1960s
Edith Withers ’67 was named Volunteer of the Year by the Northumberland Family YMCA in March 2015. She was recognized at the Peninsula Metropolitan YMCA’s annual dinner in Hampton. Withers has served many years as a volunteer at the Northumberland Y, most recently as chair of the Y’s signature annual dinner auction, as a swim instructor for the School to Pool program and as chair of the board.
1980s
Gary Slack ’84 was appointed president and CEO of XLA in January. Slack will lead the Tysons, Va.- based company’s strategy and business plan execution, focusing on corporate growth. Slack had most recently served as president and chief operating officer of QinetiQ North America. He also has held positions with BAE Systems Inc., which he served for 13 years, as well as with TRW’s Systems & Information Technology Group, BDM International Inc., Honeywell Federal Systems Inc. and the Virginia Department of Taxation.
LeAnne R. Emert ’88 was promoted to senior vice president for retail banking at Benchmark Community Bank, with responsibility for the bank’s 12-branch network in Virginia. Emert, who has more than 26 years of banking experience, joined Benchmark in 2003 as a branch manager in Farmville and received a series of promotions leading to her current position. A Charlotte County native who lives in Prospect, Emert is a current board member and past president of the Farmville Area Habitat for Humanity, a member of the Farmville Lions Club and board member and secretary for Piedmont Senior Resources. This year, she expects to complete a three-year program at the Southwest Graduate School of Banking in Dallas.
Angela Kellett ’89, director of economic development for Mecklenburg County, was appointed by the Virginia Senate in November 2015 to the boards of directors for the Center for Innovative Technology and CIT’s parent authority, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Investment Authority. Kellett has worked in economic development for Mecklenburg County since 2000 and has been director since 2005. She is a longtime member of the Virginia Economic Developers Association and serves on the board of the Southside Planning District Commission. CIT, a nonprofit corporation based in Herndon, has been a driver of innovation and entrepreneurship in Virginia since 1985.
Michael S. Rose ’89, senior vice president and chief financial officer for Southern New Hampshire Health (SNHH), will become president and CEO effective July 1. Prior to joining SNHH as chief financial officer in 2007, Rose had served as vice president of finance and operations at Cooper Health System in New Jersey. Rose, who has an MBA from Virginia Commonwealth University, began his accounting career as a staff/senior auditor with the Virginia Auditor of Public Accounts.
1990s
Dennis Hale ’91 was appointed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe to the E-911 Services Board in September 2015. Hale, chief of fire and EMS in Dinwiddie County, is filling the unexpired term of a former member who moved out of state. The E-911 Services Board, part of the Virginia Information Technologies Agency, oversees the 911 phone system. Hale eventually will be eligible to be appointed to a full five-year term on the 15-member board.
2000s
Amber Stone Dortch ’00, principal of Hugo A. Owens Middle School in Chesapeake, was one of about 40 educators from across the country who received the 2015 Milken Educator Award in December 2015. The award, which includes a $25,000 cash prize and has been called the “Oscar of teaching,” is targeted at early-to-midcareer teachers who are unsung heroes and is about inspiring capable young people to join the profession. Dortch, a Chesapeake native whose entire career has been spent with that city’s school system, is the 41st Virginia educator to receive the award since Virginia joined the program in 1999. Before becoming a principal in 2013, she was human resources administrator for high schools for two years and assistant principal for six years at Indian River High School, where she began as a Spanish teacher. Dortch, vice president of the Chesapeake Association of Public School Administrators, has a master’s from William & Mary and is pursuing a doctorate from Virginia Tech.
Kendall Lee ’01 is the new local system manager for the Infant and Toddler Connection of the Heartland, the state’s early intervention program for this area, serving children from birth to age 3 who have developmental delays or disabilities. The program is administered by Longwood Speech, Hearing and Learning Services. Lee, president of Longwood’s Alumni Board, previously worked five years as associate director of government relations at Virginia Commonwealth University. In that role, he was responsible for the government relations activities and federal, state and local legislative affairs for children’s services and Children’s Hospital of Richmond.
