Peas in a Pod
Though decades apart in age, Chris Ray and Roy Ogle formed a strong bond over a shared love of Southern peas, plant breeding and Clemson.
Though decades apart in age, Chris Ray and Roy Ogle formed a strong bond over a shared love of Southern peas, plant breeding and Clemson.
More than 370 alumni and friends attended the Golder Tiger Reunion in June, where more than 60 members of the Class of ’66 celebrated their 50th anniversary weekend by being inducted as Golden Tigers. Two members of the Class of ’41 were inducted as Platinum Tigers.
During the induction ceremony, guests heard University historian Jerry Reel speak about Clemson history and life in 1966. Attendees heard an update on University construction projects and the college reorganization, as well as a presentation about the James C. Kennedy Waterfowl and Wetlands Conservation Center. They also toured the Watt Family Innovation Center, athletics facilities and the historic Fort Hill mansion and Hanover House.
A family with three generations of Clemson alumni has given $1 million to establish the Wilbur N. Ginn Sr. Class of 1911 Unrestricted Endowment in Electrical Engineering; the Captain Wilbur N. Ginn Jr., Class of 1941 Unrestricted Endowment in Mechanical Engineering; the Wilbur N. Ginn III, Class of 1969, Unrestricted Endowment for the Humanities in the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities; and the Wilbur N. Ginn Family Unrestricted Endowment for the Clemson University Libraries.
Retired Navy Captain Wilbur N. Ginn Jr. and his wife Dorothy of Greenville, along with their son, Wilbur N. Ginn III, and his wife Alice of Florence, made the gift for the Wilbur N. Ginn Family Endowment, established to honor the legacy of their father and grandfather, Wilbur N. Ginn Sr.
The Ginn family’s connection to Clemson goes back more than 100 years. Ginn Sr. graduated in 1911 in electrical engineering and was the second charter member of IPTAY. Ginn Jr. graduated in 1941 in mechanical engineering, and Ginn III graduated in 1969 as an English major.
Ginn Jr. and his wife see the endowment as a gift to all the citizens of South Carolina. “Somewhere along the way I decided that the people of South Carolina paid for my education,” he said. “The amount of money my mother and father paid to Clemson was miniscule compared to what the taxpayers paid. So, I feel I owe the people of South Carolina.”
“I am so grateful for the visionary generosity of the Ginn family,” said President Clements. “The unrestricted nature of their wonderful gift makes it even more important, because that allows for the funds to be used where they are needed the most in each area.”
“I’m overseeing the library and humanities piece,” Ginn III explained, “and Dad is overseeing the engineering pieces. The library is so important to everyone. It is the hub of the other three gifts.” Ginn Jr. said he hopes integrating the library in the gift will promote the learning of writing and communicating among the other disciplines. He realized the importance of communication in his positions in the Navy Reserve Officers Program and regular Navy.
Both Ginn Jr. and Ginn III were ROTC cadets at Clemson; Ginn Jr. served as a Navy Reserve engineering duty officer during World War II, then converted to regular Navy, where his career culminated with his service as head of the Navy’s Shipyard Modernization Program in 1966. He received the Legion of Merit in 1970. Ginn III was commissioned into the U.S. Army upon graduating. After his military service, he had a successful career in banking as the executive director for two large medical groups and as a health care consultant. After 45 years of wearing a suit and tie every day, he decided to spend five years as a barista to avoid boredom in his retirement life. Now, he looks forward to being involved at Clemson.
“Having been able to come to Clemson, get back on the campus and see all that’s going on, and then being asked to be on a Humanities Advancement Board, it reenergized my interest in being involved in the University any way I can,” he said.
Ginn Jr. hopes the money will take some financial burden from students and faculty alike. “The grants from this endowment could enable the schools to accomplish some of the most important extras for students and programs. The three of us — my father, my son and I — are the end of this family. May what we have done inspire some future graduates to also give back.”
Ensuring the health, safety and well being of others via the roads you drive or the buildings you enter isn’t just a day job for Jason and Hesha Nesbitt Gamble, but a desire they’ve each pursued since teenagers. The couple are stand-out licensed professional engineers who found their route to Clemson by way of high school internships, which also set into motion a path to each other.
As an exam development engineer for National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) in Seneca, Jason is one of only five people in the country commissioned with managing the creation of 25 national licensing exams that examinees take to become licensed in 17 different engineering disciplines. Jason is tasked with managing four of those 25 exams. Hesha serves as county engineer for Greenville where she oversees 77 employees as well as the engineering and maintenance of all county roads, approximately 1,760 miles serving 450,000 residents.
“We take that job very seriously,” said Hesha. “If there’s a problem, we need to fix it. Greenville is my community so of course I want the best for my community.”
“I’ve never had a job that didn’t affect people in some way,” chimed in Jason. “What I do now at NCEES affects the future of the profession and affects what (engineering) is going to be for the next generation.”
Even beyond technical skills, the pair says honing soft skills like communication and public speaking prepares their teams to execute a project efficiently. “You can be the smartest person in the room, but if you can’t effectively communicate or explain something, you’re not going to be successful,” said Jason. “It’s about knowing how to interact with people. I’ve worked with Ph.D.’s to someone with only a third-grade education, but we all had to work together in order to get a job done.”
Those so-called “soft skills” were picked up in Clemson classrooms, where the two met each other through study groups for upper-level undergraduate courses. The couple praise their time at Clemson for making them effective engineers today. They especially credit the PEER program for many of their successes.
