FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:  Natalie Best, 919-277-1173, nbest@fwv-us.com
              Kate Mascho, 919-455-1616, k.mascho@poehealth.org

Poe Center’s Ann Rollins Named School Health Champion

Raleigh, NC (November 1, 2011) – The Alice Aycock Poe Center for Health Education is pleased to announce Ann Rollins, Executive Director, was honored at Saturday’s UNC – Wake Forest football game with the School Health Champion Award for July 2011. The School Health Champion honor is awarded to a healthy role model who demonstrates outstanding leadership in advancing school-based policies and programs improving the health of students and/or staff.

The School Health Champion Award is a collaborative effort among NC Healthy Schools at the NC Department of Public Instruction, Tar Heel Sports Properties and Subway. Rollins was awarded a plaque for her achievement and a check for $500 to be used by The Alice Aycock Poe Center for Health Education to continue its efforts in promoting healthy lifestyle choices. She is now in the running for the School Health Champion of the Year Award to be chosen in December 2011.

Rollins was selected for her leadership and true passion for educating and empowering North Carolina children, youth and their families to make choices that increase positive health behaviors. “Ann’s dedication to the Poe Center’s mission has been a driving force behind our efforts in health education. Her excitement and passion to reach North Carolina’s youth as well as their families is evident in all she does,” said Poe Center Board of Directors President, Julie Newman.

Rollins has worked at the Poe Center since May 2010 when she stepped into the interim Executive Director. Since July 2011, she has held the role of Executive Director. Rollins is involved in multiple healthful living initiatives across the state including the N.C. School Health Connection, Wake County’s School Health Advisory Council (SHAC), the Wake County Obesity Summit Planning Committee, Strengthening Proactive Leadership Alliances for School Health (SPLASH), and more.

About the Poe Center
The Poe Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to positively impacting the lives of North Carolina youth through health education. Since opening in Raleigh in 1991, the Poe Center has educated more than 850,000 participants from 76 counties using innovative teaching theaters, exhibits and offsite programs. For additional information or to schedule a visit, go to www.poehealth.org. Find the Poe Center on Facebook at www.facebook.com/poecenter or follow Poe on Twitter at @PoeCenter.

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Poe goes to Haiti, to EBAC Orphanage in Cap Hatien. Over the summer, Poe Center Health Educator Pat Ely was part of a mission trip to Haiti where she taught effective hand washing and healthy dental habits with the aid of Dugan, the dog puppet and the Sneeze video. The students were residents of an orphanage that houses children who are left homeless due to parent’s death or inability to care for them. They are all taught English and other subjects in the school by a wonderful volunteer and paid staff. The orphanage is part of a larger complex, consisting of a clinic, new university and multiple churches, founded and administrated by Pastor Cebien Alexis, who is also a medical doctor. The orphanage is run by Kathy Gauker and Alice Wise, 2 women who have devoted over 30 years to these children.

Pat & Dugan

Brush & Floss w/Dugan the Dog Puppet

Students Watching Germ Video

Students Taught By Pat

Rosalie Poe

Rosalie Richardson Poe, 94, of Raleigh died peacefully on September 22, 2011 after a short illness.
She was born in New Bern, NC on April 29, 1917, the daughter of Edwin Forrest Richardson and Glennie Willis Richardson.

As a young girl she enjoyed spending summers in Morehead City with her cousins on Shakleford St. She and Mary Anderson especially liked to speak the “High Tider” brogue of the locals. She attended New Bern schools and then Converse College in Spartanburg, SC. She was the Assistant Leader for Eastern North Carolina for the 1935 Debutante Ball.

