The echo of change after life

When a person dies, there’s always an echo. Sometimes that echo fades quickly. Sometimes, though, it continues to whisper years and years after the person has left us. Such is the life of the late Chris Carter (’97), a friend to many at JMU, who died unexpectedly of Type II diabetes in 2009.

Recently, we received a letter from Kelly Warren (’00) nominating her late friend Chris for Be the Change.  Kelly beautifully describes the life of one who changed lives while he lived — and continues to do so.

Chris Carter

by Kelly Warren (’00)

The late Chris Carter ('97) (from the CCF website)

Christopher Michael Carter’s effect on the JMU community began the first day he set foot on campus in 1993. With his infectious smile and contagious, boisterous laugh, Chris brightened the lives of everyone who crossed his path. He completely embodied the JMU spirit, always approaching each new day with a love for life and a personal commitment to helping others. No task was too big or small for Chris. He welcomed every opportunity to make someone’s day better through laughter and love.

On campus Chris quickly made his mark, both in and out of the classroom. Whether playing tennis with Dr. Carrier or helping a lost freshman find her way to class, his cheerful and friendly demeanor never faltered. He always carried himself with an honest and easy confidence, and treated everyone equally with respect and compassion.

As a member of the Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity, Chris slid into the role of mentor to many of his brothers and incoming pledges. He was the one people turned to for a good laugh and sound advice, knowing he would be straightforward, tactful, kind, and fully engaged in improving the situation. No matter how bad the circumstance, Chris was always able to find a silver lining and get you to laugh and smile by the end of the conversation.

In his final two years at JMU, Chris decided to channel his school spirit and passion for helping others, and became an Orientation Assistant. This is where I first witnessed his magnetic and charismatic personality. As an incoming freshman I was nervous and full of questions, yet excited about all of the possibilities in my future at JMU. Chris welcomed me with open arms to JMU, dissolved any and all fears, answered my questions with his trademark beaming smile, and convinced me that I had made the right decision by choosing to spend the next 4 years of my life in Harrisonburg. He made me feel special, but the truth of the matter was that he unconditionally did the same for thousands of other incoming students. Everyone was special to Chris.

Chris’ commitment to serve others in need continued well beyond his time at JMU. He had a photographic memory with an uncanny ability to remember anyone’s face, along with the most minute detail s about virtually everyone he met during his short but tremendous life.

It was not until this world lost Chris that we all began to see and feel the magnitude of his love and spirit. Stories emerged from people who had heard of his passing. The overwhelming theme of these very personal accounts was that being friends with Chris meant that he made you feel like you had his complete attention and that there was nothing he would rather be doing than to spend time with you. He was a best friend to hundreds, and shared his knowledge on life and love without expectations. His love was spread far and wide, and never diluted. Everyone who needed him got him 100 percent.

Chris Carter lived his life fully and selflessly. He leaves behind a legacy of laughter, love and kindness. To have witnessed his greatness was a true blessing and gift. For all that he has done for me, and countless others, I believe that Christopher Michael Carter is a perfect “Be the Change” nominee.

Kelly Warren (’00), Ph.D.,MPT

Kelly, a teaching assistant professor at The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, also told us that Chris’ legacy continues. She writes:

“After Chris unexpectedly passed away in 2009, his best friends and fraternity brothers from JMU (Alpha Kappa Lambda) created the Christopher Carter Foundation. Partnered with Virginia Hospital Center (where Chris was cared for in his final days), CCF raises money and awareness for diabetes education and treatment. Chris was unaware that he had Type II diabetes, and it eventually took his life very quickly.  One hundred percent of what is collected (by the foundation) is given to VHC.  In the past two years, the foundation has organized fundraising events such as 5K memorial runs, golf tournament, auctions and more. I belive the founding members have brought in close to $100,000 in their first two years as a nonprofit. I think this is very impressive, especially since the foundation is something these men do out of their love for Chris. Each of them have full-time jobs and families to care for.”

Still they make time to honor their late friend. And in doing so, they are changing the world for others with diabetes. While Kelly so eloquently nominates Chris, the efforts of Chris’ friends are equally laudable. In keeping Chris’ memory alive, Vincent Coyle (’97), his best friend, and many others are continuing to change lives.

