Cumberlite - 2012 Winter

Winter 2012
To Serve…
Greg Gerard, Principal
Most any GCA student should be able to easily
recite the mission statement of Georgia-Cumberland
Academy—”To Know, To Love, To Serve.
Those six words are the shortened version of our
goal for every student and staff member of this school.
“The mission of Georgia-Cumberland Academy is to
foster an educational environment of excellence where
students, faculty and staff pursue a shared quest: To
know Jesus as Savior and Friend, To love God and
those He Brings into our lives, To serve the church
and society.”
While we could expound on any of those statements,
we want to specifically focus on the third statement—To
Serve—in this Winter edition of the Cumberlite.
Kids learn by doing. Learning to serve is more
than a theoretical educational experience. We believe
that most of us are not, by nature, service-oriented.
Let’s face it. We live in a “me first” culture. Fallen
humans are first and foremost selfish. To work toward the
accomplishment of the third part of our mission statement,
we offer students the opportunity to learn to serve by serving.
How do we do that?
Every year there are many opportunities for students to get
connected to service opportunities. Some are required, some are
voluntary. Community service days occur regularly throughout
the school year and are organized by our chaplain’s office. In
addition, Sabbath afternoon activities are often service-related,
taking students into the local community to serve and help.
Short term mission trips take place each year: one to serve zero
or low income people in Appalachia with home improvements;
another to the Caribbean or Central America to build churches,
work in orphanages or schools, conduct health clinics and/or
conduct evangelism programming; and the third short term
mission opportunity is a new endeavor to team up with ADRA
Katie Birge and Carolita Claus experienced the joy of service on their
trip to Thailand last spring (see story on pg. 7).
in Thailand and China.
In this issue you will hear about GCA
alumni who are serving in various capacities
locally and around the world. You will also
hear about some of the service opportunities
our students enjoy. While we only have
space to focus on a few of our alumni who
are serving, there are many others who are
making significant contributions to God’s
kingdom and to the world through their lives
of service. Thank you to each of our GCA
alumni who have chosen a life of service!
As you read this issue of the Cumberlite,
we hope you will be inspired to think about
your own life and the impact you are having
on the people around you through a life of
service.
This Issue Sweeney’s Garden 2-3 For the Love of Kids 4
Making Deposits 5 “Ok, God” 6 New Ways to Serve 7 GCA Reconnects 9 Alumni
Weekend 10 Alumni Updates 11 Information 12
397 Academy Dr. Calhoun, GA 30701 • Phone: 706-629-4591 • Fax: 706-629-1272 • www.gcasda.org

Sweeney’s Garden
Four years ago the grace of Christ commandeered the lives
of Rustin and Stacy Sweeney and propelled their family to a
place where some in the church might say they shouldn’t have
gone, the “other side of the tracks.”
“We were compelled by the love of Jesus,” explains Rustin,
“to flesh out what it means to be true followers of Jesus as we
moved from one of the more prestigious areas of Atlanta to one
of the more economically challenged areas.” In their choice to
become downwardly mobile they simply wanted to follow the
example of Jesus, who didn’t commute, but relocated.
“These zip codes have the highest rates of addiction,
crime, child abuse, abandoned houses, and displaced
peoples,” Rustin says. “These are areas marked by
economic disparity, unethical practices, and unconcern.”
What would happen when they followed Jesus to
a place where distinctions of race, socioeconomics, and
cultural identity are firmly embedded? Among other
things, their experience has shown the Sweeneys a deep
need for their own souls to be filled with the Spirit of
Christ.
Guests pause for prayer during one of the neighborhood events hosted by the
Sweeneys.
So how did you go from what many might call
a “normal” life to one of Atlanta’s economically
challenged neighborhoods?
Stacy and I had been married for a couple years
and were fully connected to a church. We were
doing spiritual things—going to church on Sabbath,
teaching Sabbath school, spending time with the
young adults, participating in potlucks, talking about
the Bible, planning a seminary stint. But even with all
the church stuff, if you had placed our lives next to
the life of Jesus you would’ve clearly seen that they
looked nothing alike.
Stacy and I started haphazardly praying for our
blended family to receive new eyes and new experiences
that would reflect the prayer in Revelation 3:18.
