Gray Stone Day School will hold its seventh graduation commencement ceremony on Friday, June 10, at 7 p.m. The ceremony will be held in the gymnasium of Gray Stone Day School adjacent to Pfeiffer Universityís Misenheimer campus; a reception honoring the seniors and their parents will follow.
The commencement speaker for the ceremony will be J. Keith Crisco. Crisco was appointed Secretary of Commerce by Gov. Bev Perdue in 2009 and brings 40 years of experience in business and commerce to the position. For more than 20 years, Crisco was president and chairman of Asheboro Elastics Corp, a company he formed with partners in 1986, which has offices in seven countries, manufacturing facilities in Central America and the United States, and sales around the world. Prior to that, he worked for eight years as the president of Stedman Elastics in Asheboro.
Crisco earned a bachelorís degree in mathematics and physics from Pfeiffer University and a masterís degree in business administration from Harvard University. After graduate school, the Stanly County native worked as assistant to the executive vice president for Burlington Industries. He worked for the company for 10 years. From 1970-1971 Crisco served as a White House Fellow in Washington, D.C. as assistant to the U.S. Secretary for Commerce during the Nixon administration.
Born and raised on a farm near Aquadale, Crisco has served on the Asheboro City Council, as chairman of the Pfeiffer University board of trustees, as chairman of the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research and as chairman of the National Elastic Manufacturerís Association.
He also served as chairman of Globio, a childrenís educational website based in Portland, Ore., that uses wildlife photos to create a dialogue to connect children around the world.
Crisco also served on Randolph Community Collegeís board for 16 years and as an active member of the UNC School of Public Health Advisory Council. He has been active with the N.C. Community Foundation, Action for Children North Carolina, and various land trust and environmental organizations. His personal interests include country music, genealogy and baseball. He and his wife, Jane, have three children and six grandchildren. They live in Asheboro and in Oriental in Pamlico County.
This year will see 62 area graduates complete their high school careers as they prepare to go on to college. It is the sixth year seniors have completed a service project as part of their graduation requirements. The students have worked hours in their communities helping to implement new programs or to benefit established ones.
Student commencement speakers are Rachel Bangle, Olivia Henry and Eldon Zacek III. Seniors Brooke Harward, Candace Barnes and Heather Rapachietta will welcome guests, introduce the speaker and present the class gift. Musical entertainment will be by seniors Rachel Chambers, Erika Medlin and MacKenzie Speights, with the Gray Stone Chorus singing the national anthem.
Junior marshals are Meredith Allen, Erik Benson, Hanna Eudy, Janna Featherstone, Abby Ferrell, Ashley Lambert, Karlen Lambert, Hunter Latimer, Dylan Maher, Cassidy Stoner and William Wallace.
Students at Gray Stone Day School will graduate with honors according to their cumulative grade point averages determined after the last day of school. Students with a GPA of 4.30-4.44 will graduate with honors, 4.45-4.59 with high honors, and 4.60 and above with highest honors.