Joelle James Phillips ’89, president of AT&T Tennessee, spoke in a Sewanee news article about how her liberal arts education and theatre studies at BSC helped form her career. Phillips currently serves as Sewanee’s Babson Center for Global Commerce Executive-in-Residence.

Lavon Winkler MPPM ’89 was named CEO of FLEXcon, a manufacturer of coated and laminated films based in Spencer, Mass. Winkler joined the firm in 2017 as president. He has previously served as the CEO of Milbank Manufacturing of Kansas City, president and CEO of Mid-America Manufacturing Technology Center in Overland Park, Kan., and president and COO at Western Forms in Kansas City.

Adam Moseley ’98, Hoover High School baseball coach, earned his 400^th career win in early March. Moseley took over the Hoover program in 2014 after eight seasons as head coach at Grissom High School, where he played as a student. He was a pitcher during his time at BSC.

Allison Norris Ashurst ’02 was chosen as the featured artist for the 68th Annual Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival in downtown Fairhope. Though the March event was canceled due to COVID-19, the festival committee encourages people to shop with local artists online. Ashurst often works with oil and acrylic paints for their depth and richness and finds inspiration in nature. Outside of commissioned pieces and work with her family business, she collaborates with the Exceptional Foundation of the Gulf Coast (EFGC) by encouraging the practice of art.

Nancy Williams Ball ’04 joined Bradley LLP as the firm’s newest partner, where her practice focuses on estate planning and administration, taxation, real estate, and corporate law. She serves as secretary of the Birmingham Bar Association’s probate section, a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Council, and a member of the Estate Planning Council of Birmingham and the Alabama Planned Giving Council.

Bucky McMillan ’08 is the new basketball coach at Samford University. At 24, he became the basketball coach at Mountain Brook, his high school alma mater, where he won five state championships.

Zachary Guyse ’11 was promoted to partner at the law firm of Wolfe, Jones, Wolfe, Hancock, Daniel & South, LLC in Huntsville. Guyse represents individuals in complex personal injury claims, including nursing home abuse, commercial trucking accidents, and workers compensation. He has also been inducted into the National Trial Lawyers “Top 40 Under 40” for civil plaintiff lawyers in Alabama.

Dr. Kayla Kauffman, assistant professor of religion at BSC, is one of only 25 faculty nationwide selected to participate in Teaching Interfaith Understanding, a seminar held at DePaul University in Chicago. Kauffman specializes in the history of religions in Africa, including indigenous and world religions such as Islam, Christianity, Vodou, and local traditions. She also focuses her work on the ways in which religion intersects with social justice, non-violence, popular and secular culture, and international relations.

David Remember Baker ’51 of Birmingham on March 20, 2020. Baker received his Juris Doctor degree from Harvard University. He then served in the U.S. Army, where he was assigned to classified communications on the base in Herzogenaurach, Germany. When he and his first wife Myra Mullins Baker ’61 returned home, Baker began his impressive legal career in Birmingham and eventually New York City. He was president of the New York Legislative Service (1975-1998), a director of Junior Achievement of New York (1973-1999), and a director of Junior Achievement of Greater Birmingham (1999-2007). He was General Counsel for the Economic Club of New York for 34 years and a BSC Trustee for 28 years. In 2009, BSC presented him with an honorary LLD. In 2011, Baker married Lois Avery Gaeta, a writer. He regularly attended the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and services at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Birmingham.

Dr. Christian “Chris” Ewing Hauer ’52 of Rockville, Md., on Feb. 27, 2020. After graduating from BSC, Hauer earned Bachelor of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Vanderbilt University and was ordained as a minister in the Presbyterian Church. In 1959, he joined the faculty of Westminster College in Fulton, Mo., where he served as a professor of religious studies. Hauer had many published writings about music, philosophy, theology, liberal education theory, and modern history, but his scholarly research concentrated on biblical history, Jewish studies, and archeology. He co-authored “An Introduction to the Bible: A Journey into Three Worlds” with his colleague, Dr. William Young. He also worked with Young on a book on the history of a Sir Christopher Wren church that was transported from London and reconstructed in Fulton in the late 1960s, “A Comprehensive History of the London Church and Parish of St. Mary, the Virgin, Aldermanbury.” Hauer was elected as a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries (London) and was also a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the Winston Churchill Memorial. He was an active member and parish associate at Hope Presbyterian Church.

Waltraud Valda Butsch ’59 of Chambersburg, Pa., on March 21, 2020. Butsch was born in Brieg, Germany, and grew up during World War II. She moved to America to attend college at BSC. She loved traveling to Germany, gardening, singing, hiking, and fossil hunting.

Diana Jane Harrison Parker Roberts ’60 of Decatur, Ga., on March 23, 2020. At BSC, Roberts was an officer of Pi Beta Phi Sorority and a Phi Beta Kappa graduate. She went on to earn her master's degree from Duke University Divinity School. As a certified director of Christian education and ordained United Methodist minister, she served churches in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia. She also served as an editor of youth curriculum for the General Board of Education and Discipleship of the United Methodist Church in Nashville and as Executive Director of the Housing and Homeless Council of the North Georgia Conference of the UMC. Roberts also enjoyed a secular career in writing and editing. She was an editor and writer for several business publications and a freelance editor. Through the years, she also volunteered at various agencies and projects, including Contact Atlanta, Habitat for Humanity, Carter Library & Museum, Grady's Special Care Nursery, and Fuller Center for Housing.

Ralph Fette Noble ’61 of Birmingham on March 31, 2020. Noble worked at Ernst & Ernst, Blue Cross, and several hospitals in the Birmingham area. He spent most of his career in hospital administration and retired from Children's Health System. He was known in the workplace for being kind to everyone. During his retirement on Lake Martin, Noble enjoyed beach trips, get-togethers with family and friends, and volunteering at YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly. He was an active member of First Baptist Church of Alexander City. He loved the lake, fishing, caring for stray animals, and Alabama football.

Dorothy Aurelia Galloway Cooke ’62 of Leesburg, Ala., on March 24, 2020. Cooke was a member of Alpha Chi Omega Sorority. She was a stay-at-home mom until her children were adults, when she decided to see what the business world was like. She went to work as a secretary and treasurer for Robert Warnock Company, Inc. and retired after 29 years of service. Cooke enjoyed knitting, crocheting, cooking, and traveling. She was a charter member of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Apostles in Hoover, where she was chairman of the Altar Guild, a member of the founding vestry, and a member of Daughters of King. Her sister, Martha Ann Galloway Ware ’52, also graduated from BSC.

Dr. Sally Utley Blanchard of Williamsburg, Va., on Feb. 22, 2020. Blanchard spent time working with young women at the Florence Crittenton Home in Charlotte, N.C., earned a master’s degree in counseling from UNC Charlotte, and earned a Ph.D. in education from the University of Virginia. While living in Alabama, she worked as BSC’s director of adult student recruitment. Blanchard eventually returned to Virginia to begin a 36-year career in human resources, and she served as an adjunct faculty member for the University of Richmond, University of Virginia, Lynchburg College, and Averett University.

Dr. Samuel Stayer of Birmingham on Feb. 29, 2020. Stayer spent his career as a history professor at BSC, where students lined up to enroll in his classes. He loved learning, teaching, and singing demanding choral music, and he was dedicated to celebrating his family history and Mennonite heritage. Stayer’s wife, Lee Gilbreath Stayer ’74, is a BSC graduate.