William “Jarret” Lee ’01 was elected to the Gloucester County School Board in November 2015. He was elected to one of two at-large seats on the seven-member board, defeating a 12-year incumbent who had never been challenged. A former teacher, now a stay-at-home father, Lee ran on a platform of vocational and college-preparation training, safety and a more open and transparent budget process. “Dr. Stephen Keith [assistant professor of education] was a big inspiration in my Longwood career,” said Lee, a native of Ridgeway in Henry County. He and his wife, Maryanne Fary Lee ’04, who live in the community of Ark, have three sons. Maryanne, a Gloucester native, is regional director of operations for Commonwealth Assisted Living.
Rosa Thomas, M.S. ’02, recently published Santa’s Little Angel, a Christmas children’s story that was inspired by, and is dedicated to, the late Evelyn Moore Coleman ’48, a beloved longtime Longwood employee who was her aunt. For years Thomas, who lives in Prospect near where Evelyn Coleman lived, helped her aunt (who didn’t have children) decorate her Christmas tree. As Thomas wrote in the book’s dedication, her aunt “always believed a Christmas tree was not complete without an angel on top.” The book is about “a little angel named Abby, and how she becomes the angel on top of Santa’s tree,” said Thomas, who worked in Longwood’s financial aid office from 1998-2006 and now works in the financial aid office at Hampden- Sydney College. Coleman worked at Longwood from 1948- 88, mostly in the president’s office, where she served six presidents.
Christina Pope Tomcany ’02 and Mark Fulcher Tomcany ’01 are the parents of Oona Mae Tomcany, born May 11, 2015. Big brother, Sam, and big sister, Harper Wren, are “beyond excited.”
Cristian Shirilla ’03 is executive director of the Northumberland Family YMCA.
Dr. Robert Vrtis ’03, assistant professor of theatre at Luther College, directed that college’s performance of the musical “Sunday in the Park with George” in November 2015. At Luther, a liberal arts college in Iowa, Vrtis teaches classes in acting, directing, improvisation and clowning. Before joining the faculty in 2013, he was a director and teacher in Eugene, Ore. In addition to a BFA from Longwood, he has master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Oregon.
Rebecca Snyder ’05 and Timothy Shelton ’04 were married in Farmville on Sept.12, 2015.
Tyler Pardue ’08 was promoted to general manager at the Sports Center of Richmond, where he had been director of youth development. He will continue to oversee all youth programming, including summer and holiday camps, in addition to his new duties.
2010s
Sara Meyerhoeffer ’11 and Jacob Babb ’12 were married Oct. 18, 2015, at Amber Grove in Moseley. Meyerhoeffer, who has a master’s degree in social work from Virginia Commonwealth University, is a domestic violence coordinator with Goochland Free Clinic and Family Services. Babb is a process manager in Capital One’s banking division. The couple live in Midlothian.
Duan Wright ’11 was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame at Queen Anne’s County High School in Centreville, Md., in October 2015.Wright, a standout member of the Longwood lacrosse team, played field hockey, lacrosse and basketball at Queen Anne’s. During her high-school career, she was a two-time basketball Most Valuable Player and was awarded the player of the year. Wright also received lacrosse Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2006 and 2007. She is currently a fourth-grade teacher at Bayside Elementary School in Stevensville, Md.
Ivan Campos ’13 has been accepted as a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Minority Student Leadership Program. The leadership development program is for undergraduate seniors, master’s students and doctor of audiology students who are enrolled in communication sciences and disorders (CSD) programs, and students pursuing a research doctoral degree. Campos is completing his last semester of graduate school at Loma Linda University in California. He was a nontraditional student who completed his undergraduate degree in Longwood’s CSD program while working full time in the Nottoway County schools.
