Since its inception, One Dozen Who Care has continued to grow and to expand its services to the people of western North Carolina. In 2004, the Board realized that our organization had grown beyond the scope of a one-person operation. The paperwork alone was enough to keep one person busy all day. Alice Blanton began her position with One Dozen Who Care on the first Monday in January, 2005. Since then, she has assumed not only her assistant administrative duties, but has taken an active interest in the programs sponsored by One Dozen.
CARRIE SWANSON The newest One Dozen Who Care ’Board of Director’s member is Carrie Swanson, who joined the board in February of 2013. She is a resident of Macon County, and is the Respite Coordinator at the Jackson County Family Resource Center. Carrie has a Bachelor’s degree in Human Services Technology/Substance Abuse Concentration, and she is working on her Bachelor’s in Psychology/Christian Counseling. She is certified as a Laughter Yoga Leader, in Strengthening Families, Nurturing Parents, Becoming a Love and Logic Parent, and in Incredible Years. Carrie enjoys helping parents invest in the future of their children. She has worked at REACH, Early Head Start at Macon Program for Progress and Migrant Head Start with East Coast Migrant Head Start Project. Carrie says she feels blessed to now be working as a Respite Coordinator at the Family Resource Center for all seven counties. She believes God has opened this door for her, and she is very thankful to be working with and getting to know the families and caregivers in the surrounding communities. Carrie believes that God answers prayers and he has placed her here to help make a difference while working with the families and caregivers that participate in her programs. “Be careful for nothing: but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” Phil. 4:6.
LYNN LOUDERMILK BRUMBY was selected to be the Executive Director of One Dozen Who Care in January 2013. She is a native of Cherokee County, NC, and graduated from Murphy High School. She currently lives in the Marble Community, between Murphy and Andrews, NC.
Lynn graduated from Brenau University, in Gainesville, GA, in 1980, with a BS degree in Business Administration and US History. She earned a graduate level certification in Gerontology in 2008 from Western Carolina University’s graduate school. She has three adult children: one daughter (Brea) and two sons (Hunt and Forrest.)
Lynn has lived and worked in several different states, including CA, FL, GA, NV and TN, before returning to the beautiful mountains of western NC. She has worked in various positions, including corporate training specialist, fund raiser and marketing counselor. In each of her positions, she has been a strong advocate for diversity, justice and equality. Lynn also has a love for eldercare, and she is working on a collection of the stories and recipes told to her by many amazing elders, both inside and outside her family. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, reading, listening to National Public Radio, volunteering, continuing education and traveling. One of her goals in 2013 is to strengthen her Spanish language skills and grow One Dozen Who Care’s outreach to the Latino/Latina population of the far-western counties of NC. Recently, Lynn was asked to summarize her life with just one word, and she replied “joyous.”
ALICE PEARCE BLANTON was born in Lakeland, Florida, but her family soon moved to western North Carolina for the summers. She married a Swain County native and they raised their son and daughter on a farm in the Cowee Community of Macon County.
After some years back in Florida, Alice returned to Cherokee County, NC, as a reporter for The Sentinel Newspaper Group. Alice has filled numerous positions since leaving her Macon County farm, in 1981, and returning to the workforce. She was receptionist for a large home developer in central Florida, worked for the Lake County Property Appraiser’s office for eight years, and, for a short time, was Deputy City Clerk of Leesburg.
A vegetable and flower garden, and her cat, take up most of Alice’s spare time during the summer months. In winter, Alice likes to read, crochet and write.
STELLA MOORE attended Montclair State College in upper Montclair, NJ. Studying food and nutrition. She worked as a food service manager in a retirement home for 13 years and as a train engineer for the New York City Transit Authority for 16 years. She owned and operated a successful restaurant in Teaneck, NJ, and has also been a foster parent. In 2002, she decided to close her restaurant and move to Western North Carolina.
Presently she serves as a deaconess in God’s Holy Tabernacle Church in Sylva, NC. She volunteers one day a week in the Jackson County Nutrition Program that serves meals to the elderly, and she is also a member of the North Carolina Legal Aide Client Council. An active member of Bridges to Community, she is the newly elected chair person of the Western Carolina Community Development Corp. in Sylva, NC.
PATRICIA ANN WASHINGTON is married, and with four adult daughters, Patricia has had extensive experience working both with young children and with senior citizens. She is a former member of the Macon County (NC) Senior Leadership Council.
Patricia has traveled throughout the United States and lived in several regions of this country. Always flexible and creative, Patricia worked as a welder in Missouri, a receptionist in Texas, a nurse’s aide in Wisconsin, and a loan office and bank teller in Virginia. Her varied experiences have given her the ability to communicate with a cross section of people from all walks of life.
An active member of Burgess Chapel, Patricia serves on the Human Relations Council and the Unity for Development Council. She is a former board member of the Arts Council of Macon County (NC) and served on the boards of the Banquet Table, the Macon Senior Leadership Council, and Smart Start. She is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions for her service and dedication to her fellow citizens and her community.
Patricia’s hobbies include reading, old movies, music and sports
ANN MILLER WOODFORD is the Founder and past Executive Director of One Dozen Who Care, Inc., an organization whose mission is “to strengthen our leadership abilities and to create community bonds through common cultural interactions.” Ann is the initiator and/or collaborative implementer of many of the organization’s projects and programs.
Ann is the Treasurer of the Mt. Zion Baptist Church of Andrews Sunday School, serves as an Advisor to the Andrews Valley initiative and is the Founder of Chautauqua AVE! in Andrews. She was also a Charter Member of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Storytellers’ Guild.
She has performed duties as the Treasurer of the Waynesville Missionary Baptist Association and served on the boards of the Center for Participatory Change and HandMade In America, Asheville, NC; the Fred Craddock Center in Blue Ridge, GA; the Advisory Board of the Office of Economic Opportunity of the Catholic Social Services and Tri-County Community College Foundation, Murphy; and the Andrews High School Advisory group and Valleytown Cultural Arts Center, Andrews.
Ann is a business person, a Fine Artist, a Craftsperson and a grants writer. In 2000, she was honored to receive the Rural Leader of the Year Award from the NC Rural Economic Development Organization; in 2003, the North Carolina Governor’s Volunteer Award and in 2008, the Z. Smith Reynolds Sabbatical.
PATRICIA HALL is a native of Simonton, Texas where she was raised on a farm. She is the sixth of twelve children. Patricia attended Texas Woman’s University and has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Occupational Therapy.
Patricia has three children: Kassandra Greene and David and Katherine, who are twins, and two grandsons, Michael and Landon.
Patricia loves to tell stories and work with her arts and crafts. She is a world traveler and is planning to soon work in a new country. Patricia recently relocated back to Houston and she is very involved with her church.
JOYCE ANNE STRATTON, a native of Sylva, NC. moved to Charleston, West Virginia at the age of 13. Upon graduating high school, she was employed at C & P Telephone Co. Wanting to see and experience other parts of the United States, she transferred to Los Angeles, CA where she was employed by Pacific Telephone Co. until she retired.
Upon her retirement, she moved to Dallas, TX and became a Life and Health Insurance Agent. She relocated back to Sylva, NC and reunited with the Liberty Baptist Church following the downsizing of the insurance company.
Joyce is quiet and reserved, but she looks forward to working in the community. She has assisted the local Democratic party with one of their projects. As a new member of the board of One Dozen Who Care, Inc., she anticipates the opportunity to assist in anyway possible, the continued support of One Dozen Who Care to the minorities and youth in the community.