Up with People, again

Tommy Spaulding ’92, the keynote speaker at Spring Commencement, credits Up with People with changing his life, and how he’s returning the favor. Best known in the 1970s and ‘80s for its high-energy song-and-dance shows conveying a message of peace and harmony in world tours and at Super Bowls, Up with People shut down in 2000, the victim of changes tastes and rising costs. Two years ago Spaulding, a cast member in the 1987 troupe, was called back to revive the enterprise.

Named an Outstanding Alumni in 2006, Spaulding became a star IBM salesman after graduation and then founded Leader’s Challenge, a notable education foundation in Colorado. That’s what he was doing when Up with People founder J. Blanton Belk asked him to restart the program.

Spaulding’s first task was scaling back the 300-person staff and $30 million budget. He refocused the mission on community service and leadership training. Performances now are paid for by corporate sponsorships and ticket revenue goes to local nonprofits in host cities. The group stays a week in each location working with volunteers in community projects.

He understands why people lost interest in the group. “It didn’t help that we did these four halftime shows at the Super Bowl, because when people saw them perform they thought, ‘Oh, all they do is sing and dance.’ What people didn’t realize—or forgot—is that Up with People was one of the most cutting-edge nonprofits in the world. We were the first international organization to go to China, before even Richard Nixon went over there. We were the first in the ‘80s to go to the communist Soviet Union, and the first to go to Jordan.”

The group’s current tour will visit 22 cities in North America, Europe and Asia. The cast has 55 members who range in age from 18 to 29 and represent 19 countries.”




David Bond ’78 of Raleigh, former president of the HealthMatics division of Allscripts, made a gift to the College of  Business that will allow it to create 20 new annual scholarships each worth $5,000. The David Bond Access Scholarships will be awarded to bright students who demonstrate financial need who plan to major in business. “Unfortunately, many qualified students cannot advance their education because of financial constraints; hopefully these scholarships will be an entry point for some of those students,” Bond said. He serves on ECU’s Business Advisory Council and is a frequent speaker in business classes. Bond also serves with the Pirate Club and is a member of the ECU Foundation board.




Letters from Baghdad



Orlando, Fla., businessman Allan Jones ’74 (above) is working for the State Department in Baghdad as a senior adviser managing a $57.4 million reconstruction fund, with the aim of transferring infrastructure assets from American to Iraqi control. Before accepting the diplomatic appointment, Jones was vice president for business development for Florida-based United Medical Corp.

  “You only have to leave the U.S. for a short while and only travel a short distance to deeply appreciate the social, judicial and economic freedoms we enjoy as Americans. Here in Iraq it is especially sharp. Many of the basic services of government and judicial fairness and the rights of the individual were effectively suspended. I am hopeful that our efforts to develop essential services and turn them over to the government will enable the people to soon stand on their own. I am not hopeful that many of the qualities of life we enjoy in the U.S. will come easily or soon to Iraq, but I am thankful for the opportunity to try to help.”



William DeLeo (right) had served in combat in the late 1960s before beginning a second career. He graduated from ECU with a degree in occupational safety in 1994 and followed that with a master’s from N.C. State in 2002.  “Doc” was an instrumental member of the Baghdad office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers overseeing hundreds of projects. He lives in Greenville.

“Walking down the main Street [in Baghdad’s Al Doura neighborhood] in January with our soldiers was all I needed to appreciate the difference since my first trip back in March 2007. Back then, it wasn’t even safe to get out of the Humvee. Where 250,000 people lived there wasn’t a soul to be seen. Now, to see the children interacting with our soldiers and the Iraqi adults chatting with [the Americans] was an overwhelming sight. Similarly, not many folks back in 1775 gave our forefathers or their families much hope that they could ever make this thing called ‘freedom of, by and for the people’ work, but like them, you persevere in finding ways to make freedom for the Iraqi people become a reality.”





To Kenya, with love
It all started in August 2000 when Jeff Spainhour ‘94 was a student at Fuller Theological Seminary and asked another student, Moses Pulei, about conditions in his homeland of Kenya. After learning about the poverty there, Spainhour felt moved to do something. He told other seminarians about the needs of the Kenyan people. Soon, a group formed that raised enough money to purchase and ship a drill to Kenya so people could bore wells for safe drinking water.

