Jim Meredith (C ’74) founded James River Music, where he features his music for school bands and orchestras. Meredith also co-authored the book titled, “Preparing Your School Band For Adjudication: Training Young Musicians to See With Their Ears.”
On Mar. 21, Ronn McFarlane (C ’75) performed with renaissance music trio, Ayreheart, for the final concert of the Friends of Chamber Music season at Faye Spanos Concert Hall in Stockton, California.
In February, Thomas Wilkins (C ’78) conducted the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and Mambo Kings during their performances of “Hot Latin Nights with the Mambo Kings,” at the Count Basie Theatre, New Jersey Performing Arts Center and State Theatre in New Jersey.
John Veit (C ’79) has been promoted to dispatcher at Skyline Express after 25 years as driver, and having more than two million miles of safe driving.
On April 11, Chris Whitley (C ’90) performed with friends for the Waynesboro Public Library’s “Reggae: The Sound of Jamaica,” in Waynesboro, Virginia.
Tracy Scott Wanamaker (C ’92) was featured in the article titled, “Music Therapy Benefits Students In The North Country, Despite Limited Access” in the Watertown Daily Times about her work in music therapy.
On Feb 25, Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez (C ’99) led Musica Viva NY Choir in its third installment of “Voices In Motion” at All Souls Church in Washington, D.C.
Jonathan Noyalas (AS ’01) organized and presented at the McCormick Civil War Institute’s annual spring conference, “Another Era in Our War Life: When the Home Front Became the Battle Front,” on Saturday, April 7, in Hester Auditorium, Henkel Hall at Shenandoah University.
On Nov. 02, 2017, Pete Forno (B ’07) and his wife, Coty, welcomed Dominic Lawrence Forno into the world. Baby Dominic weighed six pounds, 14 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. (Pictured to the left.)
Salvador Romero (EH ’09) is running for Harrisonburg City Council in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
Carl Rush (B ’09, B ’11) was accepted into the Harvard Graduate School of Education Certificate in School Management and Leadership Program for Fall 2018.
In January, Nathan Shaffer (P ’09) and his wife, Mia, welcomed Sophia Lynn Shaffer into the world. Baby Sophia weighed six pounds, two ounces and was 19.5 inches long. (Pictured to the right.)
Michael Mendillo (C ’13, C ’15) is the first managing director of Slow Burn Theatre in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the only resident theatre in the prestigious Broward Center for the Performing Arts. Slow Burn provides jobs to more than 200 people in South Florida and provides extraordinary musical theatre experiences in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties. Mendillo is responsible for managing all administrative, marketing and fundraising aspects of the organization. (Pictured to the left.)
Troy Castle (C ’14) is an associate professor of music at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana. (Pictured to the right.)
Christopher Castanho (C ’17) is working at a professional equity theatre in Roanoke, Virginia, where he will be directing the “The Tempest” in May and the musical “Frog & Toad” in June.
Niulka Franco Marin (AS ’17) is a Fulbright Award winner. The Fulbright Program was created in 1946 to promote healthy relationships between countries and better understanding between cultures. Marin will complete an English teaching assistantship in Rosario, Argentina.
Dawna Rose (N ’17) will open a midwife clinic that will offer full scope of women’s health care in Jackson General Hospital in Ripley, West Virginia. The office will help Jackson County and surrounding area patients by limiting trips to the Women and Children’s Hospital in Charleston, West Virginia.
Jordyn Adia Seckel (C ’17) will make her debut with the Garden Theatre in Winter Garden, Florida, as the kind-hearted gypsy girl Esmeralda in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”
In Memoriam
George H. Bonnette (C ’37) of Summerton, South Carolina, passed away on Feb. 8, 2016. Bonnette was a graduate of Clemson University and a veteran of WWII. He was an employee of the Clemson Extension Service, having served as the head financial officer and then later retired from the Personnel Office of the university. He also was a member of a number on investment clubs in Clemson and was an original member of the Clemson Downs Development Board. Bonnette is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Ann Faulkner; two daughters, Nancy Holladay and Jennie R. Bolger; grandchildren, Amy B. Pavlini, Abby Brown, Hope Holladay, Scott Holladay; and great-grandchildren, John Mason Pavlini, Taylor Brown, Chandler and Savannah Holladay and Will Pitivino.
Ina Sager Sandoval (C ’40) of West Palm Beach, Florida, passed away on Jan. 14, 2017.
Frances Keiter Slater (AS ’40) of Ashland, Virginia, passed away on July 17, 2016.
Elizabeth Brown Dickinson (C ’48) of Matamoras, Pennsylvania, passed away on May 18, 2017.
William B. Tanner (AS ’48) of Roanoke, Virginia, passed away on April 6, 2018. Tanner was a member of Grandin Court Baptist Church in Roanoke. He was an alumnus of the University of Miami and Shenandoah University. He enjoyed playing golf, and was a gifted storyteller. In addition to his wife, Betty Campbell Tanner, of 68 years, Tanner is survived by his son, Bob Tanner; daughter, Rebecca Kiley; grandchildren, Erin Kiley, Shannon Kiley, Ryan Tanner, and Katie Kalshoven; and a great-grandchild, Charlotte Tanner.
Billie Good Strickler (AS ’49) of Shenandoah, Virginia, passed away on June 30, 2017. Strickler was a lifetime resident of the Shenandoah Valley and was a member of First Christian Church in Shenandoah, the Shenandoah Women’s Club and Daughters of the American Revolution. She was a graduate of Shenandoah College, where she played on the women’s basketball team. After graduation, Strickler went to work for Merck & Company for a short time. She was an entrepreneur who owned and operated Quincy St. Café in Shenandoah for a number of years and the style shop, and was also a licensed real estate agent for Strickler’s Real Estate. After Strickler’s retirement, she loved spending time boating with her husband up and down the East Coast, oil painting and visiting their condo in North Palm Beach, Florida. Surviving family include her husband of 66 years, Richard P. Strickler; two sons, John R. Strickler and Gary S. Strickler; five grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
Maxine Zinman (N ’85) of Berryville, Virginia, passed away March 3, 2018. Zinman served as a librarian for Thomas Balch Library in Leesburg, Virginia, from 1973 to 1974, and taught horticulture at Northern Virginia Community College. From 1985 to 1995, she was a nurse in oncology and the nursery at Winchester Medical Center, and was the outreach coordinator for Winchester/Frederick County Health Department from 1996 to 2002. Zinman was a member of Beth El Congregation for more than 40 years. She was also a long-time member of the American Begonia Society, and was national judging director for 25 years. She often judged at the Philadelphia Flower Show and was the first American to judge the British Begonia Championship in Scotland. Zinman was a member of the Clarke County Library Board, and a coach with the Clarke County Youth Soccer League. She is survived by her husband of 46 years, Jay Hillerson; son, Zach; grandchildren, Adam and Carmen; and sister, Judy.