Community Milestones

IN SCOUTING

□ The Girl Scouts Tarheel Council, Inc. has received a gift of $250,000 from BB&T Corp. The gift was made in honor of Betty M. Allison, a long-time Girl Scout adviser, supporter and leader. She is the wife of John A. Allison, BB&T's chairman and chief executive. The council will use the funds to develop an information-technology network that will enhance communications among Girl Scout councils in the western half of North Carolina and York County, S.C. The gift is the largest donation that the Tarheel Triad Council has received outside of capital-campaign contributions. It was made in conjunction with the 2008 United Way of Forsyth County campaign.

Also at the ceremony, the Tarheel Triad Council announced plans to dedicate, in Allison's honor, a 50-acre tract of council-owned, undeveloped natural preserve behind its learning center near the Colfax headquarters.

IN EDUCATION

□ Winston-Salem native Preeti Simran Sethi has learned that her alma mater, Smith College in Massachusetts, will honor her for her global environmental-justice and grass-roots activism next month at the college's annual Rally Day celebration.

Sethi, a 1992 graduate of Smith, is the contributing environmental correspondent for CNBC and the Lacy C. Haynes Visiting Professional Chair at the University of Kansas School of Journalism and Mass Communications, where she teaches courses on environmental communications.

□ Nineteen Wake Forest University students are traveling to Egypt during the school's winter break. They will get a historical introduction to Egypt's Muslim society and learn how minority Christian and Jewish communities have practiced their faith in Egypt. University Chaplain Tim Auman and Neal Walls, an associate professor of Old Testament Interpretation at the School of Divinity, are coordinating the trip.

The area students are LaDessa Cunningham Pearson, Winston-Salem, second-year divinity; Paige Daniel, Winston-Salem, third-year psychology; William Page, Winston-Salem, second-year divinity; Shawn Small, Winston-Salem, second-year divinity; Cedric Wright, Greensboro, first-year divinity; Jamie Neal, Lexington, second-year communication; and Kathy Bunn of Winston-Salem, a staff member and master's degree in liberal studies.

□ Robin Hack, the director of nursing clinical systems at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, has graduated from Walden University with a master's of science in nursing leadership and management track. She graduated summa cum laude with a 4.0 grade point average. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International (Nursing Honor Society).

Hack plans to continue her education by preparing for the Nursing Informatics Certification Exam.

□ High Point University has announced the students who have qualified for the dean's list for the fall 2008 semester.

Area students who have received dean's list certificates are:

Advance: Michael Hurst.

Clemmons: Teri Faraizl, Brooke Johnson, Robert Lemons, Leonard Meyers, Nicole Rea, Robin Reid, Greta Ringer and George Stewart.

Kernersville: Courtney Bedgood, Robert Caudle, Shawna Cottrell, Kavita Craig, Zachary Croft, Brittany Joyce, Nathan Keil, Van Mauldin, Brandon Maynard, Karen McKernan, Brandon Myers, April Routh, Brantley Shields, Michael Smith, Damon Smith, Jeffrey Smith, Norman Williams, Travis Woolen and Lauren Wright.

King: Sarah Adkins, Jeffrey Butner, James Sweet, Dawn Tally and Shelia Winfrey.

Lewisville: Sean Fullman and Mae Norman.

Lexington: Lindsay Bailey, Britni Brewer, Tony Brewer, Traci Chisholm, Anna Collett, Pamela Cook, Madison Davis, Nazario Grijalva, Kirby Hartsell, Pamela Haynes, Meaghan Leonard, Darren Lindsay, Megan McGee, Ellen Morris, Mary Newsome, Ronnie Overby, Kristina Roberson, Dana Robinson, Christopher Triplette, Tasha Wall, Lynn Wilson and Tiffany Yancey.

Pfafftown: Jennette Cossey, Alexandria Duggins, Julia Fannin, Mary Hutchens, Dianne Mounce and Candace Walker.

Walkertown: Alisa Carithers and Bonnie Weisenhorn.

