(Columbia, S.C.) The Columbia College Alumnae Association honored seven alumnae at its annual meeting on Saturday, April 17, 2004.
Those receiving awards were Marlena Redfern Myers ’64, Distinguished Service Award; Ann Gasque Depta ’58, Career Achievement Award; Paula Brafford Wilson ’74, Wil Lou Gray Outstanding Educator Award; Caroline Earp ’00, Young Alumna Service Award; Ruth Suddath Green ’45, Alumnae Association President’s Award; Nathalie Gregg ’86, Alumnae Association President’s Award; Doris Durante Kahn, Alumnae Association President’s Award.
Myers has devoted most of her career to improving and promoting Columbia College. She has served the College in a variety of capacities, including assistant to the director of continuing education, director of annual fund, assistant vice president for development, executive director of development, and executive director of alumnae relations. After retirement, she returned to the College to serve as special assistant to the president for alumnae and development. She currently serves with the special events committee, and has been a class agent, as well as a member of the Columbia Ariail Alumnae Club and Summerville Alumnae Club.
Depta, president and founder of Meridian Consulting Group, was recognized for her outstanding career achievements and service to her community. Her company specializes in providing services dealing with executive coaching, managing change, leadership development, team building and communication skills. She has served as a board member and chair of various committees for Women Executives, and on the board of KinderMourn, an organization that provides counseling and grief support for bereaved parents and children. She currently is the temporary development director for Epic Arts Repertory Theatre and on the board of directors of Chamber Music at St. Peter’s.
Wilson is a dynamic music educator with 29 years of classroom experience. She currently serves as an elementary music specialist in Richland School District Two in Columbia, where she was named District Teacher of the Year. She regularly collaborates with Columbia College and the University of South Carolina in supervising a variety of practical and clinical experiences for college music majors, and has presented numerous seminars on vocal techniques and motivational strategies in education. She also serves as the director of music ministries at Trenholm Road United Methodist Church.
Earp was recognized for her outstanding service to the College through her artistic talents. She has served as a volunteer for the Friends of the Music Department project, and provided support and leadership for a tribute to retired music faculty member, Lanny Palmer. She participated in a recent campus production of The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, and has entertained at alumnae club meetings. Earp is an administrative assistant for Shandon Presbyterian Church.
Green began volunteering for the Columbia College archives in 1978. Since then, she has methodically read and organized the collections of papers of two beloved faculty members, Dr. James Milton Ariail and Miss Lucile Godbold. In addition, she created an index for these important artifacts to make them more accessible for research. She also has begun work on organizing the papers of former president, R. Wright Spears. Green worked as an archivist and editor with the South Carolina Department of Archives and History for many years.
Gregg has loyally supported her alma mater since her graduation in 1986. The executive director of the Capital Senior Center and a mentor for women at Columbia College, she was the 2003 recipient of the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce’s ATHENA Award, presented annually “in recognition of efforts to further the development of women in the workplace.” She is a former chair of Leadership Columbia and a member of Women and Minority Businesses, in addition to serving on six leadership boards and task forces.
Kahn, a long-time volunteer for the Alumnae Association, currently serves on the Alumnae Hall Decorating Committee and as an associate member of the Ariail Chapter Alumnae Club. In addition, for the past two years, she has delivered bakery items donated from a local Kroger Sav-On to organizations such as the Salvation Army and Oliver Gospel Mission. She also serves on the board of Keep the Midlands Beautiful, is active with the Women’s Symphony Association, and is president of the Bay Blossom Garden Club.
