Day and his wife, Pauline, purchased a Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise as an investment. Some three decades later, when the Days divided their business, Day Enterprises, Inc., between their three daughters, they had grown the business to include 25 KFC restaurants.

Around this same time, they liquidated a trust and gave a sizable donation to Mars Hill University toward the construction of a new business facility. Today, after several years of planning, obtaining drawings, fundraising, more planning, and obtaining more drawings, Troy and Pauline Day Hall is now under construction on the campus of Mars Hill University.

“Mars Hill University has done a lot for me and my family,” Day said recently.

“Not only did I attend Mars Hill, but so did my six brothers and sisters, and one of our daughters. Mars Hill gave us all a foundation on which we’ve been able to live well and make a good living.”

Day said he is anxious to see the building completed, and to see students learning inside.

“Mars Hill already has a wonderful business department. With this new building, the university will be able to provide the best business education available anywhere. Pauline and I are very proud to have our names attached to the university and to be honored in this way.”

The Donor Difference Troy ’48 and Pauline Day


See construction progress on Day Hall atwww.mhu.edu/about-mhu/construction-updates

One reason in particular that I’m excited about Day Hall is that it will tie Mars Hill University to Main Street. It is going to house the business department, and that being the center of commerce, I think that’s symbolic as well.

Ted Berzinski, Assistant Professor of Business

Pauline and Troy Day


When Chambers Gym was built in 1967, Mars Hill College fielded only eight intercollegiate teams. Today, Mars Hill University offers competition in 19 NCAA sports, plus cheerleading and cycling, and has more than outgrown the available facilities in Chambers.

Through the construction of the JoEllen Ammons Athletic Field House, all football operations, including coaches’ offices, training rooms, weight room facilities and home and visiting locker rooms, will be relocated from Chambers. The new facility, along with repurposed space in Chambers, will mean that the athletic department can offer facilities equal to and surpassing those offered by similar institutions in the Southeast. The location of the new field house, inside the Ammons Family Athletic Center, will mean that all athletic department facilities will be unified on the southern end of campus.

Such a state-of-the-art facility will allow the MHU athletic program to achieve competitive balance in recruiting student-athletes to its programs.

In my 25 years of service here at Mars Hill, I can’t think of a more profound advancement in our overall athletic programs than a new athletic field house. Locker room space and adequate coaches’ offices would be made available for all our sports for the first time. This alone would bring a much needed increase in notoriety and integrity to all our athletic programs.

Kevin Barnette ’85, Assistant Head Football Coach

Artist’s rendering of the Jo Ellen Ammons Athletic Field House

Jo Ellen Ammons Athletic Fieldhouse $1.5M



The Rural Heritage Museumpresents

Trains and the Transformation of Western North CarolinaNOW through January 31, 2016

Boone Station, 1923Photo courtesy of Gerald Ledford

WHow the estwas on

80 Cascade St., Mars Hill, N.C., 828-689-1400 Open daily except Mondays, 11 am–5 pm, Admission is FREE


Justus “Jud” Ammons, a resident of Raleigh and a former MHU Trustee, has made the lead gift toward the construction of the Jo Ellen Ammons Athletic Fieldhouse. The fieldhouse is to be named in honor of Ammons’ wife, who passed away in 2014.

Jud Ammons grew up in Madison County, near Mars Hill College. After attending Mars Hill briefly, he completed his degree at NC State University.

Ammons has built a career as a visionary developer and land planner. He is a pioneer in planned urban development and senior living communities. Locally, he is in business with his sons as a co-owner of the Mars Hill Retirement Center and of Mountain Traditions, an environmentally-friendly residential development outside Mars Hill.

Jo Ellen Ammons grew up in Monroe, NC, and graduated from Meredith College. She was an active participant in her husband’s business ventures and worked with him to build and decorate many houses, golf communities, and retirement homes across the state. She was a dedicated wife, mother, volunteer. She was also a trustee of Meredith College.

Jud and Jo Ellen Ammons have been long-time benefactors of Mars Hill University, Meredith College, NC State University, the Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, and numerous other charities. They were also founding members of Greystone Baptist Church in Raleigh.

Notably, they gave generously to the construction of the Ammons Family Athletic Center at Mars Hill University in 2006 and 2007. Jud Ammons is also a descendant of MHU’s founding Ammons family.

The Donor Difference Jud and Jo Ellen Ammons

Jud and Jo Ellen Ammons, with Dr. Dan Lunsford and Trustee Wayne Higgins at the dedication of the

Ammons Family Athletic Center.

Take a look at the history of Mars Hill University from the mid-1950s through the present; study any publication, any photograph, any student record; and chances are, you’ll see the metaphorical fingerprints of Walter and Pat Smith.

Walter became part of the Mars Hill College communications team and the institutional photographer in 1954. In time, he would be the director of public information, and when he retired in 1996, he was vice president of publications. Over the course of his career, he edited hundreds of issues of the Mars Hill College alumni magazine and scores of issues of the college’s academic catalog. He became the voice of the institution to students, faculty, and the public at large; he modernized and laid the foundation for every communication of the university to this day (including this publication); and through both his writing and his photography, he told the stories of Mars Hill College and her people. Together with co-editors Bob Chapman (registrar and professor of business emeritus) and Darryl Norton (director of auxiliary services), in 2006 he edited one of the definitive works on the history of the institution, the coffee table book, Through the Long Years.

As part of the registrar’s office, Pat Smith was a keeper of individual educational histories. With personal attention and concern, she helped students navigate through the collection of credits that would lead them ever closer to the goal of graduation.

The Smiths’ lifelong commitment to Mars Hill inspired their children to seek their education at the institution: Dr. Karen Smith ’82 (now on the board of trustees); Travis Smith ’89; and Kellye Smith Ratcliff ’86 (now president of the university’s alumni board.)

