In honor of Darlington's 105th anniversary, nine alumni have issued an Annual Fund challenge to fellow alumni who have never given, or who have not given in the past couple of years.
For the second consecutive year - and only the second time in school history – Darlington’s senior class has achieved 100 percent participation in the Annual Fund Senior Challenge. <br /><br />
Each year, seniors are encouraged to make a donation to the Annual Fund as their first step toward recognizing the roles and responsibilities they have as alumni. Last year, 114 members of the class of 2008 raised more than $600 and became the first class to meet this challenge, which was initiated two years ago by a local, anonymous trustee.<br /><br />
“We were excited when the Class of 2008 became the first group to achieve this milestone,” said Jason Turner, annual fund gifts officer. “While that was certainly impressive, the Class of 2009 was able to do it with 139 members, raising more than $900 altogether. I think this establishes a tradition of which all Darlington alumni can be proud.”<br /><br />
The seniors' perfect participation triggers a $2,009 gift from the anonymous trustee to the Annual Fund in honor of the Class of 2009. Students were encouraged to make a donation in honor of a teacher, coach, adviser or staff member who made an impact on them during their time at Darlington.<br /><br />
“In a challenging year for annual giving, this is a significant boost to our Annual Fund campaign,” Turner said. “We are very grateful to both the ’09 bunch and to this trustee for such a tremendous display of leadership and loyalty.”<br /><br />
<br /><br />
<b>Senior Gifts:</b><br /><br />
Erin Ables in honor of Matthew Jones<br /><br />
Kathryn Aldrich in honor of James Milford<br /><br />
Cole Allen in honor of Jim Van Es<br /><br />
Justin Baker<br /><br />
Dylan Baker in honor of Mitch Jordan<br /><br />
Caroline Baker<br /><br />
Delfina Bandiera in honor of Kila and Tim McCann<br /><br />
Anjali Banerjee in honor of Owen Kinney<br /><br />
Emily Baron in honor of John Cox<br /><br />
Emily Barron<br /><br />
Anna Biggers <br /><br />
Korea Black in honor of Phil Titus<br /><br />
Isabel Bonnyman in honor of Jean Bonnyman<br /><br />
Anderson Boone<br /><br />
Meg Bowden<br /><br />
Victoria Broadhead <br /><br />
Garrett Brown in honor of Will Camp<br /><br />
Katie Brown<br /><br />
Nastassia Bryant<br /><br />
Rachel Buckle<br /><br />
Moriah Burnett in honor of John Cox<br /><br />
David Burton<br /><br />
Allen Bushkuhl<br /><br />
Jae Yoon Byun in honor of Bailey Duncan<br /><br />
Kidd Cao in honor of Betsy Awsumb<br /><br />
Spencer Carroll in honor of Craig Schmidt<br /><br />
Miss Ebony Carter<br /><br />
Anisha Chandra<br /><br />
Esha Chandra<br /><br />
Zi Yang Chen in honor of Julia Dodd<br /><br />
Lyn Chen <br /><br />
Eric Chiu in honor of Donald Sweeney<br /><br />
Nora Cook in honor of Mitch Jordan<br /><br />
Thomas Craton in honor of Jason Turner<br /><br />
Michael deGolian in honor of John Cox and Owen Kinney<br /><br />
Neil Desai<br /><br />
Bear Dines in honor of Justin Arpan<br /><br />
Alexandra Dodd in honor of Jennifer Amobi<br /><br />
Harrison Douglas in honor of George and Betsy Awsumb and John Cox<br /><br />
Trista Dowdy<br /><br />
Lauren Dulaney in honor of Madge Crawford<br /><br />
Mark Dunagan in honor of Vickie Haney<br /><br />
Carl Edge <br /><br />
Devin Eman in honor of Tim McCann<br /><br />
Amee Eubank in honor of Jim Van Es<br /><br />
Katie Flint in honor of Pat Waddell<br /><br />