In August 2001, Spainhour and Pulei formalized their efforts by co-founding Staff of Hope, a nonprofit focused on serving the people of Kenya and Tanzania. Partnering with churches and donors, the group so far has drilled 11 wells, each serving 350 families. The group also built Oloile Secondary School in Kimani, Kenya (below), which serves more than 200 students. They also constructed a needed dam and promoted micro enterprises to bring sustainable jobs to the community. In neighboring Tanzania, Staff of Hope is sponsoring two girls to go to college.

When he isn’t in Africa, which he is about six or eight weeks every year, Spainhour is an associate pastor at Triangle Presbyterian Church in Raleigh. Learn more at www.staffofhope.org.





Yonnie Butler ’87 joined the N. C. Biotechnology Center as business development director. Previously, he was managing consultant in charge of several pharmaceutical accounts for Tunnell Consulting in Philadelphia. He also has worked for Roche, LabCorp, Magellan Laboratories, Cardinal Health and PharmaDirections. He has lectured at the ECU School of Business and assisted several academic programs that foster entrepreneurship. Based in Research Triangle Park, the Biotechnology Center is a private, non-profit corporation supported by the N.C. General Assembly charged with growing the state’s biotech industries.





Charles Futrell ’42 completed his 103rd triathlon and is listed in several record books kept by USA Triathlon. Competing in the 85-89 age bracket, Futrell needed a shade over five hours to complete a one-mile swim, a 25 mile bike race and a 3.1 mile run. He previously held the record in the 80-85 age bracket. He plans to defend his title at the 2008 national and world championships.





Debra Shirley ’88 says she felt awkward when she first started working as director of the Physically Handicapped Actors and Musical Artists League in Denver, Colo. But she soon came to realize that “people with disabilities are as uniquely complicated as everyone else, and share all the same interests, abilities, hopes and dreams.” The experience led her to write a children’s book that she hopes will teach kids that “beyond every disability is a person just like them—a person who might just be their new best friend.” A big surprise came when she met the artist assigned by her publisher to illustrate the book, Judy Stead ’70 of Charlotte.

Class Notes

By Leanne E. Smith '04' 06

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2007
JONATHAN KEEL is a project engineer with LeChase Construction Services of Durham where he develops bid packages and coordinates projects. He interned with Orleans Home Builders. PAULA KENNEDY-DUDLEY of Greenville and Wilmington is director of student services for UNC Wilmington’s School of Nursing. She has 13 years experience in teaching, research and service in education and health sciences at UNCW and ECU. JILL PEARCE was certified as a family nurse practitioner. She is on the hospitalist team at Scotland Memorial Hospital, where she began working in the intensive care unit in 2000.

2006
KELLY ELIZABETH GADDIS and Michael Blake Neel were married Oct. 6 at the Martinsborough in Greenville. EMILY JAMES GANZERT and George Erle Perrot IV were married Sept. 28 at Coquina Beach. She is catering director at the Black Pelican Seafood Co. in Kitty Hawk. STACY LEE HOWELL and 2ND LT. STEPHEN MICHAEL ZIMMERMAN ’07 were married Dec. 16 at Yankee Hall Plantation. She is working towards a master’s degree at ECU. He is stationed at Laughlin AFB in Texas for flight training. CHRISTOPHER MCLAWHORN was certified as a CPA after working with H. Edwin Gray CPA for a year. SARAH ASHLEY PIERCE was promoted to vice president and human resources director at First South Bank, where she oversees payroll, benefit administration, new hire recruitment, and policy implementation. Originally from Amherst, N.Y., She is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management. REBECCA ELAINE RAWL and Krishan Kumar Mohindroo Jr. were married Dec. 15 in Lexington, S.C. She is a second-year BSOM student. ABEL SUTTON, a singer with his family’s group, Faithway Doves, is director of arts in education for the Albemarle Arts Council in Elizabeth City. CHRIS TUTINO is a sales and advertising representative for N.C. Magazine with the communication firm S&A Cherokee. He was vice president of sales and marketing for Network Management Partners.

