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GENERAL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
’ 79 John Catlett Bruffey Jr. (’ 79 AB) of
Atlanta has been awarded the Alumni
Service Award by Campbell University.
Bruffey is a partner in Drew Eckl & Farnham LLP,
practicing in workers’ compensation. Gary Kelton
Joyner (’ 79 AB) of Raleigh has been elected to the
executive committee of Kilpatrick Stockton. Joyner is
managing partner of the Raleigh office and practices
in the areas of commercial real estate and commercial lending. Cynthia Cole Rigsbee (’ 79 ABEd, ’03
MEd) of Durham has been named one of four finalists for the National Teacher of the Year Award. Rigsbee teaches at Gravelly Hill Middle School in Orange
County and is the 2008-09 N.C. Teacher of the Year.
Carol Moir Strickland (’ 79 AB) of Abbeville, S.C.,
has been called as pastor to Abbeville Presbyterian
Church. Steven Edwin Thomas (’ 79 AB) of Conway, S.C., has been named assistant city manager
for the city of North Myrtle Beach. Madelyn Nee
Warcholik (’ 79 AB) of Hillsborough and co-owners
Jeffery Deaver and Sylvia Feistill saw their briard,
K’Instant Succes Moravia Campanella, known as
“Chance,” take home the Best of Breed Award at the
Westminster Kennel Club dog show. D. Jordan
Whichard III (’ 79 BSIR) of Greenville has retired as
publisher of The Daily Reflector of Greenville and
group publisher of Cox North Carolina Publications
Inc. Whichard began working at the paper as vice
president and general manager in 1985 and served
as president and CEO of The Daily Reflector and four
affiliated companies from 1991 to 1996. Whichard
has been a member of the GAA Board of Directors
since 2004 and currently serves as first vice chair.
■ obituary
James Thompson Rhodes (’ 79 AB), 52, of Mayodan;
Dec. 21, 2008. Rhodes was ordained into the Ministry
of the Gospel at Christian View Christian Church. His
first ministry was at Sandy Ridge Christian Church.
’ 80 Ted Wade Abernathy Jr. (’ 80 AB) of
Raleigh was the keynote speaker at the
awards dinner for announcement of the
Neville Holcombe Distinguished Citizenship Award by
the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce. Abernathy is executive director of the Southern Growth
Policies Board. Christine Anne Biron (’ 80 PhD) of
Providence, R.I., has been elected to fellowship in
the American Academy of Microbiology. Biron is the
Esther Elizabeth Brintzenhoff Professor of Medical
Sciences and chair of the department of molecular
microbiology and immunology at Brown University.
Joseph Galli Jr. (’ 80 BSBA) of Hunts Valley, Md., has
been named CEO of Techtronic Industries Co., the
Hong Kong-based manufacturer of Ryobi power tools,
Homelite outdoor products, and Hoover and Dirt
Devil vacuum cleaners. Brent Roger Honeycutt
(’ 80 BSBA) of Benson has been named Small Business Person of the Year by the Benson Area Chamber of Commerce. Honeycutt is a founding partner of
Honeycutt and Grady CPAs.
■ obituary
Dan Ray Coombs (’ 80 AB), 50, of Conway; Feb. 6,
2009. Coombs was a chemist. At UNC, he belonged
to Alpha Chi Sigma.
’ 81 Beth Barnes (’ 81 PhD) of Orlando, Fla.,
has been named vice president emerita
of the University of Central Florida. Initially an English professor, she retired 40 years later
