Darlington School is pleased to announce that Matthew Jones (’99) will be the keynote speaker at the Baccalaureate Service on May 14 and Suzy Gilbert will address the Class of 2011 at Commencement on May 15.
Matthew Jones (’99) has worked in the Student Life Office since 2004. During this time, he has been a member of the Neville and Moser House duty staffs and served as director of student activities, assistant dean of students and dean of students – his current position. He also teaches U.S. history and is defensive coordinator for the varsity football team and head varsity girls’ soccer coach. The captain of Darlington’s 1998 state football team, he has helped coach the Tigers to two back-to-back Region 6-A championships and three state playoff runs. Matthew has a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Jill, live on campus. He recently accepted a position coaching and working in the athletic department at Kentucky Country Day School in Louisville, effective this fall.
Suzy Gilbert, a member of the Board of Trustees, has been a dedicated supporter of Darlington for more than three decades. In addition to her 23 years of service to the Board, she has been involved with three Presidential Search Committees and is currently a member of the Second Century Campaign’s Northwest Georgia-Area Campaign Cabinet and the J. Daniel Hanks Sr. Heritage Society. She has also been a loyal Annual Fund volunteer, serving multiple terms on Darlington’s Annual Fund Leadership Board. Suzy attended Randolph-Macon Women’s College and graduated from Auburn University with a B.S. She has been active in a variety of service organizations in Rome and Floyd County, including the Empty Bowls Project, Good Neighbor Ministries, Heart of the Community, Junior Service League, the Open Door Home, Rome Area Heritage Foundation, the YMCA, and the Floyd, Polk, Chattooga Medical Alliance. She also helped organize the GATE (Gain Awareness Through Education) Program. In 2006, she received the Heart of the Community Award for her good work. She and her husband, Dr. Peter Gilbert (’57), are members of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church. The Gilberts are the parents of Darlington alumni Barritt Gilbert (’83), Amy (Gilbert) Carter (’85), and Ivy (Gilbert) Spencer (’86), and the grandparents of current students, William (’11), Lizzie (’12), Thomas (’14), and Mary Harbin Gilbert (’18).
The Baccalaureate Service will be held May 14 at 7 p.m. in Morris Chapel. Commencement will begin May 15 at 9:30 a.m. on the Chapel Lawn. In case of rain on Sunday, Commencement will be held at 10:30 a.m. in the Huffman Athletic Center. Darlington will stream both events live online at this link.