It is all a beautiful and meaningful echo from the life of Chris Carter. His life — like the memory of his laughter — reminds us of how important it is to connect with others. Only by that connection, whether intimate or international, can real change happen.

To learn more about the Christopher Carter Foundation, which is dedicated to promoting the prevention, early detection and active management of diabetes, visit http://www.christophercarterfoundation.org/

Change like jazz

Omar Thomas ('06)

Think jazz. Do you instantly imagine a sultry saxophone, a winsome trumpet and brushes on skins accompanying a silky voice? Or do you think of an intimate, smoke-filled club with a pianist and the thump of an upright bass? Yep, that’s jazz.

But ask Omar Thomas (’06) about jazz, and you’ll find he has a different take. He thinks big.

Drawn to enroll at JMU after hearing the Marching Royal Dukes, Omar studied music education, thinking initially that he would become a high school band director. Instead, he realized he had a passion for composition. Now the award-winning composer is on the faculty of the department of harmony at the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston where he shares his passion for music in a big way. He also is an adjunct faculty member at Harvard. Omar  founded and now leads his own 18-piece jazz orchestra in Boston, the Omar Thomas Large Ensemble. Big jazz. Beyond his scheduled classes, Omar has worked with Composers and Schools in Concert, a nonprofit organization that “supports music education and the creation and performance of contemporary jazz and classical music,” according to the CSIC website. In this capacity, Omar delivers his passion for music to high school musicians. For these young musicians, it has to be cool jazz.

Image via Wikipedia

This week, Omar will be on JMU’s campus to deliver his big brand of jazz to JMU. He will conduct the premiere performance of his arrangement of Radiohead’s Sail to the Moon with the JMU Jazz Ensemble. The performance is Thurs., Feb. 16th, at 8. p.m. in the Concert Hall of the Forbes Center. Omar will also present a master class about “how to have a life in music after JMU.” The class will begin at 1:25 p.m. on Wed., Feb. 15. He will discuss grad school auditions (New England Conservatory), making a living in Boston as a freelance composer, using social media as a marketing tool, working with music publishers and teaching music at the university level.

According to music faculty member Chuck Dotas, one of Omar’s mentors, Omar “was awarded the ASCAP Young Jazz Composers Award and received an Honorable Mention at the Ithaca College Jazz Composition Competition. Dancing, his first big band piece, composed for the JMU Jazz Ensemble, garnered international acclaim at the Jazz Composers Symposium hosted in Tampa, Fl.  Omar was also a member of the exclusive BMI Composer’s  Workshop in New York City, under the direction of Grammy-winning composer, bandleader, and pianist Jim McNeely. Omar is a two-time Boston Music Award’s “Jazz Artist of the Year” nominee.

Not surprisingly, Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts George Sparks thinks Omar would  be a great candidate for Be the Change.

It is a great nomination … notable jazz….  Change like jazz.

Read Tyler McAvoy’s (’12) story about Omar at http://www.jmu.edu/bethechange/stories/harmonious_career.shtml

Art and activism

Steven Webber of Harrisonburg has nominated his wife Jade, a current JMU student working toward her MFA in painting, for Be the Change. Steven writes that Jade is an artist and environmental activist who merges her talents and interests for the benefit of others. Steven writes:

 “Jade has started several non-profits in her life, though she is only 24 years old. Last year, in three weeks, she rallied a small group of dedicated activists to raise enough funds to buy and install two solar panels on local housing for the homeless in Las Cruces, N.M. This project was named one of the top ten in the nation by 350.org during last year’s 10/10/10 day of global climate action. [350.org is a grassroots effort addressing climate change.] This year as an art project to stop climate change, she started a movement called ‘We The People Choose To Be Meat Free for One Month.’ A Belgian official said, ‘If everyone in Flanders (a province in Belgium) does not eat meat one day a week, we will save as much CO2 in a year as taking a half million cars off the road.’ Jade has been collecting names and signatures for several weeks and already has over 100 people from around the world participating.

“She and I co-ordinate Wellness Immersion Retreats in Italy and the Caribbean.  The retreats are held in sustainable farms and centers around the world to connect writers and artists with sustainable models for the future. She teaches yoga and breath-work for healing as well as painting classes on the retreats. She has changed the world of each of the people she has touched through these projects — from the activists she inspires to make changes to the students in her painting and yoga classes.  Anyone who has known her has been touched and changed by her. She would be a wonderful ‘Madison person’ to be featured on the site.”