2005
DANA LOUISE BULLARD and Christopher Alan Hall of Clinton were married Nov. 10 in Autryville. She is the eastern recreation superintendent for Sampson County Parks and Recreation. SHALINEE PRASADA of Rocky Mount was certified by as a CPA after two years with Oettinger & Norwood and two years with H&R Block. In 2003, she become an enrolled agent with the IRS.

2004
JENNIFER LYNN BOWLES and Zebulon Craig Carter of Advance were married May 6 at Orton Plantation Gardens in Winnabow. LISA WAGNER is regional sales manager for the Greenville Convention Center. A certified hospitality sales professional, she was a sales manager with the Hilton. She is a Greenville-Pitt County Chamber of Commerce ambassador; vice president of the Business and Professional Women’s Network; and a member of Meeting Professionals International, the Association Executives of N.C., and the Society of Government Meeting Planners. REBECCA ANN DAVIS and TRAVIS SCOTT WARREN ’05 of Winterville were married Jan 26. She works at Carolina Pregnancy Center, and he works at Countertops Unlimited.

2003
STEPHEN A. CHURCH is music director at Benson Baptist Church and choral activities director at Spring Lake’s Overhills High School, where he teaches mixed choirs, show choir, music theory/appreciation, and theater. He and his wife AMY CAULDER-CHURCH ’01 ’03 have a 2-year-old daughter, Hanna Elizabeth. DANIEL DRAKE ’03 ’06 is manager of bariatric programs at PCMH and president of the National Association of Bariatric Nurses. JILL ALLISON JONES and Thomas David Brown II of Greenville were married Nov. 3. She is an RN in the surgical intermediate unit at PCMH. ALLEN COLEMAN SMITH was promoted to senior vice president of the Greenville-Pitt County Chamber of Commerce. CARMEN MARIE SMITH ’03 ’06 of Fayetteville and Joshua Michael Webb of New Bern were married Oct. 20 on the beach in Kitty Hawk. They live in Winterville, and she teaches academically gifted students at Eastern Elementary School. ANDREW HART WRIGHT of Winston-Salem and Shana Marie Phillips of Advance were married Oct. 20 in Mount Airy. He works for Winston-Salem Health Care Pharmacy.

2002
JOHN BACON of Greenville is a business development officer with First Carolina State Bank’s Greenville loan office. He was vice president of membership and business development for the Greenville-Pitt County Chamber of Commerce, an account manager for McRae Office Solutions, and a life insurance agent. AMY MCADAM BURTCH and Anson J. Burtch of Durham were married on Sept. 30 in Ferguson. She taught English at Lenoir Community College from 2002 to 2004 before taking an instructor position at Durham Technical Community College.

2001
LAURIN EDWARDS LEONARD and ZACHARY NORRIS DEATON ’04 ’07 were married May 18, 2007, at Ocean Isle Beach. She teaches pre-k in Chatham County Schools, and he is a dietitian with the Chatham County Public Health Department. MICHAEL VANN manages InTone Fitness in Greenville. He previously worked at ViQuest and Courtside Athletic Club.

2000
JACK “JAY” JENKINS COCHRAN JR. of Davenport, Fla., was promoted to project manager with Whiting & Turner, the country’s largest retail construction contractor. DANA FERRIS DAWES of Greenville, senior food service director for ARAMARK at ECU since 2000, was one of 26 representatives selected nationally to attend the Ritz-Carlton Customer Service Institute in St. Louis, sponsored by the National Association of College and University Food Service. She is also an adjunct business instructor at Pitt Community College. DR. KATIE LOWRY of Lumberton rejoined the Southeastern Regional Medical Center staff at the Lumberton Children’s Clinic after working at Fuquay-Varina Pediatrics for a year and completing a three-year residency at PCMH. She specializes in asthma, adolescent medicine, and ADHD, and has two children. BEN WILLIAMS ’00 ’04, an environmental planner with Greenville’s Rivers & Associates, passed the American Institute of Certified Planners examination.

1999
JON BLACKWELL of Emerald Isle is an employee benefits consultant with SIA Group, a full-service insurance agency. He oversees business development, cost-benefit analysis consulting, and implementing benefit schemes. ARTY TILLETT, principal of First Flight High School in Kill Devil Hills, was named Northeast Region 2008 Wachovia Principal of the Year and will compete with seven other regional winners for the statewide award.


