GAA Installs New Board Members

Posted on May 11, 2009

Eleanor Saunders Morris ’55 of Chapel Hill was installed as chair of the GAA Board of Directors at the Annual Alumni Luncheon on Saturday, succeeding Randy K. Jones ’79 of Chula Vista, Calif. D. Jordan “Jordy” Whichard III ’79 of Greenville assumed office as chair-elect.

Morris, the retired director of scholarships and student aid at Carolina, previously served on the GAA board as an N.C. District representative (2000-03) and as first vice chair (2006-07). She received the GAA’s Distinguished Service Medal in 1996. She also is the daughter of the late J. Maryon “Spike” Saunders ’25, who led the GAA for 43 years as alumni secretary, retiring in 1970. Morris was chosen last year as chair-elect by the GAA board.

Whichard, the retired publisher of The Daily Reflector in Greenville and group publisher for Cox North Carolina Publications Inc., served on the GAA board as first vice chair (2008-09) and previously served as an N.C. District representative (2004-07). He has chaired the GAA board’s Enrichment Committee and was vice chair of its Awards Committee. As a student at UNC, he was president of Phi Gamma Delta, treasurer of Order of Gimghoul and a member of the Chancellor’s Committee on Student Conduct. He has served as a director of the UNC Health Care System.

As a result of elections decided by Carolina Alumni members, Jones announced that Donald W. “Don” Curtis ’63 of Raleigh is the board’s first vice chair and Thomas Norman “Tom” Chewning ’67 of Richmond, Va., is second vice chair.

Curtis is chairman and CEO of Curtis Media Group. He has served on the GAA board since 2006 as an N.C. District director. As a student at UNC, he was chairman of the University Party, summer school student body president, dormitory manager of Old West and a member of the Student Union Activities Board. He is a member of the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication’s board of visitors and is a former member of the boards for UNC’s Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and the UNC Educational Foundation, or Rams Club. He serves on the boards for the N.C. Community Foundation, the UNC-TV Foundation and the UNC Health Care System. He is a member of the N.C. Broadcasters Hall of Fame and in 2005 received UNC’s William Richardson Davie Award.

Chewning is executive vice president and chief financial officer for Dominion Resources Inc. He has served on the GAA board since 2006 representing the Virginia district. As a student at UNC, he was the winner of three ACC singles tennis flight championships. He is a former member of UNC’s Board of Visitors and was a member of the steering committee for the Carolina First Campaign. He also is a past chairman of the UNC Educational Foundation, or Rams Club.

New directors elected to three-year terms representing N.C. districts are:
Elbert L. Avery ’82 of Durham, to the district for Alamance, Caswell, Durham and Person counties. Avery is a senior business analyst with IBM. As a student at UNC, he was chair of the Student Union social committee, was polemarch/president of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, was a representative on the Intra Fraternity Council, was a pre-orientation adviser, was active in the Campus Y’s Big Brother program and was a Morehead Scholar. He is a member of the board for the UNC Global Education Center and a member of the Morehead-Cain Regional Selection Committee. He is a former member of UNC’s Board of Visitors and in 1991 was awarded the Chapter Adviser of the Year Award from Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.

Eloise McCain Hassell ’80 of Greensboro, to the district for Alleghany, Ashe, Davidson, Davie, Guilford, Randolph, Rockingham, Stokes and Surry counties. Hassell is an attorney, senior lecturer, pre-law and honors adviser in the department of business administration at the Bryan School of Business, UNC-Greensboro. She also is a certified N.C. mediator/arbitrator. As a student at UNC, she was a member of Order of the Valkyries, treasurer of the senior class; president of the Undergraduate History Association and she received the UNC Chancellor’s Award – Mangum Medal for Public Oratory. She also was a junior and senior class marshal and a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.