To learn more about Jade’s current project, visit  http://meatfree.be/

You can also learn more about Jade, her passions and her art by exploring her website http://jadewebber.com/index.html

GOAALLLLLLLLL…..

Soccer has rarely attracted so much attention as it has this week. Even a stadium of vuvuzelas would not drown out the enthusiam for the victorious U.S. Women’s Soccer team. All over Harrisonburg — in some surprising and unexpected places — I’ve overhead people talking about it. That this is a women’s event makes it even more interesting.

I suspect that among those following the story are two JMU professors emeriti

Lee Morrison and Pat Bruce

of physical education: Lee Morrison and Pat Bruce. They understand, perhaps more than many of us, how far women have come in the realm of sports and athletics. For them, it has to be exciting. During their careers, Dr. Morrison and Dr. Bruce contributed significantly to the revolution in women’s sports. The change they have witnessed — the changes they promoted — have been exceptional.

When Pat and Lee joined the faculty of Madison College some 50 years ago, opportunities for women were very limited. There was no Title IX or girls’ soccer leagues. For many women, housekeeping was the height of their physical activity, and for those who might have wished to participate in sports, they had few options — or none at all. In Dr. Morrison’s homestate of Georgia, and in neighboring South Carolina, no colleges had teams for women. In fact, one of Virginia’s drawing cards for both women (Bruce grew up in Massachusetts) was that some colleges in the state had women’s teams. Madison was one.

As faculty members, Lee and Pat both coached and taught. As mentors, they encouraged and inspired an entire generation of women to pursue sports, not as an occupation, avocation or a temporary hobby — but as a lifestyle. Their contribution to the change in attitudes and opportunities for women did not go unnoticed.

In their honor, the Morrison-Bruce Center for the Promotion of Physical Activity for Girls & Women opened on JMU’s campus in 2006. The center has a three-pronged approach. It encourages and generates opportunities for women to be physically active. The center also sponsors and conducts research into exercise science, and it disseminates information about women in sports. An extension of what Morrison and Bruce did during their half century careers, the center takes their philsophy of physical activity and promotes it to women of all ages, and especially to young girls.

What makes the center so important is that the emphasis is not on sport. It is on women, and finding the right motivations for them. The center’s website explains it best:

“The interscholastic, intercollegiate, and elite programs have grown and many opportunities are there”, says Dr. Morrison. “However, those with average skills (and in some cases those from low income or immigrant families) have not had the chance to learn or have been cut from participation. Also, there are many women who did not have opportunities while growing up to participate in physical activity and as adults have an interest yet they find it difficult to find a place to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to maintain appropriate physical activity behaviors. I am interested in helping those women and girls and in supporting research projects that produce results that can be translated into practice. My message to girls and women is this: Include some physical activity in your lifestyle as young as you can and find groups (co-ed and female) for participation. And if you don’t know the sport or skill, don’t be bashful. More than likely the others are also. Be brave.”

Although Pat and Lee are both retired, both are very much still “in the game.” They contributed their expertise to the planning for the Morrison-Bruce Center and regularly participate in activities there. One need only witness the throng of former students and hear their praise of these two pioneering women to understand the extent to which each has contributed to significant change — and why we will soon add them to our Be the Change website.

So next Sunday, when the U.S. Women’s Soccer team squares off against Japan for the 2011 Women’s World Cup championship, you can be certain that if Lee Morrison and Pat Bruce aren’t watching, they will definitely be cheering.

To read more about these two inspiring women, check out Class Notes in the next issue of Madison magazine.

You can also read what their former students said about them in Professors You Love essays:

Lee Morrison
http://www.jmu.edu/professorsyoulove/morrison-butler.shtml
Pat Bruce
http://www.jmu.edu/professorsyoulove/bruce-fairbanks.shtml
And learn more about the Morrison-Bruce Center here: http://www.jmu.edu/kinesiology/cppagw/index.html

Changing Harrisonburg

Image via Wikipedia

New nominees breathing life into downtown

Recently,  John Noftsinger (’85), vice provost of research and public service at JMU, nominated two alumni, Barry Kelley (’83) and Andrew Forward (’86). These two have been making huge changes in the culture of downtown Harrisonburg, and are vitally important to the city’s renaissance. Here’s what Noftsinger has to say about Barry Kelley and Andrew Forward.

