Molly Wetzel and eight of her classmates met in Berea June 2015 for their 60th class reunion: “We are older in years, but not in spirit. We are all retired now and still have a wonderful time each June.”
Huey Perry led a discussion on his published works in the Archives and History Library at the Culture Center, State Capitol Complex in Charleston on April 21, 2016. Huey’s first book, “They’ll Cut Off Your Project: A Mingo County Chronicle,” was published in 1972. His second book, “Blaze Starr: My Life as Told to Huey Perry,” was published in 1974 and was eventually made into a movie, “Blaze,” starring Paul Newman and Lolita Davidovitch. His presentation can be viewed by searching “Huey Perry” on YouTube or at https://youtube/scXhQHVSSt8.
Sue Hile Atkinson and Marion “Marty” Atkinson are celebrating 50 years as residents of DeLand, Florida with their new best friend, Blue, a black Labrador retriever. They continue to enjoy retirement.
Dr. Pauline Rose Clance gave a keynote presentation to the National Institutes of Health for affiliated graduate students on January 12, 2016.
Nancy Rose released “Backstroking All Night in the Starpool,” a 62-poem collection that celebrates nature, friends, family, and music and offers insights about life, death and the hope “for what’s unfolding.” She had a poetry reading and book signing at the Prestonsburg campus of the Kentucky Community & Technical College System on April 21, 2016.
Wallace Cantrell and his wife, Sandy, have moved to 4040 Naples Drive, Columbus, IN 47203. Berea alumni, especially the Class of 1962, are welcome to visit them.
Sherrena Jones Forester continues to live in Springfield, Virginia, and is active in national, state and local politics, volunteer work, and travel. She has initiated scholarships for local students studying science or music in memory of her late husband, Dr. Donald W. Forester ’59.
Birth: twin daughters, Parker Ray Newton and Payton Lee Newton, to Cherie Clemo Newton and Michael Newton on May 24, 2016. Parker and Payton are the granddaughters of Carole Clemo and Ray Clemo.
Catherine Castle is retired and living in Cincinnati. She is catching up on travels to visit old friends in Asheville, North Carolina; Amherst, Massachusetts; Estes Park, Colorado; and Park City, Utah. She is enjoying her two grandchildren, son and daughter-in-law in Port Orchard, Washington.
Leon Alder said, “Thanks to Berea, I am a first generation college graduate.” His five daughters went on to graduate from College of William and Mary (Virginia), Virginia Tech, Clinch Valley College of the University of Virginia (now UVa-Wise), and two at James Madison University (Virginia). His twin sons will graduate from East Tennessee State University after also attending Virginia Highlands Community College. One of his daughters teaches graduate courses at East Tennessee State.
Malcolm Edward Kitchen is enjoying retirement, grandchildren and distant travel.
Tom Watts and his wife, Karen, have enjoyed extensive travel since their retirement. Tom has been very active with the county library system, having served as board president since 1995. One son, Brian, lives and works in information technology in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Eugenia (Jenny) Lovedahl Johnson retired September 1, 2015 after 15 years as director of Swain County Center for the Arts in Bryson City, North Carolina. Prior to that she was an instructor in the graphic arts and advertising design curriculum at Southwestern Community College in Sylva. She would enjoy hearing from classmates and can be contacted at 991 Big Horse Branch Road, Almond, NC 28702, where she lives with her mischievous cat, Kasey.
Diana Shepherd Arnold was approved for a second three-year term to serve District III on the Shelby Energy Cooperative’s Board of Directors. District III encompasses Trimble County and portions of Carroll and Oldham counties in Kentucky. During her first term, Diana earned the highest level of certification through the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
Bill Clement retired in 2015 after 30 years of teaching. He joins his wife, Rhoda Marcum Clement ’77, who retired after 30 years working as a public health nurse. The Clements can be reached at email@example.com or firstname.lastname@example.org.
Sherry Brown Fields, a teacher at Terra Alta/East Preston Elementary School, was honored as Teacher of the Year by the Preston County Board of Education in Terra Alta, West Virginia.
Hal Haynes Jr. earned a doctoral degree in educational leadership. His dissertation was titled “Spirituality and Student Engagement at a Small, Church-Related Private College.”
David Meier founded Glenns Creek Distilling, LLC just outside of Frankfort, Kentucky, on the site of the Old Crow Distillery. The distillery was abandoned in 1985, although Jim Beam still owns the brand and several of the old warehouses. Glenns Creek Distilling produces hand-crafted Kentucky bourbon as well as Caribbean-influenced rum. Visitors are welcome for tasting and tours. For details, go to glennscreekdistillery.com.
Birth: a son, Rayden Neil Edmonson, to Rachel Cook, daughter of David Neil Cook and Robin Chandler, and Erika Hale ’88, on March 21, 2016.
Kelly S. Boyer joined Citibank, N.A. in July 2014 for the purpose of creating a Federal Housing Administration multifamily lending platform. Citibank was recognized as the largest affordable housing lender in the country.
Samantha S. Earp was named chief information officer at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts and began her job September 1, 2016. Prior to her new position, she worked at Harvard University as managing director for academic technology services, and then as executive director of HarvardX, an online learning platform.
Evelyn Joran-Thiel resides in Bluemont, Virginia and works at the University of Virginia Children’s Hospital as a pediatric oncology nurse practitioner.
