Constance E. Dunlap, MD, DLFAPA was born in Fort Mill and attended the George Fish School through third grade. In 1968, she was among the first Black students to integrate the formerly all white Caruthers Elementary School in Fort Mill, SC. 

Her family migrated to New York City and then Washington, DC. Later she  earned a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree from Wheaton College (MA) and a Doctorate of Medicine from Georgetown University School of Medicine (DC). Dr. Dunlap completed her medical internship in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Washington Hospital Center. She completed psychiatry residency training at the George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences, where she is now Clinical Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences. She also graduated from the Washington Psychoanalytic Institute. 

Dr. Dunlap has dedicated her career as a physician, psychoanalyst, and board certified psychiatrist to clinical care, medical education, racial literacy, and health equity. She is a member of the editorial advisory board and a contributing writer at Clinical Psychiatry News. She is a former president of the Washington Psychiatric Society Board of Directors, which acknowledged her as their 2007 Psychiatrist of the Year. She is the Deputy Representative for the Area 3 Council of the American Psychiatric Association’s Assembly. She is a Fellow of the American College of Psychiatrists. Other honors include the American Society of Psychoanalytic Physicians’ Henry P. and Page Laughlin Distinguished Citizen Award and the APA Assembly’s 2022 Resident-Fellow Member Mentor Award for her “outstanding work as a mentor and advocate for Resident-Fellow Members.”

She lives and works in Washington, DC, where she maintains a private practice and provides consultations focused on diversity, equity, inclusion and antiracism.

Dr. Chuck Epps’ service in public education and school experiences are broad and diverse.  They have encompassed all levels of pre-K-12 education – elementary, middle, and secondary.  He has served as a teacher assistant, classroom teacher, coach, assistant principal, principal, director, and assistant superintendent.  He has participated in a variety of work assignments at the school, district, regional, and state levels.  His experience with instruction at all levels give him a global insight of providing a district-wide program of continuous curriculum improvement.  His leadership in human resources has ensured that Fort Mill School District has maintained a high quality workforce throughout a period of explosive growth and teacher shortages.  Most importantly, he has knowledge and experience in planning and implementing strategies dealing with high growth districts, including budget management, bond referendum campaigns, community involvement, and student attendance area reassignments.

Dr. Epps has a Bachelor of Science degree in Administrative Management from Clemson University, Masters of Education and Education Specialist degrees in Educational Administration from Winthrop University and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Educational Leadership from the University of South Carolina.  His community involvement includes membership in the Fort Mill Rotary Club and the Fort Mill Area Chamber of Commerce.  He serves on the Community Advisory Board of South State Bank.  He was also recently elected to serve on the Board of Visitors for Clemson University.  Epps has previously served on the Board of Directors for the United Way, the Rock Hill Area YMCA, the Boys and Girls Clubs of York County, and the Springs Close Foundation.

Juanita Nash Sanders was born and raised in Fort Mill, SC, where she graduated from George Fish School in 1966. She earned her B.A. in Social Studies from South Carolina State College (now University), her Master’s of Art in Teaching from Winthrop University, and her Masters plus 30 from Winthrop University. She also became National Board certified in Early Adolescence Social Studies-History in 2001.

In 1970, Ms. Sanders began her teaching career at Indian Land School in Lancaster county SC. Her teaching career continued with the Fort Mill School District where she taught at the former George Fish School that was initially renamed Fort Mill Middle School. She also taught at Gold Hill Middle School and Springfield Middle School in Fort Mill, SC. 

During her teaching tenure, Ms. Sanders was chair of the Social Studies Department and was known for mentoring a number of new teachers. She taught gifted and talented students as well as regular students. She also coordinated Black History and Women’s History programs. She was a sponsor of such organizations as the Student Council, the National Beta Club, and the Mock Trial Team, which won two SC State Championships. Other honors included the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Outstanding Teacher of American History and the 2008 Law Related Education Middle School Teacher of the Year.

Ms. Sanders loves God, her family and children. She is on the Executive Board of the NAACP where she is a Silver Life Subscribing member in Rock Hill, SC. At Jerusalem Baptist church, she is a deaconess, president of the Missionary Society and Adult Sunday School teacher. She is currently president of the Fort Mill Community Optimist Club. She is also a member of the Education Committee of the Fort Mill History Museum where she is collaborating on a video about the Catawba Indians' culture.

