Quicknotes | april 2021

Southern’s Enactus team placed third in the nation at the Enactus United States National Exposition. Housed in the School of Business, the student team has previously ranked second in their league several times, but this is their first year to advance through the competition to the final round, which included the top four schools in the United States.

“It is validating to see how our time and effort over the last year has paid off in such big ways,” said Ashley Blake, senior accounting major and president of Southern’s Enactus team. “I hope that the team can continue to build on this year’s momentum and stay on track with the hardworking and high expectation culture that we’ve created.”

Enactus is an international non-profit organization that brings together student, academic, and business leaders who are committed to using the power of entrepreneurial action to improve the quality of life and the standard of living for people in need. Guided by academic advisors and business experts, the student leaders of Enactus create and implement community empowerment projects around the globe. 

This year’s exposition included 98 schools from across the United States, and due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the competition took place virtually. Each competing team submitted a 12-minute video and annual report to show why their projects are sustainable long-term and how they will have the most positive impacts on the lives and communities around them.

“Our success this year, I believe, has largely been due to great student leadership,” said Michelle Doucoumes, assistant professor in the School of Business and Southern’s Enactus sponsor. “Each member of the team believed in the cause and has been tenacious in their pursuit.”

Additionally, Enactus honored Doucoumes with the 2021 Sam Walton Fellow of the Year award for her leadership, contributions to the team, and investment in students’ lives.

To learn more about Southern’s Enactus team and their community projects, visit southern.edu/enactus.

-by Madison Reinschmidt, junior mass communication major

A new scholarship honors an exceptional life by helping more students receive a quality Christian education at Southern. The Class of 1966 Endowed Scholarship in Honor of Buddy Fisher was established and funded primarily by class members to recognize their extraordinary classmate, Buddy, and in gratitude for how God has led each member during the 55 years since graduation.

During his life, Buddy consistently demonstrated a humble and servant spirit, especially after he was accidentally shot by a friend on December 22, 1959, during his first year at Southern Missionary College. Knowing that he could face anything with God, who strengthened him daily, brought Buddy tremendous courage in spite of the severe and permanent injuries he endured because of the tragedy.

He returned to Southern as soon as he was able and graduated with the Class of 1966. His positive and cheerful outlook on life and his strong work ethic were sources of inspiration to all who knew him.

Buddy had a deep love for Southern and came back to campus whenever possible to attend class reunions hosted during Homecoming Weekends. Buddy passed away on January 24, 2019, in Loma Linda, California, at the age of 79.

The Class of 1966 Endowed Scholarship in Honor of Buddy Fisher provides students with tuition assistance at Southern, with awards to begin during the 2021-2022 school year.

“Our hope is to see the recipients of this scholarship be individuals of extraordinary character and strong campus involvement to ensure that the legacy of our class and classmates lives on for generations to come,” said Robert Potts, president of the Class of 1966.

To support students in achieving their goal of obtaining a quality, Christian education at Southern, give here.

-by Evonne Crook, ’79, director of Alumni Relations

Tracy Nalory, MSW, ’11, was honored earlier this month by the Tennessee Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers as Social Worker of the Year. Nalory is passionate about helping people find healing, wholeness, and internal peace. She worked in the child welfare field for many years before earning her master’s degree at Southern Adventist University. Now Nalory runs a private practice, where she works with individuals experiencing anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, and relationship challenges.

“I see this work as a calling, given to me through God’s Word,” she said. “Isaiah 61:1-3 says that ‘the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted.’ That scripture is what I live my life by and how I see the definition of social work. I believe the skill and the resource that I am for my community is all God-given.”

Nalory first realized this calling as a high schooler, but attending Southern launched her current career path.

“I had no desire to do clinical work; I just wanted to do the administrative side,” she explained. “But Southern required both, and once I got into the clinical part, I fell in love with the therapeutic aspect. It began to shift my mindset and opened up a different avenue for me. If not for that, I don’t know that I would have my own private practice or be doing anything I’m doing now.”

Nalory has been a member of NASW since 2012 and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors since 2019. The award highlights superb accomplishments in the practice of social work and honors individuals who exemplify the best of the profession’s values and achievements.

Learn more about the School of Social Work.

-Staff Report

Chattanoogans in Action for Love, Equality, & Benevolence (CALEB), a nonprofit organization tackling rising pretrial incarceration rates, recently hired Southern alum Dylan Gibbons as its first bail fund manager. According to Gibbons, CALEB is a network of different organizations that have come together to address and create demonstrable methods for dealing with issues in the community.

Born in California and raised in Massachusetts, Gibbons graduated from Southern with his master's degree in social work in 2020. He has always been interested in working with criminal justice reform and being involved in changing the community for the better. 

“This organization really appealed to me because they’re doing a lot of policy work as well, addressing some of the problems in Hamilton County and Chattanooga, including its criminal justice, economic mobility and education reform,” Gibbons said.

Gibbons discovered the job opening for the bail fund manager position thanks to Kristie (Young) Wilder, ’03, MSW, a professor in Southern’s School of Social Work. Wilder referred Gibbons for the job. And, in December of last year, Gibbons moved from Massachusetts to Tennessee to work for CALEB.

CALEB was founded in 2017. Its goal is to bring together different groups in the community, such as churches, labor unions, nonprofits, and other groups that have the same vision of helping the community and representing its needs, according to the information on its website.

A few of Gibbons’ specific tasks include creating a volunteer network, increasing referrals, and getting the information about the bail fund to the community.

According to Gibbons, the success of the bail fund can be witnessed in the growing awareness of the resource. In addition, CALEB received organized office space that makes it easier for reaching people and bailing them out.

Since joining the CALEB task force as bail fund manager, Gibbons said he has seen the program continue to expand and grow. According to Gibbons, the community has helped bail out 12 individuals this year. 

“The bail fund went from having a loose network of volunteers running it to [a] paid staff member managing the ins and outs of the bail fund,” Gibbons said.

“We’ve been able to get a physical office space located in one of the most at-risk communities in our city.” 

According to Gibbons, this year, CALEB aims to free 200 individuals from Silverdale Detention Center and Hamilton County Jail. On April 14, CALEB appeared on WRCB-TV, a local television channel, to discuss the Black Mamas Bailout Campaign, which aims to free 15 Black mothers in the community by Mother’s Day.

“The goal of CALEB is to empower the people within their communities, collectively identify issues of concern, work toward an effective resolution, amplify the power of residents, and enhance the quality of life,” Gibbons said.

-by Alana Crosby, sophomore English/professional writing major, reprinted from the Southern Accent, April 21, 2021

When you use AmazonSmile, you can also support Southern students. It provides the same products, prices, and shopping features as Amazon.com. The difference is that when you shop on AmazonSmile and select Southern as the charitable organization of your choice, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to Southern.

AmazonSmile works on your computer browser and Amazon Shopping phone app (available for IOS and Google Play for Android). In the phone app, find “Settings” in the main menu (☰), then tap on “AmazonSmile” and follow the on-screen instructions to enable the service on your phone.

Support Southern when you shop at AmazonSmile!