As we prayed, we started getting a better
understanding of what we were supposed to do, and in
the beginning of 2007 we went through the Organic
Greenhouse training that Bill and Jan Levin conducted
for the Georgia-Cumberland Conference [GCC]. (Bill
is the GCC director of global evangelism and church
planting.)
After about a year of working closely with our
family the Levins asked if we would be willing to start
an initiative of planting house churches in apartment
buildings, specifically to reach the large number of
Caucasian urban apartment dwellers, very similar to
where we were living at the time.
I really have to praise God for what happened,
though, because sometime between their asking us to
start this ministry and the time we actually
signed the papers with the GCC, God led
us into this hard left turn to start searching
out apartments that were nothing like us.
That was a pretty big leap of faith.
First, I want to say that a big deal
shouldn’t be made of it—plenty of families
have been living in our area their entire lives,
and no one has ever come up to them, patted
their backs, and said “good job”—perhaps if
we did, it would provide an opportunity to
love more people for Christ.
Second, it’s difficult to describe how we
got where we are because it was such a God
thing. We are just an ordinary family, there’s
nothing special about us, but we have issues.
We don’t deserve to be where we are.
Stacy and I both come from dysfunctional families
that suffered from addiction and alcoholism, and until
we accepted help for our own addictions and “isms”
we had only three choices in life: jails, institutions,
or death.
When I was in academy in 1991, I was [expelled].
I was more likely to desecrate a church than speak at
one. But 16 years later Stacy and I were standing in
the Georgia-Cumberland Conference on my birthday,
signing papers to start a new ministry for the church.
2 the Cumberlite Winter 2012

God started it all by redeeming our lives. It
cannot be explained how people like us end
up in a place like this without some serious
rearrangement of our lives through the power
of Jesus.
How do you bring your experiences—
and your faith—to your ministry and
into your community?
God has called on all believers to weave
into our lives of faith a genuine concern for
the least of these. When I discovered this, I
searched the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy to see if it
was true (see Signs of the Times, Feb. 3, 1890, and Matt.
25:40). I was absolutely floored by my findings. Caught
up in conversations about what people should eat or
wear, we have totally failed to notice that people are
starving, naked, and hurting just down the street.
In Testimonies for the Church Ellen White said, “It
is working together with Christ that is true worship”
(vol. 2, p. 24). Helping the needy, clothing the naked,
bringing the homeless into our house . . . that’s genuine.
And so her statement became what we could call a
mission statement.
Give me a few examples of this in action.
Everything we do is with an eye to bless our
neighbors and community. If I’m taking our boys rock
climbing, then I’m taking the neighborhood kids. If
we’re tutoring the boys in math, then we’re tutoring
kids from the neighborhood. If I pray at my meals and
we’ve got people over, they pray too.
I have a young people’s group called 5:55 that
started because I caught a bunch of the neighborhood
kids smoking. Sometimes I run a young men’s group
called Safe House, which started from a trip I took
eight young men on to see Cirque du Soleil. We take
camping trips, rock climbing trips, air shows, carriage
rides, and visits to the country. This past summer I
Stacy Sweeney with neighborhood kids at one of their special summer events.
was the pool monitor for our apartments—that’s 13
hours a week that I’m earning the right to influence.
This September Stacy handed out cucumbers for
a few days and taught neighbor women out in the
gazebo how to make bruschetta . . . There are literally
thousands of interactions we have had with the people
in our neighborhood, all because we are willing to be
intentional with our time and hang out.
Our goal as a ministry and family is to hold a
monthly event for all the people in our community—
simple things such as a watermelon and peaches
party, Thanksgiving dinner, roller skating and pizza,
a Christmas party (we call it Mas Christ), waffles and
fresh-squeezed orange juice breakfast—anything that
enables us to have more face time with people.
So you have the support, it seems, from the
community. In what other ways do you receive
support?
We have been blessed with the resource of time.
(As a personal trainer, I’m able to make my own
hours.) Most of our operating support comes from my
clients—we give our time, and they help us financially
when we hold bigger events, such as Mas Christ or
our Thanksgiving dinner. I have clients that said they
would never support a Christian organization no matter
what, but they donate every year. It’s interesting—God
didn’t remove me from the wealthy area of town; I still
work there about 20 hours a week. There is something
about our story that speaks to my clients about real
Christianity.
