Board of Directors
E. Meshal Crooms
President & Chair of the Board
mcrooms@c-cfoundation.org
Mrs. Crooms is the mother of Courtney Crooms. Mrs. Crooms grew up in Selma Alabama, and excelled in track & field at the high school level. Mrs. Crooms is a member of the healthcare profession as a Registered Nurse. She holds a Nursing diploma from Louisiana Technical College in Leesville, Louisiana, as well as a degree in Registered Nursing from Central Texas College in Killeen Texas, where she graduated Cum Lade in her class. Mrs. Crooms is licensed to practice nursing in four states, and has received numerous citations of excellence in areas from family practice to critical care.
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Derick Crooms
Vice-President
dcrooms@c-cfoundation.org
 Mr. Crooms is the father of Courtney Crooms. Originally from Beaufort N.C. and reared in the small community of North River. His background is as a Soldier in the United States Army, where he has served for more than 18 years; traveling extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. While assigned to the Washington D.C. area, Mr. Crooms attended Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC), and is currently completing his BBA in business administration with The University of Management and Technology in Arlington Va. Mr. Crooms was recently selected for the 2007/2008 Cambridge "Who's Who" registry of business professionals and executives for his work with the Foundation. This international organization recognizes excellence in executives from virtually every profession and industry. Mr. Crooms is committed to ensuring the success of the Foundation.
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Daphne Pierce-Smith 
Treasurer
dpierce-smith@c-cfoundation.org
Mrs. Pierce-Smith's oldest daughter Pilar, and Courtney were teammates on the Atlanta Lady Celtics Championship Team during the 2006 basketball season. The younger of 2 children, Daphne was born and raised in Mississippi, where she excelled in academics and in basketball. During her middle and high school years, Daphne participated in basketball, track, and softball. She attended Itawamba Junior College and was a member of Lady Indians' Basketball program. Two years later, she attended and graduated from MS University for Women (MUW) receiving a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1987. After working in her field of Pediatric Nursing for a year, she pursued and obtained a Master of Science in Nursing (Family Nurse Practitioner) in 1989.
Mrs. Pierce-Smith serves as Co-Manager of the Atlanta Lady Celtics and has coached basketball for 9 years. Her team has won back-to-back state (GA) championships and is currently ranked 13th in the nation (2006 -AAU Division 1 National Championship, 12&U). She also sits on the Georgia Girls' Basketball AAU Executive Board.
Currently serving as Adjunct Faculty and a Clinical Manager in the metro Atlanta area, she has specialized in Pediatrics and medical research for the past 18 years and is certified as a Clinical Research Coordinator (CCRC). Daphne has published book chapters, manuscripts and abstracts for several national and international organizations and associations. She also writes articles for Georgia Nurses Association (GNA) publication, Georgia Nursing, as well as served on the Commission on Nursing Practice (CNP) for 6 years.
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Greg Shook  Secretary
gshook@c-cfoundation.org
Coach (Greg) Shook served as Courtney's middle school basketball coach during her seventh & eighth grade seasons where she help to lead the Lovejoy Lady Cougars to a two year 28-2 record. This included two undefeated regular season championships.
While playing under Shook, Courtney became a major impact for the Lady Cougars underneath the basket as well as from beyond the 3-point arc. During the 2006 Clayton County Public Schools basketball tournament, Courtney averaged 22.3 points per game and 11 rebounds. Courtney was also selected as a team captain during her eighth grade season.
Shook, came to Lovejoy after a five year stint at Clayton College & State University were he served as defensive press and post coach and recruiting coordinator. Shook was instrumental in recruiting the schools first Division II All-American in Cateria Shaw. He was also responsible for recruiting CCSU's Peach Belt Conference, freshman of the year, Apryl Brown.
Before his stint at CCSU, Shook served as assistant head coach at Morrow High School, to Georgia's legendary high school coach - A.C. McCullers. Shook was credited as being part of one of Georgia's top high school's girl's basketball programs. This includes four state championships, nine region championships and 16 state tournament appearances.
Shook has been awarded the Assistant Coach of the Year four times and was selected to serve as an assistant coach in the Georgia High School All-Star game in 1998.
He has been a part of coaching high school All-Americans such as Felicia Bryant (Hampton University), Mary Beth Lycett (University of Georgia) and many other Division I athletes.
Coach Shook served as a 'Training Site Coordinator' for basketball during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
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Mary Talley
Voting Board Member
mtalley@c-cfoundation.org
Mrs. Talley is the godmother of Courtney Crooms. Mrs. Talley grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia and ran long distance and relay events in Track and Field during high school. She is a graduate of Strayer College and holds Associates in Arts degrees in Business Administration and Marketing, and brings a wealth of knowledge and marketing expertise to help facilitate the Foundation's goals. Mrs. Talley also serves as a law enforcement officer in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and has been self employed for over 10 years.
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