Alumni News – August 2026

When Ellen Stroud ’95 saw the job opening for executive director of the Carter Family Fold, she knew immediately that she would apply.

“It felt like coming home to the place that already defined who I am, and a chance to bring together everything I’d learned since I left it,” Stroud said.

Stroud grew up in Kingsport, Tennessee, just 20 minutes from the Carter Family Fold, an 800-seat music venue and memorial center located in Hiltons, Virginia. The fold is dedicated to preserving traditional old-time, bluegrass and folk music, and it honors the legendary original Carter Family.

“I first watched Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash perform at the fold, and that memory shaped me,” Stroud said. “I moved back to Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia in 2006, and I’ve been grounded in this community ever since. 

As the organization’s new executive director, Stroud will lead it into an historic year as 2027 marks 100 years since the famous Bristol sessions, known as the “Big Bang of country music.” 

The iconic Bristol sessions introduced the world to the Carter Family and the region they lived in, and the event birthed commercial country music. Before Stroud took on the role, the Carter Family Fold was led by founder Jeanette Carter’s daughter, Rita Forrester.

Stroud studied political science at Roanoke, where she is a member of the Society of 1842, and later earned an M.A. in counseling from East Tennessee State University. She looked back on her time at Roanoke as foundational to her current work in the music industry.

“Roanoke College is actually where I booked my very first band,” said Stroud. “I didn't know it at the time, but that was the beginning of a thread that's run through my whole career, from that first booking to founding Good Strings Entertainment to now bringing artists into the Carter Family Fold. Roanoke also gave me my political science foundation, which has shaped how I think about systems, advocacy and policy in every job since.”

Stroud sees music as connection. “I came to this role through a winding path that included years as a licensed professional counselor, and I've seen firsthand how music reaches people when almost nothing else can. It holds memories, it holds grief, it holds joy, sometimes all at once. The Carter Family understood that instinctively.” 

Stroud looks forward to carrying on the treasured legacy.

Pictured above are Rita Forrester (L), outgoing executive director of the Carter Family Fold, and Ellen Stroud '95 (R), the Fold's new executive director, at the Carter Family Fold during the 52nd Annual Carter Family Memorial Music Festival on Aug. 1, 2026. 

Phil Norman ’98 is presenting a Paul Simon tribute concert on Saturday, Aug. 15 at The Spot on Kirk in Roanoke, Virginia. He will be performing the entirety of Simon’s classic album, “Graceland,” including timeless hits like “You Can Call Me Al” and “Diamonds On the Soles of Her Shoes.” At Roanoke College, Norman studied English and was a member of the choir. 

"Graceland is one of the albums that made me fall in love with albums," Norman said. “Underneath the incredible arrangements and performances of the South African musicians are simple song structures that Paul Simon used to enable that cross-cultural collaboration. Once I recognized that foundation, I undertook the personal project to strip each song back to a solo arrangement. The 40th anniversary of Graceland’s release feels like a great time to bring it to the Spot with few special guests.”

Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m. For advance tickets, visit thespotonkirk.org.

Late Hollywood actor and alumnus John Payne ’36 is the subject of an upcoming talk at the Salem Museum. The talk will be presented by Hunter Haskins ’20, assistant director of the museum. Payne grew up in Roanoke County, Virginia. You may recognize him as attorney Fred Gailey in “Miracle on 34th Street” or from several 20th Century Fox musicals. His film noir, “Kansas City Confidential,” will be screened after Haskins’ talk. In 1976, Payne received the Roanoke College Medal, the highest honor bestowed upon alumni of the school and in 1978, he earned an honorary degree.

Alumnus Connor Van Orden ’24 is hopping on his bike for charity again, this time for the North Carolina Fallen Firefighters Foundation. You may remember Van Orden’s 2024 ride from Seattle to Washington, D.C., with fellow Pi Kappa Phi brothers. The 2024 trek, called Journey of Hope, was part of The Ability Experience, a program that honors Pi Kappa Phi’s commitment to serving those with disabilities, whether that be through building awareness, raising money and other projects.

Van Orden, now working as a firefighter, will bike across the state of North Carolina for fellow firefighters in 2027. “I became a fireman really just through good timing,” he said. “Now, I can’t imagine doing anything else, and I love every aspect of being a firefighter. In addition to helping people, serving the community and having purpose, I love that I will never be the best in the fire service at anything. It provides a constant pressure to be better and get better.”

If you’re interested in supporting Van Orden’s journey, visit his GoFundMe page at this link. He earned a degree in health and exercise science from Roanoke College and was a member of Pi Kappa Phi.