10 minute read
Body, Mind and Soul
Bundles of joy. Bundles of joy. Bundles of joy. It’s what we deliver. It’s what we deliver. It’s what we deliver.
From the day you find out to the day you deliver, there’s nothing more important to Longview Regional Medical Center From the day you find out to the day you deliver, there’s nothing more important to Longview Regional Medical Center From the day you find out to the day you deliver, there’s nothing more important to Longview Regional Medical Center than your and your baby’s health and well-being. This is why we provide extra amenities such as private rooms, spacious than your and your baby’s health and well-being. This is why we provide extra amenities such as private rooms, spacious than your and your baby’s health and well-being. This is why we provide extra amenities such as private rooms, spacious birthing suites, childbirth classes and breastfeeding support. And if you and your newest addition need a little extra help, birthing suites, childbirth classes and breastfeeding support. And if you and your newest addition need a little extra help, birthing suites, childbirth classes and breastfeeding support. And if you and your newest addition need a little extra help, we offer perinatal services that include maternal-fetal medicine specialists and a Level III NICU. we offer perinatal services that include maternal-fetal medicine specialists and a Level III NICU. we offer perinatal services that include maternal-fetal medicine specialists and a Level III NICU.
For more information about our labor and delivery services, visit LongviewRegional.com/baby. For more information about our labor and delivery services, visit LongviewRegional.com/baby. For more information about our labor and delivery services, visit LongviewRegional.com/baby.
Table of Contents A New Day Begins at NorthPark
Hon. Gregg County Judge Bill Stoudt and CHRISTUS Good Shepherd Jennifer Ware Dr. Scott Fossey CEO Todd Hancock
Dr. Stephen Littlejohn Dr. Williams Hobbs Exec. Dir. Susan Ward
Features
2 Body, Mind and Soul 3 Body, Mind and Soul 7 Inspiration 8 Cover Story 16 Body, Mind and Soul 18 Hooray for Heroes 22 Education
Wise’s teaching career started with 12 years as a high school history teacher.
She then took steps to becoming a principal, earning her Master of Education Administration degree and her principal’s certification. Her love for classroom teaching did not blind her to the realization that as a principal, she was in a better position to positively impact the lives of whole student bodies, and not limiting her influence to the confines of individual classrooms. She took the job of assistant principal with DeSoto ISD, working in this capacity for 9 years.
Wise’ chance to become a fully-fledged principal came when Longview ISD Superintendent Dr. James Wilcox hired her as principal of struggling Jodie McClure Magnet School.
: Avoid disAster
By DR. MICHAEL GUIDO
"What do you mean?” asked his mother.
“Well, I got three days behind in my prayers and when I heard the thunder and saw the lightning, I prayed really hard and got caught up and now I’m not afraid.”
We all allow “gaps” to develop in our prayer life. When things are going the way we want them to go and there are no serious problems to deal with, it’s easy to “let up” on the time we spend with God in prayer.
This life style is not uncommon. In fact, the Psalmist came to the same conclusion when he wrote, “But as for me, it is good to be near God.”
We have all met people in life that keep everyone at a distance. Whether they don’t want to know us or they don’t want us to know them may never be clear. But we feel the separation and there is not much, if anything, we can do about it. So, we move on.
But with God, it is different. We can get as close to Him as we desire. In fact, we all know that drawing close to God is something that He wants us to do. His gracious invitation “come to me” is always available.
Life is like an “incline.” If we are not walking upward toward Him, we are slipping downward and away from Him. My mother once said to me, “Larry, if you are not as close to God as you once were, you are the one who has moved.” And she added, “If you draw close to Him, He will get closer to you.”
God not only waits for us to come to Him, but constantly calls: “Come to Me.”
Prayer: Lord, may we feel Your presence each moment of every day and stay closer to You than our best friend. Help me to make You my “best friend.” In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Scripture for Today: But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do. Psalm 73:28
Dr. Cynthia Wise:
Creating Equal Playing Field for Disadvantaged Students
By JOYCELYNE FADOJUTIMI WWW.IPLUSMAG.COM
Dr. Cynthia Wise uses Mother to Son poem by Langston Hughes to sum up her educational altruistic mission. “Well, son, I'll tell you: Life for me ain't been no crystal stair. It's had tacks in it, And splinters, And boards torn up, And places with no carpet on the floor, Bare. But all the time I'se been a-climbin' on, And reachin' landin's, And turnin' corners, And sometimes goin' in the dark Where there ain't been no light. So, boy, don't you turn back. Don't you set down on the steps 'Cause you find it kinder hard. Don't you fall now-For I'se still going', honey, I'se still climbin', And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.”
