Seniors in Action
Clay/Cherokee County
Senior Games/SilverArts
November 2015
2015, YEAR OF PRIDE
What a year.
In 2015, Cherokee/Clay County Senior Games/SilverArts participants brought home
five national medals and twenty-five NC state medals.
Over 115 athletes competed in local games and there were more than fifty local entries
in SilverArts.
Our co-coordinator was named the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce's Citizen
of the Year.
Yes, 2015 has been a very, very good year.
Swim Champion Emma Flinn
Brings Home Five National Medals
At the US National Senior Games in Minneapolis, 618 athletes
competed in swimming after qualifying. Emma Flinn swam in
six events. When she won the gold medal for 50M Freestyle, she
had twenty-four competitors; there were twenty women in the
100 Yd Freestyle in which she also won gold. She was second in
the 200 Yd Freestyle, winning silver She won the bronze medal
in the 50 Yd Butterfly, and of the twenty-four swimmers in the
50 Yd backstroke, Emma was sixth. Her third gold medal was in
the 100 Yd Individual Medley. The Asheville Citizen Times
called her “one of the fastest women swimmers...in the nation.”
Exemplifying healthy aging, in the national Senior Games,
swimming in their appropriate age brackets, were 96-year-old
Gladys Williamson and Holly Kirkland and 100-year-old May
Jackson.
Last year in the NC state games, Emma won gold medals in all
six of her events, setting new state records in three. Two of her
previous NC records still stood. “Swim like you mean it,” Emma encourages “Emma’s Ducklings,” a group of swimmers she volunteers to coach. Cheers for Emma, our Pride of the Pool.
Emma is also a writer. Her book, Email to Heaven, which came
out this year, is available on Amazon. Emma is a previous medalist
in the local Literary Arts competitions.
Emma Flinn, one of “nation’s
fastest swimmers,” with USA
National Sr. Games glory.
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Our 2015 Sponsors
Alpine Veterinary Hospital
Ameriprise Financial
Cherokee County
Clay County
Clay County Care Center
Edward Jones Investments
Entegra Bank
Family Life Chiropractic
Center II
Farley Insurance
First Citizens Bank
Galloway’s Automotive
Gibson Shoe Store
Grape Creek CDC
Grape Creek NCECA
Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River
Casino & Hotel
Heritage Propane
Humana
Ivie Funeral Home, Inc.
Jacky Jones Ford of Hayesville
Jacky Jones Superstore of Murphy
King’s Pharmacy
L.D. Jones Insurance Agency
Modern Woodmen Fraternal
Financial
Mountain Home Health Services
Murphy Granite Company
Murphy Medical Center
Nantahala Bank and Trust Company
Peoples Bank of East Tennessee
Rambling Rose Florist and
Gift Shop
Shepherd of the Mountain
Rosie and Don Stillwagon
Towson-Rose Funeral Home, LLC
Turner, Hatchett &Turner, CPA, PA
Turner Family Pharmacy
United Community Bank
Valley View Care & Rehab
Waffle King
West Contracting, Inc.
THIS IS WHAT NC STATE GOLD
MEDALISTS LOOK LIKE
The Chubba Bubba’s won the NC Senior Games/SilverArts
gold medal for comedy/drama. Somewhere under the beards
and behind the nice, fat Santa bellies are Dennis Gray, Glenn
Davis, Jim Bent, and Mike Davis.
Nineteen Local Seniors Brought Home
North Carolina 2015 SilverArts Medals
North Carolina is the only state to include SilverArts in
the Senior Games. Our Visual Arts winners were David
Vanderlaan who won silver for photography, and Rae
Foerster who won gold in drawing and bronze in both
watercolor and acrylics.
In Heritage Arts, Barbara Fowler had the gold medal
quilt, Mike Lalone won his fifth straight state gold for
pottery, Barbara Lovingood won gold in weaving, Rae
Foerster took gold in tole painting, silver in China painting, and bronze in wood carving. Jerry Wilson took the
gold in jewelry and Jayne Payne won silver for jewelry.
Jane Birchfield won the Literary Arts bronze medal for
her life experience entry.
The small group comedy/drama Chubba Bubba’s, Mike
Davis, Dennis Gray, Glenn Davis, and Jim Bent, won
the gold medal in Performing Arts.