Matt Flint in honor of Will Camp<br /><br />
David Forgac<br /><br />
Anna Fox in honor of Phil Titus and Kathy O’Mara<br /><br />
Nicholas Glass in honor of David Powell<br /><br />
Matthew Glover<br /><br />
Ben Goldberg in honor of Reba Barnes<br /><br />
Tyshawn Good in honor of Jim Van Es<br /><br />
Shanarra Goode in honor of James Milford<br /><br />
Lindsay Griffin in honor of Beth Wilson<br /><br />
Adrienne Hamil in honor of Tara Inman<br /><br />
Lauren Hampton in honor of Sam Moss<br /><br />
Julia Hansen in honor of Donald Sweeney<br /><br />
Jessica Harris <br /><br />
Rachel Hong in honor of George Awsumb<br /><br />
Britney Hughes in honor of Owen Kinney<br /><br />
Pepe Ivars <br /><br />
Cleve Jackson in honor of Tollie Ross<br /><br />
Gregory Jackson in honor of Jamie Jackson<br /><br />
Fred Johnson in honor of Donnie Ray Tate<br /><br />
Michael Johnson in honor of George Awsumb<br /><br />
Thad Jolly in honor of Tim Garrett<br /><br />
Taylor Josey in honor of Kevin Ivester<br /><br />
Beau Kanskulthorn<br /><br />
Allan Katzef in honor of Kila McCann<br /><br />
Bess Kelley<br /><br />
Katlyn Kerr <br /><br />
Thomas Kuckhoff in honor of Donald Sweeney<br /><br />
Josh Land in honor of Jim Van Es<br /><br />
Rea Law in honor of Owen Kinney<br /><br />
Wright Ledbetter in honor of Will Camp and Stormy Johnson<br /><br />
Kun Sun Lee<br /><br />
Jaemin Lee in honor of Kila McCann<br /><br />
Mike Limpornpipat in honor of Julia Dodd<br /><br />
Michael Lo in honor of George Awsumb and Kay Lowe<br /><br />
Anna Loveless<br /><br />
Cris Lowe in honor of Kay Lowe<br /><br />
Ming-Gean Lu in honor of Raymond Murray and Rachel Turner<br /><br />
Natalie Maffett in honor of Madge Crawford<br /><br />
Ramy Mahfouz<br /><br />
Oscar Martinez-Tirado<br /><br />
Jim Matthews in honor of Jim Van Es<br /><br />
Jawad Mazhir<br /><br />
Kim McAbee in honor of Pat Waddell<br /><br />
Lauren McDaniel<br /><br />
Ian McKenzie in honor of Donald Sweeney<br /><br />
Tamara McKenzie in honor of John Cox<br /><br />
Jessica Moore<br /><br />
Katie Mullen in honor of Julia Dodd<br /><br />
Cha-ame Napombejara in honor of Donald Sweeney and Raymond Murray<br /><br />
Kelsey Nelon <br /><br />
Thuy Nguyen in honor of Cooper House<br /><br />
Rick O'Neal in honor of Gordon Hight and Jason Turner<br /><br />
Will Orr<br /><br />
Costanza Ospina in honor of Owen Kinney<br /><br />
Jin Woo Park in honor of Phil Titus<br /><br />
Monique Picon in honor of Owen Kinney<br /><br />
Patrick Pierson in honor of Tollie Ross<br /><br />
Jackie Pober in honor of Pat Waddell<br /><br />
Miss Laurie Pope <br /><br />
Collie Powers in honor of Jason Turner<br /><br />
Jett Wayne Puckett in honor of David Powell<br /><br />
Alex Purdie<br /><br />
Kurt Purvis in honor of Donald Sweeney<br /><br />
Ethan Ray<br /><br />
Laura Rhoades in honor of Karen Bennett and Jason Turner<br /><br />
Brian Rhoden<br /><br />
Taylor Richardson in honor of Bailey Duncan<br /><br />
Basti Richter in honor of Tim McCann<br /><br />
Sharpe Sablon in honor of Jason Turner<br /><br />
Syaweli Saputra<br /><br />
Stephanie Schecter<br /><br />
Juliet Serabian in honor of Kelly McDurmon<br /><br />
Kevin Shen<br /><br />
Connor Somerville in memory of Anne Somerville<br /><br />
Cedrica Spivey in honor of Kathy O’Mara<br /><br />
Anna Stephenson in honor of Dan Bishop and John Cox<br /><br />
Katie Stout in honor of Brian Inman<br /><br />
Yumehito Takimoto in honor of Dan Bishop<br /><br />
Ariel Tang in honor of Brant Evans<br /><br />
Rachel Tillman in honor of Owen Kinney<br /><br />
