Woods Family News & Announcements

Congratulations to Kendall Brenae Gray. We are very proud  of Kendall for graduating from Kennesaw State University with a  Bachelor of Business Administration in Economics, and a minor in Korean.  She graduated Cum Laude. Kendall is now working with a software company  as a Business Analyst.

 Kendall is a  descendant of Lee Barney and Mary A. Woods. The daughter of Tonya and  Kenneth Gray and the granddaughter of Mary Agnes Woods -- Jenkins. 

Congratulations to Sasha Woods Hartwell on receiving her Education  Specialist(EdS) in School Psychology from The University of Alabama.

An EdS is a postgraduate professional degree designed for educators who  want to advance their skills, knowledge and leadership in the field of  education.

Sasha is the daughter of Walter and Shirley Woods.  Descendant of Deforest and Georgia Woods.

Congratulations to Kamilah Banks Johnson of Houston, Texas for the recognition she recently received for her volunteerism with Bel Sanchez School.

Kamilah is married to JeMal Johnson 

and she is the daughter of David Banks Jr. and Trina Kinney Moss. She’s the granddaughter of the late David Banks Sr. and Rosa Woods Banks. Great grand daughter of Lee Barney and Hattie Woods.

Congratulations to Andrea Burroughs on being named “the new editor of Clarke County’s three local newspapers, The Clarke County Democrat, The South Alabamian and The Thomasville Times. Deep South Media Group, LLC bought the three papers in September. Since then, other staff members have helped in various positions as the newspapers have transitioned.”

“Andrea is the daughter of Joel and Carolyn Burroughs, granddaughter of Eunice Woods Nobles, and great granddaughter of Brady and Ethel Woods, all of Thomasville, Alabama.”

Congratulations to Attorney Tyler Elaine Yarbrough on passing the  Alabama State Bar Exam!!! Way to go Tyler! We are all so proud of you.  Now go and do great things!!
 

“The journey to becoming an attorney has finally come to end! I am  thrilled to announce that I have passed the Alabama Bar Exam. I’m of  course thankful to God for opening the doors for me, and I’m thankful to  those have encouraged me throughout this journey!” 

Congratulations to Kennedy Briana Marie Gray. We are celebrating Kennedy  for graduating with her Master of Science in Applied Physiology and  Kinesiology with a concentration in Human Performance from The  University of Florida. Kennedy is a descendant of Lee Barney and Mary A.  Woods. The daughter of Tonya and Kenneth Gray and the granddaughter of  Mary Agnes Woods -Jenkins. 

 Congratulations  to Robert Burton for winning his first Emmy for his  coverage of the Swan Street Standoff during last year’s George Floyd  protests in Washington DC (ABC7-WJLA). Robert is the son of Billy and  Denise Burton of Chicago and grandson of Hattie Woods-Burton and Simpson  Burton. He is also the nephew of ABC7CHICAGO news anchor Cheryl Burton.  Great-grandson of   Calvin & Dasie Woods. Descendant of Lee Barney and Hattie Woods. 

Rodney Earns Juris Doctor Degree and Passes the Bar Exam

Rodney  Keith Woods, is the son of Alonzo Stallworth and Ellen Woods Stallworth of  Thomasville, AL. After finishing Thomasville High School, he graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice from Troy State University in 1998.

Rodney earned his Juris Doctor Degree  from the Birmingham School of Law,  Birmingham, Al and  recently passing the Alabama Bar Exam. He is presently employed  as the  chief probation officer in Russell County, Phenix City, Al.

Rodney is the grandson  of  the late Lee Barney and Mary Alice Woods.  He is married to Kenya Woods  (Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker), with  two  children - Rodney, Jr.  who attends Southern University Law School in Baton  Rouge,  Louisiana, and Destiney Woods, a senior in the Lee County  School System.

Congratulations to Shay Jackson Senior Coordinator for the Elementary and Secondary Education Departments of the Elmore County Public School System.

Woods cousin Cheryl Burton of Chicago’s ABC7 News did a segment on ABC World News Tonight with David Muir regarding the high percentage of People of Color dying from COVID-19 in Chicago. Check out the YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYO3tUFld04&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0IB9-MYHigLfItkxJ9a6JIJxrwhYp94eEdQPoy4JFsTmthnzVChjxAlzU

She was the guest of honor at the Ada S. McKinley spectacular Celebration of 100 years making a difference!! It was a magical night saluting a great woman who founded a service organization with a mission to empower, educate and employ people as they change lives and strengthen communities.

Cheryl Burton throwing the first pitch at a baseball game.

Kennedy Gray’s (MSAPK’23) experience in athletic training spans the  gamut. From assisting the Nigerian Basketball Federation in preparation  for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics to working behind the scenes of Broadway  productions, Gray has witnessed first-hand the incredible capabilities  of the human body.

After earning her bachelor’s degree from Valdosta State University in  2018, Gray began her career in athletic training, working in an  outpatient clinic with patients before and after surgery. In May 2021,  she learned of an opportunity with the Nigerian Basketball Federation as  they trained for the Olympics. However, as Gray progressed in her  career, she noticed that her competition for job opportunities held  graduate degrees – an observation that motivated her to pursue graduate  school. Seeking a program that would challenge and support her while  allowing her to continue working, she discovered the College of Health  & Human Performance’s Department of Applied Physiology &  Kinesiology. The program checked every box: A comprehensive curriculum  incorporating strength and conditioning, a focus on sport performance  and the flexibility of remote learning. Gray applied and was accepted.  Soon after she accepted, she joined NEURO TOUR, a company that provides  performing arts physical therapists and athletic trainers [or  clinicians] for Broadway tours and productions worldwide.    

“I started my online program in January 2022 while working with a production of ‘Cats’ in Taiwan,” Gray said.

As she balanced coursework with her career, Gray supported several  productions, including ‘Hamilton,’ ‘Prom’ and ‘Hip Hop Nutcracker.’ In  her role, Gray helped actors recovering from injuries, attended  exercises before showtime, practiced lifts and fight scenes, and treated  standard muscle strains, tapings and blisters. In addition to  supporting physical fitness, Gray also helped actors ease out of  character.

“Many of these actors portray characters so far from who they are,”  Gray said. “Part of what we would work on included deep breathing that  helps actors come out of character after the show.”    

Gray credit UF’s online program structure for allowing her to thrive academically and professionally.

“The online format didn’t make me feel disconnected in any way,” Gray  said. “Even though my classmates and I were all in random parts of the  world, we stayed connected, talking about different trends, training  programs and biomechanics, and we kept up to date with what was  currently happening in those fields.”

During her graduate program, Gray also discovered her next career pivot: Sport psychology.

“Even after an athlete recovers from an injury, there’s a mental  block to overcome what caused the injury in the first place,” Gray said.

Since graduating with her master’s degree in 2023, Gray continues to  serve as a certified athletic trainer – now with Emory Sports Medicine  working with high school athletes across multiple sports in southwest  Atlanta. She practices breathing techniques, educates students on injury  preventions and watches the biomechanics of how athletes move. Looking  ahead, Gray hopes to continue working in sports, especially with young  athletes, and has a long-term goal of studying clinical mental health to  round out her knowledge in sport psychology. 

“The best part of the [graduate] program was learning about all the  fields you could enter,” Gray said. “All of us came in with one thing in  mind and [the program] helped us blossom to do something else.”