Such a long association with the institution was probably not what young Walter Smith had in mind when he set foot in Mars Hill as a freshman for the

first time. It was a gray day in 1947 when Smith stepped off the bus, and the sleepy mountain town with few paved streets did nothing to impress him.

He would later tell his wife, “The only reason I didn’t get back on that bus and go home was my daddy didn’t give me enough money to get home.”

That opinion would change, though. In his two years at Mars Hill, then a junior college, Walter developed a lifelong fondness for the town, the college, and its people. He also began a study of journalism, spent some time as the editor of the student newspaper, The Hilltop, and came under the tutelage of Professor John McLeod.

“Mr. Mac,” as he was called, taught English and journalism, and developed the college catalog, alumni magazine, and promotion for the college in addition to his teaching.

“I think Mars Hill contributed a lot to his life when he was here as a student, and his professors had such

Walter ’49 and Pat Smith

Keepers of the

Mars Hill Story


Walter and Pat Smith

a great impact on him,” Pat said recently.

Walter completed his bachelor’s degree at Baylor University in Texas, and then, knowing he would soon be drafted to join the Korean Conflict, he chose to join the U.S. Air Force. During his Air Force training, he was stationed three times in San Antonio, Texas. Part of that time, he attended Riverside Baptist Church and became active in a group of young people at the church which included Pat Janicke.

Pat had grown up in San Antonio, and at the time she met Walter, she was working with a company in the city as an administrative assistant.

It seemed that even then, Walter always had a camera, Pat said, and on outings, he would take pictures of the youth group. It was not until Walter was stationed in Japan that he had the bulk of the photos processed and, getting Pat’s address from the church directory, he mailed them to her with a letter.

“He wrote me with the pictures, and I wrote him back, and that began a long correspondence between us,” Pat said.

Over time, the letters moved from friendly missives to deeply felt communication, covering topics like life philosophies, religion, values and life plans.

“We actually never dated, but I always felt it was a very good courtship,” Pat said. “We started out writing just as friends, with neither of us trying to impress the other in a romantic sort of way. So I felt like we really got to know each other through the correspondence.”

Walter got out of the service in 1953, went back to Florida, and became a cub reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. Then, in March of 1954, he was invited to come to Mars Hill to interview for a new position. Mars Hill was looking to ramp up its publicity efforts and Mr. McLeod needed help.

Walter got the job and then wrote to Pat, inviting her to meet his family in Florida, and telling her he wanted to “talk about getting married.” After visits with both families, the two got married in San Antonio on December 21, 1954.

The Smiths arrived in Mars Hill on December 31, 1954. After working in the fast-paced downtown of San Antonio, Mars Hill was quite a change for Pat and it took some adjustment. But Mars Hill was a welcoming place, she said. It was a great help that the Smiths lived next door to Dr. Otis and Betty Duck, who would become the Smiths’ lifelong friends.

In 1959, the Smiths’ first child, Karen, was born. Travis and Kellye came soon after, in 1962 and 1963. Except for a short-term position in the MHC alumni office, Pat stayed home until the children were all in school. Pat then went to work as an administrative assistant in the admissions/financial aid department. Later, she moved to the registrar’s office, where she worked as an administrative assistant to Registrar Bob Chapman.


Top: Walter Smith, campus photographer, in 1958; Pat Smith,

from The Laurel, 1959. Below: Walter Smith, in The Laurel

in 1971; Bottom: A few of the hundreds of issues of the MHC

alumni magazine edited by Walter during his career.

In particular, he credits them with a commitment to maintaining personal relationships with many of Mars Hill’s alumni. “They have been many times like a walking alumni directory,” Christman said.

“Through maintaining connections with alumni, they have carried the banner of helping alumni maintain a connection with the university.”

According to Pat, the people that she and Walter worked with at Mars Hill through the years were

“very special people,” who saw their positions at Mars Hill not just as jobs, but as a calling.

“People who came here to teach and to work, they came because they believed in what the school stood for and they were willing to sacrifice in order to promote what Mars Hill was all about, “ she said.

“That’s the way Walter and I felt. We felt that his being contacted to come here wasn’t just a happenstance thing, but it was something like a calling. And to a great extent, I felt a calling too. If he was called here, then it was a calling for me, too, because I was a part of him.”

“As soon as I could, I got her as my assistant in the registrar’s office,” Chapman said. “I always liked her personality. She was outgoing, very kind, very friendly to the students, eager to find out as much as she could about them, so she could remember it. Oh, she was a marvelous secretary, just had all the qualities that were necessary to be an asset in that office.”

In addition to her duties in the registrar’s office, Pat’s unofficial title was proofreader. By this time, Mr. McLeod had retired and Walter was in charge of publications and public information for the college.

“I did nearly all of his proofreading,” Pat said. “I think I read every catalog and alumni magazine for years. Walter proofread everything, but he would second-guess himself. He said, ‘If it’s going out and it’s supposed to represent Mars Hill, I want it to be right.’”

The two spent many evenings proofreading around the dining room table, or—in the era before desktop publishing—running copy and photos to vendors in Asheville who would publish Mars Hill’s publications. Walter also worked many late nights on campus, writing and rewriting copy and developing photos in a darkroom on campus, first in Montague Hall, and later in Wren Student Union.

“He loved what he did,” Pat said, “and I loved helping him. I knew how important it was to him, and it was important to the school.”

Their dedication to their jobs, in fact, stemmed from a dedication to the ideals of Mars Hill College.

“We believed in Mars Hill as the kind of institution it was. We believed in Christian education, and Walter was interested in promoting that, or he wouldn’t have been doing what he was doing,” she said.

