ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
 
 

October / November 2008 

 
Ryan A. Bowman
 
Class of 1994
   Ryan Andrew Bowman came to Truett-McConnell College as a freshman in the fall of 1992 and graduated with an Associate in Arts in June 1994 and then continued his higher education at Berry College in Rome, graduating with a Bachelor of Business degree in 1996.
   
   He has been with the Chick-fil-A organization for the past 18 years, serving as a unit team member, a team leader, a temporary operator and staff member in the home office.  Currently he is Senior Leadership Consultant and a member of the Leadership Development Team of Training and Development.  This team is charged with championing the development of leaders throughout the organization. 
  
   Ryan has presented Chick-fil-A’s SERVE leadership model and the Chick-fil-A business model to many different audiences and in several countries, including Romania, Thailand, Kenya and Ukraine.  He states:  “My life goal is to encourage others to reach their potential by using their God-given gifts for the Kingdom.”
 
   His interests outside work and his church activities include participation in “every sport possible,” as he puts it!  He is an avid Georgia Bulldog fan and is an active supporter of all Atlanta-based sports teams.  He and his family are very active in their church and its ministries.
 
   Ryan and his wife, Beth, have been married for seven years; they have a four-year old son, Andrew, and a one-year-old daughter, Susanna.
Ryan has been with Chick-fil-A for 18 years (spending time as a Unit team member, team leader, Temporary Operator, and Home Office staff member). He is currently a Sr. Leadership Consultant and a member of the Leadership Development Team of Training and Development. This team is charged with championing the development of leaders throughout the organization. He has presented Chick-fil-A's SERVE leadership model and the Chick-fil-A business model to many different audiences and in several countries including Romania, Thailand, Kenya, and Ukraine. Ryan's life goal is to encourage others to reach their potential by using their God-given gifts for the kingdom.
 
   He graduated with an Associates Degree from Truett McConnell College in 1994 and from Berry College with a Bachelors Degree in Business in 1996. 
 
   Ryan’s interests include participating in every sport possible, following the Georgia Bulldogs and all Atlanta-based teams, and being active in his local church and ministries.
 
   He and his life’s love, Beth, have been married for seven years and have a four year old son, Andrew and one year old daughter Susanna.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
 
 

September 2008 

 
Bill A. Dixon
 
Class of 1957
   Bill Dixon grew up in Habersham, Georgia, and graduated from Truett-McConnell College in 1957.   He continued his education, earning a degree in biology from Carson-Newman College (TN) and doing graduate work at George Peabody College of Vanderbilt University (TN). He served as a biology faculty member at Truett-McConnell College (GA) and at Belmont University (TN) before joining the administrative staff at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, in 1970.
 
   For thirty-three years Bill served as Dean of Students and Vice President for Student Services at Ouachita.  During his tenure there, he was active in both regional and national student development organizations, and in 1979, he helped to organize the Baptist Association for Student Affairs (BASA), a national organization for student affairs professionals in Baptist-related colleges and universities.  He also helped to organize the Association for Chief Student Service Officers (ACSS) in Arkansas, a group of chief administrators in the private and public colleges and universities in Arkansas. 
 
   During his work with BASA, he was given the Educator of the Year award in 1982.  The Educator of the Year Award was named in his honor in 1999, and he was given the BASA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000.  Ouachita University honored him with its Elrod Center Community Service Excellence Award in 2003.
 
   Bill has been a presenter at conferences for BASA, the National Entertainment Council (NEC), SWASPA and other regional and local organizations.  He has published articles related to student life in religious publications.  He has served as a consultant for University Loft Company, one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of campus furniture.  He has participated in academic projects at Peking University in Beijing, China, and at Tashkent State University in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
 
   Bill is a member of First Baptist Church, Arkadelphia, where he has served as deacon, committeeman and Sunday School teacher.  Bill and his wife have been active in missions in Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and the Brazilian Amazon.
 
   In 2000, three years before his retirement, he began the Ouachita International Travel  Program and since that time has led 23 international tours to Asia, Africa, South and Central America and Europe.   In retirement he still plans three to four international trips per year. He worked for an additional three years after his 2003 retirement (2003-2006) with the Ouachita International program before his second retirement.
 