Winston-Salem: Barbara Foy, Brandy Hunter, Leslie Jordan, Audrey Lane, Jennifer Lemons, Ashley Widener, Jeff Addington, Eric Alspaugh, Mary Ausborne, Christine Bartlett, Corry Brunson, Pamela Bullock, Kimberly Burress, Nicole Chrysson, Emily Collins, Christopher Cooper, Jack Cox, Robert Crawford, Titus Davis, Charles Davis, Randy Ferrell, Eleni Fragakis, Camika Garrison, Billy Gibbs, Shannon Griffin, Andrea Hall, Justin Handy, Dawn Hayes, Maryann Hutchins, Monica Jackson, Raymond Jones, Nurys Kelly, Milagros Kelly, Adrianne Lackey, Mary Lesnik, Brandon Lewis, Sabrina Love, Jacob Medley, Matthew Mizell, Mark Moore, Robin Myers, Carol Nault, Katherine Nelson, Teresa Perez, Clairenae Pierce, Nichole Poteat, Alan Reid, Toni Samuels, Johannes Schoeman, Valerie Schultz, Tabitha Schulze, Kelsey Shore, Jonathan Sparks, Tina Spurgeon, Shannon Taylor, Teneille Terry, Kelli Tran, Edward Van Kuren, Tonya Welch, Colleen Welles, Sara White, Leslie White and Andrew Woods.

Yadkinville: Katie Brintle and Bryan Ijames.

□ Kyle Sanders Todd has received an appointment through a JROTC nomination to the U.St. Naval Academy. He has participated in Army JROTC at Mount Tabor High School for four years and is currently the battalion commander. He will report to the academy for induction in July.

Kyle is the son of Susi Todd of Winston-Salem and Mike Todd of Pfafftown.

□ The following Northwest North Carolina students received degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in spring 2008 (graduates from other area counties appeared in Community Milestones columns on Jan. 5 and Dec. 29):

Stokes County: Alicia Nicole Carter, B.A. in sociology; Christopher Patrick Craig, M.S. in public health; Tabitha Judith Disher, B.A. in comparative literature; Erin Leigh Glant, B.A. history; Tyler Chase Greenwood, B.S. in pharmaceutical sciences; Tiffany Ann Newsom, B.S. in nursing; Ashley Marie Roberts, B.A. in journalism and mass communication.; Leslie Renee Watts, B.S. in nursing; Crystal Lynn Longworth Wood, B.S. in nursing; Naquita Shiovoyne Yellock, B.A. in education;

Surry County: Robert Corey Bray Atkins, Juris Doctor; Deborah Jessup Creed, Certificate in Core Public Health Concepts; Blythe Erin Gough, B.A. in international studies; Amy Chilton Haynes, master's in social work; Charles Bartlett Jackson, master's in social work; Sara Jessilyn Kemp, B.A. in sociology; Niccolo Alexander Marcaccio, B.S. in radiologic science; Jonathan Elliott Matthews, B.S. in biology; Emily Ford Norman, Certificate in Core Public Health Concepts; Jonathan Isaac Norman, B.A. in education; Jaime Hunter Simmons, M.S. in nursing; Adam Michael Swift, Juris Doctor; Sarah Ann Taylor, B.A. in education; Ian Mitchell Wagoner, business administration; Ashley E Wall, B.A. in English; Jamin Warren Weagraff, B.A. in history; Lindsay Ann Wilson, M.D.; Elizabeth Parker Woltz, B.S. in business administration;

Watauga County: Joseph Benjamin Adams, B.S. in biology; Scott Lee Cornella, B.A. in biology; Samantha Lee Deal, B.A. in comparative literature; Ian Edward Ellis, B.A. in anthropology; Robert Alexander Ellison, B.S. in psychology; Tyler Barrett Fleming, B.A. in history; Sam Lucas Glover, B.S. in biology; Kelsey Elizabeth Graf, Juris Doctor; Justin Allen Lee, M.D.; Rachel Anne Moltz, B.A. in journalism and mass communication; Mason Wallace Moseley, B.A. in political science; Sara Elizabeth Safransky, Master in city and regional planning; Ellen Hunt Steele, B.A. in psychology; Mary Rebecca Stein, doctorate in pharmacy; Garrett Spencer Stigall, B.S. in biology; Austin Flint Turner, B.A. in political science; Laura Elizabeth Watson, B.A. in psychology; Frank Daniel Williams, doctorate in pharmacy; Janell Erica Wright, M.S. in public health;