1960s
Edith Withers ’67 was named Volunteer of the Year by the Northumberland Family YMCA in March 2015. She was recognized at the Peninsula Metropolitan YMCA’s annual dinner in Hampton. Withers has served many years as a volunteer at the Northumberland Y, most recently as chair of the Y’s signature annual dinner auction, as a swim instructor for the School to Pool program and as chair of the board.
1980s
Gary Slack ’84 was appointed president and CEO of XLA in January. Slack will lead the Tysons, Va.- based company’s strategy and business plan execution, focusing on corporate growth. Slack had most recently served as president and chief operating officer of QinetiQ North America. He also has held positions with BAE Systems Inc., which he served for 13 years, as well as with TRW’s Systems & Information Technology Group, BDM International Inc., Honeywell Federal Systems Inc. and the Virginia Department of Taxation.
LeAnne R. Emert ’88 was promoted to senior vice president for retail banking at Benchmark Community Bank, with responsibility for the bank’s 12-branch network in Virginia. Emert, who has more than 26 years of banking experience, joined Benchmark in 2003 as a branch manager in Farmville and received a series of promotions leading to her current position. A Charlotte County native who lives in Prospect, Emert is a current board member and past president of the Farmville Area Habitat for Humanity, a member of the Farmville Lions Club and board member and secretary for Piedmont Senior Resources. This year, she expects to complete a three-year program at the Southwest Graduate School of Banking in Dallas.
Angela Kellett ’89, director of economic development for Mecklenburg County, was appointed by the Virginia Senate in November 2015 to the boards of directors for the Center for Innovative Technology and CIT’s parent authority, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Investment Authority. Kellett has worked in economic development for Mecklenburg County since 2000 and has been director since 2005. She is a longtime member of the Virginia Economic Developers Association and serves on the board of the Southside Planning District Commission. CIT, a nonprofit corporation based in Herndon, has been a driver of innovation and entrepreneurship in Virginia since 1985.
Michael S. Rose ’89, senior vice president and chief financial officer for Southern New Hampshire Health (SNHH), will become president and CEO effective July 1. Prior to joining SNHH as chief financial officer in 2007, Rose had served as vice president of finance and operations at Cooper Health System in New Jersey. Rose, who has an MBA from Virginia Commonwealth University, began his accounting career as a staff/senior auditor with the Virginia Auditor of Public Accounts.
1990s
Dennis Hale ’91 was appointed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe to the E-911 Services Board in September 2015. Hale, chief of fire and EMS in Dinwiddie County, is filling the unexpired term of a former member who moved out of state. The E-911 Services Board, part of the Virginia Information Technologies Agency, oversees the 911 phone system. Hale eventually will be eligible to be appointed to a full five-year term on the 15-member board.
2000s
Amber Stone Dortch ’00, principal of Hugo A. Owens Middle School in Chesapeake, was one of about 40 educators from across the country who received the 2015 Milken Educator Award in December 2015. The award, which includes a $25,000 cash prize and has been called the “Oscar of teaching,” is targeted at early-to-midcareer teachers who are unsung heroes and is about inspiring capable young people to join the profession. Dortch, a Chesapeake native whose entire career has been spent with that city’s school system, is the 41st Virginia educator to receive the award since Virginia joined the program in 1999. Before becoming a principal in 2013, she was human resources administrator for high schools for two years and assistant principal for six years at Indian River High School, where she began as a Spanish teacher. Dortch, vice president of the Chesapeake Association of Public School Administrators, has a master’s from William & Mary and is pursuing a doctorate from Virginia Tech.
Kendall Lee ’01 is the new local system manager for the Infant and Toddler Connection of the Heartland, the state’s early intervention program for this area, serving children from birth to age 3 who have developmental delays or disabilities. The program is administered by Longwood Speech, Hearing and Learning Services. Lee, president of Longwood’s Alumni Board, previously worked five years as associate director of government relations at Virginia Commonwealth University. In that role, he was responsible for the government relations activities and federal, state and local legislative affairs for children’s services and Children’s Hospital of Richmond.
