By Alexandria Leatherberry
The Truth Reporter
Valerie Simmons Walston launched the Next Chapter last week and created a time and space for community leaders to discuss wellness and its contribution to fulfilling their roles. “How can you lead if you’re not well?” she asked.
The event was held at the EC Family Event Center located at 1402 Indiana Ave. Attendees gathered to learn and network among the influential individuals who have taken their journey and shared it through interviews, educational forums and literary works.
The Mistress of Ceremony Diana Patton led the event introducing the audience to the guests of honor: Malaika Bell, CEO of Mosaic Strategic Solutions; Nicole Brock, PhD, founder of Entanglement Theory; La’Shardae Scott, DSW, CEO of Scott Center for Observation Treatment and Transition (S.C.O.T.T).
Each of the women discussed the personal journeys with wellness challenges and her active pursuits for solutions. Scott reflected on her experience with discovering her son’s sickle cell status. In her discovery she found a need to uncover resources and also found her direction as a leader.
“A leader is someone who brings someone up with them,” stated Scott as she shared her endeavors to ensure other mothers and healthcare professionals have up-to-date education and information on sickle cell anemia. Preceding Scott, Brock and Bell addressed the audience about humanizing their experiences as individuals to remove fear.
“Storytelling is an action of preservation, teaching and communal,“ noted Walston. The art of storytelling is a talent shared by each of the special guests as Walston ensured the event was one to highlight the local authors.
Amongst the women were male authors: Terry Crosby, Do You Have the Balls; CJ Fargan,The Jungle: Two Sides of the Same Coin, who sat for a panel discussion moderated by Jim Snodgrass with NCSF Personal Trainer Anthony Amison Sr. and University of Toledo Professor Willie McKether, PhD. The male panelists addressed challenges that African American men face professionally and personally and shared with the women of the audience insight on supporting a partner.
Valerie Walston is the author of S.O.A.R Surviving Obstacles Attaining Rewards: A Self-Help Journal. She connects authorship to leadership by way of storytelling which will be her Next Chapter mission. Next Chapter Enterprises will be focusing efforts on further developing opportunities to promote authors, motivate the next leader and educate the community. Walston looks forward to hosting another wellness event this year that she will be announcing on her social media platforms.