I have to ask, since it is one of the first things
you started in the community as a way to bring
people together. What is your favorite thing
about the community garden?
I don’t like gardening. It’s not in my DNA, and
I have no prior gardening experience, so it is a real
struggle for me. I hate the hot Atlanta summers, the
pests, the lack of knowledge I have, but God has told
Continued on page 8
Winter 2012 the Cumberlite 3

While we often equate service with selfless acts
for causes far from home, many of our alumni find
ways to serve in their local communities, churches
and neighborhoods.
Three local alumni have found ways to make a
difference in the lives of young people by volunteering
their services at GCA.
Travis Epperson (Class of 1999), and Clint and
Shannon (Courey) Higginbotham (Classes of 1999
and 1997, respectively) have been volunteering with
GCA sports programs for
several years now and
their service is greatly
appreciated by both staff
and students.
Coach Wally Fox,
long-time athletic
director at GCA, taught
Travis, Clint and Shannon
when they were students
in his P.E. classes and
now enjoys working with
them as peers. Coach Fox
knows that we couldn’t
offer the range of sports
opportunities for the kids
if it weren’t for volunteers.
Recently he reflected on
the impact these three
individuals are having.
“Travis Epperson has
spent many hours working
with the gymnastics team.
For the Love of Kids
Shannon (Courey) Higginbotham
loves volunteering at GCA because
of the relationships she is able to
build with kids.
He was head coach of the team for some years and has
assisted for a few more years, volunteering his time to
help us produce a quality gymnastics program.
Clint and Shannon Higginbotham have both given
an unbelievable amount of time to the sports programs
at GCA. Clint has served as head coach for our soccer
team for several years and has also been assistant coach
of the gymnastics team, while Shannon has assisted
with the gymnastics team. Their volunteer work shows
an amazing dedication to the young people at GCA
and I am greatly appreciative of their help!”
When asked why they give their time and energy
to help out with gymnastics and soccer, Clint and
Shannon replied, “Shortly after getting married in
2003 we offered to volunteer with the gymnastics
team. Following the death of Brandon Moor (a former
task force chaplain who was killed in a car accident
while on the staff at GCA), who organized the soccer
team in 2004, I (Clint) received the invitation from
Coach Fox and some of the players to become the
new soccer coach—an invitation I eagerly accepted.”
Recalling the influence of young adults on their
own lives when teenagers, Shannon and Clint agreed
they would like to be that influence in kids’ lives, too.
“After we were married we agreed that this was a
mission we wanted to do. Working with
the kids has been such a great blessing for
both of us.” They love the relationships
they build with kids that lasts through the
years. Shannon says, “I love the way the
team becomes part of our family every
year!” Clint loves how the kids keep him
on his game and make him feel younger.
“Who doesn’t love that?!”
Travis Epperson, who has worked with
the gymnastics team almost continually
since 2000, gives of his time because, “First
and foremost I love coaching! I started
because I loved Acrosports, but quickly
realized that my true love was coaching.
The excitement that the students get when
they learn something new or do well in a
performance is catching and I love every
minute of it. I also
love the interaction
with the students.
Those relationships
often last long after
they leave GCA…
and it’s an amazing
thing to be able to be
a part of their lives
and to have helped
them grow in some
way. I am blessed by
the opportunity that
I have in being able
to help out at GCA.”
Travis Epperson volunteers his time and
Bruce Boggess,
expertise with the GCA gymnastics GCA teacher and
team because of his love of coaching and gymnastic head coach
the relationships he is able to build with
young people. Continued on page 8
4 the Cumberlite Winter 2012

Making Deposits in the Lives of People
Stuart King, Class of 2004
Stuart King, Class of 2004,
at his Peace Corps swearing-in
ceremony.
Service often looks
a lot like the coin jar
we keep on the corner
of our desk. Deposits
aren’t usually planned
nor do they occupy any
significant portion of
our daily thoughts. But
with time, the clearing of
that annoyingly loud and
surprisingly heavy metal in
our pockets begins to fill
the jar, and our personal
economy gives us a hint of satisfaction.
