By Avery Ehrman
Editor-in-Chief
Every two years, current students, faculty members, and notable alumni select individuals who attended or are closely tied to R.J. Reynolds High School and have excelled in the arts to be inducted into the RJR Arts Hall of Fame. This year, eight nominees were selected and will be inducted on February 22, 2025.
Robbie Bach
Highly involved in marketing and business, RJR class of 1980 graduate Robbie Bach has had a successful career since graduating. Bach attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Stanford University Business School and has been inspired by many role models.
“At RJR, Roby Walls greatly influenced my civic engagement, such as civics studies, Key Club, et cetera,” Bach said. “Beyond RJR, there are several people at Microsoft, including the President of Microsoft Europe, Bernard Vergnes, and my wife of 40 years, Pauline Bach.”
Following his time in the Microsoft marketing department, Bach has fulfilled his time on many nonprofit boards, such as Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Habitat for Humanity, and the Bipartisan Policy Center. His return to RJR is much anticipated, and we look forward to welcoming him into the RJR Arts Hall of Fame.
“I moved away from Winston-Salem after college and have not been back as much as I would like,” Bach said. “I’ve returned to the school several times, as much of my family lives in WS, and it’s amazing to see how much it has changed and remains the same.”
Ellen Denham
While only attending RJR for her junior and senior years of high school, opera singer and director Ellen Denham’s time here was nothing short of success.
“I was involved with Speech and Debate, Masque and Gavel, the National Forensic League, the Latin Honor Society, the Anchor Club, and the Girls Ensemble Chorus,” Denham said.
After graduating in 1986 as a vocal performer and music principal, Denham attended the North Carolina School of the Arts, a local high school and college just five miles from RJR.
“I have many favorite memories, some of them are hanging out with my friends in front of the school after school, going to speech and debate tournaments, and singing with Mrs. Mack,” Denham said. “Mrs. Mack’s Girls Ensemble class was phenomenal and an extraordinary preparation for being a music major.”
Denham is ecstatic to return to RJR for the Arts Hall of Fame induction in the coming weeks. She has countless high school memories and hopes to impact young aspiring artists.
“High school can be a strange time where we are all learning to be adults in our ways,” Denham said. “It’s not all sunshine and roses, but I learned so much inside the classrooms and outside of class about just being more myself and being okay with being a little bit weird.”
Andrea Freeman
Although her ceramics career didn’t begin until after her time at RJR, 1987 graduate Andrea Freeman has embodied what it means to be a successful artist and has represented the school well throughout her years.
“After graduating high school, I went to UNC Greensboro to study international studies and religion,” Freeman said. “It was there I discovered ceramics. I did not finish my degree but returned to Winston to work for a potter. I studied at the Penland School of Crafts for several classes. This is where I had my most significant growth as a potter. I went on to get my BFA from the ECU School of Art.”
Even though Freeman wasn’t a part of the arts in high school, she was still highly involved in school and well-versed in many sports and clubs.
“I was primarily involved in sports,” Freeman said. “I played tennis and soccer all three years and added cross country and swimming my senior year. I was in SGSC my senior year and participated in Young Life for two years. Being on the soccer field with my friends is my favorite memory.”
Freeman is looking forward to returning to RJR for her induction to the Arts Hall of Fame, as she hasn’t visited the school much since her senior year.
“Winston-Salem and RJR are a beacon for the arts,” Freeman said. “I was fortunate to grow up in a family that supported all the kids to be whoever and whatever they found was their calling. Winston-Salem offered many opportunities to celebrate art and the arts. Art is a part of our everyday lives and makes our days more joyful, thoughtful, and inspiring.”
Eric Johnson
Involved in both the arts and sports, 1982 graduate Eric Johnson is being welcomed into the Arts Hall of Fame for his involvement in film sound engineering.
“My first step upon leaving RJR was to head over to the NC State School of Design because I was sure that I was destined to become an architect,” Johnson said. “To make a very long story short, I made a career shift during my junior year and started my own music production company where I produced up-and-coming recording artists and composed music for commercials and other projects.”
Johnson has been in the business industry for many years and has experienced many great opportunities, including working on many projects for PBS, HBO, Netflix, and Amazon.
