Connections
Profile: Wayne Hemingway 1941
Profile: Natalie Smeltzer 2003
Alma matters
Enhancing the mission
PROFILE: Wayne Hemingway 1941
Lifelong educator
As students filed into their Developmental Math class at Lone Star College in Tomball, Texas, they expected the typical first-day-of-class procedure: receiving the syllabus and listening to the professor outline the course. What they didn’t expect was that their professor, Wayne Hemingway, had something else in mind: celebrating his 90th birthday.
While many retire at 65, Hemingway’s teaching career reaches just above that average at 66 years. He began teaching at what is now Harding Academy during his senior year at the University. In his career, he has helped found and build two Christian schools: Crowley’s Ridge Academy in Paragould, Ark., where he served as director, and Madison Academy in Huntsville, Ala., where he was founding president. He also taught at Athens (Ala.) Bible School and Northland Christian School in Houston, where he was administrator and teacher. Prior to moving to Texas to be closer to his children and grandchildren, he taught 20 years in New Jersey.
Having taught GED courses in New Jersey, he decided to find a job in the Houston-area community colleges. “One day in the local paper, there was a notice for a job fair at Lone Star College-Tomball. I told my wife [Annile], ‘I’m going to get a job.’ And she said, ‘But you’re 80 years old!’”
Hemingway’s enthusiasm for the subject helps students, many of whom have struggled with math in the past, grasp concepts that have eluded them for so long. “I had one girl who gave me a book. Inside the front cover she wrote, ‘You’re the first teacher who could ever help me understand why letters equal numbers.’” While he hopes students gain a better understanding of math from his class, Hemingway ultimately hopes they leave with a “concern for learning” and are prepared for the future. “What I try to show them is they can learn math, and they can learn enough of it,” he says. “They don’t have to become an expert or take calculus, but they may be able to give change from the cash register. There are jobs that will be available five years from now that have not been invented yet, and math is going to be the heart of a whole lot of them. If you’re prepared, that’s great. But if you’re not prepared, they’re going to pass you by.”
Age has never been a factor for Hemingway. “In education now, there is the general mood that, once a person becomes 60 or 65, they automatically have no use,” says Hemingway. “But as long as I can be of assistance and help my students and inspire them to be intelligent, use their heads and be honest, I’d like to keep on going.”
— Jennifer Hannigan
PROFILE: Natalie Smeltzer 2003
From law to fighting world hunger
Natalie Smeltzer had considered the possibility of becoming a lawyer since high school. While that dream led her to a position with one of the nation’s premier law firms, she never imagined it would create an avenue for her to pursue her interests toward charitable work in Africa.
Smeltzer, a May 2009 graduate of Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, clerked for New York-based Weil, Gotshal and Manges law firm in summer 2008. After her clerkship, she was offered a full-time position to begin upon graduation. While completing her final semester in New Zealand, the firm contacted her about deferring her start date from October 2009 to January 2010. She was then given the option to push back the date even further to January 2011 for a stipend. An additional stipend was offered for 1,000 hours of pro bono work in a public interest position.
Since Smeltzer was out of the country, she enlisted her mother to contact Dr. Monte Cox, dean of the College of Bible and Religion, regarding opportunities in Africa. Cox introduced Smeltzer to MANA — Mother Assisted Nutritive Aid, a new organization cofounded by University alumni Mark Moore (’00) and Bret Raymond (’90).
“I was very impressed and inspired after meeting with Mark, and I knew that I wanted to be a part of this amazing effort to end malnutrition,” says Smeltzer.
MANA is a nonprofit organization working to serve malnourished children with life-saving products. The group’s goal is to deliver a fortified peanut butter Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food to children across Africa. Just six weeks’ worth of MANA packets can help a child suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
Smeltzer, who worked as a senior accountant and financial analyst while attending law school in the evenings, wears “multiple hats” for the organization that could not otherwise afford someone with her skills. She handles everything from various legal tasks to setting up the organization’s nonprofit status with the IRS and assists with business and financial planning. She also helped organize an event for World Food Day in Washington, D.C.
“There isn’t really a typical day at work,” says Smeltzer. “As a startup organization, there is something new and exciting every day. I am traveling often.”
Smeltzer began working for MANA in August and plans to work full time for the organization for several months in 2010. Although she begins her role in corporate law at Weil’s Dallas office in 2011, she hopes to dedicate some of her pro bono work to MANA for years to come.
“It is such an amazing cause,” says Smeltzer. “A child dies every six seconds from malnutrition, and it is exciting to work on something that could end these senseless deaths.”
For more information about MANA, visit http://mananutrition.org.
— Heather Williams
ALMA MATTERS
Never underestimate your influence
By Liz Howell, director of alumni relations
One of the most powerful tools in attracting prospective students to the University is by word-of-mouth recommendations from people like you. Since Harding’s beginning, many decisions to attend have been made because a graduate or a friend shared their experience or observation.
A recent poll of alumni ranks their decision to attend near the top of life-changing decisions behind choosing to become a Christian and marrying their spouse. Many alumni credited church friends, missionaries, youth groups, coaches and family contacts for influencing them to choose Harding while others talked about Christ-like qualities of students who came for a campaign or a mission trip in their hometowns. Nancy Breedlove (’73) Ballard, Arlene Hughes (’78) Morris, Steve Lake (’86) and many others attribute their introduction to Harding from their summers as young campers at Camp Wyldewood. The influence of Hugh (’50) and Mildred Horne (’50) Groover and Harding students who served as counselors changed their lives.
