Belmont partnered with MDHA, Regions Bank and Aegis Group to host the Edgehill Apartments Christmas event, an afternoon filled  with presents for resident children, a goodie basket with holiday snacks, a family photo with Santa and a ham dinner, complete with all the trimmings.

More than 85 children from 45 families were represented at the event, hosted on Friday, Dec. 20, at the complex’s Community Room. In addition to sponsoring the event through a financial contribution, Belmont’s University Staff Advisory Council volunteered at the event and served as the elves who passed out snacks and presents to the children.

Edgehill Apartments’ Assistant Property Manager Thomas Corritore said that when his initial plan to fund the Christmas event fell through, he thought he was stuck. That’s when Belmont and Regions came together to provide the funds for the 4^th annual event. “We do it for the kids,” he said.

Belmont Director of Community Relations Joyce Searcy would agree. “Belmont is blessed to be able to tutor many of these children, provide books for the Read With Me Day and interact on many levels. It was a no-brainer for us to stand in the gap for our neighbors so these children could wake up on Christmas with gifts under their trees,” she said.

With a University-wide commitment to community safety and preparedness, Belmont’s Office of Risk Management and Compliance spent the last year working alongside the National Weather Service (NWS), Tennessee Emergency Management Agency and the Mayor’s Office of Emergency Management to designate Belmont as a NWS StormReady University.

A designation reserved for universities that have demonstrated a dedication to safety and the continuous evaluation of plans and policies surrounding severe weather, Belmont’s efforts were led by the University’s Risk Management and Compliance Administrator, April Khoury.

To achieve this designation, the University had to qualify in a number of areas including creating a communications and coordination center for emergency procedures, ensuring the center is able to receive real-time updates through multiple channels, clear systems to communicate with the University community, promoting awareness through programming and developing a formal hazardous weather plan. The University completed all criteria this semester and received the official StormReady University designation.

Khoury said the receipt of the StormReady designation shows Belmont’s commitment to the well-being of its community. “Being designated StormReady ensures that the university is continuously evaluating plans and policies to provide a safe environment for Belmont students, faculty, staff and visitors. This was made a priority for Belmont to have a structured program to follow and to develop a relationship with local emergency management agencies and the National Weather Service.”

Assistant Professor of English Dr. Gary McDowell recently published a poem entitled “Transmission” in The Nation.  Dr. McDowell specializes in creative writing and contemporary American poetics and has completed research on prose poetry, the poetry of Charles Wright and creative writing pedagogy.

His secondary teaching interests include freshman composition, expository writing and creative nonfiction. Getting students interested in writing, however possible, is Dr. McDowell’s true passion.  In addition, he is a widely published poet and critic.

Belmont Women’s Basketball Assistant Coach Carley Peterson Kuhns was recently named to the Valdosta State University Athletics Hall of Fame for her accomplishments as a student athlete.

“I am humbled to receive the honor from my alma mater and want to thank the selection committee for considering me.  My time at Valdosta State was special to me and is part of the foundation that has helped build my career,” Kuhns said. “I am excited to be a part of the induction ceremony and to share it with my family, friends, former teammates and coaches and the Valdosta State Women’s Basketball supporters that were there along the way.”

A member of the women’s basketball team from 2004 through 2008, Peterson Kuhns earned Kodak/State Farm WBCA Honorable Mention All-American honors during the 2007-08 season, becoming the first Lady Blazer since 2001 to garner the honor.

For more information on Peterson Kuhns’s honor, click here.