According to Bud Christman, vice president for advancement, that dedication to the ideals of Mars Hill University has been evident through the Smiths’ careers.

“They really have ownership of this place. This is their community, and it’s difficult to separate the roles they had at the college from their roles in [Mars Hill Baptist] church and in the community; they’re just intertwined.”

The Walter P. and Pat J. Smith Endowed Scholarship

In the fall of 2014, Karen Smith and Michael and Kellye Smith Ratcliffe announced the establishment of the Walter P. and Pat J. Smith Endowed Scholarship at Mars Hill University.

The scholarship assists students in good academic standing, with preference for those from Texas (Pat’s home state), Florida (Walter’s home state), and western North Carolina (their adopted home). Preference may also be given to those students seeking a career in journalism.

Those wishing to honor the Smiths may send their gift designated for the Smith Scholarship to:

Office of Advancement Mars Hill University P O Box 370 Mars Hill, NC 28754

Walter and Pat Smith, cont.


The Smiths continue to live in Mars Hill. Pat lives on Duck Drive, where they built a house in 1964. Due to a period of declining health, Walter has resided for the past several months in Madison Health and Rehabilitation facility outside Mars Hill.

~~~


Awards of Note

Ophelia “Fifi” DeGroot ’58, MHU alumni relations resource consultant, has received the I. Ruth Martin Award for Christian Service from Mars Hill University. The award was established by I. Ruth Martin ’38, to be given to a Christian individual who has served faithfully without any spotlight recognition. Among other community activities, she serves on the board of directors of Community Activities Opportunities and she is former president of the Mars Hill Rotary Club. She is a volunteer with the local American Cancer Society, a mentor for at-risk students at Madison High school, and a deacon at Mars Hill Baptist Church. Fifi DeGroot

Mars Hill University has honored Rev. Ron Brown of Asheville, NC, with the Baptist Heritage Award for 2015. Brown is a retired pastor, a former chaplain for the Asheville Police Department, and a trustee of the university.

The North Carolina Baptist Heritage Award, co-sponsored by the Baptist State Convention of NC, and the North Carolina Baptist Foundation, recognizes individuals who represent exemplary service and giving through major contributions of time, service and/or resources through the institutions and agencies of the Baptist State Convention.

Meagan McNeely, a senior religion major from Lenoir, NC, has received the Michael Emory Award from Mars Hill University. The award is presented annually to an individual who demonstrates Christ-like compassion, loyalty and service to the economically, socially, or emotionally oppressed, and diligent pursuit of truth and justice. The award is given in memoryof “Big Mike” Emory ’94.

McNeely has worked on campus to raise awareness about stopping sexual violence and she has volunteered numerous hours to A-Hope Day Shelter in Asheville, NC. She also tutors math to Madison County public school students through the Communities in Schools program.

She is pictured with Theresa Emory, widow of Mike Emory.

President Dan Lunsford has received the Spirit of the Common Commitments and Bonner Love Award from the Bonner Foundation. The award honors members of the Bonner community who continually seek ways to support others in their endeavors, invite others to be engaged, and strive to make an impact and be innovative through their work and service.

Rev. Stephanie McLeskey, chaplain of MHU, and McKay Sharpe ’15, received the G. McLeod Bryan Awards in April.

The Bryan Awards are given annually at Mars Hill University in honor of the late Dr. G. McLeod (“Mac”) Bryan ’39. The Bryan Caring Awards recognize members of the college community who make significant contributions to a better community and a better world.

Sharpe has been active on campus in leading activities related to social justice, civil rights and voter ID laws. She also helped found the university’s first chapter of NAACP.

McLeskey received the Bryan Award for her passionate connection between justice and faith and her constant encouragement of students to make a positive impact on the world.

McKay Sharpe

Theresa Emory and Meagan McNeely

Rev. Stephanie McLeskey

Dr. Dan Lunsford and Rev. Ron Brown


LION ATHLETICS: Spring 2015 HIGHLIGHTS

BaseballThe team finished 22-20, posting an overall winning record for the first time since the 2010 season.

Evan Rogers & Rayshelon Carolina earned second team All-SAC honors and joined Tommy Scala on the SAC Gold Glove team.

SoftballRobyn Stanek named All-SAC first team, with Aleshia Peek claiming second team honors.

Taylor Hussey named SAC Pitcher of the Week on April 14.

Men’s TennisEuquerio Guerrero earned All-SAC first team honors. Guerrero went 12-4 overall and 9-2 in SAC matches at number one singles.

Men’s GolfCharles (Chevy) Hartzog earned All-SAC first team, Adam Lumley All-SAC second team and Filip Andersson SAC Freshman of the Year.

