ACHIEVEMENT ASHEVILLE SCHOOL MAGAZINE | FALL 2019 ANNUAL REPORT ISSUE FALL 2019 DEPARTMENTS 02 Letter from the Head of School 14 Donor Report 34 Alumni Profiles 40 In Memoriam 44 Class Notes Editor Bob Williams Head of School Anthony H. Sgro 1984 Assistant Head of School for Advancement Leigh Ruhl Design Kristen Winstead, Sund Studio Writers Alex Hill FEATURES Emmitt Kussrow 2015 Bob Williams 04 Celebrating a Legacy Photographers Austin Bell 2006 Members of the Asheville School Sheila Coppersmith community gathered together to Blake Madden dedicate McNaughton Stadium Carrie Turner on Friday, September 13, 2019. Printing Lane Press 10 Homecoming for Dr. Sgro ’84 A special thanks to the 1923 The Rev. Dr. Anthony H. Sgro 1984 Memorial Archives for providing the Invested as the Ninth Head of School archival photographs in this edition. MISSION To prepare our students for college and for life and to provide an atmosphere in BOARD OF TRUSTEES Ms. Lara Nolletti, P ’19 which all members of a diverse, engaged, 2019–2020 Co-Vice Chair and purposefully small school community appreciate and strive for excellence—an P–Parents of alumni and current students Mr. Marshall T. Bassett 1972 atmosphere that nurtures character and Treasurer fosters the development of mind, body, Mr. Walter G. Cox, Jr. 1972, P ’06 and spirit. Chairman Mr. Haywood D. Cochrane, Jr., P ’17 Dr. Gregory K. Morris 1972 Mr. Thomas E. Cone 1972 Photo: This drone photo of Asheville School’s annual Co-Vice Chair bonfire was captured by Austin Bell 2006. Ms. Elizabeth P. Ewing 1993 Mr. James A. Fisher 1964 Mr. Nishant N. Mehta 1998 Dr. Anthony H. Sgro 1984 trustee emeritus ex officio, Head of School Mr. J. Allen Nivens, Jr. 1993 Dr. José A. González 1985, P ’20 ex officio, Alumni Association Mr. Thomas H. Shores, Jr. 1985 P ’20, ’23 Ms. Mary Robinson Hervig 2002 Mr. William F. Paulsen 1965 trustee emeritus Mr. David M. Stover 1975, P ’11 Ms. Elizabeth Klump, P ’19 Mr. Oliver G. Prince, Jr. 1971, P ’00 Ms. Morgan Mischer Warth 2005 Ms. Janet H. Ley, P ’22 ex officio, Parents’ Association Mr. Arthur H. Rogers III 1988 Mr. John W. Willingham 1965 OPENING REMARKS A LETTER FROM HEAD OF SCHOOL DR. ANTHONY H. SGRO 1984 Returning Home to an Amazing Community On a Saturday morning in the fall of 1981, my family and I loaded up our Buick with all of the belongings I would need for my first year at boarding school. Around noon, we departed Blacksburg, Virginia for the five-hour drive to Asheville North Carolina. I had no idea how the experience would define my life. We arrived in Black Mountain about six o’clock that evening and stayed with friends overnight. The next morning, we awoke and drove to my new school. I remember being exceptionally nervous and unsure about this new experience. My head was swirling with so much anxiety and so many questions. Was I smart enough to do the work at Asheville School? Would I be able to make friends among students there? Was there a place for me to contribute to the school? Do I have what it takes to be successful at Asheville School? As soon as I arrived on campus, I was greeted by a prefect named Wayne Magruder ‘82. He was incredibly friendly and welcoming. He put me at ease immediately. We unpacked the car and took pictures of me all over campus while my mother fretted about where everything was going to go in my room. At 3:00 that afternoon, my parents drove off and left me standing in front of the cha- pel. It was a moment I will always remember. I have never felt more alone and more excited at the same time. I hiked up to Third Anderson and met Chandler Trask, Carlos Smith, Scott Shealy, and Charlie Plumb. These were the guys who would be living around me on dorm that year, and they seemed like good guys. I remember very distinctly attending my first seated meal that night. I did not eat anything. I was so nervous that I was going to 2 ASHEVILLE SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT OPENING REMARKS mess up on all the rules. It didn’t help that I was seated at Mr. Ornduff’s table. I later appreciated him as a very nice “The school community is man. However, he was very intimidating to a new boy at his first seated meal. To be honest, anyone would have supportive and welcoming been intimidating on that night. The first few weeks of school were a real whirlwind. and always has been since There were so many activities in which to partake. There were sports, arts and, of course, homework. There were its very founding. It is this so many new people to meet. I was a bit