I knew at a fairly young age that service needed
to be more than an afterthought. I didn’t know how,
but I wanted to put myself in situations in which life,
work, and service were one and the same. My family
roots stretch deep into the medical field so that would
have been a good place to start had the sight of blood
not made me queasy. Instead I settled on the wonderful
world of business, finance, and statistics. How exactly
this would get me to where I wanted, I wasn’t quite
sure.
While in college I would often tell people I
was interested in international development. That
sounded like service to me and would usually elicit
an agreeable response, but at that point I had no clue
what international development was or how a young
college kid could get involved.
My solution to the service question and getting a
professional service career off the ground led me to the
Peace Corps. I made the decision to join as I finished
up my last semester at Southern Adventist University,
simultaneously submitting my
applications to the Peace Corps
and graduate school. I was
accepted to the University of
Denver, and after an internship at
World Vision, I began my studies
in Global Finance, Trade, and
Economics. In my final quarter
at Denver I received my official
invitation to Peace Corps to serve
as a Community Development
volunteer in Ukraine. I accepted
and cold weather preparation
began immediately.
Stuart with host brother, Yura and his host
mother, Natasha.
I arrived in Ukraine in March 2011 to culture
shock that has only slightly subsided and a seemingly
impenetrable wall otherwise known as the Russian
language. After three months of intensive language
training and four months at an English language
camp on the Black Sea coast, I finally made it to my
permanent work site of Izmail, Odessa Oblast. Izmail is
a city of 70,000 residents situated in the far southwest
corner of Ukraine on the Danube River and Romanian
border. My hosting organization is the Izmail Fund
for Entrepreneurship Support, and my primary job
responsibilities include English training, grant writing,
and program design and management. Planned projects
for this coming year include a community-wide
HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention campaign, the
construction of a new playground for mentally and
physically disabled children, and the opening of a
resource center to teach valuable life skills to children
at the local orphanage.
Ukraine is a land of rich culture, history, and
tradition. I do not even pretend to understand it all and
have learned to eat whatever is put in front of me without
asking where it came from (you learn quickly that once
you know it’s raw pig fat it becomes ten times harder
to swallow it down). Peace Corps’ work in Ukraine is
unique in that Ukraine is a transitional economy, and
thus much more developed than places such as rural
Africa. This means I have hot water, electricity, and
even high-speed Internet, but it also means the fruits
of my labor aren’t so easily observed. I’ve often asked
myself what kind of difference I am truly making in
the lives of the people I work with. I might not be
changing the world, but I trust the spirit of Peace Corps
service will influence those I come in contact with and
will foster a stronger human bond
across cultures. I am proud to be a
Peace Corps volunteer and serve
my country. It comes with sacrifice
and a slew of personal challenges,
and even though failure is more
common than success, Peace Corps
service has given me exactly what I
was looking for.
Stuart King can be reached at
sdking49@gmail.com should you have
further questions about his work with the
Peace Corps or if you would like to access
his blog.
Winter 2012 the Cumberlite 5

“OK, God”
Andrea Keele, Class of 2000
Although Andrea Keele, ‘01, is not a risk taker, she is loving where God
has led her.
I don’t cliff-jump. I hate roller coasters. I avoid
anything that says “extreme” in front of it. But somehow
God is good at shoving me out of my comfort zone.
All I have to say is, “ok,” and life gets pretty exciting.
The first time I remember saying “ok” was the
summer before I turned 17. I looked around at
my mom, dad, and brother in our family room in
Washington State, and realized they were all much more
excited than I was about moving to Georgia. Yet I also
distinctly felt God inviting me out of my comfortable
world into a journey of faith. I took a deep breath and
said, “Ok, let’s move.” And God gave me two years of
beautiful friendships and experiences at GCA in return.
A few years ago, after the tragic loss of a
Southern Adventist University student missionary
in Yap, Micronesia, I felt God again interrupting my
comfortable life. I was just finishing up a Masters in
Christian Psychological Studies at a Christian graduate
school, and working in the Student
Missions office at Southern parttime,
and felt drawn to the struggling
school. God opened all the doors,
and in about a month I found myself
teaching 2 nd graders at a Seventh-day
Adventist school on the tiny tropical
island of Yap. I had so much to learn
about teaching and Yap life, but once
again I found God’s arms were strong
enough to hold me. The students were
lively, but loving, and quickly found
their place in my heart. My fellow
missionaries and student missionaries formed a closeknit
community that constantly comforted and inspired
me. I could never have imagined that God could bless
me so much through that one simple “ok.”
