Thirty-eight residents graduated Tuesday night from the Town of Davidson’s fourth annual Civics 101, an 8-week civic education class covering all aspects of town government. Their graduation at Tuesday night’s Town Board meeting brings to more than 140 the total number of residents who have completed the class in the past four years, Mayor John Woods said.

Who graduated? See below.

This year’s graduates included two married couples, the Peavlers and Kimbrils, DavidsonNews.net publisher Cristina Shaul and contributor Michele Miller Houck, Ben & Jerry’s manager Karen Toney, Davidson Cornelius Day Care director Courtenay O’Neil, and the first Davidson College student to take the course: Billy Hackenson.

The course includes sessions on town history, town government organization and budgeting, economic development, town planning, the town’s affordable housing program, and a tour of town.

What is Civics 101? “I liken it to describing what makes Davidson Davidson,” Mayor Woods told the packed Town Board chamber. “We have developed over generations an independent character.”

Past graduates include school principals, business leaders, newcomers and leaders of nonprofits. Many have gone on to community leadership positions, including appointed town committees and the Town Board. The program, which begins in January, is open to Davidson residents and residents of the “extra-territorial jurisdiction” – the area beyond the town borders – who are 18 and older.

2010 CIVICS 101 GRADUATES

Graduates on Tuesday got a handshake from the mayor, applause from the audience and a Davidson town coffee mug. They were:

Civics 101 daytime class

Harold Bell, Warren Collins, Tom Cornelius, Connie Fisher, Deborah Groux, Billy Hackenson, Mary Anne Hammond, Michele Miller Houck, Anne Jerrands, Peggy Kimbril, John Kimbril, Julie Lemond, Fran Lofton, Cristina Shaul, David Smith, Howard Steinfeld, Tim Tindall, Karen Toney, Phyllis Twitty.

Civics 101 evening class

David Batty, Pam Brunell, Dawn Drell, Nick Gibietis, William Haas, John Klein, Lynn Kopf, Cecily Lohmar, William Lynch, Karen Martin, Martin Metzker, Christopher Morris, Courtenay O’Neil, Dennis Peavler, Reba Peavler, Lisa Simpkins, Tom Tedrow, Derek Titus, Kate Tullis.