1998
LYNDSAY PATRICE MASSENGIL AL-SHIBLI ’98 ’02 is chair of developmental English at Durham Technical Community College. SUSAN BETH CAMPBELL ’98 ’06 and Jason Todd Pair were married July 24, 2007, in Sidney on the waterfront at the Burbage family farm. She is a certified nurse anesthetist at PCMH, and he owns Pair Electronics. CORBY T. SMITH of Winterville is vice president and director of operations for the Greenville-based Select Bank & Trust. He was a loan review specialist for First South Bank.

1997
CAREY MEADOWS RIVERS, a part time sales rep for Abbott Pharmaceuticals in Raleigh, and her husband Michael had their second son, Hampton Parker, on July 5, 2007. JEFF THEUS ’97 ’04, principal at Wellcome Middle School since 2006, was appointed principal for the Early College High School set to begin in August at ECU with 40 students. The program is part of the New Schools Project supported by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and will allow high school students to earn as much as 60 college credit hours from Pitt Community College or ECU while they are still in high school. Theus was a teacher at North Pitt High School and assistant principal at South Central High School.

1996
DR. DAWN GRIESEN was initiated as a fellow of the American College of Surgeons during the group’s annual Clinical Congress in New Orleans in October 2007. She practices at Carolina Ear, Nose and Throat Head and Neck Surgery Center in Hickory. TRACEY MAYNOR was named senior vice president of sales and operations for VT Specialized Vehicles division of Vision Technologies Systems, which includes the Hackney and Kidron divisions. CASSANDRA ROBINSON ’96 ’03, a senior internal auditor with BB&T in Winston-Salem, was promoted to banking officer. JEFF RORER ’96 ’98 ’06 of Winterville is the only N.C. representative on the 10-member American team that will participate in the F-Class rifle shooting World Championships in Bisley, England, in 2009. He set four National Rifle Association records for shooting and was pictured in the October 2007 issue of Guns and Ammo. KITTY H. WETHERINGTON, ECU’s attorney from 2000 to 2007, is now an associate attorney with Colombo, Kitchin, Dunn, Ball & Porter.
 
1994
NATALIE ROCKE EDWARDS ’94 ’96 of Dunn received the Pinnacle Achiever Award for her leadership with service excellence at Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital, where she is the program director.

1993
GEORGIA SHIRLEY CHILDS ’93 ’95 and VERNON GERALD “JERRY” CHILDS III ’02 of Greenville had a son, Vernon Gerald “Jeremy” Childs IV, on Dec. 12. At ECU, Georgia is assistant director for peer health with campus recreation and wellness, and Jerry is a technology consultant.

1992
SUSAN GODBOLD STUPPNIG was appointed head of the McLeod School, a Charlotte-Mecklenburg School in the McLeod Center, which serves adolescents with substance abuse issues.

1991
RUSSELL LANT PAIT and Marybeth Pait of Carthage had a son, Caleb Alexander, on Jan. 14. Russell is director of human resources with St. Joseph of the Pines. LEIGH ANN RAIFORD and Andrew Davis Odom were married Nov. 23. She works with Meridian Park, an apartment rental company in Greenville. SHELLEY HARVEY TUBAUGH was promoted to vice president of human resources at Grady-White Boats in Greenville after working in customer service, marketing and purchasing at the company since 1988.

1990
MARGY BRANTLEY of Rocky Mount joined Nancy Liipfert Associates. She was public events director for the N.C. Museum of Art, director of Latta Place in Charlotte and Newspaper in Education coordinator for the Rocky Mount Telegram. Brantley has lived in Rocky Mount for the last 15 years with her husband and son. KRISTIN EILEEN SAUER GIBSON of Carolina Beach exhibited new paintings as part of a three-person show in May at City Art Gallery in Greenville. She also shows work at Tyler White in Greensboro and Three Hounds in Wilmington.

