Women’s History Month Part Two: Celebrating Local Women of Today
Mary Beth Sallee
Jobe Publishing, Inc.
March is Women’s History Month. It is a time to honor the achievements of not only women throughout history but also to celebrate local women of today, those who are stepping up as leaders, role models, and game changers throughout our communities.
Q&A with Women Making a Difference in Barren County
Jocelyn McKee Mansfield
Hometown: Glasgow
Occupation: Teacher (Educator – 19th year)
Q: How did you choose your career or profession?
A: I knew at an early age that I wanted to teach. I used to play school as a child. Once I entered high school, I gained a better grasp on why I wanted to be a teacher as there weren’t many African Americans, nor minority educators, in the area.
Q: From your perspective, what are some of the biggest challenges that women encounter today, whether in their career or personal life?
A: I truly feel that in the society in which we live, women still do not have equal opportunity. Now I agree that it has been better, but there is still a way to go. For example, if you have been watching the hearings for the Supreme Court nominee, she is definitely highly qualified for the job, but when asked questions about how to handle various situations, the questions are geared to set her up for failure. The real question is: if she were a man going through the same hearings would we go about the procedure the same way? Of course not!
Q: Who is the person who has influenced you most in your life or who has encouraged you in your strength and determination as a woman?
A: My mother, Virgia Mansfield, had a huge influence on me. She passed away when I was 12-years-old, but she always prepared me for LIFE. She would always say that she wouldn’t be here forever and then proceed to teach me something about life and how to survive. She taught me about faith and WHO to trust in when things seem impossible, but to also praise HIM in good times. She was the first college graduate in her family and expected the same out of me. I still look back over my life and think of the comments and words of wisdom that she gave me and it keeps me striving today. My Grandmother, Jean Mansfield, has played a vital role in the woman that I am today. At the age of 16, she knew that my father needed a little assistance in raising a teenage girl. She stepped in and fulfilled that motherly role. She held me accountable and showed me what it was to be a respectable woman.
Q: What does Women’s History Month mean to you?
A: Women’s History is a time to celebrate the empowerment, the strength, and the resilience of women from many different facets of life. It’s using it as a teachable moment for those young girls that will soon become women of the future.
Q: Who do you consider an important woman in history? Why?
A: Mary McLeod Bethune (Educator). I chose her because like me she was/is passionate about educating students. She started a school for girls which later became a college: Bethune Cookman College. Not only was she an educator, but she was an activist and devoted her time to make sure that African American students received equal opportunity.
Q: What advice do you have for other women or young girls?
A: I encounter young ladies and girls on a daily basis, so my advice would have to be for them. Never give up on your dreams. Set goals in life and strive to meet them. You can BE the difference. It isn’t easy, but you can make it. I DID!
Jamie Bewley Byrd
Hometown: Barren County
Occupation: Licensed Civil Engineer and Owner of Extreme Gymnastics & Cheer and Cheerville Athletics (8 gyms in 4 states)
Q: How did you choose your career or profession?
A: I was selected as one of two females in the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1999 for The Kentucky Transporation Cabinet Engineering Scholarship Program. I graduated with an Engineering Degree from the University of Kentucky in 2004. Outside of engineering, I took my passion and longtime experience in a sport and created a large corporation that has created over 75 jobs and gives over 4,000 kids each year the opportunity to be a competitive cheerleader, take tumbling and gymnastics courses, and provide facilities for birthday parties in eight cities in four states.
Q: From your perspective, what are some of the biggest challenges that women encounter today, whether in their career or personal life?
A: Being told that they can’t or shouldn’t have a career outside the home is a huge challenge women face. And, when women have children, they then face motherhood guilt from the world around them. To me, it has and will be about time management so that I can still enjoy being a mother and a successful business owner. It’s important to understand that women are ever so capable to work outside of the home while also helping to provide and take care of their families.
Q: Who is the person who has influenced you most in your life or who has encouraged you in your strength and determination as a woman?
