The keynote speaker will be Montreat College trustee W. Allen Bell, whose speech will be entitled "Fresh Ground Coffee." Mr. Bell is a native of Atlanta, GA, and he credits that upbringing with the sense of responsibility he feels for both civic issues and business growth and development in the downtown area of his hometown. Mr. Bell currently serves as Executive Director of the Atlanta Resource Foundation, which provides non-profit administration to a mixture of faith-based, public, and private start-up initiatives. Prior to his current post, he was Director of Communication and Director of Development at the Whitefield Academy and, earlier, the Southeastern Representative of the Christian men's group, Promise Keepers. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Rhodes College and served as a White House intern under the elder President Bush's administration. Following in the footsteps of his grandmother, Ida Akers Morris, he serves on the Board of Trustees at Montreat College. Mr. Bell and his wife, Sherry Vacek Bell, have three children-William, Natalie, and Russell.

Mr. Bell's grandmother, Ida A. Morris, will receive an honorary doctorate at the ceremony. Ida Morris served as a member of the Montreat College Board of Trustees from 1988 to 1991 and as Trustee Emerita from 1991 to 1994. Her husband Allen Morris served on the Board from 1972 to 1981 and from 1982 to 1988, was named Trustee Emeritus in 1989, and then returned to active service on the Board in 1993 and served until his death in 1998; Ida retired from the Board when Allen returned to active service. The Morris family has been instrumental in the success of Montreat College during the last few decades.

The student speaker from the traditional program will be Stephanie Hosack of Kannapolis, North Carolina. She is graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in English (Creative Writing concentration) and a minor in Spanish. After graduation, Stephanie will marry her fiancé, Adam Cook, and move to Greenville, SC, where she will seek opportunities to work as a Spanish translator.

Diane Campbell will be the student speaker for the School of Professional and Adult Studies. A mother, grandmother, and member of the Board of Deacons with Philadelphia Presbyterian Church, Mint Hill, NC, Ms. Campbell has worked in retail buying and management and most recently with Paychex, Inc., while she pursued her Bachelor of Science in Management at Montreat College.