Bonnie Aker teaches earth science at J.J. Kelly High School and is an avid photographer.
Kathleen Anderson, a 2002 MECC graduate, is a student at Virginia Commonwealth's School of the Arts.
Adam Barnette is a computer software specialist major and artist who specializes in portraits.
Jeanie Brehl participated in the fall 2004 Creative Writing class in Gate City. She is the program manager for Big Brothers / Big Sisters of the Greater Tri-Cities.
Crystal M. Cox from Scott County is in the pre-nursing program.
Barbara Dockery of Gate City is a photographer and singer-songwriter, as well as a writer.
Anthony Duncan graduated from MECC in 2004 with a degree in Graphic Design and General Studies.
Steven L. Elkins is currently enrolled at MECC, studying to become a special education teacher.
John Foster, a resident of Fort Blackmore, Virginia, is majoring in General Studies and hopes to be a professional writer some day.
Stuart Hale lives in Fort Blackmore, Virginia.
Tanya Hale lives in Fort Blackmore, Virginia.
Neva Hamilton, a graduate of the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, is a writer and project manager with The Corporate Image, a public relations firm in Bristol, Tennessee, a columnist for The Coalfield Progress, and the winner of many different writing awards. She was also a member of the fall Creative Writing class in Gate City.
William K. Howle retired from a career in marketing and sales at Eastman Chemical Co. in Kingsport.
Keaton Lawson is an art major at MECC.
Sharyn Martin of Kingsport is retired from a career in broadcasting and was also a member of the fall 2004 Gate City Creative Writing class.
Josh Moore is a MECC alumnus currently attending the University of Virginia at Wise where he is majoring in Elementary Education.
Angie Orndorff is a senior at Powell Valley High School enrolled in MECC dual-enrollment courses. She plans to attend a four-year college and major in art.
Kathy Roberts has been drawing as a hobby since the age of 16. She attended MECC and now lives in Kingsport.
Jenny Salyers is a MECC graduate currently working as a freelance artist.
Carolyn Scalf lives in Nickelsville, Virginia.
Scott Silcox lives in Peachtree City, Georgia, working as an artist and interior decorator.
Dana Thacker, past winner of several writing contests at J.J. Kelly High School, is a MECC student majoring in Elementary Education.
Teresa Ward, a 1977 graduate of MECC, retired from her career as a school librarian and now has plenty of time to write. She is currently involved in a children's book project with Fildlar Doubleday.
Neka Wilson is MECC's Graphic Designer and one of the sponsors of the campus photography club, the Hot Shots. |
Photography
Morris Burchette, owner of Burchette Photography in Norton, Virginia, became interested in photography when he was nine years old and has been in business in Norton for 54 years. A long-standing member of the Professional Photographers of America, he has won many awards of his own, including the prestigious Master of Photography degree from that organization.
Poetry
Richard Hague, now retired from public school teaching in Cincinnati, Ohio, is the author of five full-length poetry collections, including Possible Debris, from the Cleveland State Poetry Center, and Milltown Natural: Essays and Stories from a Life, from Bottom Dog Press, which was a finalist for Association Writing Programs Award in Creative Nonfiction and nominated for the National Book Award.
Short Story
Tamara Baxter teaches at Northeast State Community College in Blountville, Tennessee. A teacher of creative writing and literature, she is also one of the faculty sponsors of their student literary magazine. Her short stories have been widely published and she has received honors and awards for her writing, including a nomination for a Pushcart Prize.
Personal Essay
Felicia Mitchell is a professor of English and Director of the Writing Center at Emory and Henry College in Emory, Virginia. In addition to publishing scholarly works relating to the teaching of writing, Dr. Mitchell is the editor of Words and Quilts, a book of poems and quilt art reproductions, and an anthology of interviews and critical pieces on regional women writers called Her Words: Diverse Voices in Contemporary Appalachian Women's Poetry.
Drawing & Painting
Suzanne Adams Ramsey is an Association Professor of Art and Chair of the Visual and Performing Arts Department at the University of Virginia's College at Wise. Holding advanced degrees from Radford University and Norwich University, Ramsey has a background in commercial illustration and landscape painting. |
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