Nineteen70s
Joyce Durant (’73) was honored by the Florence Chapter of Top Ladies of Distinction in May 2014.
Frances Parker (’74) was named Carver Elementary School’s 2014 Teacher of the Year. Carver is in Florence School District 1.
Karen Brown (’77, ’93) joined the Williamsburg Academy Faculty as a 10th and 11th grade math teacher in August 2014.
Rainey Knight (‘77) delivered the December commencement address at Coker College and was the recipient of an honorary degree from the school. Knight is the former superintendent of the Darlington County (S.C.) Schools. She is an educational consultant in South Carolina and the southeast region.
Cathy Fox (’79, ’83) has retired after 11 years employment with the State of South Carolina and 20 years with the State of Florida in 2014.
Ernie Nivens (‘..) is the author of several books: “Baker’s Dozen”, “A Light in the Darkness: Insights of a Southern Christian Gentleman”, “Evangels for Life,” and “Southern Fried Hope: Blind Ambition in the Modern South.” He recently completed his fifth book, “Popa’s Britches, a grandfather teaches his eight year old granddaughter about Money, Saving and Budgets.”
Nineteen80s
Curtis Hudson (’84) was named Teacher of the Year at Socastee High School and the 3A State Baseball Coach of the Year for 2014.
Ondra Hanna (’86) joined Williamsburg Academy as an Art Teacher in August 2014.
Elizabeth Morris (’88, ’96) was named Timrod Elementary’s 2014 Teacher of the Year. Timrod is in Florence School District 1.
Philip Fulmer (’89) was promoted to Full Professor at Francis Marion University in August 2014.
Michael Rogers (’89) joined Trinity-Byrnes High School as Head Baseball Coach in July 2014.
Sharon L. Rogers (‘89) passed away in December after a lengthy battle with Cancer. A Mullins native, Rogers was the long-time guidance counselor at Northside Middle School in Cayce, S.C. The Sharon L. Rogers Scholarship Fund has been created at Northside in her honor.
Nineteen90s
Renee Woodberry (’91) became the Job Placement Coordinator of Student Support Services at Florence-Darlington Technical College in September 2014.
Kelley Hyman (’93) was featured in the September 2014 issue of She Magazine.
Jonathan Burnette (‘96) was inducted into the Florence County Sports Hall of Fame. Burnette’s induction recognized both his performance as a student golfer, at The Byrnes School and at FMU, and as golf coach at FMU where he directed the Patriots to the 2003 Division II national championship
Deidre Harley (’96) was named McLaurin Elementary’s 2014 Teacher of the Year. McLaurin is in Florence School District 1.
Bellany Jackson (‘96) released a gospel album entitled Do You Know the Brass Breaker, Iron Cutter, and Yoke Destroyer in August 2014.
Jamie Blakeney (‘97) has joined Erica Homes of Lancaster, S.C. as an associate.
Crystal Hill-Chapman (’97, ’00) joined the McLeod Health Center as the Associate Chair of the Psychology Department in June 2014. Received board certification in clinical psychology from the American Board of Professional Psychologists in November. Hill-Chapman remains a member of FMU’s Psychology faculty.
Brandi Spencer (’97) was named Marion County School District’s 2013-145 Teacher of the Year.
Cynthia Grier (’99) & Patrick Grimsley (‘99) (‘99) (‘99) were married in June of 2013.
Two Thousands
Susan Dixon (’00) was named West Florence High’s 2014 Teacher of the Year. West Florence is in Florence School District 1.
Kevin Gause (’00) was appeared in the September 2014 issue of She Magazine.
Tara Newton (’00) was named principal at Briggs Elementary in Florence. Briggs is in Florence School District 1.
William Turner (’00) joined Smith & Nephew as a Senior Territory Manager in March 2014.
Herman Funderburk (‘01) was promoted to General Manager of the Walmart Distribution Center in Columbus, Ohio in September 2014.
Jessica Crowson (‘02) was named Lester Elementary’s 2014 Teacher of the Year, and the distinguished Teacher by the Pee Dee Reading Council for her contributions to first grade reading. Lester in is Florence School District 1.
Matthew Pearce (‘02, ’07) was named the Alfred E. Rush Academy’s 2014 Teacher of the Year. Rush is in Florence School District 1.
Patrice Sebastian (‘02) was promoted to Director in the Forensics and Valuation Services Group of WebsterRogers in 2014.
Richard Warrin (‘02, ’05), an executive at Carolinas Hospital System, was named to The Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors for the year 2014-2015.
Aubrey Phillips (’03) received her Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of South Carolina in 2014.
Candice Leiter (’04) opened a princess party business,“Glass Slippers Solutions” in August 2014.
Joannie Little (’04) was named Delmae Elementary’s 2014 Teacher of the Year. Delmae is in Florence School District 1.
Betsy Bouknight Pierce (’05) was inducted into the Batesburg-Leesville Athletic Hall of Fame in Fall of 2014.
Darlene Cantey (‘06) was appeared in the September 2014 issue of She Magazine.
Anna Poston Todd (‘06, ‘08) was named the overall female winner of the 2014 Pee Dee Grand Prix of Running. The award recognizes the top performance in local distance running over the course of a series of events during 2014.
Heather Ward (‘06) was named Southside MIddle School’s 2014 Teacher of the Year. Southside is in Florence School District 1.
Angie Bessenger (‘07) was awarded FMU’s new Marvin Lynch Humanitarian Award in July 2014.
Carmella Chestnut (‘07) & Richard Mention were married in April 2014.
Lindsey Herring (‘07) received a Master of Arts in Elementary Reading from Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, FL in 2014.
Ashley Jacobs (‘07) joined NC State University as Executive Assistant for Chancellor.
