All About Women October 2012

A AW M A G .C O M

october 2012 FREE

Ellen harrell

Easing the Burden of Caregiving

joan knox Sourdough bread keeps you Comin’ Back for More

jean joines miller Never Afraid to Try New Things

cindy lentz The Best of Both Worlds

Creating Beautiful Smiles in the High Country Hello, High Country! I have been a dentist at Blue Ridge Dentistry in Boone for the last two years. After graduating from Nova Southeastern University with two additional years of advanced training in Prosthodontics, I practiced dentistry in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida for three years before moving to the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. I chose dentistry as my profession because I have always been interested in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. A major part of being healthy involves maintaining your oral health. In fact, the surgeon general states that oral health and general health go hand in hand. Regular dental care can help prevent many oral diseases including dental caries or cavities, and periodontal, or gum disease.

If dental disease is left untreated, it can result in serious consequences including infection, bone loss, nerve death and tooth loss. Often dental disease progresses in a silent manner. Once symptoms begin, the disease process may already be too far gone resulting in the loss of the tooth or in many cases, loss of multiple teeth.

Today’s focus in dentistry is in preventative care. If a patient routinely comes in every six months to have their teeth cleaned by a hygienist and examined by a dentist, problems can be caught early. By early detection, the disease process has not yet overwhelmed the tooth and can be restored easily. This minimizes loss of tooth structure Danielle D. Gordon, DMD and of utmost importance to many patients, cost. It is far better to catch a cavity in its earlier stages so that a simple dental procedure such as a filling is all that needs to be done to restore the tooth. When decay sits for a longer period of time, it starts to penetrate the deeper layers of the tooth until it eventually reaches the nerve, leading to the need for more costly dental procedures such as root canals or crowns, and can ultimately lead to the loss of the tooth completely.

With current advancements in dentistry, we are equipped with many more cosmetic options for tooth restoration. We have moved away from the older silver amalgam fillings and into the world of adhesive dentistry with placement of the newer white composite filling materials. Also, with the introduction of an amazing material called zirconia, we are now placing all ceramic crowns with exceptional strength and esthetics that eliminates the metal underneath. In addition, the advancements made in implant dentistry are extraordinary. In specific cases, we are now able to remove a single hopeless tooth and place an implant the very same day.

It is never too late to achieve a great, healthy smile, even after years of neglect. At Blue Ridge Dentistry, it is our goal to provide comprehensive dental treatment, ranging from the simplest procedures such as cleanings and fillings to full mouth reconstruction. We are able to provide patients that need more comprehensive treatment with several different treatment plan options in order to address their dental needs at different budgets. As dentists, it is our primary goal to restore your smile to optimal health and function in order to improve your overall quality of life. Let us help you achieve the smile you have always wanted!

Blue Ridge Dentistry 870 State Farm Road, Boone • (828) 264-3333 • www.brgd.com

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.

Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.”

- John Muir

A view from Linville Ridge.

Photo by Sherrie Norris

publisher Gene Fowler

executive editor Tom Mayer

editor Sherrie Norris sherrie@aawmag.com 828.264.3612, ext. 251

writers Genevieve Austin Danielle Bussone Heather Brandon Bonnie Church Yozette Collins Jennifer Gardiner Faith Haywood Heather W. Jordan Sue Spirit Reta J. Winebarger

production & deisgn Jennifer Canosa Meleah Petty Kelsey Steller

advertising Radd Nesbit 828.264.6397, ext. 271

cover photo Photo by Sherrie Norris

by Sherrie Norris

Any reproduction of news articles, photographs or advertising artwork is strictly prohibited without permission from management. ŠCopyright 2012 A Mountain Times Publication

contents news bits 6 medical directory 7 breast cancer awareness 10 andrea mcdonough 14 serendipity 22 cynthia dixon and carla young 28 you go girl 30 lauren maltba 32 katy taylor 34 travel journal 36 mom’s world 38 young at heart 40 by the book 42 pets 44 recipes 46 women’s extravaganza 48

ellen harrell

18

12

16

24

26

joan knox

jean joines miller

farther along

cindy lentz

OCTOBER 2012 | AAWMAG.COM

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editor’s note

October A Month to Pay Attention October is not only National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but it is also Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Awareness Month, National Bullying Prevention Month — and that of several other subjects that affect us as women and mothers.

Among those, with the top dreaded phone calls a woman might receive in her life, is the one from her doctor’s office a few days after her mammogram, informing her that she needs a follow-up ultrasound.

Fortunately, for many of us, as I have just experienced, the second call with the follow-up report allows us to breathe, literally — and with a sincere prayer of gratitude. But, that’s not always the case.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, except now, for lung cancer, which has bootedout skin cancer as No. 1.

The American Cancer Society's most recent estimates for breast cancer in the United States indicate that about 226,870 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women this year. Sadly, about 39,510 women in America will die from breast cancer this year —1,350 in North Carolina.

We all know, or should be “aware” of the preventative measures that we need to take to avoid becoming the next beast cancer statistic.

While most of us cannot avoid our family history — which might include cancer — there are numerous steps we can take to stay ahead of the disease: improve our diet and exercise habits, quit smoking and/or drinking, remember to perform monthly breast exams, schedule our annual mammograms and keep the appointment.

Someday, hopefully, there will be a cure.

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OCTOBER 2012 | AAWMAG.COM

newsbits&clips

Painting a Clearer Picture for Women

Thanks to an enhanced digital mammography suite and the very latest in state-of-the-art equipment since 2010, Ashe Memorial Hospital continues to offer Ashe County residents world-class breast imaging. Since Jan., the addition of a cutting-edge digital mammography unit has further enhanced its services The Selenia Digital Mammography System is a technologically advanced breast cancer detection device designed to improve breast cancer screenings for women.

The Selenia is one of the most advanced products made by Hologic, an industry leader in breast-imaging solutions and offers faster screening times, superior image quality, less radiation exposure and more accurate diagnoses “Radiation exposure and false-positive test results have become growing concerns among women in the last few years,” says

Dr. David Factor, radiologist at Ashe Memorial Hospital. “This new technology addresses both of these concerns by offering better detection accuracy with reduced radiation dosages.”

The new digital mammography unit is also equipped with computer-aided detection technology that has been shown to improve diagnostic accuracy by acting as a second pair of eyes for radiologists, identifying suspicious areas on an image that the human eye might otherwise miss.

“Women in Ashe County no longer have to travel to WinstonSalem or Charlotte to experience the very latest in breast imaging,” says Joe Thore, Chief Operating Officer at Ashe Memorial Hospital. “Our new digital mammography unit and dedicated mammography suite make Ashe Memorial Hospital the premier source for women’s imaging needs.”

For more information, call (336) 846-0820.

OCTOBER 2012 | AAWMAG.COM

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newsbits&clips Key Findings on the Economic Status of Women in NC Women in North Carolina have made significant social and economic advances in recent decades, but the need for further progress remains. A forthcoming report from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, The Status of Women in North Carolina, shows that many of the state’s women are vulnerable to challenges such as unemployment, a persistent wage gap, poverty, and the high cost of child care. In addition, women in North Carolina experience stubborn disparities in opportunities and outcomes — disparities that exist among women of different race and ethnic groups, as well as among women from various geographic areas within the state. Addressing these challenges and disparities is essential to promoting the wellbeing and vibrancy NC’s many communities.

When women thrive, whole communities and regions thrive as well.

Example 1: The poverty rates for women, overall in North Carolina, vary across different geographic areas within the state. Women aged 18 and older in the Raleigh metropolitan statistical area have a poverty rate of 13 percent, which is lower than the poverty rates for comparable women in Charlotte (14 percent), Asheville (15 percent each), Greensboro (16 percent), and Fayetteville (17 percent).

In parts of rural North Carolina, the poverty rates among women are significantly higher. In the counties of Ashe, Avery, Mitchell and Yancey combined, approximately one in five (21 percent) of women aged 18 and older live at or below the federal poverty.

In North Carolina, poverty status varies considerably by race and ethnicity. Among women in the state, Hispanic women are the most likely to be poor or near poor (64 percent), followed by American Indian (54 percent) and black (52 percent) women.

Asian American and white women are the least likely to be poor or near poor (35 percent and 30 percent, respectively).

Example 2: In North Carolina, as in the United States as a whole, the gender wage gap is even larger when only men and women at the same educational level are compared. Women who have at least a college degree and work full-time, year-round earn more than $20,000 less per year than comparable men (a gender wage gap of 29 percent); for women with some college education or an associate’s degree, the loss of earnings for women is about $10,000 per year (a gender wage gap of 24 percent). Women with a high school diploma or the equivalent earn $8,700 less per year than men with the same level of education (a gender wage gap of 25 percent), and women who have less than a high school diploma earn $6,000 less per year than comparable men (a gender wage gap of 24 percent).

To read more, visit www.iwpr.org

October Medical Listings

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OCTOBER 2012 | AAWMAG.COM

newsbits&clips Masquerade $5 Jewelry and Accessories Sale Sponsored by Appalachian Regional Healthcare System, hosted by Cannon Memorial Hospital 7 a.m. – 5 p.m., Mon., Oct. 1, and Tues., Oct 2.

In the Oak Room at Sloop Medical Office Plaza Cash, credit cards, payroll deduction accepted

At Libby's

e v a h e W your Look! www.libbyslook.com Mon-Fri 9:30-6:00 Saturday 9:30-5:30 Closed on Sunday

205 B Shamrock Square Jefferson, NC (336) 846-9551

Breast Cancer Awareness Month Appalachian District Health Dept. Encourages Women to Protect Their Health with Regular Breast Screenings 10

OCTOBER 2012 | AAWMAG.COM

This year, more than 1,350 women will die of breast cancer in North Carolina and another 8,507 will be diagnosed, according to the North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics.

