UMS-Wright 2020 Arts Hall of Fame

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

INDUCTEES Leslie McDuffie Johnson ‘96 Lauren Koffler Denton ‘97 Catherine Fogarty Leatherbury ‘07 Kathy Albritton Hughes graduated from UMS-Wright in 1996. As a standout Leslie student, Leslie was a very prominent member of both the vocal and theater programs. In fact, she and a core McDuffie group of close friends helped ensure that both programs maintained steady growth and enjoyed increased Johnson popularity during UMS-Wright’s first decade. Leslie was a member of three choral groups: Adagio, Wright Images and the UMS- Wright Singers. Her personal excellence and dedication led to her induction into the Tri-M Music Honor Society. As a member of the Theatre Guild, she was a part of eight plays: West Side Story, Meet Me in St. Louis, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Oklahoma, It Happens Every Summer, My Fair Lady, Stages and Little Women. Her contribution to the Theater Department was also significant enough that she received the Theater Achievement Award. In addition to her many school activities, Leslie represented Mobile as an Azalea Trail Maid and helped promote the city. Other activities which she participated in were the FCA, the French Club, SADD, and the Fashion Show Committee as well as being admitted to two academic honorary societies, Mu Alpha Theta and the National Honor Society.

Johnson continued her education at Lee University where she graduated in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. She began her career at Smith Dukes and Buckalew as a staff accountant and her first audit was UMS-Wright. In 2004, she passed the exam to become a Certified Public Accountant. She went on to work at CPSI, Russell Thompson Butler & Houston and Cooper/T. Smith before becoming the Business Manager at UMS-Wright in 2010.

Johnson has continued to give back her time to her alma mater by serving on the Arts Hall of Fame Committee for over ten years and by serving as a member of the New Parent Advisory Group, the Alumni Advisory Committee, and the 1996 Reunion Committee. She is a member of the Junior League of Mobile and served as the Board Treasurer. She is very involved in her church, Spring Hill Baptist Church where she teaches Sunday School and is on the Finance Committee. Most of her time is spent with her girls, Claire (Class of 2023) and Mary Carlton (Class of 2026), at their various athletic and arts events. graduated from UMS-Wright in 1997. She was a member Lauren of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, French Club and Interact. After her four years at UMS-Wright, Koffler she went to Birmingham-Southern College and then transferred to Auburn University where she graduated with Denton a degree in Psychology.

Denton began her journalism career in Birmingham as an intern at Southern Progress Corporation (SPC), the parent company of magazines Southern Living and Cooking Light. At the end of her internship, she was hired in the promotions department of Oxmoor House, then also worked in consumer marketing, writing ads and other promotional copy for the company’s magazines and books, all the while secretly writing stories on her computer during down time. After leaving SPC to stay home with her first child, she wrote on a freelance basis for various regional magazines and began writing a monthly column in The Homewood Star, a popular community newspaper that serves the area of Birmingham. She also started writing fiction with the goal of publication.

In 2013, Denton began writing what would eventually become her first published novel, The Hideaway. In 2016, she signed her first contract with Thomas Nelson, a division of Harper Collins. The Hideaway, released in 2017, is now a USA Today, Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts best seller. Her second novel, Hurricane Season, was listed on BookPage’s 2018 list of Most Anticipated Fiction. WORLD Magazine states that her third novel, Glory Road, “exudes so much Southern charm that the scent of magnolias practically wafts from the pages.” All three of her novels are set in lower Alabama and chronicle women’s journeys towards truth, love, hope and healing. Denton’s books have received widespread accolades including, Southern Living’s 25 Beach Reads Perfect for Summer, Deep South Magazine’s 2018 and 2019 Spring Reading Picks, Woman’s World Book Club’s Week’s Best Fiction, BuzzBooks 2019 and 2019 Spring/Summer Great Reads, Travel + Leisure Ten Spring Reads That Will Make Winter a Distant Memory, Southern Living Spring Break Reads and BookPage 2018 Most Anticipated Books. This year, she will be a featured author at the Southern Voices Authors Conference in Hoover, Alabama.; at the Monroeville Literary Festival; and at The Bookshelf ’s Reader Retreat in Thomasville, Georgia.

Denton currently lives in Homewood, Alabama with her husband and two daughters. She writes a monthly newspaper column for The Homewood Star about life, faith, and how funny (and hard) it is to be a parent. She is also the Leader of her daughter’s Girl Scout troop and serves as a Member of the Homewood Arts Council. Her next novel, The Summer House, comes out in June of this year. graduated from UMS-Wright in 2007. She Katie started studying acting at a young age both in a local theater and in theater at school. She was Leatherbury involved in The Wright Players and the Center Stage Show Choir. She performed in numerous plays including: Taming of the Shrew, The Hobbit, Pink Panther, Midsummer Night’s Dream, 45 Minutes from Broadway, Bye Bye Birdie, and Meet Me in St. Louis. Interestingly, she said in her senior yearbook that playing Gollum was her favorite role as a UMS-Wright performer. In the State Trumbauer Theatre Festival, she earned second place in the solo musical theater category and earned the great honor of being chosen Best of Show and Best Ensemble twice at Trumbauer. Leatherbury also served as the SGA’s Vice President of Fine Arts and was a member of the Cheerleading squad.

Leatherbury continued her education at Birmingham-Southern College and graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music. While there, she was a member of the Concert Choir, Hilltop Singers, Resident Advisor, and Chi Omega. She was awarded the Mildred Allen Voice Award and was inducted into the Pi Kappa Lambda Music honor society.

