The Lions Roar ENews – Nov 2012 Issue

(July 8, 2011): North Carolina Theta Chapter was awarded the 2011 Outstanding Alumni Association Communication Award Newsletter - Print by the 155th SAE Convention in Memphis

Spotlight – Chuck Wright ‘57

Charles P “Chuck” Wright, Jr., ’57, is often ranked as one of the best American poets of his generation. Born in 1935 in Pickwick Dam, Tennessee, Wright attended Davidson College and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop; he also served four years in the U.S. Army, and it was while stationed in Italy that Wright began to read and write poetry. His early work, including The Grave of the Right Hand (1970), received positive critical attention, but his reputation has increased steadily with each poetry collection. From The Grave of the Right Hand to lauded works such as The Other Side of the River (1984), Chickamauga (1995), Appalachia (1998), A Short History of the Shadow (2002), and Scar Tissue (2006), Wright has worked in a style that creates a feeling of immediacy and concreteness by emphasizing objects and personal perspective. Chuck is a Chancellor of The Academy of American Poets and the Souder Family Professor of English at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. His many collections of poetry and numerous awards—including the Pulitzer Prize, the Griffin International Poetry Prize, and a Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize—have proven that he is, as Jay Parini once said, “among the best poets” of his generation.

Shirley “Red” S. Wilson, ’50, Wilson '50 played center in football and was a catcher for the Wildcats' baseball team. He's one of two former Davidson standouts who have been selected to the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. After graduating from Davidson, Wilson established an outstanding record as a football coach in high school and on the collegiate level at Duke and Elon. He was 74-32-2 at Duke and Elon. His Elon teams won six conference championships and advanced to the championship game of the 1973 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics playoffs. After Fayetteville High and Winston-Salem Reynolds High, Wilson had a record of 138-38-11, including two state championships and three undefeated teams.

Samuel Raymond Albert’08, is in Rome, Italy where he co-founded Clam Tours. He writes in his bio: “I was born and raised in New York, NY, and made my first trip to Rome with my grandmother when I was a freshman in high school. That trip fueled my interest in Latin, which I was studying at the time, and played a large part in my decision to continue my studies in college. After studying Classics and Art History at Davidson College, I seized the opportunity to come to Rome. After a year teaching English to Italians I wanted something more, and decided to start Clam Tours upon [my friend] Clem’s arrival in Rome in the fall of 2009. For the past two years I have been apprenticing in a well-known Roman restaurant and this spring I will be taking the next step in the culinary world by enrolling in GamberoRosso’s professional cooking school.” Sam and Clem, friends from grade school in New York City, started Clam Tours in the fall of 2009 with a collective passion for Classics and Art History. Sam is a Roman expert, chef in training, and also editor of YoungInRome.com. At lunch, you'll find him in the kitchen at Pierluigi and in the evenings either experimenting at home or at the Rome Sustainable Food Program in the American Academy.Reach out to Sam at email .

Andrew K Wilson’08,is Director of Sales for Zivtech in Philadelphia. He is originally from Hanover, Massachusetts. He attended Davidson College, where he majored in Economics. Following graduation, Andrew stayed at Davidson College and worked as an Admission Counselor in the Office of Admission and Financial Aid. In July 2010 Andrew moved to Washington, D.C. to be closer to his beautiful fiancée and now his wife, Sarah! He recently founded ReadyEssay, LLC, a professional, yet affordable college admission essay review service. Andrew loves traveling, skiing/snowboarding, swimming, working-out, reading the Economist, cooking with Sarah and boating.Sarah and Andrew met their sophomore year at Davidson College. They were introduced by way of mutual friends and began dating early their spring semester, and were married Oct 12, 2010. He also now writes and curates DrupalConsumer.com. Reach out to Andrew at .

Spotlight on Undergrad

Chris Ragsdale’14, is an Environmental Studies and Medical Humanities major at Davidson. He recently was hired as the Student Call Center Manager for the College. He states: “I manage a call center staff of 10 students, who contact alumni via phone, email, and mail and report to the directors of the Annual Fund for special assignments and event support. Davidson College is ranked #1 in the country for alumni giving and support.” Chris is from Jacksonville where he graduated from Bolles School. He has also served as a teaching assistant, oral communication and has a summer job as medical records coordinator at St. Vincent’s HealthCare. Chris is also pursuing a summer internship in the field of health administration. Reach Chris at .

Greg Means ’08 graduated with his medical doctor degree from Wake Forest University in the spring of 2012. As of June 20, he is now an internal medicine resident at the UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill. Greg is from Winston-Salem where he attended Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School before coming to Davidson. He served as both Vice President and Rush Chairman of the chapter. Contact Greg at .

Memories

Kyle Hynden, David McManama, Greg Means.

In Memoriam

Bruce G Ballenger ’52, passed away in Charlotte on July 28, 2012. Bruce was born in Hickory to Dorothy Collins Ballenger and Richard Edmonds Ballenger. He graduated from Episcopal High School in Alexandria, VA and from Davidson College with a degree in business administration.After graduation, he worked for Hanover Bank in New York where he met Nancy Lee. They were married in 1953 in Watertown, CT, and moved to Charlotte. Bruce worked for Wachovia and First Union until he left to open a commercial real estate business from which he retired in 1977.

Malcolm McMurtry "Mack" Erwin, Jr. '50, of Charleston, S.C., husband of Martha Walker Erwin, entered into eternal rest on Feb. 18, 2012. He was a resident of Charleston for over 50 years. Erwin was born on Dec. 12, 1926, in Honea Path, S.C..He grew up in Greenville, S.C., where he began a lifelong love affair with sports, playing Little League baseball with batting tutelage from Shoeless Joe Jackson.He then attended the University of South Carolina, where he played football and was selected as fullback for the S.C. All State team. He left USC to serve his country in the U.S. Navy during WWII aboard the USS Tangier in the South Pacific. Upon his return, he entered Davidson, a legacy of his father, lettering in baseball and football. Off of the athletic fields, he was a member of ODK, Who's Who, and SAE.He graduated from Davidson in 1950 with a B.S. in business..Read more here…

More Alumni News

/ Will Crossland ’08, graduated from the Mercer University School of Medicine in Birmingham, Alabama. He is now an internal medicine resident at UAB. Will was Scholarship Chairman for the chapter while at Davidson. He attended Lakeside High School in Atlanta. Contact Will at email .
/ Phillipp Schroeder ’11 has enrolled at John Hopkins SAIS in the MA Candidate International Relations program in Bologna, Italy. He is from Magdeburg, Germany where he attendedGymnasium "Werner von Siemens", later he attended Berkeley Preparatory School in Tampa. He majored in political science and international relations at Davidson, and he also taught German as an assistant. Reach Phil at .

Annual Dues

Annual, voluntary dues for the NC Theta Alumni Association are welcome. You can complete the online form here using a debit or credit card, or mail your donation made out to SAE to John Stringfellow, 7839 Ambleside Dr, Charlotte, NC 28216. $25 is the suggested amount.

Community Service

Members of the chapter turned out for the LEARN Works Halloween Service Event in Davidson on October 30, 2012. Thanks to Edward Palumbo and Adam Stanaland as service chairs.


Tucker Whitesides and Tommy Bell /
Taylor Haynes and James Bramlett

Tucker Whitesides, Nicholas John, Tommy Bell and Eli Kahn /
Edward Palumbo II

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John Stringfellow, Advisor, Email

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