A: My mother has been a strong influence in my life. She has shown me what dedication and hard work can do. She has always been my biggest cheerleader and gives me the encouragement that I need to take on new opportunities.
Q: What does Women’s History Month mean to you?
A: I am currently raising three daughters, and they each have big dreams and goals. I want them to see other females succeed and become influential leaders so that they know that with hard work and determination they can achieve their goals. Women can truly change the world with their ability to problem solve and time management/multitasking abilities.
Q: Who do you consider an important woman in history? Why?
A: To me, it’s not about any one woman. It’s about the collective group. It’s not about what any one woman can achieve by themselves, but I believe that women who work together, encourage one another, build one another up, and innovate together are the heroes that our daughters should look up to. Individually, women are more than capable to accomplish anything they set their minds to, but together, women can change the world.
Q: What advice do you have for other women or young girls?
A: Believe in yourself and surround yourself with people that believe in you. Set your goals high. Don’t stop until you have reached the moment you can truly show no regret in the fact that you tried.
Katie Davis
Hometown: Franklin, KY
Occupation: Majority owner of Blue Shark Games & Hobbies in Downtown Glasgow
Q: How did you choose your career or profession?
A: My profession brings happiness to my customers; I’ve always been drawn to professions that bring happiness and joy to my customers.
Q: From your perspective, what are some of the biggest challenges that women encounter today, whether in their career or personal life?
A: The game, toy, and hobby business is still male-dominated, and I get suppliers calling all the time who ask to speak to my husband. I tell them I’m in charge.
Q: Who is the person who has influenced you most in your life or who has encouraged you in your strength and determination as a woman?
A: Phil Davis, my husband. He always has faith in me. He stands beside me in any situation, offers encouragement, and tells me I can do anything I set out to do.
Q: What does Women’s History Month mean to you?
A: Women’s History Month is a time to educate everyone about the great accomplishments of women over the years.
Q: Who do you consider an important woman in history? Why?
A: Helen Keller. She overcame great obstacles in her life and left the world a better place with her accomplishments.
Q: What advice do you have for other women or young girls?
A: Don’t settle for less. Chase your dreams. Follow your heart.
Shar Embry
Hometown: Horse Cave
Occupation: Business Owner, Motivational Speaker, and Personal Trainer
Q: How did you choose your career or profession?
A: I would have to say that my career chose me. I decided to take a year to work on my physical appearance, and it led me to what I am doing now, which is helping others become the best version of themselves.
Q: From your perspective, what are some of the biggest challenges that women encounter today, whether in their career or personal life?
A: It is being misunderstood, incorrectly perceived, and underestimated. Women have been underestimated for a while, but I feel this is something that we are growing in each and every day.
Q: Who is the person who has influenced you most in your life or who has encouraged you in your strength and determination as a woman?
A: 100% my mother, Phyllis Embry. She always has the right words to kick me into the gear that I need to be able to accelerate toward my goals. I wouldn’t be the woman I am today if it wasn’t for her.
Q: What does Women’s History Month mean to you?
A: It means celebrating the women that came before me and that paved the way for empowerment, self-love, independence, and strength. I think about Rosa Parks, Maya Angelou, Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, and Kamala Harris and the sacrifices they made to be strong, powerful women and show the young generation what is possible being a black woman.
Q: Who do you consider an important woman in history? Why?
A: Rosa Parks. I know it is a little cliche, but she taught me how to stand up for myself regardless of what is going on around me. Be you and stand strong in what you believe in.
Q: What advice do you have for other women or young girls?
A: Be proud of who you are and never get comfortable being comfortable. Get educated and, like my mom raised me: be independent and never depend on anything or anyone.
Jennifer Denise Hamilton Briggs
Hometown: Glasgow, currently resides in Cave City
Occupation: Nurse Practitioner
Q: How did you choose your career or profession?
A: My parents instilled in me the necessity of achieving higher education, and I had many adult friends of the family that worked in healthcare and had successful careers. Therefore, I chose to become a nurse.
Q: From your perspective, what are some of the biggest challenges that women encounter today, whether in their career or personal life?
