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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For More Information:

Ashley Chan

Dala Communications for TCA

ashley@dalacommunications.com

Cell: 214-641-4870

 

Trinity Christian Academy Announces New Student Leadership Program, New Chief Academic Officer, and Other Faculty Updates for Upcoming School Year

Head of School shares announcements and milestones for the 2023-2024 school year

ADDISON, Texas – September 20, 2023 – Trinity Christian Academy (TCA) in Addison has launched a new program that helps develop leadership skills in senior students and is making exciting changes to the school’s staff for the new year.

TCA’s head of school, Dr. Jeff Williams, announced the introduction of a prefect system for the 2023-2024 academic year, allowing Upper School students to develop leadership skills within various areas of campus life including academics, admissions, publicity, service, student life and unity. Each student leader will recruit and oversee a committee of students devoted to pursuing TCA’s mission. This year’s prefects include:

Head prefect: Molly Youn, Coppell; Academic prefect: Kylie Jones, Dallas; Admission prefect: Lucy Dennis, Plano; Publicity prefect: Aidan Mills, Plano; Service prefect: Kassadi Brown, Frisco; Student Life prefect: Will Lehman, Dallas; Unity prefect: Lulu Janson, Dallas.

Williams also announced several changes to staff and leadership roles, introducing Fran Legband as the school’s new chief academic officer. Legband joined TCA in 2001 as an Upper School history and English teacher. She has held many leadership roles over the years including serving as history and English department chairperson.

Alongside Legband, TCA has made several internal promotions, elevating these teachers and staff into key leadership roles. Steve Mercer has been promoted to Upper School dean of students, while Bob Dyer is now the director of biblical worldview and immersion. Kaylen Morrison will serve as the new athletic operations director and junior varsity girls basketball coach after serving as an assistant coach for the varsity girls basketball team. John Price and Pat Leach are joining the athletic administration staff as assistant athletic directors after helping their respective programs reach new heights last year.

Also in athletics, Rachel Faldyn and Hayward Lee have been hired as strength and conditioning coaches, while Shannon Mathis has been named assistant athletic director and varsity girls basketball coach, and Wes Tarbox has joined as athletic chaplain. TCA is also recognizing two new athletic hires from the spring: Claire Schmidt, who was hired as program and varsity dance coach, and Megan Elgie, who was hired as program and varsity volleyball coach.

Outside of the athletics department, TCA has made several other administrative and academic new hires. Administrative new hires include: Christine Metoyer, assistant head of Upper School; Kevin McConaghy, director of marketing and communications; Maci Winters, events and development coordinator; Jennifer Lipman, Big Blue assistant; Cindy Hallman, school nurse; Eliza Bayliss, business office administrative assistant; Kayla Turk, auxiliary programs administrative assistant; Clarissa Wong, publications coordinator/graphic designer; and Nikki Stuart, campus operations administrative assistant.

Academic new hires include: Meredith Cole, kindergarten teacher; Carolyn Finnie, Skylar Worley and Emily Tong, first grade teachers; Kelsey Gordon, second grade teacher; Kathryn Smith, Angela Stone, and Meredith Claudio, lower school teaching assistants; Kelly Sullivan, middle school academic resource assistant; Seth Nymeyer, middle school history/English teacher; Crysta Crum, middle school history/math teacher; Leslie Blum, Upper School choral director; Melanie Townsend, Upper School library assistant; Allison Albani, Upper School Spanish teacher; Danielle Floyd, Upper School physics teacher; and Zane Nelson, Upper School Bible instructor.

“This year holds much promise for our TCA family,” said Williams. “I look forward to seeing our faculty and staff work to develop committed disciples who teach with their words and their lives, while our students develop leadership skills that will carry them forward through their education and future careers.”

 

About Trinity Christian Academy

Trinity Christian Academy (TCA) is a private coeducational school for grades PreK–12 which offers Christian families and their children a demanding, college preparatory curriculum within a Christian community committed to integrating biblical faith and learning. To learn more, visit www.trinitychristian.org.

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Dala Communications is pleased to announce Stuart Williams, CAP, has joined the agency as vice president of operations and senior fundraising consultant. With more than 17 years of nonprofit fundraising experience, raising five and six-figure gifts, he understands that fundraising is both an art and a science. Williams will be responsible for leading the agency’s work with nonprofits by providing a variety of high-impact fundraising and consulting services.  

With Williams’ expertise, Dala Communications is adding a nonprofit practice group with fractional fundraising services such as full-service grant writing and management, direct response fundraising campaigns and major gift program development. Traditionally, nonprofits have utilized in-house fundraisers often called development associates to implement an array of fundraising capabilities including grant writing. By utilizing the expertise of Williams and the Dala team, nonprofits can save the cost of hiring a full-time fundraiser while still executing all the necessary fundraising functions that drive revenue.

