Meet Danny Gregg ’71, Alumni Association President

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Danny Gregg has lived in a number of places since graduating from Clemson in 1971 — from Columbia to Charleston to Washington, D.C., to New Jersey — but he always knew he would find his way back to Clemson.
As a student, Gregg was very active as a cheerleader, a member of student government — he was elected vice president of the student body — and a member of Tiger Brotherhood and Blue Key honor society. He was also a member of the Numeral Society, which became Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity during his junior year. As an alumnus, he has remained just as active and engaged.
Throughout all his moves, he found ways to be connected to Clemson through local Clemson clubs, but once he moved back to Clemson at age 45, he was able to get involved with the University at a higher level.
After chairing several committees for the Alumni Association board of directors, Gregg was chosen as president-elect in 2012, with his two-year presidential term starting in 2014.
Gregg’s involvement doesn’t end with the Alumni Association. He is a member and past president of the Fort Hill Clemson Club, served as an adviser for his fraternity and has recently begun serving as a mentor for Clemson’s FIRST Program, which offers special resources for first-generation college students.
Like many of his fellow alumni, Gregg describes himself as “dedicated and loyal” and says that he got a lot more out of his Clemson experience than his bachelor’s degree.
“Maybe I should have spent more time in the library and less time doing other activities, like student government and cheerleading, but I’m not sorry at all for the way I did it,” he said. “The relationships that I built outside of the classroom have lasted me a lifetime, and I’m thankful for them.”
 

Young Alumni Recognize This Year's Roaring 10

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In October, the Young Alumni Council named their newest rising stars: the Roaring 10. These alumni have made an impact in business, leadership, community, educational and/or philanthropic endeavors, while exemplifying Clemson’s core values of honesty, integrity and respect.
Tripp James ’02, M ’04 has founded, operated and harvested several successful small businesses and currently serves as small-business programs manager for the Greenville Chamber of Commerce. A graduate of Leadership Greenville, he has heavily invested his time and talent in PULSE, Greenville’s organization for young professionals. A member of the College of Business and Behavioral Science Alumni Loyalty Board, he serves as a mentor for students.
Hannah Hopkins Pittman ’03, M ’13 is director of professional development for the S.C. Association of School Administrators. Treasurer of the Columbia Clemson Club since 2011, Pittman led efforts to fund a $25,000 scholarship endowment that revitalized the involvement of Richland County alumni. A member of Women’s Alumni Council, Pittman planned and coordinated this year’s “Bring Your Daughter to Clemson” weekend that raised approximately $8,000 for scholarships.
Steven Foushee ’05 is a project manager for Moss 7 Associates, a construction management firm in Greenville. He is the youngest of only seven registered Design-Build Institute of America professionals in the state. A volunteer with the U.S. Green Building Council’s South Carolina chapter, he was in charge of education and outreach for green building initiatives. He is a member of Clemson’s Construction Science Management Industry Advisory Board.
Tia Nicole Williams ’05 is owner and operator of the SERVPRO franchise in Cayce, West Columbia and Lexington. She also is owner and editor of the Lexington Anchor, a monthly online publication. Former secretary and current treasurer of the Columbia Clemson Club, Williams is communications chair of the state Chamber of Commerce Small Business Council and a company adviser for the state Chamber of Commerce Business Week, teaching high school students about business.
George Magrath II ’06 is completing a two-year ocular oncology fellowship at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia. During his time at the Medical University of South Carolina, he was the first resident in South Carolina to perform laser-assisted cataract surgery. He developed web application algorithms for diagnosing complex eye diseases, melanoma and ocular inflammation, which were featured in Review of Ophthalmology and Ocular Surgery News.
Thomas Rhodes ’06 heads his family business, Rhodes Graduation Services, and is owner of Sumter Advertising Company and chief operating officer of Custom Bike Rings in Summerton. He designed the 2014 Clemson Orange Bowl Ring for Coach Dabo Swinney. Last year, he helped establish the Clemson Distinguished Athletes Award to honor former athletes who are making a difference in their communities through non-athletic endeavors.
Brian Ammons ’08 works in investor relations with Dow Chemical in Midland, Michigan. In 2012 he was one of six people to receive the company’s highest award in both sales and marketing. A board member of Give Us Names, a nonprofit organization formed by Clemson alumni, he spearheaded a partnership with a Chicago-based theater company founded by alumni to donate profits from a stage production to the charitable organization.
Mary Kathryn (MK) Dempsey ’08 is a senior fundraising consultant for Blackbaud in Charleston. A member of the Charleston Junior League and Clemson in the Lowcountry, she volunteers with the Dee Norton Lowcountry Children’s Center. Dempsey devoted a lot of time to the Young Alumni Council — as a representative, at-large member and president. She is vice chair of the Alumni Council Engagement Committee and serves on the Alumni Board of Directors.
Laneika K. Musalini  M ’11 is director of grants at Tri-County Technical College and a grants writer and administrator for Community Colleges of Appalachia. She also is founder and CEO of Women’s Empowerment. The 2013 recipient of Clemson’s MLK Award for Excellence in Service-Community Member, she was awarded the Duke Energy/Clemson University Center for Workforce Development STEM Innovator Award in 2012.
Raven Magwood ’12 graduated from Clemson at the age of 19 with a 4.0 GPA. She published her first book at age 12 and followed that up with another during college, 7 Practices of Exceptional Student Athletes. Magwood has written a screenplay, “Switching Lanes,” scheduled to be released as a feature film later this year, and travels as a motivational speaker.