“My favorite memory is hanging out after school with our band teacher, Mr. Burns, before and after marching band practice,” Johnson said. “He was willing to discuss all things music with anyone who would listen and was willing to create custom arrangements of popular songs for the marching band’s halftime performances. The man went above and beyond for us, and I’ll be forever grateful.”
Along with his band teacher, Johnson remains close with many other faculty members at RJR, proving just how much a great teacher can change students’ lives. “A favorite memory is my senior English class with Ms. Dunning,” Johnson said. “As the only African-American in most of my classes, including hers, I felt very much seen and understood by Ms. Dunning, and we stay in touch to this day.”
Matt Kendrick
Highly involved in the RJR arts community, Matt Kendrick, a 1975 graduate, has done nothing but thrive in Winston-Salem as both a bass player and a composer. Also, he is an alumnus of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and we are thrilled to welcome him back to North Carolina and RJR.
“I was a student at RJR from 1973-75,” Kendrick said. “I played a lot of music in the community. Reynolds had a robust musical community in the 70’s. It was great to be part of that.”
Before his graduation, Kendrick was in a band with his friends at RJR, where they participated in “Follies,” RJR’s annual talent show hosted by our Key Club.
“I became a professional musician and have been one all my life. Many of the older musicians I grew up playing with. I would watch and learn about all sorts of things involved with the music business and the music.”
Kendrick still lives in Winston-Salem and is the Music Director for Carolina Music Ways and Co-artistic director for Music Carolina, both local nonprofit music organizations.
“I feel happy, proud, and honored to be admitted to the RJR Arts Hall of Fame,” Kendrick said.
Rioghnach Robinson
One of our 2012 graduates, Rioghnach Robinson, is well-versed in the arts as a writer, composer, and singer. Following her high school career, Robinson attended Kenyon College, located in Gambier, Ohio, as an economics major.
“I started writing my first book in my senior year at Reynolds,” Robinson said. “In my first year of college, I signed with my literary agent, and it took three more years for the book to sell to a publisher and hit shelves. During that time, I was majoring in economics at school and involved with the music scene there. After college, I did some campaign work in Raleigh, lived in New York for a bit, then moved to Chicago to write for The Onion.”
After lots of traveling for her career, Robinson is happy to be back amid the pines for the Arts Hall of Fame inductions.
“If any aspiring authors are reading this, there are a lot of misconceptions that you need connections to break into publishing,” Robinson said. “This isn’t true. Everything from agent pitches to publisher submissions happens online now, so you only need an email address and a finished manuscript. If you want to be an author, keep writing! Finish your novel! You’ve got this!”
Roby Walls
If you’ve ever walked by the history building on a Friday afternoon, you’ve likely seen Roby Walls attending RJR’s Key Club meetings as a former advisor and current mentor. Walls taught many classes at RJR from 1971 to 2002 and has spent much of his time back at RJR since his retirement.
“I taught US History, Biblical History, International Relations, Economics and the American Consumer, Government and Economics, World Seminar, and American Social Problems in the Social Studies Department at Reynolds,” Wall said. “In addition to teaching, I served as Department Chairman.”
Alongside teaching various subjects, Walls worked with a great group of male students advising Key Clubs.
“As Key Club Advisor, I would supervise and help Key Club members in school service projects, such as the canned food drive and the Key Club Follies,” Walls said. “I would also take Club members to state conventions where Reynolds would regularly earn top honors.”
While Walls comes to as many Key Club meetings as he can, his presence daily is deeply missed at RJR, and we are very excited to welcome him to the RJR Arts Hall of Fame.
“Accepting this honor makes me proud that the committee felt that I met the criteria to be inducted into the Arts Hall of Fame,” Walls said. “Being at Reynolds has always been an honor for me. My favorite memory of Reynolds would be being hired by the best principal, Mr. Robert Deaton. I taught with the best faculty, had the best students, and all at the best school in the whole wide world.”
Bonnie Angelo
To learn more, read Will Bumgarner’s story https://rjrpinewhispers.com/2025/02/21/bonnie-angelou-a-pioneer-in-the-press/.