News

Community honors Athena winner

Judith Long reacts to winning the 2015 Athena Award. Photo by Robin Reed

By Emily Stanley, Published: May 14, 2015

Judith Oliver Long, executive director of The Free Clinics and Affiliate Community Minister for Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hendersonville, accepted the Athena Award for women’s leadership at Kenmure Country Club on Thursday, May 14, at an event that represented a high point of Henderson County’s Small Business Week.

In her 10 years at The Free Clinics, Long has substantially increased their budget, nearly more than tripling it to $1 million, and dramatically boosted their number of programs from 5 to 20, staff from 5 to 17, and patient encounters from 1,047 to 11,515. State Rep. Chuck McGrady says of Long’s work at The Free Clinics, “The organization has taken off under Judy’s leadership and she’s made a huge contribution to Henderson County.”

Long enthusiastically advocates for her patients by collaborating with other agencies in the community. For example, she has helped develop HopeRx, an organization combatting prescription drug abuse, Bridges to Health, for patients who over-utilize hospital ERs, and smoking cessation program in partnership with the Health Department. She has also added a pharmacy with low-cost prescription medications to The Free Clinics and collaborated with local officials to ensure clients could find transportation to the clinics when the local public bus route changed.

Linda Showalter, a retired therapist who has served on The Free Clinics’ Board of Directors, nominated Long for the Athena Award. Showalter wrote in her nomination that Long exemplifies this quote from Rev. Judy Morley: “True leadership does not mean exerting power over others, but rather learning how to manage our own weaknesses and modeling the behavior we expect from our team.”

This leader was visibly surprised and humbled by her award. “It is a tremendous honor,” she said of winning. “I’m a little speechless, and those of you who know me, that’s not a common thing,” she joked. “Thank you, and I will do my best to continue to live up those eight qualities of leadership,” she said, referring to the qualities espoused in the Athena Leadership Model: Authentic Self, Relationships, Giving Back, Collaboration, Courageous Acts, Learning, Fierce Advocacy, and Celebration. “It is a roadmap for how to be in authentic relationship with our community and do as much as we can to create the world we want to see,” Long said.

In an inspiring speech, President and CEO of Athena International Dianne Dinkel elaborated on the components of the Athena Leadership Model, identifying a component each nominee particularly embodies. Dinkel spoke about how Long exemplifies the first element, “The Authentic Self,” referencing the way she provided others with “the ultimate gift of self-empowerment.”

“Women lead differently,” Dinkel said, adding that this did not mean that they were better or worse leaders than men. She emphasized the importance of acknowledging these differences, sharing a personal story from her early career in a leadership position at a college where she “tried to become a man” in her leadership style. She quickly realized, “It worked so much better for me to be myself.”

This is the principle at the heart of the Athena Leadership Model and Athena International. She expanded on the concept of women as leaders, saying, “The common thing about women leaders” is that “they say, ‘I’m not a leader. I was just doing my job.’” Athena exists to recognize and celebrate these modest leaders who often remain unacknowledged. Events like this one are an opportunity to say, “These women are leaders.”

Athena International’s founder Martha Mertz started the organization when she looked around at her county’s Chamber of Commerce board and realized she didn’t see any other women. She started Athena to help celebrate and publicize the accomplishments of female community leaders who she noticed were often hiding in the shadows of public life despite their achievements.

In the closing remarks, Henderson County Chamber of Commerce President Bob Williford was pleased to report that our chamber’s board has an even fifty/fifty gender split. Our county has a vibrant community of leaders of both genders, and “Memory Jogger” cards on the tables encouraged attendees to think about the women (and men!) they knew who were mentoring and supporting women leaders in the community and take note of potential future nominees.