Jonathan Tullos<br /><br />
Gavin Tumblin in honor of Vickie Haney<br /><br />
Sam Tumlin in honor of Raymond Murray<br /><br />
Cavin Urquhart in honor of Tara Inman<br /><br />
Murat Varol in honor of Kila McCann<br /><br />
Abby Vincent in honor of Will Camp<br /><br />
Nguyen Vo<br /><br />
Megan Ware in honor of Raymond Murray<br /><br />
John Weeks in honor of Beth Wilson<br /><br />
Eric Wetherington in honor of Phil Titus<br /><br />
Morgan Whitman in honor of Mark Carleton<br /><br />
Mackenzie Wilson in honor of James Milford<br /><br />
Joey Yip<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Darlington School will host two Atlanta-area alumni phonathons to benefit the Annual Fund March 23 and 24. The events will be held at the law offices of Epstein, Becker and Green, located at Resurgens Plaza, 945 East Paces Ferry Road, Suite 2700. Dinner begins at 5:30 p.m. with the phonathon to follow at 6:30 p.m. A special thanks to Brad Skidmore (’80) for helping host this special event! Please come out and support your alma mater and help us reconnect with your fellow classmates. If you would like to volunteer, contact <a href="mailto:jturner@darlingtonschool.org">Jason Turner</a> at 706-236-0419 or 706-252-4628.<br /><br />
In only two nights, volunteers for this year’s Fall Phonathon Week raised $123,025 for the 2008-09 Annual Fund. This puts the total amount raised at $472,726 with the Darlington Community well on its way to achieving this year’s goal of $1.35 million.<br /><br />
“We aimed to raise a minimum of $100,000 this week with two phonathons rather than the usual three, and with the help of 24 alumni and parent volunteers I am pleased to say that we drastically exceeded our goal,” said Jason Turner, Annual Fund gifts officer. “We could not have done this without our dedicated volunteers. I’d also like to thank Trustee Bob Hortman (’72), chairman, for providing strong leadership to this year’s Annual Fund Board of Volunteers. Together, this group is achieving great things for Darlington.”<br /><br />
This week’s volunteers included Hortman, Holly Baldwin, Caroline Seigler Brearely (’99), Linda Brunt, Henry Brown (’51), Cathy O’Neill Dollar (’68), Pete (’57) and Suzy Gilbert, Ivey Harrison (’99), Barry (’83) and Jody (’84) Hurley, Mark and Belinda MacKimm, Ben McElrath (’02), Brian and Gina McWhorter, Jennifer Strickland, Lorie Thoms, Rachel Rice Turner (’98), Pam Ware, Ed Watters (’83), Joe Watters (’80), and Steve (’73) and Ann Wilhoite.<br /><br />
“I’d like to thank each one of these people for their tremendous efforts on Darlington’s behalf. Everyone worked extremely hard to make this week a success,” said Turner. “This reflects a tremendous show of love and support of Darlington by our parents and alumni despite a questionable time for our country’s economy.”<br /><br />
Also, the Middle School became the first division to reach 100-percent participation among faculty and staff in August, with the Lower School achieving the same goal in early September. The Upper School is close behind at more than 90 percent participation.<br /><br />
“I want to give a special thanks to our faculty chairpersons Beth Smith (’87), Susan Stout (’81) and Owen Kinney for heading up a great effort at all three divisions,” said Turner. “These teachers have really set the precedent for faculty giving at Darlington.”<br /><br />
For more information about the Annual Fund, please contact Jason Turner at 706-236-0419. <a href="https://www.darlingtonschool.org/development/gift.asp">Click here</a> to give online.