Spreading the message that early detection and prompt treatment of breast cancer saves lives is a message that everyone needs to hear.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, dedicated to increasing awareness about the importance of early detection of breast cancer, celebrating the lives of the many women who survived, and remembering those lost.

Watauga County Health Department will be putting the spotlight on breast cancer throughout the month, including adding an extra breast-screening clinic for qualifying women.

Breast cancer remains the most frequently occurring cancer in women and is the second leading cause of cancer deaths of women in NC, but early diagnosis can make a difference. Ninety-six percent of women who find and treat breast cancer early will be cancer-free after five years.

Appalachian District Health Department encourages all women to take charge of their health by going for regular breast

screenings.

Breast screenings check a woman’s breasts for cancer before noticeable signs or symptoms are present. There are three main tests used to screen for breast cancer: Breast self-exam is when you check your own breasts for lumps, swelling, changes in size or shape of the breast, and any other changes in the breast or underarm.

Clinical breast exam is a breast exam by a doctor or nurse, who uses his or her hands to carefully feel for lumps or other changes in the entire breast area.

Mammogram is an X-ray of the breast.

Mammograms are the best method to detect breast cancer early when it is easier to treat and before it is big enough to feel or cause other symptoms.

We urge every woman to talk with her healthcare provider about which screening is right for you.

Appalachian District Health Dept offers free breast screenings, education and referral services to eligible women through the NC Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program (BCCCP).

In Watauga, Ashe and Avery Counties, we are fortunate to also be in partnership

Voted Watauga County’s 2011 Best of the Best Women’s Boutique

Faith Haywood, Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program Coordinator at the Watauga County Health Department, provides helpful information during Women’s Extravaganza at Boone Mall on Fri., Sept. 7. Photo by Sherrie Norris

with Komen for the Cure to provide preventive mammograms or follow-up for abnormal mammograms for women who may need additional assistance.

To learn more about the NC BCCCP, visit www.bcccp.ncdhhs.gov or call (919) 7075300.

Information provided by Faith Haywood, RN, BSN, Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program Coordinator at the Watauga County Health Department.

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Sourdough Bread Keeps You Comin’ Back For More Few people are able to pass the booth of Joan Knox at the local farmer’s markets without stopping for a taste of her homemade sourdough specialties.

Whether it’s her cheesy garlic, jalapeno or cinnamon raisin loaves, or her triple chocolate brownies or various flavors of velvety cheesecake that you can’t leave behind, you’re bound to be a happy customer of the area’s famous “bread lady.”

Many have come to know and love Joan through the years as a dedicated and long-time vendor at several of the area’s seasonal outdoor venues. Along with her husband, Henry, her official taste-tester, Joan has accrued a following of fans and friends who can’t go a week without her doughy delights.

“Homemade bread is one of those foods that makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside,” says Joan. Whether at the Watauga County Farmer’s Market in Boone on Saturdays, (and Wednesdays, May-Sept.) or at the Blowing Rock market on Thursdays, Joan’s baked goods never disappoint.

“Our breads make the inside of your mouth smile, it’s just so good,” she says.”

Using only King Arthur flour and no preservatives, Joan makes her bread “one

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batch at a time,” she says, in a six-quart Kitchen-aid mixer, “in the same kind of oven you use in your own kitchen.”

Joan’s baking kitchen, in the basement of her home, is state inspected and maintained by North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services guidelines.

Preferring to produce quality rather than quantity, Joan says she has “no desire” to compete with the larger bakeries.

“There aren’t many truly homemade products being offered these days,” she says. “With our food sources being questioned more and more, I look at more local and small businesses to fill my pantry.”

Branded as a “taste of the Blue Ridge,” Joan says she actually calls her bread “Appalachia-style” sourdough.

“It is soft and tangy with a slightly sweet taste and has a longer shelf life than some other breads,” she says. “The acetic acid produced by the souring process helps the bread last longer. You won’t have to throw any of our bread away.”

Joan also accepts online orders to fill in the gap during off-season months.

Joan has been baking since childhood.

“The first time I baked for someone outside my immediate family was for my Papa’s family reunion,” she says. “I baked

a two-layer cake with icing. When I tried to put it together, the layers started to split; needless to say, it did not look good.”

She didn’t want to take the cake to the gathering, but her mother insisted. “I didn’t get close to that cake after it was put out on the table,” she says, “I was scared someone would associate me with it. When dessert time came around, I heard Papa ask someone who had made that cake. I cringed until I heard him say, ‘That’s the best cake I have ever eat.’ I know Papa had a lot to do with my love for baking. I am still quite particular about my products, today.”

Don’t miss your opportunity to meet “the bread lady” while there’s still time at this year’s markets.

For more information, e-mail sourdoughlady@bellsouth.net, or visit www. sourdoughlady.com.

Right: Joan Knox is a familiar site at the local farmer’s markets where she is known for her homemade sourdough specialties. Photo by Sherrie Norris

sherrie norris Editor, All About Women

The Andrea McDonaough State Farm team – Phillip Thompson, Aprile Beach, Andrea Mcdonough (seated), Nancy Glenn and Amy Beane. Photo by Sherrie Norris

Insuring A Family Tradition Andrea McDonough is keeping a family tradition alive while helping to meet the insurance needs of the High Country.

Andrea says she actually started working with State Farm “at the ripe old age of 2,” when her father, Wiley Martin, asked her if she wanted to be his secretary and she “excitedly said yes.”

“He said, ‘Stick out your tongue,’ and he stuck a stamp on it,” she says.

Andrea was practically raised in the office and learned the business from both of her parents. She says the most important thing she learned was to treat her clients like family.

“It’s my responsibility to take care to their families when they can’t, and I take that responsibility seriously,” she says.

Andrea graduated with the class of 1980 from Watauga High.

“I got my degree in insurance (and

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economic security) at the University of South Carolina and went straight to work for a new agent in 1986.”

She had transferred from Appalachian State University to USC upon her marriage to Randy McDonough, whose first teaching job was in South Carolina. The couple had met in the WHS marching band.

“The first time I ever saw him, I knew he was the man to marry,” she says. “Basically, I chased him for about four years before I let him catch me.”

Randy is now a physical education teacher at Hardin Park Elementary School and a cross country/track coach at Watauga High.

“In 1988, I moved back to Boone to run my dad’s office so that he could semiretire.”

Her father officially retired at the end of 1994, after 30 years of service, and she

started her own agency Jan. 1, 1995.

“We have maintained the family atmosphere over the years,” she says, which has allowed her to employ her sister, several nieces and nephews.

Faith and family come first in Andrea’s world, followed by her community service work.

She volunteers with cross-country and track teams and is a certified USA Track and Field official for college and high school meets — including Appalachian State University and WHS. “It’s something that Randy and I do together during his off-season,” she says.

“On the college level, we have officiated throws and horizontal jumps for the Southern Conference Championships, Big South Conference Championships, Niswonger Invitational, ETSU individual meets, ASU individual meets and NAIA National Meets.”

She and her family are members of Holy Cross Episcopal Church, where she has been involved in church leadership as senior warden, in Christian education and in the bell and vocal choirs.

With a deep love for music and theatre, Andrea plays several instruments and is currently in a gospel quartet called “The Holy Smokes,” with John Goodrich, Floyd Townsend and Dan Shepherd. “We sing all types of gospel music and perform mainly for churches,” she says. “We’ve been singing together for about a year, now, and are working on a new CD.” The group recently hosted a benefit concert to raise money for Holy Cross church and will be performing at the Valley Country Fair this month.

Andrea is a former member of the Blue Ridge Community Theatre and served as a board member with a primary focus on children’s theatre.

Having performed as an actress, she has also directed numerous summer theatres for children. She also enjoys writing skits and short stories.

She writes all comedy skits, which are performed by various church members at Holy Cross.

“The first skit I wrote was based on the Andy Griffith Show for our priest who was leaving,” probably easier that the “lighthearted” one she was asked to write about the weighty subject of stewardship. She has also begun incorporating skits into the Holy Smokes performances. ”I never had the opportunity to be involved in theatre in school, because it was not offered,” she says. “So, I spent all my time in music lessons — voice, piano and flute.”

Her niece, Amy, is “a wonderful actress,” Andrea says, upon whose suggestion they both auditioned for Blue Ridge’s production of the musical, “Working;” Andrea won the role of Grace the Millworker, under the direction of Trimella Chaney.

“With that production, I immediately fell in love with the theatre,” she says.

Recognizing the “excellent program at the high school,” Andrea says, she also realized the lack of opportunity for younger kids still existed, as was the case in her childhood.

Sharing an idea with Amy, the two produced a summer theatre experience for families. Their first production, ‘Twinderella, in 2009 was a great success.

Describing the show as a “twisted fairy tale about Cinderella and her twin brother, Bob,” Andrea says they involved elementary and high school students — and their parents — in the production.

“Our focus was to teach children and young adults all aspects of theatre,” she says. “We had parents and kids building sets, making props, working backstage, and of course, singing, dancing and acting.”

The following summers, they produced “Willy Wonka Jr.” and “A Peter Rabbit Tale.”

“This year, BRCT decided to go in a different direction for the summer production, so we did not produce a show,” she says. “Of course funding is always an issue and it’s just not there right now.” She has a vision for theatre to be included in afterschool activities for kids, and for establishing a children’s theatre with more than one production a year.

Andrea is a host parent and dedicated volunteer with American Field Service and with her family’s support, has hosted exchange students from Egypt, Chile, Thailand, Japan, and Saudi Arabia.

