Commencement Weekend speakers will include Heather Shores, Upper School history teacher, at Baccalaureate and Gordon Smith ('71), incoming chairman of the Board of Trustees and retired executive director and chief operating officer of the United States Tennis Association, at Commencement.
Selected to speak by the senior class, Shores has taught history at Darlington since 2022 and serves as coordinator of the Upper School's community service program. She has more than 20 years of experience in the field of public history, 16 of those in teaching college-level courses, and holds a B.A. in History and an M.A. in History from the University of West Georgia. Prior to her work at Darlington, Shores served as executive director of Chieftain's Museum in Rome, program specialist and bookkeeper for Georgia Career & Technical Instruction, and part-time history faculty member at Georgia Highlands College. She received Georgia Highlands' "Thank a Teacher" Award in the spring of 2020 and the spring of 2021. She has also taught at Dalton State College and Kennesaw State University and worked as a coordinator at several museums and history centers.
Smith has served as a sports and tennis industry consultant since his retirement from USTA. He holds a B.A. in Journalism and a Juris Doctor from The University of Georgia, and spent 27 years at King & Spalding, where he worked his way up to senior partner. A member of the American College of Trial Lawyers, he was listed in The Best Lawyers in America publication for many years. Smith holds the record as the longest-tenured CEO and executive director in the USTA’s history, serving from 2007 to 2020 and leading the association to unprecedented growth and achievements during his time at the helm. The USTA achieved a number of significant milestones and achievements under Smith’s leadership, including the launch of its unified youth tennis initiative, Net Generation, as well as driving forward the complete digital overhaul of the USTA’s digital platforms and assets to make the digital experience for tennis players more modern and consumer friendly. He also oversaw tremendous growth of the U.S Open and stewarded the two largest infrastructure construction projects in USTA history. At Darlington, the 2011 Distinguished Alumnus is a loyal volunteer, supporter and leader. Smith, a visitor emeritus and former class agent, begins his term as chairman of the Board of Trustees in May and currently serves as co-chair of the Ever Forward Campaign.
Baccalaureate will take place Friday, May 17, at 7 p.m. in Morris Chapel. Commencement will be held Saturday, May 18, at 9:30 a.m. on the Chapel Lawn. In the event of rain, it will be held at 10:30 a.m. in the Huffman Athletic Center. Darlington will stream both events on YouTube.
