Erik S. Heninger ’00, partner at Heninger Garrison Davis, LLC, received board certification as a civil trial law advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. This certification is the only distinction granted by non-profit organizations and is the highest and most definitive honor an attorney can receive. Heninger was also named one of the top 50 lawyers in Alabama and is “AV Preeminent” rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

James Seay ’02 served as the guest conductor for the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra for the annual Joyce Caddell Holiday Pops Concert. Seay is director of music and arts at First United Methodist Church in Montgomery, where he leads a music program with 13 choirs. He is also the artistic director/conductor and founder of the Montgomery Chorale community choir. Before moving to Montgomery in 2015, he served as the director of music at First United Methodist Church in Tuscaloosa for ten years and founded the professional chamber choral ensemble ETHOS.

Reba Hudson ’08 was named assistant principal at Homewood Middle School. Hudson has served as a sixth grade math and science teacher and the seventh grade girls basketball coach at Homewood Middle, where she was also honored as Teacher of the Year this academic year. She has been an educator for 13 years and holds master’s degrees from UAB and the University of West Alabama. In 2014, Hudson was inducted into BSC’s T.B. Pearson Sports Hall of Fame.

Jaclyn Horsley Shiflett ’09 is now in her third season at The Dance Studio in Hoover, where she is founder and artistic director. Shiflett is beginning her 18^th year as a dance educator and has trained dancers in ballet, pointe, lyrical, contemporary, and jazz. After pursuing a career in finance after college, she continued to teach and study dance with the dream of opening her own studio.

Samantha Dubrinksy ’13 has been named CEO of Springfield Jewish Community Center in Springfield, Mass., effective February 2021. Dubrinsky is currently the CEO at the Levite Jewish Community Center in Birmingham, where she has served on the leadership team since 2018. Prior to that, she spent seven years in a variety of programming and leadership positions at the Birmingham Jewish Federation.

Haley Hoppe ’14, director of engagement at Innovate Birmingham, M’Kayl Lewis ’14, vice president of member services at Pack Health, LLC, and Pack Education, LLC, and Mary Kate Waters-Wright ’15, teacher at Rocky Ridge Elementary School, were named Birmingham Business Journal’s “NextGenBHM: Education and Workforce Development” winners.

Dr. Caroline Postelle Clotfelter ’40 of Atlanta, Ga., on Dec. 8, 2020. At age 16, Clotfelter enrolled in classes at BSC, where she met her husband, the late James H. Clotfelter, Sr. ’38, whom she married shortly after graduation. They were apart when he served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and they moved to Atlanta after the war. While raising her family, Clotfelter channeled her whimsical creativity through home-sewn outfits, paintings throughout her home, songs for school and scout musicals, and furniture from her woodworking shop. She returned to school when her youngest son entered high school and received her master’s degree in economics from Georgia State University and her Ph.D. in economics from the University of Alabama. These degrees launched Clotfelter’s second career – teaching at Samford University, UAB, Oglethorpe University, and Mercer University. In 1996, she published “On the Third Hand: Humor in the Dismal Science,” an anthology of economic humor.

Frances Hayes Smith ’40 of Memphis, Tenn., on Dec. 8, 2020. Smith was a member of Pi Beta Phi Fraternity and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She was a member of Church of the Holy Communion.

Ethel Norton Owen ’44 of Birmingham on Dec. 20, 2020. Owen studied physical education at BSC and enlisted in the WAVES during the last two years of World War II to teach physical education to recruits. She then earned a master’s degree in physical therapy from the University of Kansas and became one of the first practicing physical therapists in the Birmingham area in 1947. She worked with Visiting Nurses and Spain Rehabilitation Center before retiring in 1984. In her retirement, Owen became a prominent regional artist known for her gourd baskets, pine needle baskets, pottery, and woven textiles. She taught and demonstrated widely through her involvement with Alabama Designer Craftsmen and the Audubon Mountain Workshops, and her work was displayed at Artists Incorporated.

Dr. Wilfred Rupert Bodden, Jr. ’50 of Birmingham on Dec. 27, 2020. Bodden served in the U.S. Navy from 1945 to 1947 before graduating from BSC. He then graduated from the University of Alabama School of Dentistry in 1955 and opened his private dental practice in Homewood. He served as a part-time professor at the dental school while running his practice and later became a full-time faculty member. Bodden took nine summer medical mission trips to Honduras to provide dental care, and he volunteered with the B.E.A.T. Project and Habitat for Humanity. He was an active member and Elder of Independent Presbyterian Church and enjoyed woodworking, stamp collecting, and recording the genealogy of the Cayman Islands, where his family is from. Bodden’s wife, Elizabeth Burke Bodden ’52, his brother, the late Rev. Barrie F. Bodden ’52, and his grandson Jacob Bodden ’07 all attended BSC.

James E. Nash, Jr. ’51 of Trussville on Dec. 24, 2020. Following his graduation from BSC, Nash served four years in the U.S. Army. He spent his career in the metal decorating business at Gerber Products Company and Maxwell House and was awarded a commemorative Maxwell House “Jim Nash Master Blend” when he retired in 1992. During his retirement, Nash volunteered with Meals on Wheels and worked part time with Medical Home Care, providing home health equipment. He and his wife, the late Betty Taylor Nash ’52, were long-time members of Huffman United Methodist Church. He was also a member of the United Methodist Men’s Club and held leadership roles with the Birmingham Chapter of Rotary International. Nash enjoyed attending BSC basketball games over his many years in Birmingham.

