We appreciate everyone who sent us submissions for the Class Notes section in this issue of Longwood magazine. Please keep them coming. If there is anything new in your life, personally or professionally, email the details to alumni@longwood.edu. Don’t forget to give us your full name, the year you graduated and the degree you received. Please also send us a contact phone number or email address in case we have questions.
1940s
Betty Harper Wyatt ’43 received the Judah P. Benjamin Certificate of Award on March 9, 2013, from the United Daughters of the Confederacy “for her determination and visionary public service to protect one of our national treasures, Fort Monroe, Virginia.” Wyatt was a founding member of Citizens for a Fort Monroe National Park in 2006 and continued to be an active board member and true ambassador for Fort Monroe. Editor’s Note: Betty Wyatt died on July 2, 2013.
Betty Smithdeal Miller ’44 was the resident in the spotlight in the March ’13 edition of “The Village Crier,” the monthly newsletter of The Village At Westerville Retirement Center in Westerville, Ohio.
1960s
Katheryne Lockridge Goodman ’63 was a delegate representing the Presbyterian Church (USA) to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China, in 1995 and, since then, has spoken to more than 70 groups about her experience and how men and women can become involved in action for equality, development and peace.
1970s
Susan Delong Smith ’79 was selected to participate in the Iditarod Teacher on the Trail in Alaska.
1980s
Patricia Hall Franklin ’84, supervisor of fine arts for Newport News Public Schools, was elected 201315 president-elect of the National Art Education Association. She will assume office beginning March 2015 and will serve through March 2017. Franklin has been a member of NAEA since 1981 and has served in a number of national volunteer leadership positions including the NAEA Governing Board as Southeastern Region vice president.
Daniel Ford ’87 of Virginia Beach is the author of The Marlin and the Mermaid “Help Save the Chesapeake Bay,” a rhyming children’s picture book about the source of pollution in the ocean. This is the first in a series of books on this topic that Ford has planned. Ford, who said he “grew up loving the ocean,” works in the Virginia Beach schools’ department of safety and loss control.
Haidee Shiflet Napier ’88 was named the assistant superintendent of instructional services in the Colonial Heights School District. She is a lifelong resident of Colonial Heights. In addition to her undergraduate degree in special education from Longwood, she holds a master’s degree in school counseling from Virginia State University and has an endorsement from VSU in administration and supervision.
Michelle Hummer Dickinson ’89 started her own law firm, the Law office of Michelle J. Dickinson, LLC, in Columbia, Md., in March 2013. The firm specializes in civil litigation matters for businesses and individuals in state and federal courts. She previously was a partner in the international law firm of DLA Piper LLP (US) in Baltimore, Md.
1990s
Curtis Campbell ’90 is the new director of athletics for Tuskegee University in Alabama. He previously was the athletic director at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Ala., for six years, and at Division III Blackburn College in Carlinville, Ill., for two years.
Robin Burroughs Davis ’90, associate dean of students and director of citizenship education at Colby-Sawyer College in New London, N.H., received the Gown Award at the college’s May 11, 2013, commencement ceremony. The annual award goes to someone from the college whose work and contributions in the New London area are extraordinary.
Bart Mitchell ’90 was recognized as the State Agent of the Year by Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance for the third time and was also named Master Agent of the Year for 2012. The awards are based on sales and profitability. Mitchell is based in Glen Allen and has been with Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance since 1991. He graduated from Longwood with a B.S. degree in business administration and holds the ChFC, CLU and LUTCF designations. He is a member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA).
Shawn L. Smith ’92, chief of operations for the Eastern Cheer & Dance Association, was elected to the National Advisory Board (NAB) of Competitive All Star Cheerleading. The NAB counsels the United States All Star Federation (USASF) on issues regarding cheerleading safety, competition standards and policies surrounding the Cheerleading World Championship and all of its preliminary events. The USASF, along with the International All Star Federation, works closely with the International Olympic Committee in efforts to make cheerleading an Olympic sport. Smith cheered for Longwood from 198892 and coached cheerleading at Longwood from 199294.
