Davidson-Davie bids farewell to longtime trustees, welcomes returning and new members

{L-R, Tonya Lanier and Neal Foster return to the Board; Dr. Kevin Speight and Cathi Smith take the oath of office for the first time. Contributed Photo}

THOMASVILLE, NC -- Longtime Davidson-Davie trustees Dr. Barbara Leonard and Thom Hege bid farewell to their fellow Board members on July 12 as the Board also welcomed returning and new members Tonya Lanier, Neal Foster, Cathi Smith, and Dr. Kevin Speight.

Lanier is beginning her fifth year on the Board and Foster his sixteenth. Smith is a new appointee of the Davidson County Schools Board of Education and Speight has been appointed by the Davidson County Board of Commissioners.

“We are excited to have these returning and new members as part of our Board,” said Board Chair Kevin Firquin. “And we are also incredibly grateful to Barbara and Thom for the commitment and love they have for this college and its students, amounting to a combined 52 years of knowledge and experience.” Firquin noted that Leonard served on the Board for more than half of the college’s 59-year existence, and that Hege’s tenure included the opening of four buildings, three education centers, and early colleges on both campuses, as well as the relaunch of athletics and the start of a long-awaited road improvement project to improve safety and create access to new properties for future growth. 

The Board of Trustees is made up of 15 members; 14 are appointed by the Governor, the four local school boards serving Davidson and Davie counties, or the boards of commissioners of the two counties, while the fifteenth member is the college’s elected student government association president.

{Dr. Barbara Leonard and Thom Hege have a combined 52 years of experience as trustees. Contributed Photo}

“We have always been fortunate here at Davidson-Davie Community College to have a strong Board of Trustees that supports our mission to serve our students and community,” said Dr. Darrin Hartness, president of the college. “From our first Board of Trustees, sworn in by the Davidson County Clerk of Court 59 years ago, with Felix Gee elected chair and Doak Finch vice chair, this college has benefited from the wisdom and expertise of more than 100 trustees who have guided this institution to the success we enjoy today.”