Main Street Moms on the Move ~ 3/9/13

Welcome back to another great Main Street Moms on the Move feature! Today we highlight three very busy moms and chances are good you may recognize or know a couple of these women in our Triad community. And if you don’t, we’re thrilled for the chance to introduce them to you today on TMoM.

If you would like to nominate a mom who is doing extraordinary things in the community, at her job, or at home with her family, please email Katie@TriadMomsOnMain.com. We’d love to consider her for a future Mainstreet Moms on the Move post.

Please meet Nannette, Michelle and Dr. Smith!

Nannette Gatti Davis

Since children and art education are Nannette Davis’ two primary passions, she fits in perfectly at the Sawtooth School for Visual Art, the Triad’s premier community art school. Working with children of all ages, abilities and backgrounds, Nannette helps give young students a voice and the opportunity to creatively express themselves. She is particularly excited about the upcoming spring sessions and summer camps at Sawtooth. Students are already enrolling for these programs, and Nannette can’t wait to get started!

Nannette earned a BA in Graphics Arts/Communications and a BFA in Jewelry/Metalsmithing at Kansas University, where she met her husband Larry in 1984. After graduating, Nannette created and marketed her own line of jewelry as a silversmith for 15 years. Along the way, she added painting to her creative repertoire and worked as a mural artist for more than 10 years in Naples, Florida and Denver, Colorado before moving to Winston-Salem in 2009. After substitute teaching in the local school system, she took a position at Sherwood Forest Elementary teaching in the computer lab. She kept her toes in the creative water by simultaneously teaching part-time art courses at the Sawtooth School for Visual Art until 2012, when she was offered a position as the director of youth programming at the Sawtooth. She continues to substitute teach periodically for the public school system.

Nannette and Larry live in Sherwood Forest with their 16 year old son, Sterling. She volunteers her time and art skills for area several non-profits, including the Forsyth Humane Society, and looks for collaborative opportunities between the organizations she loves. During “Animal Kingdom” summer camp at the Sawtooth, the Humane Society brings in furry, four-legged models to inspire creativity! She stays fit by running 5K races and occasional half marathons, and is a certified mentor coach of Fleet Feet Sports.

Michelle Kennedy

Meteorologist and reporter Michelle Kennedy, a native of Syracuse, N.Y., joined theWXII 12 team in the summer of 2001. Before moving to the Triad, Michelle she spent several years forecasting in the South. She continues to forecast for the station’s late afternoon and midnight weekend segments, but Monday through Tuesday she forecasts for the Noon show, and then heads out to report on a story for the afternoon. She says she’s lucky to share stories with viewers on health and safety, and naturally she has taken more interest in stories about families and parenting.

Michelle has a degree in journalism from the University of Maryland at College Park, and she also completed the broadcast meteorology program at Mississippi State University. Michelle has two young sons, Cody (2) and Dawson (almost one). Cody loves playing basketball, football-anything that involves a ball, and baby “D” is a giggly, happy boy. While raising Cody and Dawson bring Michelle lots of joy, she also enjoys mountain biking, hiking, sailing, traveling, and reading poetry. She is also active on the board for Amos Cottage.

How does she keep her busy life in check? She says she really likes the Cozi app that TMoM turned her onto here – it makes keeping a shopping list and recipes a lot easier! One trick that she seems to stick to pretty well is not worrying about makeup on her  days off with the kids, “However I was shocked to see the person looking back at me when I finally looked in the mirror the other day…maybe taking 5 minutes to spruce up is a good idea!”

Dr. Leslie R. Smith

Dr. Smith is a pediatrician at Cornerstone Pediatric Associates of Kernersville. She has been a part of the Cornerstone family for 16 years. Dr. Smith has two teenage daughters in high school, a Pekinese, a mutt, and a bunny. She has been practicing in Kernersville for six years.

Dr. Smith grew up in Winston-Salem, received her undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University and returned to live in High Point after medical school and residency. She has lived in High Point for 16 years, and loves it.

When asked what is the most rewarding aspect of her career, she replied, “There is nothing more satisfying than seeing a patient whose life is heavily impacted by a certain issue, like ADHD, being able to intervene, and changing the day to day life of that child and his/her entire family.”

And the most challenging? “As every mother can attest, 24 hours in a day just isn’t enough.”

When it comes to raising children today, Dr. Smith says parents should focus on managing “garbage in, garbage out.” She added, “We need to concentrate on making sure our children’s diets are healthy and balanced. We need to monitor what they are watching on television, and coming in contact with on the computer. We as a society have become a fast food nation, full of reality TV and violence and we are paying the price for it. A simple life is a good life.”