Lisa Blake (’89) remembers as a young child feeling awestruck while watching Kenneth “Uncle Bud” Davis direct the A Cappella Chorus when they visited her congregation. She knew that day she would come to Harding and sing in his choir. Roger Pritchett (’78) recalls a similar encounter, “I was impressed by the beautiful voices of the students, their discipline and good manners. I wanted to be part of a place that had that kind of quality students and program.” Many others believe that Uncle Bud influenced countless lives for generations to come.
“Each semester I start my freshman and junior nursing class with an introduction that includes a picture of the group of Harding students from summer 1979. These 12 students made an eternal difference in my life and career choice. I am grateful for the 12 that took their summer to come to New Jersey and share their love for Christ. I also remain eternally grateful for the role that Dwight (’59) and Barby Kline (’60) Smith had in my life and their influence,” says Cheryl Lee (’84), associate professor of nursing.
Mike Williams (’85), vice president of advancement, recognizes Roger Hladky (’64) who brought students to campus from the Northeast for more than 30 years.
Cathy Langford (’77) Wood remembers the late Barbara Harris (’59) McDonough. “I was a little girl, and she was at Harding. Barbara’s parents were farmers and didn’t have much money, yet they sent her to Harding,” she says. She can still hear Barbara’s voice saying, “Cathy Ellen, you will go to Harding College.”
Ronnie Huckeba (’78), head coach of the Bison football team, was influenced by Sandy Swann (’65) Butterfield and her sister, Brenda Swann (’69) Griffith, when he was a fourth-grader at church camp. “I thought they were beautiful. Sandy took the time and sent me a Harding pennant. I have told Sandy many times that she was the reason I came to Harding. You never know when a simple gesture may change someone’s life.”
As alumni and friends, we must never underestimate the importance of our influence in helping a student choose Harding. Through simple words of encouragement, lives and generations of families have been changed for the better. Use your influence by bringing some prospective students to campus and continue the cycle of the Harding experience. To recommend or refer a prospective student, send an e-mail to admissions@harding.edu.
ANNIVERSARY
The 12th anniversary celebration of Harding Place turns into a classy event for residents of the 115-apartment retirement community located on the edge of campus. As part of the day’s festivities, residents were given rides around campus in classic cars, including this 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air. Inhabitants were also celebrating the center’s being named as top facility for 2009 by Capital Senior Living, the company that manages Harding Place. The retirement center has a 98 percent resident satisfaction rate. For more information about Harding Place, call 1-888-305-3101 or visit www.hardingplace.org.
Enhancing the mission
Investing in the mission
By Ted Hackney, director of the Center for Charitable Estate Planning
“Louie’s Kids” could easily be the title of the latest television sitcom or a Saturday morning cartoon show for toddlers.
In reality, Louie’s kids affectionately refers to a growing group of Harding students benefiting from the foresight and generosity of Pangburn, Ark., farmer Louie Yingling.
Prior to his death in 2006, Yingling created the Louie Yingling Family Endowed Scholarship Fund, providing financial assistance to students preparing for lives of service in ministry. Officially the students are known as Yingling Scholars, but Yingling always considered the future scholarship recipients as his kids.
Yingling was not a typical Harding alumnus, attending only the 1937-38 academic year. He came from a farming heritage and was the third generation of German immigrants who came to White County in the 1840s. He rode the train 18 miles from his home to campus.
The inability to pay for more than one year of college education limited his Harding experience. However, that single year had a profound effect on his life. His teachers included J.N. Armstrong (Harding’s first president), as well as Florence Cathcart, M.E. Berryhill, L.E. Pryor, Knox Summitt, and other icons in those early Harding years. He developed a love for the school and a sincere interest in Harding’s mission to train ministers.
Yingling also knew firsthand how financial pressures could cut short a college career. He had to borrow $138 on a note personally signed by then President George S. Benson. It was not much of a student loan by today’s standards, but in 1937 it was a significant investment. Family members attest to Yingling’s dislike for borrowing money, and many believe that his college loan may be the only time he borrowed money.
After leaving Harding, he returned to the farm. He loved agriculture, and cotton farming provided his livelihood for more than seven decades. Louie married the former Eloise Capps in 1939. They lived on the 185-acre Yingling homestead their entire 66-year marriage. She preceded him in death by six months.
Yingling decided he wanted “to do something” for two things that were important to him — Harding and preaching the gospel. According to family members, he always had the desire to make a gift to Harding. It wasn’t until late in his life that he decided how to “make a wise investment.” That investment was in the lives of Harding students preparing for ministry. He knew that these students would make a difference in the lives of future generations.
Yingling never had any children but never failed to get a twinkle in his eye when he talked about students who would be beneficiaries of his scholarship fund. To Yingling, these unknown and unnamed students were “his kids.”
He knew his kids would make a difference.
If you wish to know more about how we can help you create an endowed scholarship fund at Harding, see the ad on the inside back cover of this magazine or contact us at 501-279-4210; thackney@harding.edu; or Harding University, Box 12283, Searcy, AR 72149-2283. You may also visit www.hgift.org.