   Bill has been married to his wife, Snookie, for 44 years, and they have two married sons. One lives in Chicago with their four granddaughters, and one lives near his parents.  Snookie served as Minister of Education at First Baptist Church of Arkadelphia for 21 years prior to her retirement.
 
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
 
 
July 2008 
 
Craig Cantrell
 
Class of 2000
    A native of Gainesville, GA, Craig Cantrell attended Truett-McConnell College from 1997-2000, when he graduated with an Associate in Music degree.  While at TMC, he studied piano with Dr. David George, euphonium with Brian Lambeth and conducting with Dr. John Shipp.  During his tenure at TMC, he performed in every instrumental and choral ensemble available and served as a student assistant in the music department.
 
   After graduating from TMC, Cantrell went on to obtain the Bachelor of Music in Music Education degree from Kennesaw State University.  He continued studying conducting with Peter Witte and Alexander Mickelthwate (associate conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic).  Other influential musicians with whom he has worked include Mercer Crook, Dr. Tom Barnett and Paula Peace in performance; H. Robert Reynolds, Allen McMurry and John Lynch in conducting; and Marianne Ploger in musicianship.  He is currently working toward the Master of Education in Music Education degree from the University of Georgia and also a degree in educational leadership from Nova Southeastern University.
 
   Cantrell was appointed Director of Bands at East Hall High School in the fall of 2003.  As only the fourth person to hold this position in the school’s history, he administers all aspects of the music department and serves as chairman of the Department of Fine Arts.  In addition to his administrative duties, he also conducts all of the instrumental music ensembles, including the Viking Marching Band, Concert Band, Wind Symphony, Indoor Percussion Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, and other wind chamber groups.
 
   Additionally, he teaches courses in Advanced Placement Music Theory and Musicianship.  He maintains an active schedule as an adjudicator, clinician and guest conductor throughout the state.  He has served as guest conductor of the Northeast Georgia Wind Symphony, the Army Grounds Force Band (Fort McPherson), and the Atlanta Wind Symphony.  He was chosen as one of only ten conductors to participate in the first annual University of Georgia Conductors Workshop. Recently, he was named Teacher of the Year for 2007-2008 for East Hall High School and was appointed District Chair of the Ninth District Georgia Music Educators Association (GMEA).
 
   Cantrell is affiliated with professional organizations which include the National Band Association (NBA), National Association of Music Educators (MENC) and Georgia Music Educators Association (GMEA) and serves on the Board of Directors for the Northwinds Symphonic Band.  His hobbies include reading, baseball/softball, and playing games with his seven-year-old nephew, Trent.
 
   Craig Cantrell says:  “TMC was the absolute perfect place for me!  The things I learned from Dr. John Shipp and Dr. David George (not only music but life principles as well) I use every day of my life.  Originally TMC was not my first choice (I was born and raised in “Dawg Country!).  However, I believe God put me at Truett-McConnell College to strengthen me in a solid foundation, to introduce me to lifelong friendships, and to allow me to excel academically and musically in a Christ-centered environment.  I’ll always cherish my days at Truett-McConnell!” 
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
 
 

August 2008 

 
Amanda Reynolds
 
Class of 2000
   Amanda Reynolds attended Truett-McConnell College as a music major, studying voice and piano, from 1997 through 2000.  She was first introduced to Truett-McConnell in 1993, when her family brought her older sister to visit the campus as a prospective student.  Although Amanda was a young middle school student, she knew that very day that she wanted to go to TMC when she became college-age.
 
   As her high school graduation approached, she began to receive information from various colleges and universities.  However, there was something special and unique about Truett-McConnell, and she felt that it was meant for her to attend TMC.  She was very excited as she came on the campus as a college student for the first time in 1997.  From that day on, TMC was her home away from home.  She says, “To this day I have  found that there is nowhere else like it on earth.”
 