My Clemson: Daniel Licata ’09

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When I transferred to Clemson in the fall of 2006, I was looking for a better “college experience.” The university I had left behind was low on school spirit; they didn’t even have a football team.
Clemson did not provide me with an experience; it transformed my life. I found a new family in those “Hills.” The color orange was no longer something to add to my wardrobe, it became my wardrobe. And while the “Hills” were certainly special, “The Hill” was sacred.
In the long history of Clemson, approximately 50 other students have had the same perspective I did when I first stepped to the top of The Hill on Labor Day Monday in 2007. With limited vision, gasping for air and fighting off heat exhaustion, I stood in front of the Death Valley faithful, ready to lead our team on to the field. The “C-L-E-M-S-O-N” chant that overcame the stadium, physically shaking my helmet, will forever be engrained in my mind. As the cannon sounded, I knew my life would never be the same. During the 2007-08 school year, I prowled the sidelines during a 23-21 victory in Columbia and an ACC Tournament in Charlotte that had our team in the championship game.
After graduating summa cum laude in the spring of 2009, I returned to my home state of New Jersey to begin a career in education. I love exploring the subject of social studies with my high school students, but if you were to ask any of my students where my true passion lies, they would all answer, “Clemson!” My students know that the Tiger does push-ups after every score, that Friday is always solid orange, and that my mood on a Monday in the fall is largely dependent on the Saturday that precedes it.
Daniel Licata is a social studies teacher at Palmyra High School in Palmyra, New Jersey. He recently won the teacher of the year award and led the varsity baseball program to their second consecutive division championship, the first time for the school since the 1930s.

William S. Gaillard Jr. ’40

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WWII Soldier

Gaillard_William-graveHistory and travel enthusiast, Rhonda Bailey Antonetti ’87 (NURS) of Charleston wanted to take Tiger Paw flags to place on the Clemson alumni WWII soldiers’ graves in the American Cemetery in Normandy, France. Little did she know the amazing, serendipitous venture this gesture would uncover. She was able to place only one flag on her visit, and she snapped a picture of the marker. When asked about her trip by a co-worker, Antonetti showed her pictures. This co-worker, Staci Gaillard, was surprised to see the name on the marker was a name familiar to her — one shared by her father-in-law, husband and son. The soldier was William S. Gaillard Jr. ’40, her husband’s great-uncle. The present generation of the family had not known much about his death and service. Antonetti assisted the family in researching information. On Clemson’s Military Heritage Day, his nephew, William S. Gaillard II; great-nephew, William S. Gaillard III ’03 (MKTG); William III’s wife, Staci Gaillard; and Antonetti visited his stone at the Scroll of Honor Memorial. Staci and William have a son, William S. Gailliard IV.
Gaillard_family
 

D.C./Baltimore

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The D.C./Baltimore Club had two major events with President Clements last fall. In September, more than 200 guests gathered for “A Night with Clemson on Capitol Hill,” featuring remarks from Ambassador David Wilkins, President Clements and the chair of the regional board, David Rochester ’68.  Members of the Board of Visitors attended after spending a day on Capitol Hill.
In October, more than 100 members of the club, as well as President and Mrs. Clements, were guests at a reception at the Belgian ambassador’s private residence in Washington, D.C. Ambassador Johan Verbeke was appointed in January 2014, and his social secretary is Gwenda De Moor, a member of the Regional Board of Directors and parent to Clemson alumnus Vinny Brown ’11, M ’14.  The reception featured authentic Belgian cuisine and beer, and the program focused on educational, cultural and professional connections between Belgium and Clemson.
 