William “Jarret” Lee ’01 was elected to the Gloucester County School Board in November 2015. He was elected to one of two at-large seats on the seven-member board, defeating a 12-year incumbent who had never been challenged. A former teacher, now a stay-at-home father, Lee ran on a platform of vocational and college-preparation training, safety and a more open and transparent budget process. “Dr. Stephen Keith [assistant professor of education] was a big inspiration in my Longwood career,” said Lee, a native of Ridgeway in Henry County. He and his wife, Maryanne Fary Lee ’04, who live in the community of Ark, have three sons. Maryanne, a Gloucester native, is regional director of operations for Commonwealth Assisted Living.
Rosa Thomas, M.S. ’02, recently published Santa’s Little Angel, a Christmas children’s story that was inspired by, and is dedicated to, the late Evelyn Moore Coleman ’48, a beloved longtime Longwood employee who was her aunt. For years Thomas, who lives in Prospect near where Evelyn Coleman lived, helped her aunt (who didn’t have children) decorate her Christmas tree. As Thomas wrote in the book’s dedication, her aunt “always believed a Christmas tree was not complete without an angel on top.” The book is about “a little angel named Abby, and how she becomes the angel on top of Santa’s tree,” said Thomas, who worked in Longwood’s financial aid office from 1998-2006 and now works in the financial aid office at Hampden- Sydney College. Coleman worked at Longwood from 1948- 88, mostly in the president’s office, where she served six presidents.
Christina Pope Tomcany ’02 and Mark Fulcher Tomcany ’01 are the parents of Oona Mae Tomcany, born May 11, 2015. Big brother, Sam, and big sister, Harper Wren, are “beyond excited.”
Cristian Shirilla ’03 is executive director of the Northumberland Family YMCA.
Dr. Robert Vrtis ’03, assistant professor of theatre at Luther College, directed that college’s performance of the musical “Sunday in the Park with George” in November 2015. At Luther, a liberal arts college in Iowa, Vrtis teaches classes in acting, directing, improvisation and clowning. Before joining the faculty in 2013, he was a director and teacher in Eugene, Ore. In addition to a BFA from Longwood, he has master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Oregon.
Rebecca Snyder ’05 and Timothy Shelton ’04 were married in Farmville on Sept.12, 2015.
Tyler Pardue ’08 was promoted to general manager at the Sports Center of Richmond, where he had been director of youth development. He will continue to oversee all youth programming, including summer and holiday camps, in addition to his new duties.
2010s
Sara Meyerhoeffer ’11 and Jacob Babb ’12 were married Oct. 18, 2015, at Amber Grove in Moseley. Meyerhoeffer, who has a master’s degree in social work from Virginia Commonwealth University, is a domestic violence coordinator with Goochland Free Clinic and Family Services. Babb is a process manager in Capital One’s banking division. The couple live in Midlothian.
Duan Wright ’11 was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame at Queen Anne’s County High School in Centreville, Md., in October 2015.Wright, a standout member of the Longwood lacrosse team, played field hockey, lacrosse and basketball at Queen Anne’s. During her high-school career, she was a two-time basketball Most Valuable Player and was awarded the player of the year. Wright also received lacrosse Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2006 and 2007. She is currently a fourth-grade teacher at Bayside Elementary School in Stevensville, Md.
Ivan Campos ’13 has been accepted as a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Minority Student Leadership Program. The leadership development program is for undergraduate seniors, master’s students and doctor of audiology students who are enrolled in communication sciences and disorders (CSD) programs, and students pursuing a research doctoral degree. Campos is completing his last semester of graduate school at Loma Linda University in California. He was a nontraditional student who completed his undergraduate degree in Longwood’s CSD program while working full time in the Nottoway County schools.