Showing posts with label survival skills. Show all posts
Showing posts with label survival skills. Show all posts
Monday, May 14, 2018
How She Promotes Peace
By Holly Hinson
Cory Lockhart was only 3 years old when she first traveled internationally. Since that time, the teacher, writer, public speaker, and peacemaker has visited and performed on-the-ground human rights and charity work in a number of countries, including Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and Palestine. At the foundation of all she has done is an emphasis on peacemaking and service to others.
Monday, January 8, 2018
“I am reminded of how powerful our influence can be…” — Jennifer Hancock
By Holly Hinson
Recently, Jennifer Hancock reconnected with a former client at an awards banquet in Lexington. The woman, Karen, is now working as a social worker for the very agency where she and Jennifer first met. “Rarely do we know the outcome of the seeds that we plant, but in this case, I was reminded of how powerful our influence can be,” Jennifer says. “I have so much respect and reverence for that role of facilitator of change; it is one that provides hope and a vision of what can be. I was reminded of how sacred that trust is that is placed in us from people who seek help in the darkest points of their lives. Early on, we are truly just a stranger to them, but over time we may be a pivotal influencer of the trajectory of their lives.”
 |
| Jennifer stands outside of the new Freedom House which will provide additional housing for their clients. Photos by Melissa Donald |
Monday, August 14, 2017
I Escaped the Sex Industry — After 35 Years
By Megan S. Willman
When Mary Frances was 15, her neighbor “Dirty” recruited her into the sex and adult entertainment industry. He bought her ice cream and promised to marry her one day. He did come back but not for marriage. Dirty pulled Mary into the sex trade where she remained for the next 35 years. “It all began with a milkshake,” Mary says. “I was a hungry kid with alcoholic parents. He told me what I wanted to hear, and I followed him.” After surviving decades of abuse and exploitation, Mary escaped the sex trade at the age of 50. Now, seven years later, Mary Frances shares her story in the hopes of shedding light on the growing problem of human trafficking.
 |
| Mary says playing the guitar brings her peace and calmness. Photos: Patti Hartog |
Monday, July 24, 2017
Parents Worry that Labels are Forever...
By Megan S. Willman
Amy Ayres does not shy away from conversation about dyslexia and attention-deficit disorder. Diagnosed with both at an early age, Amy was part of ECE (Exceptional Child Education), a JCPS program designed to meet the needs of students with educational disabilities.
Amy Ayres does not shy away from conversation about dyslexia and attention-deficit disorder. Diagnosed with both at an early age, Amy was part of ECE (Exceptional Child Education), a JCPS program designed to meet the needs of students with educational disabilities.
Monday, June 5, 2017
Flying (Literally) Toward Positive Choices
By Megan S. Willman
Laura Benson Jones is committed to raising kids to a higher level, and she takes that goal literally. Dismayed by the rising number of young people impacted by drug and alcohol use in our society, Laura decided to do what she could to help youth in our community make positive life choices.
Laura Benson Jones is committed to raising kids to a higher level, and she takes that goal literally. Dismayed by the rising number of young people impacted by drug and alcohol use in our society, Laura decided to do what she could to help youth in our community make positive life choices.
Friday, May 26, 2017
Give Mentors a Hand Clap
Monday, May 8, 2017
“Doing what I choose doesn’t mean it’s easy…”
By Megan S. Willman
In the fall of 1990, Diana Dinicola came to Louisville’s StageOne Family Theatre for a nine-month internship to complete her theater arts degree from Northwestern University. She didn’t plan to stay in Louisville and certainly never expected that today she would be a partner and business manager at Studio Kremer Architects, Inc., as well as the founding member of Flamenco Louisville. By following these seemingly disparate paths, Diana has found a way to make her dreams a reality.
Monday, April 10, 2017
Kathy Bingham’s Survival Skills for Running the Fillies
By Megan S. Willman
With more than 100 women at The Fillies’ meetings, I asked Fillies President Kathy Bingham if she found it difficult to step in as its leader. “When I agree to do something, I give it all I have. I love to talk to people and am willing to explore all sides of an issue. Sometimes, though, I do have to put on my warden voice,” says Kathy with a laugh.