After college Rosalie moved to Raleigh to work for Durham Life and met her future husband William D.(Boss) Poe who was an editor for The Progressive Farmer magazine. They married in 1941 and lived at the Poe family home “Longview” while William served with the US Army during World War II. They later built a home nearby on the farm and raised their young family. They participated in Raleigh’s civic and social events, especially enjoying the Capital Cotillion Club parties with their friends. When William died suddenly in 1958 she moved her family into town and worked for Drs. Root, Bugg and Sanders pediatricians and served as Vice President of Longview Gardens, Inc. In 1968 Rosalie married Royce O. Johnson of Pine Bluff, Arkansas and moved there to live where she made many friends. They traveled abroad several times and enjoyed taking their houseboat, “The R & R” on trips along the Arkansas River. Each spring was spent going to the horse races in Hot Springs.

After Royce’s death in 1988 she returned to Raleigh to be closer to her children and grandchildren. She was fortunate to re-join her old book and bridge clubs, catching up on what had been going on in Raleigh while she was away. She also continued her membership in the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America and the Carolina Country Club.

Rosalie is survived by her two children, Jean Poe Martin and William D. Poe, Jr., wife, Judy, of Raleigh; Royce’s daughter, Leslie Johnson Alexander, husband, Robert of Aiken, SC; daughter-in-law, Karen Killick Johnson of Pine Bluff, AR; niece, Peggy Richardson Sarvis of Pinehurst, NC. She was a devoted and loving grandmother who was affectionally called “Dear” by her grandchildren. They are Mary-Hunter Martin; Allison Poe Larson, and husband, David, William D. Poe, III, wife, Chaney, & John-Thomas Hobby Poe, all of Raleigh. Susan Martin Covington, and husband, Tom of Wilmington, NC. Ann-Scott Martin Mancuso of Morehead City, NC; Jeanie Poe Wrenn, husband, John of Mt. Pleasant, SC; Martin Johnson of Pine Bluff, AR: Kathryn Johnson Smith, husband Gary of Atlanta, GA;. Robert Alexander of Folly Beach, SC. She is also survived by 15 great-grandchildren.

She was predeceased by her brother Edwin Forrest Richardson, Jr.; her niece and namesake Rosalie Richardson DeBrito and her step-son Royce Overton Johnson, Jr.

The family wishes to thank Lekita Essa and her staff, especially Rachel, Mary, Senekay and Susan for their loving care and attention. Special thanks also to Adrianne Dunn whose help and 30 year relationship meant so much.

There will be a private burial Saturday morning September 24th at Historic Oakwood Cemetery followed by a memorial service at 11:00 a.m. at Christ Episcopal Church, 120 E. Edenton St. in Raleigh. The family will receive friends in the church parlor immediately after the service.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the Alice Aycock Poe Center for Health Education, 224 Sunnybrook Rd., Raleigh, NC 27610 or to Hospice of Wake County, Inc., 250 Hospice Circle, Raleigh, NC 27607.

Arrangements by Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, Saint Mary’s St. Raleigh.

Harvesting Knowledge AND Vegetables!

This summer, interns and staff at the Poe Center have been working hard to plan the new campus garden which will be constructed this fall.  In practicing the art of gardening, several vegetable plants were kept next to the building and tended daily. It is finally the end of summer and now harvest time! The small plants weathered blistering heat and torrential downpours, but they survived. Green peppers, red peppers, cherry tomatoes and cucumbers have been making their way onto the vine. “You gain a different perspective of produce when you watch for weeks as a small plant grows into the vegetable that you eat,” says one summer nutrition intern who tended the plants, “you really learn that there is no such thing as ‘fast food’.”

The vegetable and herb plants grown throughout the summer were donations from Homewood Nursery in Raleigh.  As the campus garden is planted, new fall vegetables will fill the beds. It took all summer, but the Poe Center officially has a green thumb!

On Sunday, September 11^th, Julie Newman, her son Matthew and Cathi Seligmann joined the Poe Center’s Executive Director, Ann Rollins, for the National Day of Service at the Poe Center’s PlayWELL Park to begin the planting of vegetables and seeds in the Poe Center’s new POE and Grow Garden.  In addition, they also added a new rain barrel to water the garden!  Keep watching as the POE garden grows…even better, come play on the park and help the garden grow!