For the first time in Darlington School history the senior class has reached 100-percent participation in giving back to its alma mater. Each year seniors are encouraged make a donation to the Annual Fund as their first step toward recognizing the roles and responsibilities they have as alumni. <br /><br />
Last year, the Class of 2007 was challenged anonymously by a local trustee who promised a $2,007 gift to the Annual Fund in the class’ honor if every senior made a donation. While the Class of 2007’s participation was strong, they were unable to meet 100 percent. <br /><br />
The same trustee issued a challenge this year to the Class of 2008, and on May 5, Tuan Pham’s donation meant all 114 seniors were on board. As promised, the trustee will make a $2,008 gift to the Annual Fund.<br /><br />
"This is an unprecedented step for a graduating class at Darlington," said Jason Turner, annual gifts officer. "The Class of 2008 was presented with the challenge during a senior retreat on April 22, and within two weeks they had met their goal."<br /><br />
Together, the seniors raised more than $600 for the Annual Fund, making gifts in honor of faculty, staff, coaches and advisers. Two students chose to honor Shem Thomas, who served as Darlington's janitor in the early 1900s. Thomas earned the school's first honorary summa cum laude diploma when he retired from Darlington after 40 years.<br /><br />
“The Class of 2008 sent a message that they care about the people they are leaving behind – teachers, students and those who will attend Darlington in the future,” Turner said. "The leave a legacy that clearly defines their loyalty, love and support for Darlington. It’s a pretty special gesture.”<br /><br />
<br /><br />
<b>Senior Gifts:</b><br /><br />
Austin Alford in honor of Brian Inman<br /><br />
Salim Ali<br /><br />
Arielle Alviar<br /><br />
Cody Anderson<br /><br />
Jimmy Barrett<br /><br />
Tyson Betts<br /><br />
Kaycie Bevis<br /><br />
Morgan Birdsong<br /><br />
Elise Bliss in honor of John Cox<br /><br />
Kendall Brooks in honor of Madge Crawford<br /><br />
Grover Brown<br /><br />
Natalie Brock<br /><br />
Starla Brumit in honor of Owen Kinney<br /><br />
Elizabeth Buice in honor of Phil Titus<br /><br />
Grant Bushkuhl<br /><br />
Marina Calloway in honor of Jason Turner<br /><br />
Ben Cantrell<br /><br />
Lee Cantrell in honor of Pat Waddell<br /><br />
Matthew Carlos<br /><br />
Renard Carlos<br /><br />
Pattanun Chanpiwat<br /><br />
Camp Chisholm<br /><br />
Mu-jung “Ryan” Chiu in honor of David Powell and Julia Dodd<br /><br />
EunJin Cho<br /><br />
Sarah Clements in honor of Madge Crawford<br /><br />
Caroline Coble<br /><br />
Patrick Collier<br /><br />
Jim Collins<br /><br />
Cecilia Colombo in honor of Alan Parish<br /><br />
Nash Cooper<br /><br />
T.J. Crews<br /><br />
Claire Davis<br /><br />
Alex Dean in honor of Tim McCann<br /><br />
Meagan Dingler<br /><br />
Jessica Dixon<br /><br />
Hannah Dodd<br /><br />
Gage Doss<br /><br />
Elliot Echols<br /><br />
Turner Edwards<br /><br />
Derricus Ellis in honor of Jason Turner<br /><br />
Grier Fricks<br /><br />
Drew Fuller in honor of Donald Sweeney<br /><br />
Ryan Gaffney in honor of Donald Sweeney<br /><br />
Mac Gilliland<br /><br />
Jay Graham<br /><br />
Andrew Green<br /><br />
Ashley Greene<br /><br />
Brandi Greenwald<br /><br />
Jefferson Grizzard<br /><br />
Paul Groover in honor of Mitch Jordan<br /><br />
Kendra Harris in honor of Stormy Johnson<br /><br />
Garrett Henderson in honor of Blake “Mad Dog” Henderson<br /><br />
Brittany Hightower<br /><br />
Elizabeth Hortman<br /><br />
Kent Hubbard in honor of Raymond Murray and Tim McCann<br /><br />
