Spring 2011 - Front Page - Christ Church Episcopal School

Highlights Spring 2011
Published by the Development Office
Bibby Sierra, Director
Alice Baird, Editor
Contributing Writers
Class Agents
Alice Baird
Dena Benedict ’78
Kathleen Benedict ’13
Jean Cochran
Ben Crabtree
Kristi Ferguson
Eliza Geary ’13
Richard Grimball
Elizabeth Reyner Gross ’87
Dorthe Hall ’03
Ted Hassold ’79
John Kittredge ’75
Leonard Kupersmith
Valerie Riddle
Barbara Robertson
Kate Stewart ’09
Viviane Till
Graphic Designer
Brandy Lindsey,
The Graphics House, Inc.
A Note from the Editor
In this issue we examine community, an attribute so strong that it forms part of
the CCES acronym (Character. Community. Excellence. Service.). An introduction
by Leonard Kupersmith sets out some of its defining characteristics. Articles by
Barbara Robertson, Dena Benedict ’78, Ted Hassold ’79, Richard Grimball,
and Valerie Riddle explore the strength and bonds of the parent and alumni
community. The story of the Cavalier Scholarship highlights one aspect of the
school’s outreach efforts, while Kate Stewart ’09 talks about her volunteer work in
the Greenville community as a direct outgrowth of the Service Learning program
in the Upper School. Contributions by students Eliza Geary ’13 and Kathleen
Benedict ’13, alumna Dorthe Hall ’03, and Upper School history department
chair Kristi Ferguson prove that “global community” is more than a catch phrase
at CCES; we truly embrace this as part of the school’s identity. Our portrait in
philanthropy spotlights John Scovil, a board member, alumnus, and CCES parent;
his stature in the school’s prominent donor community is an example of how this
school community has grown and prospered. Sadly, we also report the deaths of
three beloved teachers, Marjorie Buck, Shirley Fry, and Christie Boulez, and
former headmaster Ben Crabtree remembers administrator Frank Tabone. Of
course, no issue of Highlights would be complete without “Class Notes” or photos
from the many alumni community events held since our last issue. And talk
about community—this issue contains a first: separate articles by both mother and
daughter, Dena and Kathleen Benedict!
I hope you enjoy this issue. Write to me at bairda@cces.org.
Alice Baird
Director of Communications
On the Front Cover: Main photo, Lower
School Chaplain Valerie Riddle gives
instructions to first-grader Buist Grimball
during the Saturday "labyrinth build day"
on November 20, when numerous parent
and student volunteers came to campus
to complete construction of the labyrinth.
Lower left photo, fifth-graders Lillian Hart,
Ali Timms, and Myka Young devote some
of their Christian education class time to
working on the labyrinth. Right, parent
volunteers, donors, and students assemble
for the joyous dedication of the new campus
labyrinth on Dec. 1.
2 | Highlights Spring 2011

The Community of CCES
Table of Contents
Letter from the Headmaster.....................................................................................4
The Community of Christ Church Episcopal School ....................................6.
Sacred Space, Sacred Self, and Sacred Others: The Impact of the Chapel on the
School Community, by Richard Grimball............................................................6.
A Community Intertwined: Building the Labyrinth at CCES, by Valerie Riddle............8
Everybody’s Doing It: The Parent Community at CCES, by Barbara Robertson.........11
The Community Behind A Cavalier Evening, by Dena Benedict ’78...........................12
The CCES Service Learning Program: Forging Community Ties Through the
John Wesley Breakfast Kitchen, by Kate Stewart ’09...........................................16
Outreach and Opportunity Through the Cavalier Scholarship, by Alice Baird.............19
Pep Talk to the Football Team on the Eve of their State Championship Game,
by Richard (“Ted”) Hassold ’79............................................................................21
Global Community ....................................................................................................23
Mission to Ecuador, Bearing Fruit at Home, by Eliza Geary ’13..................................23
Race 4 Ecuador: The Fruit of My Mission Trip, by Kathleen Benedict ’13..................26
Twelve Days in China: Bringing the Experience to the Classroom,
by Kristi Ferguson.................................................................................................30
A Little Swahili and the International Language of Love, by Dorthe Hall ’03............. 32
Portrait in Philanthropy ...........................................................................................36
John Scovil: Points in Your Life When the Road Parts, by Alice Baird....................... 36
In Memoriam ...............................................................................................................38
Frank Tabone: Behind-the-Scenes Problem-Solver, by Ben Crabtree...........................38
Marjorie Buck, Shirley Fry, and Christie Boulez, by Alice Baird,
reported by Jean Cochran......................................................................................39
Alumni News ...............................................................................................................42
Letter from Alumni Association President Elizabeth Reyner Gross ’87........................42
Alumni Events Calendar................................................................................................43
John Kittredge ’75 on “Perspective and the Second Kick of a Mule”............................44
Sports Hall of Fame Inducts Barry Cox ’77, Rasmi Gamble ’02,
and Britten Meyer Carter ’03, by Alice Baird.......................................................47
Greenville Mayor Knox White ’72 Honors Boys Soccer Championship Teams.............50
Alumni Association Honors Jonathan Breazeale ’87 and Chris Cunningham........... 51
The Billy Richardson Sportsmanship Award..................................................................52
Third Annual Sporting Clay Tournament......................................................................52
Christmas at the Museum.............................................................................................54
College-Age Alumni Celebrate at CCES........................................................................55
Class News ...................................................................................................................56
Marriages .....................................................................................................................56
Births............................................................................................................................56
Deaths...........................................................................................................................57
Former Faculty Notes....................................................................................................57
Class Notes....................................................................................................................57
Fourth-graders walk the labyrinth,
their journals in hand. Children
may write their reflections when
they reach the center.
Read more
on page
8.
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 3

The Community of CCES
Letter from the Headmaster
Dr. Leonard Kupersmith
Two of the many qualities that distinguish CCES and
independent schools in general are our conscientious attention
to individual needs and our constructive sense of community.
These attributes are closely related. In our schools, individuals are
encouraged to speak up and play active roles in the school. How
often have we seen legions of students at school until 11 p.m.
rehearsing or working on a project? Our school is often a second
home for our students, and their mentors become substitute
parents. The cast of Hello, Dolly!, the Upper School musical this
year, like so many other casts, has munched snacks, done homework, chatted, and joked
through the evening for many weeks. As opening night approaches, the evenings stretch out.
At the same time, we have wrestlers practicing and basketball teams putting in hours for the
final games and post-season. At least a quarter of the Upper School convenes nightly within a
few hundred feet of each other—from Lower School to McCall Field House. Supporting the
musical, a devoted task force of parents builds sets, makes costumes, and brings food. This
band of helpers discharges numerous critical roles during the performances of the plays. They
do so for the sheer pleasure of supporting the production.
Versions of this activity occur at many high schools. But the volume of students within
the student body and the level of volunteer contributions are distinctive here. The strength
of this community lies squarely with the investment of the individuals that comprise it.
Our school community is remarkably connected and close-knit. We know and rely on one
another. Our relationships are personal. We recognize that people count. Every member of
the school community makes a difference.
The President of the National Association of Independent School captured the difference
fifteen years ago in an editorial column in Education Week. He celebrated two outcomes
of an independent-school education: the ability to be an “impact” player and the ability
to confront an academically rigorous program and teachers with high standards and
expectations. The former, an invaluable attribute in all that we do, emerges out of a culture
that clearly understands and endorses the synergy of high-functioning individuals and a highfunctioning
community. The “impact” players disproportionately are reared at independent
schools. Consider the last three presidential elections; George Bush, Al Gore, John Kerry,
Barack Obama, and John McCain are graduates of independent schools—Andover, St.
Alban’s, St. Paul’s, Punahou, and Episcopal High School. These gentlemen are all “impact”
players at the highest level of play.
I often celebrate our school as a community, dedicated to making the most of our individual
talents and aspirations, in contrast to systems that are designed to perpetuate themselves.
Communities are nimble, more responsive to the individuals that comprise them. Systems
are stolid, impervious to individual needs, dedicated to perpetuating sterile procedures and
justifying action on the basis of collective interests. Independent school communities place
a premium on volunteering our resources on behalf of the greater good, i.e., a Booster Club
4 | Highlights Spring 2011

The Community of CCES
and an Arts Guild, and serving individuals who need help. I cannot count the times that I
have seen parents step up to help a student in financial or emotional distress. With a spirit of
professional alliance and empathy, our teachers fill in to assist a colleague who is ill, bereaved,
or faced with some demand that prevents him or her from teaching. Independent-school
teachers tend to be invested in the school at all levels: they monitor the campus beyond their
building, reminding students about proper behavior, and they applaud the efforts of their
former students as they grow up in the school. When our Primers parade in their Halloween
garb, no one cheers more vigorously than Upper School students, who fondly recall their
time sheepishly walking the gauntlet of outstretched hands. Third-graders write notes to our
graduates in their freshman year and receive responses. Athletes and cheerleaders visit Lower
School to raise school spirit in our youngest students. Lower School choir members sing
the national anthem at ball games in return. Our school has a P-12 community with young
people and adults inspiring, admiring, and supporting each other.
At its best, CCES shapes lifelong constructive habits, routines and regimens that shape
and elevate our character. We invest and enhance a galaxy of positive habits—habits that
inform our behavior as citizens, parents, friends, and workers. Community commitment
and attention to individual needs are in the forefront of those virtues. CCES has compiled
a truly distinguished record for educated, well-prepared students who are successful in
undergraduate and graduate schools. We have achieved an equally noteworthy reputation for
outstanding athletics programs, having earned the Directors’ Cup for eighteen straight years,
a recognition bestowed on the school in each classification with the best athletics programs.
Our arts programs are no less impressive.
Yet, it is our community service program that sets us apart of all of our counterparts.
Our chaplains and Elizabeth Jarrett ’82, our service learning director, have molded
a mindset of service in our students. Ms. Jarrett, an alumna and former Lower School
teacher who understands children of all ages, coordinates community service experiences
for every grade level. She and Father Richard Grimball, our senior chaplain, have
designed a new P-12 curriculum integrating community service into the instructional
program. Instead of simply doing good deeds and serving others periodically, students
learn about the factors that contribute to the need for community service. The
instructional connection makes the experiential component, the “doing,” much more
meaningful than the service alone.
CCES has developed a powerful culture of respect for the individual. Every child whom we
admit should receive the best our faculty and staff can possibly offer. Every parent should be
heard. Every teacher and administrator has a stake and a voice. It’s the vitality of individual
attention that nourishes the health of our community. I customarily suggest to parents new
to the school that they will not only enjoy the educational benefits that their children will
experience but also find themselves making friends among the parents at CCES. Our school
serves as a reminder to us that the good of the community and self-interest are usually totally
compatible. That’s a useful lesson for sound citizenship. ■
Our school community
is remarkably connected
and close-knit.
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 5

The Community of CCES
Sacred Space, Sacred Self, and
Sacred Others: The Impact of the
Chapel on the School Community
by The Rev. Richard Grimball, CCES Senior Chaplain
Today you are an Episcopal Priest, ordained for two years and having just arrived on a school campus from a
beautiful and traditional church in Asheville, North Carolina. Sunday Church has now become Wednesday Chapel,
and Eucharist looks something like a traveling medicine show from an old timey western. Your congregation is a
melting pot of families, students, and employees. As individuals, they represent a host of nationalities along with
religious and political beliefs, though as a group they represent a community called Christ Church Episcopal School.
We spend more time
together as an intentional
community than most
families and communities
spend together in a
lifetime.
6 | Highlights Spring 2011
Horse and buggy have been traded in for an
altar and credence table on wheels and a man
who speaks with a forked tongue selling the
elixirs of life has been exchanged for a man of
God offering the best medicine for the soul,
Jesus Christ. In such a climate, how do you
truly create a sense of community among
such diversity, especially with the intention of
not compromising the school as a Christian
school, and worship identity as closely
connected to the Episcopal Church and
Anglican Communion?
Those are big words for a traveling medicine
show, especially as your first year at CCES holds
some of the oddest and funniest memories as
a priest. The Upper School replaced the lower
common’s carpet with a center aisle that on
Wednesdays functioned as your chapel space.
The Middle School gathered in the auditorium,
with lighting and an altar that were usually
missing, and Eucharist often held under
the light of candles—literally two candles!
And the Lower School in its common area
outside the front office, with parents and
deliveries coming in and out as hymns were
sung and prayers prayed.
A Clearer Perspective
What you learned, and what the school
already knew from years of worship on the
road, is that you don’t have to have a chapel
to worship; you just have to have faithful
people committed to living and gathering
and preaching the life of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, be that on highway or byway. But
a chapel definitely helps put the picture of
community in clearer perspective.
One year later you are still an Episcopal Priest,
though a gift has been bestowed that will
change the life of your parish forever, and
in ways that are truly good. The Chapel of
the Good Shepherd arrived like Noah’s Ark
on Mt. Ararat, at first resting precariously in
a space that otherwise had been empty and
open for beauty and for play. Christ Church
Episcopal School now had a center of campus,
a place and a space that visibly held a compass
needle pointing always in the direction we
strive to travel…to the cross. Christians and
non-Christians alike travel this journey at
school together, and it is the unconditional
love that Jesus Christ has for each of us that
makes reaching out in love to others a reality.
It is what makes us a community.
It is now seven years later and you are still
an Episcopal Priest. You are looking back
on a place that was made possible by many
gifts from many different people, from every
language, people, and nation. And what
you now see are the tangible and intangible

The Community of CCES
influences of the Chapel in three very specific
ways: Sacred Space, Sacred Self, and Sacred
Others.
If you have ever watched the movie Talladega
Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby, there
is a classic scene when the family is sitting
around the dinner table. KFC, Taco Bell,
and Dominoes are proudly displayed, and
during the blessing and meal that follow, it is
evident that nothing is sacred and everything
is up for sale. Ricky Bobby prays for more
race car wins and mentions Power Aid’s new
flavor of Mystic Mountain Blueberry as part
of his endorsement contract while praying.
The children at the table have the mouths
of sailors, admitting to having no respect for
the older generation, one of whom (Chip)
is sitting at the dinner table. The movie is
obviously an American exaggeration, but it’s
also not far off the mark. In response to this,
and things like it/related to it, we as a school
are intentionally creating and sustaining a
community that looks at ourselves and what is
around us as sacred.
Sacred Space
We begin with space, having set aside the
Chapel as the place we gather in worship,
song, and prayer. We learn about God’s
love for us, about the continuing story
of salvation, the reality of being human,
and how Jesus Christ bridges the gap
through his death on the cross. He does
for us what we can’t do for ourselves,
and this includes individuals whose
faith is different and does not find a
mirrored expression in the Chapel.
But what I do believe is that the words,
people, and stories of the Bible are
relevant no matter who you are or from
where you come. The beginning story
with Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham,
Esther, Ruth, Jonah, Job, the Disciples,
Pharisees, Sadducees, and Paul—their
lives and interactions on a human and
divine level transcend all peoples, places,
and times. And any time we lose sight
of the ‘Good’ and ‘Love’ that were essential to
our beginning creation, any community ceases
to be a community as the stories mentioned
above attest.
Sacred Self
This naturally continues with seeing yourself
as loved and sacred, and that the body and
gifts given to each are to be celebrated and
respected. Students have heard, and will
continue to hear, that God has created them to
do something great in this world, and that in
walking the path He has set for each of us, we
will discover our uniqueness and place in the
salvation history of the world.
Sacred Others
Only to be followed by a recognition and
celebration of the sacredness of others. We
spend more time together as an intentional
community than most families and
communities spend together in a lifetime. As
such, our school is more like a congregation
or parish, in that we make hospital visits,
administer last rites, conduct weddings and
funerals, and we pray together frequently.
Our school is then, in my opinion, a true
reflection of the world in which we live, in
continued on page 14
Lower School students in grades 2-4
are gathered in the chapel in prayer.
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 7

The Community of CCES
A Community Intertwined: Building
the Labyrinth at CCES by Valerie Riddle
Labyrinths are fabled. In literature the mystery of the labyrinth is often a dark metaphor, as in the terrifying
Minotaur of Greek mythology. By contrast, the new labyrinth in front of the Lower School lies at the entrance to
CCES as an example of extraordinary community, faith, and sacred space.
The story of this labyrinth begins, as these
tales often do, a long, long time ago—
actually, just 14 years ago. As Lower School
chaplain, I began taking small groups of
students to walk labyrinths at churches in
the area. I had walked labyrinths for several
years as a part of my spiritual practice.
For me, labyrinths provide a sacred space
where I could intentionally walk, pray,
meditate and connect with God through all
creation. Historically, labyrinths date back
as much as 3,500 years. For early Christians
and Jews, they were symbolic forms of
pilgrimage when travel to holy sites became
too dangerous or expensive. Today, with a
resurgence of interest in labyrinths as a tool
for personal, psychological and spiritual
transformation, they have been proven to
enhance right brain activity.
As I watched our students busily filling the
hours and minutes of each day, I wanted to
provide them with this idea of “sacred space”
in the everyday world. I wanted them to
experience solitude alone and in community
and learn to experience it in everyday
life. As I watched them walk during our
walks—children leading moms, dads leading
children, friends passing, sitting in the
center alone or holding hands—and listened
afterwards to their reflections, I knew it was a
good thing. I could only think, “And a little
child shall lead them.”
When we moved to this beautiful campus
I dreamed about having a labyrinth on
campus, a place for our school community,
as well as the larger community, to walk
and pray together or alone: a place to stop
doing and just be. As we planned and
built the chapel, we looked for ways to
incorporate one, but we couldn’t make it
work. So, we continued to go by bus to the
labyrinth at Holy Cross Episcopal Church
in Simpsonville during our Christian
Education classes.
The sun blazed above during the
dedication of the labyrinth on
December 1. From left, senior chaplain
Richard Grimball, Bishop Andrew
Waldo, Lower School chaplain
Valerie Riddle, students and parents
join in prayer during the ceremony.
Little Children Shall Lead Them
In 2005 two fourth-graders, Crawford Lewis
and Anna Pieper, decided that they wanted
the $500 proceeds of the ERB bake sale to go
towards building a campus labyrinth. The
class voted unanimously, and the “Labyrinth
Fund” got its start. These children set a
precedent followed by fourth-grade classes in
the two subsequent years.
8 | Highlights Spring 2011

The Community of CCES
Fifth-grade students at work
spreading sand and laying stones to
complete the labyrinth.
In a remarkable example of synchronicity,
Lower School art teacher Marilyn
Mullinax, unaware of the fund’s existence,
invited visiting artist Beth Langley to come
to her art classes in the fall of 2009 to lead
a unit on the art of labyrinths, a residency
made possible by the Arts Guild. The
chaplains took advantage of her presence
on campus to scout a suitable location for
a campus labyrinth and to hire Langley to
design one for CCES. We chose the site,
the design and the stone. We felt if we were
able to have a labyrinth, we wanted to be
ready. We tried that fall to get construction
off the ground, but we just didn’t have
enough funds.
The CCES Brownie and Daisy troops led
by Lower School technology teacher Robin
Yerkes and CCES parent Lisa Allen knew
of our hopes and dreams and wanted to
help. They sold snacks and cookies for one
week before school, raising another $690
toward the fund. Then, last spring, generous
gifts from the Cavalier Classics, a support
group of former CCES parents, from
Parents Panel, and from individual parents
put the labyrinth fund “over the top.” It
was time to build.
Hard Labor
The entire school community was involved
in its construction, and when the bishop,
The Right Rev. Andrew Waldo, announced
he would visit the school on December
1, the project had a deadline of sorts. We
thought he could at least bless the ground
during his visit. When Ms. Langley called
and said she would make time to come in
the days before Thanksgiving, we sprang
into action, measuring the site, ordering
stone and supplies, and getting our
maintenance staff and groundskeepers on
board. Students in several Lower School
classes and in the art club were mobilized to
help mark the path with paper plates, coffee
filters, and other objects so that Oxner, the
school’s landscaping service, could dig the
path.
With the path dug, we were ready to lay the
stone. For this we needed manpower. On
continued
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 9

