Classes Celebrate at Alumnae Reunion Weekend

Meredith Alumnae Reunion Weekend was held May 17-19, 2024, with more than 600 people attending. The weekend was full of opportunities for alumnae to reconnect and celebrate their time at Meredith. Alumnae traveled from 20 states, Washington, D.C., and London, representing 40 class years ranging from 1951-2024. The Alumnae Association is always pleased to welcome back all alumnae to Reunion Weekend, but classes ending in a four or nine celebrated a special class reunion.

The Class of 1974 was inducted into the Golden Oaks Society at a luncheon on May 17 to commemorate their 50th reunion. Alumnae Board President Courtney Allen, ʼ10, ʼ22 (MBA), welcomed back alumnae and former Golden Oaks Society inductees from 15 different classes who were present for the luncheon, including Mary Bland Josey from the Class of 1951. She was celebrating 73 years since her graduation from Meredith. President Jo Allen spoke to the group, shared memories and events that happened during their time at Meredith, and presented them with a Golden Oaks pin to commemorate their induction to the Golden Oaks Society. 

Friday evening, all classes celebrated in the Rotunda and the courtyard and enjoyed music from the BOUNCE! Party Band. On Saturday, in Jones Auditorium, Courtney Allen welcomed all the attendees and announced the 2023 alumnae award winners. President Allen gave a State of the College address and honored philanthropy award winners. The gavel was also passed to Kate Breen, ʼ01, as the new president of the Alumnae Association. A luncheon was held along with class meetings that afternoon, and on Saturday evening, individual classes held activities throughout Raleigh. The weekend concluded on Sunday with a worship service in Jones Chapel and a brunch. 

Congratulations to the following 2024 alumnae and philanthropy award winners.

2024 Alumnae Award Recipients

Kim Turnage Keith, ʼ04 | Distinguished Alumna Award

Kim Turnage Keith is a graduate of the Class of 2004 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Child Development as well as Teaching Certification in Birth-Kindergarten.  Immediately following graduation from Meredith, Keith was a kindergarten teacher with Wake County Schools at Hilburn Drive Elementary School.  

In May 2005, she started working at the A.E. Finley YMCA, and this position soon became the launching point for her career with the YMCA of the Triangle. Keith possesses a passion and commitment to children and families. She initially held the position of youth director at A.E. Finley. Within the organization, she has served as the senior youth director at A.E. Finley YMCA, associate executive director of Youth Programs, Operations/Administration/Aquatics/Membership at Kerr Family YMCA, and currently as vice president of youth development for YMCA of the Triangle, a role she has held since July 2015. Within her current position, Keith oversees the strategy and development of programs serving approximately 36,000 children aged birth to 18 years old throughout the seven counties served by the YMCA of the Triangle. She is responsible for a portfolio that includes more than 150 programs, 1,000 staff members, and $21 million in revenue.

Keith is committed to service, which is demonstrated in her engagement with the Alumnae Association and the area community. She has previously served on the Meredith College Alumnae Association Board of Directors and Young Alumnae Board. Within the Triangle community, she serves or has served on the following boards: North Carolina Center for After School Programs Advisory Board, YouthThrive Board of Directors, Endeavor Charter School Board of Directors, Haven House Services, Inc. Board of Directors, and Junior League of Raleigh. Within each of these organizations, she has served in various leadership capacities as president, secretary, vice chair, and captain.

Along with her professional and volunteer accomplishments, Keith is a proud wife to Matthew and mother of three boys, Owen, Cameron, and Harrison.

Keith was nominated by Class of 2004 class agents, and they noted that Keith “exemplifies what it means to be Going Strong 20 years after graduation and that she is admired for “her tenacity, leadership, and commitment to service as she leans fully into her calling to make strong kids and strong families.” 

Watch a video about Kim! 

Daphné Moore, ʼ19 | Recent Graduate Award

Daphné Moore earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and graduated from Meredith in 2019. Outside the gates of Meredith, Moore has pursued professional and volunteer roles rooted in community and civic engagement.

Since graduating from Meredith, Moore has served as the volunteerism coordinator and volunteerism manager for the N.C. Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service with VolunteerNC. In both of these positions, Moore worked with the Governor’s Page Program, AmeriCorps, statewide non-profits, and volunteers across the state of North Carolina. 

