SSCC Women's Tea: "Taking the Lead to Save the Planet" March 11, 2009

SSCC Women’s Tea to focus on environmentalism

Southern State Community College will host its annual Women’s Tea from 2-4 p.m. Wednesday, March 11, at the Appalachian Gateway Center, located on South Campus in Fincastle. This year’s theme is “Taking the Lead to Save the Planet.” The event is free and open to the public.

This year’s honoree and guest speaker will be Southern State nursing instructor Jody Gray, who has extensive hands-on experience in working to further environmental causes. Gray earned her diploma of nursing from Jewish Hospital School of Nursing and her B.S.N. from Shawnee State University. She is a certified women’s health nurse practitioner and is working toward becoming a certified midwife.

Reflecting on this year’s theme, Gray says that sometimes taking the lead means “joining hands with others in work that benefits the planet. Sometimes it is enough to say, ‘This work is important because it supports the quality of life on planet earth.”

Gray has Native American heritage and was connected to nature through her father and his family at a very young age. She says that one of the most effective ways to get kids involved is to take them to a beautiful place in nature, then take them to a place that has been littered with trash over a period of time. The contrast is not lost on them, she says.

“I have always found comfort in communion with nature…rocks and fossils, a tree, a stream, the earth, birds, flowers, frogs…” says Gray. “I find the interdependence of all living things fascinating. I am a believer in our duty to be good neighbors to each other on the planet as we manage to be good stewards of our natural resources. I also believe we need to plan ahead for the next seven generations.

“As we do this, we need to look at the preservation or restoration of critical elements of our environment, such as clean water and air. Humans cannot live without these things.

“As a nurse, I see that it is critical to the emotional, physical and spiritual health of the people of planet earth that we preserve places for solitude and communion with nature.”

Southern State’s Women’s Tea began in 1999 as a way to honor an outstanding local woman for her contributions to the community. Honorees are selected from the college’s service district which includes Adams, Brown, Clinton, Fayette and Highland counties. The annual event also gives women an opportunity to come together for an afternoon of fellowship, enlightenment and fun.

Reservations for the tea or nominations for honorees may be directed to event organizer Mary Ayres, SSCC south campus LRC manager, at 1-800-628-7722, ext. 3681, or mayres@sscc.edu. The deadline for reservations is Friday, March 7.