The Community of CCES
Jonathan Breazeale ’87,
one of the many parent
volunteers who helped
build the labyrinth.
the beautiful Saturday morning of Nov. 20,
the three chaplains and Ms. Langley stood
in the center of the site to offer prayers and
thanksgiving. We had no idea if we would
have anyone joining us, but throughout
the day a total of about 60 parents, faculty,
staff, and students streamed in and gave
their time to break and lay rocks. The Arts
Guild provided pizza and water for all.
Upper School sophomore Will Robertson
and freshman Phillip Schmitz-Justen
volunteered for the rock-breaking detail,
and lest you think this was some sort of
punishment, Will declared it “the most fun
I’ve ever had in my life!”
In the next few days before the bishop’s
visit, middle-schoolers and students from the
physical education and Christian education
classes helped put on some of the finishing
touches, for example, by filling in some of
the low spots with dirt and adding more
rocks where needed. Upper School students
came during their free periods or study
halls to help. Within the space of about
five days, through the efforts of parents,
CCES staff, and students at all levels, the
labyrinth “sprang forth,” and on December
1, 2010 Bishop Waldo blessed it in a sunkissed
dedication ceremony accompanied by
student readings and music.
A Vision of Community and Faith
Some time after the dedication, Middle
School chaplain Joe Britt, who knew how
long I had been hoping and praying for a
labyrinth on campus, asked if it looks the
way I had always imagined it.
Honestly, that Saturday when we laid the
stones I saw the involvement of parents and
the eager assistance of so many children. I
listened as they introduced themselves. I
watched as they helped each other and got
to know each other. I saw the expressions
on their faces as they stepped back and
admired their work. I witnessed the
excitement of first-grader Buist Grimball
each time he found the perfect rock, and
everyone’s enthusiastic response for his
accomplishments. It was at that time I was
able to let go of whatever vision I might
have had before then. It was so much more
than I could have dreamed.
What I see when I look at the completed
labyrinth now is a vision of community and
faith. ■
Valerie Riddle is Lower School chaplain
and assistant director. She is also a Licensed
Professional Counselor, Licensed Marriage and
Family Therapist, and a play therapist.
Within the space of about
five days, through the efforts
of parents, CCES staff, and
students at all levels, the
labyrinth “sprang forth.”
10 | Highlights Spring 2011

The Community of CCES
Everybody’s Doing It: The Parent
Community at CCES by Barbara K. Robertson
CCES has an incredibly strong parent community. Throughout the school year parents can be found making
presentations in their children’s classrooms, hanging the student Art Fairs, coordinating activities for the Lower
School’s Road to Bethlehem or the Back-to-School Celebration, rustling up costumes for dramatic productions, lining
up speakers for various parent-led events, or transporting students. True, there are dedicated parents performing
these roles at many schools, anywhere. But there is something special about the CCES parent community. Says
Headmaster Leonard Kupersmith, “Parent involvement at CCES is nothing short of extraordinary.”
“Everybody’s doing it. You need
to try it. You’ll have so much fun.”
These are words that I would not necessarily
want to hear from the mouth of a teenager,
but have used myself many times since my
children began school as CCES. What is
everybody doing? Volunteering! I would
estimate that the average CCES parent logs
in triple-digit volunteer hours by the time
their children complete the journey from
Primer to graduation. What are they doing
as volunteers? And why are CCES parents
so eager to give up their free time?
The Parents Organization is the largest
volunteer group at CCES. As part of that,
each division has its own Parents Panel
group. For instance, Lower School Parents
Panel includes grade representatives along
with leaders of other organizations and
events (bookstore, community issues,
spirit, etc.). There is even a representative
dedicated solely to volunteers—one for
each level! Moreover, there is a Volunteer
Chair who serves on Parents Organization
and coordinates the three division volunteer
reps. The Parents Organization Executive
Committee includes leaders from all of the
different CCES organizations that oversee
all three divisions (Lower, Middle, Upper).
Two prominent support groups that have a
significant impact on the school are Booster
Club for athletics and Arts Guild for the
arts. These groups not only supply dozens
continued on page 15
In January Arts Guild President
Barbara Robertson, far left,
shares a laugh with members
of Soul Steps in the theater
dressing room. The visiting
artists’ performances for the
Lower and Middle Schools were
made possible by the Arts Guild.
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 11

The Community of CCES
The Community Behind A Cavalier
Evening by Dena Benedict ’78
If you attended the premier A Cavalier
Evening event in 2009, you surely
remember the moment the ballroom doors
swung open to reveal that the cavernous
industrial space of the Carolina First Center
had been transformed into a magical scene
of white lights, delicate orchids, soaring
bamboo, and elegantly decorated tables.
It took an army of volunteers to create the
mood, the auctions, and the fundraising
success of that first gala event. Not to
be outdone, a new group of inventive,
persuasive, artistic—and very hardworking—volunteers
have been working
behind the scenes for the past few months,
attending to the myriad details of hosting A
Cavalier Evening on April 30.
A Community of Shared Interest
What brings these parent volunteers all
together, under gala chair Nan Rasmussen’s
able leadership, is what I call “a community
of shared interest.” Individually and
together, we all share interests in the
advancement of CCES students—building
their academic, physical, spiritual and
character strengths. A Cavalier Evening
brings the parents of the CCES community
together with our shared interests in mind.
Yes, the event is an important fundraiser
for the school, a magnet for attracting vital
funds to support the school’s strategic needs
for student financial aid and professional
development for faculty and staff. Yet A
Cavalier Evening is also so much more….
dinner, dancing, live and silent auctions… a
time when our school community can come
together to socialize and enjoy a special
event as we embrace our shared interest.
With the planning and development
of the evening, volunteers have already
given countless hours to bring our school
community together for a fabulous night.
Nan was very involved with our gala in
2009 and brings energy and excitement
to all those working with her on this
gala. Jenny Pressly Stewart ’99 in the
Development Office handles special
programs and events for the school; nothing
would get accomplished without Jenny’s
support to all the volunteers.
The Gala Executive Committee
Under Nan’s leadership, the gala is
12 | Highlights Spring 2011

The Community of CCES
These are the ladies planning A
(sensational!) Cavalier Evening for
you: from left, opposite page: Jenny
Stewart, Mary Ridgeway, Emily
Davis, Tammy Conits, Keri Geary,
Lisa Ashmore, Nan Rasmussen,
and Katherine Sagedy. From left,
right-hand page: Jennifer Sterling,
Courtney Millwood, Beth Nuckolls,
Chelle Kelaher, Angie Einstein,
Dena Benedict, Starr Haney, Lisa
Nalley, and Annette Ferrell. Not
pictured is Eva Marie Fox.
staffed with an executive committee of
seventeen (17) school parents who chair
various committees. Each chairperson
and committee is working with parents
and/or other school-related groups. Lisa
Nalley and Emily Davis serve as the
Organizational Liaison. These ladies
contact and coordinate other CCES school
groups (e.g., Booster Club, Arts Guild,
and Golden Cavaliers). Board of Trustees
Vice-Chair Eva Marie Fox ’83 chairs
the gala Sponsorships and Underwriting
Committee; her group works both within
the school as well as within Greenville
inviting families and corporations to take
part in our efforts.
Katherine Sagedy ’89 and Starr Haney
are the very talented women, who with a
larger group, will transform the Carolina
First Center into a beautiful and spectacular
venue for our evening. Invitation creation
and reservations is chaired by Jennifer
Sterling ’80 and Lisa Ashmore. They
will be accommodating seating requests.
Tammy Conits and Keri Geary are hard
at work designing a catalog for the night.
Annette Ferrell is in charge of coordinating
publicity, both within our school
publications (e-blasts, e-mails, and signage)
and with outlets within the Greenville area.
The nuts and bolts of the event are being
handled by Operation Chairs Mary
Ridgeway and Courtney Millwood.
These ladies have already spent hours at the
Carolina First Center meeting with sound
and light personnel, planning the evening
menus, and handling many more logistics.
I have the pleasure of chairing the Auction
Committee along with Beth Nuckolls
(Lower School Auction Chair), Chelle
Kelaher ’86 (Middle School Auction Chair)
and Angi Einstein (Upper School Auction
Chair).
Working Since Last Spring
As you can see, the gala has parents from
each division working for a common
interest. All committee chairs rely heavily
on the volunteers. For example, the
auction committee consists of 30 parent
volunteers, many who have been working
to obtain auction items and packages since
last spring. Each grade has two auction
representatives who have personally
contacted school families, inviting and
encouraging them to attend “A Cavalier
Evening.” These representatives have
also solicited families for auction item
donations. We have already received
some fabulous items, and with a motto
of “anything goes,” every donation is
appreciated. The auction representatives
also contact merchants within the
continued
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 13

The Community of CCES
A Cavalier Evening
April 30, 2011 • 6:00 p.m.
Live and Silent Auctions • Dinner • Dancing • Live Band
An unforgettable evening to benefit CCES.
www.cces.org/gala1.html
Greenville community for donations and
involvement.
Working with the gala has given me the
ability to meet parents, many of whom
I might never have met before, simply
because our children attend different
divisions. I have had the opportunity to
see first-hand what amazing, dedicated,
hard-working and talented parents CCES
has in its volunteers. As with all areas
of our school community—the Booster
Club, Arts Guild, Parents Panel, field
trip drivers, bookstore and concession
stand workers, admission ambassadors,
and the list could go on—volunteers give
thousands of hours unselfishly to work as
a school community, a community with
a shared interest in the betterment of our
students and school. ■
Dena Benedict ’78 has a long history as a
devoted CCES volunteer, including service on
the Alumni Association Board. Her children
are now both in the Upper School, Jeff in
grade 11, and Kathleen in grade 10, and as
Kathleen’s article on page 26 of this issue attests,
Dena has instilled in them the importance of
volunteering too.
Sacred Space, Sacred Self, and Sacred Others continued from page 7
that we don’t require students, families, or employees to sign a covenant about what they believe
and why; rather, we invite and celebrate the diversity, taking care of one another to the best of our
ability as imperfect humans trying to live out the will of God in community. And whether lay or
ordained, Christian or non-Christian, you are cared for in this community.
The hard part of this, the really hard part of this, is that we will not always agree. Some believe
our community is too Christian, others not Christian enough. There are employees and students
who do not return to the school that we believe should stay, and vice versa. This is the Biblical
tension, and this is the good, creative tension. That from the beginning of time, God who
is perfect in every way made us in His image, though we are formed out of the natural and
imperfect dust of the earth; hence our striving to follow God while at the same time striving to
follow our own desires.
And at the heart of this is what we as a Christian school try to accomplish, and that is to love our
space, love ourselves, and love others with the same love that Jesus first loved us. As long as we
continue to do that, in the melting pot we call Christ Church Episcopal School, we can hold our
heads up and say, We are Community. ■
Because Richard Grimball is the first full-time chaplain in the history of the school, he has been able to
focus his energies fully on the community of Christ Church Episcopal School.
14 | Highlights Spring 2011

The Community of CCES
Everybody’s Doing It continued from page 11
of volunteers, but also raise funds through
membership drives and admittance fees.
Sports teams and dramatic productions
rely on their volunteers for many things,
including helping to feed the team or
building a set. Finally, special events such
as A Cavalier Evening require loads of
volunteers (see “The Community Behind A
Cavalier Evening” in this issue, page 12.)
So that’s what everybody’s doing. But why?
It Starts in the Lower School
Our children enter Lower School. As they
learn about service, so do we. A tangible
atmosphere of giving back is prevalent
at CCES, and parents are excited and
enthusiastic to be a part of their child’s
school. They read books to the class, drive
students on field trips, and organize can
drives. They are eager to tackle any task.
I remember when I was asked to be a
second grade rep for my oldest daughter. I
felt honored, but I also felt anxious about
the weight of my responsibilities. Six years
later, when I received the call again for my
youngest, I’ll admit I didn’t feel the same
butterflies in my stomach. Still, I was very
excited for the opportunity to be involved
with the school. Another bonus—e-mail had
replaced the phone chain! Both groups
of second-graders will always be special
to me. The first is in their second year
of college now, but I can still picture
them as they were when I was their room
representative.
Parental Relevance in the Middle
School
As they become middle-schoolers, our
children are not as eager to have us hanging
around school. They want us to drop off
their lunch instead of coming to eat with
them. They “forget” to tell us when they
have a special role in chapel. These are
reasons why many parents find volunteering
at this level so important. We want to know
what is going on. The groups that we join
to support the school suddenly become
support groups for us. We are relieved to
talk to other parents in the same boat. The
multi-tasking never ceases to amaze me.
Two hundred fliers can be deftly folded
and stuffed into envelopes while we cover
everything from algebra to zits.
A Habit by Upper School
Our students have made it to the Upper
School. We are still volunteering. It is a
habit now. We recognize the importance of
helping our school. We have been seeped in
a culture of altruism for many years. We’ve
grown attached to CCES and to each other.
We truly care about CCES. As our children
become young adults experiencing high
school, we feel the pangs of our limited time
with them still at home. We want to be a
part of their lives and their school.
Plus, it’s fun and… everybody’s doing it.
Try it! ■
Barbara Robertson is current President of the
Arts Guild and serves on the auction committee
for A Cavalier Evening. In the nearly 15 years
she has had children at CCES, she has served in
numerous volunteer roles. She and her husband
Marsh have three children: Ashley ’09, a CCES
alumna and current sophomore at University
of Virginia; Will, a sophomore in the Upper
School; and Eileen, in eighth grade in the
Middle School.
A tangible atmosphere
of giving back is
prevalent at CCES.
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 15

The Community of CCES
The CCES Service Learning Program:
Forging Community Ties Through the
John Wesley Breakfast Kitchen
by Kate Stewart ’09
“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound . . .” the soulful words reached my ears from across the small room, but I
could barely see the lady from whose lips they came or the man who accompanied her on the piano because the
tears forming in my eyes blurred my vision.
I wasn’t actually active at the Breakfast
Kitchen (BK) during high school, helping
out maybe twice a year just to get in my
mandatory service hours. Freshman year
of college opened my eyes to the privileged
life we’ve had, and how, with the incredible
opportunities we’re given (including to go
to college and study what we’re passionate
about!) comes the responsibility to make
the most of them. I felt called to give
back and take hold of the opportunity of
being “stuck” in Greenville last summer by
returning to BK and building relationships
with both the people who work there and
with those who dine there. I was nervous
at first that the regular volunteers would
bring up the fact that I rarely contributed
while at CCES, or pressure me to come
every morning, but, honestly, they were just
as happy to see me as anyone else. Server,
cooker, cleaner, talker, and eater: anyone’s
welcome.
For those who haven’t been to the BK at
John Wesley United Methodist Church,
servers usually show up to the modest,
downtown building around 6:45 a.m. on
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings
to join the regular volunteers (who’ve
already been cooking grits since before
6 a.m.) to prepare a hot breakfast for
anywhere between 80-120 homeless people
from 7-9 a.m.
Life Stories
The awesome thing about working at the
BK is that you have the opportunity to
take a break from serving and sit with the
homeless to share a meal. I guess I never took
the chance in high school, but God gave
me the confidence to start getting to know
people. He opened my eyes to the fact that
homelessness can happen to anyone who has
fallen on hard times. Life stories may vary
from one person to another, yet everyone is
treated with respect at John Wesley because
we are all equal in the eyes of God.
I remember meeting another volunteer
named Michael (yes, he is an angel) my
first day back from college. He had eaten at
John Wesley while homeless and continued
to come after obtaining a house to live in,
and now is a server. His story is another
example of how everyone contributes to the
BK community. None of us are fully awake
until “Hollywood” comes strutting down
the hall in his sunglasses, grabs a plateful of
sugary pastries, and tells us how beautiful
we all are. Nor would the early morning be
half as enjoyable without one of the guys
banging out a traditional African-American
hymn or, my favorite, “Mr. Bojangles.”
Still, it’s an offense to ignore the social
differences that exist between Greenvillians.
A humorous example of this would be the
time I tried to get one of my dearest friends,
16 | Highlights Spring 2011

The Community of CCES
Henry, to try my homemade biscotti (which
he had never heard of before), only to have
him “bite” down with a yelp of pain—he,
like many homeless who can’t afford dental
care, didn’t have teeth! Naively, I had
overlooked this fact.
Once, when I asked Mrs. Crystal Burch
(who, with her husband Bobby Burch, a
former CCES administrator, has devoted
countless hours to BK since 2001) how she
originally got involved, she explained, “I
thought I’d help out one morning and be
done with it, but God had different plans
for me.” Isn’t that how we all think? “I’ll do
it my way and pray to God that he helps me
do it” instead of asking what to do in the
first place.
Taking Service Learning to Heart
CCES first became involved with the
breakfast kitchen in 2003 when freshman
advisor Kathy Adamee and former
Community Service Director Jean Carter
began taking ninth-graders there. The
Service Learning program has continued
to involve students as kitchen volunteers,
and several students have personally
become very actively involved there. Sally
Stephenson ’05 helped to provide muchneeded
pastries and other supplies for a
period, and Ingram Carpenter ’06, for
whom the kitchen is now named, raised
more than $100,000 for its renovation for
her senior project. When renovation was
finally underway, Christ Church allowed the
school to use its facilities for a year so that
the breakfast program would continue to
serve Greenville’s homeless.
Why do I return? God made me fall in love
with the people at the BK. I return to see
my friends, to play piano with them, to
make sure I see their faces each morning so
I know they’re still okay. The community
shares in each other’s joy, as when Henry got
an apartment, as well as their pain, as when
Montee was hit over the head and robbed.
Numerous other CCES alumni can’t stay
away from John Wesley either. Looking
forward to catching up with Liz Blake ’09,
Lauren Theisen ’09, and Mary Catherine
Pelham ’09 encouraged me to get up early
on summer mornings, and Easton Seyedein
’09 continues to work there as well. My BK
story of belonging is just one of many, and
I challenge you to ask them to share theirs
next time you see them . . . or to go share
your own!
continued
From left, before
school starts in the
morning, CCES junior
A.J. Hayden and
sophomores Crawford
Lewis and Kathleen
Benedict join an adult
volunteer on the serving
line at the John Wesley
United Methodist
Church breakfast
kitchen.
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 17

The Community of CCES
Seeing the students
returning to serve tells
me I’m not forgotten,
and that they see
value in me.
What Makes a Community
Community is defined as a group unified
by a common interest. I’d like to think that
glorifying God by sharing His love is that
shared interest, but I know it’s not limited
to that: it’s just one of the many motivations
for why people come to the BK. Some come
to eat;, others to interact socially, use the
restroom, escape the heat, warm up from
the cold, play piano . . . but then, the unifier
becomes the sense of community itself.
The BK is a community, and the common
interest of its partakers is the shared sense
of “belonging.” Even though spreading
Christ’s love isn’t everyone’s motivation,
I also know that God’s unseen hands are
ever present, orchestrating the interactions
between each stranger, friend, or coworker,
who, for whatever reason, decided to make
the trek down to BK that day.
He has especially blessed us
with CCES Service Learning
Director Elizabeth Jarrett, for
whom I’m personally thankful,
because, without her, I
wouldn’t have been introduced
to the BK, nor would I have
had the courage to return
without the comforting
knowledge that she’d be there.
According to Mrs. Jarrett, several alumni,
such as myself, continue to volunteer at the
breakfast kitchen where they “learn about
individuals and truly take an interest in
their lives. They feel that they are making
a difference in someone’s life because of
the appreciation that is expressed to them.
Conversely, it gives the people who frequent
the kitchen a feeling that people care about
them as individuals.”
Mel, one of the regulars at BK, expressed
this when he said, “Seeing the students
returning to serve tells me I’m not forgotten,
and that they see value in me, which gives
me strength to keep striving and hope for a
better tomorrow.” Another regular, Henry,
commented, “The students coming to the
breakfast kitchen is a great thing, because it
gets them out of their element to see some
of the needs in the community. I really
appreciate what they do.”
A final illustration of the BK family relates
to my “Amazing Grace” flashback. The most
pronounced voices may have come from
the pair at the piano, but Reverend Dease
sang from behind the serving table, Mrs.
Rosa joined the pair in harmonizing, those
eating listened peacefully, some swayed, and
even I, lacking all singing ability (I didn’t
make Middle School choir), couldn’t help
but quietly hum the melody. We were an
otherwise heterogeneous chorus, bonded by
community. ■
Kate Stewart is a sophomore at Rhodes College
and plans to major in neuroscience and minor
in French. She currently has an internship at Le
Bonheur Hospital, volunteers at the MED Burn
Unit, and is a member of Kappa Delta sorority.
18 | Highlights Spring 2011