Rae Foerster entered seven pieces and won six state
medals.
Correction: In last newsletter, the Medical Pearls column should
have read “a second advance in immunization for seniors is the
newer Herpes Zoster vaccine.” Peg Russell’s incorrect typing caused
the error.
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Athletes Win Track & Field, Pickleball, Table
Tennis, Bocce Ball, Corn Toss State Medals
Dennis Gray won the bronze medals in both 5K and 1500 race
walk, and Jim Bent won the silver in the 5K race walk.
Dwight Moss, who was “up against a running club that was
sweeping the field,: according to Jim Bent, won the bronze in
the 800 run.
Dorothy and Jerry Leslie won the silver in table tennis
mixed doubles and Jerry also won silver for men’s singles in
table tennis. Dorothy and her partner won gold for women’s
doubles.
Janet Paul won the gold for corn hole, and Nancy Beach
won a bronze. In bocce ball, Janet Paul won silver, and Jane
Birchfield won a bronze.
Carl Byxbee and Robert Thompson won the state gold
medal in pickleball doubles.
Local winners Sue Bent,
Nancy Beach, and Jane
Birchfield. Sue is on the
NC state committee, and
SilverArts co-chairman.
Nancy Beach played for the
first time this year in the
games and won a state medal in bocce ball. Jane Birchfield took state Literary
Arts medal as well as bocce
ball.
2015 Cherokee/Clay
County
Senior Games/SilverArts
Board Members
Jim Bent, Co-Coordinator
Sue Bent, Co-Coordinator
Kay Cameron, Computer Layout
Specialist
Winfield Clonts, Sr. Services,
Cherokee County
Glenn Davis, Ambassador
Mike Davis, Member-at-Large
PeeWee Davis, Sports Events
Coordinator, Murphy Parks &
Recreation Director
Sheila Ford, SilverArts
Co-Coordinator
Tim Ford, SilverArts Co-Coordinator
Dennis Gray, Member-at-Large
Bob Hart, Events Manager
Gwen Hathaway, Member-at-Large
Roger Hathaway, Member-at-Large
Jane Hembree, 2015 SilverArts
Coordinator
Coreen Howard, Ambassador
Andrew Jones, Clay County Parks $
Recreation Director
JIM BENT NAMED CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE CITIZEN OF THE YEAR
Joe Keffer, Past Chairman
When the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce named
Jim Bent the Citizen of the Year, he immediately gave credit
to his wife and co-coordinator, Sue Bent, and the other
volunteers.
Linda May, Treasurer
Phyllis Blackmon, chamber’s executive director, and
Cherokee Scout publisher David Brown made the presentation.
Janet Paul, Ambassador
After the 2015 Year of Pride, What Next?
National medals, twenty-five state medals, large participation
in local games, and Citizen of the Year Award make 2015 a
year to be proud of. Coming up next year: new faces, new
ideas, and even a new statewide training program. Stay tuned.
Gary Kenney, Track & Field Director
Gayle Larson, Member-at-Large
Dave Miller, Events Coordinator
Pickleball
Dwight Moss, Member-at-Large
Jim Paul, Ambassador
Veve Randall, Secretary and
Volunteer Coordinator
Peg Russell, Newsletter
Wayne Sprong, Valley River Picklers
Ambassador
Don Wells, Golf Event Manager
Jorge Wilhelm, Bike Event
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Cherokee/Clay County Seniors who participated in the North Carolina Senior Games/SilverArts during September and October. Left to right, first row: Jim Paul, Janet Paul, Dorothy Leslie, Samanatha Davis, Nancy Beach and Coreen Howard.
Second row: Jerry Leslie, Mike Davis, Jim Bent, Tim Ford, Weldon Beach, Mike Lalone and Glen Davis.
Participants not shown were: Jane Birchfield, Carl Byxbee, Rae Foerster, Barbara Fowler, Dennis Gray, Ruth Griffing, Barbara Harmon, James Leath, Barbara Lovingood, Dwight Moss, Jane Payne, Robert Thompson, David Vanderlaan and Jerry
Wilson
C/CCSG/SA
P.O. Box 1062
Murphy NC 28906