Lucy Izard<br /><br />
Ben Jackson in honor of Kent Harrison and Blake “Mad Dog” Henderson<br /><br />
Jennifer Johnson<br /><br />
Summer Jones<br /><br />
Tim Kim<br /><br />
Katherine Knight in honor of Karen Bennett<br /><br />
Chi “Ivan” Binh La<br /><br />
Ricardo Lau Wu<br /><br />
Chang-sup Lee in honor of Julia Dodd<br /><br />
Andy Lewis<br /><br />
Laura Lynch<br /><br />
Douglas MacKimm in honor of Tim Foote and Raymond Murray<br /><br />
Lauren Mauer<br /><br />
Ka “Jack” Chun Mok in honor of Kila McCann<br /><br />
Clint Monteith in honor of Skip Saunders<br /><br />
Gibbons Monteleone in honor of Raymond Murray<br /><br />
Mary Beth Montgomery in honor of Pat Waddell<br /><br />
Andy Montgomery<br /><br />
Chutimun “Arm” Napombejara in honor of Donald Sweeney<br /><br />
Songkiat “A” Nutalaya<br /><br />
Kelly O’Mara in honor of Owen Kinney<br /><br />
Logan O’Riley<br /><br />
Cooper O’Shaughnessy<br /><br />
Mike Ostbye in honor of Raymond Murray<br /><br />
Sarah Pate<br /><br />
Trey Payne<br /><br />
Tuan Pham<br /><br />
Cole Phillips<br /><br />
Bryce Pitts<br /><br />
Korey Pitts<br /><br />
Daniel Powell in honor of Shem Thomas<br /><br />
Katie Powers<br /><br />
Tianyu Pu<br /><br />
Ross Rhoades in honor of Raymond Murray<br /><br />
Brennen Riddle in honor of Pat Waddell<br /><br />
Justin Rufen-Blanchette in honor of Jim Van Es<br /><br />
Christina Rutledge in honor of Kay Lowe<br /><br />
T.J. Shea<br /><br />
Lacey Sheppard<br /><br />
MacKenzie Sidwell<br /><br />
Justin Smith in honor of Owen Kinney<br /><br />
Esa Sofian<br /><br />
Courtney Stevens<br /><br />
Caroline Steverson<br /><br />
Samantha Stockseth<br /><br />
Ali Terrell in honor of Raymond Murray and Phil Titus<br /><br />
Pooja Tiwari<br /><br />
Baylee Tudor<br /><br />
Jenna Marie Van Es in honor of Jim Van Es<br /><br />
Nguyen Vo<br /><br />
Dane Walsh in honor of Shem Thomas<br /><br />
Kate Waters in honor of Tim Foote<br /><br />
Jennifer Watford<br /><br />
Landon Watters in honor of Pat Waddell and Brian Inman<br /><br />
Brooke Wilkins in honor of Dan Bishop<br /><br />
Annie Williams<br /><br />
Patrick Wilson in honor of the football coaching staff<br /><br />
Claire Wyatt in honor of David Powell<br /><br />
Dam-Sil Yoo
Middle School track teams finish No. 2 and No. 3 in Area, records broken
May 5, 2008
Fractions of an inch and tenths of seconds were all that stood between Darlington’s Middle School boys' track team and the Area title on April 29. Unfortunately, Rockmart pulled ahead leaving the Tigers in the No. 2 slot. The girls finished No. 3 behind Pepperell and Rome.<br /><br />
"The boys turned in their most dominant performance in recent history, crowning Area champions in the 1600, the 4x100 relay, the 4x400 relay and second-place finishes in the 1600, the 800, and the 200," said head coach Jason Turner. "Along the way, school records were set in the 1600 by Jesse Baker, the long jump by Cedric Spivey and Cameron Gibson, and the 4x400 relay team. Cameron also broke the 200-meter record."<br /><br />
These performances helped the Tigers score 85 points for one of their best Area finishes in the last 10 years. <br /><br />
“Our girls’ program has been strong lately, finishing second in the Area in each of the last three years,” Turner said, "but we had a special group of boys this year who are talented, hard-working and extremely competitive. If they stay together, they have a chance to do some great things in Class A in the coming years.”<br /><br />
Baker’s record-setting run of 5:13 broke Connor McWhorter’s three-year-old record of 5:19 and helped the Tigers to an early lead. He followed that with a third-place run in the 800 behind Erik Griffiths, who took second in the 800 and 1600. Griffiths also finished third in the 400.<br /><br />