The team won the Echo Farms Intercollegiate on March 1st and finished in 2nd at the Hargett Memorial Intercollegiate (Wingate) on March 17.

The team tied for 6th in the SAC.

Women’s Golf

Emma Lundvall finished in second at the Pioneer Classic.

Sarah Johnson had a consistent spring and had the lowest scoring average.

The team finished in ninth in the SAC.

Lacrosse

The team finished in 4th place and won the 2015 SAC Tournament Championship.

Anthony Malcom named SAC Player of the Year with four All-SAC players.

The team finished with 10-6 record.

by Rick Baker


Welcome New Faculty and Staff

Kristina Blackford , Acquisitions Supervisor, Mars Hill College , B.A., English/Spanish

Laura Boggess, Instructor of Biology/Chemistry, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, B.A., Biology; Appalachian State University, M.S., Ecology

William Bowman, Visiting Professor of Business, Georgia Institute of Technology, B.S., Industrial Engineering; Georgia Institute of Technology, M.S., Industrial Management

Patrick Cash, Archives Associate/Public History Program Coordinator, Mars Hill College, B.A., History/Education; East Tennessee State University, M.A., History

Tonisha Chislom, Graduate Assistant, Mars Hill University, B.A., Education

Richie Covington, Admissions Counselor, Mars Hill University, B.S., Business Management

Emily Fawcett, Admissions Counselor, Appalachian State University, B.S., Communication Studies

Victor Finora, Assistant Coach: Men’s Basketball, William Penn University, B.A., Business; University of Kentucky, M.S., Kinesiology

Marlon Garren, Instructor of Modern Foreign Language University of North Carolina - Asheville, B.A., Spanish; University of Tennessee - Knoxville, M.A., Spanish

David Gilbert, Visiting Assistant Professor of History, University of Wisconsin - Madison, M.A., Af-Am Studies; University of Wisconsin - Madison, Ph.D., US History

Lynn Gilley, Assistant Professor of Biology, Auburn University,B.S., Wildlife; Memphis University, M.S., Biology; Auburn University, Ph.D., Biology

Rebekah Hagerman, Security, Mayland Community College, A.A., Criminal Justice

Michelle Haynes, Mailroom Clerk

Lois Johnson, Graduate Assistant, Mars Hill University, B.S., Biology

Carolyn Kemmett-Comeau, Visitor Services Attendant - Rural Life Museum, Simmons College, B.A., History ; Tufts University, M.A., Education/Museum Studies

Sherron Kincaid, Assistant Professor of Social Work/Field Director, Mars Hill College, B.S.W., Social Work; East Tennessee State University, M.S.W., Social Work

Lisa Lee, Assistant Coach: Women’s Basketball, University of Charleston, B.S., Athletic Administration ; University of Charleston, M.S., Strategic Leadership

Ethan Mannon, Assistant Professor of English, Virginia Tech, B.A., English; Pennsylvania State University, M.A., English; Pennsylvania State University, Ph.D., English

Linda Ray, Evening Public Services Supervisor, A-B Tech Community College, A.A.S., Mechanical Engineering; Mars Hill University, B.A., Religion

Aaron Roberts, TelemarketerGuy Sayles, Assistant Professor of Religion, Georgia

Southern University, B.A., History; Southern Baptist Seminary, M.Div., Divinity; Emory University Candler School of Theology, D.Min., Ministry

Heidi Sermersheim, Asheville Center Coordinator, A-B Tech Community College, A.S., Business Administration

Nicole Soper Gorden, Assistant Professor of Biology, Gustavus Adolphus College, B.A., Biology/English; University of Massachusetts Amherst, Ph.D., Plant Biology

Charles Steineger, Instructor of English, Appalachian State University, B.A., French; Antioch University, M.F.A., Creative Writing

Luis Toro, Facilities: Housekeeping

Women’s TennisThe team won two matches in the spring and went 4-12 and 1-11 in league play.

Men’s TrackThe team finished in third place at SAC Championships, winning four events.

The team set three new school records during the outdoor season.

Freshman Marcus Foster is the top-ranked freshman and 14th overall among NCAA Division II

runners in the 400 meter hurdles. He has achieved an NCAA provisional qualifying mark.

Women’s TrackThe team set seven school records during the outdoor season.

Two runners finished in the 17-minute bracket in the 5,000 meter run for the first time in school history.


Dr. Heather Hawn, assistant professor of political science, co-authored an article with Jennifer Tison, director of institutional research at Moorehead State University, titled “Tourism and Political Choices of Indigenous Populations in Yucatán.” The article will be published in the January 2016 edition of Latin American Perspectives.

Dr. Joel Rogers, associate professor of theatre arts, has been appointed as the North Carolina/Virginia Response Coordinator by the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival, Region IV. He also serves on the Regional Selection Team for KC/ACTF to recommend which national university productions might be advanced to Washington for the organization’s national festival.

Dr. Kinta Serve, assistant professor of biology, co-authored a book chapter with J.C. Pfau, L. Woods,