Dianne Dinkel noted in her introductions of the nominees that many nominators referred to these women as “visionaries.” Even to be nominated is an incredible honor, and Henderson County was blessed with seven terrific nominees this year. Here are the biographies of the other nominees, taken from their nominations:

Ruth B. Birge, nominated by Myra Grant A retired newspaper executive and publisher who recently retired for the second time, Ruth Birge still rises at dawn each morning before she heads out to volunteer for the community of Henderson County and work part-time. Since moving to Hendersonville in 2002, Ruth has focused both her work and volunteer life to share her time, talent and gifts to make Henderson County the best place she has ever lived. During her five-plus years at the United Way of Henderson County, on top of leading the community to raise nearly $2 million each year to help feed the hungry, provide affordable housing, educate young children and more, Ruth led the organization through the 2025 Strategic Plan, setting a direction for human service problem-solving for the next ten years. An original member of the Henderson County Athena Committee, Ruth has shepherded the Athena program founder’s two grown daughters following the tragic loss of their mother in 2011. “Whatever we have needed, Ruth has been available day or night. We have felt that she has given us the type of direction and advice as if we were her own family…” Ruth helped the daughters create a program called Vanessa’s Vision to honor their mother’s community service. A few months ago Ruth volunteered her time and shared her personal story of loss and choices during a nonprofit program designed to lift up women in the community. A former United Way board chair watched Ruth start a United Way Young Leaders program created to cultivate the next generation of community leaders. Ruth received the Rob and Ginger Cranford Leadership Award for outstanding leadership, led the local newspaper for six years of state news and advertising awards, won “Ad Woman of the Year” award in 2000 during her earlier newspaper advertising career in Florida for the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group and has served on a lengthy list of nonprofit organizations since moving to Hendersonville more than a dozen years ago.

Tiffany Ervin, nominated by Terri Lyda and Lucretia Finley Tiffany Ervin moved to Hendersonville 12 years ago to be closer to her niece and nephews after the sudden death of her only sister. She worked as director of marketing and public relations at a local hospital for four years before resigning to start her own business called Morning Glory Productions. She manages multiple websites and social media accounts, travels as a keynote speaker, coaches pageant contestants in public speaking and interview skills and freelances as a TV/radio host, spokesperson and sideline reporter. She also owns and operates a women’s upscale consignment boutique in Hendersonville, Elite Repeats Boutique. Tiffany also serves on numerous local boards: Henderson County Chamber of Commerce, Four Seasons Rotary Club, Spartanburg County Rotary Club, Media Women of South Carolina and the National Federation of Press Women. She has also served as executive director of Miss Hendersonville and Miss Asheville scholarship pageants for young women. A self-proclaimed ‘Rotary Geek’, Tiffany shares the principles and mission of Rotary International (Service Above Self) with everyone she meets. Since July 2014 she has sponsored seven new members into the Four Seasons Rotary Club including six women. During her tenure as executive director of the Miss Hendersonville Pageant, Tiffany served as a mentor/coach/traveling companion/business manager and even “mountain mama,” according to one young lady.

Joanie Fisher, nominated by Brett Hulsey More than 30 years ago Joanie Fisher took over a fledgling local publication and turned it into Hendersonville Magazine to promote the quality of life in our area and play a pivotal role in maintaining it. She only allowed businesses that were truly local, had been in business at least a year and were reputable to serve as advertisers to be included in her publication. She expanded and added Healthcare Resources in 2004 to help consumers stay informed of the latest medical technologies and added a list of local health care providers in our area. In 2014 Joanie added another publication, Aging Resources, to inform readers about legal, medical and daily living issues related to aging. In the late fall of 2014 Joanie sold the three publications to her nominator, Brett Hulsey. She remains on staff as publisher emeritus. Over the years Joanie has served on numerous nonprofit boards including United Way of Henderson County and the board of Vocational Solutions. She is a member of the Henderson County Chamber and the Hendersonville Rotary Club and has helped publish a newsletter for her church, Immaculate Conception Church. Over three decades Joanie has given professional women who found themselves in a life transition a much-needed job with the flexibility to handle whatever hardship they were dealing with at the time. Joanie knew that given the right environment these women would do extraordinary work to grow her business. She provided the right environment – one with flexibility and accountability. The women she hired rewarded Joanie with hard work, creativity and unwavering loyalty. Some of these women spent years on her staff, others spent a short time and were off. All found a place at Fisher Publications where an employer believed in them and their ability to do great work no matter what was going on in the lives.