   She feels that the faculty and staff are like no other, encouraging students to strive for success.  At TMC a student is not just a number in a classroom but a real person.  She experienced some difficult times with class work, as most college students do, but she found a faculty willing to go above and beyond to help her overcome whatever obstacle she was facing.  She says that she developed relationships with faculty and students that she still cherishes to this day.
  
   Said Amanda: “I will always cherish the moments that I spent there, and I feel that TMC has helped me become the person that I am today.  When I meet a high school student who is looking for a college to attend, I always say: ‘If you want a college, there are many to choose from, but if you want a home, there is only one place—Truett-McConnell College.’”
 
   She prayed that Truett-McConnell would become a four-year institution, but unfortunately for her, that did not happen before she had to leave.  She transferred to Kennesaw State University in 2000 to continue her music studies.  Several of her music major friends from TMC transferred to the same school at the same time, making the transition easier, but she says that every time they got together, they always talked about their days at TMC.  Their music professors at Kennesaw State were impressed with the foundation in music education that the TMC students had received.  They actually found that they were ahead of students who had attended other schools, especially in music theory.
 
   In April of 2000, Amanda became Director of Music Ministries at Spring Creek Baptist Church in Rome, GA, and remained in that position until April of 2008.  She is currently the Choral Director at Calvary Baptist Church in Rome, GA.  
 
   To quote Amanda:  “TMC will always be a very special place to me, and I am so thankful that God allowed this wonderful place to be a part of my life.” 
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
 
 
June 2008 
 
Sandy Dilbeck Harris
 
Class of 1994
   When Sandy Dilbeck graduated from McEachern High School in Marietta, GA, in the spring of 1991, she and her best friend were planning to attend Georgia State University in Atlanta as commuters.  The friend found out about a small college in the mountains and told Sandy, “Let’s go visit Truett-McConnell College.”
 
   Never having heard of TMC, Sandy’s reaction was, “Truett what??”  Nevertheless, the two came to the campus for a visit, and before they went home, they committed to enroll in the fall in Truett-McConnell.  Sandy says, “When we came to visit the campus, that did it!”
 
   Sandy enrolled in the fall 1991 term and never left!  She completed her coursework at the end of the fall term 1993 and received an Associate in Business degree in the spring commencement of 1994.  Meanwhile, she worked for the college as a student worker in the newly-established Office of Institutional Research, gaining experience with computers, software and database management.
   
   She was hired as a full-time employee in the fall of 1993, and while working at TMC, attended Piedmont College at night, receiving her Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a concentration in computer information systems in 1996.  Immediately she began work on her master’s degree at Brenau University in Gainesville and graduated with a Master of Business Administration in 1998.
 
   She met a young banker named Donald Harris, and the two were married on July 26, 1997.  Donald is a senior vice president of United Community Bank of White County.  Donald and Sandy are the parents of Isaac (almost 8) and Rachel (4).  Isaac plays soccer, basketball and baseball, and this fall Rachel will start to pre-school and will begin either soccer or gymnastics.  The Harrises are active members of New Bridge Baptist Church in Gainesville, where Donald is a deacon.
 In 1999, Sandy transferred from the Office of Institutional Research to the Office of Information Technology at Truett-McConnell, where she serves as senior software engineer.  Her very busy job includes but not limited to troubleshooting software issues and database administration.  
 
   On May 1, 2008, in the college’s annual Honors Day program, she was awarded the Presidential Achievement Award for her outstanding service to the college for 15 years.  Sandy Harris is unique because since the day she enrolled as a freshman student in 1991, she has never left the college, first as a student, then as a part-time employee and then as a full-time employee.  
 
   Any college numbers among its major constituencies its students, faculty, staff, alumni, and donors.  Sandy Harris is most unusual in that she fits into every one of these categories.  She was a student, she is an alumna, she is a regular donor to the college, she is a member of the administrative staff, and from time to time, she teaches a course in computers, making her an adjunct faculty member also.  
 
   The 2008 Presidential Achievement Award could not have gone to a more deserving person.

More Articles...

  1. Alumni Spotlight May 2008
  2. Alumni Spotlight April 2008
  3. Alumni Spotlight March 2008
  4. Alumni Spotlight February 2008

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