and C.W. Noonan, titled “Asbestos Exposure and Autoimmune Disease,” in Current Topics in Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine: Biological Effects of Fibrous and Particulate Substances. Elsevier Publications, 2015. Dr. Eric Steineger, instructor of English, has authored a poem, “And April is Her Name,” which is due to be published in the upcoming issue of Absinthe Poetry Review.

Dr. Al Theisen, assistant professor of music, has composed a piece, Circuit Break, which will be performed by pianist Holly Roadfeldt at the 2016 New Music Gathering held at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland. Roadfeldt also plans on touring with the composition and recording it on a forthcoming album as part of her “Preludes Project.”

1940s

Rose Mary Rommel Toebbe ’48 of Louisville, KY was selected as one of the 37th annual WLKY-TV Bell Award winners for her 40 years work with Goodwill Industries Volunteer Services, her 33 years work with American Association of University Women (AAUW), and 58 years as treasurer of Delta Zeta Sorority alumnae at the University of Louisville. She also started and maintains a scholarship since 2004 in her name at the UL School of Business, which helps students with tuition. The Bell Award is presented to those who have shown the “spirit of Louisville” through unselfish, humanitarian, volunteer services.

1960s

Tom Denton ’69 retired from NC Baptist Foundation as eastern area manager on March 31, 2015. He and his wife, Rita, live in New Bern, NC.

1970s

Bobby Chenman ’71 has placed first in the Grand Legends event of the East Coast Surfing Championship. Bobby competed with surfers in his age bracket from all over the world in the 2015 event held in Virginia Beach,

VA. Chenman, a world class surfer, has surfed all over the world and is recognized for his smooth style.Dr. Paul Richardson ’73 has been named professor emeritus by Samford University, where he was a member of the faculty from 1995 until 2014. Richardson taught voice, vocal pedagogy, and music and worship in the School of the Arts; for eleven years he was assistant dean for graduate studies in music. In 2007, he received Samford’s John H. Buchanan Award for excellence in classroom teaching. He was named a Mars Hill University alumnus of the year in 2009. Paul and his wife, Susan Chapman Richardson ’74, live in Birmingham, AL, where she is a catalog librarian at Birmingham Public Library. They are members of Baptist Church of the Covenant and are active in the Alliance of Baptists.Alex Miller ’75 of Taylors, SC, has been hired as the new vice president of advancement at Montreat College in Asheville, NC. Previously, Miller was the vice president of advancement at North Greenville University and Mars Hill College.

1980s

Kenny Ford ’80 of Swannonaoa, NC, retired from Owen High School as head football coach. Ford amassed 230 wins and 14 conference championships in 29 years of coaching.Dr. Will Hoffman, III ’80 (Board of Advisors) has been named superintendent of Tyrell County Schools, NC. He has served as curriculum director and principal for

Faculty and StaFFPUBLICATIONS...HONORS...ACHIEVEMENTS...PRESENTATIONS... PUBLICATIONS...HONORS...ACHIEVEMENTS...PRESENTATIONS...PUBLICA

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 [email protected], or

Alumni Office, P.O. Box 370, Mars Hill, NC 28754.

Class Notes


Madison County Schools for the past 10 years. Betsy Criminger Lowery ’82 invites her fellow Mars Hill alums to follow her blog, “Called Out Life,” at https://calledoutlife.wordpress.com. Lowery is currently writing her second book, and her first fiction novel, titled Bend in the High Road, an inspirational crime mystery set in a small town in the Great Smoky Mountains. Her previous book, Pause: Everyday Prayers for Everyday Women, was published in 2004.Rev. Douglas “Chet” Cantrell ’83 of Troy, IL, has received the 2015 FOCUS St. Louis Leadership Award, a prestigious award presented annually for remarkable, courageous, and impactful community leadership in the city. Cantrell is the executive director of the Christian Activity Center in East St. Louis, which serves more than 4,000 youth and their families each year through 24 programs, including afterschool tutoring, organized sports, wellness education, adult education, art classes, computer training, and more.Steve Garrison ’86 has been named the county manager for Rutherford County, NC. Ryan Whitson ’89 accepted a new position as director of the Warren County (NC) Department of Social Services. He is the former county manager of Polk County, NC.

1990s

Rachel Simmons Desmarais ’92 of Clemmons, NC, has been promoted to the newly-created position of executive vice president and chief operating officer of Forsyth Technical Community College. Desmarais has worked at Forsyth Tech for 13 years.James Gibson ’92 of Hacienda Heights, CA, has been hired as the division director for campus-based services at Hillsides, Pasadena headquarters. Hillsides is a provider of child welfare services in Los Angeles County, CA. Gibson is also a faculty member at the University of Phoenix in the human service bachelor program and the marriage and family graduate program.Jan Beach Crump ’94 of Nebo, NC, has been named the principal of Polk Central Elementary School. She and her husband, Jackie, have three children and one grandchild.Michael Slagle ’94 of Spruce Pine, NC, has been named the new administrator at Mountain View Correctional Institution in Spruce Pine. Mountain View is a medium security prison housing about 870 adult male inmates.Rev. Amy Slusher Stertz ’98 has a new position at First Baptist Church of Asheville, as Minister of Children and Families.