She is also a member of National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors and the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce.

She has recently agreed to serve on the Salvation Army Advisory Council and anticipates lending her service to an organization that has goals of helping the community that “fit well” with her own, she says.

Andrea’s office currently has three fulltime and two part-time employees — Nancy Glenn, Aprile Beach, Phillip Thompson, Amy Beane and John Bell, who she considers her “team.”

“There’s no way I could run the agency without each of them,” she says.

Andrea and Randy have two children Brett, 26, a potter in Greensboro, and Thomas, 21, senior at North Carolina State University.

· New patients welcome · Office hours by appointment · We file insurance as a courtesy to our patients. · Flexible payment options Robert H. Bridgeman, D.D.S., P.A. Craig Bridgeman, D.M.D. 2348 NC Highway 105 Suite 1, Heritage Court

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A horticulturist at heart, even before completing her degree, Jean Joines Miller, 89, loves the outdoors and enjoys picking cherries on her family farm. Photo courtesy of Emily Miller

Never Afraid to Try New Things

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It’s been a lifetime of learning for Ashe County native Jean Joines Miller, who, nearing her 89th birthday, says that her appetite for learning new things has never been quenched since graduating high school in 1941.

Jean is a horticulturist, a skilled basket weaver, a painter, a woodworker and a successful businesswoman. She lives in the home where her late husband, Edgar Miller, grew up and where the couple raised their children. Jean’s business, Miller’s Campground, located on 200 acres near the Blue Ridge Parkway, opened nearly 40 years ago, at the suggestion of a park ranger, with 10 sites. It is still going strong with 67 sites and is a seasonal favorite of many who return, year after year.

Jean has always worked hard to achieve her goals. Despite not graduating from high school, Edgar shared his wife’s passion for learning.

After a stint in the service during World War II, Edgar made use of the G.I. bill and studied agriculture and farmed most of his life. He was also a welder and worked at the old Ore Knob Mine.

Since the start of their marriage, Jean supplemented their income by working — either full- or part-time, while raising their six children.

Living in Baltimore while Edgar was in the military, Jean worked as a Bell taxi driver. She was stationed at the bus depot and stayed busy driving new

arrivals to their destinations.

“I wasn’t afraid to drive in heavy traffic, despite the fact that I didn’t hardly know my way around the city, being new to it myself,” she says. While working in the receiving department at a store, Jean realized that her salary was double that of a female coworker. When she inquired about the discrepancy, she discovered that the payroll department had her name misspelled as “Gene.” Thus, thinking that she was a man, the company was paying her more than her female counterparts.

Upon learning that Jean was a woman, the company cut her pay in half.

After Edgar’s stint in the service, the couple returned to Ashe County, where Jean worked summers at a coffee shop while raising their children and helping Edgar on the farm.

“While I was in school, my mother told me that whatever you learn is yours. No one can ever take it away from you,” she says. “And I have tried to go by that.”

Jean and Edgar’s respect for learning prompted them to donate six acres of their land for a now defunct school and play-

ground. They knew the value of a good education and made sure their sons attended a private boarding school.

With a long-time interest in art, Jean took her first art class through Wilkes Community College in 1972. Examples of her artwork, primarily landscapes in oil, are hung throughout her home and in the camp rentals. It was painting, Jean says, that helped her work through her grief over the death of her daughter-in-law.

While having sold a couple of her paintings, Jean says that she puts so much of herself into them that she doesn’t really like to sell them.

Jean also learned to basket weave while taking classes. Many of her baskets, made of reeds and oak-splits, are displayed at the camp’s store.

In 1984, Jean completed her degree in horticulture. Evidence of her green thumb is seen throughout the campground and around her home through several varieties of apple trees and surrounding pines. Stunning greenery and flora, including yellow lilies, Red Star of Bethlehem and green hostas are scattered

throughout her property, now managed by her son-in-law.

Macular degeneration has robbed Jean of her best vision, but it hasn’t kept her from staying busy.

Currently involved in woodworking, Jean has expertly crafted three corner cupboards from cherry wood, as well as a wine rack, a kitchen island and an inlaid wood dining table.

Jean enjoys listening to audio books and traveling. She is no longer able to drive a car, but she is often seen on her golf cart, riding through her property and greeting her camp guests with a wave and a smile.

“I can look all around me, at my home and my children and all that I have done, and I realize that I am truly blessed,” she says.

reta J. winebarger Wife, mother, avid reader and a CNA at Ashe Memorial Hospital. Her passion is writing stories about her Appalachian heritage.

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Easing the Burden of

Caregiving Ellen Harrell was born and raised in the eastern North Carolina town of Goldsboro, “Just far enough away from the coast to make it a laborious occasion to go to the beach,” she says. “From an early age, I loved coming to the mountains, but I never seriously thought I’d have the opportunity to make my home here.”

Ellen’s family lived next door to her maternal grandfather throughout her entire childhood.

“He was from the Avery County community of Montezuma, originally, and according to my mother — from the time I was 2-years-old, I would ask to accompany him on weekend trips to Montezuma to visit his mother, who passed away many years ago, his brother, Joe Ledford, who just passed away last year, and numerous other cousins,” she says.

When she was “old enough to be in school,” Ellen says, she spent “usually a week or two every summer” in Montezuma. “And, I truly felt more alive in these mountains than anywhere else.”

Photo by Sherrie Norris

‘I’ll always treasure the lessons I learned there, at a relatively young age, about life and both its fragility — and the amazing resilience that so many seemingly frail and terminally ill people have. I learned that life and human nature are rarely all that they seem to be.’

After graduating in 1988, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, she says she was “fortunate enough” to be able to move to Avery County, where she quickly found work at Avery County Department of Social Services.

“Shortly thereafter, I accepted a position as the social worker at Sloop Memorial Hospital in Crossnore,” she says. “I absolutely loved working at Sloop. That was in the old days when it truly felt like a family atmosphere among the staff and the patients.”

Through this work, Ellen met people who “changed my life and molded my beliefs and outlook permanently,” she says.

“I’ll always treasure the lessons I learned there, at a relatively young age, about life and both its fragility — and the amazing resilience that so many seemingly frail and terminally ill people have,” she says. “I learned that life and human nature are rarely all that they seem to be.”

Ellen worked with people who became “close friends, to this day,” she says, naming the Rev. Bud Howell, as one of those special people who greatly impacted her life.

“After a few years in that position, I became the director of the hospital’s inhome health care department and began working on my Master of Public Health

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degree from East Tennessee State University, which I completed in 1996,” she says.

“My son, Jacob, was born in 1994, and my daughter Elizabeth in 1998. It was after she was born and I was home on maternity from the hospital when I realized that I really wanted to spend time at home with her and resigned my position at Sloop,” she says.

Ellen was a “stay-at-home mom” for almost two years. “When it was time to go back to work, I decided to try it on my own,” she says. “I opened my first home care agency in 1999, and then Appalachian Home Care, LLC , my current company, in 2003.”

She began the company, she says, with the desire to serve her community and provide an invaluable healthcare service to people in the comfort of their own homes in perhaps the most trying time of their lives.

“My goal is to do whatever we can to ease the burden of care giving and deliver not only the highest quality health care possible but, also peace of mind.”

Most likely, because, as a child who spent a lot of time with all of her grandparents, she has always loved being around older people, where she always felt “safest,” she says. “I always knew that I wanted to work in some form of health care and with older adults.”

“My staff and I believe that a person’s home can be the very best place for her (or him) to receive the care they need, comfortably,” Ellen says. “Our goal is to enable our clients to stay in their home for as long as possible and as comfortably as possible and with the highest quality health care possible.”

Compassion and mutual respect between her staff and their clients are key to success for all involved, she says.

“We not only give a helping hand, but we also foster friendships along the way.

We work everyday knowing that we are not just providing a service, but we are helping people live their best lives on their terms,” Ellen says.

Calling her business “privileged” to cooperate with other health care providers in the community,” Ellen says, those relationships help to ensure that needs will be met “as seamlessly as possible.”

She works hard to make sure that happens, and spends much time through community service in her roles as a founding member of the Adult Services Coalition of Watauga County, vice-president of High Country Caregiver Foundation’s board of directors and as a member of the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors. She is also a member of the Avery County Chamber of Commerce, the Professional Women’s Networking

Group and the Association of Home and Hospice Care.

Ellen has also been an integral part of Project Lifesaver, the Elder Adult Abuse Prevention Awareness Team and Gifts from the Heart, an Avery County-based program for the elderly and shut-ins, as well as Project Graduation in Watauga County.

“Ellen is a true friend to all who have the privilege of knowing her, either personally or professionally,” says Brenda Reece, Family Caregiver Support Specialist and Executive Director of the High Country Caregiver Foundation, with Area Agency on Aging. “Ellen has been a huge asset to the High Country Caregiver Foundation, as well as multiple other local organizations. I am excited about HCCF’s future with Ellen being our newly elected vice-president. She is one of the most caring, loyal and non-judgmental people that I know. I feel privileged to call her my friend.”

Ellen loves to travel and has just fulfilled a life-long dream of a two-week European cruise, with stops in London, Spain, France and Portugal.

Otherwise, she says, “I’m a pretty basic person. I am an avid reader and I love movies and all genres of music. I really enjoy the cultural opportunities that we have here in the High Country — and I love attending plays and the programs provided through Appalachian Summer,” she says.

Among her favorite activities is her participation with the local women’s networking group, through which she has learned “so much from so many wonderful women.”

But, her most cherished times in life are those spent with her children. “If I could do one thing today – for the rest of the day – it would be spending time with my kids. Those opportunities that we have to be together are priceless to me.”

