Looking for something to do this holiday weekend? See our picks for some fun local events.
Jefferson Senior High School Class of 1946 is having their annual lunch at The Roanoke Restaurant on May 24 at 11:30 a.m. Come and join your old classmates.
Submitted by Marguerite Tucker Wade
A well-known opera conductor and a long-time businesswoman are this year’s honorary degree recipients at Roanoke College.
The College recognized Regine N. Archer of Salem and Steven C. White of Copper Hill during its Commencement ceremony on May 4.
Archer, who is chairman and former president of Salem’s Blue Ridge Beverage Co., received the honorary Doctor of Commerce. Archer has been a Roanoke College Associate for 31 years. She created the Regine Archer Endowed Scholarship for International Students, which provides financial aid to full-time international students. She also has served on the College’s Fine Arts Endowment Committee.
Archer, a native of Belgium, became president of Blue Ridge Beverage in 1972, after her husband’s sudden death. The company remains in the Archer family, with Archer’s son, Bob, now its president and CEO. Archer has served in many community organizations, and she has won numerous awards for her business work and service, including induction into the Junior Achievement of Southwest Virginia’s Business Hall of Fame and the Lifetime Service Award by the National Beer Wholesalers Association.
In 2004, Archer created the Archer Family Endowment within the Salem Educational Foundation, in memory of her late husband, James. Awards from this endowment are made to deserving Salem High School graduates who plan to attend a four-year college or university and who have been outstanding academic students.
White, who is principal guest conductor and artistic advisor for Opera Roanoke, received the honorary Doctor of Fine Arts. He is known as one of North America’s premier conductors of both operatic and symphonic repertoire, and he is the former artistic director of Opera Roanoke. Also, White has served as principal conductor for Opera Birmingham and as associate conductor and chorus master for Florida Grand Opera.
He also has been cover conductor for various productions of the Metropolitan Opera.
Additionally, White has been a Roanoke College Associate for four years, and his gifts have supported the Roanoke College Children’s Choir. By his invitation, the children’s choir has been consistently featured in Opera Roanoke productions.
During the 2012 holiday season, Maestro White guest conducted the Roanoke College Choir in its first performance of Handel’s “Messiah” in more than 30 years.
– Submitted by Roanoke College
Holly Wilkes and Leigh Anne Blackwell
Leigh Anne Blackwell
Leigh Anne Blackwell ready for her Junior Prom at Glenvar High School and her best friend Holly Wilkes.
– Submitted by Lisa Blackwell
We have paparazzi photos from Glenvar prom here and another reader-submitted Glenvar promo photo here.
You can share your prom photos at news@sosalem.com or use the “share” button to upload 10 at a time.
One hundred twenty-two Bluefield College seniors accepted diplomas during the school’s 91st Annual Spring Commencement, May 4, outside in the campus quad on a chilly spring day against the backdrop of the majestic East River Mountain.
Candidates for the Bachelor of Science Degree included:
Bluefield College president Dr. David Olive and BC Board chair Dr. David Bailey welcomed family and friends to the celebratory event. Both congratulated the graduates and encouraged them to make a positive difference in the world.
“This is a special day in the lives of our graduates and those who have come to celebrate this day with them,” said Dr. Olive. “As this chapter of your life ends and a new chapter begins, we hope that you have been prepared for an enjoyable and meaningful life. Much has been entrusted to you, and much is expected of you. Go and make positive transformations in this world.”
In addition to the presentation of 122 baccalaureate degrees, the graduation ceremony also featured a Commencement address from Dr. Billy (Jang Hwan) Kim, a South Korean minister who serves as chairman of the Far East Broadcasting Company, and the presentation of two Wampler-Caudill Student Leadership Awards and one Wampler-Caudill Distinguished Faculty Award.
Made possible by former BC professor Dr. Don Caudill in honor of his parents, Alfred and Shirley Wampler Caudill, the Leadership Awards recognize graduating seniors who have demonstrated academic excellence, Christian character and leadership, and a BC professor who exemplifies classroom excellence, Christian character and professional, community and church involvement.
Kimberly Chaffins of Radford, Virginia, earned the Student Leadership Award for the inSPIRE online degree completion program, and Katharine Santschi of Fredericksburg, Virginia, took home the award for traditional students. Dr. Rob Merritt, a professor of English and dean of the College of Arts and Letters, won the Distinguished Faculty Award. A member of BC’s faculty since 1990, Dr. Merritt was recognized for her “energetic passion for students” and his “zeal for life and learning.”
In his Commencement address, Dr. Kim congratulated the 122 BC seniors and expressed pride in their accomplishment, but quickly warned the graduates not to expect the world to receive them with “open arms,” but instead to expect an “unfriendly, merciless, competitive world.”
Despite the indifference of the world, Dr. Kim said the graduates were fortunate to be living and pursuing their dreams in America, a country that “grows every crop imaginable,” “mines every mineral known,” and “possesses the majority of the world’s wealth.” America is an extremely blessed nation, he added, because of the purpose on which it was founded, by “men seeking God” and not by “men seeking gold.”
“God has blessed this nation more than any on earth, and you should never take that for granted,” said Dr. Kim, an internationally known pastor, evangelist and broadcaster. “As a graduate of this college, you have a responsibility to maintain this great nation.”