overwhelmed. What I remember most was having so much admiration strong sense of community for the seniors and the prefects that I met. They went out of their way to welcome the new students and make us that defines our school. It is feel at home. By the time Parents Weekend came, I had made lots of friends and felt a real sense of ownership of what sets us apart from other my experience. The school had embraced me and I felt so connected. I had become a member of a community like educational opportunities. To nothing I had ever known. I made my life-long best friends during my years at have gone to Asheville School Asheville School. They are men and women who are smart and loyal. Each and every day, I think about them and feel a real sense of blessing that I have known them is to be known and loved.” and call them friends. These are the friends who dur- ing my life have celebrated with me in times of joy and ANTHONY H. SGRO, HEAD OF SCHOOL comforted me in times of sorrow. The parents of my day student friends became my surrogate parents. It is the community of Asheville School that sustains me. This past summer, I packed up my own family and made the trip to Asheville School one more time. This the greatest gift they could’ve given me. Today I am especially grateful time I returned to campus as Head of School, I had the to the Asheville School Board of Trustees for allowing me the opportu- same anxieties that I had 38 years ago. Was I good enough nity to come back to the school I love. I am honored to be leading this to go back to the school I love and provide leadership? school at this time. I look forward to many years on campus commit- Will there be a place for me in this amazing academic ting myself to fostering this amazing sense of community. I hope that community? Would my family and I find friends? As soon you will take an opportunity to come visit the school. When you step as we arrived on campus, the faculty greeted us with a on campus, you will be reminded how impactful a small residential warm welcome and a strong sense of appreciation for our community can be on the lives of students. presence. We immediately felt that we were home. When the school year opened, the students arrived and there was a new level of energy on campus. They, too, were generous in their capacity to offer hospitality to our family. They were incredibly kind to my children. I would say that it was a welcome like no other except that is not Anthony H. Sgro true. It had the same feeling as the welcome I received Head of School when I first arrived on campus in the fall of 1981. I think that is what is so special about Asheville School. The school community is supportive and welcoming and always has been since its very founding. It is this strong sense of community that defines our school. It is what sets us apart from other educational opportunities. To have gone to Asheville School is to be known and loved. I am so grateful to my parents for sacrificing financially and emotionally for me to attend Asheville School. It was FALL 2019 3 4 ASHEVILLE SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT celebrating a legacy The McNaughton Stadium Dedication The McNaughton family has been a part of the Asheville School community for over 83 years. Each of the Asheville School McNaughton alumni—Malcolm McNaughton 1937, Robert McNaughton 1939, Sandy McNaughton 1967, Dean McNaughton 1980 and Flint McNaughton 1982—brought his talents to the Blues football team as student athletes. Now, thanks to the generosity of Flint McNaughton 1982, those experiences are memorialized in the newly minted McNaughton Stadium dedicated on September 13, 2019. Left: Flint McNaughton 1982 and his wife, Julie, stand next to the McNaughton Stadium sign on the night of the stadium’s dedication. FALL 2019 5 An integral part of At The Threshold: The Campaign for Asheville School, McNaughton Stadium has transformed the school community throughout the past year. “It’s enhanced the experiences of our athletes, of our fans, and of our entire school community,” says Athletic Director Carl Boland. “In September 2018, we had our first game under the lights. It was truly one of the highlights for me, and I think for many Asheville School alumni, to see our entire school community out here enjoying a football game on a Friday night. It was a special moment, and it’s significant to our school because it helps us build a strong community and it’s something the entire school can enjoy.” During the dedication ceremony, Head of School Dr.