Ellen says she is “eternally grateful” for her faith — and for the people in her life who have stood by her during the years — “in good times and bad,” she says.

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21

Front (l-r): Debbie Isaacs and Carlene Greene (owners); Back (l-r): Cierra Murphy, Debbie Warren, Anna Isaacs and Crystal Turbyfill

The Shop that Prayer Built

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OCTOBER 2012 | AAWMAG.COM

When Carlene Greene and Debbie Isaacs, owners of Serendipity hair studio, start praying together — watch out; things will happen.

In fact, Serendipity, one of the area’s newest beauty salons, is evidence of that.

Carlene and Debbie first encountered each other as students at Artistic Academy hair school in North Wilkesboro.

“We met in beauty school because I prayed for the Lord to send me someone decent to ride with,” Carlene says.

As they commuted together, they not only became good friends, they also became prayer partners, even praying for their future husbands and families.

Fast-forward 20 years: Debbie and Carlene had been working in different salons in the area, but they eventually found themselves working in the same shop.

While they loved working together where they were, Carlene had begun thinking of opening her own shop.

Naturally, she and Debbie began praying about it, and the pieces began falling into place, even the smallest details.

“We wanted some pretty chandeliers for the shop,” Debbie says, “but we’re not rich people; we couldn’t afford them. We prayed over the ones we wanted, at Lowe’s Home Improvement. They marked them down, but we still couldn’t afford them.

Then, they put them in the middle aisle.

It’s just like everything was serendipitous — like everything was meant to be.”

The two women opened Serendipity, located behind Boone’s main post, office, on July 8, 2010. It’s a comfortable, welcoming space with each booth surrounded with walls.

“The reason we put up these walls was so that each stylist could have a little bit of privacy with their customers, who feel like they can talk to us,” Debbie says.

Carlene says, “They talk to a hairstylist the same way they talk to a bartender.”

The opportunity to serve as “sounding boards” while building relationships with their clients is food for their souls, say Debbie and Carlene. But, the women organize another mission that exemplifies their concern for people, at large.

“We collect things all year and take food and clothing up to the coal mine areas,” Debbie says. “It’s just in our hearts to help people. A lot of our customers bring things in for us to take there, too. We took two tractor-trailer loads last year.”

Meanwhile, the six stylists at Serendipity, armed with frequent training to remain current in the craft, cut and color hair using quality brands and styling products.

Additionally, the salon recently became the High Country’s only source for Bare Minerals makeup.

“We have our makeup room where you can have a free consultation in private, and you’re not out in front of everybody,” says Debbie.

Ultimately, Serendipity aims to be a place where customers can relax and feel at home.

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It’s kind of our mission “We want to be real. We want to be personal with people and care about people.

It’s kind of our mission,” Debbie says.

And — it’s exactly the kind of place they prayed for. When Carlene and Debbie pray, clearly, God listens.

Serendipity is located at 220 Postal Street in Boone. Call (828) 264-2212 for more information.

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23

‘Farther Along:

“A memoir with a mission” is one way to describe this new book that is filled with heart-wrenching stories of 13 grieving mothers.

Three women with High Country connections have been meeting twice a year for a decade with 10 other women — mainly from the Piedmont/Triad areas — to write through their grief of losing their children.

Those writing retreats have resulted in a recently published book, “Farther Along: The Writing Journey of Thirteen Bereaved Mothers,” that has been aptly described as “one that will rip your heart apart, yet it leaves a sense of hope and promise of healing,” by spiritual and bereavement coordinator, Tim Tudor.

Kelly Sechrist, formerly of Boone, is one of those women who shares her painful story in the book.

On the morning of Dec 1, 2001, instead of participating in the Boone Christmas parade, as planned, she began planning the funeral of their infant child who did not awaken on that cold Saturday morning.

Instead of celebrating her 11th birthday in October, Abigail Faith Sechrist is a memory, a lost hope — and an angel, says Kelly.

“She was born on Oct. 23, 2001. When

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OCTOBER 2012 | AAWMAG.COM

The Writing Journey of Thirteen Bereaved Mothers’ Has High Country Connections

we woke up on Dec.1, she wasn’t breathing.” The official cause of death was SIDS, Kelly says — “A non-answer for a grieving family.”

Barbara Clemens Goldsmith, a former Boone resident and nurse at Watauga Hospital in the 1980s, lost her 8-year-old son, William, to neuroblastoma, a pediatric cancer, on Sept. 19, 1997. ‘”William spent many summer times at Rutherwood Baptist VBS, Tweetsie Railroad, and fishing for trout with his uncle, Jim Clemens. William was well known around Boone and when he died, a church van full of people from Boone, who loved him, came to his funeral,” she says.

Barbara’s parents, the late George and Glenola Clemens, owned Clemens Welding, a family legacy that is still owned and operated by Barbara’s brother, Jim Clemens.

Kathy Shoaf is a wife and mother of three children from Winston Salem, whose mother, Judi Bryant, lives in Boone.

Mar. 29, 2002, Good Friday, became the worse day of her life. Two of her sons, Wesley (16) and Ryan (15) were in an automobile accident with their friends. Wesley,

the driver, was the only survivor.

A decade ago, Kelly, Barbara and Kathy were among 13 grieving mothers who met Barbara Goldsmith, in an while attending early photo, soon after joining the women’s writing a one-day workgroup. shop in Winston Salem. “Writing Toward Healing,” a single event, evolved into a powerful, ongoing writing group.

But, it’s about more than writing, the women say. Without the deaths, they probably wouldn’t have known each other, but through the meetings, they have found comfort and healing.

Carol Henderson, the book’s author, said that reflective writing is a powerful tool for human redemption, healing, and renewal. The book, she says, blends her experience as leader with the women’s poignant stories.

To honor their 10th anniversary as a group, the women spent a week in Septem-

ber at a 12th-century chateau in France.

Prior to their departure, Kelly said she was “so excited. — It’s almost like a graduation, but more of a continuation of our journey.”

They don’t write just about grief anymore, but also other topics that define who they are as women.

Kelly and her husband, David Sechrist, married for 17 years, have three living children — Cameron, 12, Cohen, 9, and Katie Gray, 7, who are happy, active, welladjusted and great students, but they long for the sixth member of their family. They hang the empty stocking at Christmas and keep a vacant chair at the table.

Two years ago, the Kelly family moved to Wilmington to expand their business.

Abby’s maternal grandparents, Steve and Phyllis Goss, still reside in the High Country.

Kelly says she never imagined that someday they would be promoting a book of their journey and their writings.

“In 2001, Carol (Henderson), published a memoir of the untimely death of her son, Kelly says. “Shortly afterward, she held a writing workshop for other mothers who were suffering from the immeasurable grief of losing a child.”

At the time, Kelly, the youngest of the group, was 28, pregnant with her third child and still reeling from the death of her daughter.

“As I looked around the table at complete strangers, I knew their anguish,” she says. “I could never have conceived how that day would change my life.”

Those women, collectively, lost 14 children, ranging in age from a few weeks of age to mid-30s.

“An amazing book,” is how Kelly describes the result of those gatherings, evolved, she said through writing, healing, and “earning” their laughter.

“We have learned to live our lives, in spite of our grief. Grief is universal, especially for mothers — it never goes away, but we have been able to regain purpose and joy by giving our grief a voice,” she says. “We are interested in helping other families in crisis as they deal with the loss of a child, no matter what age. Carol has dubbed our book a ‘memoir with a mission.’”

The group has been “a godsend,” Kathy says. “It’s a place where I can write about and share my true feelings about

Four of the 13 women who have been meeting twice a year for 10 years to write through their grief of losing a child, are shown on the North Carolina coast during one of their retreats. Left to right, Kathy Shoaf, Peggy Clover, Kelly Sechrist and Dottye Currin. Photos submitted

losing Ryan — no matter how ugly or bizarre they might seem — and everyone in the group understands. No feelings or topics are off limits. We are free to share exactly who we are and what we feel.”

That “freedom,” Kathy says, to get those feelings on paper, helped her to understand them and move forward.

“I love these women. They are my sisters,” she says. “The events that brought us to that first workshop are horrible and painful. But, the bond we formed continues to give us strength to live, and to love, in memory of our children who died.”

As a tribute to those children, she says, the book became a positive means to help others through a tragic loss.

“Nothing can ever make it right or OK to lose your child, but to have something good come from it gives us hope — something we wish for others to feel, too,” she says.

Referring to several tragedies in the Boone area recently, Kathy says, “I pray that those families might find this book useful to them as they navigate the dark road of grief.”

Kelly, Kathy and Barbara represent a “variety of voices,” says Carol, as she describes the women, most of who live in the Piedmont and Triad areas of the state.

Seeking out a group for support was out of character for Barbara, she says.

“I didn’t really want to talk to anyone or share private thoughts.” After seeing an ad in her local newspaper about that first meeting for bereaved mothers, she saw the writing opportunity as an avenue to promote healing. “I liked that thought,” she says. “It sounded clinical, not a support

group or a social thing, but a clinical exercise that I could participate in.”

“All of them wish their circumstances had never brought them together,” Carol says. “But, now, they know each other well, have become skilled at speaking articulately and harmoniously, and sharing intimacy and humor, as they support each other.”

They do not discuss politics; some are religious, others aren’t, Carol says. Some have secured their first passports for the France trip and others are world travelers.

“Some, like me,” Carol says, “had lost infants, others, adult children; still others — teenagers. Our children died of illness, slowly or quickly, by accident, or suicide.”