The Community of CCES
Outreach and Opportunity Through
the Cavalier Scholarship by Alice Baird
What better name for a new CCES scholarship than the Cavalier Scholarship? That’s the name chosen for the
wonderful new opportunity made available for the first time this fall to incoming students to the Upper School.
The Cavalier Scholarship is truly a gift: one that links the generosity of the CCES community with outreach in the
Greenville community.
As a result of an extraordinary gift from an
anonymous CCES constituent, the school
launched a competition last summer to
attract new students from the community.
Several criteria played a role in the selection
of finalists for the four-year, full-tuition
scholarship: academic merit, financial
need, personal motivation, diversity, and
international orientation.
In announcing the program, Headmaster
Leonard Kupersmith noted, “The Cavalier
Scholarship strengthens our outreach
to achieve an even more talented and
diverse student body.” Applicants for the
scholarship were interviewed by faculty
and administrators and tested academically.
They were looking for a deserving student
who could thrive and succeed in the Upper
School environment at CCES, someone
who would also bring special talents to the
student body.
Musical talent and dedication, a strong
creative streak, and solid academic
performance quickly identified Taylor
Jackson as a worthy recipient of the award.
Upper School Director Pete Sanders was
unequivocal in his praise of Miss Jackson’s
performance. “As CCES’s first Cavalier
Scholar, Taylor Jackson of Traveler’s Rest
has lived up to all expectations. In the
classroom, she has taken on a demanding
course load that includes advanced and
honors level courses. Taylor had a strong
showing in all of her courses and earned
honor roll status for the first semester. She
especially caught the attention of her art
and music teachers. In her studio art class,
Taylor consistently produced artistic work
of tremendous depth and creativity. In
music ensemble, she played the French horn
and proved herself to be a musician of solid
talent. Her music ability is not limited
to one instrument, by the way, as she is a
harpist as well. The school was treated to
her talent for the harp when she played
a piece during communion at an Upper
School chapel service.
continued
Cavalier Scholar
Taylor Jackson,
playing the harp
at a recent Upper
School chapel
service.
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 19

The Community of CCES
“Equally impressive is Taylor’s commitment
of time to the school’s drama program. Not
one to hold back, she threw herself into
the avant-garde fall drama, Reckless. She
has strong stage presence, and she will be
featured in many school productions to
come.”
Her advisor, Chris Forbis, was equally
approving. “She has made the sometimes
difficult transition from public school
academics to CCES admirably and has
done this while taking some of the more
difficult advanced and honors courses that
we offer to freshmen,” he noted. “She has
taken advantage of our elective programs
in art, band, and chorus as well. She has
seized opportunities to get involved with
extracurricular activities, taking parts
in both the fall drama and the winter
musical. Taylor also seems to be acclimating
well to the school in a social sense.”
"I’ve Never Felt Alone”
Miss Jackson is enthusiastic about CCES,
characterizing it as “a very welcoming
environment. I don’t think I’ve ever felt
alone,” she said,
admitting that she
had worried about
fitting in.
The new Cavalier
Scholarship links the
generosity of the
CCES community
with outreach in the
Greenville community.
“I’ve gained a
lot by coming
to CCES,” she
said. “This
is a different
environment
completely than the public school I would
have attended. It’s more friendly at CCES.
Teachers are very aware that students learn
in different ways. I learn best visually
and orally and teachers are careful to
provide both. And CCES has so many
opportunities to get involved.” Taking
advantage of every opportunity, she is
rehearsing with the cast of Hello, Dolly, and
already has her eye on Youth in Government
and Model UN for next year.
Mr. Sanders noted that her time is filled
outside CCES too. “If CCES does not keep
her busy enough, her time on the weekends
(when not doing homework) is equally
admirable. She is active in Girl Scouts, her
Traveler’s Rest Church and she is a member
of the Carolina Youth Symphony.”
“Managing Very Carefully”
How does she manage all these
commitments?
“Very carefully,” she says with a smile.
“There’s no time for fooling around. At my
old school I could slip in a game of solitaire
while I was studying or listen to music
while I did my reading. Not at CCES. The
academics are too rigorous.”
A competition for another Cavalier Scholar
for the 2011-12 school year is currently
underway. An exemplary program, the
Cavalier Scholarship is one way we are
redefining community at CCES: the
community of donors and of potential
applicants, and the ever-expanding
community of Greenville that we embrace. ■
20 | Highlights Spring 2011

The Community of CCES
Pep Talk to the Football Team on the
Eve of Their Championship Game
by Richard (“Ted”) Hassold ’79
It was a varsity football season unlike any other in an entire generation at Christ Church Episcopal School. On the
eve of their Upper State championship game against Williston-Elko, the 2010-11 Cavaliers had gone undefeated,
winning, in Headmaster Leonard Kupersmith’s words, “more consecutive games than any team we have ever
put on the football field in a single season.” As an alumnus of the storied 1977 team that won the school’s only
state football championship to date, Ted Hassold ’79 delivered a pep talk to the young Cavaliers. He reminded
the students of the breadth and depth of the school community that stood behind them and urged them to seek
significance in their lives, a message that continues to resonate, despite the Cavaliers’ disappointing defeat the
following night. What follows are some excerpts of his talk the evening before.
When Booster Club President Shane Taylor
invited me to come and speak with you, I
jumped at the opportunity. As a parent, I’ve
been watching you since you were in Lower
School, and watching your metamorphosis
into a championship team. My hat’s off
to you all for the great season you’ve had!
Already, you’ve broken one of our school
records, the 1978 team’s undefeated regular
season, by winning 12 games versus our 10,
and I want to congratulate you all on the
best regular season in the school's history.
The Cavaliers went
into the Upper State
championship game
with an undefeated
season behind them
but were defeated
by Williston-Elko.
However, they
played with heart,
and next year...
Photo by Gwinn
Davis, courtesy of
the Greenville News.
Relationships: Your Friends for
Life
Today I want to talk to you about
relationships, significance, and team. These
have a place in all of our hearts right now,
especially for you seniors playing your
final games on Carson Field. You’ve all
been through some very difficult times as
a team, and the relationships that you’ve
forged will stay with you for a lifetime. The
relationships you’re building right now are
your friends for life: the people who will be
at your weddings, who will be with you in
college, who will be with you in the down
times as well as the good. These are the
relationships that will help you to grow in
the future.
All the guys on the 1978 championship
team keep in touch by e-mail; we’ve been
doing that for years. Today the e-mails
continued
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 21

Global Community
I’m asking you to seek
significance in your life.
were flying from many of the players who
were on our championship team: Tom
Runge ’79, Billy Campbell ’78, David
Quattlebaum ’79, John Stephenson
’79, Jack Miller ’78, Al Hipp
’79, Earle Huffman ’79, John
Halleran ’79, Donny Harrison
’79, Emery Vandiver ’78, Sam
Outten ’78, Robbie Poplin ’79,
and Thomas Stall ’78. We were
all shooting off e-mails saying how
fired up we are for the Cavaliers!
We’re all a strong community. Our state
championship community is excited for you
guys. I know that even my buddy, Caine
Halter ’79, who died of cancer, is fired up
for you! Many of you were here, when I last
talked to you about my friend Caine and
his commitment to the game. Remember?
Nobody could hit you harder that Caine!
Hit ’em hard tomorrow!
You all have perfect bodies, you’re in perfect
health—use that. If it gets tough out there
tomorrow, get up and go! You can make a
difference! You can play one more play! It’s
going to be a tough game. But you are a
team. Players that play as a Team, win!
Team, Spelled T - E - M
In my work I have an acronym for team:
TEM.
The T stands for Trust. I spoke about
relationships because that’s where trust
starts. How do you gain trust? You make
emotional deposits on trust: you block for
your teammates, you catch their passes,
you deliver on your assignments. You have
all done that for each other…some of you
for four years or longer. Trust Coach Don
Frost and his staff—they have prepared you
well. Trust each other and you will win.
Trust that each person will complete his
assignment on every play. Teamwork starts
with trust.
“E” is for Execute. You can make plans
all day long, but you’ve got to execute—in
life, and to win games. Everybody’s got his
assignment—just do it! Catch that pass,
if that’s your job. Throw that pass, if that’s
your job. Blitz that quarterback, if that’s
your job. Execute! The beauty of football
is that you cannot win unless everybody is
executing. All those x’s and o’s and lines
mean something! In order to succeed,
you’ve got to execute! Mentally prepare
yourself to execute for five quarters, even
though you are only playing four. Play one
beyond what’s required in everything you
do… in your assignments at school, your
relationships with others… give more than
what’s expected, and life will reward you.
“M” is for Motivate. I don’t have to
motivate you. I know you are highly
motivated for the game ahead! Be
enthusiastic in all you pursue and motivate
those around you! The world loves a
positive attitude. Believe in yourself and lift
up others around you. Stay motivated in the
goals you have set as a team, and you will
enjoy many positive outcomes.
So you’ve got that trust that was developed
over years with your teammates and
coaches. You have practiced endlessly to
execute the game plan, and you have the
motivation of history staring you in the
face. This TEM is ready to win!
I remember years ago when many of you
were at a birthday party for my son Austin.
You were all probably 10 years old, and we
had a huge football game on our front yard.
I knew then, that you all had the athletic
talent to win a championship, and that you
were destined to do big things! So trust each
other, execute, stay motivated, and prepare
yourselves to play that extra quarter. Not
just now, but in all you pursue.
Success vs. Significance
There are many measures of success in the
world, and I will tell you that a lot of them
are wrong. The world will tell you about
continued on page 29
22 | Highlights Spring 2011

Global Community
Mission to Ecuador, Bearing Fruit at
Home by Eliza Geary, CCES Sophomore
Reprinted from the Website
Early in June for the past several summers, CCES Service Learning Director Elizabeth Jarrett and Senior
Chaplain Richard Grimball have been leading a school mission trip to Ecuador. Stories about these missions
written by participants are regularly posted on our website, with photos. This year’s reflection by sophomore
Eliza Geary seemed to capture the spirit of service and servanthood these trips are meant to foster in our
students, and we reprint an abbreviated version here for readers of Highlights.
On the morning of June 6, 2010, nineteen
students and four chaperones met in the
Upper School parking lot bright and early
to embark on a ten-day mission trip to
Quito, Ecuador. As we packed our things
into the mini-buses, said our goodbyes
to our families, and held hands in prayer
before leaving for the Charlotte airport,
I knew that this trip would be extremely
special.
Upon our late night arrival in Quito, the
beautiful capital city of Ecuador, we were
greeted by our group leaders from the
Youth World organization. I will always
remember how friendly and excited they
were to see us. On the bus ride to the
hostel, I got a quick chance to look around
the streets of Quito. Although there were
some nicer houses and stores, the city
was greatly overwhelmed by poverty and
pollution.
Our first day in Ecuador was spent getting
acclimated to the altitude and visiting
many famous tourist sites, including La
Basilica, a giant and beautiful cathedral in
the city, and an angel statue. We also went
to a Youth World orientation, where we
learned what we would be doing during
our stay in Quito.
The “Fruit” of a Mission Trip
That night at the hostel, one of our group
leaders came to talk to us. She said that
many people go on a mission trip just to
feel good about themselves. These people
enjoy the trip while they are experiencing
it, but upon their return home, they forget
everything, and don’t truly take anything
away from it. She reminded us that we
needed to really put our hearts into the
continued
Wearing her Cavalier
tee shirt, Eliza Geary
’13 shares her joy in
serving others with a
young child in Ecuador.
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 23

Global Community
trip, and if we did so, we would produce
“fruit” after we returned home. This
“fruit” could be anything – from a greater
appreciation for what we had, a change of
heart, or an attitude for service and love.
She also stressed that during our service to
the people in Ecuador, we should not only
be willing to give, but also to receive.
The next day the CCES team went to
our first mission site, Carmen Bajo,
run entirely by volunteers of a nearby
church, including Pastor Fabian and his
wife Grace, as a sort of daytime refuge
for impoverished children. Located on
a steep hill in one of the poorest areas of
Quito, Carmen Bajo is a safe haven where
children can come during the day for food,
schooling, and the Word. Carmen Bajo
was built by mission teams much like ours
over the past couple of years, and is still
being worked on today.
Joined in Worship Across
Barriers of Language and
Culture
At Carmen Bajo everyone was so excited to
see us; it was like we were movie stars. We
started the day with a devotion, moving
testimonies, and prayer. I was touched
when I heard “Lord I Lift Your Name
On High” being sung simultaneously in
English, by our team, and Spanish, by
the Ecuadorians. It was a great example
of how, even though we speak different
languages, we all can join together in
worship of the same great God. Beginning
our day with worship really set the right
attitude in my heart as we began our
service in Carmen Bajo.
Our team was split up into different
groups. Some students went to the church
nearby to paint a mural on one of the walls
and dig a giant hole, while others chose to
stay at Carmen Bajo and paint, move sand,
or lead vacation Bible school for the little
kids.
Vacation Bible School
I chose to help with vacation Bible school
in the mornings at Carmen Bajo. I will
always remember all of the kids’ shining,
tiny faces that greeted us as we walked
into their classroom. Each child was
eager to talk to us. I was surprised at how
well they could understand my broken
Spanish, even though some laughed at my
attempts. Many of the kids tried to teach
me Spanish words, pointing to something
and translating. They loved being held,
sitting in our laps, and having piggyback
rides. All of the children had something in
common: they were keen to love everyone,
and they sought love back.
Work “as though you were
working for the Lord”
Everyday, lunch was prepared for us by
a group of hard-working, happy-hearted
women in the kitchen. The food was
delicious, and I knew that it was made
with much love. I got a sense of these
women when I helped in the kitchen by
drying dishes during the afternoons. It
was amazing how many dishes there were
in that small kitchen! I was also amazed
by the joy, compassion, and love of the
women working there. Each and every
day, those women served hundreds of
people. They never complained, but were
always joyful. Their attitude reminded me
of the Bible verse from Colossians 3:23:
“Work willingly at whatever you do, as
though you were working for the Lord
rather than for people.” Their attitude
inspired me, and even after my return
home, I still remember this valuable
lesson and try to model my life after their
example.
Joy in the Midst of Poverty,
Faith in the Midst of Hardship
We worked at Carmen Bajo for three
days. The Carmen Bajo community
was definitely centered around Christ.
24 | Highlights Spring 2011

Global Community
Each member of the community, no
matter what age, was equal. Each person
understood the obligation to help in the
community. For example, as some of the
CCES boys hauled heavy buckets of sand
up three stories with a rope and pulley,
the little hands of some of the children
delightedly helped in pulling the rope.
Little things such as this are what made
Carmen Bajo so special. The warm and
amiable attitude that lingered everywhere,
the spirit of peace and hope even in
an area stricken with poverty, and the
genuine kindness were all distinct in this
extraordinary place.
After our second work day at Carmen Bajo,
Fabian and Grace welcomed our team
into their home for a delicious Ecuadorian
dinner. They showed us true hospitality.
After the meal, we gathered around in
their living room to hear the story of
Carmen Bajo and a deep and moving
testimony. A woman shared the story of
her hard and unfair life. She had been
through everything – abuse, poverty, and
mistreatment. Yet, in the end, even though
she had been through so many hard and
trying times, she chose to turn to God and
put her faith and trust in Him.
It was so hard for me to wrap my mind
around that concept. How could someone
who had experienced all of those terrible
things still be so hopeful and content?
After thinking about this, I realized that
this was only possible through the grace of
God. Only He could fill that empty place
in her life, and truly transform her spirit.
The CCES group left Grace and Fabian’s
that night with much to think about and
reflect on.
Each night after the day’s hard work was
over, our mission team gathered in the
main room of the hostel where we were
staying for “debrief time.” Each member
of our group shared what they had taken
from their work. This time served as
a reminder of why we were really in
Ecuador: to serve others and grow closer
with God.
Off the Beaten Path
After three days at Carmen Bajo, we said
our goodbyes, and after a morning in
the Quito market, we headed into the
mountains to El Refugio for a peaceful
time of reflection and prayer. That night,
we roasted
hotdogs
around a
I was touched when I
heard “Lord I Lift Your
Name On High” being
sung simultaneously in
English, by our team,
and in Spanish, by the
Ecuadorians.
bonfire, and
some people
(but definitely
not me!) had
the courage to
try the local
guinea pig.
We debriefed
and had
communion
around the
fire that night, and Father Richard went
around the circle and blessed each one of
us. I really felt the presence of God as we
sang “Our God is an Awesome God” with
arms around each other in the firelight
before heading back to the hostel for the
night.
The next day, the group went to Casa G,
a home for boys off the street that trains
them to become disciples of Christ. Sadly,
I was not able to enjoy the experience of
Casa G because of the sickness that had
been going around in the group. Instead,
some of the other sick people from our
group and I had the pleasure of going
to the Ecuadorian doctor for a checkup
that we will never forget. Although I was
disappointed that I had to miss Casa G,
that day proved a true blessing because it
was an excellent time for reflection and
appreciation for what I had experienced so
far.
continued on page 29
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 25

Global Community
Race 4 Ecuador: The Fruit of My
Mission Trip by Kathleen Benedict, CCES Sophomore
In April, three months after the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti, my church, Christ Church Episcopal, was still
working hard towards the relief of this natural disaster in our sister country. After going to church one Sunday
and listening to the announcements about the continual need for money and prayer in Haiti, it finally dawned
on me that I had to do something to help. This is what sparked my mind to do a fundraiser to raise money for
an impoverished country. Although I had no idea how or what I was going to do, the next day I talked to Mrs.
Elizabeth Jarrett, the community service coordinator, about the possibilities. We concluded that a race would
be the most beneficial and easiest fundraiser to do, and it would also be a great idea for my required Sophomore
Project. Finally, my goal was set.
A Personal Connection
The second week in June I took a mission
trip with a group from Christ Church
Episcopal School to Quito, Ecuador. After
I returned home, I knew I had a change in
my heart. Due to the special relationships,
bonds, and experiences I shared with the
people of Quito, I now had a personal
connection to each one of them; this led me
to change the focus of my race to Quito and
away from Haiti. Throughout my mission
work in Ecuador, I realized how deep the
country’s poverty truly is. Although the
people there are full of love and joy and
are so willing and open to share their faith,
the reality is simply that they need help.
While we were on our mission trip, our goal
was to improve this situation in any way
possible as well as feed our own spiritual
needs. On leaving Quito, I could visibly see
what a difference our group had made in
changing the people’s lives in Quito and in
building up their city. Putting all these ideas
together, I realized that specific planning
and producing would be needed to conduct
a charity event that will affect a povertystricken
country.
Flee, Fight, Fit, and Fruit
There are four steps in short-term mission
work which are meant to help with the
transition back into your own country: flee,
fight, fit and fruit. Fruit is the most important
step and, unfortunately, is the most seldom
reached. The fruit of a missionary is what
they choose to do with what they learned and
how they will continue on with their mission
work. Every person’s fruit looks different and
is never the same.
When arriving back into the states, I went
through flee, fight, and fit, just as I was told
I would. I already had in place the idea
of putting on a race for my Sophomore
Project. When I returned from Ecuador,
I knew that my fourth and final step, my
fruit, needed to be that race. I quickly made
the decision to make all the proceeds go
to something I was a part of and a place
I had a passion for. I knew that my good
friend, Caroline Jennings, was interested
in putting on a race for her Sophomore
Project, and we decided it would work best
to take on this challenge together with each
others’ help.
26 | Highlights Spring 2011