After returning to the States, I had some time to
think over what to do next. I felt God stirring my heart
to go back to Yap, and started praying and checking for
open doors. The process was slower and more gradual,
but just as clear that God was leading. In August of
2011, I stepped off the plane once again on that little
island, and said “ok” to being the new registrar at the
same Seventh-day Adventist school. That also meant
“ok” to challenges like starting the school year shortstaffed,
helping student missionaries through health
and emotional difficulties, and even my own health
adventure with Dengue fever. After spending a few
months at home recovering, I am again saying “ok” to
get back on a plane for Yap in a couple days. But I am
also saying “ok” to the smiles of “my” now-4 th graders,
as they tell me stories about their day; to hearing high
school students sing
worship songs in
beautiful harmony;
to laughing my
head off with my
fellow missionaries,
and seeing God
answer my prayers;
to sitting out on the
deck at the school
that overlooks the Even with her busy missionary schedule,
hills, the sea, and Andrea finds time to enjoy one-on-one time
the sunset. And with one of her young friends.
over a decade after that first “ok,” I feel very rich.
Yap Adventist
School is a K-12
school on the
island of Yap. For
more information,
visit the school’s
website at: www.
yapsdaschool.webs.
com.
6 the Cumberlite Winter 2012

GCA Offers Students New Ways to Serve
Serge Gariepy and Abby Robbins
Last spring GCA students and staff
helped dig a trench to bring clean water
One year ago
Georgia-Cumberland
Academy launched
new opportunities
for service when we
teamed up with the
Adventist Development
and Relief Agency
(ADRA), taking a small
group of students and
faculty to Thailand
where we worked on a
to a remote village in Thailand.
water project in a remote village.
After graduation May 2012, a group of students,
parents, and staff from GCA will travel to a small village
in central China. While there, we will partner with
ADRA to construct and install biogas tanks in several
village homes. Each tank will provide access to clean
methane gas that
the families can
use for cooking
and heating their
homes.
In His
ministry here on
earth, Jesus met
people where
they were—
Children enjoy the clean water that
physically and
is now being piped into their village,
spiritually. All
thanks to the ADRA water project.
around the
world, ADRA helps bring the basic necessities
of life to people in need so that they can be
more receptive to the Gospel. This summer in
China, our GCA students will have a groundlevel,
hands-on view of this mission.
Serge teaches math at GCA and is the
coordinator of the ADRA mission trips.
A Student’s Response to
Mission Service -
Ever since I was little I have always
had the influence of missionaries
in my life. When I was three I had
my first real mission experience in
Pohnpei, one of the Micronesian
Islands, where my family lived and
worked for a year.
My brother is older than me and I was able to
watch him as he was in academy and participating in
mission trips. I look up to my brother and because of
his influence, I try to do mission trips whenever I can.
I came to GCA in the fall of 2009 and was able to go
to Guatemala during the spring break mission trip. That
experience made me realize my desire to be a missionary,
to help people, and expand my knowledge of cultures.
During my sophomore year one of my teachers at
GCA decided to plan a trip for a small group of students
to travel to Thailand. The idea automatically appealed
to me because it was on the other side of the world, so
I began raising money so I could participate in the trip.
When the time finally rolled around to leave I
was beyond excited. When we got to Thailand and the
mission part of the trip I realized how touching it is to
participate in a culture that is completely different from
your own.
The experience I had in the village is indescribable
because I saw how appreciative most people are for
simple things such as songs, company, little toys, blankets,
clothes, and, most importantly, water. Our main goal for
going to this village was to dig up 3km of dirt and insert
a pipeline so the villagers could receive clean water. On
the last day we were
able to complete
our goal. The joy
the villagers had for
what we had done
was amazing and it
made a huge impact
on me.
While we were
there working with
ADRA, the reality
of what people do
to commit their life to God and
His mission really impressed me.
Ever since going on this trip I have
decided that I want to devote my
life to mission work and helping
those in need.
Abby is a junior at GCA and
serves at the chairperson of the
student senate.
GCA students experienced the joy of serving others during
their ADRA mission trip to Thailand.