Recognizing the need for unique living spaces in downtown Harrisonburg, Barry Kelley and Andrew Forward seized the opportunity to renovate an existing structure, the Wetsel Seed Co. building into City Exchange, a mixed use property with loft apartments and a restaurant. Projects like this maintain the historic character of the Harrisonburg Downtown Historic District and contribute to environmental stewardship by re-using materials and not contributing to landfills when demolition takes place.

Barry and Andrew then targeted an abandoned used car lot in the heart of downtown Harrisonburg for a much larger housing vision called Urban Exchange.  Urban Exchange provides extensive living options for those seeking a downtown lifestyle, and is a model of green building, evidenced by two underground parking levels to minimize parking sprawl, energy efficient windows, appliances and a/c, recycling chutes and plug ins for electric vehicles.

These two have embodied Be the Change right here in Harrisonburg, and in doing so have changed the face of the community for the better, along with the skyline.

In addition to these nominations, Lisa Ha (’04, ’10M), marketing program coordinator for JMU, nominated Eddie Bumbaugh (’73), executive director of Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance.

Here’s what Lisa has to say : A JMU grad and lifelong area resident, Eddie has been making a difference in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County for more than three decades. Since 2004, he has served as Executive Director of Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance, a non-profit organization working to revitalize downtown Harrisonburg into a vital, prosperous city center.

Many agree with Lisa’s assessment, including Glenda Rooney, now retired as assistant to the provost for academic affairs, who says, “When the City of Harrisonburg decided that Eddie Bumbaugh was the person to lead the revitalization of downtown, it was the wisest decision that could have been made.  Eddie is the guiding light for taking Harrisonburg back to the energetic city that it once was.”

If you’re an alum of JMU and haven’t been back to Harrisonburg for a while, you’re in for a treat. Thanks to these nominees and others including Be the Changer Lisa Shull, executive director of Harrisonburg Children’s Museum, Downtown Harrisonburg is a thriving and exciting place to live — and a great destination.

— Tyler McAvoy (’12), intern, JMU’s Be the Change office.

For more about the new downtown Harrisonburg, check out this link: http://www.downtownharrisonburg.org/

Of pennies and ponds, Pulitzer and physics

Edith J. Carrier Arboretum in fall; photo courtesy of Frank J. Doherty

Think of a pebble tossed in a still pond. You know what happens. The tiny pebble breaks the water and sinks, but as it disappears a tiny ripple begins to roll out across the pond.  By the time the ripple reaches shore, it may be invisible, but any physicist will tell you that it has reached far beyond the small “hole” in the water that the pebble first made.

Now think about the Statue of Liberty.  Did you know that part of the base to hold the statue was funded by pennies collected by school children?  Publisher Joseph Pulitzer, in an effort to encourage funding for the platform on which the statue  would stand, put out a call for school children to contribute and they did. One penny at a time.

So what’s the point?  There is strength in numbers.  If you’re an alumnus of JMU and you think your annual donation — small or large — is just a pebble in a pond or that your JMU Dukes personalized license plate is only decoration remember that small acts, small gifts, added together become huge.

Next year, JMU’s Alumni Association will celebrate a century of giving back to the university. And for all their wonderful work, the organization has been nominated for Be the Change. For nearly 100 years, the association has helped move Madison toward its exciting future. This year, with the opening of the Forbes Center for the Performing Arts, the Alumni Association has been front and center in the making one long-held university dream come true. The Alumni Association was first in line to contribute to the not-yet-built center for the arts.  The association’s gift of $500,000 laid the foundation — tossed the first pebble, if you will — to begin the process.

If you have any doubt of what the strength of JMU’s alumni pulling together can accomplish, visit the new Forbes Center and take a walk from the quad through the new tunnel to the beautiful Alumni Courtyard ...and think….this is MY contribution, added to those of my Duke friends.  Together, we’ve done something great.

We applaud JMU’s faithful alumni and second the Alumni Association’s nomination to Be the Change.

To learn more about how you can be an active part of the Alumni Association, check out their website: http://www.jmu.edu/alumni/

Elizabeth Burns (’04)

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The life you change might be your own.