2000s

Becca Pizzi ’02 of Belmont, MA, will compete in the World Marathon Challenge, beginning on January 26, 2016. The World Marathon Challenge consists of 7 marathons, in 7 days, on 7 continents. Becca hopes to be the first American woman to complete the challenge.Joshua Black ’03 of Saluda, SC, has been named the new principal of Strom Thurmond High School in Johnston, SC. Black has already served at Strom Thurmond High School for eight years as an algebra teacher, assistant principal, testing coordinator, and coach.David Robinson ’03 of Mars Hill, NC, has been hired as the principal of the School of Inquiry and Life Sciences at Asheville (SILSA). Robinson was formerly the principal at Madison Early College in Marshall, NC.Dr. Eric Howard ’04 has been awarded an Ed.D. in educational leadership and policy analysis from East Tennessee State University. Howard is currently the veteran’s treatment coordinator of Buncombe County for the Administrative Office of the Courts. He lives in Burnsville, NC, with his wife, Nycole Robinson Howard ’03, and their two sons, Balthazar (“Zar”) and Carter.Andrew Chilton ’08 currently serves as an English teacher and varsity wrestling coach at Stockdale High School in Bakersfield, CA.Nathaniel “Smitty” Smith ’08 has been hired as an officer with the Asheville Police Department. He and his wife, Kristie Vance ’07, live in Marshall, NC.

2010s

Antonio Lyerly ’10 has been named the head boys’ basketball coach at West Caldwell High School in Lenoir, NC.Jaimie Little ’12 married Cameron Shaw ’15 on June 14, 2015, in Fayetteville, GA. The couple will live in St. Petersburg, FL.Laura Tompkins Conway ’13 of Brevard, NC, married James Earl Conaway, III, on July 25, 2015.Olivia Buckner ’13 married Wayne Ellis ’13 on March 28, 2015 in Broyhill Chapel, at Mars Hill University. The couple lives in Burnsville, NC.

Olivia and Wayne Ellis

Jaimie and Cameron Shaw

Nathaniel “Smitty” Smith

Class Notes


In Memoriam1930s

Wade Thomas Batson, Jr. ’30, Marietta, SC, February 14, 2015Mattye “Pat” Houpe Lackey ’34, Taylorsville, NC, May 25, 2015Margaret Virginia Burnside Corder ’36, Darlington, SC, May 6, 2013Alta Shaver St. Clair ’36, Mint Hill, NC, August 2, 2015Frances Albritton Summerlin Robertson ’37, Albuquerque, NM, January 20, 2015Alton “Jack” Conrad Michael ’38, Lexington, NC, August 1, 2015Lee Clyde Phoenix ’38, Asheboro, NC, July 23, 2015Esstoya “Toy” Ona Willis Whitley ’38, Gainesville, FL, May 2, 2015Katy Ruth Grayson Dixon ’39, Boiling Springs, NC, April 23, 2015Gene Grabeel ’39, Blackstone, VA, January 30, 2015Sarah “Jane” Craddock Healy ’39, Wakefield, RI, February 28, 2015Edwin McDevitt ’39, Asheville, NC, August 5, 2015Clarke Putnam Orr ’39, San Angelo, TX, March 4, 2015Col. Dana Woodfin Stewart ’39, Bluffton, SC, October 19, 2014

1940sRichard C. Gardner, Sr. ’40, Perry, GA, January 13, 2013

Carrie June Priode Hawks ’40, Prince George, VA, October 19, 2014G. Hugh Holt ’40, Alcoa, TN, February 16, 2013Sebert Lester Sisson ’40, Richmond, VA, June 23, 2014McDonald “Mac” Douglas Tweed, USMC ’40, Kingsport, TN, February 8, 2015Morris Hayden Elliott ’41, Bellevue, NE, April 10, 2014Anne Graham Clayton Overstreet ’41, Mars Hill, NC, March 2, 2015Martha Frances Sinclair ’41, E Flat Rock, NC, January 30, 2015William “Bill” R. Crowder ’42, Greensboro, NC, May 30, 2015John Edward “Ed” Dunn, Jr. ’42, Oxford, MS, December 29, 2014Mavis Iona Hardin Funderburke ’42, Lancaster, SC, April 17, 2013Margaret Nell Putnam Goodman ’42, Shelby, NC, February 16, 2015William Harold Killian ’42, Taylors, SC, February 17, 2015Miriam Phillips Lemmons ’42, Gaffney, SC, June 7, 2015Harry Lampley Melton, Sr. ’42, Lancaster, SC, May 9, 2015Mary Louise Austell Moss ’42, Charleston, SC, April 28, 2015William Graham Ponder, Sr. ’42, St. Simons Island, GA, October 13, 2013

Faculty/Staff

C. Robert Jones, retired faculty/theatre arts, has authored a book, Lanky Tales, Vol. 2, Billy Red Wing & Other Stories, which was published in August 2015. This is the second in a planned four-part series of children’s stories featuring Lanky Lonegan, a character from Jones’ musical, A Belonging Place. Ron Martin, trustee, was presented with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine on August 28. Martin serves on the board of trustees at Mars Hill University and on the Western Piedmont Community College board. The award is bestowed by the Office of the Governor of North Carolina, and is the highest civilian honor in the state.Ray Rapp, retired staff/adult education, won $10,000 after making a hole-in-one on July 2, 2015 during the Henderson County Democratic Party golf tournament