Winter 2012 the Cumberlite 7

For the Love of Kids continued from page 4
has been very impressed with the faithful service of
Travis, Clint and Shannon. “Having Clint, Shannon
and Travis volunteer with our team raises the level of
our program tremendously. Clint is a motivator and
pushes the guys to be better. He can be tough, but the
guys know he cares about them. Shannon is always
encouraging and knows how to bring the best out in
our ‘flyers.’ Travis has a creative mind and has a knack
for figuring out sequences to improve our routines. He
has a great technical knowledge and is a great teacher,
yet is always looking to learn more.”
Bruce has been amazed by the faithfulness of Clint,
Shannon and Travis. “I’ve had volunteers in the past,
though no one has ever matched the commitment
of these three. Volunteers usually have a hard time
committing for that much time, but Clint, Shannon
and Travis are the
exception. They love
GCA and they love
the Acroflyers.”
Thank you,
Travis, Clint and
Shannon, for making
a difference in the
lives of GCA students!
Clint Higginbotham
(holding the trophy) with
the GCA soccer team.
Sweeney’s Garden continued from page 2
us to start gardens, so we started a community garden.
It took me a year just to clean up all the trash and junk
back there and then a couple more years to get decent
soil. I don’t like it, but I do it because I know that Jesus is
trying to provide for our people and that He is teaching
me valuable lessons.
The best thing about that garden is the connections
God has developed through it. We pay a small amount to
Rustin Sweeney with a group of kids for their weekly “5:55” meeting.
a friend named Harvest, who helps me with upkeep. As
we have gotten to know Harvest’s family and to share
the heart of God with them, they have been slowly
transforming. As we have continued to try to be a
blessing to this beautiful family, Harvest has been such
a blessing to me. Without fail he helps me maintain the
garden and never asks anything in return.
The greatest thing I have learned is how hard it is
for God to work in the garden of my heart, how often
pests, disease, and weeds crop up and how difficult
it must be for Him to have to go over the same soil
over and over. I have a real respect for the amount
of work it takes for His Spirit to take a person like
me and transform my heart, but I also have a real
respect for the lesson that I’m learning about how
that heart is transformed. It takes working together
with Christ; nothing can happen in that garden or in
our communities if we are not actively seeking ways
to plant. If I stay in the house one summer, nothing
grows. If I’m “detached from the soil of community,”
how can I expect people to come to Christ?
*(This story is excerpted from an interview conducted with
Rustin and Stacy Sweeney by Kimberly Luste Maran and
appeared in the October 13, 2011 issue of the Adventist Review.)
8 the Cumberlite Winter 2012

GCA Reconnects With Kids over Pizza
Whenever November rolls around again, we know
it’s time for the annual Southern Adventist University
(SAU) Young Alumni Pizza Party, which means free
pizza for our recent grads who live and attend school
in the Collegedale, Tn. area and a chance for GCA
staff to re-connect with their former students.
While free pizza is the draw, we hope to provide
an opportunity for each of our young alumni to step
back in time for an hour or two to reconnect with
former classmates who they may not see as much now
and to be reminded of the people at GCA who still
care about them and pray for them.
Pastor Don Keele enjoys visiting with young alumni at the pizza event.
I love how no matter how much time goes by it’s
always easy to reconnect with GCA family. We truly
are like family!”
Don Keele, pastor of the GCA church, attends the
event every year and he sees it as a great opportunity
to reconnect with kids. “I always love seeing where
kids are in their journey since leaving GCA.”
GCA alumni enjoyed reconnecting with friends over pizza at the
recent young alumni pizza party.
This year the pizza event was held on Sunday
evening, November 20 and about 60 kids showed
up to enjoy food and fellowship. Several staff from
GCA were able to come up to SAU to eat and hang
out with the recent grads.
Matt Durante, Class of 2010, has enjoyed the pizza
party each of the two years since his graduation. “I
really enjoyed myself at the party this year. It was
really good to spend time with friends and faculty.
Reconnecting with GCA faculty and friends (not to mention the free
pizza!) brings smiles to the faces of young alumni.
We will keep driving up to
SAU each fall, ordering pizza, and
hanging out with our young alumni.
Hopefully our continuing investment
in the lives of these young people
will keep reminding them of their
years at GCA, the people who love
them and the things they learned
while there.