The book chronicles how the women worked through their grief, loss, struggle, slow triumph and redemption, which Carol says, “are among the primary narratives in all human experience.”

With multiple book signings and workshops on the calendar, the women hope to bring their message to the High Country in early 2013.

“Farther Along: The Writing Journey of Thirteen Bereaved Mothers” is available from amazon and other online booksellers, or from the women writers.

Proceeds from the sales benefit SECU Family House in Winston-Salem, “It’s like a Ronald McDonald house for adults who have loved ones in the hospitals there,” says Kelly.

Visit the group’s blog at www.fartheralongbook.com.

Sechrist welcomes calls to (910) 2744934, or e-mails to mountainrunningmom@gmail.com.

OCTOBER 2012 | AAWMAG.COM

25

The Best of Both Worlds “Being back home and working with these young athletes has been the best of both worlds.” Photo by Steve Behr

No, you aren’t seeing “things” — that really is a female trainer on the field taking care of Watauga High’s football players.

Cindy Lentz is not only a trainer, she’s the first female trainer at Watauga County High School and she’s doing a great job, says athletic director, Tom Wright.

“Cindy is a fantastic person, athletic trainer and assistant athletic director,” Wright says. “She keeps our athletes healthy and does a great job of rehabbing our injured athletes. She is also a tremendous asset to me as assistant. She is an efficient, competent worker and is a lot of fun to work with. She is a high character individual and a great role model for our student athletes. I love working with her.”

Coming “home” to do what she does best has been an unexpected pleasure for Lentz, a 1998 graduate of Watauga High.

Born and raised in Blowing Rock, the daughter of Johnny and Brenda Lentz, Cindy says that her tendency to nurture and care for her athletes comes naturally.

“I always had a close, loving relationship with my parents and grandparents,” she says.

At the same time, her mother and both grandmothers showed her what it was like to be a strong woman.

“I have always enjoyed watching sports and playing sports with my dad,” she says.

“We have always been huge Tarheel fans and always watched basketball games together.”

She was “young,” she says, when her fa-

26

OCTOBER 2012 | AAWMAG.COM

ther first gave her a basketball and taught her how to shoot. “Neither of my parents ever missed a basketball game I played — from the time I started playing Junior Hornets through my senior year in high school,” she says. She also loved snow skiing in the winter.

“Between basketball and skiing, I had a knee injury at a young age and had my first knee surgery when I was 13-yearsold,” she says.

To return to the court, she did rehabilitation with an athletic trainer who worked at a local clinic.

“He got me interested in being an athletic trainer,” she says, “especially when the realization came that I was never going to make the WNBA — but still wanted to do something that involved sports and healthcare.”

Following graduation from high school, Cindy started the athletic training education program at Appalachian State University; she graduated in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in athletic training, and with a minor in health promotion.

“From the moment I started, I knew that it was what I wanted to do,” she says. “I was around college sports and I was helping take care of people at the same time.

Although college athletic training was primarily dominated by men, I decided that didn’t matter to me and that I was going to be the best that I could be.”

During her senior year at ASU, she had the opportunity to work in the sport of wrestling for the year with her mentor,

Andy Massey.

“He showed me and taught me how to be the athletic trainer that I am today and pushed me to be my best,” she says. “It was during that year, that I quickly learned that being a female — working a male sport — meant that, first and foremost, you had to earn the respect of the athletes with your knowledge — and then, I had to learn to be one of the guys.”

After that year, and many discussions later, she says, she decided to go to graduate school.

“I went to East Tennessee State University and graduated with master’s degree in public health in 2004,” she says. “I received a graduate assistantship in athletic training and worked football the last two years ETSU had football as a collegiate sport.”

Those two years, she says, were two of the best years of her life. “I made several lifelong friends as well as learning and developing into a college athletic trainer,” she says. “ I quickly learned to have confidence in my professional skills and decided then that I would be a confident woman in a man’s world.”

Cindy’s career got its start at Mars Hill College where she worked as assistant athletic trainer/clinical instructor, assigned to women’s soccer and baseball. She then came to Appalachian State University for a year as assistant athletic trainer/insurance coordinator and drug testing coordinator, assigned to women’s basketball.

“In 2006, I was given the privilege to work with the football and women’s bas-

ketball teams at Tulane University, with Andy Massey,” she says. “The experience of working at a Division I university was one I will never forget and one that I am thankful for. Andy and his family took me in — they are my second family.”

Living in New Orleans was amazing, she says, “It is one of the most diverse and eclectic cities in which I’ve ever lived.”

Prior to that experience, Cindy says she had never lived farther than two hours away from her family and friends “and the comforts of Boone.” The experiences made her independent, she says, and made her learn to take care of herself “and figure things out” on her own. She admits that, at times, she still misses the city life.

Following the death of her grandfather in 2009, Cindy inherited his home and the land it sits on, which allowed her to move back to Blowing Rock.

It “just so happened,” she says, that the athletic training job at Watauga High School opened up that August.

“I guess it was meant to be when I took a chance and moved back home without a job,” she says. “Being back home and

Before

working with these young athletes has been the best of both worlds.”

She has also taken on some extra responsibilities as assistant athletic director — a “new opportunity and challenge,” she says that she is loving.

“It is both exciting and new and I am thankful for Tom Wright, the athletic director, to have trusted me and given me these experiences,” she says.

“The hours are long and there is little time off, but the rewards are worth it,

She maintains contact with several athletes from her past, some of who call her “Mama Cindy.”

“These relationships are ones that I don’t imagine will ever end,” she says. “I might be the only girl on the field every day surrounded by 90 boys, but right now, I wouldn’t change it.”

Cindy spends most of what free time she has with her boxer, Karlee, which she adopted from the Humane Society in March 2010.

“She is a handful, but also my best pal,” she says.

Cindy also enjoys traveling, reading and spending time with her family and friends. “My best friend, Molly, shares her two children with me and I cherish every moment I have with them,” she says.

Cindy sees athletic training as a rewarding profession.

“There isn’t a feeling like it in the world to see one of your athletes work hard to rehabilitate an injury and get back on the playing field or court,” she says. “The hours are long and there is little time off, but the rewards are worth it.”

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Two Women and the Art of Movement

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OCTOBER 2012 | AAWMAG.COM

Cynthia Dixon and Carla Young are two women committed to the art of movement and making life better for others.

For the last 20 years, they have fostered improved health and turned exercise into invigorating fun for countless residents in Ashe County.

Formerly of Hickory, Cynthia was an aerobics instructor before moving to Ashe, where she went to work as a certified aerobics teacher through the 4-H program. She also volunteered to choreograph dance movements for the Ashe County Little Theater.

When Ashe Memorial Hospital instituted the Mountain Hearts Center for Prevention and Wellness in 1993, Cynthia offered a daily fitness class that included dance aerobics, step aerobics, and weight training — something she continues to do, today.

When the chance came to be certified for Zumba, Cynthia enthusiastically added that to her schedule.

Observing her in motion is similar to watching a professional dance/exercise performance. It certainly is infectious and, by the smiles on the faces of her students, it must be more fun than drudgery.

Carla Young first began as a water workout instructor at the Stanly county YMCA. When she and her family moved to Ashe County in 1995, she found a place to teach aerobics.

When the Mountain Hearts facility pool opened in 1998, she helped develop the programs and started teaching water fitness, offering five classes per week.

She also teaches the arthritis program on the ground and in the water, which is a therapeutic class for muscle and joint problems, as well as for fibromyalgia.

She has recently updated the prenatal exercise class and is always eager to share helpful information.

Involving another set of skills, although related to her love of the water, is

that of teaching children to swim.

She has helped hundreds of young people trade their fear of water into an appreciation and respect while learning to swim.

To be taught by a master is to learn more than the mechanics of that one’s trade. That teacher is sharing the intangible life of the practice and the commitment to the energetics of the body.

There are many roads to bodywork and this is the success story of two women who recognized their dream and ran with it.

As they would say, “Just move!”

To learn more about their classes, call Mountain Hearts at (336) 846-0744

Provided by Jennifer Gardiner, secretary, Mountain Hearts Center for Prevention and Wellness Left: Carla Young Above: Cynthia Dixon OCTOBER 2012 | AAWMAG.COM

29

You Go Girl!

Local Girl Featured on National Magazine Cover

Hiking is a big part of Aurora’s homeschool education, as she spends a lot of time on various trails, as evidenced by the cover photo of Practical Homeschooling magazine, taken on the TRACK Trail at Crystal Springs Recreation Area in Virginia. Photo used with permission by “Practical Homeschooling”

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OCTOBER 2012 | AAWMAG.COM

Aurora Randolph, a fourthgrader from Ashe County, has been featured on the most recent cover of “Practical Homeschooling” magazine.

“I vaguely remember entering a photo contest, some time ago,” says Aurora’s mother, Vickie Randolph. “Until we received our copy of the magazine in the mail, I didn’t know that the winning photo, of our daughter, would be on the cover. Can you imagine our excitement?”

According to her mother, Aurora is “a perfect representative” for homeschooling.

“She is carefree and fun, her enthusiasm is contagious, and she has a genuine love for learning,” Vickie says.

As a member of the local Adventure Club, Aurora hikes many trails in “a lot of parks,” she says, as part of her education.

“Homeschooling really is a misnomer for our family,” says Vickie. “We do most schooling on the trail, on the road, at science centers or museums, and just about everywhere — except at home.”

Aurora says that her favorite trails to hike are TRACK Trails, which are part of the Kids-in-Parks program through the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation.

“Kids who hike these trails register their hikes and earn prizes and other cool stuff,” says Vickie. “It’s a great program to get children active and outdoors.”