Family is central to Dr. Cynthia Wise. She has five children and "a host" of grandchildren. She showers them with adoration, and the pride she feels for their accomplishments is literally tangible. "They are hard-working individuals who: 1. Love God and have respect for mankind. 2. Love their parents and each other. 3. Have excellent work ethics," she says. "This had been instilled in my grandchildren as well.
Whether they choose college, career, or a military path, they, too, are encouraged to live by these principles."
She recalls the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when he advised his followers: "If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michaelangelo painted, or as Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of Heaven and Earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'"
In addition, her parents were marvelous examples on how to live a full, magnanimous life. Her mother, Gracie Foster wanted to be a teacher. She was nicknamed “Ladybug,” because among other things she was a “Leading Lady,” until the day she passed on to glory.
LADY BUG MEETS SOLDIER AND PENTECOSTAL MINISTER
Gracie Foster met Robert Earl Brown Sr. her future husband and Father of her 3 children while he was stationed at Fort Lee Army Base in Virginia. Besides being a soldier, he was a Pentecostal minister. Foster was enrolled at nearby Virginia State College, where she was studying to be a teacher. After their marriage, she stopped her education and accompanied her husband around the world as an Army wife, even though this international lifestyle was an unusual one for Americans and especially for African Americans in that era.
Cynthia’s mother and father found time to have three children- two boys and she was in the middle. However, they suffered terrible heartbreaks; both of Cynthia's brothers died young. One passed away aged forty-nine, and the other was just twenty-six. Their mother would tell her, "You cannot choose your family, but at the end of the day family's all we have as long as we are there for each other."
Her extended family was a large one. They were essentially brothers and sisters to her, an only child. On those occasions when they were together their love for each other bonded them. Even today, with Cynthia here in Texas, and her cousins in Virginia and New York City, they still organize family reunions.
Dr. Cynthia Wise
Dr. Cynthia Wise
-Dr. Cynthia Wise, Chief Executive Officer, East Texas Advanced Academies.
"I don't get to attend very often because my mother, father, brothers and grandparents are all in glory, and quite frankly it's hard for me to return, and I'll leave it at that," she says.
Nonetheless, life now revolves around Longview and what she calls her "Longview community family and Longview ISD family." To her, close friends are the same as blood relatives. "There are people in this community whom I count as being part of my extended family because they treat me as such," she says. "People such as Carrol Greenwaldt, Jared Lewis, Jerry Freeney, Sharon and Phil Atkins, Dorothy Brown, the Flowers, and Dr. and Mrs. Duncan, just to name a few."
Her close ties with the Longview Independent School District (LISD) and its personnel are another source of Cynthia's close relationships. When they need help, she is there for them, they know they can count on her. In essence, Longview is her family. "Longview is home for me," she says. "I am very, very blessed."
Despite her total devotion to her city and its people, for Cynthia’s her faith is number one. Her parents and grandparents taught her that devotion to the Holy Trinity is the only path to true fulfillment and salvation. This guidance and direction from her Lord were vital as she matured in a complex world.
Following her father’s death, her mother moved to New York City in search of greater vocational opportunities. Hence, Cynthia grew up alternating between living with her mother in New York, and her grandparents in Virginia. "The experience of navigating two worlds and being exposed to different cultures would serve me well later in life," she says. "Although I attended schools in New York, I graduated from high school in Petersburg, Virginia."
After high school she moved on to Saint Paul's College, a historically black Episcopalian school. It was here that she was baptized and confirmed as an Episcopalian.
She earned a Presidential Fellowship, allowing her to attend Ohio State University where she studied public administration, pulling down a Master of Public Administration degree in just two years. Her desire was to serve as a city manager. While still at Ohio State she met and married a Texan and had his children. "I'm a transplanted Texan, and loving it," she says.
Her family ties are so strong that she has incorporated them into her professional life. During the time she served as principal of Ned E. Williams, she started an annual grandparents' luncheon. She has the greatest respect and admiration for those who are raising their grandchildren. Because of typical age and health issues, it is a formidable task for anyone taking over child-rearing for their adult children. "Many times, they do not think they will be able to find the strength, but somehow God gives them the strength they need to push forward," she says.
Dr. Wise’s own resume is a testament to her own strength, determination, and dedication.
