MICHELLE WILLARD, Post Staff Writer
Posted: Sunday, March 29, 2009 7:02 am

The people of Murfreesboro are lucky to have such dedicated volunteers as the women who will be honored at the 2009 Women United High Tea, the event’s chairwoman said.

“The women we’ve selected, they’re not being honored because of the involvement they’ve had,” explained Patty Pearson, the High Tea’s chairwoman. “It’s that they do all this in addition to the things they already do.”

Pearson said the 12 honorees this year run the gamut from stay-at-home moms to full-time professionals from a range of fields, who all have one thing in common – volunteerism.

“It’s (volunteering) not about them, they are trying to make the quality of life better for others,” Pearson said.

The United Way of Rutherford and Cannon Counties will honor these dedicated women with the 2009 Women United High Tea from 3-6 p.m. April 14 at Park Place Conference and Banquet Facility, 521 Old Salem Rd., Murfreesboro.

Lynne Tolley, great grandniece of Jack Daniels and owner of Miss Mary BoBo’s in Lynchburg, will be the special guest speaker.

Tickets to the tea are $60 and may be purchased by contacting UWRCC Marketing Director Jenny Grubb at 893-7303 ext. 102.

This year’s honorees are Lynn Lien, Leslie Akins, Cathi Rowland, Gena Dix, Kathy Ryan, Sherry Carpenter, Sherry Galloway, Patty Marschel, Kathy Jones, Pallie Jones, Liz McPhee and Diane Stockard.

Grubb said the event is a way to thank the honorees for their hard work throughout the year and a way to encourage them to keep at it.

“It’s a way for us to recognize the women in our community … who are making huge strides each year,” she added.

Pearson said the women were chosen specifically because of the work or services they have provided through volunteering in the past year.

“They’ve made Rutherford County a better place to live …” she said.

“We’re lucky here in Murfreesboro, because we have so many different organizations and opportunities for us,” she continued. “To have all that we have requires somebody to actually get these things started. That’s what these women that we’re honoring are about.”

Michelle Willard can be contacted at 615-869-0816 or mwillard@murfreesboropost.com.