at the Orchard Trace Golf Club in Hendersonville. Rapp and his wife, Dorothy, decided to divide the winnings between seven charities: the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD; Eblen Charities in Asheville, NC; Fletcher School PTO; Madison County Middle School; Madison County Library Fund; Rapp Scholarship Fund at Mars Hill University; and the North Carolina Arboretum. James W. Thomas, retired staff/theatre arts, and founding artistic director of the Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre, has received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, North Carolina’s highest honor for achievement and service. Thomas was praised for his instrumental role in the growth of the college’s theatre arts major and for the transformation of an old church building on campus into the Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre.

Class Notes


In MemoriamAlbert Alba Young ’42, Hickory, NC, February 17, 2015Helen Ruth Drake-Bridgers ’43, Athens, GA, April 5, 2015Oscar Fitzgerald Faulkner ’43, Henderson, NC, July 16, 2015Dorothy “Maxine” Eller Kandra ’43, Stewartstown, PA, July 16, 2015Bette Jean Allison Todd ’43, Newark, DE, January 4, 2015Ida “Frances” Harris Currier ’44, Roxboro, NC, March 9, 2015Jack Pittard Gilbert ’44, Punta Gorda, FL, February 4, 2014Anne Olema Moore Wilson ’44, Lake Lure, NC, June 13, 2015Wilma Larue Phelps Baker ’45, Palm Coast, FL, August 1, 2015Jewell Merle Jarrett Church ’45, Hot Springs, NC, February 2, 2014Bryce Hedrick Floyd ’45, Denton, NC, July 23, 2015Juanita “Nita” Lee Noggle McDowell ’45, Lenoir, NC, January 8, 2014Betty “Bet” Lou Abee Sain ’45, Vale, NC, February 1, 2014Martha “Hazel” Bolick Lipe Stephenson ’45, Lenoir, NC, January 1, 2014Margaret “Peg” Goulding Dixon Wooten ’45, Merritt Island, FL, April 1, 2015Betty Ruth Austin Hunter ’46, Boone, NC, April 28, 2015Seth Edwards Lippard ’46, Shannondell, PA, April 15, 2015Nell Elizabeth Hunter Myers ’46, Scottsdale, AZ, September 28, 2014Sara Ellen Knight Stephens ’46, Aiken, SC, May 16, 2014Zelma Louise Burleson Ray ’46, Milledgeville, GA, January 6, 2015Catherine Laura Wilhide Rice ’46, Metropolis, IL, November 25, 2013John Robert Stalls ’46, La Jolla, CA, January 5, 2014Patsy Ruth Sutherland Thompson ’46, Richmond, VA, May 7, 2015Robert William Turbeville ’46, Hartsville, SC, July 11, 2015Frances Ruth Knotts Wiggins ’46, Jacksonville Beach, FL, April 14, 2015Joanne Stevens Beddingfield Clark ’47, Zephyrhills, FL, June 24, 2015

Mary Jane Cannada Caskie ’47, Fairport, NY, April 17, 2015Sybil Janice Barnett Edwards ’47, Largo, FL, February 4, 2015Henry Bowman Foy, III ’47, Waynesville, NC, April 15, 2015Amy Lois Pilkenton Gatlin ’47, Gastonia, NC, February 13, 2015William “Bill” Van Grimes, Jr. ’47, Venice, FL, November 14, 2014Isabel “Blanche” DuPree Hodul ’47, Fayetteville, NC, December 19, 2014Martha Frances Gillon New ’47, Jacksonville, FL, February 28, 2015Bobbie Sue Walker Ragan ’47, Morganton, NC, April 17, 2014Richard Lee Bowen ’48, Hattiesburg, MS, October 6, 2014Amos Carson Duncan, Jr. ’48, Fairfield Glade, TN, November 7, 2014Anna “Frances” Edwards Erb ’48, Nashville, TN, November 24, 2014Margaret Jane Alligood Johnson ’48, Latta, SC, March 17, 2015Dorothy Louise Lewallen ’48, Asheboro, NC, December 5, 2014Herman Grady “Phil” Phillips, Jr. ’48, Winnsboro, SC, May 11, 2015Julian Berkley “Berk” Ruiz ’48, Winder, GA, February 14, 2015James Bernard Thomas ’48, Morristown, TN, July 14, 2013Pansy Louise Hennecy Beroth ’49, Winston-Salem, NC, May 22, 2015William Franklin Bowen, Jr. ’49, Morganton, NC, November 29, 2012Col. Charles Ray Brackett ’49, Wilmington, NC, February 17, 2013Jack Edward Corpening ’49, Nebo, NC, June 6, 2014Talmadge “Carl” Dedmon ’49, Shelby, NC, March 21, 2015Edward Cornwell Elliott ’49, Raleigh, NC, June 26, 2015Betty Routh Perry Faulk ’49, Mooresville, NC, May 20, 2014Don E. Gregg ’49, Hendersonville, NC, January 5, 2014Rudy Lee Griffin ’49, Durham, NC, June 6, 2013James Noah Hinson ’49, Salisbury, NC, March 30, 2015


In MemoriamCharles William “Billy” Jeanes ’49, Port St. Lucie, FL, March 4, 2014Mary Frances Floyd Johnson ’49, Helena, MT, February 13, 2010James Darrell Lemons ’49, Albemarle, NC, May 12, 2015Mary Ruth Hall Lloyd ’49, Greensboro, NC, May 28, 2015Theodore “Ted” Willingham Malphrus ’49, Greenville, SC, November 21, 2012George Pennell May ’49, Lawrenceville, GA, February 11, 2013Bennie Leggett Parks, Sr. ’49, Durham, NC, February 22, 2015Marjorie “Carol” Hutchins Rickman ’49, Steamboat Springs, CO, April 30, 2011Geneva “Lucille” Mabry Stevens ’49, Smithfield, NC, January 9, 2014Margarette Elizabeth Strickland Tilson ’49, Davidson, NC, January 28, 2013Nolan Adolphus Yount ’49, Hickory, NC, June 28, 2015

1950sMontague “M.E.” Edward Breland ’50, N Augusta, SC, March 8, 2014Dolores Elverlene Allen Callis ’50, South Hill, VA, February 13, 2014William “Bill” Guy George ’50, Mars Hill, NC, October 13, 2014Nancy Virginia McCracken Morgan ’50, W Palm Beach, FL, January 6, 2015Rev. William “Bill” Ewell Payne ’50, Pickens, SC, March 18, 2015Phillip Ray Banks ’51, Burnsville, NC, June 2, 2015Peggy Ann Neighbours Barham ’51, York, PA, March 29, 2014Elizabeth “Beth” Virginia Bridges ’51, County Cork, Ireland, May 8, 2015Roy Bruce Campbell ’51, Saint Marys, GA, March 11, 2015Billie Blair Hodge Huntley ’51, Rutherfordton, NC, June 28, 2015June Eva Young Jones ’51, Asheville, NC, September 13, 2014Martha “Lois” Millsaps Keever ’51, Taylorsville, NC, March 27, 2015Joann Sparks Green Morton ’51, Albemarle, NC, April 17, 2015Emily Rose Brantley Scoggins ’51, Tryon, NC, May 20, 2015

