Board of Directors
Deborah Drylie
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Deborah Drylie is an attorney and mediator licensed in the State of Florida. She was born and raised in Gainesville, Florida, attended college at Salem College in Winston-Salem, N.C. and attended law school at the University of Florida in Gainesville. She has practiced in the area of civil litigation for 30 years and most recently became certified by the Florida Supreme Court as a circuit civil mediator. She practices both as an attorney and mediator with her husband, Charles Carter who likewise is a licensed attorney and mediator.
Accomplishments are both personal and professional. In 1998, Charles and Deborah began their own law firm in order to seek balance in their lives. This lead to the adoption of their daughter, Katharine, from Guatemala who is now a college student at Young Harris College. 21 years later, the biggest accomplishment to date is the ability to have navigated a fabulous work as well as family life! Deborah met Dawn through their love of books, friendship and laughter in the late 1990’s when Dawn and Craig still lived in Gainesville, Fl. Their husbands then became fast friends and this friendship has flourished despite the fact Deborah and Charles still live in Florida. Deborah has been awestruck by the dream then fruition of the dream that is The Still Place. The importance of The Still Place has struck a chord, having seen it in practice and observing the impact it has on so many individuals: families, volunteers, community members and the community itself. |
Jacqueline Gottlieb
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Jacqueline Gottlieb is the President and CEO of Hinton Rural Life Center, a Retreat and Conference Center that engages in community outreach in Hayesville, North Carolina.
Jacqueline has over 20 years of non-profit management experience. She earned a Masters and Doctorate from NC State University and BS from Western Carolina University. Her studies included Special Education and Occupational Education with a focus on the quality of life for persons with disabilities. She is an Alumnae of Leadership North Carolina, North Carolina Rural Economic Development Institute, Kenan-Flagler School of Business’ Program for Manager Development, and has just been accepted as a Fellow in the inaugural Appalachian Regional Commissions’ Leadership Institute. Jacqueline is the President of the Rotary Club of Clay County and believes strongly in service above self. Jacqueline supports The Still Place as she has witnessed that sacrifices parents and siblings make to provide opportunities for a seriously ill family member. She is a single mother of three dynamic teenagers and in her spare time loves hiking, pottery, stained glass, and traveling. |
Barbara Kathryn Jenkins
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Kathryn Jenkins is the Director for the Small Business Center at Tri-County Community College serving Cherokee, Clay and Graham counties. Working closely with the Economic Development Directors and other partners in each county, she tries to insure that the Small Business Center provides the appropriate tools to new business startups and existing business expansion. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce as well as on Board of Directors for The Still Place.
The NC Rural Center awarded Kathryn the Micro Enterprise Partner of the Year Award in her first year serving as Director of the Small Business Center. In 2015, she received recognition from the State Small Business Center Network for MOST IMPACT in the successful work she accomplished with a client and in 2017 the INNOVATION AWARD FOR SERVICE & COLLABORATION. She is a 2016 graduate of the NC Rural Center REDI program. Kathryn is a native of Newnan, Georgia, and a graduate of the University of Georgia. She along with her husband and daughter moved to Murphy, NC in 2006 to open Appalachian Outfitters of Murphy, a successful small business in downtown Murphy which they have recently sold. She is an active leader in her church and enjoys music, time with friends and family and most any outdoor activity! |
Jeannine Mazza
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As far back as Jeannine can remember there has been a creative spirit within her. From the first crayon she picked up as a small child to painting murals for a client as an adult she was gifted with an artistic soul. Although she attended an art class here and there most of her endeavors are self-taught. Jeannine’s creative passions have taken her down many roads to different types of painting media’s, stylist and interior design.
Jeannine started a Fall Festival for her community. Her role with the festival was mainly to act as the artistic director. Her team built and designed fall themed scenes carved out of pumpkins set in the landscape on a 250 acre farm. The festival provided entertainment, food, hayrides, storytelling and pumpkin chunking. There were many facets to starting, creating, and running the festival that she was an instrumental part. Jeannine’s inspirations derive from where the journey will take her next. A strong belief that resonates within her is “giving” is the real gift. It’s a belief that’s practiced daily at The Still Place and led to her role at The Still Place helping others express themselves through art. |
John Mazza
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John moved to Clay County in the mid-1960’s from Pennsylvania. He graduated from Hayesville High school, then continued his education and earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering Technology from Western Carolina University.
