HATTIESBURG—On a crisp spring day in late May, Wesley Medical Center honored more than 100 Hattiesburg-area women who have exemplified strong leadership, perseverance, mentorship, promise and defense of others at the fourth annual Celebration of Strong Women luncheon at Lake Terrace Convention Center.

 

"We never cease to be amazed at the number of accomplished women who are nominated as Strong Women," said Lisa Slay Conn, marketing director of Wesley Medical Center in Hattiesburg. "When we started this program four years ago, we knew there were countless women who should be recognized for the wonderful work that they do in their churches, schools and communities. This is our way to honor them."

 

Cherri Nobles, Toni Burt, Kimberly Schramm, Carol Lindley, and Cheryl Gaudet were the primary 2009 honorees from the Pine Belt area in the Strong Women program presented by Wesley Medical Center and sponsored by Lifetime Television for Women, Comcast Spotlight, Women's Pavilion of South Mississippi and Lights Jewelers and Gemologists.

 

Nobles, executive director for the Salvation Army, won the defender category. "Cherri has spent a lifetime and career standing in the gap for those in need," said Debby Cain, who nominated Nobles. "I've had the opportunity to see her selfless work and have been amazed at her tireless efforts in moving many families out of homelessness and despair to being productive members of our community. She doesn't judge those she helps. She sees them through the eyes of Christ." 

 

When Nobles became aware of a woman and her children living out of their car, she rallied many local agencies to help provide the single-mother family with an apartment, power bills and employment. When an auto accident damaged the woman's car during the transition, making it impossible for her to get to work, Nobles drove the woman to work and her children to school.

 

"This is just one example of many where Cherri has put others before herself," said Cain.

 

Burt, co-founder and vice president of Word of Faith Christian Foundation, received the leadership nod.

 

"Toni is continuously pouring herself into others to develop and encourage them to reach their full potential," said her husband, Orlando Burt, who nominated Burt. "As a devoted wife, mother, minister and principal, she still makes time for others." 

 

Burt co-established the foundation in 2006 to provide Christian education for children ages two-and-a-half through third grade. The Association of Christian Schools International has brought to the forefront the hard work and dedication Burt has given as principal of the school. Most recently, Toni was influential in organizing a local Purity Ball for girls as young as five years old in the Hattiesburg community. The ball was held to provide fathers and daughters with a special opportunity to build and strengthen their relationships. 

 

A married mother of three boys, Schramm was honored for the mentor category. With four jobs, she takes advantage of opportunities to impact others' lives. A physical therapist and manager for Petal Ortho and Sports Rehab, she works part-time at Wesley Medical Center, part-time at Summit Rehab, and still finds time to cover sports events at area schools as an athletic trainer. A Sunday school teacher at Court Street United Methodist Church, and a Girl Scouts volunteer, Schramm runs three to five miles daily and recently competed in a half marathon. 

 

"I'm blessed and honored to work with such a vibrant and tenacious individual," said Tanya Powell, a co-worker who nominated Schramm. "When I'm down and out, I think about her and wonder how she does it. I also wonder, 'how can I be more like her?' God definitely put her on this earth to touch each individual she comes into contact with." 

 

Lindley, recognized in the perseverance category, is also a mother of three boys. Her son, Brent, nominated Lindley, describing her as "a persevering servant-leader who thinks of innovative ways to serve others."

 

"Any woman who raises three boys is a strong woman and worthy of much recognition," he said. "However, my mom has endured much during her life, including breast cancer and West Nile encephalitis, and she has done so with a strong woman attitude toward defeating both." 

 

For 23 years, Lindley has made it her mission to fight cancer. 

 

"I wanted breast cancer to be my ministry to others," said Lindley, who worked for years with the American Cancer Society and became a Reach to Recovery trainer, where she shares her road-to-recovery story with other women on a statewide level. She recently established a noon breast cancer support group, which allows more women to share their concerns, stories and questions with others who have been impacted by breast cancer. 

 

Sheila Gaudet nominated her niece, Cheryl Gaudet, winner of the promise category. "She has demonstrated a strong commitment to personal standards throughout her short, but difficult life," said Sheila Gaudet.

 

By the fifth grade, Gaudet had attended 10 schools. Despite the instability or challenges she faced, Gaudet maintained good grades and participated in the gifted student programs at each school. Now a student at Sacred Heart School, where she has participated in theater, cross-country track and swimming, Gaudet is active in Westminster Presbyterian Church's youth group and has volunteered hundreds of hours of service to the Salvation Army's Boys and Girls Club, where she was a finalist for the 2008 Youth of the Year. Gaudet also received the Young Runner of the Year Award in 2006 from the Pine Belt Pacers.