In addition to spending time with her Adventure Club pals, Aurora stays busy with the Ashe County homeschool group, which meets for classes once a week. She also takes Kung Fu lessons, is involved in Girl Scouts, church, (homeschool) science classes at the Catawba Science Center and volunteering for Camp New Hope.

“So many people, who know Aurora, have laughed with us at the irony of the words next to her smiling face on the magazine cover,” Vickie says. “It reads, ‘Is your child an introvert?’ Not our child!”

Aurora is full of energy and constantly moving and — “and loves being in the spotlight, just as her namesake, the legendary Northern Lights of her origin in Alaska,” Vickie says.

Practical Homeschooling is a product of Home Life Publications.

For more information about joining the Ashe Homeschool group or Adventure Club, please email rangervicki@hotmail. com. To find out about TRACK (Trails Ridges & Active Caring Kids) Trails in the High Country, visit www.kidsinparks.com.

OCTOBER 2012 | AAWMAG.COM

31

Lauren Maltba says “My advice to anyone, not just those in direct sales, is to dream big and never give up.” Photo courtesy of Lasting Impressions Photography - Lisa Totherow

Thirty-One and Counting

for Lauren Maltba Lauren Maltba always said she would never be in direct sales.

Lauren Maltba is pictured with Cindy Monroe, founder and chief executive officer of Thirty-One Gifts, during the company’s recent national conference in Atlanta. Photo submitted

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OCTOBER 2012 | AAWMAG.COM

“I didn’t believe in them and always heard most people lost more money than they made,” she says. “When I found out I could sign up for $99 and get $400 worth of product and business supplies, I didn’t think that was too much of a risk.”

Welcome to her world today, as a Thirty-One consultant. She joined the ranks in January 2011 and she hasn’t looked back, she says.

“Before officially signing up, I prayed a lot, talked to family for advice and asked plenty of questions,” she says. “A year and

a half later, I’m still in shock that I have made it to where I am now with this phenomenal company. Just this year, I have recruited a team of amazing women and promoted to director, earned a $1,200 gift card, and bought a brand new car.” But, she says, “It’s not all about the rewards. I can truly say Thirty-One has changed my life for the better. It has made me a more confident, outgoing person and is something I could not imagine my life without.”

In August, Lauren attended her first national conference in Atlanta and was amazed at the number of sister-consultants.

“In 2011, there were more than 6,000

in attendance only to be topped by over 14,000 this year,” she says. “The conference theme was ‘Live It Up!’ — and that’s exactly what we did. We had training sessions, heard from motivational speakers, and shared a dinner and awards night with our senior executive director and team. It was awesome to be able to share your own successes and to hear others tell theirs.”

Lauren says that the rewards and possibilities with owning your own business “like Thirty-One,” are endless.

“Because of my hard work, dedication and promotion, I had the honor of meeting and having my picture made with Cindy Monroe, the conpany’s founder and chief executive officer.

“That was one of my best memories from the conference,” she says. “My goal, for next year, is to keep growing my team and walk across the stage again with an even bigger promotion.”

Lauren says she has met “some incredible women” since being with Thirty-One, reconnected with old friends and met lots of new ones. “The support from my customers, hostesses, family and friends is what has made my business so successful,” she says. “My advice to anyone, not just those in direct sales, is to dream big and never give up. I constantly remind myself that with God all things are possible and He has shown me that through my business.

To learn more about Lauren and Thirty-One, visit www.mythirtyone.com/laurenmaltba, or contact her at LNM6175@ gmail.com, or ask to join my Thirty-One Gifts by Lauren Maltba Facebook page.

Thirty-One Gifts, launched by CEO Cindy Monroe out of her basement in 2003, has quickly become a multimillion-dollar organization with more than 86,000 consultants in the United States.

Cindy based her company’s name, Thirty-One, on the Biblical verses in Proverbs 31 that praise a virtuous and wise woman.

OCTOBER 2012 | AAWMAG.COM

33

Katy Taylor playing guitar during a recent performance. Photo courtesy of TJ Worthington

For Appalachian Songstress, Katy Taylor —

music is the language of God 34

OCTOBER 2012 | AAWMAG.COM

Katy Taylor is well grounded in Ashe County, with a family heritage that dates back to the 1700s, and steeped in traditional mountain music.

Singing and picking are traits that have been passed down to her through the generations. Katy’s great-grandfather, W. Hurley, played the fiddle and taught singing school, using the Appalachian method of shape notes.

“Uncle Buck Taylor was a fiddle player, who fiddled with the old time player, Henry Whitter,” Katy says. “Whitter, along with G. B. Grayson, also an Ashe County native, recorded old-time fiddle music on the Victor label in the late 1920s.”

Memories of her family get-togethers include good times with music and song.

“Music was always around and I just absorbed it,” she says. “I figured everybody’s family was musical, like mine.”

Katy’s father Fred, played the guitar and taught Katy how to play when she was a teenager, but Katy’s forte is singing.

“Our family had a gospel group called the Taylor Family, consisting of my father, uncles and an aunt,” she says. “ They asked me to join, so I did and played guitar and sang with them. We were together during the early 1980s.”

Katy’s family travelled around Ashe County, primarily, and was invited to perform at the World’s Fair in 1982, when it came to Knoxville.

By 1985, Katy was becoming interested in bluegrass. Through classes at Wilkes Community College, she not only learned to play the fiddle and claw-hammer banjo, but she also made many friends with whom she played for several years, though not seriously or as a group, she says.

In 1989, however, musical cohort Randy Greer put together the band, Windy Hill, to attend the annual convention — Society for Preservation of Bluegrass in America — in Nashville. In addition to Randy and Katy, band members were Scott Freeman, Teddy Francisco, and Tony Testerman.

“We placed in the Top 10,” Katie says.

Windy Hill played together for several years afterward.

Meanwhile, a romance blossomed between Katy and Tony, the band’s bass player. Together, they joined forces with Wayne Henderson; Katy was able to focus on vocals, which she loved best, and remembers well their July 4, 1994 performance in Washington, DC for the National Council for the Traditional Arts.

“In 1996, we traveled to Atlanta for the 1996 Olympics Southern Crossroads Festival — “Southern Crossroads —” which was part of the 1996 Olympic Arts Festival celebration,” she says. Katy also recorded “Hey Good Lookin,” as a solo on the “Wayne Henderson and Friends” CD, which also includes Doc Watson and David Holt.

Opportunity arose once again when Katy, along with Tony, Scott Freeman, Willard Gayheart, Randy Paisley and Steve Lewis formed Alternate Roots in the fall of 1997, a bluegrass band with a non-traditional twist. During their years together, the band played at Tweestie Railroad, traveled to Lowell, Mass. for the world’s largest free folk music festival, recorded four CDs and played on the UNC-TV program, “Song of the Mountains.”

While with Alternate Roots, Katy recorded a solo project at the studio of

friend, Hugh Sturgill. The album, “Warm Covers for Cold Nights,” was reviewed as “powerful and memorable” by Joe Ross, staff writer for “Bluegrass Now.” Alternate Roots called it quits around 2000.

Not only was Katy enveloped in the world of folk and bluegrass music, but she also worked full-time at McFarland Publishing Co. in Ashe County.

At 40, however, she quit her job to realize her long awaited dream of achieving a four-year degree.

“I enrolled in college part-time while helping my mother care for my grandmother,” she says, an experience that inspired her to pursue, and eventually, in 2007, obtain a master’s degree in gerontology.

Katy currently works as activities director at Ashe Assisted Living and Memory Care Center.

Among her musical highlights in life, so far, was playing in Angers, France at the English Speaking Library while on a month long trip to Europe with her fellow grad students and gerontology program director, Ed Rosenberg, who also plays guitar.

Katy has once again formed a fresh new “eclectic” band, she says —the name of which is still undecided.

They are scheduled to perform at the Ashe Arts Council’s Coffee House Night on Nov. 19.

In the spring of 2013, Katy is to perform with Cindy Brooks, doing a tribute to the men who inspired them — their fathers.

“Throughout my life, I have always had my music, through the good times and bad,” she says.

One of those occasions, during which music was a great source of comfort, occurred in 2009 with the diagnosis of an aggressive form of breast cancer.

“I had a lumpectomy, chemo, radiation treatments and because of these, along with a specially targeted drug therapy for the type of cancer I had, I can happily say that I have been cancer-free since 2010,” she says. “Music is the language of God — It has gotten me through many hurdles in my life, and I’m sure it will get me through many more.”

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35

Creating Your One-of-a-Kind

Travel Journal I’m sitting in a tiny coffee shop in Venice, on the Grand Canal, not sorry I’ve paid 4.50 euros for a cappuccino. I’m journaling and sketching the Rialto Bridge. A woman stops beside me and says, “You’re a writer? I thought so.

I’ve been watching you. I want to become a writer, too.”

There’s nothing like returning from a memorable trip with a beautiful illustrated journal. With a little planning, such a journal can be yours, a precious talisman of a life-changing journey.

First, I select an unusual, possibly handmade journal. Some are fashioned from handcrafted paper, embossed leather, bark, or decorated cardboard. Others are unlined journals with simple illustrations and sentences about nature, solitude or spirituality. Choose a book you love — preferably one that opens flat.

Your journal should be just right for a two-week trip. I count the pages and try to anticipate how many I will fill each day.

I’ll need an additional 20-30 pages at the back for lists and notes.

What makes my journal fun — and a bit wild — are those pictures, newspaper headlines, pretty pieces of paper, captions from brochures and other mementoes that I am able to “tear away” for my personal

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use, including tickets, flowers, leaves, restaurant flyers, feathers, candy wrappers and who knows what else? When you find these “tearings” that you like, save them in an envelope to use at the right time. To attach them to your journal pages, you’ll need a glue stick. My motto: “Never be without two glue sticks.” And, while traveling, buy a new journal for your next trip.

