Ashbrook High School is dear to the heart of Hoppy Sell.
Not only is he a 1993 graduate, but his mother, the late Linda Sell, taught senior English at the school, located off South New Hope Road in Gastonia, for many years.
In the last few years, Sell has joined with other like-minded graduates of the high school to form the Ashbrook Foundation.
One of the foundation s goals is to raise money to support the school in a variety of areas, but Sell says an even more important task of the group is to build community among Ashbrook s graduates. The main purpose here is not to raise funds, he said in a telephone interview in the midst of a business trip to Ohio. It s to keep alumni connected. It s to foster alumni relationships. It s to provide a connection.