A: Working women face many challenges but have also overcome many obstacles. Challenges: work life balance – being able to be a wife, mother, and career woman without depriving either role. In some roles that I have had in the past, there has been evident gender disparity where women were to be submissive in thought and micromanaged. There are, in some cases of pay, discrepancies noted nationally and promotional opportunities given to male counterparts where qualified women are overlooked. Women are deemed not capable due to life circumstances. However, there have been many female leaders to evolve in the 21st century. General Motor’s CEO and chair is female. Oracle, Best Buy, and Anthem have female CEOs. Many women have grown into leadership in their 40s where in the past middle-age women might have been overlooked for younger, inexperienced women. Overall, women are making strides in equality.
Q: Who is the person who has influenced you most in your life or who has encouraged you in your strength and determination as a woman?
A: When I accepted Christ in 2012, my life and career changed in so many positive ways. My opportunities and position in life multiplied in blessings. Outside Christ, my mother is my greatest encourager. My mother, Patricia Hamilton, is a very educated woman and has worked in business until her retirement in the early 2000s. She attended WKU and studied accounting and joined the workforce in 1970s. She has always been business-minded, slow to anger, and the voice of reason. She is a Godly woman, and at times in life when I wanted to give up, she would encourage me to continue. She is faithful, a true servant. She was able to balance work life and home life, never sacrificing on anything. She is also a good cook.
Q: What does Women’s History Month mean to you?
A: Women’s History Month is a relatively new concept for me. I enjoy celebrating accomplishments of others and lifting others up. Women’s History Month follows Black History Month, and there are several women in history that can be celebrated in both months. Historically, women of notoriety have sacrificed and served others, went against the grain of society, and withstood pressure to achieve a goal.
Q: Who do you consider an important woman in history? Why?
A: Eunice Evers is a very important woman in history. She was an African American nurse in Tuskegee, Alabama in the 1930s. She took the role of treating black male patients with Syphilis in accordance with government protocols. She later found the experiment was intentionally not working and causing harm to the subjects. She later testified before the Senate Committee and, as a result, the government was found guilty of wrong doing. As a result, an internal review board of research was formed and is now a requirement of research even today. So, she will forever be one of the most courageous women. She was a black woman, both intelligent and compassionate, who realized something was wrong, provided emotional support to her patients, and faced the giant of government to ensure this never happened again. Because of this, the 1974 National Research Act was formed. Had she been a weak woman, what might have been?
Q: What advice do you have for other women or young girls?
A: Scripturally speaking, you are wonderfully and fearfully created. Many good works can come from your mind and your hands. Ask God for your purpose and follow it. Never give up, show compassion to one another, and be the last to find fault. Guard your heart and do not feel guilt for standing up for what is right. Set goals and keep them. Start small and work toward bigger goals. Put God first in everything and listen to the Spirit. He will see you through to success.
Amanda Abell
Hometown: Greensburg
Occupation: Assistant Superintendent, Caverna Independent Schools
Q: How did you choose your career or profession?
A: I knew I wanted to do something in education as I finished high school. I wasn’t originally one of the students that was on the track to go to college; however, I had a couple of high school teachers that helped me to see my own potential. They helped me build my leadership skills and encouraged me to think bigger about my future. That is one of the reasons I work so hard in our schools today, to give back what someone gave me.
Q: From your perspective, what are some of the biggest challenges that women encounter today, whether in their career or personal life?
A: I think women still struggle to balance a personal life and career. Most of us want to be able to have it all. We want to be able to be a mother, a wife, and also have a career if that is what we choose. I feel this is getting better as more responsibility at home is shared by all members of the family. I think, as a society, we also struggle with women in leadership positions. Oftentimes, females in leadership are held to a different standard as males. Women aren’t allowed to use the same leadership techniques or it is considered unbecoming. Women are often harder on other women in the workplace and socially. And if a woman in a leadership position is not successful, it is usually credited to her being a female rather than lack of leadership skill or timing. Across the globe, women still face educational inequality. In some countries, women are not seen as worthy enough to attend educational institutions. This is something I hope changes in our future global society.