Kelly Schofield, nominated by Kristen Walter Ms. Schofield feels a strong responsibility to grow leadership in her staff, says her nominator. This year alone Ms. Schofield has hosted more than 500 visiting school administrators and teachers from the Southeast at Dana Elementary to view creative programs and initiatives she has put in place. Her vision has resulted in high student leadership participation, student voice and parent participation. She has started a magnet program with the school, the Leader in Me program (of which she is recognized as the leader in the state); project based learning units, technology initiatives, arts integration in all subjects and health/active living programs. She supports and encourages her teachers and staff members to start advanced degrees, invites college administrators to Dana Elementary to meet with staff and serves as the mentor principal for new principals in Henderson County. In addition to her duties as principal at Dana Elementary, Ms. Schofield has served on the education committee for the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce, on the state Title 1 Committee, as the county’s representative for the state Principal Association, as an adjunct professor at Mars Hill College, on the Henderson County Public Schools Technology Committee, on the selection committee for the National Schools Change Award and more. Her teachers have presented at the National Association of Art Teachers Conference, the Southeastern Leader in Me Conference and the NC Collaborative Conference.

Sandra ‘Sandy’ Westin, nominated by Julie Gordon Sandy Westin is known for applying her energetic, creative and organized approach to any challenge she takes on, whether it be for business or nonprofit organizations. In 1988 and 1990 she was part of a team of volunteers under the Center for Soviet-American Dialogue in Seattle that produced the First and Second Soviet-American Citizens summits held in Alexandria, Virginia and Moscow, USSR. These groundbreaking conferences brought together 100 non-governmental leaders of the then-Soviet Union with their counterparts in education, medicine, art and many other fields with the purpose of developing joint projects. In 1994 Sandy served as managing director of the Voices of the Earth Conference at the University of Colorado in Boulder. The conference brought together 50 leading figures in environmental activism, religious, spiritual and indigenous traditions and state government in this groundbreaking event attended by nearly 500 people from the United States and Canada. Sandy moved with her husband, Paul Westin, to North Carolina in 1996 and became active in the local Cooperation Circle (chapter) of United Religions Initiative. In 2009 she was appointed to the global staff position of regional coordinator of United Religions Initiative and became responsible for development and coordination of local cooperation circles throughout the United States and Canada. In that capacity she was instrumental in producing the first Regional Assembly in five years. Out of that assembly Sandy developed the region’s first Leadership Council, had it qualified as a 501c3 nonprofit and worked to cultivate working relationships other nonprofits
with similar missions and values.

Kaye Youngblood, nominated by Phyllis Wilson Kaye Youngblood’s unwavering record of service to Hendersonville High School and the larger community testify to the steady, enlightened leadership she provides every day, year after year, with the enthusiasm, dedication and modest attitude that define her as exceptional, says her nominator. Not one to seek the spotlight she brings light and energy everywhere she goes. Professionally she guides students at Hendersonville High School toward historical and social awareness and responsible living. A native of Hendersonville, Kaye has taught school for 26 years. During 16 years of her Hendersonville High School career, she has chaired the Social Students Department, collaborating and leading her colleagues. She is a National Board Certified teacher, has twice been recognized as Teacher of the Year at Hendersonville High School, twice been awarded Brevard College’s award for Outstanding Teacher and Mentor, is a four-time Creative Teaching Grant recipient and more. In 1995, Kaye and another teacher designed an ambitious program that continues annually and has won funding from the Henderson County Education Foundation: Social Studies Symposium, a week in which all 750 Hendersonville High School students address a specific topic such a Vietnam, the McCarthy Era, the Holocaust, the Civil Rights Movement, World War II, Watergate, Gandhi, the Cold War and more. Her genuine interest in her students is further demonstrated by her service as Student Government sponsor, Club Diversity sponsor, Senior Class sponsor, Peer Mediation sponsor and Red Carpet Event sponsor. She has mentored female students while serving as head varsity volleyball coach and has led teams to two state championships.