With more than 100 women at The Fillies’ meetings, I asked Fillies President Kathy Bingham if she found it difficult to step in as its leader. “When I agree to do something, I give it all I have. I love to talk to people and am willing to explore all sides of an issue. Sometimes, though, I do have to put on my warden voice,” says Kathy with a laugh.
Friday, March 17, 2017
Kate Latts’ 10 Strategies for Managing Home and Business
By Megan S. Willman
In 1935, the Shapira family opened a small distillery called “Old Heavenhill Springs.” Known today as Heaven Hill Brands, the 82-year-old business has become the nation’s sixth largest distilled spirits supplier. Three generations of Shapira family members have worked to see Heaven Hill expand in the U.S. and into 40 countries worldwide. Kate Shapira Latts joined the family business in 2001, and today serves as the vice president for marketing. The diversity of Heaven Hill’s brand portfolio means that there is no such thing as a regular work day for Kate. On the day we spoke, she had discussed the meteoric growth of Evan Williams bourbon and spoken with a rapper in Georgia who would be promoting HPNOTIQ, a top-selling imported liqueur, at his concert that evening.
In 1935, the Shapira family opened a small distillery called “Old Heavenhill Springs.” Known today as Heaven Hill Brands, the 82-year-old business has become the nation’s sixth largest distilled spirits supplier. Three generations of Shapira family members have worked to see Heaven Hill expand in the U.S. and into 40 countries worldwide. Kate Shapira Latts joined the family business in 2001, and today serves as the vice president for marketing. The diversity of Heaven Hill’s brand portfolio means that there is no such thing as a regular work day for Kate. On the day we spoke, she had discussed the meteoric growth of Evan Williams bourbon and spoken with a rapper in Georgia who would be promoting HPNOTIQ, a top-selling imported liqueur, at his concert that evening.
Thursday, February 2, 2017
“I’m the least qualified and least likely person to succeed, but I put one foot in front of the other, no matter what,” says this local owner of two businesses. She gives her 10 rules of survival.
By Megan S. Willman
When I walked into DBS Interactive, a Louisville company specializing in web design and programming, to meet with CEO and Founder Cyndi Masters, I was greeted by both Cyndi Masters and her dog Super Cooper Masters. This warm welcome set the tone for an engaging conversation about the ups and downs of business and life, as well as Cyndi’s unfailing efforts to live out her values in all she does. It sounds like a tall order, but Cyndi is up to the challenge. A survivor of a traumatic brain injury from a motorcycle accident, a bout with cancer, and a back-breaking fall that led to spinal reconstruction, Cyndi twice had to learn to walk again. She has not just survived; Cyndi has thrived.
When I walked into DBS Interactive, a Louisville company specializing in web design and programming, to meet with CEO and Founder Cyndi Masters, I was greeted by both Cyndi Masters and her dog Super Cooper Masters. This warm welcome set the tone for an engaging conversation about the ups and downs of business and life, as well as Cyndi’s unfailing efforts to live out her values in all she does. It sounds like a tall order, but Cyndi is up to the challenge. A survivor of a traumatic brain injury from a motorcycle accident, a bout with cancer, and a back-breaking fall that led to spinal reconstruction, Cyndi twice had to learn to walk again. She has not just survived; Cyndi has thrived.
Monday, January 16, 2017
A Career That Means Something to Her and is Flexible for Her Children
By Megan S. Willman
We expect schools to educate children, to help them to develop into responsible global citizens, and to offer them academic, athletic, and artistic opportunities. A growing number of children, however, rely on schools to provide their daily meals. What happens to the more than 16 million children in our country who go home to empty cupboards on the weekends? That’s where Blessings in a Backpack comes to the rescue.