1989
J. TIMOTHY MEIGS and his wife, Julie, of Raleigh had their first child, Joseph Albert “Jay,” on Nov. 14. Tim is a patent attorney with Becton, Dickinson, and Co. CHRIS PFAUTZ ’89 ’92 is interim dean of student services at John Tyler Community College in Chester and Midlothian, Va. He was director of counseling at the Midlothian Campus, and is in a doctoral program at Old Dominion University. STUART KORNEGAY WARD and Michele Renee’ Dudley of Morehead City were married Dec. 29 in Beaufort. He is a sales representative for Alltel Communications in Carteret County.

1988
DR. LARRY WEBB was named principal of Eaton-Johnson Middle School in Henderson.

1987
DON HALE, originally of Tarboro, was honored for 10 years of service with Community Health Systems, the largest publicly traded hospital company in the U.S. As senior regional director for patient financial services, he oversees the business office and patient access operations for 14 hospitals in 6 states. He, his wife, Sylvia, and their daughter, Ashton, live at Lake Norman.

1986
GREG THOMAS is the new head football coach at Choctawhatchee High School in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. A longtime coach at Greenville’s J.H. Rose High School, he led four football teams to the state championships.

1985
TERRY DANIELS BOYKIN of Clayton, a financial systems coordinator, was promoted to vice president at BB&T after 21 years with the bank. SONYA KEEL of Nashville joined the Oettinger & Norwood firm in Rocky Mount. Originally from Williamston, she is a CPA with 20 years of experience in public and private accounting, and she is involved in her church’s youth programs. ANITA LYNN OWENBY ’85 ’86 of Asheville received her doctorate in educational leadership from Western Carolina University in August. She is director of elementary education for Henderson County Public Schools. WILLIAM DURWARD TAYLOR JR. is manager of the Eastern Agricultural Center in Williamston. He was with the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for 11 years before becoming food service director for Martin County schools in 1998.

1983
KAREN G. KLAICH, an English teacher at South Central High School in Pitt County since 2002, was selected to participate in the N.C. Center for the Advancement of Teaching’s first overseas trip. She and 23 other Holocaust and tolerance educators will visit Germany and Poland in August. A teacher for 22 years, she worked at A.G. Cox Middle School before moving to South Central. DELPHINE MABRY was inducted into the Southwest Edgecombe High School sports hall of fame. As a student there, she played three sports, helped the girls’ basketball team win two state championships, and individually won three state crowns for track and field. At ECU, she played basketball and ran track. She now coaches two sports at Southwest Edgecombe. OTIS BERNARD ROBINSON SR. of Lexington was appointed director of workforce development for Goodwill Industries of Central N.C. He is an adult education instructor at Guilford Technical Community College in Greensboro. His wife, PAMELA L. BEST ROBINSON ’82, is a library technician for Lexington Public Library.

1981
C. LYNN CALDER of Chapel Hill was named in 2008 Best Lawyers in America. Originally from Greenville, she is an immigration lawyer at Raleigh’s Allen and Pinnix. RANDY K. LANGLEY of Battleboro is the new account manager with The Parks Agency of Nationwide Insurance. SKY LARSEN is the circulation supervisor at the public library in downtown Scottsdale, Ariz. GLORIA MOORE ’81 ’00 is the new director of the George H. and Laura E. Brown Library in Washington. She was head of technical services there for seven years.

1980
DR. STEPHEN BRIDGERS ’80 ’85 is a family medicine practitioner at the new Southeastern Health Center of Clarkton. E. MICHAEL GUDELY ’80 ’82 was named president of Carolina Commerce Bank after four years as COO of American Community Bank. He and his wife TERESA GUDELY ’80, a nurse with Mecklenburg County Schools, live in Charlotte.

1979
APRIL D. ROSS is the new athletic director at Carrboro High School. Originally from Bath, she lettered four times in basketball at ECU; coached basketball, softball, track, tennis, and volleyball at Tarboro; worked at Iowa State starting in 1994; and was athletic administrator at Briggs High School and a coach at Worthington Middle School in Columbus and Worthington, Ohio.

1978
TOMMY MARROW, formerly the Oxford city manager, assumed leadership of the newly incorporated town of Butner, the former military post run by the state since 1947, which still hosts federal and state institutions.