“We bring engineers and experts from all over the country to do a job, and to be able to relate to each of them individually and not just professionally, just to be able to hold a conversation, Clemson was where I learned to do that,” said Jason. “I have no doubt it makes me better at my job to be able to relate to people and just work with them regardless of where they’re from.” Jason and Hesha, despite their busy careers, find the time to be “All In” raising their five-year-old son, Justus.
“Bavarian inspired, Southern made” is their catchphrase. Making sure you eat at their restaurant in Charleston is their game. Clemson is their shared love. Ryan Workman, Emily Barber Workman and Greg Pierdon are all Clemson grads, but it was a game of kickball and acquaintances in Charleston five years ago that brought them together post graduation.
Along with business partner Laura Patrick, the three took a conversation about what was missing in their home of Charleston into a reality that is Bay Street Biergarten. “We saw something different,” said Ryan. It took the group meeting every week for a year to chase their dream.
You won’t find kitsch at Bay Street Biergarten though. No lederhosen for sure, but pretzels and schnitzel are abundant. But you’ll also find gator and shrimp and grits on the menu. The 7,400-squarefoot facility is the renovated Wilmington Railroad Depot, offering large exposed beams and original brick, as well as family-style seating for large groups waiting to take in the latest Tigertown brawl.
“We wanted patrons to have a traditional German biergarten experience,” said Ryan. “We wanted it to feel like a beer hall, but then have the tech side of it. We use iPads to put in orders directly from the table. We have taps at the table, and you can use a card to pay by the ounce.”
The three said their love of Clemson and the Clemson network only strengthened their ties to each other and the community as they pushed toward their goals over the past four years. “Solid Orange continues to show support,” said Greg. “It feels pretty good to know you have the support. They seek you out. And it’s a good conversation starter.”
Lessons learned at Clemson, from Greg’s accounting degree to Ryan and Emily’s work in communications and management also come into play every day to keep the business running. Emily said her psychology major is constantly at work as she manages staff and expectations for different personalities. “It’s a people business, and you have to be willing to get yourself out there,” said Emily about management. The three said their team meetings and team spirit, much like they learned through the Greek system while at Clemson, keep them in check when days get long.
“We have to drive each other. Complacency is death in this industry,” said Greg. “It’s a cutthroat business … and we’re driving it.”
More than 5,000 alumni and fans joined the Alumni Association, IPTAY and the Clemson Forever Fund for the annual Prowl & Growl tour, where coaches Brad Brownell and Dabo Sweeney offered updates on the latest news in athletics. Florence had the highest attendance, with 1,290 followed by the Midlands (Columbia/Lexington) at 890. Prowl & Growl went beyond the borders of South Carolina with events in Atlanta and Charlotte. Make plans to join us next year!
Michael Nieri, who received his degree in construction management in 1986, has pledged the fifth Cornerstone Gift to Clemson Athletics. His gift of $2.5 million will go to the development of a new student-athlete academic and life skills enrichment area in the Memorial Stadium WestZone.
“I am so thankful to Michael Nieri and his family for their generous support of Clemson athletics,” said President Clements. “Giving our student-athletes the resources they need to be successful off the field is just as important as developing their skills on the field, and that’s what the Nieri family is enabling us to do with their gift.”
The Clemson Athletic Cornerstone Program is a vital part of the new athletics facilities initiative. With new facilities, upgrades and rebuilds planned for or underway at football, basketball, baseball, tennis, soccer and academic support, it is the most comprehensive change to the facilities of athletics ever undertaken at Clemson.
This gift is part of Clemson’s successful Will to Lead campaign to raise $1 billion to support Clemson students and faculty with scholarships, professorships, facilities, technology and enhanced opportunities for learning and research.
Michael is the president and founder of Great Southern Homes, headquartered in Columbia, which specializes in residential homebuilding.
“We’re so appreciative of Michael and Robyn’s commitment to Clemson and this generous donation,” IPTAY CEO Davis Babb said. “Their support of IPTAY through this gift will allow future generations of Clemson student-athletes to continue to achieve at high levels both on the fields of competition and in the classroom.”
Michael is married to Robyn Nieri, and they have three children: Pennington ’15, and Maigan and Patrick, both Clemson students.
We are excited to announce that Clemson has arrived in the Twin Cities. The Twin Cities Clemson Club supports not only the Twin Cities areas of Minneapolis and St. Paul, but also welcomes alumni, friends, family and fans from the surrounding areas of greater Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
The Twin Cities Clemson Club started colonizing in late 2014 under the leadership of Tyler Morey ’10. The club held its first unofficial gathering for the Russell Athletic Bowl vs. Oklahoma at Freehouse in Minneapolis. The turnout was great for a cold and snowy Monday evening with 23 alumni, family and friends coming to cheer Tiger nation to victory. After the first event, Morey quickly drafted help from local alumni Kristen Hodgkins Braun ’02 and Paul Wisnewski ’85, M ’87. The club drew even bigger crowds in 2015 for the ACC Football Championship, the ACC/Big Ten Challenge against the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers men’s basketball team, and the National Championship game in January 2016. They also added more members to their leadership team — Heather Lankford
Huck ’99 and Natalie Patzin ’13, M ’14.
Members of the club are thrilled that the Minnesota Vikings drafted two of our young stars, Mackensie Alexander and Jayron Kearse, this spring. The club is planning a caravan to the Vikings Training Camp this summer to welcome Mack and Jayron to Minnesota as their first official event. The caravan is tentatively scheduled for the first Saturday
in August. Find the club on social media: Twitter at @TC_ClemsonClub and Instagram at @twincitiesclemsonclub.
For more information, email the club at twincitiesclub@alumni.clemson.edu.