But it was Gibson who shined the brightest for the Tigers. Running on the second leg of the 4x100 relay team, he helped Spivey, Ivy Duggan and Shaquielle Calhoun win the Area title after Rockmart was disqualified for an exchange violation. That foursome leaves as Area champions – the first for Darlington in more than a decade – and the school record, turned last week with a time of 46.99 seconds.<br /><br />
Earlier in the day Gibson watched Spivey break Jay Stephens’ long jump record (17 feet, 10 inches, 2007), then leaped past that with a jump of 18 feet, 10.5 inches. But Gibson’s most impressive performance came in the 200 when he dashed his way to a time of 23.68 seconds, bettering Duggan’s record of 24.84. That earned Gibson a second-place finish. Duggan broke the 25.7 record last week, a mark that stood at the Middle School since 1994 by John Foss ('98).<br /><br />
The most thrilling event of the night was the 4x400 relay. Duggan’s blazing third leg gave Myles Englis a lead he would hold, and the Tigers brought home the Area title in that event and set the school record with a time of 4:03.82. Joining Duggan and Englis were Spivey and Kendrick Rhea. <br /><br />
Also placing for the boys were Calhoun (second – shot put, fourth – 100), Spivey (sixth – long jump), Spencer Jones (sixth – triple jump and 400) and Duggan (fifth – 200).<br /><br />
The girls’ three-year string of second-place finishes came up a half-point short to Rome, which was outdistanced by Pepperell. The Lady Dragons once again won the Area with 102 points.<br /><br />
“I think our girls are disappointed they came out third, but this was easily the strongest team we’ve had in a long time," Turner said. "Considering how big and deep Pepperell and Rome are, I think we can be very proud of our performance. There’s no shortage of talent among our girls, either. They will have a chance to make a lot of noise with some already talented girls in our Upper School if they stay with the program.”<br /><br />
Kenzie Major had a great night for the Lady Tigers, scoring 24 points in three individual events – including an Area title in the 400 – and also anchoring the 4x400 team that shattered the 1996 school record of 4:49.6. Major, Allison Wetherington, Allie Hurley and Lindsay Evans cruised to a time of 4:40.0, erasing the names of Ana Monroe Fitzner, Katie Van Es, Lindsay Harbin and Diana Hamlin.<br /><br />
Major finished second in the high jump, third in the triple jump and turned a lap of 64.85 seconds to win the 400, narrowly missing the record Megan Betts (’05) set in 2001 (63.9). <br /><br />
Wetherington was equally dominant, running by teammate Ansley McDurmon’s record (5:40.1) in the 1600 with a title-clenching time of 5:34. McDurmon bested her own personal record with a time of 5:35, giving the Lady Tigers a one-two finish in that event. The Wetherington-McDurmon duo came up with big points again for the Lady Tigers in the 800, finishing second and third, respectively. Wetherington was nudged at the finish line for second but walked away with another school record. Her time of 2:34.55 broke the mark set in 1993 by current Lower School teacher Jennifer Brewster (’98), 2:40. <br /><br />
Also placing for the Lady Tigers were Alea Vick (fifth – 100 hurdles, 4x400 and 100 meters, fourth – 4x100), Carolyn Kipp (third – long jump, fifth – high jump, fourth – 4x100), Mary Bailey Jones (fifth – triple jump, fourth – 4x100), Hurley (fifth – 400), Anna Cantrell (fifth - 4x400), Greer Broyles (fourth – 4x100), Bailey Brock (fifth – 4x400) and Maggie Beth Atha (fifth – 4x400).
