52 / ’southern
CLASSNOTES
100 years ofmemories
—
VivianHarringtonWhitt ’52
celebrated her centennial birthday onOct. 30 at her home inRoff,
Okla., surrounded by 15 familymemberswho had traveled from
Texas, Kansas, andAlabama. Whittwas a non-traditional student at
BSCwho had a career as amedical lab technician. “She inspired
somany of her nieces and nephews to take up amedical career as
she did,” saidTeresa Snider, daughter ofWhitt’s niece
JudithSmith
Stacey ’63
of Hayneville, Ala. “Her celebrationwas awonderful
occasion. Shewas especially proud to have been featured in the Fall
2013 ’Southern.” Even at 100,Whitt is as sharpmentally as she’s ever
been. She takes careof herself at night and has a caretaker during
theday. Sowhat’s inWhitt’s recipe for longevity? “Take thepunches
as they come,”Whitt shared. “When problems come up, handle
them and go on; don’t get stressed out about life.”
’96
IberiaBank has appointed
Gregory
King
of Birmingham, formerly
market president for northern
Alabama, as the head of its
Alabama operations. King holds
anMBA fromUAB and has also
worked for HighlandBank and
AmSouthBank inBirmingham.
Ismat Shari
was recently
selected as
the 2013-14
Teacher of
theYear for
theHamilton
Township
Public
School District and for Hamilton
HighSchoolWest inHamilton,
N.J., where she teaches algebra.
This is her fifth education award;
shewas also namedOutstanding
Teacher in 2000 for BSC’s former
Adult Studies Program, selected
Teacher of theYear at GreenAcres
MiddleSchool inEnsley in 2000
and 2001, and awarded at the
Teacher RecognitionProgram for
BirminghamCity Schools in 2000-
01.
’98
BenBolton
has been re-appointed
byGov. Bill Haslam to the
TennesseeWater andWastewater
FinancingBoard for a three-year
term. Bolton, an environmental
scientistwithEnSafe Inc. in
Nashville, has servedon theboard
since 2006 as themanufacturing
representative. He helps oversee
municipal, county, and utilitywater
andwastewater systems that are
in financial trouble, and also assists
these systemswith highwater
loss issues.
’99
ThomasRainer
is a licensed
landscape architect living in
Arlington,Va. He received
hismaster’s degree from the
University of Georgia and is
currently associate principal for the
Renasant Bank recently named
LeeRiley
as a senior vice
president and private banker in
itswealthmanagement group for
Birmingham. Riley hasmore than
14 years of experience in private
banking in theBirminghammarket.
He earned anMA fromBaylor
University.
’93
Joe Fanning
and two of his
colleagues atVanderbilt University
Medical Center recently co-
authoredWhat PatientsTeach:
TheEveryday Ethics of Health
Care. The book draws from 55
interviewswith patients to argue
that health care ethics are rooted
in the vulnerability of patients
and the responsiveness of
clinicians. The authors conclude
that clinicians and bioethicists
interested in truly patient-centered
care should focusmore on daily
care practices and the skills
needed to develop therapeutic
relationships. As a facultymember
in theCenter for Biomedical
Ethics andSociety, Fanning
directs the center’s clinical ethics
consultation service. He and his
wife,
CarrieSmith Fanning
, live in
Nashvillewith their three children.
’95
After graduating fromBSC,
Erin
Whikehart Freeman
earned an
MFA from theSavannahCollege
of Art andDesign inSavannah,
Ga. Since then, she’sworked
in the field of graphic design as
a creative directorwith clients
such as IBM, BuffaloRock/Pepsi,
Verisign, andVolvo. Freeman is
now a full-time facultymember at
theArt Institute of Atlanta, and has
taught numerous graphic design
courses for the past 12 years. She
is also the portfolio director for the
BFA andAA program candidates
in graphic design. She and her
husband reside inTucker, Ga., and
have a son, Andy, who is five.
Whittwith her niece, Judith, after reviewing ‘Southern
’85
ChrisDupont
, chef and owner
of the fine dining restaurant
CaféDupont, has opened up a
second restaurant inBirmingham.
TauPoco is a casual eatery that
features amenu of international
street foods.
’86
JohnCollar Jr.
has been included
in the list of 2014Georgia Super
Lawyers. Only five percent of the
lawyers in the state are selected.
Collar is a founding partner and
family law attorney at BoydCollar
Nolen&Tuggle inAtlanta.
’90
DavidBenck
, vice president
and general counsel for Hibbett
SportingGoods Inc., has joined
the boardof directors of USA
Gymnastics for a term thatwill
run through theRio 2016Summer
Olympics. He has been a
Birmingham resident since 1986.
’91
Drummer
Maury Levine
of
Birmingham recently published
his first book,
a comedic
mystery, titled
Shopping
Bagged.
The book is
available on
Amazon.com.