Boston

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More than 600 alumni and fans gathered in Boston for the Paws on the Claws event at Top of the Hub Restaurant in October. The group enjoyed fun and food as they prepared to take on the Boston College Eagles the next day in an exciting showdown on the gridiron. President Clements addressed the group and gave updates on the state of the University and Clemson’s strong alumni presence and athletic success in Boston.

Greenwood

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The Greenwood Club celebrated Greenwood Clemson Tiger Day with 250 alumni, friends and fans in uptown Greenwood around the Tiger Topiary. Four football players — Jim Brown, D.J. Reader, Bradley Pinion and Stephone Anthony — and Coach Mike Reed attended the event, as well as four cheerleaders and the Tiger. Greenwood’s own PGA golfer Ben Martin ’09 signed autographs and posed for photographs.

Celeste “Clete” Boykin ’79

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Lifetime of Achievement

Clete Boykin graduated from Clemson with a degree in horticulture, so when she began working as a lobbyist for DuPont 21 years ago, her focus was on agricultural issues. Since then, her portfolio has broadened to include trade secrets, defense, transportation, chemical plant security, immigration and education.
The job and the issues demand flexibility and adaptability. “No two days are the same,” she says. “I start out the day saying, ‘I’m going to do ABC today.’ I end up doing D and Z. And you meet some of the most interesting people with different backgrounds.”
This past summer at the Washington Government Relations Group’s Annual Tin Cup Awards Dinner, Boykin received the Reginald “Reg” Gilliam Lifetime Achievement Award from the non-partisan volunteer association founded to enrich the careers and leadership abilities of African-American government relations professionals.
Her job may not be nine to five, but she still finds time every summer to get together with a group of 10 to 12 other Clemson alums who lived together on the fourth floor of Benet Hall. They call themselves the “Benet Babes.”
“After all these years,” Boykin says, “I still consider them my best friends.”
She’s a proud Tiger Band alum, and can still be seen sporting her Tiger Band jacket when the weather gets chilly.

Chris Bandy ’92

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Spreading the Small Town Gospel

The American South and cotton have a troubled relationship. But thanks to Chris Bandy and his homegrown apparel brand, Southern Fried Cotton, things are changing.
When Bandy first entered Clemson as a textiles major, he hoped to have the same job that his dad had in the pulp and paper industry. Instead, he jumped straight into sales after graduating in 1992 instead of heading to N.C. State like he once planned.
Some 26 years later, he’s a co-owner of TigerTown Graphics — a Clemson tradition started by his partners, John Earle and Chuck Rice, in 1988, when Bandy was a freshman at Clemson. The three are also the proud co-creators of Southern Fried Cotton, a Southern-themed apparel brand that has grown from one store in Greenville in 2012 to a second store in Clemson and more recently, 200 retailers selling their t-shirts throughout the Southeast.
“I remember hand-combing cotton and learning those properties involved in making cotton softer. It has been very interesting being in the apparel industry as all the new blends change the T-shirt world, and some of the softest shirts are made,” said Bandy.
The sign in the back of the store is of a John Cougar Mellancamp quote: “I was born in a small town and I can breathe in a small town.” For Bandy, that’s what these Southern-themed T-shirts are about — “roots, being homegrown and small towns.”
That “small town” feel that his shirts evoke come from his heart. He and his wife Maggie, who he met while in college, have raised their two sons JT and Carter in Clemson. He helps coach local rec teams and volunteers at his church. Southern Fried Cotton is about sharing that feeling of belonging — the sensation of someone memorizing your coffee order — with people who have had to move on from their own hometowns.
“Almost 10 years after returning to Clemson to live, I still don’t take it for granted. I’m not getting special treatment; that’s just part of living in a small community,” said Bandy.