After graduation, Leatherbury followed her dreams to become an actress. She played the role of Janet in The Drowsy Chaperone with the Mobile Theatre Guild. She also performed in the plays, Plan C with Play de Luna and Modern American Romance with Little Luna. In 2012, she began with Walt Disney World as a Character performer. You may have seen some princess who looked very similar to Leatherbury. She played Elsa in the Frozen Sing Along and Belle in Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage, and she was also in the Festival of Fantasy Parade. She has also performed in live performances such as Halloween Horror Nights 26 and Marilyn Monroe & the Diamond Bellas for Universal Studios Florida as an actress from 2015 to present. In Orlando, Leatherbury has studied at Art’s Sake Studio, Class Act Studios, and even studied with the respected director Rus Blackwell. Most recently, she was cast as a co-star in The Right Stuff which was produced by Leonardo Decaprio, and as Giselle in both The Princess Academy, and Disney Girls Like You. Leatherbury has also had a lead role in The Keeper and Soccer Dad. She has been in several print jobs and commercials including Fleming’s Steakhouse. Leatherbury was most recently cast in a small role in a new National Geographic TV show coming this Fall. She continues to audition for commercials, TV, and film. has shared during her distinguished career as an Kathy educator her unwavering love of music with countless students and helped them discover a passion for music Albritton and singing they would not have acquired without her influence. In addition to having a natural talent for Hughes music, especially piano, her professional preparation was impressive as she earned a B.M.E. and a M.M.E. from outstanding Music Education Departments at George Peabody College and Samford University respectively. As a teacher and choral director, she is the perfect example of a professional whose instructional skill has been enhanced by dedication and enthusiasm.

Hughes professional life began in Pickens County Schools before she moved to Birmingham City Schools. In both school systems, she taught music to a range of grade levels and interest levels of students. In 1985, she began teaching elementary students and organized and directed a high school chorus at UMS. This year began a two decade relationship with first UMS and then UMS- Wright during which she made profound contributions to the Arts Department, in particular music and chorus. Most significantly, she helped merge the choral programs of UMS and Julius T. Wright into a unique co-educational activity that would not only thrive but also have a positive influence on the merger of two significant institutions. As the Music Director of numerous musical theater productions, Hughes was one of the crucial staff members who helped create momentum within the music and theater programs which continue to be major influences on student life at UMS-Wright. Appropriately describing her positive impact on UMS-Wright would be challenging.

Along with 1991 alumnus Matthew Rone, Hughes helped write the UMS- Wright Alma Mater, which is regularly performed at formal school ceremonies and sung after numerous athletic events. She also initiated the choral version of the UMS-Wright Student Prayer, which has also become a significant part of the school’s culture. Even so, these contributions are secondary to the impact that she had on students whose experiences at our school were enriched by their interaction with her and whose lives continue to be better because of her influence.

Even after leaving UMS-Wright, Hughes continued to bless students at Spanish Fort schools with her teaching skill and her joy in teaching music. Today, she works as a duel-enrollment instructor for Spanish Fort High School under the auspices of Coastal Alabama Community College. This unique educator has now taught students from elementary school to young adults starting college. Arts Hall of Fame Members

2008 ~ Howard M. Fortney Honorary 2009 ~ H. Ainsley McNeely ‘78 2009 ~ Fred D. Baldwin ‘66 2010 ~ Nicholas H. Holmes, III ‘70 2011 ~ Eugenia Cameron Foster ‘62 2011 ~ Howard M. Schramm, Jr. ‘60 2012 ~ Cammie East Cowan ‘63 2012 ~ M. Richard Hirsch ‘64 2012 ~ Julie Hall Friedman ‘77 2012 ~ Ellen Goldberg Fishpaw ‘97 2013 ~ Bradley S. Handwerger ‘99 2013 ~ W. Frye Gaillard , Jr. ‘64 2013 ~ Eugenia Barney Lanaux ‘73 2013 ~ Jacqueline Alford Ward ‘96 2013 ~ Linda D. Pereira Honorary 2014 ~ Walter B. Edgar ‘61 2014 ~ M. Gay Outlaw ‘77 2014 ~ H. Jody Powell ‘77 2014 ~ Demetri N. Ravanos ‘99 2015 ~ Joy Ogburn Gardner ‘78 2015 ~ C. Matthew Vinson ‘98 2015 ~ J. Douglas Waterman ‘98 2015 ~ Liz Stokes Terry ‘75 2015 ~ Kathy W. Thompson Honorary Arts Hall of Fame Members

2016 ~ E. Russell “Barney” March ‘85 2016 ~ Pier Peterson Hardin ‘70 2016 ~ Roy Bernard Hoffman ‘71 2016 ~ Peyton Sumerlyn Trueblood ‘12 2017 ~ Mary-Lacey Rogers Zeiders ‘05 2017 ~ J. Russell Goodloe, Jr. ‘55 2017 ~ F. Randy deCelle ‘85 2017 ~ Janey Miller Honorary 2018 ~ Kim Bancroft Wood ‘68 2018 ~ Margaret Thurber Delaney ‘98 2018 ~ Eden Walker Flora ‘02 2018 ~ John William Hayes, Jr. ‘05 2019 ~ Michael Dent Boykin ‘82 2019 ~ John Gregory Saad ‘00 2019 ~ Bronwyn Coffeen-Mercer ‘01 2019 ~ Clayton Carter Omainsky ‘06 2019 ~ Laura Wilson Roberts Honorary UMS-Wright www.ums-wright.org