Class Notes

1960s

Ann Ruckman Smith ’60 continues to encourage others to read through the large-print library she organized for the residents at Lakewood Manor, the retirement community in Richmond where she lives. Many of the library’s old books were in very small type, making reading difficult. Smith took the initiative to reorganize and upgrade the community’s library with large-print books. Her friend and former roommate Dixie H. Nicholson ’60, who now lives in Quinter, Kansas, alerted Longwood magazine to Smith’s work with the library. Smith is a retired elementary school teacher.

1970s

Susan March Payne ’75 was one of the featured artists in residence during a 10-week series last summer presented by the Blowing Rock (North Carolina) Historical Society. Payne moved to Boone, North Carolina, after retiring from teaching art in Virginia Beach for many years. She has worked with Charlotte’s Mint Museum to coordinate summer camp programs and children’s educational activities, and with staff development for art teachers in North Carolina and Virginia. Payne creates landscapes in acrylic and oils.

Debra Preston ’77 was appointed as Chesterfield County’s new senior advocate, effective Nov. 6, 2017. The Office of the Senior Advocate is now part of the new Citizen Information and Juvenile Services Department. Preston has a master’s degree in gerontology from VCU.

Gayle Shoulars ’77 retired June 1, 2017, after 30 years of teaching in the Gwinnett County Public Schools in Georgia. Shoulars is planning to spend more time with her four grandchildren.

1980s

Beverly Tennessee Crowder, M.S. ’82, was appointed to serve on the Family and Children’s Trust Fund Board of Trustees for a four-year term. The Family and Children’s Trust Fund works to prevent family violence in Virginia. Crowder is additionally the state community ambassador for AARP. Crowder retired after working almost 40 years in the Halifax County Public Schools as a teacher, principal and director of student services.

Stephen Michael McGurl ’83 and his wife recently celebrated the marriage of their daughter, Emily Virginia McGurl ’12, to Andrew Brooks ’11. Many of the couple’s close friends from Longwood attended the wedding, including Steve Kern ’06, Constance Boehling Kern ’85, Sharon Pillow Parker ’83, Joseph T. Parker IV ’83, Michael McGeehan ’82,T. Michael Testa ’82 and Randall Carlton Niemeyer ’85.

Pamela Slayton Jones ’84 is the author of A Miracle Called Christiana, the story of a special needs child written for the parents of special needs children who feel isolated. In the book, published by Christian Faith Publishing, Jones recounts her daughter’s medical crisis in an effort to help others see the miracles that happen in the darkest of times. Jones lives with her family in Grove City, Pennsylvania. She earned a Master of Education degree in library science and media services from James Madison University.

Joe Damico ’85 was recently appointed director of general services by Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam. Damico had served as deputy directory of general services since 2002. He holds a Master of Science in Health Administration and a Master of Public Administration, both from VCU.

Carol Rhoades ’85 works as a professional instructor at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club in Lemont, Illinois. She has more than 200 students ages 5-18, as well as adult clients. A former member of the Longwood golf team, Rhoades was the women’s golf coach at the University of Illinois at Chicago from 2010-16, where she earned Horizon League Coach of the Year honors in 2015. She has been a PGA and LPGA member for the past 25 years.

1990s

John Devaney ’92, CEO of the Cape Fear Clinic in Wilmington, North Carolina, received the 2017 Health Care Executive Award at the Wilmington Health Care Heroes event in November. Cape Fear Clinic is the region’s oldest and largest free clinic serving those without health insurance and those whose incomes fall under 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. Devaney has led the clinic since April 2010.

Dr. Marieke Van Puymbroeck ’94, a professor of recreational therapy at Clemson University in South Carolina, is the new president of the American Therapeutic Recreation Association. Van Puymbroeck holds a master’s degree in therapeutic recreation and a Ph.D. in rehabilitation science from the University of Florida.

Steven Wilkins ’94 was appointed executive director for Commonwealth Senior Living at the West End in western Henrico County. Wilkins earned an MBA at Tiffin University in Ohio.

Steve Thompson ’99 spoke at “Here’s Laughing at You, Cancer,” held at the Funny Bone Comedy Club in Short Pump. Proceeds from the event went to CancerLINC, which provides cancer patients and their families with assistance, education and referral to legal resources, financial guidance and community services. Thompson was one of the leading acts in the show, which featured other local cancer survivors and an improvisation group from Coalition Theater. Thompson teaches adapted physical education at several schools in Hanover County, working with students who have disabilities.

2000s

Jeremy L. McLaughlin ’00 is the recipient of the 2017 James M. Cretsos Leadership Award from the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T). The award recognizes a member who has demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities in professional activities within the association. McLaughlin became active in ASIS&T while earning a master’s degree in library and information science at San Jose State University. He is chairing the ASIS&T Leadership Development Committee this academic year.

Jennifer Myers ’03 participated in the first aquabike competition at the Penticton International Triathlon Union Multisport World Championships Festival in British Columbia held in August 2017. She currently works as a recreation specialist in Virginia Beach. Since participating in her first triathlon in 2011, she has competed in about 50 triathlons locally and has traveled to competitions in Philadelphia, New York City, Chicago and Mexico. She holds a master’s degree in education, with an emphasis in exercise, from Old Dominion University.