Blessings in a Backpack began in Louisville in 2005 under the umbrella of Kentucky Harvest, incorporated in 2008, and is now a nationwide non-profit that eases weekend hunger by sending kids home with a backpack of food on Friday afternoons.
 |
| Nikki Grizzle keeps everything in perfect balance between motherhood and managing Blessings in a Backpack. |
We expect schools to educate children, to help them to develop into responsible global citizens, and to offer them academic, athletic, and artistic opportunities. A growing number of children, however, rely on schools to provide their daily meals. What happens to the more than 16 million children in our country who go home to empty cupboards on the weekends? That’s where Blessings in a Backpack comes to the rescue.
Blessings in a Backpack began in Louisville in 2005 under the umbrella of Kentucky Harvest, incorporated in 2008, and is now a nationwide non-profit that eases weekend hunger by sending kids home with a backpack of food on Friday afternoons.
Saturday, November 12, 2016
How to Help Someone With a Drug Addiction
By Marie Bradby
Sergeant Brittney Garrett, a nine-year veteran officer with the Jeffersontown Police Department, had seen enough — the rising number of drug overdoses and overdose deaths in Jefferson County, the climbing rates of crime, and the overwhelming number of drug addicts detoxing in jail cells.
Sergeant Brittney Garrett, a nine-year veteran officer with the Jeffersontown Police Department, had seen enough — the rising number of drug overdoses and overdose deaths in Jefferson County, the climbing rates of crime, and the overwhelming number of drug addicts detoxing in jail cells.
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
After You Jump the Broom, 5 Survival Tips for Staying Married
By Marie Bradby
My friends and I attended several weddings across the country this summer. It was the stuff of dreams: misty-eyed fathers proudly ushering brides in confectionery gowns down the aisle; grooms playfully wearing Star Wars cufflinks; and sharply dressed guests tossing lavender buds and plumeria petals on the amorous couples as they head to their reception and honeymoon.
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Helping Kids Cope With Grief
Nine ways to help a child who has lost a loved one.
By Marie Bradby
“When I tell people that I provide grief and loss counseling for children, they say, ‘How terrible.’ It’s not terrible at all. I come and talk to them during a difficult time in their lives,” says Candice Evans, a licensed clinical social worker and school-based grief counselor with Hosparus in Louisville.
“The students come together with their peers and share their stories of loss and what happened to the person who died. They learn about physical and emotional grief. They learn that it’s not all sad; they can be happy, especially when they have great memories about the person. They learn that people die for physical reasons. Grandma died of cancer and the doctors couldn’t help her any more. They are able to express their feelings and learn healthy coping skills (breathing exercises, mindfulness).”
By Marie Bradby
 |
| Candice uses puppets as part of the group sessions she has with the students. Photos by Melissa Donald |
“When I tell people that I provide grief and loss counseling for children, they say, ‘How terrible.’ It’s not terrible at all. I come and talk to them during a difficult time in their lives,” says Candice Evans, a licensed clinical social worker and school-based grief counselor with Hosparus in Louisville.
“The students come together with their peers and share their stories of loss and what happened to the person who died. They learn about physical and emotional grief. They learn that it’s not all sad; they can be happy, especially when they have great memories about the person. They learn that people die for physical reasons. Grandma died of cancer and the doctors couldn’t help her any more. They are able to express their feelings and learn healthy coping skills (breathing exercises, mindfulness).”
Monday, July 25, 2016
You Can Be a Good Speaker
Treat them like friends around the dinner table and other things you can do to help make your speech memorable.
By Marie Bradby
Public speaking: Yikes! It can make even the toughest corporate executive weak at the knees. Whether it’s speaking at a team meeting, an industry conference, or a community event, many of us get nervous and tongue-tied in front of an audience.
Enter stage right — Madison Cork, an accomplished Hollywood actress, an adjunct professor of communications, acting, stage combat and voice, and president and founder of Cork Communications, which focuses on coaching executives and their teams to speak effectively.
By Marie Bradby
 |
| Madison Cork carries her signature handbag when attending all her client meetings. |
Public speaking: Yikes! It can make even the toughest corporate executive weak at the knees. Whether it’s speaking at a team meeting, an industry conference, or a community event, many of us get nervous and tongue-tied in front of an audience.