Callie Norris (‘07) & James Miller were married in July 2014.
Quavo Stokes (‘07) & Shakeyia Spears were married in September 2014.
Lindsey Bibler (‘08) was named South Florence High School’s 2014 Teacher of the Year. South Florence is in Florence School District 1. Bibler teaches honors level mathematics at SFHS.
Dustin Floyd (‘08) & Erin Taylor Stewart were married in October 2014.
Carla McCall (‘08) accepted the position of Director of Branch Operations at McCall Supply in Johnsonville, SC in 2013.
Justin Greene (‘08) won the 2014 the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball’s 2014 batting title while playing for the York (Pa.) Revolution. Greene .358. He also led the Revolution in runs scored (81) and stolen bases (31).
Pierre Brown (‘09) was named head coach of the JV boys basketball team at Timmonsville High School.
Shabranda Fulmore (‘09) was named Wallace-Gregg Elementary’s Teacher of the Year. Wallace-Gregg is in Florence School District 1.
Bobbie Grooms (‘09) took a job as Library Director of Richmond County in December 2013.
Laura Langston (‘09, ‘11) & Kyle Floyd were married in August 2014.
Christopher Ray (‘09) & Lauren Suggs were married in June 2014.
Shakeyia Spears (‘09) & Quavo Stokes were married in September 2014.
John Sweeney (‘09) is a field representative in U.S. Representative Tom Rice’s Florence office.
Two Thousand10s
Irby Haynes (‘10) & Adam DuBose were married in June 2014.
Crayton Jones (‘10) joined East Carolina University as their Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach in July 2014.
Kendall Scott (‘10) was named 2014 Teacher of the Year for Florence District One’s Savannah Grove Elementary School.
Don Baxley (‘10) & Carlie Lynch were married in August 2014.
Anthony Gloster (‘11) joined McCall Farms as their director of Marketing in July 2014.
Brianna Miller (‘11) received a Master of Business Administration from FMU in December 2014.
Addie Moody (‘11) & Thomas Flowers were married in May 2014.
Logan Trively (‘11) joined Columbia-based Clare Morris Agency as Regional Director of its new Pee Dee office and became an Account Executive at Miller Communications in 2014.
Katherine Barnette (‘12) received her USA National, NHSF, and SCYSA coaching certifications; was named head coach of the FSA U8 Fall All-Star team.
Staci Conner (‘12) received her M.A. in English from the University of Tennessee in 2014.
Lavon Davis (‘12) joined the Virginia Tech staff as Residential Learning Coordinator in July 2014.
Amber Hekman (‘12) was named Lucy T. Davis Elementary School’s 2014 Teacher of the Year. Lucy T. Davis is Florence School District 1. Hekman also received the FMU School of Education’s Outstanding New Alumni for 2013-2014.
Shauna Lair (‘12) joined Trinity Healthcare Staffing Group as their marketing coordinator in November 2014.
Staci Poston (‘12) & Joseph Conner were married in December 2013.
Samantha Smith (‘12) & Ryan Woloszyn (‘12) were married in June 2013.
Hunter Thomas (‘12) joined the Florence Darlington Technical College’s public relations/marketing team in January 2014.
Ryan Woloszyn (‘12) & Samantha Smith (‘12) were married in June 2013.
Tyrone Atkinson (‘13) was named 2014 Teacher of the Year for Florence Districts One’s Career Center.
Tari Federer (‘13) was the guest speaker at the Camden ART’s September meeting held at Kershaw County Fine Arts Center.
Katrina Garnes (‘13) joined Central United Methodist Church as Director of Communication. She also received the Young Entrepreneur Award at the 2014 SHE magazine Extraordinary Women event. She is the founder of Cold Storm Productions, a video production company, and the host of “What’s Going On!,” a webshow series.
Evrik Gary (‘13) signed a professional contract to play for US Hiefenech Heffingen Basketball team in August 2014. Through nine games with Heffingen, Gary was third in his league in scoring at an average of 28.4 points per game.
Marissa McDougal (‘13) joined Kinetic Media Productions. Kinetic is owned by Brad Jordan (‘99).
Zeb Freeman (‘14) joined Palmetto Pulpwood and Timber of Florence in July 2014.
Casey Gebhardt (‘14) joined the Lat Purser & Associates Company in Charlotte, NC as an Investment/Acquisitions Analyst in August 2014.
Josh Knight (‘14) & Kimi Simon (‘14) were married in June 2014. Josh was accepted into the South Carolina College of Pharmacy.
Joshua Lloyd (’14) has joined the news staff of the Florence Morning News as a reporter.
Jamison Mady (‘14) was named an assistant at the Jones-Carter Gallery Goya Show in Lake City, SC.
Lillian Miller (‘14) joined Mount Pleasant Magazine as an Editorial Assistant and Writer.
Blake Oliver (‘14) & Christopher Brookens were married in May 2014.
Kimi Simon (‘14) was accepted into the South Carolina College of Pharmacy.
Friends & Faculty
Frank Avent, Honorary Doctor of Humanities from FMU, retired as general manager of Pepsi Cola of Florence and Pee Dee Foodservice after 51 years with the company started by his father.
Dr. Berryman Edward “Ted” Coggleshall, Jr., former member of the FMU Board of Trustees, passed away on Dec. 27. Dr. Coggleshall was from Darlington but lived most of his life in Cheraw.
Richard Jack Floyd, master craftsman and plumber in FMU’s Facilities Department, passed away in December. He was a Florence County native and lived much of his life in the community around the university.
Eloise Juanita Burtis Crow wife of former FMU professor George Davis Crow, Jr. passed away on October, 14,1926.
Dr. Cedric Worman, assistant professor of Biology, passed away on July 21, 2014. Worman joined the FMU faculty in 2012.