Danny Funderburk is the former Mayor of the Town of Fort Mill.  Professionally, he’s a business development expert specializing in sales and marketing for the construction marketplace.  Danny is a life-long resident of Fort Mill and a product of the Fort Mill school system.  He earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Winthrop University.  He has a lengthy list of civic contributions, most recently serving on the Fort Mill History Museum’s Board of Trustees, Chairing the York County Sports Hall of Fame Nominating Committee and serving as a committee member of the York County Pennies 4 Capital Campaign. He’s married to the former Maureen Hodgins of York, SC, father of Courtney and Jason, and grandfather of Tucker and Savannah.

Dr. Sammie White Potts was born in Rock Hill, SC and, at the age of six moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he remained until completion of 8th grade. In 1957, he moved to Fort Mill, SC and attended the George Fish School. In 1963, he was the valedictorian of his graduating class. In 1966, he graduated from Benedict College with a Bachelor’s Degree in elementary education and teaching. Following his graduation from Benedict, he joined the Dillon, SC school system, where he taught history, economics, psychology, and drivers' education. He was also assistant band/choir director. 

In 1972, he enrolled in graduate school at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. During this time, he served as the assistant principal of the university lab school. In 1974, he completed his master’s degree in educational leadership. In 1976, he earned a doctorate degree in the field of educational leadership. His dissertation was entitled “The effect of mobility on the behavior of children in elementary school”, which studied the effect of the family’s relocation on the learning of elementary school students.  While in graduate school, he was appointed as principal of the Amherst regional high school and he was active in the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. 

In 1979, Dr. Potts moved to Concord, North Carolina to serve as vice president of student affairs. He remained there until 1988 when he relocated to West Point, Mississippi to serve as president of  Mary Holmes College, a co-educational historically black college that was founded by the Presbyterian Church initially to educate young Black women. When Dr. Potts began his tenure as president of Mary Holmes College. There were only 225 students, the school had a fiscal deficit and had lost accreditation. By the time of his departure, the student enrollment had reached 720 students, the fiscal deficit had been eliminated, accreditation had been regained, and there was a new learning resources center. During this time, Dr. Potts also served as chairman of the Presbyterian Church (USA) Board of Racial Ethnic Schools and Colleges and was the spokesman for these institutions across America. 

In 1988, he became president of Barber Scotia College in Concord, NC. He again encountered a student deficit of 320 students, deterioration of campus facilities, poor community relations, and mismanagement of funds. Within three years, each of these problems had been eradicated. While at Barber Scotia College, he continued as spokesman for  the Presbyterian Church (USA) Board of Racial Ethnic Schools and Colleges. After retirement from Barber Scotia College, he served as a clinical researcher at Duke University. 

Dr. Potts’ professional activities and honors are numerous. For the last 20 years, he has been active in the Presbyterian Church (USA) where he has been chairman of the Presbyterian Church (USA), member of the Presbyterian Church (USA) Roundtable, and member of the Presbyterian Church (USA) Human Rights Committee and its Task Force on African Male/Committees on Higher Education. He has served as senior consultant for Diversified Health Solutions. He has been senior consultant for Institutional Planning and Safety Compliance and director of planning/associate director of Institutional Research at Lane College in Jackson, TN. 

Other volunteer and public services include the NAACP, National Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation Inc, Breast Cancer Champion Program, Rotary National, Salvation Army’s Night Shelter, and the Salvation Army Task Force on Poverty and Alleviation of Poor People in America. He currently serves as the chairman of the board of the International Center for Community Development (ICCD) in Concord, NC. He is a 33rd Degree Mason. 

Dr. Potts is the father of five sons and 7 grandchildren. Dr. Potts believes that God is the center of his life and all that he has become is because of God and Family.

Mr. Rufus (Rudy) Sanders was born and raised in Fort Mill, SC and graduated from the George Fish School in 1963. After serving in the Armed Forces during the Vietnam era, he relocated and settled in New York, where he attended Manhattan Technical Institute and City College of New York. He served 28 years with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and 26 years, concurrently, with the New York Army National Guard. He was awarded the Defense of Liberty Medal by the Governor of NY in response to the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center.