Homewood Nursery & Garden Center is located at 10809 Honeycutt Road, Raleigh 27614 – (919) 847-0117

www.homewoodnursery.com

The Poe Center has a brand new program available for the fall!  It is called “Don’t Stand By: Be a H.E.R.O.” and is a class on bullying prevention geared toward 4th and 5th grade students.  Research suggests that the majority of children involved in bullying are the bystanders.  When you design an intervention strategy, investing time and skill building into helping bystanders stand up and speak up when it comes to bullying in their schools, neighborhoods, and communities you can make the biggest impact. This interactive program allows participants many opportunities for discussion and problem-solving. 

For groups who would like an anonymous look at what is happening at your site, we provide a survey to collect baseline bullying data.  We will collate the data and provide it to be used to expand interventions where needed within the school or group.

Schedule your school or group today!  Contact Kate Mascho at 919-231-4006 ext. 399 (Toll Free at 1-866-402-4799) or by email at k.mascho@poehealth.org.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Natalie Best, 919-277-1173, nbest@fwv-us.com

                 Kate Mascho, 919-455.1616, K.Mascho@poehealth.org

Poe Center Names Ann Rollins Executive Director

Raleigh, NC (July 25, 2011) – The Alice Aycock Poe Center for Health Education is pleased to announce Ann Rollins as Executive Director. Rollins has held the Interim role since May 2010. Rollins’ career in the medical science industry combined with her background in education and nonprofit leadership make her uniquely qualified to serve at the Center’s helm.

Rollins’ extensive technical, professional and volunteer experience includes over 30 years as a medical technologist with WakeMed. She also served as an administrator with Wake County Public School System.  Rollins has served on the Wake Education Partnership Board of Directors, NCL Mother – Daughter Organization, past President of Broughton High School, Daniels Middle School and Joyner Elementary Schools PTAs as well as the North Carolina PTA Board of Managers.  Rollins currently serves on the Wake County PTA Council, Wake County Public Health Committee, Cary Chamber Education Committee and the Wake County School Health Advisory Committee.

“Ann has exceeded our expectations as interim director, and we are excited to establish a permanent relationship with her. She combines energy and enthusiasm with a true passion for improving the lives and health of North Carolina youth and their families. With Ann’s strong leadership, the Board is confident that the Poe Center will continue providing critical health education in our community and state long into the future,” said Poe Center Board of Directors Chairman, Sean Timmons.

Rollins graduated from Lenoir-Rhyne University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. Rollins holds certifications in the areas of leadership, education and wellness and is also an active member of the community.

 About the Poe Center
The Poe Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to positively impacting the lives of North Carolina youth through health education. Since opening in Raleigh in 1991, the Poe Center has educated more than 850,000 participants from 76 counties using innovative teaching theaters, exhibits and offsite programs. For additional information or to schedule a visit, go to www.poehealth.org. Find the Poe Center on Facebook at www.facebook.com/#!/poecenter or follow Poe on Twitter at @PoeCenter.

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News Release

HHS announces the winners of 2011
Healthy Living Innovation Awards

Winners of an awards program that highlights innovative health promotion projects that have demonstrated a significant impact on the health of the community within the past three years were announced today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The 2011 Healthy Living Innovation Awards winners will receive an award from the HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in Washington, D. C. The winners will also share information on their innovations by presenting at a national conference later this fall.

“The 2011 Healthy Living Innovation Awards represented an exciting chance to foster the spread of effective, community-based efforts that employ innovative approaches to promote healthy weight, physical activity and nutrition,” said Secretary Sebelius. “Communities across the United States submitted creative, replicable and sustainable innovations that demonstrate outstanding leadership and promising results.”

The awards are a part of Secretary Sebelius’ Healthy Weight Initiative and HHS’ continuing focus on highlighting preventive health and recognizing organizations that implement innovative approaches to address chronic diseases and promote healthier lifestyles.

