Wintry weather  couldn’t stop more than 175 friends, family, fellow clergy and academic colleagues of The Rev. Ann Reeder Riggs from celebrating her 12-year ministry as SMS chaplain with a gala dinner in late January.
 
      “Rarely does a community have the privilege of honoring the entire career of one of its members,” said Head of School Margaret R. Broad. “Ann’s legacy is a legacy of spirit, the spirit within her faith and the spirit she brought to our community. Her legacy of compassionate care and guidance, delivered with a twinkle in her eye and in her voice, has made St. Margaret’s School the community it is today.”
       Mrs. Broad then presented The Rev. Riggs with two presents: a gold pin bearing the school seal, and a framed series of photographs by Brooke Shafer ’06 that depict some of the former chaplain’s favorite places.
     The gala also featured a reading by internationally noted poet and former SMS Fine Arts Chair Catherine Neuhardt-Minor; a heartfelt tribute from Avanel Hicks Payne, The Rev. Riggs’s high school roommate; and vocal selections performed by current Music Director Beverley Gordon, Em Hughes and Bekah Hughes ’90, accompanied by former SMS Music Director Kathy Hughes.
      Table flowers were a gift of the St. John’s Church Flower Guild. Former SMS Development Director Monecia Helton Taylor ’77 and her husband George, a Board of Governors member, provided flowers for the buffet table.
      The Rev. Riggs retired in the spring of 2004. She resides a block from campus and serves on the staff of St. John’s Episcopal Church as honorary associate.

1 Ann tells how she came to St. Margaret’s: “I called and said, ‘I’m qualified. I went to a boarding school run by Episcopal nuns and I just finished working at an adolescent prison.’”

2 Head of School Margaret R. Broad presents a gift from SMS students.

3 It was a treat to see Ann’s grandchildren, who are known to many from their summer visits to the river and their appearances in her sermons.

4 Ann greets one of her many well-wishers, who earlier recognized her with a standing ovation.

5 The musical entertainment included an amusing song about teenagers, a spiritual