Mr. Jack Heflin is a Professor of English at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, La., a position he has held since 1984.

“I direct the Creative Writing Program in the English Department, and teach classes in creative writing, modern poetry, contemporary poetry and poetics, as well as composition classes and classes in American and British literature,” Mr. Heflin said. “I also co-edit turnrow books, a literary press that specializes in international anthologies of literature, most recently, The turnrow Anthology of Contemporary Australian Poetry (2014).”

Mr. Heflin enjoys the challenges he faces as an educator.

“In spite of the many challenges that higher education faces today, I find it a wonderful, sustaining institution, one of things that defines America’s greatness,” he said. “And although there are many tedious chores that come with a university appointment—essay grading, committee work, grant writing, fundraising—I have never really considered my job to be work; it’s more like intellectual play. Education that never ends. I love talking about literature and developing students’ critical thinking skills and their writing skills. I’ve always felt lucky that I was able to follow what the writer Joseph Campbell calls our ‘bliss,’ that which motivates and inspires us, the work that seems to choose us.

“As a sophomore at the University of Missouri, I took an Intro to Poetry class from an inspiring professor Catherine Parke who led me to the mysteries and pleasures of poetry. So I knew at 19 that I wanted to be a writer and an English professor. And here I am, enjoying the opportunity to talk about and study what I feel an intense passion for. I feel blessed that I am around intelligent young adults who are full of hopes and dreams.”

He was also inspired by his instructors at Perryville High School.

“I have many fine memories of teachers and coaches at PHS,” Mr. Heflin said. “Coach Bill Gatlin was a great basketball coach and an inspiration to me. I enjoyed the encouragement I got from Coach Bill Pickle, and I don’t think I tried harder in my life to earn the respect of anyone more than I did Coach Terry Smith. I had many excellent teachers, including Sharon Briody, Russ Campbell, and Judy Carter. Since my parents were teachers, I felt close to many other faculty, including the Hollers, the Sandlings, Mr.Hartel who lived across the street, David Toney, Dean Kimmich.

“I must say that my favorite teacher was my own father Robert Heflin. I don’t believe the term ‘home schooling’ had found a common usage in the early 70s, but it went on in my house.”

He said his years at PHS helped prepare him for his job, and for life.

“It’s prepared me for my position in ways I’m not even aware of,” he said. “My education at PHS gave me the values, the motivation, and the confidence I needed to leave home and to discover what it was I could contribute professionally to my generation. I know that when I got to the University of Missouri and entered its Honors College I felt equal to my classmates there. I got an excellent education in Perryville. I’m grateful for all my teachers who taught me math, the sciences, the humanities and the arts, who deepened my understanding of the world, who ultimately taught me how to think, and I’m grateful to those teachers who put up with my occasional laziness and inattention.

“PHS provided me with a broad foundation of learning and showed me as well the limits of my intelligence—trigonometry, physics (I earned an A, a B, a C and a D, thankfully not in that order.), French (‘Keep your eyes on your own paper, Monsieur Heflin.’); the limits of my athletic abilities (I spent a lot of time on the bench.); and the limits of my charm (no names).

“My time at PHS taught me what was to be learned from both winning and of losing. PHS helped me to discover what it was I could do, and it gave me the confidence to pursue it.”

After graduating from Perryville High, Mr. Heflin earned a bachelor of arts degree in English literature from the University of Missouri – Columbia, where he also earned his master of arts degree in English literature. He earned a master of fine arts degree in creative writing at University of Montana at Missoula.

“I’ve had the opportunity to be a visiting writer in the National Endowment for the Arts’ Poets-in-the-Schools Program in both Missouri and Montana where I introduced students to contemporary poetry and the techniques by which it could be written,” he said. “I taught in some very remote communities in Montana, in schools with populations so small they could only field seven-man football teams, and in schools on Indian reservations.

“In Louisiana, I’ve worked in varying consulting roles for the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. I have a lot of fun participating in their family literacy program PrimeTime, a reading program designed for young students and their parents, which encourages the open-ended discussion of humanities’ topics found in children’s literature.”

