Darlington School is pleased to announce that history teacher Jared Willerson will be the keynote speaker at the Baccalaureate Service on May 17, and Life Trustee Betty Ledbetter, a current Darlington grandparent and the daughter of longtime Darlington president and headmaster E.L. Wright, will give the Commencement address.
Willerson was selected by the graduating class as the Baccalaureate speaker. He has taught history at the Upper School in addition to serving as head volleyball and golf coach and assistant boys' basketball coach since 2017. He holds a B.S. in Business Finance from the University of Tennessee - Chattanooga and an M.A. in Teaching, Learning and Corporate Training from Lee University. Willerson has taught economics at Chickamauga City Schools for the past 14 years. He has also coached basketball, volleyball and golf, most recently creating a nationally ranked men's golf program at Georgia Northwestern Technical College.
Ledbetter grew up on the Darlington campus, first in the McCain House, then the Home-on-the-Hill, while her father, E.L. Wright served first as Darlington’s headmaster for 34 years and then, in 1954, when he became Darlington’s second president. As a Darlington parent, she volunteered extensively for the school, organizing parents’ auctions, student dances, and Alumni Weekend barbecues; helping coach the girls' tennis team; compiling slideshows for senior nights; and hosting senior picnics, year-end faculty parties, and countless reunions. She served as president of the Mother's Club and, later, the Booster Club. Ledbetter has participated in numerous strategic planning processes for the school and served two terms as a member of the Board of Trustees before being named a Life Trustee. She also served as chair of Darlington’s Centennial Celebration in 2005. She and her late husband, Bob Ledbetter Sr. ('53), also a former trustee, had three sons, current trustee Bob Jr. ('84), Wright ('85, LD '19) and David ('88). She is the grandmother of Bob III ('16), Hollis ('17), Kathryne ('19), Henry ('26), Molly ('27), Henley ('30), Campbell ('31), Harper ('31) and Virginia ('31).
The Baccalaureate Service will be held Friday, May 17, at 7 p.m. in Morris Chapel. Commencement will begin Saturday, May 18, at 9:30 a.m. on the Chapel Lawn. In the event of rain, Commencement will be held at 10:30 a.m. in the Huffman Athletic Center. Darlington will stream both events live online.