Charlie Brown ’93 is the new varsity girls’ basketball coach at Bruton High School in Williamsburg, where he was a standout player on the boys’ basketball team.
Michelle Hundley Schenker ’97 of Winston Salem, N.C., and her husband, Alex, cofounded Cover Story Media, Inc. (www.coverstorymedia.com), an online publishing company, in September 2012.
Michael Lawston ’99, branch manager at First Investors Corporation, is the new president of the Virginia Association of Colleges and Employers (VACE). VACE facilitates career development and growth among career services and employer members, and promotes the accomplishment of professional goals by providing opportunities for relationship building and professional development activities.
2000s
Janell Stinnett ’03 was appointed assistant principal at Nelson County High School in Lovingston.
Christopher Leech ’05 and Erin Fogle Leech ’04 are the parents of Hunter Robert Leech, born Oct. 12, 2012.
Christina Leigh Kernodle ’07 and Douglas Farley were married April 13, 2013.
Liz Long ’07 of Roanoke is the author of two fiction books: the fantasy novel Gifted, A Donovan Circus Novel and the paranormal thriller Witch Hearts. The former, the first in a series, is about a murder at supernatural circus, and the latter asks the question, “How does a witch stay safe if a killer can get through her protection spells?” Long (http://lizclong.com) is social media editor at Leisure Publishing.
Ashley Sines Atkins ’08 was appointed branch officer at Essex Bank’s King William Office. A resident of King William County, Atkins joined Essex Bank in 2008. Prior to her work there, she served as the marketing and communications coordinator for a firm in Fairfax.
Ryan Burnette ’09 and Kelly Irvin Burnette ’08 are the parents of Savannah Marie Burnette, born Feb. 18, 2013.
Lindsay Sheppard Hilton ’08 and her husband, Archie, are the parents of Kane Archie Hilton, their first child, born June 11, 2013. Lindsay is a secondgrade teacher with Portsmouth Public Schools, and Archie is activeduty Navy. Lindsay and Archie were married Aug. 13, 2012.
2010s
Jacob Witt Harper ’10 and Rebecca Britt Stephenson were married June 22, 2013, at High Street United Methodist Church in Franklin. Harper received his J.D. from the Charlotte (N.C.) School of Law. The couple lives in Wake Forest, N.C.
Danielle Jagoda ’10 married Stephen Cauley on March 16, 2013. She works as a therapist in Williamsburg, Va., and Stephen works in finance at Newport News Shipbuilding.
Nathan Epstein ’11 is the newest member of the WAVYTV/FOX 43 Sportswrap team in Portsmouth. Epstein previously was sports director at WDAMTV, the NBC affiliate in Hattiesburg, Miss., where he covered the University of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles and the New Orleans Saints. Epstein grew up in Richmond and interned with WAVYTV 10/Fox 43 sports department while attending Longwood.
Amy Jackson ’11, a bookbinder at Cat Tail Run Hand Bookbinding near Winchester, was featured in a photo in the Washington Post travel section accompanying a blog post about a book restoration workshop session she was leading. Jackson specializes in new binding at her job and maintains an active schedule as a printmaker and book artist.
Katelyn L. Black ’12 is a student in the neuroscience Ph.D. program at Tulane University in New Orleans.
Dustin Shuman ’13 performed as a vocal soloist at a May 17, 2013, concert at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Richmond. Shuman was part of the chorus that performed parts two and three of Handel’s “Messiah” with the Richmond Symphony in a benefit concert for preservation of the cathedral. He was a soloist on one of the recitatives and airs.
Alumni named Teachers of the Year
Pam Amos Dunnavant ’90 was named a 201213 Teacher of the Year for Charlotte County Public Schools. She currently teaches advanced biology and ecology at Randolph-Henry High School. In addition to teaching, Dunnavant has been involved with several extracurricular activities, including Team 21 and the ecology club.
Sandy Overbee Flynn ’78 was named a 201213 Teacher of the Year and the 201213 District Teacher of the Year for Charlotte County Public Schools. Flynn, a National Board Certified Teacher in Early to Middle Childhood Literacy, teaches first grade at Eureka Elementary School.