Drawing and painting, whether you have artistic ability or not, can be a perfect accompaniment to your journal musings.

Pack a zip-lock bag with colored pencils and pens, watercolor pencils or paints, a couple of brushes, a small plastic water bottle and a tiny palette. To try a watercolor painting, glue two or three pages of your journal together for weight.

Joan, an artist and fellow traveler, invited me to an Italian mountaintop town, Montecatini Alto, for a morning of painting. We painted the charming old house of Claudia, who invited us in for a glass of Prosecco, (an Italian white wine). That little painting found its way into my Italy journal, along with an account of our experience, a poem I wrote and some interesting “tearings.”

Lists are a vital part of any travel journal and might include such reminders as:

Foreign language or special vocabulary notes Favorite and least favorite activities Notes about fellow travelers and fascinating people Favorite foods and recipes What you learned on the trip Suggestions for a better trip Books, addresses and websites Items you purchased Customs, products and food How the trip will (or did) change you Things to do when you get home. sue spirit Writes poetry and essays about nature, spirituality, writing, and travel. She has a little cabin in the mountains. degreesoffreedom@frontier.com

At the end of each day, you’ll reflect on what you’ve experienced and then, begin to “create.”

You did it. You loved your travel experience and it

shows through your very personal and one-of-a-kind journal that gives you a sense of pride.

Now, the next step is do decide just that — where are you going next?

OCTOBER 2012 | AAWMAG.COM

37 3 7

mom’sworld

The Best Laid Plans It was the last hour of the last day of soccer camp. I wasn’t there, although my husband and I were headed in that direction, after dropping a car off for an oil change. We were planning to leave the next day for the beach.

Murphy’s Law has a strong presence in the land of parenthood.

As I followed my husband in my car, he suddenly pulled off the road and stepped out of his car, phone in hand.

Initially, I considered bypassing him and heading on to the mechanic; after all, I knew he would be following.

Then, I saw his arms frantically waving. He cupped the phone with his hand and said, “It’s Avery County EMS. They’re pretty sure Joe broke his arm.”

My heart dropped to my feet as I stopped and reached for the phone.

Joe was being taken to the hospital in an ambulance. I would meet him there.

We had to make some quick decisions. Our oldest son had three different appointments that day; our youngest was still at soccer camp.

I hung up the phone, and my husband and I quickly divided responsibilities so that everyone would be cared for.

Excellent care by nurses, physicians, the radiology techs and Avery EMS workers made Joe’s fracture — a difficult experience — more manageable.

Even so, I stared at Joe on the stretcher, amazed at how quickly plans can change.

I was reminded of a college friend’s roommate who had every single day scheduled — extensively.

Predating iPhones, androids and other handheld devices, she wrote out her schedule every day and in 15 to 30 minute increments: 7:15 a.m. wake up and get coffee; 7:30 breakfast — and so it went through 10 p.m. — no room left for the unexpected.

I have always wondered if she had children, and if so, if that schedule loosened up a bit. I would bet money that it did.

Expecting the unexpected is part of being a parent, just as it is part of labor — the birth plan does not always account for the unexpected, no matter 38

OCTOBER 2012 | AAWMAG.COM

how carefully researched and mindfully constructed.

That’s not to say that it is not worthwhile, only to acknowledge that the women who seem to labor “best” are those who don’t try to control the process, but rather roll with the it.

Having a clear idea of what is important to a couple in their birthing experience, allows decisions to be made collectively and respectfully.

So, back at the ER, Joseph and I worked through the drama together.

He quickly asked if we were still going to the beach, a question that I could not answer, initially.

After riding out the painful re-setting of his fractured radius and the nausea and vomiting which accompanied the narcotics, we made it to the beach.

Joseph did his best to accept the reality of his situation. His arm was splinted, and no swimming or boogeyboarding would be allowed.

At times, as I got into the water to cool, I experienced a huge maternal

guilt trip, as I watched him kicking the sand by the sand castle on which he was working.

Other times, I was impressed by how he avoided the full-blown self pity-party. We visited an old Civil War fort, the National Naval Aviation Museum and flew kites. It was not what Joseph had planned, but he appeared to have a good time and was able to focus on the positives — most of the time.

Over all, it could have been worse.

Our family escaped to “vacation-land” and spent some very relaxing time with each other and extended family.

I experienced some flashbacks to situations in my childhood when my mom would meet disappointment with something special — like a candlelight dinner.

I love being the mom who cheers for her sons and celebrates their joys and accomplishments, but I believe that it is also how we help our children negotiate moments of utter disappointment and frustration that puts the floor under their feet to move on toward achieve-

ment and happiness.

In the blink of an eye, our maternal instinct is to immediately comfort our children, no matter how difficult the situation, and to help them realize that they are never alone.

If life is forever changed, we are there to help them work through the transition. If it is temporary, we look to the next goal, no pun intended. If his arm is well healed, Joe’s cast will be off as you read this. He has already asked about the first soccer match of the season.

Plans are that he’ll be there.

heather jordan, CNM, MSN Comments or questions?

828.737.7711, ext. 253 landh@localnet.com

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My Melasma

& Me

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OCTOBER 2012 | AAWMAG.COM

“I might as well have a red, flashing arrow pointing at my forehead,” I said to my hairstylist, Claudia, referring to the brown, splotchy area that has tormented me for the last year. “I think I need to cover it with bangs.”

Claudia stared at my forehead for a few minutes and finally responded, “I don’t see anything.”

I wanted to believe her, but instead, convinced myself that she was either being kind and trying to ease my paranoia, or blind. Needless to say, I left the salon with bangs.

This obsession began last October after my yearly visit to the dermatologist. The appointment was going so well — moles had been examined and the continued use of sunscreen had been discussed — until I decided to ask about the brownish area that I thought was a concentration of freckles.

Dr. Whitaker, of Boone Dermatology Clinic pulled out his handy magnifying glass and examined the area. Maybe 10 seconds later, he sat back on his exam stool and explained that I had a mild case of melasma. He insisted that it was nothing to be alarmed by.

Too late — I was already alarmed.

“Warning, warning,” screamed my inner self. “Melasma, not freckles. What’s melisma? Is that a type of melanoma because it sure sounds like melanoma. My skin is ruined. I’m scared for life.”

That might be a slight dramatization of my inner monologue, but I was surprised and caught off-guard, having never heard of melasma.

Seeing my panic stricken expression, my doctor explained that melasma is a discoloration caused by exposure to the sun and that it is very common in women.

“Goody,” I thought. “Women, yet again, get the short end of the stick. Menstrual cramps, cellulite and now melasma!”

He went on to explain that melasma can also be exacerbated by pregnancy or by taking female hormones, such as those found in birth control pills or hormone replacement drugs taken during menopause. He encouraged me to limit my sun exposure, lather on the sunscreen and wear

hats out-of-doors — all things that I do, anyway.

I left the office in a daze, desperate and disgruntled — desperate to conceal my forehead from what I imagined to be the critical stares of passersby. And, disgruntled because I would forever have to conceal my forehead from the critical stares of passersby.

My melasma obsession became all-consuming. I found myself staring in the mirror to determine if it was visible, rearranging my hair to best cover the area and experimenting with different bronzers in an attempt to disguise the discoloration. I searched for treatments — topical creams, peels and lasers — but none were both permanent and in my budget.

For a while, I even attempted to expose my forehead and wear my melasma like a badge of honor. That lasted a month.

My melasma has been my constant companion for a year. I have come to realize that I am hyper-aware of its presence. What can I say? We women are our own worst critics. Fortunately, as I was reminded at a recent gathering with several girlfriends, we are also supportive of each other.

“I’m thinking of getting laser treatment for the melasma on my face,” announced my friend, Julie.

What followed was a show-and-tell session. We each shared our melasma, pulling back carefully coiffed hair or perfectly placed scarves, and discussed the lengths to which we had gone to erase the marks. The end result was a sense of community and much laughter.

So much laughter that at this year’s dermatology appointment, my doctor may very well point out the beginnings of laugh lines.

heather brandon Considers life to be one big anthropological field experience. She observes and reports. She enjoys travel, food and wine and adventures with her husband, Roger.

OCTOBER 2012 | AAWMAG.COM

41

Lissa Brown’s

Family Secrets: Three Generations “Ellen Brodsky, 9-years-old, awoke drowsily to a strange, sweet aroma and a warm, loving hand rubbing her back. She

Lissa Brown

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OCTOBER 2012 | AAWMAG.COM

turns to discover her Grandma Hanna sitting on her bed. This would not be disconcerting except for the fact that Grandma Hanna had been dead since Ellen’s mother was a little girl.”

So begins Lissa Brown’s latest book, “Family Secrets: Three Generations.”

The book’s cover gives us clues about the plot — a picture of a young girl holding the framed portrait of her grandmother.

We are first struck over the similarities of their features. A close examination of the cover reveals the ghostly hand of Grandma Hanna reaching across the frame and resting on the arm of her granddaughter.

This is a bit of a departure from most ghost stories as the ghost, in this case, appears in three-dimensional form.

Ellen can see her and feel her hugs.

She becomes a benevolent soundingboard, someone Ellen can talk to about anything, without fear of judgment.

Grandma Hanna has appeared to guide Ellen through the trials of living in near-poverty with a domineering father and an emotionally unavailable mother.

She longs for what every child longs for — unconditional love and acceptance. “ Family Secrets — Three Generations” is a coming-of-age tale of a young Jewish girl growing up in lower-middle class New Jersey.