Wilkes County: Sarah Louise Bumgarner, B.A. in exercise and sport science; Jessica Anne Church, B.S. radiologic science; Kevin Tyler Cline, B.S. in business administration; Jason A Howell, M.A. in exercise and sport science; Brenna Anne Johnston, B.A. in psychology; Erica Caroline Melton, Master of accounting; Amy Lynn Miller, B.S. in mathematics; Sierra Marie Moore, B.A. in journalism and mass communcation; Rebecca Anne Phillips, B.A. in psychology; Heather Nicole Poteat, B.A. in exercise and sport science; Sarah M Pruitt, B.A. in international studies; Evan Davy Sloop, B.A. in international studies; Carla Gail Woodard, B.A. in education; Alana Woods, B.A. in communication studies;

Yadkin County: Jessica Stevens Fleshman, B.A. in biology; Matthew A Gentry, Doctor of Pharmacy; Laura Edith Greene, Doctor of Pharmacy; Stuart Colin Henstock, B.A. in political science; Carly Maureen Huff, B.A. in exercise and sport science; Michael Joseph Lee, B.S. business administration; Anna Leslie Miller-Fitzwater, Master Public Health and Doctor of Medicine; Courtney Wells Morton, Master Social Work; Clifton Brooks Wilson, B.A. in religious studies.

IN THE ARTS

□ Piedmont Parent has announced the winners in its annual Young Authors Contest, in which children from kindergarten through eighth grade are challenged to write and illustrate an original storybook for children between the ages of 4 and 8. The winners are:

Grades K-1:

1st Place: The Four Friends by Michaela Hope Gross, first grade, The Shepherd's School (Home School).

2nd Place: The Duke of Dork and the King of Kina by Jasmine Marshall, first grade, Paideia Marshall Home School.

3rd Place: Giraffe Finds a Bed by Caroline-Skye Rice, Kindergarten, Davidson Country Day School.

Illustration: A is for Amy by Jasmine Sadjadi, Kindergarten, Triangle Lake Montessori School.

Grades 2-3:

1st Place: The Adventures of Super Kid by Stephen Mayfield, second grade, Trinity Elementary School.

2nd Place: The Alien Who Wanted a Name by Einnon Timms, third grade, John Lawrence Elementary School.

3rd Place: Oh No, Not My Training Wheels! by Ron Spencer Jr., second grade, Jamestown Elementary.

Illustration: Twix Goes to School by Joshua Mayfield, second grade, Trinity Elementary School.

Grades 4-5:

1st Place: Corey the Toad and the Adventures of Gredimous and Wibowbow by Corey K. Smith, fifth grade, Smith Acres Academy (Home School).

2nd Place: Alone, Alone, Alone by Connor Plunkett, Fifth Grade, The Piedmont School.

3rd Place: Sugar and Spice by Sydney Marenick, Fifth Grade, The Piedmont School.

Illustration: Rudolph the Rainbow Reindeer by Ashelyn Landon, fourth grade, Fair Grove Elementary.

Grades 6-8:

1st Place: Gooba Plans a Surprise, by Harper Springer, sixth grade, Chestnut Hill Academy (Home School).

2nd Place: Chipper Goes West, by Rob Styers, eighth grade, Thomasville Middle School.

3rd Place: The Sheep Learn a Lesson by Caroline Key, seventh grade, Thomas Jefferson Middle School.

Illustration: Penguins Can Fly by Luis Lopez, Eighth Grade, Thomasville Middle School.

The grand-prize winner for story was Corey the Toad and the Adventures of Gredimous and Wibowbow by Corey K. Smith, fifth grade, (home school); and the grand prize for for illustration went to Penguins Can Fly by Luis Lopez, eighth grade, Thomasville Elementary School.

The Piedmont Parent Young Authors Contest is sponsored by Lake Jeanette Orthodontics & Pediatric Dentistry, the Greensboro Public Library, the Greensboro Children's Museum, the Children's Museum of Winston-Salem and Barnes & Noble in Winston-Salem.

□ Amira Watson's drawing Mountain Graphic has been selected for inclusion in the 2009 National Young Rembrandts Calendar for the month of June. Amira is a third-grader at Sedge Garden Elementary in Kernersville.

Young Rembrandts is a franchise that teams up with day-care centers, pre-schools, elementary schools and community recreation centers to teach children how to draw.

IN CIVIC AFFAIRS

□ Katie Goff will attend the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama as part of the Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference. As an inaugural scholar, she will have the opportunity to interact with a major presidential candidate, White House officials, congressional staff members, political experts and other VIPs. After the inauguration, Goff and other inaugural scholars will watch the inaugural parade and later will attend a black-tie gala inaugural ball.

