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Volume 6 Relation of U.B/EUB Virginia Conferences to Shenandoah University Dec. 26, 2013
supporters and friends from the earlier years of the institution. Dr. Racey, Hazel, and Dr. Parker passed
away in the first decade of the new presidency, but not before they had provided wonderful transition
and support for moving forward with the development of the newly located college/conservatory. In
fact, the new president had an opportunity to know five former presidents that ranged in age from 100 to
77 during his early years of leadership. This experience of having such support and continuity was a
valuable and very positive force that helped make possible the advances that Shenandoah enjoyed. Dr.
Racey and his wife Hazel asked the president to serve as executor of their estates and donated
everything they had to the scholarship endowment at the institution.
Members of the Board of Trustees were very loyal, and continuity was essential during the early
years of the new presidency. Alson Smith, Jr., played a key role in assisting the new president to reach
outside the community for support, but he also provided valuable mentorship and hours of work to
advance the reputation of the institution. Gene Dearing, Frank Armstrong, III, Ralph Shockey, George
Romine, Bob Edwards, Wilbur Feltner, Fred L. Glaize, Dolly Glaize, Nancy L. Crosby, and Mary
Henkel were a special group of trustees that expanded Shenandoah’s reach into the community.
Senator Harry F. Byrd, Jr., and former Congressman John O. Marsh took special interest in
opening opportunities nationally for the new president. In the area of finances, John Marlowe, Jim
Truettner, and Richard Shickle were an invaluable team in crafting strategies for building the financial
base and helping to eliminate the early challenges that debt and the economy pressed on the institution.
Dr. Monford Custer, Pete Johnston, Carl Napps, and Bob Boyd were important leaders in the
medical community that opened doors at Winchester Hospital along with Jim Wilkins, Sr. and Jr., who
served on the Board of the medical facility. The sister of Dr. Custer, Eleanor Wade Custer, provided
major support for the nursing program and was honored for her work by the Nursing faculty and
university leadership.
Edmund and Helen Lynch and Edmund’s sister and brother-in-law, Rena and Rev. Raymond
Wrenn provided scholarships for talented and minority students that gave Shenandoah Conservatory a
great advantage in recruiting outstanding musical talent. An example of their generosity was the support
given to Michael Forest, a minority student from Red Hills, Va., who studied at Shenandoah with Lynch
scholarships and later became a national and internationally known singer and professor of music at the
Conservatory.
Officials with the City of Winchester, namely, Wendall Seldon, city manager, members of the
Common Council such as Jim Wilkins and Butch Robinson, and former Mayor Stewart Bell were
staunch supporters of the expansion of the college. The City leaders worked closely with the college to
help it overcome all major local obstacles in obtaining water, sewer, roads, and even additional land to
expand operations. The political experience of the new president was considered a strength in working
with local officials, since the institution depended on the City for many of its essential services. This
support was clearly evidenced in the first year of the new president, when he sought new space for the
nursing program and to open the Community Arts program for area children and adults who wanted to
enrich their skills in the arts beyond that which was offered in the public schools and other private
organizations.
The John Kerr Building was an abandoned elementary school in the Historic District in
downtown Winchester that was a challenge for city leaders, since it was no longer functional for a
school and required significant investment to be renovated for other uses. The Common Council, led by
Jim Wilkins, Jr., and Butch Robinson, members of the Council, succeeded through public processes to
Davis on History of S.C., 1982-2008 59
supporters and friends from the earlier years of the institution. Dr. Racey, Hazel, and Dr. Parker passed
away in the first decade of the new presidency, but not before they had provided wonderful transition
and support for moving forward with the development of the newly located college/conservatory. In
fact, the new president had an opportunity to know five former presidents that ranged in age from 100 to
77 during his early years of leadership. This experience of having such support and continuity was a
valuable and very positive force that helped make possible the advances that Shenandoah enjoyed. Dr.
Racey and his wife Hazel asked the president to serve as executor of their estates and donated
everything they had to the scholarship endowment at the institution.
Members of the Board of Trustees were very loyal, and continuity was essential during the early
years of the new presidency. Alson Smith, Jr., played a key role in assisting the new president to reach
outside the community for support, but he also provided valuable mentorship and hours of work to
advance the reputation of the institution. Gene Dearing, Frank Armstrong, III, Ralph Shockey, George
Romine, Bob Edwards, Wilbur Feltner, Fred L. Glaize, Dolly Glaize, Nancy L. Crosby, and Mary
Henkel were a special group of trustees that expanded Shenandoah’s reach into the community.
Senator Harry F. Byrd, Jr., and former Congressman John O. Marsh took special interest in
opening opportunities nationally for the new president. In the area of finances, John Marlowe, Jim
Truettner, and Richard Shickle were an invaluable team in crafting strategies for building the financial
base and helping to eliminate the early challenges that debt and the economy pressed on the institution.
Dr. Monford Custer, Pete Johnston, Carl Napps, and Bob Boyd were important leaders in the
medical community that opened doors at Winchester Hospital along with Jim Wilkins, Sr. and Jr., who
served on the Board of the medical facility. The sister of Dr. Custer, Eleanor Wade Custer, provided
major support for the nursing program and was honored for her work by the Nursing faculty and
university leadership.
Edmund and Helen Lynch and Edmund’s sister and brother-in-law, Rena and Rev. Raymond
Wrenn provided scholarships for talented and minority students that gave Shenandoah Conservatory a
great advantage in recruiting outstanding musical talent. An example of their generosity was the support
given to Michael Forest, a minority student from Red Hills, Va., who studied at Shenandoah with Lynch
scholarships and later became a national and internationally known singer and professor of music at the
Conservatory.
Officials with the City of Winchester, namely, Wendall Seldon, city manager, members of the
Common Council such as Jim Wilkins and Butch Robinson, and former Mayor Stewart Bell were
staunch supporters of the expansion of the college. The City leaders worked closely with the college to
help it overcome all major local obstacles in obtaining water, sewer, roads, and even additional land to
expand operations. The political experience of the new president was considered a strength in working
with local officials, since the institution depended on the City for many of its essential services. This
support was clearly evidenced in the first year of the new president, when he sought new space for the
nursing program and to open the Community Arts program for area children and adults who wanted to
enrich their skills in the arts beyond that which was offered in the public schools and other private
organizations.
The John Kerr Building was an abandoned elementary school in the Historic District in
downtown Winchester that was a challenge for city leaders, since it was no longer functional for a
school and required significant investment to be renovated for other uses. The Common Council, led by
Jim Wilkins, Jr., and Butch Robinson, members of the Council, succeeded through public processes to
Davis on History of S.C., 1982-2008 59