The book covers a span of about six

years, beginning in 1952.

We learn of the ability of children to manipulate their parents and mimic the behaviors of their adult caretakers. We are concerned when discovering that Ellen’s father may be emotionally unstable, that he is also controlling and sometimes violent.

Ellen has developed a vocabulary, which corresponds to that of her volatile parents. In other words, she is a bit “mouthy.” We witness, through her interactions with the world in which she operates, Ellen’s resourcefulness and courage in dealing with issues far beyond her level of maturity. She is forced by circumstances to become the caretaker, rather than the child, looking after her mother and her little brother when tragedy strikes her family.

We are privy to Ellen’s conflicted thoughts regarding her lot in life, her relationship with her mother, her relationship to God and her tenuous hopes for the future.

As she matures, we see her explore the possibility of creating relationships with the opposite sex. We see her mature through life experiences, sometimes painful, and become a stronger person because of those experiences. Through it all, she is able to obtain the comfort and support she needs from her ghostly mentor.

A slight tension is created throughout the story when Ellen senses that her grandmother is withholding some information from her, which is vital to her understand-

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ing her role in the family dynamic.

We feel the tug from Grandma Hanna as she considers just when she should reveal the family secret she has been keeping. We are rewarded for our patience in the final pages.

“We face challenges. Different people find ways of marshaling strength to cope with them,” says author, Lissa Brown. “As bad as things might seem, there is often a way out, if you’ll just persist.”

This is the idea she would like the reader to take away from her book. The issues of the need for unconditional love from family members, adolescents learning how to form relationships with the opposite sex, and the notions of forgiveness and responsibility, are but a few of the human conditions addressed in “Family Secrets-Three Generations.”

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Danielle Bussone Danielle Bussone is a writer, an artist and a wellness coach. Visit her blog at www.vegginoutandabout.com.

About the Author Lissa Brown has had a diverse career in writing as a columnist, speech - writer, a ghostwriter for elected officials and company executives, and a media-relations specialist for gubernatorial and state legislative campaigns. She has also had successful careers in teaching, public relations and marketing.

Upon retiring to the mountains of North Carolina she wrote “Real Country: From the Fast Track to Appalachia” under the pen name, Leslie Brunetsky. “Family Secrets: Three Generations” is her first novel.

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Pets

Healing Hearts through “Gaits of Hope”

Alec McDiarmid, son of ‘Gaits of Hope’ owner, Dale McDiarmid, enjoys time with their horses. spending

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OCTOBER 2012 | AAWMAG.COM

quality

Honesty is a word we value.

Yet, our socialization process often includes white lies for the sake of sparing another’s feelings.

Dale McDiarmid, owner of “Gaits of Hope, LLC, is glad that horses communicate in a way that helps heal human hearts and minds. “The most unique aspect to working with horses is that their body language is honest.” she says.

At “Gaits of Hope,” this key to healing unlocks seemingly impenetrable disorders and the disease life can present.

Dale is a 1987 graduate of the University of North Carolina and completed a master’s degree in human development and psychological counseling at Appalachian State University in 1990; she trained with the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association in 2003 and in 2006.

The majority of her career, working with clients with victimization issues, depression, eating disorders, and family therapy, highlighted for her the slow pace with which change appears.

Dale was raised around horses and has ridden since childhood; she rides in hunt and saddle-seat disciplines, the latter in which she competes nationally. Turning to horses and riding for solace and rejuvenation, she discovers for herself a therapeutic key.

After a long, hard day’s work as a counselor, Dale, a Christian woman, often sought spiritual renewal as she prayed while riding. Realizing how much better she felt after time riding — and in the barn — she decided to integrate that transformative energy into her work.

What began as a dream eventually unfolded; after researching possibilities, she realized she could incorporate therapy with her passion for horses. The culmination of that dream is dramatically changing people’s lives every day at “Gaits of Hope.”

She wants people to understand the significance of the role of the horse. Within a herd, horses have very healthy relationships with well-defined boundaries.

Their innate authenticity teaches essential, translatable skills, she says. The initial leap of transformation comes in developing, or rekindling, a sense of trust.

Often, victims of abuse and/or abandonment, foster children, for example, may not trust others, learned to trust a horse by reading its body language.

The relationship between a client and the horse is real, Dale says, and is based upon honesty and mutually learned trust.

“If a child and a horse have a positive experience, it is because the horse allows it to happen.” she says. The body language and signals of a horse is consistent with their feelings toward a rider and specific situations.

Although disorders and traumatic experiences vary dramatically, the horses share core issues with humans in relation to their inability to trust in, or relate to, others.

Dale finds equine therapy most effective for children on the autism spectrum, as well as for those — young and old, alike — with unresolved traumatic issues such as cancer, childhood discord or abuse, divorce and eating disorders.

Dale teaches a horsemanship method closely related to the Native American philosophy, she says. Native Americans consider horses to be part of one’s family, viewing rider and horse as one. Trust defines this relationship and the horse’s honest body language is the tool through which it is created. As clients earn the trust of the horse, their hearts open to new ways of interacting in the world, to the potential the trust lends to relationships beyond the gaits of renewal. Change becomes authentic and ongoing; healing happens.

For more information, contact Dale McDiarmid at “Gaits of Hope,” (828) 2344540 or email: magicj1998@earthlink.net.

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OCTOBER 2012 | AAWMAG.COM

45

Comfort Foods For Cool Autumn Evenings Late autumn air in the mountains has been known to become quite nippy as the seasons transition. Along with cooler temperatures and a hint of winter comes the craving for warm comfort foods. Try these seasonal treats to take the chill off and heat up from the inside out.

Simple Hot Apple Cider 1 qt. prepared cider ½ cup brown sugar ½ Tbsp. whole cloves 1 small cinnamon stick 1/8 tsp. salt Mix together and simmer 20-30 minutes. Sip slowly for just the right affect.

Simple Apple Dumplings 1 (10 oz.) can refrigerator biscuits 5 med. apples, peeled, cored and quartered 1½ cups sugar 1½ cups water ½ cup butter 1 tsp. vanilla ½ tsp. cinnamon Roll each biscuit into large circle. Cut in half.

Place 1 apple quarter onto each piece of dough to make “dumpling.” Moisten edges and bring to center, pinch and seal. Place dumplings in casserole dish. Combine sugar and other ingredients; bring to boil. Pour over dumplings.

Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown. Baste frequently.

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OCTOBER 2012 | AAWMAG.COM

Autumn Vegetable Sandwich 2 slices of specialty bread, toasted 1 Tbsp. horseradish 1 tsp. Dijon mustard 1 baby beet, roasted and sliced Few leaves of arugula 1 slice of red onion 2 slices fresh mozzarella Spread horseradish onto one slice of toast; spread mustard onto the other. Arrange beets, onions and mozzarella onto one piece of toast.

Top with some arugula and remaining toast.

Great served with a cup of potato soup. *If you’ve got a Panini press, now is the time to use it!

Easy Potato Soup 2½ cup boiling water 4 cups thinly sliced raw potatoes ½ cup finely chopped onion 3 cups milk 2 Tbsp. butter 2 tsp. salt Dash of pepper Bring water to a boil. Add potatoes and onions. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes.

Mash potatoes slightly with a fork to thicken the soup. Add milk, butter and seasonings.

Heat.

OCTOBER 2012 | AAWMAG.COM

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Scenes from the women’s extravaganza 6 48

OCTOBER 2012 | AAWMAG.COM

Sponsored by the Appalachian Regional Healthcare System at Boone Mall on Fri., Sept. 7.

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1. Gwen Dhing, community activist and owner of Makoto’s Japanese Steak House and Sushi Bar, leads a fun, energetic session of Zumba.

6. Dr. Cecilia Grasinger, with Harmony Center for Women in Boone, adds an element of elegance to the fashion show portion of the Extravaganza.

2. Jordan Mounder, seated, relaxes as her coworker, Lori McLenithan, of the Spa at Crestwood, demonstrates the application of the spa’s beauty products.

7. The future of healthcare looks bright with these students representing the department of nursing at Appalachian State University. Standing left to right: Mykel Patrick, Tonya Burris, Ashlyn McIntyre, Shane Stephens, Shelly Jackson, Tiffany Smith; seated: Courtney Frank and Ashley Moore.

3. Representing Blue Ridge Acupuncture and Natural Medicine, Mary Olsen, left, and Lisa Gorley offer back-to-back tips for improved health.

4. Christa Capua is all smiles as she talks about the success of Stepping Stone of Boone, the area’s newest approach to addiction therapy.

5. Healthy lifestyles guru Caroline Stahlschmidt, right, instructs a mini yoga class during the event.

8. Amy Tester Lewis, left, is one of many visitors who received helpful information from Angela Walsh and Bette Mitchell, representing Bare Essentials Natural Market.

10. Congresswoman Virginia Foxx proudly displays her copy of All About Women magazine while visiting our booth and publisher, Gene Fowler.

11. Carmen Lacey of Newland, recently named president of Cannon Memorial Hospital, is one of several women who modeled the season’s latest fashions from Boone Mall during the Extravaganza.

12. Fran Boyette, owner of the Open Door Global Gift Shop in Boone, explains the unique story behind her business to Alice Salthouse, Director of Community Outreach at Appalachian Regional Healthcare System

9. Beth Mueller is all about changing lives through the Watauga Literary Association.

OCTOBER 2012 | AAWMAG.COM

49

Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.

- Emily Bronte

A view from Ridge Road, near Boone.

Photo by Sherrie Norris

You

deserve a relationship with a real person.

That始s our stand.

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