Nominated organizations had to have an innovative project in at least one of three health promotion areas: healthy weight, physical activity, and nutrition. Awards were granted based on the criteria of creativity and innovation, leadership, sustainability, replicability, and results/outcomes. The 2011 Award winners are:

• Faith-Based and/or Community Initiatives: Taking the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program to Scale-YMCA of the USA, (Chicago, Ill.)
• Health Care Delivery: Healthy Howard Health Coaching-Healthy Howard Inc (Columbia, Md.)
• Healthy Workplace (Large employer): Shape up and Go!-Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland, Ohio)
• Healthy Workplace (Small Employer): Healthy Living Partnership Project-S2AY Rural Health (Corning, N.Y.)
• Non-Profit: Healthy NC Hospitals Initiative: Healthy Food Environment Project-North Carolina Prevention Partners (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
• Public Sector: Exercise Your Right to Feel Better Minnesota-St. Paul-Ramsey County Public Health (St. Paul, Minn.)
• Schools (K-12): Mornings in Motion-Oak Ridge Schools (Oak Ridge, Tenn.)
• Let’s Move Cities and Towns: Shape Up Somerville-City of Somerville Massachusetts (Somerville, Mass.)

“The eight winners of the Healthy Living Innovation Awards represent the most creative, innovative and effective ideas from around the country to promote health within communities,” said Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation Sherry Glied, Ph.D. “We hope that these eight outstanding projects will serve as model programs for community stakeholders to encourage people in their communities to include healthy living activities in their daily lives.”

Winning nominations were chosen from among a competitive pool of 245 submissions by an HHS expert panel of judges, and was then put before the public for voting. Secretary Sebelius made the final determination of winners based on public votes and recommendations from the expert panel.

Visit http://healthylivinginnovation.challenge.gov/ to learn more about the Healthy Living Innovation Awards winners.

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The other night at dinner my 6-year-old said unprompted, “Mommy, cake is not healthy.”  I looked up from my plate in bemused alarm; did my husband and I finally get through to her, or was she running a fever? Something was surely amiss. Before I could ask, she continued, “It has a lot of sugar in it…” Now composed and ready to probe, I replied that was true and inquired where she learned such important information (beyond the 700 or so times we have reminded her of the very same idea only to be placated with vigorous nodding and then conveniently ignored the next time a prized treat was within her reach). She replied, “at Poe.” Ahhhh, this was starting to make sense.  A friend (and former colleague) of mine had texted me earlier in the day when she ran into Ally and posed for the enclosed picture during a field trip to the Poe Center. If you are not familiar with the organization, “The MISSION of the Poe Center for Health Education is to educate and empower North Carolina children, youth and their families to make choices that increase positive health behaviors.”  Well, if what my daughter picked up on her morning adventure there is any indication, they are doing their jobs admirably!

Ally went on with her newfound penchant for preaching the benefits of healthy eating, citing that vegetable oil was healthy to cook with; one should not use butter or salt on corn;  no butter should be used on popcorn; 100 percent apple juice was a good choice, but anything less was just sugar water; fruits and vegetables were healthy; bagels were ok, but with not too much cream cheese; and brown bread was better than white bread.  Very informative, though the best part was yet to come.  After finishing her dinner, she asked, “Mommy, can we have grapes for dessert?”  We sure can.  Thanks, Poe Center http://www.poehealth.org/ for the third-party credibility that every PR professional (and parent) can appreciate!

Ally on a recent visit to the Poe Center

The Greater Raleigh Chamber’s Young Professionals Network volunteers time at the Poe Center

The Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce’s Young Professionals Network provides events every other month that engage professionals ages 23-39 from member firms to help them become more competitive in the business arena, establish contacts, and grow personally through a variety of program topics.  This past Friday morning, June 3rd, the Poe Center was the recipient of their help by painting, planting flowers, washing windows and various other tasks to clean up our facility to help us continue teaching children and their families about health education.

For more information on The Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce’s Young Professionals Network

Raleigh Chamber YPN Volunteer painting over old mission to repaint new mission statement

Raleigh Chamber YPN Volunteers cleaning area entering the Poe Center's building

Raleigh Chamber YPN Volunteer making photocopies