Rome, Ga. (PRWEB) October 12, 2012

As Darlington School kicks off its Alumni Weekend celebration today, the Alumni Office is pleased to announce that Nancy (Smith) Hunter (65T) and The Hon. Don Maddox (59) are the recipients of the 2012 Distinguished Alumnus Award.

It is an honor to be able to introduce this years award recipients, said Jere Drummond (57), chairman of the Board of Trustees. They are both great examples of the Darlington Motto Wisdom more than Knowledge, Service beyond Self, Honor above Everything and they exemplify it in everything they do.

Hunter, only the second woman in school history to receive this award, is a retired educator who is well-known in Rome and Floyd County for her dedication and service to the community.

This is the first time this award has been given to a classroom educator, she said. We dont make a lot of money, but we touch a lot of lives and Im proud of that. The confidence that your teachers instill in you is one of the finest gifts you will receive It will follow you right out of these gates.

Hunter grew up in Lindale, Ga., and is a graduate of Thornwood School, the all-girls school that merged with Darlington in 1973. In high school, she was very involved in student government, serving as secretary/treasurer her junior year and president her senior year. She was also a member of the yearbook staff, the Thornwood Chorus and the A Cappella Choir. As a senior, she received the DAR Citizenship Award and was named Best All Around by her classmates. She went on to attend St. Marys Junior College in Raleigh, N.C., and graduated from the University of Georgia in 1969 with a B.S. in Education.

She started her career in Cobb County, where she taught from 1970 through 1977. She then moved back to Rome, where she taught at the Pepperell schools for 30 years until her retirement in 2007. In 1988, she was recognized as Pepperell Elementary Schools Teacher of the Year.

Hunter has always been active in her community. In fact, she and her husband, David, were among the recipients of the 2012 Heart of the Community Award for servant leadership, presented by Redmond Regional Medical Center. She has worked with various organizations such as Alpha Kappa Delta Educational Sorority, Claws for Paws, Good Neighbor Ministries and the Empty Bowls Project. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Hospitality House for Women and Rome Area Council for the Arts. She was also named Junior Service Leagues Sustainer of the Year in 2008 and is active at St. Peters Episcopal Church. But Hunter says the organization that is dearest to her is Camp Sunshine, a camp for children with cancer, where she has volunteered as a counselor for 28 years.

Camp Sunshine is my heart, Hunter said. Our dear friends lost their 3-year-old son to cancer a long time ago, but something good came out of this sadness because they helped start Camp Sunshine. The first year, 40 campers attended. This past year, 30 years later, there were over 400 campers and one-third of the counselors were former campers. Down the road, youll find organizations that mean something to you and I trust that youll continue the habit of giving back [that you learned at Darlington]. Youll enjoy it the rewards are unbelievable.

And though she never actually attended Darlington, Hunter remains an active member of the school community. She is a longtime member of the J.J. Darlington Society and has supported several capital campaigns over the years. She has served two terms on the Alumni Council and was co-chairwoman of two all-Thornwood reunion celebrations. She has also been a Rome parent to two female resident students and a member of the Thornwood 50th Anniversary of the Founding Committee, the Thornwood Restoration Committee and the Thornwood Campaign Cabinet for the Second Century Campaign.

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Hunter, Maddox Named Darlington School Distinguished Alumni