May 16, 2007

SCSDB News

South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind

• A Palmetto Gold School • For Immediate Release

Media contacts:

Sharon Goolsby, Public Information Office: (864) 577-7505

sgoolsby@scsdb.org

Katie Rice, Public Information Office: (864) 577-7506

krice@scsdb.org

NOTE: SCSDB GRADUATES LISTING IS ATTACHED

SPARTANBURG, SC – The S.C. School for the Deaf and the Blind (SCSDB) graduation ceremony will be held at 11 a.m., Tuesday, May 22 in the school’s Pulliam Auditorium located in Walker Hall.

Twenty-four students from the Division for the Blind, the Division for the Deaf, the Division for the Multihandicapped and the Postsecondary Program will be recognized. Outstanding graduates from each school will be announced.

At Tuesday’s graduation, the Norman F. Pulliam Scholarship Program will be introduced. This program was established during the 2006-07 school year in honor of Norman F. Pulliam for his 20 years of service on the SCSDB Board of Commissioners. The scholarship program will award $1,000 to three highly deserving students for their postsecondary/college expenses. Pulliam will present the awards.

Mrs. Martha Cloud Chapman will receive the Douglas F. Dent Award. This award recognizes individuals that have made significant gifts of time, talent or personal resources that have positively contributed to the mission of SCSDB.

Chapman has been a devoted advocate for SCSDB students through the years as a community leader and a member of The Walker Foundation Board of Trustees. Her leadership made it possible for SCSDB to obtain funding and support for projects for the students. Chapman initiated the creation of an endowment fund for the school, sponsored the school’s art studio and recruited other leaders to join her in service to SCSDB. A notable project was her artistic influence on the renovation of the school’s historic Walker Hall.

“Mrs. Chapman is such a wonderful friend and supporter of our school,” said school President, Sheila Breitweiser. “Her dedication has provided many wonderful opportunities for our students that otherwise would not have been possible.”

The SC Department of Education named SCSDB a Palmetto Gold School for its academic accomplishments and a Red Carpet School for its outstanding customer service. SCSDB is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf and the SC Department of Education. SCSDB offers programs for preschool, elementary, middle school, high school, sensory multidisabled, vocational and postsecondary education students, as well as a variety of outreach services through regional centers located throughout the state. The main campus is located in Spartanburg. The school’s web site address is www.scsdb.org and its toll-free telephone number is 1-888-447-2732.

List of SCSDB Graduates Follows

South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind

Graduates

May 22, 2007

School for the Blind

Westley Adam Campbell, Spartanburg

Jeffrey Lee Hutto, New Ellenton

Kathleen Michele Wheatley, Johnsonville

School for the Deaf

Willie Antione Bell, Anderson

Kendra Alexandria Frazier, Boiling Springs

Thomas Daniel Glouse, Taylors

Thomas Lee Kirby, Cowpens

Whitney Alaina Steadman, Beaufort

Reginald Jay Walker, Sharon

Maria Nicole Wickline, Mauldin

School for the Multihandicapped

Steven Nicholas Campbell, Spartanburg

Ronnie Allen Eubanks, Laurens

Kevin Scott Furr, Cheraw

Robert Christopher Gore, Chesnee

Erica Tawanna Green, Branchville

William Isaac Howard, Startex

Ronald Rudy Jenkins, North Charleston

Shameeka Latoya McRae, Columbia

Sabrina Erica Thompson, Awendaw

Nicole Marie VanderBrink, Spartanburg

Postsecondary Education

Haynesworth Van Epps IV, Spartanburg

Justin Wayne Gilreath, Greer

Michael Laymond Hayes, Moore

Paul Archie LeCroy, Jr., Roebuck