Main Street Moms on the Move ~ October 2015

By Rachel Hoeing

Happy Saturday! In today’s blog we introduce you to three more amazing moms in our community. Thanks to Kelly, Dennette, and Nicole for sharing a little about yourselves with us. In addition, if you know a mom who we should profile, email us to nominate her!

Dennette Bailey

Dennette has called Winston-Salem home for 19 years. She is a proud mom of a son who recently joined the U.S navy and two school-age daughters.

Married to her husband James Bailey, a teacher for the WSFCS, she too is an educator. Dennette owns and operates First Start, a five Star private preschool. As a licensed NC B-K teacher she values education for her students, as well as herself, earning a master’s degree in early education and human development from the University of North Carolina Greensboro.

Dennette says her love and desire for children’s education and well-being began when she was just a preschooler herself. As a youngster she not only experienced preschool teachers who lacked compassion but she also suffered sexual abuse at the hand of a family member. This motivated her to find a way to create a safe, compassionate learning environment for other children. Having been blessed with excellent elementary and high school teachers, she learned how valuable she could be in a child’s life and purposed to make a positive impact.

Dennette has taken that sentiment of being valuable in the lives’ of others to heart. She volunteers at the Ronald McDonald House of W-S, at church, and conducts workshops for other early educators and parents.

Since Dennette is a mom on the move, TMoM asked her where her aspirations might move her next.  “I think back on my teens and twenties often because I recognize these as the years I had no fear. I purposely reminisce on those childhood hopes because I realize that my experiences plus those lofty dreams are a powerful combination. I am thankful for my current way of life but in my next move I look forward to being a best-selling author, speaker and advocate for children and family Issues. I am excited to be a mom on the move.”

Nicole Gaboury

“Ice, Ice Baby” is music to the ears of Nicole Gaboury, Skating Director of the Greensboro Ice House. As a Minnesota native, Nicole glided through adolescence with skates on her feet. She recalls skating during recess at school and enjoyed outdoor skating in the crisp winter air. She even has fond memories of playing pond hockey with her brother and neighborhood kids! As her love of skating increased, so did her time on the ice, and Nicole devoted herself to competitive figure skating…it was a wonderful childhood!

One of Nicole’s biggest concerns when she moved to the South was the thought of living in an area without ice. “Much to my relief, Greensboro is the proud home of the Greensboro Ice House,” says Gaboury. “I am so pleased that we’re able to offer year round skating for all ages and abilities.”

Through her position as Skating Director, Nicole shares her love of the ice with a new generation of skaters, including her own children Stefan (12) and Sofia (9). Stefan and Sofia are budding skaters in their own right competing locally and performing annually in the Old Dominion/Fox 8 Holiday Concert scheduled this year on Friday, December 11th at 7:30pm at the Greensboro Coliseum. Ice House skaters perform while the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra plays live; a beautiful community event to ring in the Holiday Season!  Admission is free with a canned food item benefiting the Salvation Army.

Nicole would love to teach the entire Triad to skate! She utilizes the nationally recognized US Figure Skating Basic Skills program to introduce skating as a life-long sport centered on FUN!! while safely learning skating fundamentals. She encourages all ages to check out the Greensboro Ice House Learn to Skate program here. Bring a sweater, “winter is coming”…

Kelly Hines

If you ask Kelly what she does, she’ll likely shrug and say “Oh, you know. Stuff.” It’s a question that has many different answers! Primarily, she’s a mom to three kids, Katie (14), Julia (8), and Henry (5), and wife of 20 years to Sean. You may recognize her name from her frequent blogs on TMoM (where she also takes care of our event calendar), or her personal blog, Southern Fried Children, a collection of short fiction and creative non-fiction.

Kelly grew up mostly in Winston-Salem, settling here ‘for good!’ with Sean in 1992. She started her career as a meeting and event planner, but decided to focus on raising a family after the birth of their oldest child.

Now, in addition to her work for TMoM, Kelly is a personal assistant, professional organizer, teaches etiquette and cooking classes to children, volunteers at her children’s schools, and serves on the Board of Managers for the YMCA Camp Hanes. The Hines family are active members of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, and Kelly is a strong advocate for the homeless overflow shelter that St. Tim’s runs through the winter. “There’s nothing more important to teach our children than service,” she says, “And the best way to teach it is to model it.” Kelly loves to throw parties, watch her ‘littles’ play soccer and her big kid act on stage, and spends her spare time cooking, reading, and being clever on Facebook. She attributes her ability to keep up with a busy life to rising early, thinking fast, and drinking bourbon.

Click here to see previous Moms on the Move features!