Spire Spring 2018

1942 Charles G. Gunn, Jr. of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, retired in 1964 after working as the medical director of Hanes Hosiery Mills Company. After BC, he attended Davidson University, Duke University, and the Duke School of Medicine before completing his residencies at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. 1955 Alfred Patrick of Richmond, Kentucky, published his

Betty Davis Mason of Powhatan, Virginia, retired in 2016 after working 14 years as an office manager and human resources coordinator. Her career also includes 12 years as a part-time coordinator of hospital volunteers. She and her husband, Lewis (‘66), celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in September 2017. They attend Red Lane Baptist Church in Powhatan. Raymond Rowland of Gretna, Virginia, is celebrating 50 years of being a Baptist pastor, 30 of which have been at his current place of ministry, Greenfield Baptist Church. He and his wife, Margie, have two children and four grandchildren. Dan Taylor of South Charleston, West Virginia, retired in 2007 as a division director with the West Virginia Tax Department. His career also includes several years working in the coal mines in West Virginia and California. He and his wife, Paula, attend First Presbyterian Church in South Charleston. 1968 1970 David Altizer of Silver Spring, Maryland, is retired after spending more than 35 years in political activities on the local, state and national levels. 1974 Dr. Tim Sharp of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, received the 2017 Belmont University School of Music’s Encore Award for achievement in the field of classical music. Tim is also the executive director of the American Choral Directors Association and artistic director of the Tulsa Oratorio Chorus. 1976 Wayne Pate of Stockbridge, Georgia, is enjoying retirement after serving as a minister of music at Edisto Beach Baptist Church in South Carolina. 1978 Scott R. “Rick” Gabrielson and his wife, Sherri, sold their family businesses, ChurchFurnitureStore. com, Kupkakery Bakery and ChurchMart Christian Bookstores, and purchased a retirement home in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. 1982 Theresa Kimbler George of Roanoke, Virginia, married Dick Wall on November 4, Elvira “Vita” Trujillo Schrader of Takoma Park, Maryland, is enjoying a successful career teaching and tutoring students, mostly Spanish. Her memoirs up to 1970 were published in 2016. Vita’s next book is in progress and will chronicle her family’s move to Southwest Virginia, where they resided for many years. 1991 Dr. Thomas Brewster was invited by Virginia governor Ralph Northam to serve as a member of a Policy Council on Pre-K-12 James K. Harrison, Jr. of Silver Spring, Maryland, is retired after spending more than 35 years in political activities on the local, state and national levels. 2017. 1987

to provide insights and perspectives on significant issues in secondary education. Tom serves as dean of the School of Education at Bluefield College. Veronica S. Brooks of Princeton, West Virginia, was interviewed by the Today Show’s online magazine for an in-depth look at her life and work as an occupational therapist at Princeton Community Hospital. The feature is published at today.com. 1992 Brian Webb of Kernersville, North Carolina, is serving as a commercial banker with Union Bank & Trust in Roanoke, Virginia. Peter West of Bluefield, Virginia, is an adjunct instructor of phlebotomy at Southwest Virginia Community College and a substitute teacher for Tazewell County Public Schools. He is also an active member of First Baptist Church of Bluefield. 1997 Courtney Ellis of Vinton, Virginia, married Christopher Witt on October 14, 2017. After BC, she worked in marketing for the Richmond Times-Dispatch and later as a staff reporter for a small community newspaper in North Carolina. She left her career to be a stay-at-home mom for her two children, Dyson and Claire Spence, before re-entering the workforce as a financial services specialist with the Virginia Community College System in 2013. Michael Harris of Bluefield, Virginia, was named Pharmacist of the Year for Walmart’s market 311. In fact, his pharmacy at the Walmart in Bluefield was named Pharmacy of the Year. 1998 Billy Berry of Athens, Tennessee, returned to Tennessee Wesleyan University to serve as head coach for baseball after a short stint as head coach for baseball at The Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 2001 Kendall Smith Grogan and her husband, Rich, of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, welcomed their third child, Rebekah, to the family on May 3, 2017. Travis Roberts of North Tazewell, Virginia, who is the chief meteorologist at WVVA-TV in Bluefield, West Virginia, won the 2016 Best Weathercast Award from the West Virginia Broadcasters Association. 2002 Travis L. Archer of Cornelius, North Carolina, won the Charlotte-Mecklenberg Police Department’s 2018 Lifesaving Award. Lt. Col. Gary T. Settle, a 32-year law enforcement veteran from Rappahannock County, Virginia, was appointed superintendent of the Virginia State Police. 2003 Mark Hipes and his wife, Peyton, of Glen Allen, Virginia, celebrated the birth of their first child, a daughter named Virginia Mae, born on May 8, 2018. 2004 Dave Ebert of Cresthill, Illinois, co-founder of the Christian comedy improvisation group HaHaMen, is planning the first-ever Christian improv and sketch festival, called PureFest, October 6, 2018 in Lockport, Illinois. Find out more at PureFest.org.

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fourth novel, Hessian Soldier, American Pioneer: A March to Destiny, an historical fiction relating to the American Revolutionary War. He retired

from Eastern Kentucky University after serving 33 years as a professor, department chair, and

dean. 1959

Robert Farley of Princeton, West Virginia, retired as president and chief executive officer of the Princeton-Mercer County Chamber of Commerce. His career also includes a 20-year stint with Appalachian Power Company. 1967 John Betterton of Clayton, North Carolina, is retired after working 32 years in public school systems and creating and running a charter school for 13 years. During his career, he received the Outstanding Young Educator award from the Jaycees (1977), Charter School’s Wachovia Principal of the Year Award (2004), Outstanding Principal Award from the University of Virginia (2009), and a Lifetime Service Award from the Jaycees (2013). business for nearly 30 years. His wife, Janis, passed away in 2016, but Russell enjoys time with his two daughters and first grandchild, Parker. Jerry Dickerson of Brevard, North Carolina, is serving as an adjunct professor of religion at Saint Leo University after retiring as a Navy chaplain and Baptist pastor. He continues to be active in ministry as the chaplain for Post 88 of the American Legion in Brevard. He and former BC roommates R.G. Rowland (’67 ) and Bill Trimyer (’67) recently celebrated 50 years of friendship. Elaine Martin Dietz of Chester, Virginia, is enjoying retirement after a 29-year career as an elementary school teacher. She and her husband, Michael, are active volunteers in their church and enjoy traveling and attending their grandchildren’s activities. Bob Houck of Culpeper, Virginia, is retired from Warrenton Farm Credit, where he started as a loan officer in 1980 and retired as senior vice president of finance and administrative services in 1998. He also operated a beef cattle farm until 2015. Bob now serves as a BC trustee and an active member of Stevensburg Baptist Church. Jane McClung Lookabill of Draper, Virginia, is retired after 20 years of teaching health and physical education and counseling in the Virginia Public School System. She and her husband, Woody, have participated in mission trips abroad and have also been leading Bible studies for more than 30 years. Russell Collins of Nashville, Tennessee, is working for a Christian food brokerage company after being in the toy