The Garrison Forest School Hall of Excellence was created to recognize extraordinary members of the Garrison Forest community who have made significant contributions to the School and to the broader, global community. The inaugural Hall of Excellence class was inducted in September, 2007, and another class is added every two years.  The Hall of Excellence was established through a gift by the parents and grandparents of the Class of 2000.

 

2011 Hall of Excellence Inductees

Clinton L. Arrowood

Accomplished, affable, and eccentric, Clinton Arrowood infused the modern-era Garrison Forest arts curriculum with an indelible spirit and unforgettable charm. Trained as a flutist at the Peabody Conservatory and the Vienna Academy of Music, Mr. Arrowood worked as an illustrator prior to joining Garrison Forest. During his 20 years at GFS (1968 – 1988), he taught art history, A.P. art history, and music appreciation. Mr. Arrowood also founded and played flute for the Rococo Co., a Baltimore quartet specializing in Baroque and Rococo music. With close friend and fellow teacher, Donald S. Elliott, he published several books: Alligators and Music; Frogs and the Ballet; and Lambs’ Tales from Great Operas. The books’ enduring charms reside in Mr. Elliott’s affectionate, approachable prose and Mr. Arrowood’s distinctive depictions of animals.

Donald S. Elliott

Gifted with an exceptional intellect, sharp wit, and artistic passion, Donald S. Elliott spent three decades in the Garrison Forest classroom (1966 – 1996). After attending St. John’s College and beginning a career in insurance, he discovered his calling as a teacher in 1966 when he became the Garrison Forest librarian. Five years later, Mr. Elliott joined the English department and taught humanities until his retirement. Using the Socratic method he brought the great works of literature and philosophy alive for his students. In addition to serving as Morning Meeting accompanist, he hosted artists’ salons at his campus home with wife Cielito Elliott, a Peabody-trained pianist and Garrison Forest music teacher. Mr. Elliott and Garrison Forest teacher Clinton L. Arrowood collaborated on several books: Alligators and Music; Frogs and the Ballet; and Lambs’ Tales from Great Operas. Each year, Garrison Forest presents the Donald S. Elliott Award to a student who embodies a love of learning, and the school awards a faculty summer sabbatical in his name. 

Sandra Shettle King ’56

Sandra Shettle King’s passion for riding was nurtured at Garrison Forest. As Riding Club president, student government representative, and a passionate participant in all the school’s choral arts clubs, Sandy honed her leadership style. Later, she served as Garrison Forest Alumnae Board President. In 1981, Sandy helped found Talbot Special Riders, Inc., a non-profit, therapeutic horseback riding program in Talbot County, Maryland. With compassion and skill, she and her volunteers teach individuals with disabilities to ride, and as director of the program, Sandy personally takes a group of riders to the Special Olympics each year. Her students build confidence, motivation, and a sense of accomplishment and learn teamwork and problem-solving skills.

The Reverend Martha Overall ’65

An outstanding student and leader at Garrison Forest, Martha Overall attended Radcliffe College and New York University Law School before embarking on an impressive, 13-year legal career in corporate law for major New York law firms. After caring for her dying brother, she enrolled in divinity school, and in 1991, entered the Episcopal priesthood. Recognized among the nation’s best-known urban priests, “Mother Martha,” as she is known to the children she serves, has been pastor of St. Ann’s Episcopal Church, a historic church in the South Bronx, since 1993. The Today Show has hailed her “the only light of hope the children have in the Bronx,” and author and activist Jonathan Kozol featured her story in several of his books. Martha has been honored as a Bridging the Gaps Symposium recipient and as a Trinity Transformational Fellow.

Helen Whitney ’61

Helen Whitney, a producer, director, and writer for documentaries and feature films since 1976, has had her Emmy-winning, Oscar- nominated work featured on ABC’s Closeup and PBS’s FRONTLINE, American Experience, and American Masters. Her subjects have included youth gangs, presidential candidates, the McCarthy era, a Trappist Monastery, Great Britain’s class structure, and photographer Richard Avedon. The recipient of numerous honors, including a Peabody Award, the Humantias Award, and the prestigious du Pont-Columbia Journalism Award, Helen has explored her personal interest in the subject of religious journey through her documentaries The Monastery, John Paul II: The Millennial Pope, The Mormans, Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero, and Forgiveness: A Time to Love and a Time to Hate. One of Helen’s feature scripts was a chosen for the Sundance Lab, and in 2011 she wrote a book based on her film Forgiveness: A Time to Love and a Time to Hate. She received her B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and earned an M.A. in Victorian Literature from the University of Chicago.