Mr. Heflin has also taught summer seminars in teacher training for the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. From 2001-2009, he co-edited ULM’s international literary magazine turnrow: A Journal of the Arts. He belongs to the Modern Language Association and the Associated Writing Programs, and has served as president and vice president of the Southern Literary Festival.

In August 2015, Mr. Heflin was awarded the University of Louisiana’s Foundation Award for Excellence in Creative/Artistic Activity and the College of Arts, Education, and Sciences Award for Excellence in Creative/Artistic Activity 2014-15. In 2008, he won the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities’ Individual Achievement in the Humanities.

He has published two collections of poetry, The Map of Leaving, winner of the Montana First Book Award and Local Hope (ULL Press, 2010), and his poetry has appeared in journals, anthologies and newspapers across the country. He has given many poetry readings in Louisiana and elsewhere, and hosts a monthly community reading series in Monroe at the local Irish pub.

Mr. Heflin has been awarded three endowed professorships at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

He attends Northminster Church in Monroe, and has for many years served as the Troop Committee Chairman for Boy Scout Troup 231 in Monroe. He loves to exercise, cycle, to camp and hike, to garden, to play guitar and to follow the St. Louis Cardinals.

He is the son of the late Robert and Olene Heflin, who were both teachers at Perryville High School. He has three children.

“Jake, my older son, is 21 and is a senior at LSU, majoring in English and Creative writing,” he said. “My daughter Emerson is 18 and a freshman at Louisiana Tech University, majoring in English and Political Science. Westly is my younger son. He’s 15 and a sophomore at Neville High School in Monroe.”

He said he doesn’t return to Perryville as often as he’d like, and has fond memories of his hometown. He said he stays in touch through his sisters, Jan and Jill, and through Facebook connections.

“I grew up in Perryville and lived in three houses over a period of 18 years,” he said. “Until I was six years old, my parents rented a house at 232 Grand Ave. In 1960 they bought a house on 120 Main (I’m amazed I can remember the house numbers!); when I was in the 8th grade they built a house at 131 Edwards St., just down from the high school, exactly 300 steps away. I could sleep till 7:50 and make it to school by the 8:00 bell, a disheveled fright. In the summers my parents ran the concession stand in the City Park, where I spent most my time working, playing baseball, swimming and roaming around.”

While in high school, Mr. Heflin was a member of the football and golf team, and also played basketball his freshmen and sophomore years.

“Many of my best memories came from the team sports I participated in,” he said. “Some of those football games we played in our senior year have grown mythically large over time, beating Sikeston on its home field, stomping Charleston, shutting out Poplar Bluff (It’s misspelled “Popular” in the ’72 Tuba.); that last heartbreak of a loss to Cape, 10-6, at least a couple thousand fans watching, or so it seemed. And though my own contributions were meager, to be a part of that team was truly elevating.

“If we weren’t involved in some sporting event, it seems that my friends and I spent most of our time in our cars, riding from one end of town to the other, eating at Freida’s or the Park-Et, but we also explored the back roads and the beauty of Perry County, from Silver Lake to Tower Rock,” he said. “I remember lots of parties along Saline Creek. I feel lucky that we had the KC, so on Saturday nights we could dance and listen to Gary Schumer and his band the Saratoga Trunk, or was it spelled Trunque? We listened to a lot of music, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones. We talked and talked and wondered what it was that we would become. It was great, harmless fun.”

He’s looking forward to seeing old friends at the PHS Homecoming events on Oct. 10, including Chris Moore, Roger Hudson, Kenny Stark, Jesse Laurentius, Mary Zahner, Steve Hoehne, Linda Baughman, James and Joy Fairchild, David Hagan, Roger Wibbenmeyer and Billy Richardet.

“I’m also looking forward to seeing all my teammates with whom I played football, and many other friends I would love to see again,” he said.

Carole Schrumpf Dabbs, PhD, RN, is a retired nursing instructor at Northwest-Shoals Community College (NWSCC) in Phil Campbell, Ala. She lives in historic Tuscumbia, Ala., the birthplace of Helen Keller. Dr. Dabbs was recruited from Missouri to serve as the chair of the Division of Health Studies from 1992-1996. In this position, she was responsible for overseeing the practical nursing and emergency medical services programs and administering the registered nursing program. In 1996, her focus shifted to instruction.