Approximate 60 GCA alumni turned out for
the annual fall pizza party.
Winter 2012 the Cumberlite 9

ALUMNI WEEKEND
April 6-8, 2012
“Amazed by Grace”
Steve Martin, ‘77, will bless
us with music at the Friday
evening vesper program.
Litch (with wife, Shelly Litchfield),
former GCA chaplain, will be our
speaker for the Alumni Weekend
church service.
Friday, April 6
Golf Tournament: Barnsley
Gardens Resort, 9 a.m. $90
per player, $55 for students.
For more information
call Nancy Gerard at
706.625.7166 or email her
at nagerard@gcasda.org.
Vespers, GCA Church, 7:30
p.m.: Start the weekend
off with the inspiration of
music and testimonies of
God’s grace at work. Steve
Martin, ’77, will be our musical guest and Rustin
Sweeney, ’91 and his wife, Stacy, will be sharing
their story of being transformed by God’s grace
and obeying His call to share His love in the inner
city of Atlanta.
Rustin, ‘91, and Stacy Sweeney will share their story
at vespers on Friday night.
Saturday, April 7
Welcome Home Breakfast and Registration:
9:30 a.m. in the GCA Church Fellowship Hall.
Visit with friends, sign in at your honor class
registration table and enjoy a delicious continental
breakfast.
In the Word: 10 a.m. Sabbath School lesson study
with GCA Principal, Greg Gerard, in the GCA
Church sanctuary.
Church Service: 10:45 a.m.
in the GCA Church. The
service begins with roll call,
so be there to join your
classmates in reserved seating
(for honor classes). Sermon
by Litch (LeClare Litchfield,
former staff) and alumni
participation in music and
testimony.
Honor Class Photos and
lunch: Immediately following
the church service.
Then Lunch is on Us. Join everyone in the
gymnasium following the church service for a free,
quickly served, tasty lunch.
Reunions following lunch will be held in various
campus locations. Join friends and former staff
for a great opportunity to visit and reconnect.
Sports Events will take place following sundown.
Call Coach Fox at 706.629.4591, ext. 4037 if you
would like to participate in softball or basketball.
Sunday, April 8
Ride for GCA Motorcycle Event: Registration
at 9:30 a.m. and the ride begins at 10. To pre-register
call or email Nancy Gerard at 706.625.7166 or
nagerard@gcasda.org
10 the Cumberlite Winter 2012

Alumni Updates
Barbara (Cummings) Willis, Class of 1968, was
named a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) by
CFRE International this past May. Individuals granted
this credential have met a series of professional standards,
as well as passing a rigorous written examination. Barbara
serves as the Director of Development for Holbrook
Seventh-day Adventist Indian School in Holbrook,
Arizona. Before serving at Holbrook, Barbara taught at
GCA for many years.
Yung Lau, Class of 1980, was recently named as
the first recipient of the Thomas Carruthers Endowed
Chair in Pediatric Cardiology. He and his wife Carmen
(Wilson) Lau, Class of 1980,have three children;
Christopher (Class of 2007), Carissa (Class of 2009), and
Sarah (Class of 2015). The Laus live in Birmingham, Al.
Alison (Wurl) Prusia, Class of 1980, recently
accepted a position as the Director of Marketing and
Recruiting for Forest Lake Academy. Alison lives in
Apopka, Fl. with her husband and two boys.
Steve McKnight, Class of 1989, is living in the
Collegedale area with his family. Steve works for Amplex,
a company that ships trees throughout the Southeast.
Rustin Sweeney, Class of 1991 (Att.), and his wife,
Stacy, were featured in the October 13, 2011 issue of the
Adventist Review for their work in Atlanta’s inner city.
Read their story on p. 2 of this issue of the Cumberlite.
Cheryl (Austin) Beucler, Class of 1999, and her
husband, Philip, welcomed 8 lb. 5 oz. Charlotte Elise
to their family, on October 4, 2011. Cheryl and Philip
recently relocated from Anchorage, AK to Portland,
Oregon, where Cheryl is working part-time in Nursing
Administration at Portland Adventist Hospital and Philip
is a meteorologist for an air quality consulting firm.
Mindy (Smith) Salyers, Class of 1999, and her
husband, Jason, welcomed Brynlie Cate to the world on
September 25, 2011. Brynlie weighed 6 lbs 8 oz.
