1960
The United Way of the Midlands has honored Hayes Mizell with this year’s Alyce Kemp DeWitt Award. The award is the organization’s most prestigious award for long-term service to the organization and the community.
1962
The S.C. General Assembly passed a resolution at the request of the state’s Department of Transportation to name a bridge that crosses the Edisto River along U.S. Highway 17 in Colleton County in honor of retired state senator Peden McCleod.
1964
Rob Gregory stepped down as chair of the Apella Health Management Board of Trustees, which oversees Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System. Gregory guided the system through a period of expansion over the past decade. The health system’s revenue grew nearly $1 billion during his time as chairman.
1966
Paul Pittman has been selected by the South Carolina Tennis Patrons Foundation as a 2020 inductee into the state Tennis Hall of Fame. Pittman was selected for exceptional volunteer service. He is a past president of the Florence Tennis Association, the state tennis association, USTA South Carolina, and a past chair of the Patrons Foundation. He was also a board member of the Southern Tennis Association and the Southern Tennis Foundation. He has served on dozens of key committees and task forces at the local, state, sectional and national levels.
1970
Buzz Rich was profiled in the Aiken Standard newspaper for his civic leadership. Rich, an attorney and financial planner, represents some of the most prominent businesses and utilities in Aiken, S.C. He is also well known for volunteering with the community’s meals-on-wheels program since 1992.
1976
John Marshall Allen has joined Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd’s Charleston, S.C., office as special counsel. He has more than 30 years of experience representing a variety of clients in the healthcare industry.
1983
The S.C. Research Authority named Russell D. Cook director of SC Launch and executive director of SC Launch Inc. He is responsible for leading the strategic direction of the SC Launch program, which provides mentoring, networking and grant funding to eligible companies that employ new technologies in the life science, technology and advanced manufacturing industries. He also serves as the liaison to the SC Launch Inc. board of directors, which makes capital investments in SC Launch companies.
1985
Gray T. Culbreath became a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, one of the premier legal associations in North America. Fellowship in the college is extended by invitation to experienced trial lawyers of diverse backgrounds, who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality. Culbreath is a partner at Gallivan White Boyd in Columbia, S.C., and has been practicing for over 30 years.
1988
Landrum High School (S.C.) dedicated its track and cross-country complex to Dr. Todd Walter Jr. Walter has served the school for 25 years as a volunteer coach and team physician. He also founded the school’s girls soccer program.
1989
Anchorage 1770, owned by Amy Barwick Lesesne and Frank Lesesne, was named as one of the top 26 inns and bed and breakfasts in Veranda Magazine as well as a visitors’ choice by TripAdvisor.com. This places it in the top 10% of properties in the world listed on TripAdvisor. The inn is located in Beaufort, S.C.
1993
Shane Daugherty was named principal of Abner Creek Academy in Greer, S.C.
1998
U.S. Cellular promoted Gregory Blair Rice to store manager of its Waynesville, N.C., store. He has more than eight years of wireless technology experience.
Melanie Dillingham Watson began a new job this summer as an assistant principal at Clinton High School in Clinton, S.C. She is married to former Terrier assistant football coach Drew Watson. Their older daughter, Cate, is a sophomore at Wofford.
1999
Rev. Lisa Yebuah was a guest on the Array of Faith podcast released on Oct. 7, 2020. Yebuah is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and the lead pastor of Southeast Raleigh Table, a campus of Edenton Street United Methodist Church, in Raleigh, N.C.
2000
The Columbia (S.C.) Chamber of Commerce has named Ralph Montague Laffitte III to its board of directors. Laffitte is central region president with South State Bank.
Kat Rangel has been named assistant principal of Frank Porter Graham Bilingüe Elementary School in Chapel Hill, N.C. FPGB is a two-way immersion dual language school with all students learning in both Spanish and English.