“Stuart’s proven track record in the fundraising community and his varied experience in the nonprofit industry makes him the perfect partner to lead and build Dala’s new nonprofit consulting practice group,” said Leah Williams, president and CEO at Dala Communications. "With more professional services moving to the fractional model, we recognized the opportunity for Dala’s team to act as an extension of a development team much like our agency already does with our clients’ in-house PR and marketing teams. Stuart’s leadership of development teams coupled with his skillset of researching and managing the private and public grant process aligns well with those nonprofits looking to build their development capabilities.”               

Before joining Dala Communications, Williams led fundraising departments at various Dallas nonprofits in early childhood education, community health, homelessness and addiction recovery. Williams combines proven fundraising principles with modern communication and technology tools to connect nonprofits with supporters who share that same desire for change. His extensive knowledge of the Dallas/Fort Worth philanthropy landscape has enabled him to create and execute fundraising campaigns that effectively demonstrate community impact and drive revenue growth. Some of his accomplishments include increasing donor retention by 20% and exceeding an annual revenue goal by 35%. A dedicated fundraising professional, he earned the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP) designation in 2021, equipping professionals with knowledge in philanthropic planning, taxation, finance, and family dynamics to help donors fulfill their philanthropic goals.

“Today the opportunity exists for small to mid-sized nonprofits to implement highly effective fundraising initiatives at an affordable price by outsourcing some of their development responsibilities,” said Stuart Williams. “I am excited to work alongside development staff, acting as extension of their team to build awareness among their current donor base and prospects, utilizing the latest technology and time-tested fundraising methods to help nonprofits exceed campaign goals and further the sustainability of their organization.  

Williams received his bachelor’s in business administration, marketing and international business from Baylor University. He served as the secretary and treasurer of Montessori Global Growth Fund for eight years helping the organization distribute funds for Montessori projects around the world, He is a 2015 graduate of Leadership ISD and is a current member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). Williams grew up in Lake Highlands and currently resides in East Dallas. 

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About Dala Communications

Dala Communications  is a results-based, full-service public relations/marketing communications agency located in Dallas. Creating impactful, content marketing formulas and fundraising campaigns that work, Dala Communications is built upon a foundation of strategic thinkers and communicators who take a forward-thinking, proactive approach to achieve clients’ business and campaign goals. Whether working alongside B2B or B2C in-house teams, nonprofit development staff, or serving as the marketing and public relations arm, Dala Communications makes the business and community connections that create brand momentum. Dala Communications is a mid-sized agency and certified as a Woman-owned Business Enterprise with the National Women’s Enterprise Certification, and as a HUB with the state of Texas. For more information, visit www.dalacommunications.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram.

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A Conversation With a Living Legend Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher and former Highland Park resident Clayton Kershaw, is interviewed by CBS News' Bob Schieffer during the event,

Earlier this month, more than 900 North Texans attended the 30th A Conversation With a Living Legend® event at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas.  The luncheon raised more than $1.13 million to support MD Anderson's Moon Shots Program™, a collaborative effort to accelerate the development of scientific discoveries into clinical advances that save patients’ lives.

 

The event’s honoree, Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher and former Highland Park resident Clayton Kershaw, was interviewed by CBS News' Bob Schieffer during the event. Kershaw discussed baseball, fatherhood and the positive impact MD Anderson has had on his family. During the luncheon, Peter WT Pisters, M.D., president of MD Anderson, presented Dallas philanthropist Lyda Hill with the Making Cancer History® Award for her dedication and commitment to the institution’s mission to end cancer. Hill conceived the live-interview format for A Conversation With a Living Legend in 1990.


Since A Conversation With a Living Legend originated in North Texas in 1990, the event has been replicated across the country in Las Vegas, Atlanta, Houston, San Antonio, Corpus Christi and Washington, D.C., raising more than $44.4 million for vital research and patient care initiatives at MD Anderson. With this year's enthusiastic support, Dallas-Fort Worth luncheon fundraising totals exceed $19.3 million.

 

Event Chair: Mary Martha Pickens

Honorary Chair: Nolan Ryan

Chair-Elect: Cathy Allday

Presenting Sponsor: Lyda Hill Philanthropies; Barbara and Jerry King

National League MVP Sponsors: AT&T Foundation, the Kershaw Foundation, Mary Martha and John Pickens, and Julie and John Young

Red Carpet Underwriters: Lana and Barry Andrews and Natalie and Mike McGuire, Andrews Distributing; Peggy and Carl Sewell, Sewell Automotive; Sherry and J. Robert Brown and The Rosewood Corporation

Other top sponsors include:

Affiliated Bank/Sam L. Susser

The Corrigan Family

The Los Angeles Dodgers

Louise and Guy Griffeth

Lenise and Randall Stephenson

Gayle Stoffel and Cathy Allday