Soon after graduating John married and raised a family while climbing the corporate ladder with a nationwide transportation company. John has two wonderful children with his wife. In 2012, he lost his wife of 27 years to the devastating illness, ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrigs’s disease. During John's 30-year career, he actively directed and participated in many aspects of finance, budgeting, human resources, contractual law, litigation, and operational proficiencies. After retiring he returned home to Clay County. Since then he has served in various civic organizations including President of the Lions Club, Advisory Committee at Nantahala Bank & Trust, Historic Hayesville, Inc, the Clay County Community Revitalization Association, Hayesville Board of Adjustments, SABA (Southern Appalachian Biking Association) and the NE Georgia Board of Realtors. His encore career as a real estate agent in many ways is being an ambassador for Clay County, its culture, and the community. Clay County is John's hometown and he is proud of it's heritage. John feel's any family facing the challenges of a seriously ill child or family member can find Rest, Renewal, and Re-Creation here in this area with the loving embrace of our mountains, rich heritage and caring people. John is proud am to have a small part in our communities continued success. He wants to see The Still Place prosper and move forward to serve more families, it’s a cool way of giving back. |
Andrea Rix
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Originally from Pennsylvania, Andrea and her husband and two children have made their home in St. Augustine, Florida. She is passionate about helping families that are fighting big battles find support, love and community as well as reducing the isolation associated with a serious illness.
Andrea holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in Speech and Communication Studies and Public Relations. She has worked in the development field for nonprofits in various fundraising rolls throughout her career including elder care, educational scholarships, and support for families who experience domestic violence. In 2015, when her son, Gunner, was diagnosed at age 3 with a brain tumor, all her efforts became focused on helping families dealing with pediatric cancer. Andrea and her family discovered The Still Place in 2017 as a retreat family. The Still Place has fostered their families love for nature, adventure and exploration. The magic of the mountains and all who surround Compass Creek has provided them much inspiration and joy. Andrea is honored to be a part of offering these beautiful gifts to other families and to help nourish and grow The Still Place. |
Marvina Scruggs
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Since she was a young girl Marvina has been captivated by service and motivated to help others.
She has spent countless hours volunteering her time and resources to help build playgrounds, develop underprivileged neighborhoods, and help at local nursing homes. Marvina is passionate about giving back to her community. Marvina proudly bears the title, Parent Advocate. Her oldest son has sickle cell anemia. She supports the sickle-cell community through outreach and interaction. This is how she meet and became close with The Still Place founders, Dr. Dawn and Dr. Craig. Marvina is a mother and a wife, she and her husband have three beautiful children. When the Scruggs family was invited to the Still Place when it first opened and began providing single family retreats, the love that the whole family received was life-changing. All family members were able to forget about the doctors, the medications and the stress for a week and go somewhere they had only dreamed of. At The Still Place there is fresh air, mountain beauty and hope. Ask Marvina and her family and they will tell you, "A family retreat at The Still Place is priceless." |
Crystal West
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Crystal West is a single mother of 4 children and sister to a brother who has cerebral palsy. Since she was a young girl she has known the struggles of being a sibling to a seriously ill brother and has come full circle to understand not only a siblings point of view to a debilitating medical diagnosis but also a parents point of view.
Her son Matthew Mazza was diagnosed with Medullablastoma, Brain Cancer in Feb. 2016. After weeks of radiation and 4 rounds of high dose chemo and a short period of remission, the cancer came back with a vengeance in 2018. Crystal has a current certification in Medical Assisting but felt she couldn't go back to the medical field after Matthew's illness and loss. Since her son has passed from Cancer she has pursued a career in Cosmetology. Through Cosmetology Crystal feels she can make people feel good through whatever part of life they have struggles in. When they leave, they feel good. She is currently enrolled at Florida Gateway College and is 2 semesters away from graduating. Crystal’ s greatest accomplishment has been to learn to be her true self. It took her 40 years to learn it was okay to be the person God created her to be and to let go of what she thought everyone wanted her to be and learn to love herself and all her quirkiness. Crystal says, “Our first invite to TSP was supposed to be in July of 2018 but in June 2018 Matthew started to decline and have many seizures while we were on vacation in NJ to see my son Benjamin graduate high school. It was a very difficult trip and after we finally could get home to Florida we couldn’t leave the state because Matthew was declining.” “Doctor Dawn Grienko called and eased my fears, letting me know that they were trained to help with any issue Matt may have and she invited us to TSP in Oct 2018. We were finally at a place where Matt was stable and to have Dr. Dawn reassure us of their training was very comforting. “This trip could only be for Matt and I because the other children were in school. The week I spent with my Matt was a Godsend. I will never forget the love and laughter we shared at TSP as well as the beautiful memories we created with Dr. Dawn each day. Matt was very happy to be able to eat, drink, laugh and relax by the fire with his mom. These memories that have become a part of me and will never be forgotten." “Recently, Dr. Dawn asked me to be on the Board of Directors as a Parent Liaison for bereaving families. I am so honored that I am now a part of an organization that truly helps families escape the daily life of doctors, needles, fear and helplessness. I forever want to be able to help others who will have to face having a child with a serious illness feel the peace TSP provides.' |