The Greensboro Day School Alumni Association, in recognition of excellence on the part of our alumni, established the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1991. This award is presented annually during Commencement to the alumnus/a who best exhibits at least one of the following qualities: A) extraordinary service to the City of Greensboro, the state of North Carolina, or the nation; B) extraordinary distinction in one’s field of specialization or extraordinary service to society and corresponding tangible benefit to fellow citizens. The first alumnus/a to receive this award was Mary Copeland ’79 in 1991.
Category: Firsts
The 1988-89 boys’ basketball team had a phenomenal season. With a record of 25-8, the Bengals went on to win the school’s first ever boys’ basketball state championship on March 4, 1989. Thirty years later, the 1989 team truly was the foundation that the Greensboro Day School boys’ basketball program was built on. Coach Johnson and the boys’ basketball program have won over 1,000 games, 11 state titles and 16 Little Four titles. Thomas Roberts ’89 exclaims, “Our team got the first of those titles. GDS is now a national power. I am so proud of, and in awe of, all that GDS basketball has become; I am so proud to have been a part of the team that brought the first state championship home to GDS (exactly where it belongs).” Since 1989, the boys’ basketball program has played in 19 of the 31 state championship games, winning 11 state championships, more than any other school in North Carolina.
At the time, the 1988 Varsity Boys’ Soccer team had the most successful season in the history of GDS boys’ soccer. The ’88 squad posted a 19-3-2 record including the state championship, the first for any boys’ team at Greensboro Day School. Mr. Carl Fenske served as Head Coach, and Coach Kim Burroughs served as an assistant coach. Coach Fenske says, “I know that we couldn’t have accomplished all that we did without the contributions that Coach Kim Burroughs made to the team that year.”
The first K-12 Greensboro Day School Science Fair took place on March 10th, 1988 and saw an impressive exhibit of 176 student projects in the theatre of the McMillion Center for the Arts. Bill O’Connor, Lower School Science Specialist and coordinator of the fair, said, “Our intention in having the first science fair was to encourage creativity and independent thinking in science. The overall quality of the projects was very, very high.”
At Ralph Davison’s first full board meeting on September 11, 1986, he emphasized “furthering the scope of the Day School’s reach into the Greensboro community,” and he announced the establishment of the Alumni Association under the leadership of its first President, Mary Copeland ’79. By 1991, alumni continued to distinguish themselves and play an increasingly important role in school affairs. With support from Jane Gorrell ’79, Bill Morrisette ’75, Newton Cowan ’84, Ed Cone ’80 and others, the Alumni Association developed a multifaceted program of service including the class agent network, senior send-off, graduation rehearsal luncheon, the Distinguished Alumni Award, the Alumni-Booster Golf Tournament, an Alumni-Scholarship fund drive and activities to maintain bonds of friendship.
Mary Copeland ’79 was the first alumna on the Board of Trustees. She served from 1986-1994.
Established in 1986, the annual award for excellence in teaching is given to a faculty member in honor of our former headmaster who served GDS from 1977-1986. Dr. Hendrix is the father of Kellie Hendrix Medford ’82, Erin Hendrix Shackelford ’83, and Max Hendrix ’88. The first teacher to receive this award was Lower School Science Specialist, Mr. Bill O’Connor.
The first athletics team to win back-to-back state championships was the volleyball team, which did so in 1983 and 1984. David Bowman and Martha Knox coached the teams.
Greensboro Day School’s chapter of Cum Laude, one of only five in North Carolina at the time, was a particularly significant achievement in the development of our school. The Cum Laude Society is formed on the basis of high academic excellence and community service. On June 7, 1984, the first inductees were Ellen Brown ’85, Sylvia Diaz ’85, Kit Fisher ’85 and Georges Saab ’85.
The spring of 1984 saw a significant event in the life of the school: the establishment of the Honor Code. Impetus for the Honor Code came from Upper School students who, working with National Honor Society sponsor Kathy Davis researched and formulated a code that would set guidelines for conduct and form the basis for the atmosphere of mutual trust and respect that characterizes the school. Importantly, the Honor Code was not to be a “single sanction” code, like those found in some colleges, but rather one that would provide students with the chance to learn and grow as members of the school community. Kimberly Bates ’84 was central to the development of the Honor Code. The signing of the Honor Code is a tradition that is carried on to the present day.