Global Community
Putting on a race might seem like a simple
task: all that is needed are people and a place
for them to run. However, the reality turned
into a job that needed to be worked on
daily. Planning the race consisted of many
parts, but first and most important was
finding a place to have the race and setting
a date and time. The idea of a race held
within the city limits on public property
quickly fizzled after discovering how many
people need to approve it, the people you
need to hire, and all the minute details that
need to be taken care of. Therefore, the race
would most conveniently work out if we
held it on our school campus. To obtain
approval from the CCES Business Office,
a map of the race course and a date needed
to be set in stone. After considering all of
the options, the final decision was made to
hold the Race4Ecuador on November 7 at
CCES.
Next, we had to raise money for all our
expenses. We decided to get sponsors to
provide or fund the supplies needed. We
contacted Greenfield’s for bagels, Frances
Produce and Earthfare for fruit, First
Team Sports for shirts, Greenville Track
Club for race supplies, TC
Berries for decorations, and
Planet Smoothie for drinks.
However, there were still
many expenses that we did
not want to take from our
proceeds and could not be
covered by our sponsors.
As a result, we talked to
different people, mainly
family members, to request
donations to help cover the
rest of our funding. Once we
knew we had a way to pay
for everything, the next step
was to spread the word about
the race. Through banners,
pamphlets, signs, and announcements,
we targeted our school community for
participation.
The week of the race was a hectic one. All
the details needed to start coming together.
With the CCES Maintenance team working
with us, the day of the race setup went a lot
faster and smoother. From the setup of the
tables to the finish line, the race time had
finally arrived. Over 150 people showed up
to support Race4Ecuador. With the onemile
Fun Run and the 5k Race, the whole
day turned out as a success. As a result of all
of our hard work and effort, the final total
added up to $2,635.50. All the money was
sent directly to Carmen Bajo for mission
work.
A Learning Experience
From the beginning to the very end of
the process, I not only got to accomplish
my fruit of my mission work, but I also
learned numerous life lessons and planning
skills from the project. I learned how
to be proactive in all my steps and the
consequences when I was not. Also, with
continued
The weather was
great, and so was
the turnout for
Race4Ecuador,
which raised more
than $2,600.
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 27

Global Community
Sophomores
Kathleen
Benedict
and Caroline
Jennings,
Race4Ecuador
organizers, before
the start of the
race.
having Caroline as a partner through this
whole process, I can proudly say that she
and I did not have one single disagreement,
and we learned how to cooperatively and
respectfully work together and listen to
each other’s ideas and concerns. I also got
the great opportunity of working with the
real business world. Quickly I did find
out that kids in the real world frequently
do not get their ideas taken seriously or
actions carried out upon request. As a
result, I learned how to be assertive but still
convey a positive attitude and be a pleasant
work partner.
When I think of our school community,
I think of the faculty and students
continuously striving to give us a second
home where we feel loved, comfortable
and receive a great education. From
going on this trip, I realized that our
school community reaches far beyond our
building’s walls. While I was in Ecuador,
the sense of community was very strong.
From growing closer to my friends and even
getting to know faculty from our school as
well, I found a new form of community that
our school has now portrayed. Also, during
my race the school community reached out
to help me get everything accomplished,
continuously encouraged me, and supported
me not only the day of the race but also in
the prior planning.
My Personal Fruit
For my fruit of the project I could not be
happier. From the day I heard what those
four steps of mission work were, I was
wondering how exactly I could accomplish
my own personal fruit. I exceeded my
expectations by miles of how much money
we raised to give to Carmen Bajo. It truly
brings me great joy to know that I am
helping people who I personally have a
relationship with and deeply care for and
have the utmost respect and love for. My
project had bumps and bruises along the
way, but I could not be more happy with
the final end product. ■
I realized that our school
community reaches far beyond
our building’s walls.
28 | Highlights Spring 2011

Global Community
Pep Talk to the Football Team continued from page 21
“things” that will make you successful. I challenge this group that worldly success is not
what you are striving for—you are striving for significance. This will be a significant time in
your life, and you will be able to reflect on that for years to come. You have already enjoyed
success on the football field all year long. I’m asking you to seek significance on Friday, and
I am asking you to seek significance in your life after Friday…by impacting people’s lives, by
impacting the world, and by impacting your community.
I believe that each one of you will be significant in your lives. I believe you have the
teamwork to make this happen. I believe you have a community of parents behind you to
make this happen. I believe you can play a fifth quarter in everything you do. I believe if
you get knocked down tomorrow night, you’ll get right back up. And I believe you will be
winners, not only tomorrow night, but in future, in everything you pursue. ■
Ted Hassold still has fond memories of the glory days of the 1977 state football championship with
his former CCES teammates. He is a current member of the Board of Trustees, a past president of the
Alumni Association, and has served in many other volunteer capacities both at CCES, Christ Church
and the Caine Halter YMCA.
Mission to Ecuador continued from page 25
El Arca Orphanage
The final destination for our mission team was an orphanage about three hours away from
Quito called “El Arca,” or, in English, the Ark. This was the first time that a CCES group
had served at this unique site. We had been sent there simply to love on the children and
help out in any way possible. We moved wood into a stack, held the tiny little babies in
the nursery section, and doodled with chalk on the sidewalks with the orphans. It was
evident that Ron and Glenda, who ran the orphanage, cared for every single child as if he
or she was their own.
How Blessed I Am
Our time at El Arca passed quickly, and before I knew it, it was time to head back for one
final night at the hostel before our return back home. We woke up extremely early, and
two plane rides and many hours later, we arrived back at the Charlotte airport. It was the
weirdest feeling seeing so many fast food places and almost anything you could ever want
available just within the hustle and bustle of the airport. It amazed me to realize that in
America, we seem to take everything for granted and we always selfishly expect the best for
ourselves.
During my time in Ecuador, I realized how blessed I am. It gave me a chance to see what
life is like for so many people in the world. It is so easy to get caught up in materialistic
things and judge others, but that is not what God wants our lives to be about. In
Ecuador, I had the chance to get out of myself and simply serve other people. I realized
that relationships and serving God are really what matter. ■
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 29

Global Community
Twelve Days in China:
Bringing the Experience to the
Classroom by Kristi Ferguson
I do not know when I first developed the desire to travel; I think I was born with the need to see other places and
experience other cultures. As a child, I traveled in my own imagination and visited the times and places that I
read about in books. Students in my classes know that I advise them to “see the world through history” and take
advantage of opportunities to travel abroad.
This past summer, I took my own advice
concerning travel and applied for a trip
to China through NCTA (National
Consortium for Teaching about Asia). The
trip was connected to an Asian Studies
Seminar that I took in 2008. Partially
funded by NCTA and the Freeman
Foundation, the seminar was conducted
at Furman. From January to April 2008 I
attended classes and was able to apply for
travel opportunities to Asia. The June 27-
July 8 trip involved teachers from different
parts of the United States, and we visited
the cities of Shanghai, Xi’an, and Beijing.
Given the whirlwind pace at which we
traveled, I still have not fully processed all
that I experienced.
I was on a mission to take in as much
culture and have as many different
experiences as I could because I knew
that the trip was not just for me; it was
also for my students. They have certain
expectations of me and my travel stories.
I also tried to think of the questions they
would most like answered and the extra
places they would want me to visit. I have
two notepads full of observations from talks
given by tour guides, and I am passionate
about making sure these observations are
shared with my students. Today’s students
must be educated about current Chinese
culture and politics, and they need to have
an appreciation for a country that contains
approximately 20 percent of the earth’s
population.
“Supervised” Travel Controlled
by the State
I am familiar with traveling in Europe,
but traveling in Asia is different. I was
unprepared for the similarities that I noticed
between traveling in China and traveling
in the former USSR. I was fortunate to
have traveled in the USSR and Eastern
Europe in 1987 and 1989 (before the fall of
Communism) through trips with Furman
University, and I vividly remember how it felt
to know that I was being supervised. It is a
subtle control, but it is control nonetheless.
In China, I felt the same unspoken control.
We were on a group visa, and our travel
plans were logged with a government
agency. Our time was clearly not our own,
and the travel bureaucracy had every second
booked with activity. Some of the control
may have come from being on a guided
tour, but after our first meal in the Shanghai
Designated Tourist Restaurant, I was
transported in my mind back to 1987, with
the difference being that of cuisine. Now
I was using chopsticks and eating Kung
Pao chicken instead of brown bread and
cabbage. I am sure that part of the reason
our meals were provided in China was to
maximize our time there and keep us from
having to navigate a language barrier. The
30 | Highlights Spring 2011

Global Community
guides also wanted us to experience “real”
Chinese food, which we did not truly get to
do until we got to Beijing and begged our
guide to take us to a restaurant that was not
full of Westerners.
We also stayed in hotels that were
designated as hotels for foreign travelers.
In Shanghai, I experienced the wonder
and charm of the Astor House Hotel, and
on each floor was a station where nonregistered
guests were supposed to let the
staff know which room they were visiting.
Again, I was transported back to my Soviet
travels and the key ladies on each floor who
monitored where we went. In Xi’an, the
hotel was built by the Russians and was
actually in a compound that locked down
at night. I did notice more Chinese in
our hotel in Beijing, but they were clearly
wealthier than the average person.
Since China has a totalitarian government,
I did expect to see a military presence. I
witnessed the heaviest military/police
presence in Beijing. I spent as much time as
I could at Tiananmen Square, which is where
I saw most of the police and guards. The
police were present at every major tourist
attraction, so that they could remove the
beggars and “black market” sellers. Again, I
was reminded of the Russians who
would approach us with the phrase
“want to trade” as they asked us
for American items in exchange for
Russian souvenirs in the late 1980s.
I did purchase a Chinese flag from a
woman in Beijing near Tiananmen.
We did a quick exchange, and
she took off as fast as she could. I
then noticed a policeman chasing
after her. Apparently, even though
China has a market economy, the
Chinese people are not allowed
to sell items when and where they
want. I noticed the same situation
with water sellers and snack sellers
on the streets.
Resiliency and Resourcefulness
The lady who sold me the flag is an excellent
example of the resiliency of the Chinese
people. I was truly amazed at how adaptable
and resourceful the Chinese are. They take
advantage of every inch of space that they
have. I took pictures of the ingenious ways
they dried their laundry on little poles that
are attached to the huge high-rise apartments.
Small plots of land were cultivated on
the outskirts of cities in order to grow
watermelons and other crops. In a residential
area in Beijing, I saw no free land to cultivate,
so the people planted small gardens with corn
and vegetables in containers.
The Chinese have found numerous ways to
make money in the new capitalist economy.
Their activities range from the legal shops
to the illegal counterfeit markets. However,
the one commonality is the power of
bargaining. The Chinese sellers enjoy and
expect the buyer to bargain. Some of the
best “people watching” I did was the day we
attended the Shanghai World Expo. Over
40,000 people attended the Expo daily,
and I was there on a hot day in June. The
Chinese visitors patiently waited in lines
for hours at a time. Admittedly, I did find
the Chinese to be a little pushy, and I was
continued on page 35
Upper School History
Dept. Chair Kristi
Ferguson in the
Beijing studio of an
artist from whom
she purchased some
original watercolors.
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 31

Global Community
A Little Swahili and the International
Language of Love by Dorthe Hall ’03
I arrived in Mwanza, Tanzania, after one of the longest days of my life. After two long flights and an eight-hour
layover in Amsterdam, I was ready to break down in tears in the hot and uncomfortable Nairobi airport. My flight
had been canceled, meaning I would miss my final connecting flight, leaving me stranded, exhausted, barely able
to communicate, and without a phone. While contemplating whether I had made the wrong decision to travel to
Africa alone, an airline attendant approached me and asked if I needed to get to Mwanza. Less then ten minutes
later, feeling like I had received a sign from God, I was on a direct flight to Mwanza, my home for the summer.
I chose to travel to Tanzania, Africa, and
volunteer in an orphanage after the business
I worked for closed its doors in 2009.
Even though it was a very scary time to be
unemployed, I decided to do something
that I had always dreamed of doing –
volunteer work abroad. I always knew the
destination would be Africa, but narrowing
down my location took some research. After
using the Internet to read about numerous
organizations, I was pointed in the direction
of Mwanza, Tanzania, by a friend of a
friend. I clicked on the website for Forever
Angels Baby Home and was immediately
directed to ‘Amy’s Diary.’ Amy Hathaway,
one of the founders and directors of the
baby home, keeps an updated diary on the
site explaining what is going on at the baby
home. I could not stop reading her journal
entries. I knew that Forever Angels was the
organization that I wanted to help.
One of the Poorest Countries in
the World
Tanzania is a country in central East Africa,
popular for tourist destinations such as
the Serengeti, Mount Kilimanjaro, and
the island of Zanzibar. Yet, despite this,
Tanzania is one of the poorest countries
in the world. Thousands of children are
orphaned and abandoned because of poverty
and illness. Ten percent of the population
carries the HIV virus, and many parents
are too sick to give suitable care to their
children. The price of formula milk alone
can make it very difficult for a family to care
for their child, and babies frequently die
from starvation and disease. Many times,
if a woman suffers a maternal death or dies
from health complications when a child is
young, the remaining family members can’t
afford to care for the child.
Unfortunately, countless children are
deserted or left in government hospitals to
die alone. It is estimated that there are more
than 2.6 million orphans in Tanzania, which
is around 13 percent of the population
under the age of 18. The overwhelmed
social welfare system normally places
orphaned and abandoned children in a local
government hospital that is overcrowded
and understaffed, leading to frequent child
fatalities. Orphanages provide a home for
those children and allow them to grow to
an age where they are better able to handle
the challenges and hardships of life in
Tanzania. Many children can be re-united
with relatives once they reach an age where
they can more easily be cared for and can
contribute to the family. Orphanages also
facilitate the opportunity for a child to
be legally fostered or adopted.
Forever Angels is home to approximately
50 children ranging from newborns to
five-year-olds. The organization’s objective
32 | Highlights Spring 2011

Global Community
is to provide nutrition, health care, and
love until the child is in a condition to be
fostered, adopted, or reunited with family.
I was truly amazed by the baby home – the
administration, the staff, the organization,
and the cleanliness were more than I had
been led to expect. The children are divided
into four groups: tiny babies, big babies,
little toddlers, and big toddlers. The kids are
supervised at all times by trained staff and
volunteers. It did not take me long to learn
the children’s names and figure out their
personalities. They were well-behaved, for
the most part, but craved lots of attention,
but that was to be expected.
I quickly learned the Swahili word for no,
‘hapana,’ used frequently because kids
were always arguing over a toy or for the
attention of the staff or volunteers. I was
able to learn some Swahili phrases and
words and tried to use them when I could.
The staff was very patient and eager to help
me learn to speak their language, and most
of the children at the baby home picked
up English pretty quickly because many
of the volunteers speak English as a first
language. As a result, it was not so difficult
to communicate with the kids.
Mosquito Net Kisses
My day would start at 5 a.m., when I was
annoyingly woken most mornings by a
man on a loudspeaker down the street
giving the morning call to prayer. When I
was on the morning shift, I headed over to
the baby home as the sun was rising. The
children referred to the staff and volunteers
as “Mamas.” I was Mama Dorthe, but most
of the children and the staff had trouble
with my name, so I became Mama D. The
Mamas fed, bathed, dressed, and played
outside with the children. Naptime, which
was always a battle, was before lunch. Meal
times could sometimes be chaos and an
incredible mess. After dinner, we gave the
kids baths and dressed them for bed. While
preparing for the day or night, the children
played in an activity room that had a small
TV and CD player. The children screamed
out the words to their favorite songs and
danced along with the characters on the TV.
After reading them a short story, we did our
best to get in them in bed, with the older
children always putting up a fight. Finally in
bed, they ended the day by giving kisses and
hugs through their mosquito nets. When
my shift was over, I was tired and filthy, but
I always looked forward to those “mosquito
net kisses and hugs.”
The other volunteers were mainly from
England and Ireland. I was one of two
Americans, and my best friend there
was from Denmark. When we were not
working at the baby home, we would
explore Mwanza. Less than a half a mile
from the volunteer house was a duka, a
small food stand, where we could buy fresh
fruit, vegetables, eggs and other foods. The
volunteers would prepare simple meals
together or sometimes go out to eat at a
local restaurant. We were able to do some
other fun social activities during our free
continued
continued
Known as
“Mama D” to the
Tanzanian orphans,
Dorthe Hall takes
a break with a
young charge who
appreciated her
loving care.
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 33

Global Community
Working at an
orphanage in a
foreign country was
completely out of my
comfort zone.
time, such as a sunset cruise around Lake
Victoria with its gorgeous rock formations.
We participated in a charity poker game
with other volunteers and employees from
different organizations. We went to a
nightclub called Villa Park where locals and
visitors would dance to Swahili rap music.
I really enjoyed my time out and about in
Mwanza; the people were generally very
friendly and proud of their country.
Being a mzungu (the Swahili word for white
person), I attracted a good bit of attention.
People wanted to know about me, where I
was from, why I was in Tanzania, and when
I would return again. As soon as I said I
was American, most people would shout
out "Obama!" There was a bit of a language
barrier, but many of the locals knew at least
a little English, and I was able to get by on a
few Swahili words and phrases.
I spent two months living and working in a
place so different from my own home and
with people from all different backgrounds.
It was strange to be so disconnected from
everything I knew and to be so cut off from
what was going on in the world, much
less in South Carolina. But this allowed
me to truly take in everything during
my time in Tanzania. I majored in mass
communications at the University of South
Carolina, and then worked as a business
development manager for two years, so
working at an orphanage in a foreign
country was completely out of my comfort
zone. It was certainly a challenge for me to
adjust to working with a large number of
children at one time and to deal with all
the less-than-desirable responsibilities that
came with caring for babies and toddlers.
I changed more nappies during those two
months then I ever care to count! But, when
I thought about how, for the time being, I
was one of their "Mamas," it made me feel
so fulfilled and blessed to be part of such an
amazing effort.
Part of a Global Community
Too many children in Tanzania are suffering
from neglect, abuse and starvation.
Innocent children are being abandoned,
literally left on the side of the road. It may
not be your personal problem, but I hope
that as a community we can agree that all
children deserve food, shelter, love and
most important, a future. Orphanages like
the Forever Angels Baby Home are able
to provide children with a home and life’s
necessities. Many orphanages, much like
Forever Angels, would not be able to help
children, much less keep the doors open, if
it was not for the generosity of those who
donate money, goods and time. Tanzania,
its culture, and its problems may seem far
removed from the United States, but it’s
important to recognize that the two nations
are part of a global community. The United
States no longer has the constrictions of
barriers and isolation from places like
Tanzania. To achieve a strong global
community it’s vital to learn more about
other cultures and seek closer relationships
with those cultures.
Please visit www.foreverangels.org to learn
more about the Forever Angels Baby Home.
Opportunities are available to donate
money or items, to sponsor a child, and to
volunteer at the baby home. ■
Dorthe Hall ’03 graduated from the University
of South Carolina in 2007 with a B.A. in
Mass Communications. She is currently living
in Greenville, SC. She spends her time as a
volunteer and is employed as an afternoon
nanny. Dorthe hopes to return to school in the
fall to earn a Masters in Social Work.
34 | Highlights Spring 2011

Global Community
Twelve Days in China continued from page 31
elbowed more than once by grandmothers
jockeying for a photo, but I cannot imagine
living in China and being claustrophobic.
The Chinese simply have to accept that
there are a lot of people in their country and
queues are a way of life. They even have
portable stools that they take with them, so
that they can sit when no seating is available.
I was also amazed at how the Chinese
handled the heat. Again, there was nothing
they could do about the heat; therefore,
they found shade and napped during the
hottest periods of the day. Another lasting
impression was the overall happiness I
witnessed. I thoroughly enjoyed making
eye contact with the Chinese youth and
exchanging big smiles. I definitely felt
welcome by the people I encountered.
Getting to visit the Shanghai World Expo
was absolutely incredible, and as a teacher
of history and social studies, I consider the
entire trip to be invaluable. My students
know that I would love to time travel;
consequently, the most long-lasting effect of
the trip on me has been the historical sites
that I was able to visit. I was in awe the
entire time I spent tromping over the Great
Wall, and seeing the terra cotta warriors
in person was the fulfillment of a dream.
Standing in the middle of Tiananmen
Square and realizing the history that has
transpired there was overwhelming.
I also carry with me the beauty of China that
was imparted to me during the trip. The
peaceful aura of the Summer Palace and
the surrounding gardens, the tranquility of
the Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi’an, the neon
energy of Nanjing Road are all very vivid to
me months after the trip has ended. I still
have wanderlust within me, and my trip to
China only whetted my appetite to see more
and to share the experience with my students.
Prior to going on the trip, I read several
books and articles about China. One was
China Road: A Journey into the Future of a
Rising Power by Rob Gifford, which also
became our all-school reading in the Upper
School. I was excited that our schoolwide
focus this year would be China because
students need to understand how and why
decisions made in China do affect them,
economically and politically. I re-read the
book as the students read it this year, and I
have enjoyed discussing it with them in class.
China Road was a difficult book for some of
them to tackle because they have limited prior
knowledge of China’s history, but the book
was chosen because Gifford is a journalist
and his writing style makes the book “user
friendly.” He also addresses every pertinent
topic concerning China today, such as human
rights, the environment, religion, Tibet,
ethnic minorities, and the new economic
opportunities. Reading and discussing the
topics in the book has hopefully encouraged
my students to want to know more about the
intriguing country of China. ■
Kristi Ferguson has been teaching at CCES since
1996. She has her undergraduate degree from
Furman and a masters degree from Converse. Her
previous travel experiences include the trips to Europe
mentioned in the article, a Fulbright-Hays trip
to Poland in summer 1992, a visit to Plymouth,
England, as a participant in the Clemson Writing
Project in summer 1996; in March 1998 she also
led over 30 CCES students, parents, and teachers
to Russia. She is the mother of twin boys, Ben and
Jake, who are in the 3 rd grade at CCES.
As a teacher of history and
social studies, I consider the
entire trip to be invaluable.
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 35