Rudy lived and worked in New York for nearly four decades before returning to the Carolinas in 2003, when he began to play a vital role in the civic development of Fort Mill. As the architect, he worked with a group of George Fish School alumni in 2006-2007 to erect the George Fish School Memorial Monument at the former site of the school on Steele Street. He is a Founding Member and Former Chairman of the Fort Mill History Museum. Rudy joined the board of Move Fort Mill Forward in 2008 and immediately began serving on the History Preservation Committee and the Cemetery Research Committee. 

Because of Rudy’s steadfast tenacity and leadership as a volunteer member of the Fort Mill Economic Council,  the Town of Fort Mill was awarded a $500,000 grant in November 2014 for neighborhood improvements in the Paradise neighborhood. This grant was used to upgrade new sections of sidewalks on Steele Street, demolition of four vacant properties, erection of two neighborhood signs, and improvements to the water lines on Joe Louis and Steele Streets.

In recent years, Mr. Sanders  has been working with the Fort Mill School District Hall of Fame to ensure that Fort Mill's African-American residents’ contributions to the town are remembered.  He has successfully championed the induction of Simon Algah White, Sr. (Class of 2017), Elliott Littleton Avery (Class of 2018), and Bobby S. Plair, Sr. (Class of 2020), all George Fish School educators.  In 2019, he received the Olde English District’s Tourism Volunteer of the Year Award. 

Rudy is the proud father of two sons and proud grandfather of Kodi, Alexander, and Katerina.

Mayor Guynn Savage is a native of Fort Mill, South Carolina. She is happily married to Russell Savage and they have three children: Jennifer, Matthew, and Sarah. Guynn worked for Duke Energy for twenty-five years in corporate communications. She retired in 2003 and has worked in public communications on bond referendums, political campaigns, and as a realtor, specializing in the Fort Mill area. She served on the Fort Mill Town council for nine years before becoming mayor in January 2016.  Mayor Savage is currently serving her second term in the role of Mayor.  Guynn’s goal as Mayor is to build partnerships that help manage the transition period of growth while preserving the connected, friendly community that so many call home.

Dr. David R. Ward, Jr. is a life-long resident of Fort Mill, South Carolina and gracious follower of Jesus Christ. David is a member of the Fort Mill Church of God and employed with Duke Energy in the Nuclear Generation Department. David enjoys serving Christ, spending time with family, exploring national parks, hiking, researching the past, reading, riding Harleys, and attending Dallas Cowboy football games. Dr. Ward received his Doctoral of Strategic Leadership from Regent University and is Historian for the Fort Mill Church of God and Fort Mill Fire Department. He has published From the Mountain to a Shining Hill - The First Eighty Years of the Fort Mill Church of God (2012) and Innovate or Evaporate - Journal of Transformational Innovation, Vol. 3 Issue 1, Spring 2018. He currently serves as the Chair of the Fort Mill History Museum Board of Directors.

Elizabeth Ann Patterson White was born and raised in Fort Mill, SC and graduated from the George Fish School in 1959. She was the valedictorian of her graduating class, served as captain of the basketball team, and participated in the local and state marching bands.

In the fall of 1958, Elizabeth became the first Black female bus driver employed by the Fort Mill School District. During the summer of 1959, Ms. White was accepted in the National Science Foundation Institute at Bennett College, in Greensboro and entered Bennett College as a first year student in September of that same year. The second semester of that school year, she withdrew and married her high school sweetheart, Simon A. White, Jr. They had two children, Ingrid and Corwin, Sr.

In 1967, Ms. White returned to Bennett College and graduated in 1970 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in biology. She also earned two master’s degrees from NC A&T State University with a Master of Science in Education with an emphasis in Biology in 1974 and a Master of Science in Education with an emphasis in Curriculum Instruction Specialist.  In 1992 – 1993, Ms. White was featured in Who’s Who in American Education for significant accomplishment and leadership.

She was employed for 18 years as a math and science teacher in the Greensboro City Schools, two years at NC A&T State University School of Education, and she was Principal of North Main Street Elementary School in Pleasantville, NJ. She officially retired from the workforce in July 2002 after a combined service of 32 years in the North Carolina and New Jersey school districts.

As Secretary of the George Fish Alumni Association from 2006 – 2007, Ms. White played an instrumental role in the establishment of the George Fish School Memorial Monument on Steele Street in Fort Mill.

In May 2010, the 40th year anniversary of graduating from college, Ms. Elizabeth Patterson White established a scholarship at Bennett College in recognition of her mother, Ms. Irene Barnes Patterson.