Ted Monroe Sprinkle, Sr. ’51, Marshall, NC, February 7, 2015Alda Jean Clarke Young ’51, Mars Hill, NC, May 23, 2015Samuel “Sam” McDowell Youngblood, Jr. ’51, Concord, NC, March 18, 2012Faye Helen Pace Barbrey ’52, Simpsonville, SC, April 27, 2015Fred Hammett Brown ’52, Greer, SC, May 16, 2015Claiborne McVay “Mac” Colclough ’52, Oxford, NC, January 29, 2015Norma Anne Edwards Gaddy ’52, Fairview, NC, February 7, 2015Rev. Marion Wilton Powell ’52, Newton, NC, February 1, 2015Charles Larry Power ’52, Greenville, SC, October 14, 2014Frances Mae Couch Dorrity ’53, Durham, NC, April 6, 2014Mildred E. Averett Jackson ’53, Oxford, NC, January 31, 2015George Melvin Perry ’54, Powell, TN, February 14, 2015Faye Winchester Crouch ’55, Charlotte, NC, December 16, 2014Harris Daniel McGirt ’55, Lake Worth, FL, June 5, 2015Andrew “AC” Cornelius Ownbey, Jr. ’55, Black Mountain, NC, July 20, 2015Smith Campbell Roberts ’55, Bluffton, SC, March 13, 2014Thomas “Tom” Collier Webb ’55, Winston-Salem, NC, July 5, 2015Shirley Temple Riggan Cooper ’56, Gastonia, NC, September 10, 2014Jack Sanford Crouch ’56, Charlotte, NC, November 25, 2014Stanley Gray Griffin ’56, Fayetteville, NC, July 16, 2015Barbara Charlene Branyon Johnson ’57, Mooresville, NC, April 23, 2015Edwin Clarence Myers, Jr. ’58, Huntersville, NC, October 21, 2014Brenda Faye Mancheck Poole ’58, Fayetteville, NC, March 2, 2015Joseph “Joe” MacDonald Reeves ’58, Shelby, NC, May 19, 2015Bobby Lee Walker, Sr. ’58, Morganton, NC, April 23, 2015Donald “Don” Drewey McSwain ’59, Hickory, NC, January 20, 2015


In MemoriamPatricia “Pat” Ann Loveridge Nahikian ’59, Richmond Hill, GA, November 23, 2014Joyce Beach Hendrix Sargent ’59, Purcellville, VA, May 20, 2015

1960sDaphne Huffman Ernest ’60, Marion, VA, December 7, 2014Jackie Andrew Nettles ’60, Goose Creek, SC, August 30, 2014Conrad Andrew Keesecker ’61, Newport News, VA, March 21, 2015John Langdon Christy ’62, Inman, SC, March 14, 2015Ralph Milford Halliwill ’62, Vinton, VA, July 12, 2015Kenneth Eugene “Gene” Forte ’65, Albemarle, NC, April 9, 2015Deapa “Jo” Wells Hunter ’65, Oak Ridge, TN, June 4, 2015Billie “Deane” Johnson Sellers Nesbitt ’65, Asheville, NC, March 27, 2015Janice Elizabeth Baker Jones ’66, Winston-Salem, NC, April 16, 2015Lawrence “Larry” Frank Litton, Jr. ’66, Cleveland, GA, November 18, 2013Virginia “Ginger” Owens Long ’66, Nellysford, VA, January 11, 2015Jerry Alan Ricker ’66, Hendersonville, NC, January 22, 2015Elizabeth “Jean” Lowndes Rozema ’66, Atlanta, GA, February 8, 2015Cornelius “Cornell” James Bretz ’67, Cotuit, MA, August 28, 2014Thomas Gray Petree ’67, Beloit, WI, June 25, 2013Sandra “Dee” Dianne Cole Taylor ’67, Mission, TX, January 28, 2015Virginia Mae Jolley Laney ’69, Nebo, NC, April 2, 2015Robert “Bob” Lucius Mullinnix, Jr. ’69, N. Myrtle Beach, SC, August 19, 2010George Harrison Poston ’69, Hendersonville, NC, May 29, 2015

1970sStuart Jerome Black ’70, Monroe, NC, May 1, 2015Paul Wesley Greene ’70, Woodfin, NC, July 13, 2012Walter Eugene “Pete” Wilkins, III ’70, Mars Hill, NC, January 30, 2015Alan Gale McCracken ’71, Flat Rock, NC, February 25, 2015

Mary Joyce Bowen Brady ’73, Howell, MI, September 27, 2014Dr. N. Darlene Stutts ’73, Sunny Isles Beach, FL, August 11, 2015Rita Kay Mitchell Allen ’75, Gastonia, NC, May 15, 2015Cathy Lou Blackwelder Olup ’75, Johnson City, TN, July 2, 2015Ray Moore Segars, Jr. ’76, Darlington, SC, October 26, 2014Patricia McFadden ’79, Winston-Salem, NC, March 30, 2015

1980sSuzanne Rose Duncan ’82, Flat Rock, NC, March 8, 2015Karen Tracy Whigham Britts ’83, Peoria, AZ, December 24, 2014Dr. Laura Elizabeth Parsons ’84, Northport, AL, May 31, 2015Edgar “Eddie” Lee Taylor ’85, Knightdale, NC, April 7, 2015Sandra “Sandy” Louise Carawan ’86, Jacksonville, FL, March 19, 2015Ricky Warren Goodman ’86, West Jefferson, NC, May 18, 2015Tracy Albert Ponder ’89, Weaverville, NC, June 3, 2015

1990sSteve Griffin ’90, Weaverville, NC, October 6, 2014

Faculty/StaffWinona Dell Bierbaum, Retired Faculty/Education, Mars Hill, NC, February 27, 2015Calvin Davis, Retired Staff/Facilities, Mars Hill, NC, September 8, 2015Nicki Jean Fink, Staff/Information Technology, Mars Hill, NC, April 24, 2015Dr. Anna Hines ’57, Retired Faculty/Music, Asheville, NC, February 14, 2015Dr. Robert “Bob” Kramer, Retired Faculty/Foreign Languages, Mars Hill, NC, September 3, 2015Ann Groves McAnear, Retired Staff/Financial Aid, Simpsonville, KY, April 27, 2015Dr. Charles Harris Powell, Retired Staff/Wellness Center Physician, Clemmons, NC, August 2, 2015Mildred “Millie” Virginia Hardin Sawyer ’38,Former Faculty, Winston-Salem, NC, July 9, 2015

Dr. Bob Kramer

Nicki Fink

For tour information, contact Darryl Norton, Tour [email protected]; 828-689-1347

PO Box 370Mars Hill, NC, 28754

Announcing the Mars Hill University Alumni and Friends Tour of

Portugal and SpainBeautiful

A once-in-a-lifetime trip to: Madrid, Lisbon, Algarve, Seville, Granada, Barcelona (optional)

Torre Belem

Pena National

Palace

and more!

2015 09 mhm

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