Portrait in Philanthropy
John Scovil ’73: Times In Your Life
When The Road Diverges by Alice Baird
“I do believe,” said John Scovil, “that there are times in your life when the
road diverges and the path you choose to take will change your life forever.”
John Scovil is a
member of the Board of
Trustees. He is president
of Current Tools, Inc.,
Jackson Tool, Inc., and
US Tool, Inc.
For John, that road appeared on his
horizon during the summer between
his sophomore and junior years. A
longtime acolyte at Christ Church, he
was approached after services one Sunday
morning by Father Tom Carson, who
asked him, “How would you like to come
back to Christ School?” John thought
that would be great, but didn’t see any
prospects of that happening. (When CCES
opened in 1959 and his mother, Page
Scovil Hoyle, was serving as the school’s
first Christian education teacher, John
had entered four-year kindergarten. But
during the fifth grade, his parents’ divorce
necessitated that he leave CCES.)
“The next thing I knew,” remembered John,
“Father Carson called my mom and said he
had a scholarship for me. I never learned
who the generous donor was behind that
scholarship.” He started his junior year at
Textile Hall with the class of ’73, moving
to the new Upper School on Cavalier Drive
later that year.
The path that John chose led him to Christ
School, a decision that “changed my life
forever. Had I stayed where I was, I would
not be the person that I am today.”
Participation and Role Models
How had CCES changed his life? “CCES
had a more rigorous academic environment,
and I had the opportunity for much closer
contact with my teachers. In fact, my
English teacher, Florence Pressly, had a
profound effect on me. She was funny,
intelligent, and I always looked forward
to her classes. She is the one who pointed
me in the direction of Sewanee, where I
attended college and majored in English.
At both schools, the honor code is huge – it
sets them apart.
“Another benefit for me was that I could
participate. I played football, basketball,
and baseball. I would have had little chance
of doing that in public school. I got to play
with some exceptional athletes, including
Rick Knight ’74, Chip Hunt ’73, and Bill
Prevost ’73.
“A major advantage of attending CCES
was its Christian environment, which
instilled values that have helped guide me
throughout life – and the friendships that I
made at CCES have lasted a lifetime.”
Instilling Self-Confidence
As his children went through CCES,
he was glad to see that Smedes ’08 and
Elizabeth ’11 also experienced the care
and nurturing of exceptional teachers and
unique opportunities to participate. “That
really came home to me when Smedes,
who had always been rather introverted,
announced in her freshman year that she
was auditioning for Les Miserables.” He
and his wife, Susan, were astounded.
“After that, there was no stopping
her. Elizabeth, who had never shown
an interest in singing, was inspired to
perform in several theatrical productions
and to become a member of the Blue
Belles.
36 | Highlights Spring 2011

Portrait in Philanthropy
“CCES really does a great job instilling
self-confidence in students. In first grade,
the students read the announcements. In
each grade, students have the opportunity
to speak and perform in front of people.
Two years ago, 102 children participated in
the Middle School production of Mulan,
and last year, 108 were in Beauty and the
Beast. What will we do when the whole
Middle School turns out? In the Upper
School, they have the Sophomore Project
and Senior Thesis. In college and business,
students have to be prepared to speak in
front of an audience, and the school does
an outstanding job of preparing students in
this area.”
“I Have To Give”
John’s involvement with the school stems,
in large measure, from his interest in his
children’s experiences at CCES. “CCES
parents are great volunteers,” he said, “and
we shouldn’t forget that giving your time is
a form of philanthropy.” John has certainly
given his time, not only working behind
stage on theatrical productions, but also
as a member of the Alumni Association
Board, as a Headmaster’s Club solicitor for
Annual Giving, School Board Trustee, and
as a participant in many school and capital
campaign committees.
And, because of his own experiences as an
alumnus, he gives in other ways, too. “If
you truly believe that this school has made
a difference in your life, or the lives of your
children or grandchildren, then I believe
that you will be generous with your time
and resources,” John said. “As for me, I have
to give.”
“This school is still young,” he remarked.
“Our oldest alumni have not reached
retirement age. CCES has largely been
built by major philanthropic donors, and
by the contributions of current parents and
grandparents who have a vested interest in
making the school a better place for their
children and grandchildren.” He noted that
his own philanthropy will continue, because
he wants to help make the school better for
his future grandchildren.
In line with his philosophy, John has been
a faithful supporter of Annual Giving and
the school’s various capital campaigns; he
generously donated a window for the chapel
in the One, Together campaign and gave, with
his family, the Christian education room in
the Upper School. But he also looks around
and quietly gives where he sees a need, for
example, by helping to fund a new sound
system for the auditorium and a playground
for the Lower School, purchasing a spotlight
for the stage, or funding a new library of
books for a classroom.
Grateful for the opportunities he had to
attend CCES and to send his daughters to
the school, he also cites the importance of
building the endowment. “We have a very
small endowment for a school of our size,”
he says. “My wish for the future would
be to see the endowment grow so that,
through financial aid, others will be able to
experience the opportunities I enjoyed.” He
noted that Annual Giving and endowment
are also essential to narrowing the gap
between teacher salaries in the public
schools and CCES. “That’s one way we can
develop and retain quality teachers.”
Even though Elizabeth is graduating in the
spring, John expects to remain involved
with the school next year and in years to
come, giving back in time and treasure for
what he and his children received from
CCES and helping to strengthen the school
for a new generation of students. ■
CCES really does a great job
instilling self-confidence in
students.
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 37

In Memoriam
Frank Tabone: Behind-the-Scenes
Problem-Solver by Ben Crabtree,
Former CCES Headmaster
Frank Tabone was a very unique individual who truly made a positive difference in the lives of the CCES family. As
a former Headmaster of CCES, I observed his daily interactions with staff, faculty, parents and students.
Frank Tabone was
remembered by his
colleagues at CCES as
“a true gentleman.”
Following a 20-year career in the Navy, Frank
Tabone retired as Chief Petty Officer and
took up his second career in 1978 at CCES.
He was officially known as Registrar and
Administrative Assistant. As an individual,
however, he was a person respected for his
competence in his official capacities and
appreciated as a compassionate and genuinely
sincere gentleman who truly cared about
others. Whatever the situation, Frank had
the ability to stabilize a situation and often to
assist in creating a positive solution to it. He
was a man who solved problems behind the
scenes.
How did he so successfully address multiple
issues and consistently assist an individual
in taking on life’s problems? First, Frank
had the patience of Job. No matter how
significant (or insignificant) the issue
might be, Frank would patiently listen to
Jackie Suber was only too willing to offer her personal tribute to Frank
Tabone. She wrote that he “was a Navy Chief, was Canon Allen Bray’s
right hand man, and with wonderfully capable Nancy Baker, the three
formed a dynamic trio in the Upper School office. Frank was informed,
efficient, always a gentleman, always friendly, always approachable,
always dependable. A special joy for him was having his precious
granddaughter, Angie Tabone Crawford ’89, at CCES with him. I never
heard Frank gossip, demean any person in any way, whether student,
faculty, administration, or parent. Neither have I ever heard any person
speak other than in complimentary terms of Frank Tabone. Simply put,
he was an outstanding example of human kind. I am privileged to have
known and worked with him.”
the individual, then in his compassionate
way state that he understood the situation,
and, finally, offer his assistance to resolve
it in a calm and more rational manner. In
other words, Frank helped keep situations
in perspective. He was not only a good
listener, but he cared about people and was
a support to all in need.
Another strength that Frank Tabone
brought to CCES was his ability to
foresee a problem often before the issue
became something major. In his quiet
and unassuming way, Frank would simply
initiate action either to eliminate or resolve
the issue. Once, having just returned to
CCES after taking my son, Ben Crabtree
’84, to college for the beginning of his
freshman year, I told Frank that I just
needed some quiet time. I asked if he could
reschedule my afternoon appointments. He
had already taken care of them.
Frank served the school for fifteen years,
retiring in 1993. He was one of the most
compassionate and understanding people I
have ever known, and I, along with countless
others, all benefited from his gifts. We came
to appreciate his sincere and caring attitude,
as well as his true friendship. ■
Ben Crabtree served as fourth Headmaster of
CCES from 1981-88. He joined CCES in 1973
as biology teacher and athletic coach, and served
as Upper School Director for three years before
being named Headmaster. He left CCES to
become Headmaster of Fayetteville Academy in
North Carolina, leading that school for 17 years
before retiring with his wife Libbie to Morehead
City, NC.
38 | Highlights Spring 2011

In Memoriam
Marjorie Buck, Shirley Fry, and
Christie Boulez by Alice Baird,
with reporting by Jean Cochran
This fall the school community lost three veteran teachers: Marjorie Buck, Shirley Fry, and Christie Boulez,
who, among them, had served a total of 35 years at CCES. We offer these brief, but fond, remembrances.
Marjorie Buck:
“Beyond Dynamic”
It was perhaps no coincidence that Marjorie
Buck moved next door to Jean Cochran
in the early sixties. When Jean was out
on maternity leave in 1964, she asked her
friend and neighbor Marjorie to fill in—a
five-week assignment that soon stretched
out to twenty-one years of teaching primer,
first, second, third grades at CCES until
she left the school in 1985. She went on to
teach for many years in public school.
Born in Rhode Island, she moved to
Greenville when she was 14 and earned her
masters degree in education from Furman
University. She was a big proponent of
CCES, and her children, Edward Buck ’72
and Helen Hagood ’73, were part of the
first two historic classes to graduate from
CCES. According to Teacher-Administrator
Emerita Jean Cochran, “Marjorie instilled a
wonderful work ethic in both her children,”
a gift that both of her children practice daily
in their professional lives.
Mrs. Buck also made a lasting impression on
her many students. Helen recalls frequent
encounters with people she did not even
know, who, at the mention of her mother’s
name, would offer their spontaneous
praise. At a recent christening she met a
couple who told her, “Oh, I remember your
mother. She was beyond dynamic, she
reached my daughter’s life at such a tender
age, and I will
never forget it.”
Their daughter
is now in her
late thirties!
Dynamic
even after
retirement,
she remained
engaged in the
community
in several
volunteer
capacities.
She was a
40-year member of the Altar Guild at
Christ Church. An avid music lover, she
enjoyed the symphony, and served as a
past president and as a very active member
of the Crescent Music Club. She was also
a past president of the University Park
Garden Club and participated in numerous
other organizations, including the Golden
Cavaliers and the Cavalier Classics at
CCES. Especially dear to her heart was her
volunteer work for the Greenville Literacy
Association. Helen recalls stopping in to see
her mother one day as she was rushing out
the door with a towel pressed to her face,
trying to stanch a bad nosebleed. “I have to
go teach!” she said.
It was a passion she never lost.
continued
Marjorie Buck,
from the 1966
Hellenian.
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 39

In Memoriam
Shirley Fry,
from the 1966
Hellenian.
Shirley Fry:
“Never a Dull Moment”
Joining the faculty in 1960, Shirley Fry
taught fifth-grade math and science for
nineteen years on the Parish Campus.
“Delightful” is how Jean Cochran
remembers her, and many of her former
colleagues and students recall that she
brought fun with her everywhere. “She
was always laughing and joking,” said
Sandy Coleman, who taught physical
education and sixth-grade history at
CCES from 1968-72.
“Among other things, Shirley wrote the
first Alma Mater for CCES,” said Jean.
“She planned faculty get-togethers. One
I remember
was a swap
party where
everyone
brought
something to
swap.”
“My children
loved Mrs.
Fry,” said
the iconic
Jackie (Gaddy
Fowler)
Suber. “She
always had
interesting
new things to learn. She laughed a
lot and made them feel science was
fun.” Bibby Harris Sierra ’83, now
CCES Development Director, distinctly
remembers watching one of the lunar
landings, glued to a TV in her classroom.
In 38 years of teaching, Shirley Fry
affected a thousand students, many of
them in Beaufort, SC, where the family
relocated after moving from Greenville.
Mrs. Fry earned her masters degree from
Furman University, where she was a
member of Phi Beta Sorority. But her
loyalties to the University of Maryland,
her undergraduate alma mater, were so
strong that her obituary noted that she
“will cheer the Terrapins from heaven.”
No wonder: according to Jean Cochran,
her husband Chick had been “a great, big
tackle on their football team. He was
probably twice the size she was.” Their
three children, Lynn and twins David
and Daniel, attended CCES before the
family moved away.
Before she retired, Shirley Fry was
honored as Beaufort County Teacher of
the Year. We don’t know the year of that
award. Perhaps, that’s as it should be.
Perhaps, throughout her career, there are
many students who celebrated her as their
very special Teacher of the Year.
Christie Boulez:
“A Voluminous Laugh”
“She had the greatest laugh,” remembers
Upper School Latin teacher Ellie Rhodes.
“It was full, and hearty, with nothing
held back.” Jeanne Kotrady, Chair of
the Upper School Department of Modern
Languages, recalled, smiling, “You might
be contending with a stressful moment,
and then you would hear her voluminous
laugh down the hall.”
Both Mrs. Rhodes and Mrs. Kotrady were
talking about the multi-talented Christie
Boulez, who taught French (all levels),
40 | Highlights Spring 2011

In Memoriam
Spanish I and II, and ESOL (English for
Speakers of Other Languages) from 2003-
08 at CCES. “She was a very experienced
teacher,” said Kotrady. “She came to us
from Erskine College, where she taught
French and Spanish for eight years.
But her strongest suit was bringing her
personal travel experiences—in France,
Afghanistan, and South America, for
example—into the classroom. She made
language very real to students, and that
was a gift.”
Former Lower School ESOL teacher
Cindy Rogers noted that Christie
“loved to travel, and would take off for
anywhere, any time she got the chance.
For many years she traveled with her
job as the writer of the Michelin Green
Guide on France.” Boulez had spent 15
years at Michelin Tire, designing and
implementing a full-scale French language
program there, teaching French and
English to employees, translating, and
finally, editing the Michelin Green Guides
to Quebec and New York City.
A native of Seneca, Boulez graduated
from Greenville High. After earning her
B.A. in Pre-Foreign Service from Mary
Washington College of the University of
Virginia, she decided she wanted to teach
French. “The only problem was,” noted
Rogers, “that she knew not one word of
French, nor had she any training to be a
teacher.” So, she turned right around and
earned another B.A., this time in French,
from Western Kentucky University. She
subsequently studied in France, Madrid,
and Costa Rica before eventually earning
her masters in French at Kent State
University.
“She spoke
beautiful
French,”
recalled
Rogers.
But beyond
her great
laugh and her
enthusiasm
for language
and travel,
Ms. Boulez is
remembered
as a dedicated
teacher and a generous colleague. When
she had to undergo chemotherapy and
radiation, she scheduled the treatments
on her lunch hour, returning promptly for
her afternoon classes. Ms. Rhodes recalls
an especially telling incident. After the
tragic death of a student in one of her
classes, she recalls, “I did not want the
remaining students to look at his empty
chair every day. Christie agreed to switch
rooms with me until the end of that year.
I do not know how the kids or I would
have made it otherwise. It was definitely
inconvenient for her, but it made the
world of difference to us.”
“We always went to prom together,”
remembered Rhodes fondly. “She loved
prom. She went even if she was sick, and
she helped with the pictures, even if it
meant missing dinner. Prom is just not
the same for me without her.”
“I loved laughing with Christie,” said
Rogers. “I will miss her very much.” ■
Christie Boulez,
who taught French,
Spanish, and ESOL
classes at CCES
from 2003-08.
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 41

Alumni News
aCCESs
A Message from Your CCES
Alumni Association President
Dear Alumni,
The Christ Church Alumni Association can be anything you want it to be. You can use
your contacts to network for a job, find a missing classmate, or plan a social get-together.
As we approach our Annual Reunion Weekend, I encourage all of you to use this time as an
opportunity to reunite with classmates.
This year’s reunion weekend will feature a once-in-a-lifetime, not-to-be-missed special
luncheon for legendary teacher Ginny Tate, who has announced her retirement after 41
years of teaching at CCES! Come out to celebrate her tenure at CCES—you may even want
to share your special memories of her—as she has of you at Senior Breakfasts past!
Many other activities will be held at the school over the weekend, providing a great excuse
to bring your family out to see the school, find out what is new and what has changed, or
maybe just to show them where you went to school and played sports. Check the Alumni
Events Calendar in this issue for more information.
Being active with the Alumni Association can be experienced at any level. Beginning in
April, the current board will begin the slating process for the 2011-2012 Board. If you live
locally and would like to participate at the highest level, please let us know that you would
be willing to serve. If you currently do not have the time to commit to a board position,
you can still enjoy and support the alumni organization by becoming involved with other
CCES alumni at our 20 th Annual Golf Tournament. This year’s Golf Tournament is going
to be especially significant since it is being held at the amazing and prestigious Cliffs Valley
Course. This year’s tournament will be held on Tuesday, April 19. Please contact Viviane Till
at tillv@cces.org if you would like to participate and show your support for CCES and the
Alumni organization.
Remember, the Alumni Association is here to work for you and to provide those resources
you need to stay in touch with classmates both near and far.
Elizabeth Reyner Gross ’87
2010-2011 President
CCES Alumni Association
42 | Highlights Spring 2011

alumni newS
2011 Calendar of Alumni Events
Come back to CCES and join the fun!
Alumni Celebration Weekend
Friday, March 25 Alumni Career Program and luncheon
Saturday, March 26 Alumnae vs. Varsity Field Hockey
Family Picnic and Campus Tours, Linda Reeves Field
Don’t miss it! Retirement Luncheon for Ginny Tate, noon
Class Reunion Parties for 1976, 81, 86, 91, 96, 2001
and 2006; locations vary
Sunday, March 27 Alumni Chapel Service, Chapel of the Good Shepherd
Spring Events
Tuesday, April 19 20th Annual Cavalier Classic Alumni Golf Tournament,
Cliffs Golf and Country Club
Saturday, April 30 A Cavalier Evening
2010-11 CCES Alumni
Association Governing Board
Elizabeth Reyner Gross ’87
President
Bern DuPree ’98
Vice President
Debi Reyner Roberts ’88
Secretary
Kelly Sherman Ramirez ’83
Treasurer
Scott Burgess ’03
Ernest Crosby ’95
Rob Eney ’96
Dorthe Hall ’03
Marie Clay Hall ’75
Andreana Horowitz ’03
John Jennings ’84
Silvia Travis King ’96
Blair Dobson Miller ’00
Gunn Murphy ’03
Park Owings ’82
Martha Wilson Quinn ’80
Taite Quinn ’03
Liza Wilson Ragsdale ’99
Bill Runge ’87
Katherine Russell Sagedy ’89
Elizabeth Marion Short ’01
Jennifer Taylor Sterling ’80
Courtney Tollison ’95
Frank Williams ’82
Thanks for The MeMories:
Ginny Tate Retirement Luncheon
Join us to celebrate
Ginny Tate’s retirement
after 42 years at CCES!
A
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Noon
Upper School Dining Room
RSVP Viviane Till tillv@cces.org
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 43