2001
A profile on Craig Melvin, a TODAY Show anchor, was the cover story for the fall 2020 issue of Spartanburg Magazine. Melvin discussed the COVID-19 pandemic and media coverage of Black Lives Matter. Melvin, a Wofford trustee, also reflected on his time as a student. “Wofford was academically challenging, and I was just figuring out who I was in Spartanburg. The seeds of my intellectual curiosity were planted in Spartanburg. Some of my dearest friends I met in Spartanburg, or Sparkle City, as we affectionately called it.”
2002
Amy Imfeld Coles and Miguel Coles announce the birth of their daughter, Eleanor, born March 11, 2020.
Share GVL, a blog and newsletter based in Greenville, S.C., conducted a Q&A with Kris Neely in September. Neely, professor of art and director of the interdisciplinary studies program at Spartanburg Methodist College, is known for his guardian angel paintings, which he began to honor the memory of his late brother.
2004
Jean Cecil Frick has been named chair-elect of the the board of directors for the Columbia (S.C.) Chamber of Commerce. She’s senior strategic advisor with NP Strategy, a public relations and marketing firm with offices in eight cities across the Carolinas.
Ralph Settle was named to the Spartanburg Young Professionals’ Forty Under 40 list. Settle is a brokerage associate with Colliers International.
Jenny Lowe Stockwell is excited to join the Arts and Innovation Magnet Program at Barrow County’s Center for Innovative Teaching in Georgia. She teaches English/language arts and communicative arts.
2005
Erin Powell Sturtevant and Will Sturtevant celebrated the birth of their son, Wesley Powell, in October 2019. They live in Atlanta. Erin works in children’s ministries at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church, and Will works for Bank of America.
2007
Bryan Blair, deputy director of athletics and leading operating director at Washington State University, wrote an opinion piece focused on social justice and the ability of sports to unite people for the website Front Office Sports.
Dr. Nola Crystalyn Gray and Kovie Gray welcomed Noah Christopher Gray on April 16, 2020.
J. Hollis Inabinet and Hadley Green Inabinet ’06 welcomed a son, Price Adams Inabinet, on Aug. 21, 2020. The family lives in Spartanburg.
Dr. Duncan Norton and Mariel Norton welcomed a baby boy, Paxton George Norton, on June 8, 2020. He joins his older brother, Dale Loring Norton (2).
Joshua T. Thompson was named to the Spartanburg Young Professionals’ Forty Under 40 list. He’s a shareholder with the law firm Boulier Thompson & Barnes.
Philip Vann has joined Thalhimer’s Columbia, S.C., office as a vice president. He has more than six years of commercial brokerage experience and most recently served as a senior brokerage associate with Colliers International. He spent seven years as a banker in Columbia before moving into commercial real estate.
2008
Kinli Barre Abee and Matt Abee ’10 welcomed daughter Charlotte Adams “Charli” Abee on Aug. 16, 2020.
Amanda Richardson was named to the Spartanburg Young Professionals’ Forty Under 40 list. Richardson is vice president of resource development with the United Way of the Piedmont.
2010
Evan Conard was named to the Best Lawyers of America “Ones to Watch” in 2021 for energy, oil and gas law. Conrad is an associate in Bowles Rice’s Charleston, W.V., office.
Ashley DeCleene married Joseph Bliss in Lexington, S.C., on Dec. 15, 2019. She’s a teacher, and Joseph is an engineer in Lexington.
Jessica Holcomb was named to the Spartanburg Young Professionals’ Forty Under 40 list. Holcomb was promoted to chief operating officer with the Spartanburg Housing Authority in July 2020. She has been with the agency for nine years.
Business North Carolina magazine named Neil Hunter Robinette one of 19 trailblazing business owners and professionals under the age of 40 in the state. Robinette is CEO of C.F. Smith Property Group, a commercial real estate firm started by his grandfather. The firm has offices in Pinehurst and Rockingham, N.C.
Howard Lee Salters Jr. was named to the Spartanburg Young Professionals’ Forty Under 40 list. Salters is a senior account manager with Milliken & Co.