In 2023, Moore became the district office constituent services liaison for Congresswoman Deborah Ross, who represents District 2 in the United States House of Representatives. She acts as a liaison between citizens of North Carolina and federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), to resolve various constituent issues and cases. While working in the office of Congresswoman Ross, Moore was honored with the “Most Dedicated to the District” recognition.

As an alumna, Moore has been active with the College’s Voices of Change Political Institute and served as a co-director in 2023 and 2024. Voices of Change seeks to address the gap in the underrepresentation of Black women and women of color in political office by providing an institute that informs, prepares, and creates a lasting community to support future candidates. Meredith serves as one of six Regional Collaboration Partners within the National Legacies of American Slavery project chosen by the Council of Independent Colleges and the Gilder-Lehrman Center at Yale University. Since 2002, Moore has served as a community partner on the CIC/Yale Gilder Lehrman Legacies of American Slavery grant and traveled with the College to attend the Public History Institute at Yale University, where she worked to build successful programs and initiatives in partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Center at Yale. Within the Alumnae Association, Moore has served as a co-chair for the Black Alumnae Collective.

In the five years since graduating from Meredith, Moore’s community engagement and work within the Governor’s Office and Congresswoman Deborah Ross’s office have made an impact on the state of North Carolina.  

Watch a video about Daphné!

Cindy Godwin, ʼ74 | Career Achievement Award

Soon after graduating from Meredith College in 1974, Cindy Godwin began working within healthcare and hospital administration, including five years of her career at Durham County Hospital Corporation. Within the healthcare industry, Godwin worked in sales, account management, marketing, and communication.

In 2001, she returned home to Meredith as the director of corporate and foundation relations within the Division of Institutional Advancement. Godwin has served as the director of development and associate vice president for Institutional Advancement, a position from which she retired in April of 2024. On returning to Meredith, Godwin reflected, “Going back to work at my alma mater was a dream come true.”

During her 23-year career with the College, Godwin has provided pivotal leadership in two historic fundraising campaigns, both of which surpassed the initial goal. The Campaign for Meredith generated $33 million in gifts to the College and exceeded the goal by $2 million. Beyond Strong: The Campaign for Meredith, which concluded in December 2018, generated over $90 million in gifts to the College and surpassed the original fundraising goal of $75 million.

Elsewhere on the Meredith College campus, Godwin has served on the Internal Review Board, building committees for the Science and Mathematics Building and the Oaks Apartments, Benefits Committee, Major Events Committee, and search committees for two deans and the facilities director. She served as a liaison between Institutional Advancement and the School of Natural and Mathematical Sciences and the School of Business. As the IA liaison, she regularly met with deans, department heads, and faculty members from both schools to identify fundraising needs and opportunities, cultivate donors to support those opportunities, and steward gifts that supported initiatives within Science, Mathematics, and Business.

Aside from her work for and within the College, Godwin remains a devoted member of the Class of 1974. Not only does she maintain a close relationship with her Meredith friends, but also spends time working with the class agents for her class.

Although now retired from the College, Godwin’s legacy and work within development will endure for future generations of Meredith students.

Watch a video about Cindy! 

2024 Philanthropy Award Recipients

Vickie Regan Rolfe, ʼ71, and Chris Rolfe ⏐ Meredith Philanthropy Award

The Rolfes have established the Vickie Regan Rolfe Academic Excellence Innovation Fund for the School of Natural and Mathematical Sciences. Vickie is a member of the Class of 1971 and majored in chemistry and mathematics. As a student, she served as president of her freshman class. In 1970, she was awarded a National Science Foundation Undergraduate Research Fellowship that allowed her to participate in a summer research fellowship in inorganic chemistry at the College of William and Mary.  After graduating from Meredith, she was a real estate paralegal for 20 years before retiring.

Chris graduated from NC State with a degree in mechanical engineering. Before retiring as group executive and chief administrative officer for Duke Energy, he was responsible for supply chain, information technology, operations services, and other administrative activities. He has served on many industry and nonprofit boards of directors, including being appointed chairman of the North Carolina Commission on Workforce Development. In recognition of his years of volunteer service and leadership in workforce development, Chris was awarded the Jack Callahan Cornerstone Award from Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont of North Carolina. In 2018, he was inducted into the NC State Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Hall of Fame. Chris currently serves on the College’s Board of Trustees.