ALUMNI NOTES 1969


Dan Lee Grubbs and LaNelle Dow Grubbs celebrated their 50th wedding


anniversary on Aug. 22, 2020, at Harris Bap- tist Church in Greenwood, SC, with a celebration hosted by their children. They started dating in


January of 1969 at the drive-in theater in Greenville on a double date in a Volkswagen. Dan was in the military for 33 years. He is a member of the Lions Club and is the chaplin for the American Legion. Dan serves as a deacon, a greeter, and a senior adult director at South Main Baptist Church. He currently works at the Index-Journal. LaNelle worked at Self Memorial Hospital in the medical records depart- ment for 15 years. She has been a part of United Ministries for 27 years, sold Mary Kay for 29 years, and has played the piano at Harris Baptist Church for more than 49 years. She also is the WMU direc- tor at the church. This November marked her 31st year of working for David Crotts and Associates.


1979


Dolphus Pinckney ran for sheriff of Colleton County. He is a retired lieutenant of the Colleton County Sheriff's Office with 28 years of law enforce- ment experience, 21 years served at the Colleton County Sheriff's Office.


1986


Ricky Creech is the new president and CEO of the Boys and Girls Homes of North Carolina non-profit organization in Lake Waccamaw, NC. He previously served as president and CEO at Southstone Behav- ioral Health Center in Virginia and as president and CEO of Buckhorn Children and Family Services in Kentucky. A graduate of the South Carolina Fire Academy, he received his associate’s degree from NGU and his bachelor’s degree from Furman. He holds a certificate in theology, and a master's degree


in social work from the Southern Baptist Theologi- cal Seminary and several certifications ranging from abuse and neglect to disaster planning. An ordained


minister, Creech was executive director for the District of Columbia Baptist Convention and Birmingham Baptist Association, among other church leadership positions. Creech and his wife Donna are currently residents of Ringgold, VA, and have three daughters.


1991


Israel Miguel Koger is employed with Koger’s Mortuary Service, LLC, with 25 years of experience in the funeral service industry. He recently ran for Colleton Coroner.


Bryan Lark has just finished publishing his new book, One Kid, One Dollar: Radically Impacting the Future of Christianity One Kid and One Dollar at a Time. The book was written as a resource for parents, kids, and teens to learn the right character traits and


the incredibly practical steps of growing wealth for maximum kingdom investment. One Kid, One Dol- lar, has already become a No. 1 Amazon bestseller, and many have already found it to be a beneficial tool in their homes. Bryan is the Planting and Lead Pastor of CHURCH180 in Montrose, CO.


2000 1997


Shane McDaniel has published his first book, Nihon Koryu Karate-Do. He met his wife Jessica while at North Greenville and taught karate to hun- dreds of people while on campus. He currently is pastor of Broadacres Baptist Church in Cayce, S.C.


1999


Carrie Buchanan is serving as interim principal at Hall Fletcher Elementary School in Asheville City Schools [NC]. She has been in educa- tion since 1999. She began her career as a fourth-grade teacher at Graham


Elementary in Shelby, NC, before joining Vance Elementary School in 2003. For nine years, Carrie taught math, reading, science, and social studies, served as her school’s PBIS Coach, mentored new teachers, and was the summer reading/parent involvement committee chair. From 2012-2016, she transitioned to Asheville Middle School, teaching 6th grade English Language Arts.


Jason Young has written and published two new books. The Volunteer Effect: How Your Church Can Find, Train, and Keep Volunteers Who Make a Difference was


released on Sept. 1, 2020. The Volunteer Survival Guide: Your Ques- tion-and-Answer Re-


source for Volunteering was released on Oct. 27, 2020. Baker Books published both. Before NGU, Jason was not a big reader or writer. Because of the influence of Dr. Catherine Sepko, he says he became a voracious reader and intentional writer. The books mentioned above are his third and fourth works.


2001


Joey Goldsmith is the co-owner of The Vertical Engineering Team (VE). With more than 20 years of experience in ropes course and zip-line creation, VE is a locally based, family-owned company


working to align construction abilities with course dreams. Learn more at theveteam.com.


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