Enter stage right — Madison Cork, an accomplished Hollywood actress, an adjunct professor of communications, acting, stage combat and voice, and president and founder of Cork Communications, which focuses on coaching executives and their teams to speak effectively.
Monday, June 20, 2016
Her Secret to Business and Your Garden
By Marie Bradby
An avid gardener, Cheryl Susemichel would make a nearly two-hour drive to the old Smith & Hawken garden store in Cincinnati to buy tools she craved. She traveled 200 miles roundtrip to buy professional pruners, a European hoe, and authentic waterproof Wellies.
 |
| Taking time to figure out what customers like has contributed to the success of Cheryl's Susemichel's store. Customers can purchase gardening tools, plants and other decorative items. Here, she displays a recent shipment of plants she has received. Photos by Melissa Donald |
An avid gardener, Cheryl Susemichel would make a nearly two-hour drive to the old Smith & Hawken garden store in Cincinnati to buy tools she craved. She traveled 200 miles roundtrip to buy professional pruners, a European hoe, and authentic waterproof Wellies.
Sunday, May 8, 2016
Connecting the Beauty of Art and Nature
By Marie Bradby
While the warm spring breeze blew against her face and ruffled the pastel blossoms of the trees, Martha Slaughter swung on an art piece entitled Philosofa, a sculpted, suspended bench just outside the Visitor’s Center at Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, and mused.
“Art and nature connect us to the natural world through our senses,” says Martha, a visual arts coordinator for both Bernheim and KentuckyOne Health. “Bernheim is a place that people know they can come to and have that experience. It gives people a sense of well-being. Scientific studies have shown that being in touch with nature is good for the mind and body.”
 |
| Martha Slaughter has found a job that embodies two of her favorite things. Photos by Patti Hartog |
While the warm spring breeze blew against her face and ruffled the pastel blossoms of the trees, Martha Slaughter swung on an art piece entitled Philosofa, a sculpted, suspended bench just outside the Visitor’s Center at Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, and mused.
“Art and nature connect us to the natural world through our senses,” says Martha, a visual arts coordinator for both Bernheim and KentuckyOne Health. “Bernheim is a place that people know they can come to and have that experience. It gives people a sense of well-being. Scientific studies have shown that being in touch with nature is good for the mind and body.”
Monday, February 15, 2016
Nine Secrets to Starting Your Own Business
by Marie Bradby
What’s one of Suzanne Bergmeister’s favorite TV shows? Shark Tank.
Suzanne says the show, which features entrepreneurs who seek money from wealthy business investors, is true to life because the questions the shark investors ask are the questions she asks her students.
 |
| Suzanne is creating the next generation of entrepreneurs at the University of Louisville College of Business. |
What’s one of Suzanne Bergmeister’s favorite TV shows? Shark Tank.
Suzanne says the show, which features entrepreneurs who seek money from wealthy business investors, is true to life because the questions the shark investors ask are the questions she asks her students.
Monday, December 14, 2015
The Business of Art & Flowers
By Marie Bradby
Once there was a girl who loved flowers. She played in her grandparents’ garden where she breathed in the scent of the roses, the vegetable plants, and the dirt. She would walk into floral shops in her hometown of Chicago just to smell the flowers. When she was 19, she started community college, at first thinking of nursing, then switching to floriculture. But before the first semester had ended, she dropped out...
 |
| Carolyn Minutillo, owner of Lavender Hill Florals, couldn’t imagine choosing any other career. |
“I must have flowers always and always.”
— Claude Monet
Once there was a girl who loved flowers. She played in her grandparents’ garden where she breathed in the scent of the roses, the vegetable plants, and the dirt. She would walk into floral shops in her hometown of Chicago just to smell the flowers. When she was 19, she started community college, at first thinking of nursing, then switching to floriculture. But before the first semester had ended, she dropped out...
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Annie Locke Knows How to Fight to Survive
 |
| Written by Marie Bradby Photo by Melissa Donald |
"You have to keep going," says fitness guru and co-owner of a Pure Barre studio, Annie Locke. She survived a tumultuous childhood with a severely alcoholic mother, and a car accident as a teen that required thousands of stitches in her head. "You make your life what it is."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