“I instructed students in mental health, fundamentals, medical-surgical nursing, physical assessment, and professional issues.” Dr. Dabbs said, “I loved helping students develop confidence that they can accomplish a successful nursing career.”

She was Director of Allied Health at East Central College in Union, MO from 1980 to 1988. She developed, obtained initial approval from the Missouri State Board of Nursing, and admitted the first class into the RN program that allowed students to earn an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) all in the first eight months. In 2012, she attended the 30th anniversary of the first graduating class. During the ceremony, it was stated that over 700 students had graduated.

In 1984, while in her position as Director of Allied Heath at East Central College, she served as the project coordinator to develop a state curriculum to allow Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) to enter ADN programs. In June 1986, this Missouri LPN/ADN Bridge Course became a reality. For her work on this two-year project, Dr. Dabbs earned the Outstanding Service plaque from the Missouri Associate Degree Nursing Program Directors and the Outstanding Educator Award by the Missouri State Association of Health Occupations Educators.

In January, 1970, after graduating from Missouri University, Dr. Dabbs moved back to Perryville. She took a position at Perry County Nursing Home (Independence Care Center of Perry County), which had received its first residents in late 1969. She worked tirelessly to help the facility meet state standards and on March 23, 1970, the state inspector recommended that the facility receive its state license. She also helped launch the ADN program at Mineral Area College from 1970-1973.

Honors include induction into Sigma Theta Tau, the honorary society for nursing (1970) and Pi Lambda Theta, the honor society for educators (1992). Dr. Dabbs was selected to present her dissertation research, “Baccalaureate Nursing Faculty Utilization of Research Findings in the Curriculum” at the Nineteenth Annual Research Conference at St. Louis University in 1992. In 2002, she was the Faculty of the Year-Technical nominee from NWSCC for the Alabama Community College Chancellor’s Award.

She earned her diploma in nursing from Barnes Hospital School of Nursing in St. Louis, and her BSN from Missouri University in Columbia. At St. Louis University she earned her MSN degree in medical-surgical nursing as well as a PhD in education. She is a member of American Nurses Association, the Alabama State Nurses Association (ASNA), the Alabama Education Retirees Association, the Alabama Educators Association, and the National Educational Association. She is past secretary, treasurer, and vice president of ASNA District 1. As a member of the Continuing Education Committee of ASNA, she reviews proposals for continuing education programs.

Dr. Dabbs believes that it is important to contribute to one’s community. She accomplishes this through various volunteer activities. From 1994-2004, she taught crafts weekly at a group home for girls in Florence, Ala. Following her retirement, she was appointed to the board of directors of NAMI Shoals, an organization that improved the lives of persons with mental illness and their families. She served as Second Vice-President for two years. In 2013, she received the Volunteer of the Year award for her work including presentations to home health agency personnel and fundraising activities. To facilitate fundraising and implementation of ongoing programs, Dr. Dabbs developed an extensive procedure manual for the NAMI Shoals’ board of directors. She is a member of Highland Park Church of Christ. She volunteers at church with nursery duty, provides meals for shut-ins, and has taught Ladies’ Class.

She enjoys bird watching, reading, crochet, embroidery, and spending time with grandson, Dalton.

Dr. Dabbs is the daughter of the late Woodrow and Imogene Schrumpf, and grew up in Perryville. She and her husband, James, have been married 41 years. She has two sons, Andrew and Matthew, and two stepchildren, Trina and James. She has three grandsons, Dalton, 11, Jonah, 6, and Elijah 4, and 6 step-grandchildren.

While a student at PHS, Dr. Dabbs was a member of the band, science club, social studies club, Peppy Pirates, Student Council and National Honor Society. She was Sophomore Citizen, and in 1963, salutatorian of her graduating class.

“My education at PHS gave me a firm foundation and helped prepare me for my career in nursing” she said. One of her favorite teachers was Mr. Harold Simpson, who taught science. “His enthusiasm nurtured my interest in nursing and gave me the knowledge to succeed.”

Her fondest memories are from being a member of the PHS marching Band, and she studied and babysat most weekends. She stays connected to her alma mater by attending her class reunions every five years.