1977
MARVIN E. “MARK” GARNER JR., an owner of and board member for Rivers & Associates in Greenville, was named to the ECU Board of Visitors.

1976
MIKE DEMENT, the men’s basketball coach at UNC Greensboro, reached 300 wins in January, but lost a bet with his wife, Rhonda Rompola, the women’s basketball coach at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, because she reached 300 wins first. JERRY SMITH of Buies Creek retired on March 1 after 44 years in education. He led Bertie High School’s basketball team to the 1970 3A state championship, and was a coach or administrator at Dunn, South Johnston, Louisburg, and Greene Central high schools, and Chowan and Campbell colleges before becoming principal at Clayton High School in 1996. During his 12 years there, the school grew from 850 to 2,000 students.

1974
ANGELA KEITH MACKIE retired after 31 years teaching kindergarten for Asheboro City Schools. She was married to FRED M. MACKIE ’74, who died in October.

1972
TERRY GRIER ’72 ’74 ’77 ’80 was named the state 2007 Superintendent of the Year. He was superintendent of Guilford County Schools before becoming superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District. He has received national media attention for creating a financial incentive program for teachers and principals. 

1971
GAYLE ELAINE CASTEVENS MARION of Clemson, S.C., is vice president of programs for the S.C. chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, where she has worked since 1987. She was the group’s first paid employee in upstate S.C..

1970
PHILIP B. CATES SR. ’70 ’73 of Durham retired after 28 years with the Durham County Health Department’s environmental health division. For 15 years he was in charge of well-water regulations and ground-water quality. He and his wife Tami have two children. DAVID FISHER is director of BB&T’s wealth management division. He spent 21 years with Bank America, and was senior managing director of the private banking division for 10 years. For the last two years, he was CEO of a software development firm.

1969
MAJ. GEN. JOHN J. MCCARTHY of High Point retired from the Marines after 42 years of active and reserve service.

1968
KENDALL CHALK ’68 ’71 is retiring in September as chief credit officer of BB&T Corp. He will continue as chairman of the East Carolina University Foundation and co-chair of the BB&T Center for Leadership Development at ECU. Chalk, a senior executive vice president, joined the BB&T executive management team in 1985. The company's assets have grown since then from $2.5 billion to more than $132 billion today.

1967
WOODY HOGG and his wife, Pam, manage ERA Woody Hogg and Associates in Richmond, Va. Orphaned at 17, he played basketball and ran track for ECU, was a medic in the Air Force Reserves from 1967 to 1973 and held several jobs. He now has 75 agents, including four sons, working for him. He has established five scholarship programs for high school seniors in Hanover and King William counties, and sponsors the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

1966
NANCY J. BABB APPLER of Vienna, Va., retired Nov. 3, from the Department of the Interior after working mostly with the department’s Secretary’s Congressional and Legislative Affairs Office. Her 40th anniversary with her trial attorney husband, Tom, was Dec. 30. GAIL PADGETT is an award winning retired elementary school art teacher in Frederick County, Md. Concentrating in textiles ranging from batiks to felting, she taught children and adults, owned a gallery, and was an art co-op exhibitor.

1963
MURRAY ALFORD JR. of Lumberton retired from Fayetteville Technical Community College after 14 years as a math instructor.

1950
CLIFTON H. “MOE” MOORE of Point Harbor was appointed to the N.C. advisory board for Commonwealth Bankshares. A former ECU trustee, he was an Army MP during WWII, former owner of Griggs Lumber & Produce Co., and president of the N.C. Potato Association, Duck Woods Country Club from 1967-1969, and 1st Fire Company in Lower Currituck County.

1925
ROCHELLE JACKSON POPE turned 100 on March 9.  She credits her lifespan to a positive attitude. Born at Jackson's Corner in Sampson County, she taught school for two years and was principal for nine years at Long Branch School. She met her husband, Claude, on a blind date.  They began their 35-year marriage in 1932 and had four children. She now has 12 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. She drove until age 95 and turned in her license at age 98. She still enjoys painting china, which she learned to do at age 76.  Other life-long interests include playing piano, crocheting, and knitting. She joined Divine Street United Methodist Church in 1936 and is its oldest member.