Cathy Berggren Gives Hope At Real Life Center
December 28, 2012 by Maggie Worth
Filed under Cathy Berggren
Building a non-profit is not a task for the faint of heart. It takes patience, persistence, and dedication. Building a one-of-a-kind non-profit that other organizations travel to see and replicate takes a truly brave soul — an innovative, strategic thinker with a dynamic, genuine personality and a huge heart. Someone, in fact, like Cathy Berggren, [...]
Rose Marie Harper lives, loves and does well
November 6, 2012 by Nichole Bazemore
Filed under Rose Marie Harper
At some point in our lives, each of us begins to think about our legacy: we wonder how people will remember us when we’re gone and whether or not we’ll have left the world a better place than we found it. If we’re diligent, we use these questions as a guide, making decisions, orchestrating events, [...]
Patricia Dablah, Kareen Underwood lead with Zumba
November 6, 2012 by Jill Prouty
Filed under Kareen Underwood & Patricia Dablah
Muy caliente! Zumba instructors Kareen Underwood and Patricia Dablah are heating up the dance floors at gyms across Fayette County, helping both women and men melt away the pounds while having fun. Spend any time around them and you’ll see — their energy is contagious. At first glance, Kareen Underwood seems to have it all: [...]
Jean Peck leads the dream at Camp Southern Ground
November 6, 2012 by Kristin Hauch-Melton
Filed under Jean Peck
Leaning casually against the wall in Camp Southern Ground’s office building is a small wooden slate with three words scrawled across it: “Dreams Come True.” Even though these three tiny words appear small and meek, sitting gingerly atop a console table, the declaration they make is mighty. “The idea that dreams can become reality suggests [...]
The Extraordinary Tales of Dr. Bisa Batten Lewis
November 6, 2012 by Maggie Worth
Filed under Bisa Batten Lewis
An Ed.D., a parenting expert, a home-schooling single mother, an early childhood educator, a published author, and the founder of two successful educational firms walk into a bar. Wait, hang on. They’re all the same person: Bisa Batten Lewis of Tyrone, known affectionately as “Dr. Bisa.” And her energy, knowledge, and enthusiasm are certainly no [...]
Leaders of the Pack: Tammy Livers and Heather Harding
July 13, 2012 by Nichole Bazemore
Filed under Tammy Livers and Heather Harding
For decades, career-minded women have been wrestling with one nagging question: Is it possible to have it all? The answers range from yes; to no; to yes, but not at the same time. This month, for our Career Issue, we speak with two women who appear to have it all, at the same time. Heather [...]
Amy Dingler, No Limits, No Walls
June 1, 2012 by Maggie Worth
Filed under Amy Dingler
Amy Dingler had three things when she stepped off a plane in India last year: a backpack, an address, and a dream. She wasn’t sure where she was staying that night or how to get to her destination. She was alone, she didn’t speak the local language, and she hadn’t brought a travel guide. But [...]
Heart of Gold…Deanna McCurdy
May 1, 2012 by Kristin Girard
Filed under Deanna McCurdy
The Augusta 70.3 Half-Ironman triathlon race began at 7:30 a.m., but because of how it was set up with over 3500 participants, my swim wave didn’t begin until after 9 a.mAs I watched the athletes before me begin their race, calm came over me. No longer was I anxious about swimming in the Savannah River, [...]
The Storyteller’s Story, Jill Smith Entrekin
April 1, 2012 by Maggie Worth
Filed under Jill Smith Entrekin
It all started with a tin can. Decorated with green paint, a crooked line of ric-rac, a shaky glue-and-glitter Christmas tree, and an equally unsteady star, the can was one of the first handmade gifts a young Jill Smith gave to her father. Nearly half a century later, it inspired an essay that eventually became [...]
Sarah Smith, A Modern-Day Fairy Tale
March 1, 2012 by Nichole Bazemore
Filed under Sarah Smith
Many a girl, enchanted by Disney movies and childhood fairy tales, dreams of the day her Prince Charming will gallop into her life on a beautiful white horse, confess his undying love for her in a lavish ceremony, and whisk her off into the sunset to live happily ever after. Sometimes it happens that way. [...]
Hope Soars: Rachel Isons
February 13, 2012 by Maggie Worth
Filed under Rachel Isons
Imagine that you’ve suffered a massive stroke at age 77 and been admitted to the hospital. The very next day, a 7.0 earthquake rocks your country and levels the hospital. You’ve been lucky, though; a nurse was able to push your wheelchair into the street before the building collapsed. You’re alive, but helpless. Around you [...]
Peggy Thomas, She’s Positively Successful
January 5, 2012 by Ellie White-Stevens
Filed under 2012, Peggy Thomas
We’ve all heard the saying, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” In other words, sometimes life presents us with obstacles, and we have to turn them into opportunities. But when given lemons, entrepreneur Peggy Thomas doesn’t settle for lemonade; instead, she’ll recruit your apples and my oranges, and make fruit salad. Peggy is fabulous [...]