More than 200 people gathered near the entrance of the Jerry and Kay Jennett Lecture hall to observe a ribbon cutting ceremony in January. President Patrick J. Schloss spoke of the technological advancements and space the 15,700-square-foot building will provide to VSU’s budding population of nearly 13,000 students.
’70s Cathy Speight, ’71, of Perry, Ga., was promoted to vice president and branch manager of State Bank in Perry, Ga. Speight previously served as vice president and accounting manager with Flag Bank for nine years and a banking center manager for RBC Bank in Unadilla, Ga. Helen (Odum) Rice, ’71 & ’72, of LaGrange, Ga., was announced as one of Georgia Governor Nathan Deal’s appointments to the state Board of Education. Rice has more than two decades of teaching experience and has also served on [...]
Gracie (Crane) Douglas, ’07, always dreamed of owning her own business but hadn’t decided on a venture until she and her husband, Scott, developed a love for organic cuisine. “When we were living in Miami, a friend introduced me to organic produce, and I soon began shopping at organic markets in the area,” said Douglas, who earned a Bachelor of Business Administration. “Over time I became more and more knowledge- able about the health benefits of organic foods, and my family gradually made the transition.” [...]
Chris Valle, ’99, reacts to the power of media with the stroke of his brush. As a painter who addresses the relationship between television and society, he looks to pop culture as the inspiration and influence for his work, often finding humor in the way it permeates society. His latest series of work, a solo exhibition titled “Altered,” critiques television’s strong influences over society and culture. “The images television presents become self-fulfilling prophecies,” Valle said. “Thus, television shapes popular culture rather than merely reflecting it.” [...]
The Valdosta State community celebrated the 15th class of the Valdosta State Athletics Hall of Fame, the second largest in history, during a February induction ceremony. The six individuals and one team of the 2011 installment join 66 other members of the prestigious group. 2011 Hall of Fame Inductees: Jason Bulger, ’01 — Baseball A multi-faceted player, Bulger was selected during the first round of the 2001 Major League Baseball draft by the Ari- zona Diamondbacks. The 6’4” right-hand- er, who never threw a pitch [...]
Summer 2011 By Kate Elliott, ’10 THE PIERCING BUZZ of his alarm sounds promptly at 7 a.m. If it were ESPN Radio or music, former VSU linebacker Larry Dean, ’10, might roll over and fall back asleep; but the unsettling noise jolts him to consciousness, and he heads toward the kitchen. No bacon and eggs for this 220-pound record breaker. He gulps down a glass of orange juice and a mixed berry yogurt before heading to VSU’s Athletic Fieldhouse for an intense two-hours of lifting. The afternoon approaches, and the 22-year-old prepares a [...]
Summer 2011 By Kate H. Elliott, ’10 VALDOSTA STATE UNIVERSITY student athletes are participating in the world’s first 3-D perceptual sports training program to enhance mental agility central to athletic performance. Mark Powell, ’83, vice president of market development for CogniSens Athletics, Inc., donated the technology for VSU Athletics to boost the cognitive capacity of players in athletic competition as well as in the classroom. The research speaks for itself, Powell said. Athletes training with the technology have recorded improved reaction times, claiming the game [...]
It is a game for “preferably good looking Southern women or women who wish they were Southern and good looking,” Jill Higgins, ’97, said jokingly of the card game she and her mother, Dara (Wass) Barwick, ’99, created in 2008. The busy wife, mother and wedding photographer sought to create a game that encouraged women to “get together often for laughs and friendship.” High Cotton, intended for four or more players, ages 25-75, is different from other social card games in that it does not require [...]
The sound of Wycliffe Gordon’s jazz trombone danced through the Thomson Middle School auditorium and captured the attention of then 14-year-old Chris Crenshaw, ’05. Gordon, a highly decorated musician and composer, visited the east Georgia school in 1997 to perform and share his sound with young, aspiring musicians. Crenshaw remembers being captivated by the improvisational rhythms. “I was just amazed at what he (Gordon) was doing — the sounds he got out of the trombone and his creativity,” Crenshaw said. “I was hooked, and as [...]
Doctors told Brian Johnson, ’96, he would not live past high school graduation. The Georgia Power transmission analyst is 38. He and his wife, Christie (Byrd) Johnson, ’97, were not supposed to be able to have children. They did. And it was certainly ill advised that he ride a Harley Davidson across the country, but he did — to raise awareness of cystic fibrosis (CF), an inherited, chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system. “I remember being diagnosed with CF, but I didn’t [...]