Goff is a a junior at Forsyth Country Day School and is the daughter of David and Terri Goff of Winston-Salem.

IN THE MILITARY

□ Army Reserve Specialist Steven T. Gulledge has been mobilized and activated for deployment overseas to a forward operating base in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the official name given to military operations involving members of the U.S. armed forces and coalition forces in Iraq. Gulledge, a military police officer with four years of military service, is normally assigned to the 39th Military Police Company in Minden, La.

Gulledge is the son of Cindy A. Fultz of Pilot Mountain and a 2004 graduate of East Surry High School in Pilot Mountain.

IN OTHER AREAS

□ The Winston-Salem Rescue Mission has wrapped up its holiday food drive for 2008, and Hanes Magnet School contributed more than 40 barrels of non-perishable food that will be used to feed Rescue Mission clients and community members in need.

The mission's annual packing of the holiday food boxes was held last month.Many volunteers helped to create the food boxes, which were picked up by school officials and distributed to needy students and their families.

Reynolda Presbyterian Church was host to about 50 rescue-mission residents for a night of food and entertainment in what is known as the church's Luke 14 Project. Mission residents watched a performance of the church's Christmas service. Members of the congregation provided their guests with transportation to and from the church and a holiday meal. Each resident received a gift bag.

□ The Girl Scouts Tarheel Triad Council Inc. and the N.C. Zoological Society have been awarded Connected Community grants from the Dell Foundation. The two-year $50,000 grants support innovative and collaborative initiatives that address technology accessibility and training for young people to function in an increasingly digital economy.

The grants are awarded to those organizations that address the technology access and skills gap in underserved communities.

□ More than 300 items of nonperishable food were donated during a recent food drive at Locke Chiropractic and Rehabilitation Center.

Patients brought an assortment of items to help stock the Crisis Control Ministry's food pantry. New patients that brought donations received a free exam for their donation.

Crisis Control Ministry provides food assistance to more than 200 local families a month.

□ Staff members of Pet Sitters International served as Santa Claus last month to more than 50 pets housed at the Stokes County Animal Shelter. The employees delivered donations collected through PSI's Wishes and Wags holiday drive, a countywide effort to collect pet supplies for both the Stokes County Animal Shelter and Animal Rescue of Stokes County. More than 256 pounds of dry dog food, 46 pounds of cat food, 35 pounds of dog biscuits and 70 bags of treats were collected, as well as a variety of pet toys, blankets, collars, bowls and monetary donations.

The donations were much needed in the wake of an increasing number of abandoned and surrendered pets as a result of the current economic downturn.

□ Senior Services Inc., a nonprofit, charitable organization in Winston-Salem, has elected new members to its board of trustees. The new members are Sandra P. Adams, retired head of Summit School; Jessica M. Bailey, dean, School of Business and Economics, Winston-Salem State University; F. Scott Bauer, chairman and CEO of Southern Community Financial Corp.; Susan M. Ivey, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Reynolds American Inc.; and Jimmy Strickland, owner of Windsor Point Investments.

Newly elected officers for the board are Charles H. Hauser, chairman; Veronica C. Black, secretary; and Philip R. S. Waugh, Jr., treasurer. Marian M. Douglas, immediate past chairman, remains on the board in an executive capacity.

The Senior Services Foundation Inc., a supporting organization of Senior Services, has also named new members. They are Joe Crocker, director of operations, Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, and Victor I. Flow, Jr., president of Flow Lexus. The chairman of the newly elected board of trustees, Charles H. Hauser, also joins the foundation board of directors.

Newly elected officers of the foundation board are James E. Martin, chairman; Marian M. Douglas, vice chairman; Aurelia Gray Eller, secretary; and F. Scott Bauer, treasurer.

■ News of accomplishments of Journal readers runs in the Community Milestones column on Mondays and the second Thursday of each month. To submit an item, e-mail it to Features@wsjournal.com, fax it to 336-727-4071, mail typed information and photos to Community Milestones, c/o Features Department, Winston-Salem Journal, P.O. Box 3159, Winston-Salem, NC 27102, or drop it off at the front desk of the Journal, 418 N. Marshall St. Information should include a contact name and daytime phone number.