Karen Thompson Redding has been a practicing veterinarian for 25 years at Cedar Heights Animal Clinic outside of Bardstown, Kentucky. She earned a master’s degree and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Auburn University in 1990 and 1991 respectively. Her husband, Mark, works as a consultant at Eli Lilly and Company. They have three daughters: Kayla, who graduated from Milligan College in May; Lauren, who is in a pre-veterinary program at Murray State University; and Megan, who attends Bullitt Central High School.
Genia McKee is working in the College of Public Health at the University of Kentucky.
Robin Salyer works at Johnson County School in Paintsville, Kentucky, as Head Start director and community education director.
Katherine Silver Kelly was awarded the Morgan E. Shipman Outstanding Professor Award for 2016 at Ohio State University, Michael E. Moritz College of Law. She is assistant clinical professor of law and director of academic support there. The recipient of this award is chosen by the graduating class and is the speaker at the hooding ceremony where she hooded all of the graduates.
Glenn Manns, a regional social studies consultant with the Kentucky Department of Education, received the University of Louisville McConnell Center’s inaugural Henry Clay Cup for Exemplary Service in Civic Education. Glenn directed a coordinated statewide civics initiative in Kentucky, as well as worked internationally to share and implement teaching curriculum in other countries’ civics frameworks.
Amy Carter Shehee ’91 and David Shehee ’89 celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on August 3. David is superintendent of water quality for Kentucky American Water and Amy is director of gift planning at Berea College. They have one child, Luke Alexander, who is 14.
Dr. Adam Howard was promoted from associate professor to full professor April 15, 2016 by the Colby College Board of Trustees. Howard’s scholarship focuses on issues of social class in education, more specifically the role of privilege in shaping education access, opportunity and students’ sense of self.
Tanya Lawson Lowry was featured in an April 3, 2016 article “BTW Center making an impact in Hamilton,” published in the Journal-News (Butler County, Ohio) about her work as the director of the Booker T. Washington Community Center.
Will Jones was appointed the 14th president of Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas in May 2016. Prior to his appointment, Will served as vice president for external relations at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia, where he launched a branding and marketing campaign that won regional Emmy and Addy awards, grew the a undergraduate population by 25 percent, and raised the alumni-giving rate by 58 percent.
Larry Swartz is operating a small farm in Garrard County, Kentucky, and is direct marketing organic grass-fed meat.
Sarah Poole Farmer completed her Ph.D. in religion at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. She recently defended her dissertation entitled, “Hope in Confinement: Towards a Pedagogy of Restorative Hope” that explores the concept of hope with formerly incarcerated women. She recently accepted a position on faculty at Yale Divinity School as an associate research scholar in the Yale Center for Faith and Culture.
Suzie Loveday-Fink earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Eastern Kentucky University in May 2016.
Sarah Watson Khan was promoted to district registrar at New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Illinois.
Ashley Miller won the Guy Stevenson Award for Excellence in Graduate Studies, the highest honor the University of Louisville gives to graduating doctoral students. As the recipient, Ashley carried the School of Interdisciplinary and Graduate Studies banner at the doctoral hooding and graduation ceremony and the university-wide commencement ceremony on May 14, 2016. Ashley earned both her master’s and doctoral degrees in nursing at UofL.
Birth: a son, Sawyer O’Brien Thomas, to Johnna Whittamore Thomas and Jon Thomas, on December 4, 2015.
Eric Diehl, a musician and piano maker, was featured in a commercial for Steinway & Sons, a renowned American and German piano company founded in 1853. Eric is the son of Jeff ‘79 and Donna ‘79 Diehl, and he works for Steinway. View the commercial here: http://steinway.com/about
Aysen Nergiz, Paloma Martinez, Faustino Hernandez ’08, Rosa Mendoza, Maky Tekle Haile and Nitchiko Berugoda, traveled to the town of Lalibela in northern Ethiopia and posed in front of the famous UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Church of Saint George.
Berea College Alumni and Friends of Turkey met December 2015 for dinner in Istanbul. Pictured is Necla Ben ’68, Nebil Ragip Ilseven ’81, Aysen Nergiz ’07, Tran K. Nguyen ’16, and Miriam Cahill. For future events with Berea International Alumni in Turkey, contact Aysen Nergiz ‘07 at email@example.com.
Birth: a son, Camden Warner, born to Bethany Robinson Warner and Chad Warner on February 5, 2016. Bethany and Chad have been married since 2011 and the family resides in Berea with Camden’s big brother, Clayton.
Birth: a son, Maclean Emmett Scott, to Rebecca Duley Scott and Jacob Scott on June 12, 2016.
Birth: a daughter, Esther Nicole Miller, to Jayme Spaugh Miller and James A. Miller ’06 on July 11, 2015. Esther joins big sister, Hannah, and big brothers, Micah and Titus. James is moving to Guatemala for a year to do mission work.
Matthew Baunack Williams graduated from Harvard Graduate School of Education with an Ed.M. in international education policy in 2013. He is currently the director of education at WorldTeach and resides in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Birth: a son, William Joseph Windley, to Rachel Morgan Windley and David Windley on May 9, 2016.
Danielle Schaper was awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship and is currently a third-year graduate student at the University of Kentucky where she is pursuing her Ph.D. in experimental nuclear physics. Her scientific interests lie in precision measurements and the development of scientific instrumentation. She is a member of an international collaboration which seeks to measure effects of time reversal invariance using neutron transmission through a polarized nuclear target; her graduate work is to develop a neutron detector for this project. She very much attributes her NSF success to the experience she had in the Berea College physics department, and would like to especially thank her undergraduate advisor, Martin Veillette, for the years of his time and patience.