Alumni News
Perspective and the Second Kick
of a Mule by John Kittredge ’75
Editor’s Note: Perhaps this was an unfortunate choice of title, because Judge Kittredge suffered a sort of kickin-the-head
himself when a bout with the flu caused him to cancel his luncheon talk on Feb. 10 before the Golden
Cavaliers, Silver Cavaliers, and Cavalier Classics, CCES support groups of former faculty, long-serving current
faculty, and parents of alumni. The lunch was quickly rescheduled for the following week, and Judge Kittredge’s
remarks, reprinted here, proved worth the wait.
It is truly an honor and pleasure to be with
so many people I admire and respect. Some
of you—parents and teachers—played a role
in raising and molding me. Depending on
one’s viewpoint, you may not wish to be
included in that group.
In our brief time together, I want to talk
about CCES and its enduring influence on
the lives of students, parents, teachers, and
coaches. I want to approach my remarks
from the concept of one’s perspective, as it
relates to learning in the classroom and in
life. I want to challenge the premise found
in the old saying, “There is no education in
the second kick of a mule.” For slow learners
like myself, there may be some educational
benefit in the second kick of a mule.
Perspective
I begin with a story about perspective, a
story I shared at a CCES commencement a
couple of years ago. It is a story about the
self-evident truth that one’s perspective has
a natural, and perhaps inevitable, tendency
to change through life’s experiences. I and
one of my friends from CCES days (I will
call him Harry) decided years ago we would
attend the funerals of our former teachers.
Many years back, when Harry and I were
48, we learned that a former grade school
teacher, Carolyn Ruff, had passed away.
Harry and I were quite fond of Mrs. Ruff.
We noted that, according to her obituary,
she was 88. Harry remarked, “88, gosh, she
was a dinosaur when she taught us.” We
quickly did the math. She had been our
teacher exactly 40 years earlier, when she
was 48. At 48, were Harry and I dinosaurs?
I hope not. My friends, our perspective
often changes over time. Lila and I are
now grandparents—what an incredible
blessing—what a perspective changer.
A broader perspective, it seems to me,
reflects in part a willingness to learn from
circumstances and those around us. I
believe one of the strengths of CCES is the
emphasis it places on learning how to learn.
Yes, substantive coursework is important,
but if mere knowledge of a subject were the
end goal, there would be no grounding in
the skills that will serve a student beyond
the classroom. This concept or perspective
embodies the transition from, and difference
between, knowledge and wisdom. It is this
initially subtle, yet profound, transition
to learning how to learn, and the wise
application of knowledge that sets the
Cavalier experience apart.
The Mule Kept Kicking Me
I do not suggest for a moment that this
transition is easy. Moreover, in many cases,
this growth may not manifest itself during
high school years. Yet the seeds are planted
and take root here. As for me, it would be
an understatement to say I was not a stellar
student at CCES. I went to college at USC.
I remember being intimidated by classrooms
44 | Highlights Spring 2011

Alumni News
with a hundred or more students. The
professors would give these overwhelming
reading and writing assignments. How could
I handle work at this level? How did I survive?
I survived because Georgia Frothingham
beat me with a yardstick when I came to
class unprepared and could not recite the
Latin declination table.
I survived because Mary Roper refused to
give the answers, always forcing us to, as she
would say, “read the book.”
I survived because Jackie Suber would
not stop until the light came on in
understanding the rules of grammar.
I survived because Cathy Jones would deny
me recess if my homework assignment was
not completed.
I survived because Faye Jay, in her kind
way, would not quit until I got it right.
I survived because Coach Jim Tate hit me
on the head with his Citadel ring when
I spoke out of turn in class—I had many
welts on my head.
I was prepared for college and beyond
because these teachers and others here refused
to quit teaching. If I didn’t respond to the
first kick of the mule, the mule kept kicking
me, and I am glad the CCES teachers have
the philosophy that they should never stop
kicking—never stop teaching.
Failure Was an Option
I do not mean to suggest that failure was
not an option. We were reminded rather
often that we could fail. I think that was a
good reminder. The option-to-fail reminder
in school seems to have faded from view
today, with culture’s unrelenting angst over
low self-esteem. If a student’s sense of selfesteem
is the defining goal, the student may
never get even that first kick from the mule;
the risk of wounded feelings would be too
great. Yet imagine the self-esteem issues
when one finally and painfully discovers the
inevitable reality that failure is an option.
Do I remember my college and law school
professors? Some, I do. But it is the CCES
faculty I remember with great fondness and
a profound sense of gratitude. From my
experience here, especially viewed through
the lens of hindsight, and our children’s
CCES experiences, one of the many positive
consequences flowing from being pushed
beyond one’s comfort level is a deeper
awareness of things beyond ourselves.
Perhaps this is a benefit that stands in stark
contrast to culture’s fear of treading on one’s
self-esteem. As much as I would like for it
to be all about me, it’s not.
Kindness and Wisdom
Lila and I recently had dinner with our
friends and my CCES classmate, Allen
Gibson ’75, and his lovely wife, Wendy.
Allen was one of the true stars of our class.
I told Allen about the luncheon today
and asked if he had any thoughts. Allen
said, “John, thank the Golden Cavaliers
for preparing us for college. We were
prepared.” Allen attended the University
of Virginia, where, he said, he acclimated
nicely because of the Cavalier foundation.
Allen’s academic accomplishments at UVA
were nothing short of superb. Allen said,
continued
The Hon. John Kittredge,
addressing the Golden
Cavaliers and the Cavalier
Classics at their joint
luncheon on Feb. 18.
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 45

Alumni News
I especially thank you
for the first, second,
and subsequent kicks
of the mule. It finally
took, I think.
“Please say thank you” to the Golden
Cavaliers, and I do so now.
The success of CCES is about you. Let
me bring us to a close by sharing another
story about perspective. As a teenager,
when I knew everything, I remember
my Mom and Grandmother saying that
they would much prefer a doctor with a
pleasant bedside manner than one who
is competent. I protested, thinking they
were crazy. Competence clearly trumps a
bedside manner. They just smiled and said,
“Wait till you grow up.” Well, I can recall
days when as a young lawyer, as I was being
scolded by an ornery and bitter judge who
seemed to take great pleasure in raking me
and other lawyers over the coals, I would
harken back to the wisdom of my Mom and
Grandmother. Just give me a judge with a
pleasant bedside manner. I have shared that
story with new judges to the bench—a kind
attitude goes a long way.
A philosopher once said that kindness is
more important than wisdom…and that
kindness is the beginning of wisdom.
Experience has taught me that those most
competent in their professions tend have a
good bedside manner. I have thought about
that story many times, recognizing that a
pleasant bedside manner—a good attitude
with a caring demeanor—means so much.
I have thought about that story as I have
prepared for today. The description may fit
many professions, but does it fit with respect
to teachers? Could I say that a marginally
competent teacher is successful simply by
virtue of a pleasing manner and passion for
teaching? Or the converse—could I say that
a teacher with a brilliant mind is a good
teacher even when he or she has no passion
for teaching young people? The answer, I
believe, is an emphatic no.
A teacher, to be successful, must possess a
high level of competence combined with
a caring, passionate attitude to his or her
students. Remove either quality from the
equation, and you do not have a successful
teacher. CCES has enjoyed much success
and acclaim because of its tradition of great
teachers, with you leading the way. You, the
Golden Cavaliers, epitomize the very best
of your calling. I must say that in some of
my recollections, a pleasant bedside manner
may be hard to detect, but my sense is
that the passion to teach may at times be
disguised as the kick of a mule.
The Seeds Were Planted
The success of CCES is about you, engaged
and committed teachers and parents. You,
the Golden Cavaliers, represent the highest
quality of teachers committed to God’s
calling for your lives; sometimes you fight
an uphill battle with students who initially
resisted your efforts. It may even be that,
in some cases, you never saw the fruit of
your labors, but rest assured the seeds of
discipline and success were planted. They
were planted by you.
Yet teaching at CCES involves all, including
parents. Here, the Cavalier parents play a
critical role. Indeed, it is the Cavalier family
of teachers, parents and supporters who
make CCES a special place of learning, rich
in tradition. The fact that groups known as
the Golden Cavaliers and Cavalier Classics
even exist speaks volumes. The school has
meant much to you and you wish to remain
a part of it. But rest assured, you have
meant more to this special place—you are
this school’s foundation.
I thank you for the honor of being asked to
be with you today. I especially thank you
for the first, second, and subsequent kicks of
the mule.
It finally took, I think. ■
Judge John Kittredge ’75 is a member of the
South Carolina Supreme Court in Columbia.
He and his wife, Lila Hewell Kittredge ’78,
are the parents of three CCES alumni, Lila ’02,
Will ’08, and Zay ’08.
46 | Highlights Spring 2011

Alumni News
Barry Cox ’77, Rasmi
Gamble ’02, and
Britten Meyer Carter
’03 were inducted into
the CCES Sports Hall of
Fame Class of 2010.
Sports Hall of Fame Inducts Barry
Cox ’77, Rasmi Gamble ’02, and
Britten Meyer Carter ’03 by Alice Baird
Two of this year’s inductees had not even
been born when the first new Sports Hall of
Fame member to be inducted at ceremonies
last October, Barry Cox, graduated from
CCES in 1977.
Yet, despite the generational differences,
common threads linked them. To be sure,
all three achieved impressive athletic records
here at Christ Church and later, in college.
But another striking theme ran through all
their speeches and the introductions by their
former coaches. They did not talk about
their athletic skills when they talked about
the most precious thing they had gained
during their years at Christ Church; they
talked about how the school had shaped
their character.
“Millenium Man” Barry Cox ’77
Barry Cox has never lost his love of tennis.
At CCES he lettered every year from grades
7 through 12, and went on to letter for four
years at Georgia Tech. He was a winner of
the South Carolina Junior Davis Cup, won
the Sportsmanship Award at the Caribbean
Junior Invitational, and was nominated for
the Alexander Tharpe Award at Georgia
Tech, among many other tennis honors.
After college he taught tennis professionally
at the Furman University Tennis Camp and
in the early 80s at the Atlanta Athletic Club.
Today Mr. Cox
is the President
and CEO
of The Cox
Group, LLC, a
company with
ten divisions in
the U.S. and
Canada. He
gives his time
and serves on
the boards
of numerous
continued
Barry remarked that
his former coach,
Pete Cooper,
“taught us how to be
adults.”
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 47

Alumni News
organizations in Mount Vernon, IN, where
he now lives with his wife, Kay Lee, and
his four children. He is a vestry member
at St. John’s Episcopal Church, serves on
the board of the University of Southern
Indiana Foundation, was construction
foreman for a new “Imagination Station”
city playground, among many other
causes, and was named the “Millenium
Man” by the city of Mt. Vernon in 2000.
This school imparts
value, intuition,
and a heart that
you can use for the
remainder of your
life. –Barry Cox ’77
In his introduction, his former CCES
tennis coach, The Very Rev. Pete Cooper,
hailed Barry as “a leader always” and “a
true sportsman.” Cooper noted with pride
that he had taught or coached 16 of the 26
members of the CCES Sports Hall of Fame,
and that five more had been his colleagues
as coaches. He remarked, too, that “it’s not
what you do when you are here that makes
the school’s reputation—it’s what you do
after you leave here,” and he held up “my
man Barry” as an example of that. Cooper,
now a faculty member and chaplain at the
Collegiate School in Florence, SC, and a
former Assistant Upper School Director and
Upper School Director at CCES, praised
Barry as embodying the Latin phrase esse
quam videri, which means, “To be, rather
than to seem.”
“This school imparts value, intuition, and a
heart that you can use for the remainder of
your life,” said Barry after being inducted by
his former CCES tennis coach. He thanked
his coaches and teachers for their patience
and the discipline they instilled. “You
taught us how to be adults, how
to learn from adversity, as well
as how to win.”
Dedication On and
Off the Court: Rasmi
Gamble ’02
When his former basketball
coach, Athletic Director R.J.
Beach, took the podium to
induct Rasmi Gamble, it
was clear that he held a deep
A lasting relationship: Rasmi Gamble and his
former coach and mentor, R.J. Beach.
affection for his former star player. He
recited the long list of Rasmi’s impressive
accomplishments, but that was just prelude.
He noted that only three athletes in the
school’s history had their jerseys retired, and
that Rasmi was among that rarefied group.
Informing his audience that accumulating
a high school career record of 1,000 points
is a significant milestone, he revealed that
Rasmi had racked up 832 points by his
junior year and a record total of 2,428
points by the end of his senior year, and
that he also held the school’s record of
1,315 rebounds. And when Beach stated
that Rasmi had been runner-up for the SC
Basketball Coaches Association Player of
the Year, he wanted everyone to know that
the winner that year was current New York
Knick Raymond Felton.
Mr. Beach went on to list many other
achievements, including those he earned
all four of his years at Elon, but the heart
of what he had to say was personal. “As
a coach, I’m always interested in looking
at my players in the gym and seeing what
they’re doing. At least 90 percent of the
players are shooting standing-still 3-point
jump shots, but this doesn’t do a whole
lot to improve your overall game skills.
Rasmi was one of the few I would see
in the gym doing boring, monotonous
48 | Highlights Spring 2011

Alumni News
drills around the basket to develop his left
hand. Most players spend time working
on things they’re already good at because
they can see instant positive feedback, and
they stay in their comfort zone. Rasmi
was not afraid to step out of his comfort
zone in order to improve. Even coming to
CCES in 8 th grade like he did was a huge
step out of Rasmi’s comfort zone. He
had to work even harder in the classroom
than he did on the basketball court, but
he was willing to make the effort and put
in the time needed to be successful. This
dedication to academic success continued
at Elon where at graduation Rasmi was
the recipient of an award. It was not an
athletic award: it was the Black Excellence
Award for Academic Achievement.”
Rasmi’s remarks at the podium were brief,
but they too were affectionate. “You have
always been there for me, Coach. You were
there for me at my graduation from Elon,
and you were there for me at my wedding.”
Turning to the audience, Rasmi said, “I
want to thank CCES for all you have done
for me. You have instilled many traits in me
that I will try to instill in others.”
Fierce Competitor: Britten Meyer
Carter ’06
“You wouldn’t think it to look at her
now,” said her former girls soccer coach,
Brian Mills (now also her brother-inlaw),
nodding to the lovely young lady
seated at his right, “but Britten was a fierce
competitor.” A listing of her many awards
buttressed his point.
After accumulating numerous honors at
CCES, including being named All-State
each of her four years here, leading the
school’s only girls soccer championship
team in 2001, being named the Class AA
state Player of the Year in 2001, and being
a member of the Greenville Futbol Club
state championship team in 2001-02,
Britten Meyer Carter ’06 went on to win
many more awards at Clemson University.
There, the Atlantic Coast Conference
(ACC) recognized her academic, athletic,
and community service achievement
with the 2007 Weaver James Corrigan
Honorary Award. She was named
National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) Academic All-America in 2006,
and she received Clemson’s Athletic
Director’s Award in 2007, the same year
she was named to Clemson’s Academic
Hall of Fame. She has also given back
to the sport by coaching, serving on the
NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Council,
and holding an Executive Assistantship
position on the Orange Bowl Committee
in Miami.
Britten, poised and confident at the
podium, surprised even herself by choking
up briefly. “When you finally get to the
point where you think you can’t do anything
more,” she said, “it’s coaches like Brian that
ask you to do even more, and not just ask
you to do more, but expect you to deliver
results. Reflecting on my time at Christ
Church, I realized it was those people who
asked me to do more, and expected me
to do more, that gave me a quiet sense of
confidence to go out and on to college and
greet the opportunities that came thereafter.
Because when a lot is asked of you and
expected of you, that means someone
believes in you. I think that’s what Christ
Church does as a whole. They expect a high
standard, and they
believe that you’ll
uphold it, be it in
academics or on
the field or in your
character. And
for that I am so
grateful.”
CCES is grateful,
too, for the
example these fine
alumni set. ■
Following the induction
ceremonies, Brian
Mills, who coached girls
soccer at CCES from
1996-2001, and Britten
Meyer Carter pose with
Headmaster Leonard
Kupersmith.
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 49

Alumni News
Mayor Knox White ’72 Honors Boys
Soccer Champions
It is a national record second to none: 10
consecutive boys soccer championship
teams, a record tied with one other school.
And a single coach led all ten teams: David
Wilcox (who, incidentally, also teaches
math in the Upper School). (See story in the
Fall 2010 issue of Highlights.)
It was a record that brought some measure
of national attention to Greenville. Mayor
Knox White ’72 recognized Coach Wilcox
and the 75 student athletes who had
participated in his teams as part of the Sports
Hall of Fame ceremonies by proclaiming
October 1, 2010 “CCES Boys Soccer State
Championship Day.” About a dozen former
players were on hand for the recognition.
Assistant Coaches Michael Brearley
’08 (one of Wilcox’s former players),
Chris Nichols, Brent Roberts, Russell
Shelley, and Charlie Woodward were also
recognized. Three of these are members of
the CCES faculty: Roberts (MS art), Shelley
(MS English), and Woodward (US history).
In his welcome, Headmaster Leonard
Kupersmith noted that these
athletes “contributed to a tradition of
accomplishment, and that is characteristic
of the school. This is a school that resonates
a commitment to great accomplishment.” ■
The mayor’s proclamation lists the impressive
stats achieved by the 2001-2010 CCES
championship teams.
Mayor Knox White ’72
reads the proclamation
honoring the boys soccer
teams’ extraordinary
record. Directly to his left
is Coach David Wilcox,
along with other coaches
and members of past
championship teams.
50 | Highlights Spring 2011

Alumni News
Alumni Association Awards
Every year the Alumni Association announces two special awards during the Sports Hall of Fame ceremonies:
the Marguerite Ramage Wyche Alumni Service Award and the Mary B. Roper Distinguished Teacher Award. This
year the recipients were Jonathan Breazeale ’87 and Chris Cunningham.
The Marguerite Ramage Wyche
Award
The Marguerite Ramage Wyche Alumni
Service Award honors an alum for
extraordinary loyalty and service to the
school. During the time Mr. Breazeale was
a student here, he played on the varsity
baseball and basketball teams, and his voice
could be heard as part of the Cavaltones,
the boys a cappella group that is now,
unfortunately, defunct. Today, as a devoted
member of the Alumni Association and
as a parent of Middle and Upper School
students at CCES, his voice can be heard
through his involvement with the Parents
Organization and as a volunteer leader
for Annual Giving. He served as chair of
the Cavalier Classic Golf Tournament in
2006-07, and led the Alumni Association as
President from 2008-09.
The Mary B. Roper Award
The Mary B. Roper Distinguished Teacher
Award is given annually to a current or
former member of the faculty who has
demonstrated interest and involvement in
our alumni and alumni endeavors. Mrs.
Cunningham came to CCES in 1984; this is
her 25 th year as a teacher at CCES. She has
coached athletics for 18 years—cheerleading
for 6 years, girls golf for 12, and boys JV
golf for the last two—and she has devoted
many hours over the past 15 years to
planning the annual seventh-grade trip to
Williamsburg.
In 2000 the administration recognized her
for excellence in teaching with the Daniel-
Mickel Foundation Master Teacher Award.
Students recognize her special qualities
too. In the words of the 2002 yearbook
dedication in her honor, “She’s not like all
the other teachers. She’s special. From the
time she began teaching at CCES to the
present day, she has touched the life of each
student she has encountered.” Six years
later, when the 2008 Hellenian was again
dedicated to Chris, she was hailed as “one of
the most entertaining teachers in the Middle
School….she makes the most difficult parts
of American history interesting with her
wonderful charm and quick wit.”
Congratulations to both these fine servants
of Christ Church Episcopal School. ■
Left photo, Alumni
Association President
Elizabeth Reyner Gross
’87 reaches to congratulate
former classmate Jonathan
Breazeale ’87 on receiving
the Marguerite Ramage
Wyche Alumni Service
Award for service to
the school. Right photo,
Seventh-grade history
teacher Chris Cunningham
receives the Mary B. Roper
Distinguished Teacher
Award from Mrs. Gross.
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 51

