With Valentine's Day being this week, I was thinking about those who found love here at Hinds Community College. Some were students when they met, some met through co-workers, but regardless, their love began right here at Hinds CC. And for some, it has lasted a lifetime!
Jack and Angela Hite met here in about 1990 when Angela was a Hi-Stepper. Now she is director of the Hinds Community College Hi-Steppers and Jack also works here at Hinds as a counselor.
Here is Russell Shaw, vice president for Business Services here at Hinds, and his family. He and Kathy met at Hinds when they were students. Russell proposed to Kathy in 1992 on the steps of Pickett Hall (then Main Hall) where they had their first kiss.
Luke and Deborah Purvis, who met while both were attending Hinds in 1997, were married in 2001. “I met my best friend for life at Hinds,” Deborah said in an interview for the Spring 2017 Hindsight alumni magazine, coming out in March.
Then there is Dr. Tad and Jessie Thrash, who met during their freshman year in 1946. Her dad, George McLendon, was president of Hinds. They both adored Hinds very much and still help many students achieve their education through an annual scholarship. They were happily married until the passing of Dr. Thrash in 2012.
Here is one of the cutest couples I have ever known. Prentiss and Keri Cole met in 1997 while both taking M.J. Roth’s U.S. government class. Prentiss was a Hinds football player and Keri was a cheerleader. They have been married for 15 years and have four beautiful children.
Jake and Amanda Hartfield met in Hinds Connection (Hinds Community College's student recruiting and public relations team) and have been married since 2014. They are expecting a daughter in March.
Jackie Granberry, executive director of the Hinds Community College Foundation, and husband Kenny Granberry didn't meet as students but Hinds folks got them together on a blind date after Jackie started working at Hinds in 1978. They got married in 1980 and will be married for 36 years on March 7. Here they are with their four grandchildren.
Now I did not find my love here at Hinds Community College, but love hearing stories about those who did. Here are the loves of my life. My kids Colby and Caitlyn, my boyfriend Todd and of course my two dogs Buddy and Sammy and Todd’s dog (who I think of as my own) Ginger!
So no matter where you found your true love, appreciate them, love them, do something special for them…especially this week because as Peanuts cartoon creator Charles M. Schulz once said, "All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt."