Amelia Hashman ’05 was recently named to the board of the Berwick (Maine) Library Association Board of Trustees. She and her husband, John, who is an Army recruiter in Dover, have two daughters.

Tracy Agnew ’06 was appointed editor of the Suffolk News-Herald in December 2017. She has worked at the paper since 2006. A Newport News native, she earned an M.A. in professional writing from Old Dominion University in 2007.

Lauren Kennedy ’08 and Dr. Ryland Salbury, both of Richmond, were married Oct. 7, 2017, at Tabor Presbyterian Church in Crozet. She received a master’s degree in education from Clemson University.

Julia Exline ’09 works full time as a licensed and certified private caregiver. She currently covers many children’s theatre productions for DCMetroTheaterArts.com.

Librarians win right to name hallway in Longwood’s honor

Falls Church High School in Fairfax County isn’t above creating a little friendly competition for a good cause.

To fund a college visit trip for their students, teachers bid against each other for the right to name a hallway in the school after a favorite Virginia college or university. Two Longwood alumnae, Laura M. Potocki ’11 (graduate professional endorsement in school library media) and Carrie Murphy Kausch ’97, both librarians at Falls Church, made sure that Longwood’s name ended up on one of those hallways.

“With more than 50 percent of our students on free and reduced lunch, the college visit trip is a great cause,” said Potocki. “It has been pretty funny to see teachers get into this. I passed a science teacher in the hallway who was going out to her car to get her checkbook because she had already thrown all of her cash on JMU for the science hallway and another science teacher had outbid her for NOVA CC.”

The bidding for the school’s main hallway was neck and neck between Longwood and JMU for a while, but Kausch, who is married to Dave Kausch ’97, secured bragging rights for her alma mater with a final winning bid. The two librarians outbid their competition by more than $50 to get some “street cred” for Longwood and to help their students find out more about the colleges they hope to attend. 

2010s

Ann Marie Koons ’10 married Taylor Moore of Fort Worth, Texas, on Sept. 23, 2017. The newlyweds live in Fort Worth, where she is an oil and gas accountant.

Earl Jacob Allen ’11, assistant vice president/compliance officer for Benchmark Community Bank, was awarded the certified regulatory compliance manager (CRCM) designation from the Institute of Certified Bankers, a subsidiary of the American Bankers Association. Allen, a resident of Farmville, previously worked for Citizens Bank & Trust and Bank of McKenney.

Amy Jackson ’11 teaches entry-level bookbinding courses for the Fayetteville (West Virginia) Arts Coalition. Before moving to Fayetteville with her husband, she worked part time in book conservancy at the National Gallery of Art. After graduating from Longwood, where she studied printmaking, she worked at Cat Tail Run Hand Bookbinding near her hometown of Winchester, where she helped restore rare books, including family Bibles.

Colin Jones ’11, an aspiring novelist and filmmaker from Richmond, recently made a film called Metal Missionaries, which takes an in-depth look at the place of Christianity in the heavy metal music scene. In addition to his passion for writing and producing, he works full time as a service coordinator for Trane, an HVAC company. Metal Missionaries is his first completed project.

Brandon Hennessy, MBA ’12, joined the staff of the Longwood Small Business Development Center as a business analyst. He assists clients with marketing, financial analysis and business-plan development.

Kyle A. Profilet ’13, who has worked at Matrix Capital Markets Group since 2014, received the chartered financial analyst (CFA) designation and is now a member of the CFA Institute. Matrix is an independent middle-market investment bank.

Sophie Shelton ’13 is a communications and outreach associate at Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina.

Rachel West ’14, M.S. ’15, married fellow Longwood alum Sean Crawford ’14 on Dec. 16, 2017. The newlyweds honeymooned in Honduras, Belize and Mexico. They are both teachers at Matoaca Middle School in Chesterfield County.

Michelle Goldchain ’14 is the editor of Curbed DC, an online publication that covers real estate development in the Washington, D.C., area. Additionally, she is a freelance photographer for On Tap magazine. In September 2017, Goldchain founded Capital Women, a bimonthly newsletter that focuses on positive news and events about or led by women in D.C.

Cainan Townsend ’15, director of education and public programs at the Robert Russa Moton Museum, was appointed by former Gov. Terry McAuliffe to the Task Force to Assist in Identification of the History of Formerly Enslaved African Americans in Virginia. According to the Virginia General Assembly website, the task force will promote the identification, preservation and conservation of historic sites significant to the history, presence and contributions of formerly enslaved African Americans in Virginia. Townsend told the Farmville Herald that information gathered by the task force will be used in 2019 as part of the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the arrival of enslaved Africans to the colonies.

Brandon Carwile ’16 works for packerstalk.com, where he reviews Green Bay Packers football games and provides other stories of interest to Packers fans. Carwile grew up attending Packers games at Lambeau Field with his father.

Carley Lucas ’16, a graphic designer at the Childress Agency in Fredericksburg, was promoted to director of commercial projects. The full-service marketing agency specializes in website development.

Shaune Lee ’17 gave a presentation about Christmas during the Great Depression at the Lancaster Woman’s Club, which is adjacent to the Mary Ball Washington Museum & Library. The presentation focused particularly on celebrations in Lancaster County. Lee began volunteering at the museum this year.

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