He encouraged the graduates to keep God first in their lives after BC and in their efforts to maintain America’s Christian commitment. Consistent prayer, he added, is the best method for the communion America needs with God.
“America needs to wake up,” said Dr. Kim. “God tells us that ‘if my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Every miracle in the Bible is a direct result of prayer. Prayer does not need proof; it needs practice. Don’t forget to pray, and God will lead you in every step you take in this world.”
The college also presented Dr. Kim with an Honorary Doctorate degree during the Commencement program in recognition of his more than 50-year Christian ministry that has spanned all over the world to thousands of people in all walks of life. As a 45-year pastor of Central Baptist Church in Suwon, Korea, Dr. Kim grew its congregation to 15,000 members. As an interpreter for Rev. Billy Graham at a 1973 Korean crusade with more than a million people in attendance, he helped lead thousands to Christ. His ministry also includes the creation the Far East Broadcasting network, which boldly proclaims Christ to Korea, China, Japan and Russia, and the Korean Children’s Choir, which shares the Gospel message through music all around the world.
The 91st Annual Spring Commencement also included special music by music professor Bryant Moxley and senior music major Joshua King; a scripture reading from communication professor Dr. Cindy Bascom; and the graduates’ induction into the BC Alumni Association by alumni president Sharon Knick.
– Submitted by Chris Shoemaker, Bluefield College
The public is invited to a City of Salem Student Art Show and Reception.
Sponsored by the Friends of the Salem Library
Salem Public Library Meeting Room
28 E. Main Street, Salem, VA 24153
The reception is Sunday, May 19, from 2 to 4 p.m.
Art will be on display May 19-31
Submitted by the Salem Public Library
Three students from Salem graduated from Emory & Henry College on May 4.
Graduates from Salem are Jamie Price, Jacob Reid and Sarah Edwards.
– Submitted by Emory & Henry
Legacy International invites you to host Indonesian students or Indonesian English teachers in your home this summer, June 7-17. Contact Innocentia Afa at 540-871-0882 and visit www.legacyintl.org for more information on this unique and exciting educational opportunity!
– Submitted by Innocentia Afa, Global Youth Village, Outreach Coordinator
Tri-M Music Honor Society at Salem High School. Photo courtesy of Kristi Vernon
The Tri-M Music Honor Society, the honor society for secondary school music students, announces the chartering of a new chapter at Salem High School in Salem, under the leadership of Kristi Vernon and Chris Wilkes.
The formation of this chapter signifies the school’s recognition of the importance of the arts in the development of a comprehensive educational program. The Tri-M Music Honor Society provides a means of recognizing the efforts and achievements of music students who volunteer their time and share their musical talent with others. Since 1952, almost 5,000 Tri-M chapters have been chartered in the United States and abroad and current membership exceeds 50,000.
The goal of the Tri-M Music Honor Society is to foster greater interest in band, orchestra, and choral performance and to provide more opportunities for personal musical expression. Students are selected for membership in the honor society on the basis of musicianship, scholarship, character, leadership, and service to their school and community. The organization’s high standards serve to challenge students to greater effort and achievement and to encourage them in the pursuit of excellence.
In 1983, the Tri-M Music Honor Society became a program of MENC: The National Association for Music Education. MENC, among the world’s largest arts education organizations, is the only association that addresses all aspects of music education. Through membership of more than 75,000 active, retired, and pre-service music teachers, and with 60,000 honor students and supporters, MENC serves millions of students nationwide through activities at all teaching levels, from preschool to graduate school. Since 1907, MENC has worked to ensure that every student has access to a well-balanced, comprehensive, and high-quality program of music instruction taught by qualified teachers. MENC’s activities and resources have been largely responsible for the establishment of music education as a profession, for the promotion and guidance of music study as an integral part of the school curriculum, and for the development of the National Standards for Arts Education.
The members of the first Tri-M Music Honor Society at Salem High School are as follows:
Sarah Beamer, Ryan Carroll, Laura Clingenpeel, Sara Counts, Noah Galbreath, Seth Greer, Spnecer Halverson, Deborah Harvey, Isaac Heir, Eunjin Kim, Amy Kuhlmeier, Ashton Ledbetter, Thomas Legg, David Martin, Julie McKnew,, Zach Montgomery, Anthony Patuto, Paris Reinhard, Emily Rieflin, Carleigh Studtmann, Patricia Wertz, Nejai White, and Tayler Wilson.
Officers for 3013-14 are:
– Submitted by Kristi Vernon
The annual Student Art Show sponsored by the Friends of the Salem Library is right around the corner.
The show will be on display May 19-31 at the Salem Public Library Meeting Room. More than 100 pieces of beautiful art from all four Salem elementary schools will be on display.
There will be a special reception to honor the artists on Sunday, May 19 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the library.
We hope you will be able to make it by to enjoy this special show!
– Submitted by Hunter Routt, Gifted Coordinator, City of Salem Schools
Our paparazzi photo crew was at the Salem prom on Saturday and here’s who stepped onto the red carpet.
Click through to see the photos individually or click here to see them one at a time as thumbnails.
You can share your own prom photos at news@sosalem.com or use the “share” button to upload 10 at a time.
Looking for Glenvar prom photos? They’re here.
