Rev. Michael O’Bannon ’70 served as a chef for the fifth annual Firefly Supper in Murfreesboro, Tenn. The event benefits and highlights the work of Doors of Hope, an organization that provides mentoring, training, and basic needs to women who are nearing release from incarceration. O’Bannon is a retired pastor.

Denson N. Franklin III ’85, Chair of the BSC Board of Trustees, was named senior vice president and general counsel of Vulcan Materials Company, effective Dec. 2. Franklin joins the company from the Corporate and Securities Practice Group at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, and he has worked as Vulcan’s primary outside counsel for more than 20 years.

Michael Swann ’86 opened Gallery VOX, a contemporary art space in Tarrant, Ala., earlier this year. The main gallery displays unique exhibitions by local, regional and national artists, and the building’s store-front window has been converted into MicroVox, a “drive-through art” installation. Swann was recently featured in a B-Metro Q&A that focuses on the gallery and Swann’s own artistic style and background.

Greg King ’96, Camille Spratling ’98, and Elizabeth Featheringill Pharo ’00 were named three of Birmingham Business Journals’ Top 40 Under 40 of the Decade, which recognizes 40 of the last decade’s 400 honorees. King is currently executive vice president and Alabama regional president of IberiaBank, where he has worked since 2009. Spratling has served as the executive director of Railroad Park Foundation since 2010 and has helped find innovative ways for the park to maintain its status as one of Birmingham's most catalytic assets. Pharo is a managing partner at Featheringill Capital, a small private equity investment group, and she helped grow Momentum Telecom to one of the fastest-growing tech firms in Birmingham and in the country.

Greg King ’96, Camille Spratling ’98, and Elizabeth Featheringill Pharo ’00 were named three of Birmingham Business Journals’ Top 40 Under 40 of the Decade, which recognizes 40 of the last decade’s 400 honorees. King is currently executive vice president and Alabama regional president of IberiaBank, where he has worked since 2009. Spratling has served as the executive director of Railroad Park Foundation since 2010 and has helped find innovative ways for the park to maintain its status as one of Birmingham's most catalytic assets. Pharo is a managing partner at Featheringill Capital, a small private equity investment group, and she helped grow Momentum Telecom to one of the fastest-growing tech firms in Birmingham and in the country.

Gregory C. Townsend MPPM ’11 recently graduated as a member of the first official cohort of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Leaders program. Townsend launched the Women’s Worth Life Readiness project and has worked to enrich Birmingham’s South East Lake neighborhood. The community-based workforce development project offers opportunities to enrich the lives of women by providing one-on-one mentoring, access to educational and life skills coaching, and scholarships for career training.

Robert Eakin ’12 was recognized as one of Nashville’s Top 30 Under 30 by the Middle Tennessee chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Eakin co-manages the leasing efforts for the Eakin Partners’ Office Portfolio, consisting of more than 1.5 million square feet in the Nashville region. Prior to joining the company in 2014, he worked at First Tennessee Bank as an analyst in the commercial real estate division.

Lauren Delashaw ’13 was featured by Bham Now as one of seven female Birmingham bartenders you should know. Delashaw explores new flavor profiles and unlikely ingredient combinations as a bartender at The Collins Bar.

Kyle Sherrin ’13 was one of eight athletes inducted into Fairhope High School’s Hall of Fame. Sherrin was co-captain of the school’s 6A state champion soccer team and before playing at BSC. Since graduation, he earned his MBA at the University of Florida and began a career in finance.

Dallas Taylor ’14 is on the road with the “Jurassic World” Live Tour as a “dinoteer,” one of the production’s dinosaur puppeteers. The show is based on the 1993 film and uses more than 24 realistic, full-sized dinosaurs to bring the movie to life. Taylor studied theatre at BSC and works as a Florida-based actor.

Katie Jones ’18 bought Buckhead Art & Company a few months after graduating from BSC and has now owned the gallery for just over a year. The art gallery in the Buckhead district of Atlanta represents more than 30 artists, mostly local plus some from Santa Fe, Los Angeles, Mississippi, and Birmingham. Jones studied both art and business at BSC, and her work is on display at the gallery.

Willie Williams, Jr. ’18 and his art gallery, Studio 2500, were featured by Birmingham Times and Bham Now. Williams transformed an old garage in North Birmingham into the gallery and hosted its first exhibition in 2016. Studio 2500 acts as a center for young, diverse artists in Birmingham and encourages discussion among people of different generations and ethnic backgrounds.

David Littleton Ellis ’47 of Birmingham, on Oct. 17, 2019. Ellis served two tours of duty with the U.S. Navy during World War II, engaging in many critical battles in the Pacific aboard the USS Salt Lake City. He met his wife, Jean Norton Ellis ’46, as a BSC student, and they spent more than 70 years together. Ellis spent his entire career working for Southern Bell Telephone Company, now AT&T. He enjoyed golfing, woodworking, and travel, especially cross-country camping trips with his family.

Joanne Gray Englebert ’53 of Mountain Brook, Ala., on Sept. 30, 2019. Englebert was crowned May Queen as a BSC student, and, for a number of years, she was a sought-after fashion narrator in Birmingham. A passionate world traveler, she chronicled one of her trips abroad in “Martha, We Can't Do That,” a book that reflects her sense of adventure and the unexpected situations that arise when traveling. Englebert was an art collector with a keen interest in all the arts, and she generously donated a nine-panel Dorothy Gillespie installation in BSC’s Norton Campus Center. Her son, Donald Gray Englebert ’82, also attended BSC.

Donald Kirkpatrick ’57 of Birmingham, on Oct. 3, 2019. Kirkpatrick spent his career in advertising and promotion, particularly through Kirkpatrick Advertising. Before founding his firm, his partnership with Wesley Bonzo oversaw the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame’s growth. His ambitious series of touring Broadway shows was highlighted by “Hello, Dolly,” which was staged at Municipal Auditorium and starred Broadway favorite Carol Channing. His wife, Dr. Katherine Glass Kirkpatrick ’64, taught in BSC’s education department for 17 years, and though the two didn’t meet at BSC, their story was captured in a BSC feature. They were regulars at BSC football games.

Earnest Cocoris ’64 of Birmingham, on Sept. 30, 2019. Cocoris served in the U.S. Navy before graduating from BSC with a degree in business. He had a distinguished career as an investigator with the federal government, and enjoyed opera music, cooking, sports, and spending time with his grandson.

Robert Layle Monk ’71 of Ten Mile, Tenn., on Sept. 11, 2019. Monk studied physics at BSC and went on to join the U.S. Navy. He served aboard the USS California, and he participated in the construction of the USS Carl Vinson, a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier. Monk then worked in the nuclear power industry for 40 years, first for Southern Company and later for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. He served in various administrative roles at Luminary United Methodist Church and was accomplished at woodworking, beekeeping, weaving, and beer brewing. Monk’s wife, Linda Jeffcoat Monk ’71, also attended BSC.

Donald M. Sanders ’81 of Hyattsville, Md., on Oct. 7, 2019. As at home on the stage as he was in the world, Sanders received a full theatre scholarship to BSC and went on to obtain his MFA in filmmaking from American University in Washington, D.C. He began his professional career at the Close Up Foundation in Alexandria, Va., where he created videos that encouraged high school students to meet their state representatives. Sanders’ interest in politics led him to a creative director role at a political communications consulting firm in Washington, D.C., which eventually became MacWilliams Sanders Communications. His wife, Janis Hopper Sanders ’82, also attended BSC.