Margaret Ann Ferguson Raynor ’67 of Garner, to the district for Franklin, Granville, Harnett, Johnston, Vance, Wake and Warren counties. Raynor is director of standards and medical education at Central Regional Hospital, Raleigh Campus (formerly Dorothea Dix Hospital). She received the UNC School of Nursing’s Alumni of the Year Award in 2005, is a past president of the UNC School of Nursing Foundation. She is a former member of the UNC Board of Visitors and a former member of the UNC School of Dentistry Foundation board’s executive committee. She also was inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi honor society in 1979. She currently is an adjunct associate professor in UNC’s department of psychiatry.

New directors elected to three-year terms representing out-of-state alumni are:

F. Daniel “Dan” Batten III ’64 of Charleston, S.C., to the district for the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina and Tennessee. Batten is managing partner with NAI Batten and Moore, LLC, an industrial and commercial real estate firm. As a student at UNC, he was a member of NROTC, the freshman football and track teams, and Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He is a former president of the Charleston Carolina Club; former chapter president and founder of the Charleston Educational Foundation; and a former two-term board member of the UNC Educational Foundation, or Rams Club. He also was a member of the S.C. Steering Committee for UNC’s Bicentennial Campaign, and he co-founded the Charleston Lectureship Fund in UNC College of Arts and Sciences.

L. Allan Parrott Jr. ’88 of Virginia Beach, Va., to the district for the state of Virginia. Parrott is president of Tidewater Fleet Supply, LLC. As a student at UNC, he was vice president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity; treasurer of the Order of Gimghoul and a member of the University Forum Committee. He is currently a member of the UNC Board of Visitors.

Cathy Harper Watts ’88 of Los Angeles to the district for the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. As a student at UNC, Watts was a member of the Order of the Bell Tower, president of Manly residence hall and a member of the freshman/sophomore honors program. She also was a member of Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity and a voting member of the Olde Campus Governing Council.

 

Appointed as at-large directors for three-year terms are:

Dr. William L. “Bill” Chambers ’72 of Asheville. Chambers, a pediatric dentist, also earned his doctor of dental surgery degree from UNC in 1976 and a master’s of science in dentistry in 1979. As a student at UNC, he was a varsity letterman in men’s basketball (1969-72), a member of the freshman men’s basketball team (1968-69) and he received the Foy Roberson Award in basketball in 1972. He is a past president of the N.C. Society of Pediatric Dentistry.

Andrew R. “Andy” Pflaum ’91 of Portola Valley, Calif. Pflaum is vice president business development for Zimbra, a Yahoo company, and part-owner of Kingston Family Vineyards in Casablanca, Chile. As a student at UNC, he was a member of the varsity track and cross country teams, received the scholar-athlete award for men’s track and field, and was a member of the undergraduate honor court. He also was co-minister at the Newman Catholic Student Center; a member of Pi Sigma Alpha, the political science honor society; and an overnight volunteer with the Campus Y’s interfaith homeless shelter. He is currently leadership team member, San Francisco Bay Area Tar Heels.

Student representatives joining the board as ex-officio members for 2009-10 are:

• Jasmin Mariel Jones, senior, president of the student body.
• Meghan “Meggie” Staffiera, president of the senior class.
• Andrew Dunn, senior, editor of The Daily Tar Heel.
• John Jacob Byrne Jr., senior, president of the Order of The Bell Tower.

New director elected to a three-year term on UNC’s Athletic Council is:

Sam Perkins ’84 of Indianapolis. Perkins, a retired NBA basketball player, is vice president of player development with the Indiana Pacers. He is UNC’s men’s basketball second-leading rebounder and third-leading scorer. He was named first-team All-American and All-ACC (1982-84) and named ACC Rookie of the Year and ACC Tournament MVP (1981). He played on the ACC championship teams of 1981 and 1982 and the NCAA championship team of 1982. He is a member of Golden Fleece.

Joe Templeton was appointed as the faculty representative on the board. Templeton is Venable Professor of chemistry at Carolina and a 33-year veteran of the UNC faculty. He is ending a three-year term as chair of the faculty.

William P. Aycock II ’65 of Greensboro, counsel to the board, and N.C. Sen. Anthony Eden Rand ’61 of Fayetteville, treasurer, were reappointed to their posts.

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