Dr. Hunter Alexander Smith has joined Lowcountry Women’s Specialists as a full partner. Smith, an OB/GYN, specializes in robotic laparoscopy, high-risk obstetrics, contraception management and urogynecologic issues. He is also fluent in Spanish.
2011
Emily Uldrick Hall and Daniel Wesley Hall Sr. are thrilled to announce the birth of their baby boy, Daniel Wesley Hall Jr., born on May 26, 2020. The family lives in Easley, S.C. They hope Wesley is a Terrier one day as well!
Claudia Ruffin was named to the Spartanburg Young Professionals’ Forty Under 40 list. Ruffin is executive vice president of Johnson Management.
2012
Dr. Chris Olsen has joined Foothills Dental. The practice has offices on Pine Street and Reidville Road in Spartanburg.
Dr. Kristen Snipes, an OB/GYN, has joined Memorial Health University Physicians Woman’s Care. She’s practicing in the Okatie, S.C., office. Snipes has a background in determining pregnancy risks through noninvasive pregnancy testing. She completed her residency at Memorial Health, where she also served as chief resident. She earned her medical degree from the Medical University of South Carolina.
Josh Turner and Sydney Conyers Kline Turner welcomed daughter Mary Lee Turner on Aug. 21. The family lives in Spartanburg.
Taylor Rhinehart White and Kate Conner White welcomed baby girl Virginia Ann White on Aug. 20, 2020.
2013
Cole Brown and Caitlin Felkel Brown welcomed their son, Brooks Parker Brown, on April 17, 2020. The family lives in Greenville, S.C.
Leigh Ann Miller graduated in August from Clemson University with a master’s in business administration with a concentration in entrepreneurship and innovation. She owns and operates Pink Bee GVL, a Lilly Pulitzer specialty store in downtown Greenville, S.C.
2015
John Estes married Holly McDonell on Feb. 8, 2020 in Atlanta, Ga. They live and work in Pittsburgh, Penn.
Hank Davis and Ashlee Moody recently relocated to Columbia, S.C., after living in Washington, D.C. He works in government relations. Davis has visited 125 National Park Service sites and 13 presidential burial sites.
Brannan Hudson has been awarded the Certified Commercial Investment Member designation by the CCIM Institute. Hudson is a brokerage associate with Colliers International. He specializes in leasing and selling flex and industrial properties in the Greenville-Spartanburg market.
2016
Rev. Mason Cantey has joined the South Carolina Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. He’s serving as the pastor of Liberty United Methodist Church and Cherokee Springs United Methodist Church in Spartanburg.
Dr. Catherine Eve Enyart married David Scott Enyart Jr. on May 2, 2020 in the presence of their parents and grandparents in Spartanburg. They plan to celebrate with all of their loved ones next May for their one-year anniversary. Catherine Eve graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville on May 8, 2020. She is a first-year pediatric primary care resident at the University of North Carolina. David will graduate from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville in May 2021 before beginning a residency in internal medicine.
Victoria Roof earned a master of arts in teaching for elementary education from Liberty University in May of 2020.
2018
Matt Henderson was named to the Spartanburg Young Professionals’ Forty Under 40 list. He is training manager with Tietex International.
Natalya Khan and David Lewitt were married on Aug. 15 during a small, intimate ceremony with their families in Asheville, N.C. The couple also enjoyed three days of wedding festivities with their families in Islamabad, Pakistan this past spring.
2019
Cameron McNeal Jackson signed with Sport Lisboa Benfica of Lisbon, Portugal. The team had a 20-2 record in Liga Portuguesa de Baquetebol, the top league in Portugal, during the 2020-21 season. That was the second-best record in the 14-team league. He spent his first season in professional basketball with two teams in Germany and played for the league championship.
Florence Gregorie Sloan has been awarded the George N. Atiyeh Prize, which offers financial aid to attend the annual meetings of the Middle East Librarians Association (MELA) and the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA). Sloan is pursuing a master of science in information science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.