Alumni News
The Billy Richardson
Sportsmanship Award
On November 28, 2010, at the football
banquet held at the Greenville Country
Club, senior Chris Lawdahl was honored
as the 2010 recipient of the sportsmanship
award created in memory of Billy
Richardson ’81. Varsity football coach Don
Frost presented the award. The Richardson
family was present at the event.
The Richardson award was established
in 2008. Past recipients include Trey
Mullikin ’08, Ricky Davis ’09, and Matt
Brashier ’10. ■
Senior Chris Lawdahl, 2010 recipient of the
Billy Richardson Sportsmanship Award.
Third Annual Sporting Clay Tournament
Riverbend Sportsman Resort, in Inman,
SC, was once again the venue for the third
annual Cavalier Sporting Clay Tournament
on September 17, 2011. The Alumni
Association hosted ten teams of alumni,
current school parents and friends, all
supporting the Dr. Georgia Frothingham
Scholarship Endowment, which provides
financial aid to children of alumni. Many
thanks to Sherman Construction; their
continued support and sponsorship for the
second year in a row helped make this event
possible. ■
Top photo: Clay Tournament Chair and Alumni
Association Vice President Bern Dupree ’98,
left, and Co-Chair Gunn Murphy ’03 welcome
competitors to the tournament. Middle photo:
Current parents David Sanford, Andy
Goldsmith, Bob Cox and Chris McManus
came in first place to become the 2010 Sporting
Clay Champions. Bottom photo: Awaiting their
scores, competitors relax in the Lodge.
52 | Highlights Spring 2011

Alumni News
20th Annual Cavalier
Classic Golf Tournament
The Cliffs Golf and Country Club welcomes CCES alumni back
to its Valley Course to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the
CCES Alumni Association. To date, this CCES alumni tradition
has contributed over $126,000 to the Dr. Georgia Frothingham
Scholarship Endowment. This endowment provides financial
aid to alumni to offset the cost of tuition for their “legacy”
children to attend CCES.
Won’t you be a part of this worthwhile cause by spending a
relaxing day of golf with us? Bring a team of classmates, family
members, or business associates for a beautiful day at the Cliffs.
The day includes lunch, practice balls, 18 holes at the beautiful
Valley Course, a drawing, and a silent auction. Not to mention
the wonderful company!
Contact Viviane Till, Director of Alumni Programs, tillv@cces.org
for more information.
Can you beat this
stellar team from last
year’s tournament?
From left to right,
Bill Runge ’87,
Joel Norwood ’84,
Blanton Phillips ’87,
and Frank Williams
’82 make a formidable
team!
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 53

Alumni News
Christmas at the Museum
The tradition continues, and good cheer was on display at the Alumni Christmas Party
held on Dec. 23 at the Upcountry History Museum in Greenville. The CCES Alumni
Association hosted the annual event. ■
1) Stereo Reform, with Will
Evans ’00, center, on guitar
and backup vocals, got the
celebration going with their
signature blend of rock,
dance, funk, and pop.
2) Mary Elizabeth Carman
’04, second from left, visits
with her grandmother, Jean
Cochran, and other beloved
former teachers, Gena
McGowan, second from
right, and Barbara Harrison,
far right. They are joined by
Amanda Gavron ’04, far left,
and Mary Elizabeth’s friend,
Jared Smith, center.
3) Courtney Tollison ’95
and Kelly Sherman Ramirez
’83 served as alumni greeters.
4) Greg Kintz ’79 and his
wife Lori came from Asheville
for the party!
5) Roger Varin ’07, pictured
here with his aunt, CCES
Alumni Director Viviane Till
’78.
6) Ben McLean ’04, seen
here with Christmas Party
Chair Taite Quinn ’03 and
Blair Dobson Miller ’00,
looking pleased to be caught
on camera with two lovely
blondes!
7) Always a favorite with
alumni, longtime Upper
School biology teacher
Reggie Titmas, second from
right with some of his guys,
from left, Will Kittredge
’06, Charlie Adair ’04, Ivan
Mathena ’04, and William
Timmons ’02.
1
3
5
7
2
4
6
54 | Highlights Spring 2011

Alumni News
College-Age Alumni Celebrate at CCES
There’s nothing quite like the energy of young people, so the Upper School was abuzz with
stories and laughter on December 21 when alumni from the Classes of 2007-10 dropped in
for the first-ever College Alumni Christmas Party. There were smiles and hugs aplenty in the
festively decorated commons, and many faculty members were there, eager to hear of their
former students’ new ventures. Alumni came from as far away as Spain, Hawaii, Boston and
New York, not to mention from all over the Southeast!
This party will become a tradition, so if you are a graduate and 21 years old or younger,
make plans to attend during the Christmas holidays on December 21, 2011. ■
1
2
4
3
5
1) Rebecca Jennings
’10, Erin Carter ’10 and
Elizabeth Antworth
’10 were glad to see
history teacher and
Youth-in-Government
sponsor Melanie
Carmichael.
2) Blakely Jarrett
’08, just in from Spain,
and Emily Bridges
’08 with Headmaster
Leonard Kupersmith.
3) Seabrook
Lucas ’10, left, and
Caroline Stone ’10
pose with a favorite
teacher, Charles
McGee.
4) Upper School
Director Pete
Sanders, Sarah
Guzick ’09 and IB
Diploma Coordinator
Nancy White
catch up on what’s
happening at Yale.
5) Ian Conits ’09,
Graham Paylor ’10
and Ricky Davis ’09
conspire in a corner to
get together again over
the holidays.
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 55

Class News
Class News
MARRIAGES
1978
Jordan Earle to Maryanne
Stilwell, on December 5, 2010.
Johnson Myers ‘99, Allison
Markham Williams ‘99, Edna
Kate Ingold ‘00 and and the
bride’s brother, Rob Eney ‘96.
Jenny Pressly to William Charles
Stewart, on January 15, 2011.
Meredith Walker Gower ‘01
served as matron of honor. Tru
Hungerford Trail ‘00. Harriett’s
brother, Henry Mills Gallivan
‘00, served as a groomsman.
After a honeymoon in St. Lucia,
the couple now resides in West
Palm Beach, Florida.
Erin Finley to Dan Kyser,
August 7, 2010, in Charleston,
SC.
Mary Allison Zimmerman to Eli
Narramore, in June 2010.
of honor, with Amanda Gavron
‘04 and Jessica Simpson
‘04 as bridesmaids. Brother
Patrick McInerney ‘01 was a
groomsman.
2005
Jonathan Kovach to Emily
Whaley Hanckel of Charleston,
SC, on October 9, 2010, at Saint
Johns Parish in Charleston, SC.
2002
Births
Neil Pschirer ’92 married Teresa Duarte in Portugal on June 26.
1992
Neil Pschirer to Teresa Marina
Figueira Duarte of Lisbon,
Portugal, on June 26, 2010, at
San Martinho Catholic Church
in Sintra, Portugal. Grant
Pschirer ‘99 served as best man.
1997
Stephanie Grover to Ed Rose,
Jr., on May 29, 2010.
1998
Anna Furman to Jeremiah
Raphael Gall, on October 9,
2010, at Brookgreen Gardens in
Murrells Inlet, SC. The couple
honeymooned in Hawaii and
now live in Boston.
1999
CB Eney to Matthew David
Miller, May 29, 2010, on John’s
Island, SC. Participating in the
ceremony were alumni Melissa
Pressly ‘94 and Ce Ce Pressly
‘96, both sisters of the bride,
were maids of honor. Other
members of the wedding party
included Christian Holliday
Douglas ‘02, Beverly Mebane
Helms ‘02, Helen Hughes
Sanders ‘00, and Katherine
O’Malley Ballard ‘01.
2000
Tim Sheriff to Dayna Timmer,
on November 13, 2010. After
their honeymoon to Tahiti and
Bora Bora, the couple settled in
Greenville.
2001
Harriet Gallivan to Matthew
Benjamin Hoffman, on
December 31, 2010, in
Greenville. Anne Genevieve
Gallivan ‘94, sister of the bride,
was maid of honor. Bridesmaids
included Elizabeth Provence
McMillian ‘01 and Grace
Carolyn Small to Jay Dean
Haas, on September 18, 2010, in
Greenville.
Beverly Mebane to Robert
Helms, on July 24, 2010, at The
Pines on Highland Lake in Flat
Rock, NC. Among the attendants
were sisters Catharine Mebane
Sturtevant ‘95 and Jane Mebane
Mobley ‘95, Holly Douglas ‘02,
Katie Nix Hinshelwood ‘02,
Jenny Pressly ‘99, Meredith
Simpson ‘02, and brother Bern
Mebane ‘91.
Michael Mahaffey to Sara
McElroy of Gillette, WY, on
October 23, 2010.
Drew Perraut to Toby Quaranta,
on September 18, 2010, in
Washington, DC.
2003
Jimmy Ferguson to Kathryn
Cole, on December 18, 2010.
Alex Ritter to Jennifer Collins,
on September 18, 2010, in Fargo,
ND. The couple lives in New
York City.
2004
Briana McInerney to Park
Weston Webster, on November
13, 2010, in Greenville. Sisters
Katelyn ‘06 and Meghan
McInerney ‘98 served as maids
1990
To Dennis Chou and wife,
Kathryn, a daughter, Lydia Jane,
on November 25, 2010.
1991
To Michael Kellett and wife,
Christine, a daughter, Marian
Lyre, on December 2, 2010.
To Brian Marchant and wife,
Stacie, a second son, Parker, in
July 2010.
1993
To Bryce Donovan and wife,
Kristen Hankla, a son, William
River, on July 27, 2010.
1994
To Jim Harris and wife, Anina,
a son, Patrick, September 30,
2010.
To Carter Shaw Lowrance
and husband Will, a third son,
Charlie, in April, 2010.
Devan Rishi Vakharia
56 | Highlights Spring 2011

Class News
1995
To Angele Rishi and husband,
Ashish, a son, Devan Rishi
Vakharia, on October 12, 2010.
1996
To Catherine Hunter Frederick
and husband, Shane, a second
son, Connor Bowman, born
January 27, 2010.
1996
To Elliott Goldsmith and wife,
1998
To Alison Gower Rubinas and
husband, Kurt, a son, Holden
Bradford, on September 13,
2010. Big sister, Emma, is
thrilled!
1999
To McSwain Bell and wife,
Anne, a daughter, Anne
Harrison, on January 26, 2011,
at 11:09 a.m., weighing 6 pounds
9 oz.
1972
Pedrick Stall Lowery, Dec. 21,
2010.
Former Faculty Notes
Deaths
Christie Boulez passed away in
November 2010. She served as
the Upper School French teacher
from 2003 to 2008. (See the
article this issue, p. 39.)
Marjorie Buck, teacher from
1962-1985, passed away on
November 28, 2010. (See the
article this issue, p. 39.)
Trinity Collegiate School in
Florence, SC. He also teaches
religion, Southern Culture
and AP US History, as well as
coaching the boys tennis team.
Jim Tate has been selected to the
21th class of the Alabama High
School Sports Hall of Fame.
The 17-member Hall of Fame
Committee made the selections
from the 69 nominations on the
Hall of Fame ballot. The Hall
of Fame is located at the State
Office of the Alabama High
School Athletic Association in
Montgomery.
One of each: Liza McClenaghan Ragsdale ’99 and Craig
Ragsdale ’99 with their twins, daughter Elizabeth and son Pearce.
Emily, a second son, Samuel
Whitt, on September 9, 2010.
To Walker Holmes and
husband, Justin, a son, Alden, on
November 27, 2009.
To Neil Tuck and wife, Ashley,
twins, Jackson and Beason, born
July 14, 2008.
1997
To Ashley Moss McKenzie and
husband, Parrish, a daughter,
Marlee Grace, on February 26,
2010.
To Luci Lattimore Nelson and
husband, Cecil, a daughter,
Alice Gray, on July 15, 2010, in
Charleston, weighing 6 pounds,
6 oz., 19 1 / 4 inches long.
To Craig Ragsdale and his
wife, Liza ‘99, twins, Elizabeth
Middleton and Pearce Butler,
born July 31, 2010. Elle weighed
6 lbs. and Pearce weighed 5 lbs.
6 oz.
2003
To Adriaan Bouwer, a
daughter, Madison Anne
Bouwer, on February 3, 2011,
weighing 6 pounds 11 oz., 19
inches long.
Deaths
1964
Allen Andrews, August 12,
2007.
Shirley Fry, on June 25, 2010,
in Beaufort, SC. (See the article
this issue, p. 39.)
Notes
Pete Cooper (now The Rev. Pete
Cooper) has retired from serving
at St. John’s Episcopal Church
as rector and is the chaplain at
Class Notes
1967
Francie Cochran Markham
returned to Zimbabwe for a
sixth time in August 2010,
to do mission work for three
weeks at the Fairfield Children’s
continued
“We’re sold on CCES!” Marguerite Ramage Wyche ‘65 started
her own residential real estate company, Marguerite Wyche and
Associates, in the fall of 2010. A broker for more than twentyfive
years, and founder and first President of the CCES Alumni
Association, she is shown, third from left, with other CCES-affiliated
associates in her firm. From left, they are Catharine Mebane
Sturtevant ’95, former CCES parent Bobbie Johnson (mother of
Jan Johnson Hedden ’89 and Chopper Johnson ‘92), and Nicole
Swalm Bell ’93.
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 57

Class News
Homes. Also, in July 2010, she
was elected the US Board Chair
of the Fairfield Outreach and
Sponsorship Association (FOSA).
1973
Candy McCall
candym@olcinc.com
Steve Heyward still resides
in Awendaw, SC, and last
year started a new business,
the Bulls Bay Bed Co., LLC,
which manufactures bedswings
and outdoor furniture. These
products will soon be in
Greenville. At this point he has
retailers in the coastal region of
SC, Florida, and the mountains
of Georgia. Go to www.
bullsbaybedswing.com.
1974
Mary Ellen Wilkinson
maryellen@
MaryEllenWilkinson.com
Duane Cromwell works for
KidsBooks. Her three children
are attending the University of
Victoria
Mary Ellen Wilkinson writes,
“Hey, I am your new class agent!
Please join our new Facebook
page: CCES Class of 1974.
News: Caroline McKissick
Young’s daughter, Anna Grace,
had a wonderful wedding in
Charleston, SC. Mary Ellen
Wilkinson’s daughter, Hayley
Whatley, was a bridesmaid. In
attendance were classmates
Mary Ellen Wilkinson,
Suzanne Collins, Fen Pate,
and Rod Miller. Ralph Walker
and family did a phenomenal
task taking care of the late
Wilton McKinney. Wilton
had a huge impact on so many
tennis players in the Greenville
area. He will be missed. Will
Leverette has published a
hugely popular book called
History of Whitewater Paddling.
Kathy Bowen works in
Columbia at a store owned by
Caroline McKissick’s cousin,
Jean. Chuck Peterson is in
a new house in Mt. Pleasant,
playing golf every Sunday. Bett
White works with Laura Lortz
Edge at a company owned by
Rocky Thomason ‘78. Gary
Pouch and family just got back
from New York. His daughter
Emma Lyne is at Clemson, and
daughter Madison is in 10th
grade on the tennis team. Steve
Timmons, call me, please, for
news. Ted Hipp is in Flat Rock,
NC, single again. Jim Haynes’
son is at PC. Clarke (Joanie)
Gallivan is in Nashville making
movies, and just rode on
Swamp Rabbit Trail with Mary
Ellen. Doug Webster was seen
riding Swamp Rabbit Trail with
lovely wife Alita. Beth Wilson
just moved back to Greenville
and is living in her parents’
house on Boxwood. Brad
Halter is in charge of the Caine
Company. John Dunlap, a
partner in a New Orleans law
firm, says, ‘Please, come visit.’
Robert Galloway loves condo
living in downtown Greenville.
Duane Cromwell Wiggins
worked at the Olympics in
Vancouver. Mary Garrison
Roberts is cooking up great
dishes to buy at The Whistle
Stop in Cedar Mt., NC, during
the summer months. Would
like to start a Class of 1974
dinner party every other month
at a different restaurant in
Greenville. Check it out on
Facebook or e-mail or call me.
Go to MaryEllenWilkinson.
com.”
1975
Libba Galloway writes, “My
job as Deputy Commissioner
of the LPGA came to an end at
the beginning of last year. Since
then, I’ve been attempting to
revive my dormant tennis game,
with marginal success. I’m also
an adjunct professor in the
graduate-level Sport Management
Program at Jacksonville
University (M. Ed. in Leadership
and Learning), teaching courses
in Ethical Decision-Making and a
seminar on Contemporary Issues
in Sports Law and the Business
of Sports. My husband, Chuck,
and I are also buying, renovating,
and selling foreclosed houses. We
continue to enjoy life in Florida!”
Allen Gibson was elected to the
Board of Directors of Harbor
National Bank. It is a community
bank located in Charleston with
an emphasis on local decisionmaking.
“I have truly enjoyed the
experience so far. You can learn
more about the bank at www.
harborbankgroup.com.”
Fan Cromwell Watkinson is
the Project Director for Local
Food Programs in Boston. Last
June she organized a huge food
festival, providing 22,000 people
with local farm-grown foods. She
has two children in college, one
at Stanford and one at McGill
University.
1976
Kirk Stone
kstone@minoritysales.com
Lynda Hatcher
lyndahatcher@verizon.net
Eyleen Runge Barnes loves
leading children’s worship for
K-5th grade. Her husband,
Brook, continues to pursue a
second career in teaching, while
one daughter is college-bound
and the other has started driving.
Pace Beattie is still living in
Chicago but has just opened
Southern Om Hot Yoga Studios
in Greenville. Check it out at
southernom.com.
Betsy Parkinson Lipscomb
has a new job with My Health
Direct, calling on managed
care organizations east of
the Mississippi. She and her
husband, John, live on Lake
Hartwell with their two fourlegged
children.
Nancy Neff Madeoy and her
husband have recently relocated
to Pittsburgh, PA, from northern
Virginia, where they have lived
for 17 years. Her husband,
Marlow, retired from the federal
government, and Nancy has
been teaching for the past 15
years. She reports, “I am now
living only four miles away from
my mother, who turned 90 last
October!”
Lynn Powell Manheim is
currently working full-time as a
nurse practitioner in outpatient
orthodpedics at Rady Children’s
Hospital in San Diego. Her
husband, Tom, is a clinical
psychologist in private practice.
Son, Derek, is a college senior at
Cal Poly and daughter, Dana, is
heading off to the University of
Richmond in the fall.
Will Pouch and wife, Melanie,
became proud grandparents to
Charlotte, born May 15, 2010.
J.B. Schwiers and his wife,
Helen Wallace Schwiers ‘76,
have moved back to the Schwiers
farm on Mauldin Rd. Helen
writes, “We moved into the old
tenant house that we started
our married life in, but we
58 | Highlights Spring 2011

