50 / 64
48 / ’southern
CLASSNOTES
The beauty of aging
—
Debbi Strain Miller ’70
, a
professional singer and music teacher, was crowned 2013 Ms. Virginia
Senior America. She also won the Community Service Award at
the pageant. Throughout the year of her reign, Miller performed in
TV interviews, parades, motivational speeches, and celebrations
of all kinds. She participated in the 2013 Northern Virginia Senior
Olympics, winning two silver medals, and sang the national anthem
for the 2014 Virginia Senior Games. She was recognized on the floor
of the Virginia General Assembly with a resolution in her honor, and
received the Outstanding Senior Award from the Fairfax County Board
of Supervisors and the Fairfax Senior Council. A natural performer,
Miller has sung throughout the U.S. and the world, in concerts and
in leading opera roles, including a world premiere. She also plays
violin and conducts musicals. Currently, she is the soprano soloist
and section leader of First Baptist Church of D.C. Miller resides in
Fairfax, Va., with her husband, Ambassador (ret.) Terry Miller, whose
diplomatic career has taken them to several overseas posts. They
have three children who are all college graduates and professional
musicians. When not making music, she loves to work in the garden,
read books, practice yoga, and do puzzles.
resources to students interested
in these professions. “I love living
in Florida again, and I’m excited to
report that I will be getting married
for the first time at the age of 50
in December!” she said. “You
just never know what life has in
store for you just around the corner
when you take the time to slow
down, keep an open mind, and an
open heart!”
’89
Dr. Darin
White
,
professor of
marketing
and sports
marketing
program
coordinator
in the Brock
School of Business at Samford
University, was recently appointed
chair of the national American
Marketing Association’s Sports
Marketing Special Interest
Group. The group is the leading
international scholarly body charged
with expanding the knowledge
base in the field of sports
marketing. In this role, White will
have the opportunity to interact
with executives at the highest
level of sports on both the national
(NFL, MLB, NBA, MLS, NASCAR,
etc.) and international level (EPL,
FIFA, Formula One, etc.). He and
his wife,
Laura Houser White
’91
, enjoy the many opportunities
this position affords them to
attend sporting events around the
globe. White is currently writing
his first sports marketing textbook
for McGraw-Hill, which will be
released in 2015.
’90
Amelia “Amy” Griffith
of
Decatur serves on the board of
the Mental Health Association
of Morgan County and works
as a guardian ad litem at
the Decatur law firm of Amelia H.
Griffith, Attorney at Law, near her
husband,
BrianWhite ’91
, who
’83
The Dallas-based law firm of
Carrington, Coleman, Sloman &
Blumenthal LLP recently added
Bret Madole
as a leader of its
corporate practice. Madole’s
practice involves general corporate
transactional work, mergers
and acquisitions, banking, bank
lending, and intellectual property,
including copyrights, trademarks,
and licensing. He joined the firm
from Dallas’ David, Goodman &
Madole, where he practiced for 22
years. Madole graduated from the
University of Virginia School of Law.
He also has a background in sports
marketing, technology, and product
manufacturing.
’85
Robin Harrell Raney
was named
CEO of Goodwill Industries of
Northwest Texas in March. Raney
is responsible for the development
and execution of a strategic plan
and the overall administrative
management and oversight
of operations, external affairs,
contract services, mission
integration, and fund development.
Most recently she served as vice
president of business development
for the Lubbock Chamber of
Commerce and CEO of the
American Red Cross South Plains
Regional Chamber. Raney earned
dual degrees in accounting and
business administration from BSC
and later graduated from the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce Institute
of Organization Management. She
lives in Lubbock, Texas, with her
husband, Dr. Donald Raney II, and
their two children.
’86
Roseanne Flippen
recently moved
to Clearwater, Fla., to work as
a product data specialist for a
company called TOLD (Trade Only
Design Library), an online resource
library for interior designers,
architects, builders, etc. to assist in
finding products and professional
services. The site also offers
’79
Dr. Joel Martin
, former chair
of Franklin & Marshall College’s
Department of Religious Studies
and former vice provost for
academic personnel and dean of
the faculty at the University of
Massachusetts-Amherst, returned
to F&M this
summer
to take up
responsibilities
as its next
provost and
dean of the
faculty.
Courtesy of Jan
de Ubl
’81
Dr. Don Stewart
delivered the
inaugural lecture in the new
quarterly Guest Artist Series
at the Johnson Center for the
Arts in downtown Troy, Ala., this
summer. The event coincided with
the center’s annual ArtBridges
conference, which offers K-12
teachers ways to incorporate
art techniques into their STEM
(science, technology, engineering,
and math) classes. More than 140
of Stewart’s original drawings and
prints are featured in a solo exhibit
at the Johnson Center through
Oct. 26.