Page 55 - Southern Magazine-Winter/Spring 2013

winter-spring 2013 / 53
CLASSNOTES
’96
Mary Margaret “Meg”Williams
Fiedler of Montgomery has
been working as a staff attorney
for James Allen Main, associate
justice on the Alabama Supreme
Court, since January 2012.
TedWhisenhunt of Young
Harris, Ga., served as a juror in
ArtsRevive’s 11th annual juried
art exhibition, which was March
9 - April 28 in Selma. Whisenhunt
is chair of the art department and
associate professor of art at Young
Harris College. He earned an MFA
from Florida State University and
also studied traditional oil painting
at the University of Lorenzo de
Medici in Florence, Italy.
‘97
Franklin Danley was recently
promoted to market president of
Regions Bank in Jacksonville, Fla.
His last position with the company
was as a business and community
banking executive in Alabama for
the past five and a half years.
The
members
of Miller &
Martin PLLC
in Atlanta
have elected
Ashley
Halfman to
membership
in the firm. Halfman is a corporate
attorney specializing in mergers,
acquisitions and joint ventures,
high growth and emerging
companies, and corporate
finance. Halfman also provides
pro bono legal services for several
organizations. She received her
J.D. from the University of Georgia
School of Law.
Edith Major
is the owner
of an event
planning
company in
Birmingham
called Major
Occasions.
She said
her love for event entertainment
planning started with a banquet
honoring the Negro League’s
legendary baseball players nearly
13 years ago.
‘98
Stites &
Harbison
PLLC
recently
announced
that Brian
C. Neal
has been
elected to
membership in the law firm. Neal
is a member of the Nashville firm’s
Business Litigation and Torts &
Insurance Practice Service Groups.
He concentrates his practice
on trial work in connection with
complex commercial disputes, bad-
faith insurance defense, product
liability and general litigation. Neal
was named a “Rising Star” by Mid-
South Super Lawyers for 2012. He
received his law degree from the
University of Michigan Law School
in 2002.
Dr. Hillary Hettinger Steiner was
awarded the national Excellence
in Teaching Award at the adjunct
faculty level from the American
Psychological Association. She
and her family moved to Marietta,
Ga., in July when she joined the
faculty of the Department of First-
Year Programs at Kennesaw State
University.
‘00
Laurel Jackson Calloway and her
family have started a new business
venture in Opelika called Jane
Sweet Jane. The boutique features
hand-painted pillows, placemats,
lamps, curtain panels, and other
home décor. The business recently
was recognized by publications
such as East Alabama Living and
Society South. Calloway and her
family members plan to start a
cookie line in the near future.
Senator-elect Tim Kaine recently
announced several new staffers
who will lead his Washington,
D.C.-based communications team,
including Kate McCarroll as
director of scheduling. McCarroll
is a veteran of Virginia politics
and most recently served as
the campaign manager for Jeff
Bourne’s successful campaign
for the Richmond school board.
Prior to returning to political
work, she served as the director
of scheduling for President John
DeGioia at Georgetown University.
‘01
Will Aycock recently completed
the Chartered Financial Analyst
program, earning the right to use
the CFA designation. He and his
wife, Lindsay, live in Birmingham,
where he works for Doucet Asset
Management as a fixed income
specialist and trader.
AlumNews ’05
Shema Mbyirukira, an attorney
at the law firm of Maynard, Cooper
& Gale P.C., has been elected vice
president of the Magic City Bar
Association.
The MCBA was formed in
1984 to advance the needs of
African-American attorneys
within the Birmingham-metro
area. He will aid the president in
the performance of her duties,
supervise and report to the
executive board on the activities of the association’s committees, and
supervise the association’s community outreach programs.
At the law firm, Mbyirukira works as an associate in the Insurance
and Financial Services Litigation and the International Trade
Regulation practice groups. He focuses his practice on insurance
litigation, including cases involving bad faith, coverage disputes,
multi-plaintiff and individual contestable claims, and stranger-owned
life insurance matters.
Mbyirukira received his BSC degree in accounting, cum laude,
and played on the Panther basketball team all four years. He was a
two-time recipient of the Big Southern Conference Men’s Basketball
Scholar Athlete of the Year Award, and received the Johnny Johnson
Most Inspirational Senior Student Athlete Award his senior year.
Before attending law school, Mbyirukira worked for the accounting
firm of Ernst &Young LLP in Atlanta as an information systems
auditor in the firm’s Technology & Securities Risk Services Group.
He received his law degree from the University of North Carolina
School of Law in 2010, where his honors included Dean’s List
Honoree, Honor Court, and James E. and Carolyn B. Davis Society.
“It is not an exaggeration to say that BSC students are known the
world over for their commitment to community service,” he said.
“Not surprisingly, that strong desire to serve carries over into our
professional lives. This year marks a particularly special year for BSC
students and alumni to serve our community as we will celebrate the
50th anniversary of the civil rights movement.”
Mbyirukira will wed Amelia Black, a graduate student at
Marymount University in Arlington, Va., on May 26.