I received a nomination from Chris Arndt, JMU professor of history. Chris nominated a former student, Elizabeth Burns, who is currently a graduate student at the University of Buffalo. What makes Elizabeth so special is that she is legally blind and since 1993 has been unable to read. But that’s only the beginning of Elizabeth’s inspirational story. Widowed with three children to rear, Burns enrolled at JMU and, in the process, changed her life.

Interviewed for the history department’s newsletter after her graduation in 2004, Elizabeth said: “He (her husband) had been dead only two months when I came to JMU.  I felt shaky, wondered how I had brought myself up the stairs, wondered how I would fit into this place, James Madison University.  By doing one thing each day that furthered my enrollment and learning the campus, I put the energy of my sadness into creating some kind of new life, a life that would begin with the acquisition of a college degree.”

Overcoming blindness, learning Braille, processing the grief of losing her husband while tackling the critical task of raising three sons alone, Elizabeth graduated from JMU with distinction in 2004 with a B.A. in history. Currently, she is a doctoral student in history at the University of Buffalo. Despite obstacles that to some — to most of us — would seem daunting, she stepped out and changed her life. Elizabeth Burns is an outstanding example of positive change.

Such is the spirit of JMU.  In the next few weeks, I’ll post on a staff member who holds the same philosophy — that one cannot change the world without changing oneself in the process.

Melanie McClure (’83)

Image via Wikipedia

Here’s a new nomination from Lt. Col. Nick Swayne, director of JMU’s Reserve Officers Training Corps. Here’s what Nick has to say about alumna Melanie McClure and how she is changing a part of the world…..

Melanie McClure is an elementary school principal and a member of the U.S. Army Reserve.  She was deployed to Iraq to provide leadership in logistics and transportation.  Not one to just do the job, Melanie quickly realized that Iraq’s education system had broken under the strain of war — and that long-term peace hinged on an educated and engaged citizenry.  She met with U.S. military and State Department officials, Iraqi government officials, teachers and university faculty to develop a system to get the education system working again. When it looked like she might get the right team together in Iraq, she reached back to her college at JMU to provide some help.  Ultimately she pulled together a team of educators and education policy folks in Iraq and experts at JMU.  It took months of work and several near failures, but her diligence paid off.  Thirty-five Iraqi faculty and educators risked reprisals and triple digit heat to participate in a four-week seminar to discuss the process of creating a student-centric, constructive model of adult literacy.  The seminar started the week her tour in Iraq concluded, but it turned out to be a wonderful experience for 35 Iraqis and a handful of JMU faculty.  As one participant put it, “We have been cut off from our field for 25 years and we needed this experience.”  Melanie literally risked life and limb to pull this together which reflects her vision and commitment to education — an enduring JMU tradition.

Continue to check our blog for more updates on Melanie and other Be the Changers.

Amy McAvoy

Here’s a new nomination we received.  It’s from Tyler McAvoy (’12), an intern in the Be the Change office.  Tyler is nominating his mom, Amy Custer McAvoy (’81, ’84M), a teacher in Rockingham County Public Schools who is impacting her students by going the extra mile to help them succeed.  Here’s what Tyler says:

My mom is an amazing teacher, and I’m not just being biased.  Last year she won Teacher of the Year at Pence Middle School along with writing and winning many grants to support afterschool remedial education. She also tutors students in the evening in their homes, going to some of the roughest neighborhoods in the area to help students learn how to read. And it has paid off. I don’t know the exact figures, but many of the students she’s taught have consistently achieved higher reading scores after leaving her classroom.

Be the Change times four

It’s not unusual for me to sit down at my computer in the morning to find a nomination of yet another individual who exemplifies James Madison University’s spirit of change.  Everyday I come across stories of remarkable people who first see beyond themselves — but most importantly, individuals who move beyond themselves to take action to change the world.  It is unusual, however, to open my email and find four nominations from from four different people of the same individual.  To me it sounds like applause for a job well done.  I’m not saying who that individual is just yet, but check back over the next few weeks and chances are you’ll see new names, and you’ll learn about other remarkable people. I can guarantee you’ll be inspired by these individuals who are doing amazing, innovative, compassionate, clever and completely inspiring work to better the world.