Blythewood – As part of the tenth year
celebration of Blythewood High School, the Blythewood High School Education
Foundation proudly chartered “The Order of the Bengal” award and presented the inaugural
class of recipients on Thursday, April 14 at Doko Manor.
The purpose of the
Order of the Bengal is to recognize charitable individuals in the community, outstanding
alumni, and influential faculty who have contributed to Blythewood High School and
its success within the community.
The
charter members are:
1. The Town of Blythewood
The Town of
Blythewood recognizes the rich tradition of education in its community and in 2005,
after losing Bethel High School and Blythewood High School in the 1970’s
to form Spring Valley High School,
welcomed the returnof a high school to the town of Blythewood. An original bell from the old Blythewood High
School was presented to the new facility, along with trophies displaying the
rich tradition of the Bethel and Blythewood High Schools. For over a decade the administrations of the
Town of Blythewood have supported Blythewood High School and have been working
partners in providing experiences and opportunities for all its high school
students.
2. Justin Bethel
Justin was an
outstanding student athlete while at Blythewood High School and is the first
alumnus to be recognized. Though
strongly considering attending culinary school after graduation, Justin
accepted a football scholarship in 2008 and attended Presbyterian College. In 2012, Justin was drafted by the Arizona
Cardinals of the National Football League.
This past NFL season Justin was recognized for the third consecutive
year as a Pro Bowl special teams and defensive back player. In the fall of 2015 Justin’s high school
number “20” football jersey was retired.
3. Larry Griffin
A graduate of
Bethel High School, Larry has an understanding of the rich traditions of the town
and community of Blythewood. As
Blythewood High School opened its doors in 2005, he worked diligently to ensure
that faculty and students were aware of the Bethel High School heritage and the
positive influence of tradition as found in the Blythewood community. To this day he continues to have a positive
influence on faculty and staff as new traditions are established, yet always
with the foundations of past generations.
4. Jim and Kay Mayes
Jim and Kay Mayes
are proud parents of Blythewood High School graduates. Yet, their first daunting challenge was
creating and organizing the first Athletic Booster Club at Blythewood High
School. After years of operating
canteens for sporting events, they have established a decade’s long foundation
for support of the Blythewood High School athletic program.
5. Billy Petoskey
Billy Petoskey has
been the athletic facilities manager at Blythewood High School since the first
blade of grass turned green. He shared
the football stadium locker room with administrative staff while the school was
under construction. He is still
responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the athletic fields at Blythewood
High School.
6. Melanie Northcutt
Melanie Northcutt
was the first President of the Blythewood High School Education Foundation and
has served on its board for 11 years.
She is responsible for chartering the Education Foundation Scholarship
Program and over the past decade has coordinated and awarded $67,000 in
scholarships to Blythewood High School graduates.
7. Joe and Larry Sharpe
Joe and Larry
Sharpe, brothers and life-long Blythewood residents, have spent a decade supporting
Blythewood High School. Though both have
grandchildren who have graduated or attend BHS, their influence supports the
themes of family and community as they have coordinated or hosted numerous
affairs which have positively influenced BHS and its students. They made BHS “Their” high school and helped
in organizing the community behind it.
8. Marc Turner
Currently still a
teacher in Richland School District Two Marc was one of the original teachers
for Freshmen at Blythewood (FAB) and an original member of the BHS
faculty. As a lead teacher and social
studies teacher, Marc established the school’s Honor School and coordinated a
partnership with the University of South Carolina as a Professional Development
School. He was selected in 2005 as
National Social Studies Teacher of the Year.
9. Chef William Turner
Chef opened the
Culinary Arts program at Blythewood High School in 2005 and was honored as BHS
Teacher of the Year in 2008. In 2010 he
led the culinary program to a state championship and was also recognized as the
Culinary Arts State Teacher of the Year.
Not only did he inspire students to excel in culinary arts, but also he
embodied the true spirit of a Bengal in everything that he did for the school.