Joshua Woods, Class of 2003, finished his master
of Divinity degree at the Seventh-day Adventist
Theological seminary and is serving as pastor of the
Oglethorpe and Warner Robins (Georgia) churches.
Steven Wilson, Class of 2003, was recently married
to Helen Ross. The ceremony took place on Sunday,
November 27, 2011 at the Dawson Creek Seventh-day
Adventist Church in Dawson, British Columbia. Steven
serves as a mission pilot in S. America.
Shaunda (Helm) McNeil, Class of 2004, was married
to David McNeil on December 28, 2011 at the Calhoun
(Ga.) Seventh-day Adventist Church. Shaunda is in her
final year of law school at Duke University.
Ismaias (Lemmy) Recinos, Class of 2006, graduated
this past December with Highest Honors from the
Georgia Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Civil
Engineering.
Allison (Gerard) Handal, Class of 2007, relocated to
the Austin, Tx. where her husband, Albert, is pastoring
one of the local SDA churches. Allison is working and
has applied to graduate school for next fall.
Alumni Weekend Reunion Organizers
Class of 1967 Bob Coolidge 386-956-3465 trnstrtrk@bellsouth.net
Class of 1972 Sonia Thompson Gott 865-233-4545 soniagott@charter.net
Eldon Carman 806-335-5151 carmane@bellsouth.net
Class of 1977 Julia Herndon 850-933-1845 floridajewels1959@yahoo.com
Class of 1982 Steve and Carol Martin 770-502-0905 cmartin_2@charter.net
Class of 1987 Chris Hudson 865-740-5219 chris@gemitchellco.com
Class of 1992 Michael Whalley 864-680-1262 mwhalley1@gmail.com
Class of 1997 Jennifer Herndon Bergherm 407-733-1967 bergherm@hotmail.com
Class of 2002 Melissa Harper Blackwelder 423-280-5790 melisskay@gmail.com
Kristi Cook West 423-505-9789 mrskwest2006@gmail.com
Class of 2007 Jenessa King 678-986-9319 jenessaking@gmail.com
Winter 2012 the Cumberlite 11

Georgia-Cumberland Academy
397 Academy Drive
Calhoun, GA 30701
www.gcasda.org
NONPROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Chattanooga, TN
PERMIT NO. 1114
Editor:
Nancy Gerard
Layout & Design:
Frank Strack, College Press LLC
Photography by:
Laura Chase, Chris Donavan,
Serge Gariepy, Greg Gerard,
Nancy Gerard, David Kim,
Rustin Sweeney, Stacy Sweeney
Georgia Taxpayers –
Don’t Miss This Opportunity!
If you are a Georgia resident or own a Georgia-based business and pay state income taxes, you need to know about a relatively
new law which allows individual and corporate taxpayers to contribute to approved Student Scholarship Organizations (SSO’s) and
receive a dollar-for-dollar credit against their income tax liabilities.
This is an amazing way to pay income tax, get the money back, AND help private education in the process. In 2011 we had
approximately $108,000 donated through this program and these gifts made a significant difference in the lives of students at GCA.
Here is how the process works:
1) If you want to participate in this program you must first apply to the Georgia Department of Revenue and become
approved as a donor. (Forms are available online at the GCA website, the Georgia-Cumberland Conference, or
through the Georgia Department of Education website. Or call us and we will provide the forms and walk you through
the process.)
2) Following your approval from the state, you will make a gift to an approved Student Scholarship Organization. GCA
has a relationship with two approved SSO’s: The Institute for Educational Advancement and the Georgia-Cumberland
Conference.
3) Please let the SSO know your contribution is intended to benefit GCA.
Let us help you take advantage of this great tax opportunity! Please call or email Nancy Gerard at 706-625-7166 or
nagerard@gcasda.org.
PLEASE NOTE: It is anticipated that the state’s cap on this program ($60 million) will be reached well before the end
of the calendar year. DO NOT delay in submitting your application to donate through this program or you may miss this
opportunity!
Georgia-Cumberland Academy
397 Academy Drive, Calhoun, GA 30701
Phone: (706) 629-4591 • Fax: (706) 629-1272 • Email: nagerard@gcasda.org • www.gcasda.org