Class News
have renovated and added on
extensively. JB is very excited
to be back on his family farm.
Many boys in our class remember
coming here in high school. JB
is now the Regional Executive for
First Citizens Bank.”
Rush Wilson’s son, Jay Wilson,
who graduated in 2007 from
PC, married in 2009, and now
works for Carolina First in
retail banking. “I still run Rush
Wilson Limited, a men’s clothing
store, in downtown Greenville.”
1977
Rebecca Clay
rebeccasinteriors@charter.net
Glenn Goodwin took a position
as Senior Managing Counsel with
JCPenney in July. He is now
living in Plano, TX, where the
home office is located.
Andy Satterfield is an attorney
and partner at the Jackson Lewis
Law Firm and is completing
a two-year term as chairman
of the YMCA Metro Board of
Directors. Andy and his family
have been involved with the
YMCA for many years, and
during his tenure as chairman he
oversaw the renovations of the
Caine Halter branch and made a
major acquistion in the Mauldin
facility. “It was an exciting two
years and nice to be chairman
while so many positive things were
happening in the YMCA,” Andy
told the Greenville News in an
article dated January 12, 2011.
1978
Robin Roberts Thomason
864-631-2525
Rocky Thomason
rthomason@industrialcoaters.net
Anne Horton is married, living
in Westerville, OH, and has a
seven-year-old son, Kyle. She
is the girls Athletic Director at
Columbus Academy and coaches
field hockey and lacrosse.
1979
Ted Hassold
ted.hassold@windstream.com
Appy Apperson is enjoying
being back in Greenville and
pursuing a post-graduate degree
at Clemson.
Belton O’Neall has been
promoted to Aviation
Department Manager for
Michelin corporate flight
operations.
1980
Nicie Phillips
jaynicie@gmail.com
David Sagedy
zagnutt14u@yahoo.com
Holly Horton McCall and
husband, Jeff ‘80, still have
two girls, Karen and Olivia, at
CCES, and daughter Heather is a
freshman at Samford University.
Jack Rogers accepted a
position as the Engineering and
Mainenance Manager at Portola
Packaging in Kingsport, TN.
1981
Allison Mertens
allisonmertens@gmail.com
Susan Gaddy of Charleston ran
as a Republican candidate for the
U.S. Senate against incumbent
Jim DeMint. Gaddy, an attorney
in private practice, organized her
grass-roots campaign exclusively
by reaching voters through
churches, colleagues, friends and
family. An evangelical Christian,
she garnered over 70,000 votes in
her first run at public office.
Allison Martin Mertens writes,
“Am hoping that I finished this
before the deadline. It was a
long, HOT summer, so long
and hot that I missed the last
deadline. But I did manage
to jot down some notes last
summer. At that time I was at
the beach for my annual trip
with Joe and Susan Fowler
Credle and their families. Susan
and Joe were telling me about
their new city, Chicago. Susan
traded in her M&M’s account
in advertising for Kellogg’s and
the McDonald’s Happy Meal.
She said her new job as Chief
Creative Officer at Leo Burnett
has been challenging, but fun.
Her brother, Cas ’85, and his
wife, Johanna Searle Fowler,
were also there with their two
kids, Savannah and Forbes.
They are still living in Asheville,
where Johanna practices law and
Cas is a neurosurgeon. CCES
celebrated its 50th Anniversary
with a party in the gym this past
spring. I think it was the first
party they had hosted there since
our Junior-Senior Prom about
30 years ago. The decorations
committee was a blast from
the past and included alums
Angela Keown Hart, Jennifer
Taylor Sterling ’80, Dena Stone
Benedict ’78, Preston Gibson
McAfee, and yours truly. If I left
someone out, I apologize. It was
great fun. Preston even recruited
her husband, John, to help out
into the wee hours of the night.
That did sound a lot like when
we decorated for our prom too!
Preston’s youngest, Allen, is a
freshman at Wofford, much to
the dismay of his older brother,
Jay, (and mom) who is a Clemson
Tiger. Allen was recognized this
past spring for raising the most
money for Spirit Week. Most
of the local high schools spend a
week raising money for a selected
cause and compete against each
other to raise the most. Allen,
as President of Wade Hampton,
helped his school crush Eastside
(and outraise J.L. Mann and
Greenville High). Congrats to
Allen and Preston, because we
know that Mom worked hard
too!! Unfortunately, many of my
meetings with classmates involve
funerals. Sally McKissick
continued
It was an all-CCES cruise during fall break 2010 with Allison Martin
Mertens ’81, Mac Mertens ’22, Katy Glenn Smith ’87, Charles
Smith ’19, and Charles Smith’ 83.
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 59

Class News
Coen’s mom passed away this fall,
but it brought together many of
us: Jeanne O’Neal Robinson,
Cammy Arrington Ezell, Bonnie
Berry, and Preston Gibson
McAfee. I’m sure there were
others, but my memory is failing
me now. The one I most definitely
remember visiting with was Jack
Pate. It had been a long time since
we had run into each other. Jack,
you look the same—still have a
great head of hair. Those of you
who know my cute, albeit very
bald, husband, know that I notice
these things. My family and I spent
some time in Atlanta in December
visiting with Peter and Caroline
Robinson Fleming. Caroline and
I (along with Elizabeth Jervey
Gentry and Mark Kent) have
the dubious honor of having the
youngest kids. Every time we drive
on Mauldin Rd across I-85 and
pass the directional road sign to
Atlanta, my son Mac always asks,
‘When are we going to Atlanta?’ I
have to tell him EVERY day that
it will be soon. And speaking of
the Robinsons, I ran into Chris
Robinson ’80 and his family at
a gathering with other former
Cavaliers: Bradley Parham ’80,
Manning Culbertson ’80, Gary
Hill ’82, and Reid Sherard (he’s
so young, I don’t know even know
his class year). [1990] Chris and I
were the only ones there who were
not lawyers. OMG! I must confess
I don’t have much more to write
about—no one has sent me any
news! I just celebrated, as many of
us did, my 25th college reunion.
Everyone, get ready for our 30th
high school reunion this spring!
Jeanne O’Neall Robinson’s
older son, Neal, is a senior at
Presbyterian College and younger
son, Walt, is a freshman at USC.
1982
Martha McKissick
marmckiss@bellsouth.net
Donna Friedman
dfriedman@comcast.net
Virginia Hipp Phillippi,
Membership Coordinator at the
Greenville County Art Museum,
was recently mentioned in an
article, “Resolve for an artful
2011” in the St. Petersburg Times.
This recognition highlights her
role as the volunteer manager
of NARM, the North American
Reciprocal Museum program.
This very successful program
currently has 468 participating
museums and cultural institutions
across North America, adding 15
to 20 each quarter.
1983
Scott Odom
orf_modo@hotmail.com
Joan Ryan Primeau and her
husband, Mike, have lived in
Longmont, CO, for almost
20 years now. Joan owns her
own veterinary clinic and her
husband stays busy doing
residential construction projects.
“Our boys, Ryan and Riley,
now 10 and 8, are doing well
too. Both enjoy school and are
quite athletic—soccer, baseball,
mountain biking, and skiing are a
few of their activities.”
1984
Danny Varat
dannyvarat@charter.net
Kristen Becker Arends is
substitute teaching in local
elementary schools while she
searches for a college for her older
daughter.
1985
Pepper Horton
pepper@GFandH.com
Chris Roberts
croberts@bellsouth.net
English Scott Burlos just started
working again after 14 years.
She's a physical therapist at East
Cooper Medical Center working
two weekends a month for now.
1986
Emilie Pazdan
epazdan@charter.net
Emilie Roy Pazdan has just
finished serving as president of the
Safe Harbor Board. Safe Harbor
is a non-profit organization in
Greenville that provides shelter,
counseling, advocacy, and support
to victims of domestic violence
and their children.
The agency
serves Greenville,
Anderson, Oconee
and Pickens
counties. “I am
also very busy
in planning Roy
Metal Finishing's
50th Anniversary
celebration.”
1987
Katy Smith
katy@katydid.biz
Jana Trapolino
Sweeny and her
mother traveled to
Israel last summer
to visit her brother,
Kirby Trapolino
’90, his wife, and
their six children.
“What a family
adventure!”
1988
Elizabeth McKissick
liz3@bellsouth.net
Kim Bishop is still in Hollywood
acting in film and TV. Look for
her in the upcoming films, Thor
and Water for Elephants.
1989
Langdon Cheves
langdoncheves@yahoo.com
Katherine Sagedy
krsagedy1@gmail.com
Craig McCoy has been
promoted to CEO of Paradise
Valley Hospital in Phoenix, AZ,
which is owned by Vanguard
Health Systems. He and his wife,
Pam, have two children, Claire,
8, and Andrew, 5.
Bogie Bowles ’90, pictured here with former
English teacher Jackie Suber, after his
performance at the Peace Center in Greenville
with Joe Bonamassa. Many classmates,
CCES alumni, and fans turned out to groove to
Bogie’s bluesy beat.
60 | Highlights Spring 2011

Class News
1990
Grayson Marpes
grayson.marpes@infor.com
Kirby Trapolino, his wife, and
their six children are living in
Israel.
1991
Mills Ariail
mills@rmalawoffice.com
Kate Snoots
kateandjeffrey@hotmail.com
Dave Belk
davebelk@insightbb.com
John Brooker writes, “It’s been
a busy four months since our last
newsletter. We’ve traveled near
and far on assignments taking us
to photo shoots in four different
states and to cities like Knoxville,
TN, and less well-known towns
like Elberton, GA, and Pinehurst,
NC. Recent assignments have
included food photography,
product photography,
architecture, and lots of people/
lifestyle photography. We’re
approaching 2011 with great
optimism. Thanks to our
wonderful clients, business is
solid. We are truly blessed to
do what we love with people we
enjoy. And to keep up with our
steady growth, we’re pleased to
announce that we’ve hired an
additional photo assistant/digital
tech."
1992
Micah Kee
micahkee@caplan-group.com
Jody Furman is a landscape
architect. His one-man company
is Furman Land Design in Mt.
Pleasant, SC. He and his wife,
Katherine, have an 18-month-old
daughter, Eva.
Neil Pschirer received his Ph.D.
in 2001 from the University of
South Carolina on the topic od
emissive materials for organic
light emitting diodes via alkyne
metathesis. He joined BASF,
the chemical company, in
Ludwigshafen, Germany. Neil’s
wife, Teresa, is also a Ph.D.
chemist with BASF. They
currently reside in Mainz,
Germany.
1993
Nicole Bell
nbell@wycheco.com
Bryce Donovan After eleven
years with the Post and Courier
in Charleston, Bryce has begun a
new career with BAE, a defense
and aerospace company. He
appreciates the stability now that
he is a new father. You can still
keep up with his writing at www.
brycedonovan.com.
Mac Leineweber works in
Greenville, for Black, Black and
Montomery as a Workman’s
compensation specialist.
Jon Rowell finished his
anesthesia residency and pediatric
anesthesia fellowship at the
University of Washington in July
2008 and is now in practice in
Colorado Springs. He is married
and has three children, aged 6, 3,
and 15 months.
1994
Katherine White
katherineaikenwhite@gmail.
com
Brooks Connor
Brooks.connor@windstream.
com
Anne Genevieve Gallivan
Kimberly Noble Fireman
has recently graduated from
veterinary school at the
University of Georgia and has
started working at a veterinary
hospital in midtown Atlanta
called Ansley Animal Clinic. “I
would love to see any local CCES
alums and their furry kids!”
Carter Shaw Lowrance and her
husband, Will, had a third boy,
Charlie, in April, and moved in
August from New York City to
Salt Lake City, where Will took a
job with the University of Utah
urology department. “We are
loving the lifestyle change so far,
and our three and five-year-olds
are already tearing up the ski
slopes! Hope all is well with you
and CCES!”
Rob Russell is doing a two-year
pediatric surgery fellowship
in Indianapolis, IN, after
completing a seven-year general
surgery residency at Vanderbilt.
1995
Marie Pender
mpender12@gmail.com
Marsha Kennedy has moved
to Tegucigalpa, Honduras with
her partner, Doug, who serves
as Consul General at the U.S.
Embassy there. She spends her
days painting miniature religious
icon necklaces in her home
studio.
Angele Rishi, in addition
to being a new mother, was
named partner in the law firm
Weissman, Nowack, Curry
&Wilco, P.C. in Atlanta, where
she practices real estate litigation.
Courtney Tollison tells us,
“Our World War II Temporary
Exhibit, Weaving Our Survival,
won a Southeastern Museum
Conference Award of Excellence!”
Dr. Tollison and her team of 15
Furman history majors created
the exhibit through research on
the economic, demographic,
and cultural changes to the
Upcountry triggered by
World War II. They gathered
artifacts, photographs, text
and oral histories to highlight
contributions to the war effort
by Upcountry residents both
militarily and on the home front.
Courtney was included in the 50
Most Influential People of 2010
by Greenville Business Magazine
and was nominated by the
Speaker of the SC State House
to a term on the SC Civil War
Sesquicentennial Commission.
Courtney also went to Baton
Rouge to accept the top exhibit
award at the 2010 Southeastern
Museums Conference in October
for her WWII exhibit at Upstate
History Museum.
1996
David Sickinger
dsickinger@garvindesigngroup.
com
Bo Zimmerman
b.zimmerman@gordian-group.
com
Lizzy Holt Delfino joined the
Board of The Ochsner Journal.
She is a senior epidemiologist in
the Center for Health Research
and serves as a co-investigator on
the Cohort Study of Medication
Adherence in Older Adults
(CoSMO), an NIH-funded
study examining barriers to
antihypertensive medication
adherence among older adults.
Dr. Holt graduated from Duke
continued
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 61

University and received her
Master’s in Public Health from
Yale School of Medicine and
her Ph.D. in epidemiology at
the Tulane School of Public
Health and Tropical Medicine.
Her research focuses on chronic
disease management, and her
research studies have included
patients with hypertension,
diabetes, asthma, and allergic
disease. She also investigates
social and environmental
factors that contribute to health
disparities in chronic disease.
Sarah Howson DesChamps is
living in Murrells Inlet, SC. “I
quit teaching Montessori, and I
now work at the family law firm,
DesChamps Law Firm, in Myrtle
Beach. I’m really enjoying it here
and try to go on the boat to fish
whenever I can!”
Walker Holmes lives in New
Haven, CT, where she is finishing a
master’s degree at the Yale Forestry
School. Her husband, Justin, is a
professor of English at Yale.
1997
Sarah Rogoff
srogoff@hotmail.com
Kate Patterson
katemeyerpatterson@gmail.com
Bentley DeGarmo
bentleydegarmo@hotmail.com
Will Leineweber has just
resigned his commission as a
Captain in the USAF and has
joined the SC National Guard
as a Blackhawk pilot/trainee
and also reports for Army Flight
School at Fort Rucker, AL. Will
is an officer candidate recruiter
for Bradley-Morris, Inc. in
Kennesaw, GA.
Jill Munz Mitchell continues as
assistant professor of accounting
at Northern Virginia Community
College. She and her family have
just moved into a new home.
1998
Anna Johnson
IvArived1253@aol.com
Jay Sparkman
jdsparkiv@aol.com
Anna Furman Gall and her
husband, Jeremy Gall, are living
in Boston.
1999
Kelson McKnew
bronwynkelson@yahoo.com
Craig Ragsdale
rags1205@aol
Kathy Sickinger
katsickinger@hotmail.com
Eliza Alderman has moved
to Denver on another project
assignment with Fluor. “We are
working to build a fast-track rail
line from Union Station out to
the airport. This project is long
overdue for Denver. Right now
it’s about an $80 cab ride to get
into the city. The move was not
only a change in coasts, climates,
and cultures, it was a change in
job positions, too. I now work
on the Prime Contract and stay
in the office in meetings all day.
It is quite the change from last
year, being on the construction
site, getting my hands dirty
and earning my NCCER
certification. Denver is amazing.
I couldn’t ask for a better place
to relocate. My roommate is a
close friend from Greenville, SC,
and we’re enjoying discovering all
this state has to offer. We’ve been
hiking, we’ve been out to the bars
downtown, and I haven’t missed
a single University of South
Carolina football game! If you’re
ever in town, please look me up.
I’d love to see you!”
Abby Simon Lyle is currently
serving as a Law Clerk to
U.S. District Judge William P.
Dimitrouleas in the Southern
District of Florida.
2000
Grace Trail
madi4@aol.com
Allison Ellis
allison.ellis@infor.com
Josh Butler just kicked off a
fundraiser he has organized
by climbing Mt. Whitney in
California. He recently lost
a Maine childhood friend to
schizophrenia and bipolar
disorder. He wants to raise
awareness and funds in her
memory, as a cure is getting closer.
He lives in San Francisco and
loves his job with Rocket Fuel, an
internet advertising company.
Best friends Brett Lanzl ’02 and Rasmi Gamble ’02 at Rasmi’s
induction into the Sports Hall of Fame. Future Cavalier Ava Rose
Lanzl joins in the celebration.
Elizabeth Hunter is currently
a financial analyst for Duke
University Health System in
Raleigh, NC.
Lauren Jacques is practicing
general dentistry with her father
in Greenville.
Emily Reynolds has taken a new
job with Booz Allen Hamilton, a
government contracting firm in
Washington, DC.
Jessica Bush Rigler has moved
to Columbia so her husband can
attend law school.
Melissa Morrow Threatt is
still living in Easley while her
husband pursues a Ph.D. at
Clemson. “I am program
coordinator with Camp
Opportunity, a non-profit
with which many CCES grads
are familiar, at least from
my time there. We provide
year-round supportive services
and activities for abused and/
or neglected children in
the Greenville area. I have
been involved since Middle
School (Mrs. Florence
Pressley and Mrs. Betty
Cavan’s organization of the
Yes, I Can! Club) and am so
honored to now work for the
organization. My only other
news is that I continue to be
involved with the local section
of the American Institute of
Architects, and am serving as
Membership Director in 2011.”
2001
Rutledge Johnson
rjdc05@aol.com
Lauren Sheftall
gingerbear1216@yahoo.com
Erin Finley Kyser and husband,
Dan, are living in Greenville
where she is a CPA with Ernst &
Young.
Melissa Jimenez Nocks is now
working part-time for the Bounce
Agency, still as senior graphic
designer, to spend more time
with her daughter, Lila Grace,
and to pursue a photography
career. “I love it!”
2002
Moutray McLaren
william.mclaren@furman.edu
Brooke Carpin
brookecarpin@gmail.com
Amy Jacques contributed an
article to Relix, an online music
site, about former Marshall Tucker
Band drummer and CCES drum
teacher, Paul Riddle.
Michael Mahaffey and his wife,
Sara, live in Washington, DC.
He works as a communications
director for U.S. Rep. Tom
Rooney (R-Fla.), and Sara is
pursuing a masters degree at
Johns Hopkins.
John Rabon is a third-year
student at Campbell University
School of Law in Raleigh, NC.
62 | Highlights Spring 2011

He is pursuing dual degrees in
law and public policy.
2003
Caitlin Wood
gcwood@charter.net
Britten Carter
brittenmcarter@gmail.com
Ashley Mooney
ashleypmooney@gmail.com
Katie Blouin has recently
accepted the position of
marketing assistant with
Gamecock Sports Properties.
Adriaan Bouwer moved to
New Zealand in order to play
regional rugby for North Otago.
“Opportunity presented itself to
me after I helped lift my Dutch
rugby team to the highest playing
level in the Netherlands. I have
been living in New Zealand for
almost two years now.”
Tyler Gregg will be finishing law
school in May at the College of
Charleston.
Andreana Horowitz has recently
become a licensed real estate
agent with Prudential/ C. Dan
Joyner.
Will Reed is working on research
for his doctoral thesis at the
University of South Carolina.
A paper he co-authored was
recently published in the journal,
Current Alzheimer Research.
2004
Elizabeth Gailey
elizabethmgailey@gmail.com
Andy Waters
awaters08@gmail.com
Kate Furman is in graduate
school at Rhode Island School of
Design in Providence, RI. Her
field of study is jewelry design in
metals and silver.
Elizabeth Morrow Gailey will be
graduating from the University of
South Carolina School of Law in
May and will sit for the bar exam
in July. “I would love to work for
a CCES alum or family member
in any area of the law. I can be
reached at elizabethmgailey@
gmail.com.”
Brook Matthews graduated
with her masters in TESOL
(Teaching English to Speakers of
Another Language) from Furman
University this past fall.
2005
Fletcher McCraw
mccraw.fletcher@gmail.com
Helen Doolittle
hcdoolittle@gmail.com
Helen Doolittle is a registered
nurse in Neuro/Transplant
ICU at the Jewish Hospital in
Louisville, Kentucky.
Penn Ely is a second-year law
student at the Charleston School
of Law.
Jonathan Kovach and his wife,
Emily, live in Charleston, where
she works for a real estate appraisal
company. Jonathan works for
Edison Chouest Offshore in
Louisiana as a mate on a 280-ft.
offshore supply vessel (OSV).
2006
Ellis Bridgers
ebridgers@elon.edu
Zay Kittredge
Christina Bagwell is employed
at Roper St. Francis in
Charleston, SC, as a registered
nurse.
Ellis Bridgers is currently in
England working on her masters.
Story Cosgrove is studying
for his Gmat and working for
Piedmont Petroleum Corp. in
Greenville.
Have You Participated
in the "Big Picture" This Year?
Is Your Name Listed
Camden Navarro graduated
from Vanderbilt University in
May, and is currently attending
law school at George Washington
University Law School in
Washington, DC.
2010
in your Child's Class ... your Alumni Class...
the Grandparent List...the Parent of Alumni List?
Do You Want to Make a Difference
to Every CCES Student and Every Teacher?
Ellison Johnstone
tootsiepop9231@aol.com
Laurel Gower
leg1991@aol.com
Ian Schools left CCES Middle
School to move to Hawaii with
his family. He came to the
College Alumni Christmas Party
and ran into several old friends.
Annual Giving is a way you can support CCES every day of the school year.
Annual Giving supports every school operation... Academics, Athletics, Arts,
Faculty, Facilities, Financial Aid, and much, much more.
Our $660,000 goal is a line item in our annual budget. We are counting on YOU!
Make a difference in this year. Participate by making a gift or pledge today!
Online: www.cces.org
Mail: CCES Annual Giving, 245 Cavalier Dr., Greenville, SC 29607
Phone: 865 331-4242
Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 63

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