Margaret Mathews Williams ’51 of Birmingham on Dec. 21, 2020. Williams was a proud member of Kappa Delta sorority during her time at BSC. She loved spending time with friends and family, playing bridge, and participating in the Sophisticates Dance Club. Williams was an active member of Trinity United Methodist Church for over 70 years. She taught Sunday School and Bible School, participated in women’s ministries, and served an instrumental role in starting the special needs program at Trinity.

Dr. James E. Jackson ’53 of Huntsville on Dec. 27, 2020. After graduating from BSC, Jackson graduated from the University of Alabama School of Medicine in 1961 and, after completing his residency, served as a fellow in gastroenterology at the School of Medicine. He was the first practicing board-certified gastroenterologist in North Alabama and was a pioneer in endoscopy. Jackson practiced internal medicine as well as gastroenterology in Huntsville until his retirement. Prior to attending medical school, Jackson served in the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Corps from 1953 to 1956 with the rank of sergeant, stationed in Europe. He later served with the rank of captain in the U.S. Army Medical Service Unit from 1961 to 1963. He then served in the U.S. Army Reserve Medical Corps before being honorably discharged with the rank of captain in 1969.

Mary Berry Gragg ’55 of Birmingham on Dec. 22, 2020. After one year of teaching in Birmingham, Gragg taught for the Department of Defense Schools at Brady Air Base near Fukuoka, Japan. She later earned her master’s degree in early childhood education from UAB and made her mark as a teacher at Birmingham City elementary schools for nearly 35 years. Following her retirement from teaching in 1987, she continued to serve as a substitute teacher for another 17 years with the Jefferson County School System. Bragg was a member of the Beta Lambda chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma, promoting equality for women educators, and an active member of McCoy United Methodist and Trussville First United Methodist Churches. Her son, Capt. T. W. Gragg ’89, also attended BSC.

Robert L. Hunter ’56 of Birmingham on Dec. 3, 2020. Hunter attended Southwestern College for two years before transferring to BSC and meeting his wife of 62 years, the late Carolyn Cox Hunter ’56. He served two years in the U.S. Army and obtained the rank of sergeant. He joined his father and brother at Hunter Furniture Co., the downtown Birmingham family business that was founded in 1920, working until he closed the business after 51 years. Hunter loved sports – softball in particular – and served as an executive director for the Birmingham Amateur Softball Association. For the past 15 years, he played for the Russ Arthur Senior Softball Association, and he was inducted into the Central Alabama Softball Hall of Fame in 2000. He served as an elder and deacon at both Woodlawn and Trinity Presbyterian Churches, as well as the leader of the church softball team, affectionately known as “Bob’s Tigers.”

Rev. Dr. Oliver Watson Clark, Jr. ’59 of Birmingham on Dec. 26, 2020. Clark was a pre-ministerial student at BSC and went on to attend seminary at Duke University Divinity School. When he came back to the U.S. after a one-year appointment in Scotland, Clark was ordained an Elder and began his appointments with the North Alabama United Methodist Conference, serving East Lake United Methodist in Birmingham and becoming the founding pastor for Valley United Methodist in Huntsville. In 1968, he and his wife, Elaine Myers Clark ’60, became missionaries to Monrovia, Liberia. Clark served as chaplain and professor of religion at the College of West Africa and was a pastor to a congregation of U.S. expatriates and Kru and Bassa tribal Liberians. When they returned in 1971, Clark earned his Doctorate of Sacred Theology from Emory University’s Candler School of Theology and he continued to serve United Methodist churches across Alabama. He also held many leadership roles in the state, including his years as President of Tuscaloosa’s Mental Health Association, the Sylacauga District and Anniston District Superintendent, and clergy staff member leading Canterbury United Methodist’s Canterbury Academy.

Jon R. Fort ’59 of Birmingham on Dec. 14, 2020. Fort spent many years in the car business before becoming owner and operator of Aldridge Nursey in Homewood in the 1980s, where he worked until his retirement in 2003. He attended Green Valley Baptist Church in Hoover since it was founded and was a member of the Hoover Country Club for 20 years.

Dorothy A. Mueller ’59 of Birmingham on Dec. 15, 2020. Mueller studied religion at BSC and received her Master of Library Science from George Peabody College. She worked at UAB for 36 years before retiring in 2001, and she volunteered at the United Way of Central Alabama and the YWCA.

Michelle Renee Andrews ’92 of Birmingham on Dec. 7, 2020. Andrews completed her Master of Library Science at the University of Alabama. For more than 15 years, she worked with the Birmingham Public Library, specializing in government documents. She enjoyed attending many arts events and singing in the Alabama Civic Chorale’s Performance of Handel’s Messiah at Bessemer First Methodist and Riverchase United Methodist Churches. Andrews lived on the BSC’s campus in her Greensboro Road house for many years before moving in 2015. Her father, the late Rev. John H. Andrews ’60, also attended BSC.

Joseph Matthew Poe ’02 of Jasper, Ala., on Dec. 29, 2020. Poe was a graduate of BSC and Cumberland Law School. He always had a strong work ethic, and he loved spending time at his family farm and being outdoors, hiking or riding the trails.

Bernard Lockhart MPPM ’08 of Birmingham on Dec. 21, 2020. Lockhart was director and event organizer for Boutwell Auditorium and event manager at Trussville Civic Center. He founded the Jazz in the Park event series at Avondale Park in 2010, a series that spread to other Birmingham city parks, and presented jazz concerts around Alabama. He was also executive director and CEO of Magic City Smooth Jazz, which organized dozens of concerts. He helped stage the Taste of Fourth Avenue Jazz Festival on Fourth Avenue North, Birmingham’s historic Black business district, in 2011. Lockhart’s wife, Jacqueline C. Lockhart ’85, also graduated from BSC. Read more about Lockhart’s impact on Birmingham here.