Alumni News Last Updated: February 2026
1970s
Bill Spencer (’75) has published a second book of short humor essays entitled Funny as Hell (Humor Outcasts Press, 2025).
1990s
Becky Hobson (‘95) is excited to announce that she and her family have moved back to Macon. She is part of the Social Studies Department at Howard High School. Her husband, Thomas, is a senior research analyst at Atrium Healthcare. Her son, Andrew, is a junior engineering major at Mercer and her daughter, Lauren, is an English and Fine Arts major at Presbyterian College. Becky looks forward to reconnecting with her MDS Cavalier alumni family.
2000s
Kyle Prebble (‘06) welcomed a son, Matthew James Pitts Prebble, August 15th, 2025.
JaLisa Jordan (‘09), DrPH, is coming back home to Georgia and has accepted a position as Director of Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention with the Georgia Department of Public Health at the state office in Atlanta. She will lead statewide efforts to prevent lead exposure and ensure safer, healthier homes for Georgia families.
Sarah Mead Smith (‘00) was appointed to the Georgia Tech Foundation in February 2026.
2010s
Meredith Wacter (2012) graduated from the University of Florida with a Master’s in microbiology.
Kenzie Freeman (2018) is currently in her Master’s program for Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Capella University. “I am happy to be in my Master’s program. I love that learning has always been a big part of who I am, and I thank my family and teachers at MDS for that. I currently serve as a Substance Use Therapist with a Certified Drug and Alcohol Counselor Level II certificate. I have been with my company for over 3 years now. I am happy to always see the cool stuff MDS is fostering for its current students and alumni!”
Gray Chapman (2013) is among nine journalists who have been selected for the Carter Center’s 2025-2026 Rosalynn Carter Mental Health Journalism Fellowship. The fellowship takes place over the course of a year and offers training, mentorship, funding, and support as fellows complete an intensive reporting project related to mental health and substance use disorders. Her project will focus on incarcerated mothers navigating opioid addiction and recovery, and the interventions that can alter the trajectory of their lives.
Nic Laconico (2013) and wife, Megan, welcomed a baby girl, Nora Catherine Laconico.
Austin and Anabelle Vorse (2018) welcomed a son, Christopher Deacon Vorse, in December 2025.
Caroline Davis (2016) welcomed a son, Walt Alexander, on January 6th, 2026.
2020s
Dexter Williams (2020) and Isabel Blackwell (2021) got engaged on January 1st, 2026.
Chris Moore III (2024), a Music Performance major with a minor in Political Science on the pre-law track at the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts, has been selected for a Capitol Hill internship with Congressman Shomari Figures, Representative of Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, beginning this January. As an aspiring criminal defense attorney, Moore sees the internship as a meaningful step toward aligning policy, justice, and public service.
We mourn the following members of the Cavalier family who recently passed away. Last updated: February 2026.
In Memoriam:
1951 Sister Grace Marie Dillard
1966 Louis Michael Ryan
1974 Robert Burch
1989 Dr. Tammi Lamar-Blackwood
1992 Seidra Joy Cooper Pitts
1995 Amanda Mizell Hansen
2001 Ryan Leonard
Reinee Johnson Lynch (‘64) on the death of her husband, William, on November 6th, 2025.
Susan Catto (’78) on the death of her father, Richard Conrad Stelling, on December 3oth, 2025.
Holst Beall III (‘85) and James Beall (‘87) on the death of their mother, Vida Gentry Beall, on January 4th, 2026.
Kennedy McCrory (2014) and Steele Bruce (2019) on the death of their mother, Maggie Bruce, on January 24, 2026.
Andy Duffy (’64) on the death of his wife, Shelby Duffy, on February 14, 2026.
Eddie Pipkin (‘81) and Latrelle Smith (‘82) on the death of their mother, Elaine Harvey, on Mar 7, 2026.
