Bev Hance: Shaping Community

For more than 30 years, Bev Hance has strengthened Country Day through her leadership, passion, and steadfast philanthropic support. For those reasons and more, she was inducted in the Honorary Alumni Association on February 20, joining her husband, Jim, who was inducted in the early 2000s.

“One of the most important things about Country Day is our sense of community, and Bev has exuded that in all her years here, first as a parent and now as a grandparent,” says Nancy Ehringhaus, director of Admissions. “Bev has really helped shape who we are as a school.” The Hances have four daughters: Samantha Hance Bosco ’90, Lindsay Hance McCullough ’93, Meredith Hance McBride ’97, and Blair Hance Kenary ’01. Bev and Jim have nine grandchildren and one on the way, seven of whom attend Country Day.

Blair says of her mom: “As I think about the core values that my mom lives by, I think they are also an embodiment of the core values of Country Day–commitment to family, community, and education.”

Jim and Bev Hance, with Head of School Mark Reed, at the dedication of the Hance Lower School Learning Center.

Currently Bev serves on the Property and Grounds Committee at Country Day and recently served two terms as chair of the Board of Visitors and as a member of the Country Day Fund Grandparent Committee. While her children attended Country Day, she was involved in the Parents’ Association and provided staff support in the College Counseling and Admissions Offices in years past.

The Hance Fine Arts Center and the Hance Lower School Learning Center are both named in their honor. As members of The Oak Society, Country Day’s planned giving program, Bev and Jim have ensured access to an excellent education for future generations.

At the induction ceremony, Bev shared from the heart about her family’s 40-year odyssey with Country Day. “Country Day became a trusted environment of growth and learning for our family. A community that wraps its arms around us and eventually became an extension of our family. We are grateful and proud to be here.”

A very active community leader, Bev is serving her second term as a trustee both at Davidson College and the Mint Museum, where she formerly served as the chair. She was a member of the founding board of Women of Vision, a former two-term trustee member of the Symphony Orchestra, and has been active as an elder and a deacon at Myers Park Presbyterian Church. For their leadership and generosity, Bev and Jim were awarded the AFP Philanthropists of the Year Award in 2013. Bev received a BA in French from the University of Maine and a MA in Counseling from Washington University.