Q: Who is the person who has influenced you most in your life or who has encouraged you in your strength and determination as a woman?
A: My grandmother was very influential to me. She always wanted to finish school but had to help run the family farm from a young age due to the death of her father. She always encouraged me to pursue my dreams, and she highly valued education. She was an avid reader and would chase down the book mobile for me in the summer, so I would have books to read. She always told me I could accomplish anything I was willing to work hard for, and anything worth doing was worth doing right.
Q: What does Women’s History Month mean to you?
A: Women’s History Month to me is a time to celebrate women and the vital role they play in our society. It is a time to recognize the growth in women’s rights and equality. Women have made great contributions to our history, and they don’t always get the credit they deserve.
Q: Who do you consider an important woman in history? Why?
A: There are so many important women in our history. Honestly, there are many women that did outstanding things, resolved issues, or changed our society and we don’t even know about their accomplishments. I recently read about a lady that helped pave the way for women leaders in the military: Anna Mac Clarke. Anna was born in Lawrenceburg, KY and was an officer in a Women’s Army Corps during World War II. She became the first African American woman to be a commanding officer of an otherwise all-white regiment as a first lieutenant. We don’t hear much about her, yet she made a great contribution to our society.
Q: What advice do you have for other women or young girls?
A: My advice for young females is to seek God’s purpose, find your passion, and work hard at fulfilling this. We each have our own unique gifts and talents. Once we find our purpose, any job or career we establish will be filled with passion and fulfillment. Be the woman God called you to be, not what everyone else wants you to be. And don’t let anyone tell you can’t do something. If you are willing to put in the work, you can make it happen.
Sammye Jo Monroe Estes
Hometown: Cave City
Occupation: Chronic Disease Specialist and Small Business Owner of The Market Ky
Q: How did you choose your career or profession?
A: Growing up in local organizations like FFA, 4H, & FHA/FCCLA, I was forwarded many opportunities to speak in front of large groups and get to know people from every walk of life. College was no different, leading me to a career where I use my communication skills to solve critical problems for some of the leading hospitals in our country such as Vanderbilt, Birmingham Children’s, & VA hospitals. My creative and entrepreneurial spirit comes from my parents, which led me to opening and running a small business in my hometown.
Q: From your perspective, what are some of the biggest challenges that women encounter today, whether in their career or personal life?
A: I know for me personally the challenge of being the best at everything I do and making enough time for all the important things. I find myself like many with a plate stacked high as a working mom with five kids in the home from 4-15. Days full of activities and to-dos wondering how it will get done. But as women, we make it work. We get it done. We are master multitaskers and problem solvers. This sometimes leaves very little time for ourselves, and we often put our needs last. Finding the balance in the chaos is the key. (Don’t worry. I’m still looking for it myself.)
Q: Who is the person who has influenced you most in your life or who has encouraged you in your strength and determination as a woman?
A: I am proud to come from a long line of strong women. Teachers and aides, farmers, a banker, homemakers, a cook, pharmacist, realtor – all who love(d) their family and love(d) God. They are and were some of the most resilient women with roots and faith so strong they make me want to be a better person. They each have had such an impact on my life that I only hope I have made them proud.
Q: What does Women’s History Month mean to you?
A: It’s a time to celebrate how far we have come and to recognize how much farther we have to go. A time to not only be proud of the accomplishments, but plan for more opportunities for female empowerment so that the future generations can continue to climb the mountain with the momentum of past generations behind them.
Q: Who do you consider an important woman in history? Why?
A: EVERY woman is an important woman in history. We ALL write the narrative that connects the story. Each one plays a great part!
Q: What advice do you have for other women or young girls?
A: Figure out who God made you to be and be her, regardless of what the world thinks you should do. There isn’t a dream too big or a job too small from President to homemaker – it takes ALL of us to make the world go round!
On behalf of Jobe Publishing, Inc., the Barren County Progress is proud to recognize these women and all others out there as exceptional members of our community.
