Kentucky School Advocate
April 2022

Q. You are in your first term as a board member after being elected in 2020. You joined in the middle of a pandemic. Why did you decide to run during such a challenging time?    

A. My husband, Bob, retired from public education with 52 years and came to Murray Ind. in 2004 as a consultant. He wound up becoming superintendent and retired from that in 2017. We loved this school district and Murray. I wanted to make a difference and support the current superintendent. It is so important to have board members who are supportive of the leadership because it can be difficult to do your job if you don’t have board members who trust you. Our board is all on the same page; we want to do what’s best for our kids.

Q. Bob was Murray Ind. superintendent for 12 years and Caldwell County superintendent for 14 years, so you’ve been in the education community a long time, too. How has that experience helped you as a board member?

A. I’ve also been a parent and a grandparent. Those roles have equipped me as well as being the superintendent’s wife. They help me be more empathetic and understanding.  

Q. How is being on the board different than you expected?

A. I was very familiar with the processes from the perspective of a “spouse of.” But, even though I knew what I was getting into, it is different. Bob did not bring business home, so I didn’t know the details of how things had to work. I didn’t know the personal piece of it; you see it in a different light when it’s a child, a teacher, someone you know and you realize your decision will impact them.  

Q. You and your husband helped establish a scholarship for a student to attend Murray State University and pursue a career in public education. Why was that important to you?

A. When we were students at Murray, I couldn’t have afforded college had I not worked for the dean. Bob had an athletic scholarship. We know the importance of having that little extra. And we want to do any little thing we can do for this community and for public education.

Q. Now Bob is Murray’s mayor. What is it like to have two elected officials in the house?

A. Like I said, he doesn’t bring work home. I probably go to him more than most when there’s something I need to understand like funding, like SEEK – I bet I have asked him a million questions about that. He is a tremendous resource for me. One thing I have been excited about as far as city hall: we established a community liaison program, where citizens volunteer to come in and take complaint calls to take some of the stress off frontline people and make sure callers get to the right office in city hall.

Q. You are an adjunct instructor at Murray State University?

A. After years of the stress of being a court stenographer, I started thinking “how can I do something else?” I found yoga, and it was such a transformation for me that I knew I wanted to teach it. At Murray, I completed a bachelor’s in wellness at 62 and a master’s in human development and leadership at 67. I created a one-hour credit Yoga for Wellness class and started with one section of 20 students in 2012. Now I have three sections of 75 students each. I average teaching 10 yoga classes a week. Half my students are nursing students who need to learn self-care.

Getting to know
Profession: Retired after 31 years as a court stenographer with my own business; adjunct instructor at Murray State University  

Hometown: Crofton

Family: Husband, Bob (married 58 years in June); son, Jeff; daughter, Angie; grandchildren Hunter, Sydney, Zack, Emma, Aubrey and Ally. No greats yet, but boy, am I ready!

Favorite subject in school: English when I was in high school      

Hobbies: Gardening, anything outdoors and volunteering at Soup for the Soul, Murray schools, Murray State and city hall

Book recommendation: “The Most Powerful 21 Minutes in a Leader’s Day” by John Maxwell. It was one of my readings for a continuing education program in yoga. It’s about leadership from a perspective of scripture.

Interesting fact: I have a passion for lifelong learning. Right now, as I approach my 75th birthday, I am about to become a certified exercise physiologist after a yearlong training program. I totally believe this saying that’s in my living room: “You are never too old for a new goal or a new dream.”