My husband, Michael, and I were both born and raised in Charleston, WV. We’ve been married for 28 years and have 5 children. Our oldest, Morgan, is an attorney and lives in the Charleston with our 4-year-old grandson. Ryan plays in the NFL and lives in Winston-Salem, NC with his wife, Gabie, and our young grandson. Our daughter, Gracie, is an ER nurse at Women and Children’s Hospital. Rebekah also lives in Charleston and works as an early childhood educator at Fort Hill Child Development Center.  Our youngest, Mykah, is in 4th grade and her career path is yet to be determined!

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For 18 years, I was a homemaker for our growing family, while my husband worked to establish his small business, which he has now owned and operated for almost 26 years. While staying at home with my children, I took classes and graduated in 2009 from West Virginia State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education. I began my career as a teacher with Kanawha County Schools at Piedmont Elementary, where I taught for 10 years, until I accepted my current position at Bible Center School as a kindergarten teacher.

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Our family is rooted firmly in our faith. Blessed Sacrament Parish and Bible Center Church were our places of worship while our children were growing up, and we now attend Blessed Sacrament Parish in South Charleston exclusively. As active members of our church family, we have been blessed to be able participate and contribute to worthy causes through our places of worship over the years. Our family has tried to live by the words of Luke 12:48: “To whom much is given, much will be required.” We’ve always looked at helping others as a way of investing in our community. Both Michael and I have tried to use our areas of expertise to invest in our community. For many years, he worked with The Covenant House to design their annual reports and work as their in-house photographer/creative director. For many of those years, we participated as a family in various activities to help further the cause of The Covenant House. He’s donated his talents and countless hours to many non-profit organizations important to our family. As a family, we worked with Special Olympics of West Virginia for over a year to fundraise, advertise and hold a football camp to benefit this great organization. We opened our hearts and our home to children who needed a safe, nurturing place to go. One of whom is 27-years-old now, has called me “mom” for 20 years and still does, and I love him like my own! Many years ago, we were blessed to be in a position to open up the second floor of our office building on the West Side to a single mom and her two children, as well as, provide her with transportation, until she was back on her feet. She was able to graduate from college and has had a successful career in social services, and her family has grown to include grandchildren!  

 

The love of children and the need to “nurture” other humans is in my blood! Motherhood was always my desire in life, and God blessed me with 5 kiddos to mother. I’ve been told that, even as a toddler, I was labeled the “mother hen” to all the other toddlers in the room! As a mother, and now grandmother, my volunteerism has reflected that character quality. From opening my home to kids who needed us, to caring for elderly neighbors in my neighborhood, my volunteerism has had more of a “grass roots” effect. It was my goal, as well as my husband’s goal, to not only provide much needed help and companionship to our neighbors, but to also model for our children the importance of the giving of time to the elderly in our community. Our children eagerly helped with chores and household projects and our family welcomed many of them into our home for holidays. Our lives have been enriched by these relationships over the years. 

Today, we are still investing in our community through the opportunities our church has given us to help those less fortunate. Activities like food drives, overnight camp outs and Christmas Angel Trees are just a few ways our family can give back.

 

This culture of giving and investing in our community is something I look forward to bringing to the Charleston City Council.