Main Street Moms on the Move ~ September 2014
By TMoM Team Member Katie Moosbrugger
We have a common theme for today’s Moms on the Move feature. While each of these Triad women are busy moms, they’re also actively committed to helping others. Whether at work, at home, or volunteering with their favorite charity, today’s Moms on the Move are fiercely dedicated to improving the life of other women, parents and children.
Introducing Amy, Rhea and Ashley. I invite you to take some time to get to know these amazing ladies. Enjoy!
Amy Dixon
Empowering others is a gift, says Amy Dixon, owner of Inner Strength Pilates in Winston-Salem, a business she opened in 2012 after owning other Pilates and Yoga studios throughout the Triad the past 12 years. The practice of Pilates brings awareness to your body, both inside and out, and gives you a calm appreciation of the gift that is your body. And Amy is a firm believer that taking care of your body and spirit nourishes you, and in turn, helps you give your best to your loved ones.
This belief has helped this mompreneur not only nurture a successful business, but also a loving home for her husband, Roy, and two children: Travis, 15, and Rachel, 13. Her business is run by certified instructors (with 100 years of combined experience) who offer private sessions, apparatus classes, mat classes, Egoscue Method Therapy, Barre, massage therapy and yoga. Amy has been a personal trainer for more than 20 years, and is the only instructor in Winston-Salem who holds a PMA certification (the international certification for Pilates teachers), as well as the only Certified Egoscue Postural Alignment Specialist within 80 miles.
“Surrounding myself with people who are wonderful in their areas of expertise has enabled me to focus on what I do well,” she said. “But I’m always remembering to keep my priorities in order: God first, family next, then work. I have to be strict with myself so that I incorporate workout time for me too!”
Amy underwent heart surgery earlier this year, and the experience reminds her every day that she needs to care for herself in order to care for her clients.
Next up for Amy is an expansion of Inner Strength Pilates. “We’re expanding our studio and our offerings. We’re making room for more equipment, as well as space for barre and yoga classes, and a room for facials!”
Rhea Egbert
Wife to Andrew and mother to Grant, 15, and Isabel, 11, Rhea is also the Director of Admissions and Marketing for The Greensboro Montessori School. Outside her home life, Rhea can usually be found in her office making calls, visiting families, and marketing her school through groups like Triad Moms on Main!
Rhea started at GMS 12 years ago when she enrolled her then three-year-old son in a primary classroom with classmates who were ages three, four and five. She also taught children at GMS for seven years.
“Greensboro Montessori is not the type of school most parents attended, so we strive to show the differences between traditional education as well as the key elements of a Montessori education,” Rhea explained. When she first enrolled her son, she said she was looking for a school where he could thrive and grow at his own pace, where he could be challenged but not pushed, and where he would have meaningful learning activities inside and outside the classroom.
“I am always recommending this type of education because it provides a safe, nurturing environment where children take ownership of their learning,” she said. Helping families find the right school for their child is the most rewarding aspect of her job, plus she enjoys the time she gets to spend with the children (including her own).
Greensboro Montessori serves children 18 months through 8th grade. It is accredited by the American Montessori Society, and their teachers hold AMS certification, which is a year-long training initiative.
Additionally, Rhea enjoys running, cooking and spending time with family. You just might see her and her family on runs and bike rides on the greenway and around Greensboro parks.
Ashley Herman
High Point mom, Ashley Herman, and her husband, Ted, have three children (Charlie, 6, Eliana, 3, and Jack, 20 months). When she’s not busy taking care of her family and homeschooling her children, Ashley is actively helping other children as well. One thing Ashley is involved in is sewing washable hygiene kits for Days for Girls International, a grassroots movement that supplies these kits (which include elements to keep clean during menses) to “Every Girl. Everywhere. Period.” While the focus of this organization is on Third World countries, DFG also contributes kits to schools, pediatricians and maternity wards throughout the US. An avid sewer, Ashley helps create washcloths, easy-to-hand-launder pads and liners, as well as a colorful tote bag.
According to Ashley, one DFG kit lasts approximately 180 days of use. That’s one school year here in North Carolina. “Without these kits, girls around the world often miss school or work and are socially ostracized for a week every month. I read thank you letters from girls who had suffered from infections from using garbage to hide their flow. Others, were forced to do unspeakable things in order to get sanitary pads from the school staff. I took the overstocked aisles at the local stores for granted. It was a huge wake-up call to me,” she said.
Ashley also donates her breast milk to adopted children. Keeping up a good supply can be difficult, but the process comes easy for Ashley, and she said it only makes sense for her to share. Ashley has agreed to guest blog on this topic for TMoM, so stay tuned.
Helping others is important to Ashley, but she also knows when to say no, pull back, or get others to help. Focusing on what she enjoys, she says, has made her a better mom.