Lori Given Hoffman ’88 was named Fluvanna County Public Schools Teacher of the Year and Fluvanna County High School Teacher of the Year. She teaches geometry and serves as math team leader. She has 18 years of teaching experience and has been with the Fluvanna County Public Schools since 2005. She received her Master of Education degree in secondary education from George Washington University.
Paul John Nelson ’08 was named Cumberland County Schools Teacher of the Year.
Please let us know if you have been named a Teacher of the Year. Email the details to alumni@longwood.edu.
In Memoriam
Marian Moran Butler ’33 died Feb. 28, 2013.
Sally Chappelle Zimmerman ’35 died March 16, 2013.
Neyra Hines Kreiger ’37 died June 29, 2013.
Marie Newton Turner ’39 died April 9, 2013.
Sudie Dunton Brothers ’40 died March 18, 2013.
Lois Powell Harris ’40 died May 5, 2013.
Ruby Trice Williams ’41 died April 21, 2103.
Emma Elliotte Cox ’42 died April 20, 2013.
Mary Martha Gillespie ’42 died June 1, 2013.
Allene Overbey Hunt ’42 died April 8, 2013.
Jeanne Haymes Garland ’43 died April 15, 2013.
Elizabeth Baldwin Taylor ’43 died June 26, 2013.
Betty Harper Wyatt ’43 died July 2, 2013.
Lucille Lewis Armstrong ’44 died June 30, 2013.
Anne Marie Gerken ’44 died June 1, 2013.
Sue Harper Schumann ’44 died June 26, 2013.
Faye Nimmo Webb ’44 died March 1, 2013.
Rebecca Lacy Old ’45 died March 5, 2013.
Margaret N. Stewart ’45 died March 15, 2013.
Marilyn Bell Roper ’45 died April 11, 2013.
Betty Brothers Newman ’46 died March 5, 2013.
Emily Carper Robinson ’46 died April 25, 2013.
Irma Lassiter Bland ’47 died May 3, 2013.
Shirley Mankin Nelson ’47 died April 19, 2013.
Constance Wray Horden ’49 died April 8, 2013.
Virginia Cox Cobb ’49 died March 16, 2013.
Margaret Robertson Milroy ’51 died April 9, 2013.
June Ritchie Oberlander ’51 died April 17, 2013.
Helen Agnew Koonce ’51 died May 24, 2013.
Ann McGuire Burnette Younger ’51 died July 4, 2013.
Sara Lucille Chenery ’52 died April 4, 2013.
Frances Northern Ashburn ’55 died May 29, 2013.
Elizabeth Jenkins Ware ’57 died May 3, 2013.
Cecil Madolyn Kidd ’61 died April 2, 2013.
Charles Jay DeWitt ’63 died April 6, 2013.
Betty Downing Sweeney ’65 died April 8, 2013.
Carol Elizabeth Broughton ’65 died April 12, 2013.
Dana Jean Gerhardt ’66 died June 27, 2013.
Eleanor Carlock Reid ’67 died May 7, 2013.
Rebecca Christy Sievert ’73 died May 31, 2013.
Debra Elizabeth Whitehead ’75 died June 23, 2013.
Linda Clements Farrar ’81 died May 15, 2013.
William Earl Witcher Jr. ’81 died May 18, 2013.
Donnie Wayne Gresby ’85 died June 27, 2013.
Elizabeth Wickham Stephens ’86 died May 21, 2013.
Susan Beckwith Nachtrieb ’92 died March 11, 2013.
Russell Burnie Jones ’13 died July 16, 2013.
Daniel Joseph Pennesi ’13 died June 23, 2013.
Eric Chase Wood ’15 died March 16, 2013.
Faculty, Staff and Friends
Leslie Marshall Hall Jr., associate professor emeritus of history, died March 26, 2013.
Anna Ruth Lane, retired circulation assistant in the Janet D. Greenwood Library and widow of Dr. Charles F. Lane, professor emeritus of geography, died May 15, 2013.
Massie C. Stinson Jr., associate professor emeritus of English, died June 11, 2013.