Patterson School Foundation Elects Two New Board Members and New Officers

PATTERSON, NC (June 29, 2017)…The Patterson School Foundation has elected Susan Rowe and Jon Hogan as new board members, each for a three-year term.

Susan Rowe, originally from Lawrence, KS, grew up in New Mexico, Virginia and South Carolina, eventually making her way to Lenoir after graduating from Clemson University with a degree in Financial Management. She has held positions with Sealed Air Corp., Uniroyal-Goodrich Tire Co., Bernhardt Furniture Co., and Greer Laboratories, Inc. Susan is currently bookkeeper with the Foundation and lives in Happy Valley.

She has done volunteer work with her daughter’s schools, St. James Episcopal Church in Lenoir, Caldwell Arts Council and other organizations. Her interests with the Patterson School Foundation include raising funds for historic preservation of the two oldest campus buildings, Gard Hall (1920) and Palmyra Hall (1927).

Susan has two daughters, Merrill White Zelensky, who lives in Happy Valley, and Rebecca White, a senior at Davidson College.

Jonathan (Jon) Hogan is Manager for City of Hickory Landscape Services and has lived in Caldwell County since 2002. He has an Associate’s Degree in Horticulture Technology from Western Piedmont Community College in Morganton and a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Leadership from Mountain State University in Beckley, West Virginia.

Jon is married to Melissa (Missy) Hampton of Lenoir, and they have a nine-year old son, Sully. They enjoy hiking, camping, hunting and fishing as a family, and Jon is also an avid runner and cyclist. He has worked in the agricultural field for almost twenty years within local municipalities, and his special interests within the Patterson School Foundation are horticulture and education, and “anywhere I can lend a hand.”

New Chair for the Foundation is Lenoir architect Jesse Plaster, who has served on the board for the past five years. Jesse’s main interests are with preserving Patterson’s existing historic campus and looking for solutions to meeting the Foundation’s long-term obligations.

New Vice-Chair is Bryan Elliott, New Corresponding Secretary is Susan Rowe, and Treasurer is Janet Spoon. Liza Plaster is Recording Secretary. Other board members are Jim Hogan, Kitty Rosati, Danny Seaver, Lee J. Ball, Nick Curtis, and Ex Officios Janet Wilson and Alex Bernhardt. The mission of the Foundation is to provide education with a strong commitment to environmental stewardship, sustainable agriculture, historical preservation and community.