Skirt April 2015

A u g u s t A , A i k e n & e v A n s

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”

Maya Angelou

Don’t tell us you’re not a superwoman!

You’re at your best in a crisis. It’s April.

The downpours come, but you’ve been

around town long enough to know how

to get around the streets that flood. Your

hurricane pantry is fully stocked. You know

how to change a tire, check your oil, and use

your AAA card. You can fix what’s broken

with super glue, duct tape, or a quick

phone call. You can heal what hurts with

time, a Band-Aid, a kiss and a hug. You’re

always the one with the safety pin, the

stain remover pen, the hemming tape, the

airline miles to fly you and a friend whose

heart needs mending to a faraway island

where they put paper umbrellas in your

drinks. You give away your super secrets

because they might make someone else’s

life easier. You’re the friend who holds your

friends’ hands through their crises, and you

don’t do it because you expect anything in

return. You’re the rescuer—you stopped

waiting for Prince Charming to come along

on a white horse a long time ago (and if he

did you probably rescued him). You and you

alone are the heroine of your life story. And

it can be as amazing as your imagination

can make it.

e s c A p e t h e o r d i n A r y

cover Art: traci daberko

A p r i L

f r e e

®

www.skirt.com april 2015 3

4 april 2015 www.skirt.com

Foundernikki hardin

Creative Director caitilin Mcphillips

[email protected]

Market Managerkate cooper Metts

[email protected]

Contributing Editor gracie shepherd

[email protected]

Sales DirectorLisa dorn

[email protected]

Sales Executivesdoressa hawes

[email protected]

Lisa taylor [email protected]

Maidi McMurtrie thompson [email protected]

Mary porter vann [email protected]

Circulationdoressa hawes

[email protected]

PhotographyJon Michael sullivan

Advertisingsales: 706.823.3702

fax: 706.823.6061 1.800.622.6358

skirt! is published monthly and distributed free throughout

the greater Augusta, Aiken & Evans area. skirt! reserves the right to refuse to sell space for

any advertisement the staff deems inappropriate for the publication.

All content of this magazine, including without limitation the

design, advertisements, art, photos and editorial content, as well as the selection, coordination and

arrangement thereof, is copyright © 2014, Morris publishing group,

LLc. All rights reserved. no portion of this magazine may be copied or

reprinted without the express written permission of the publisher.

skirt!® is a registered trademark of Morris publishing group, LLc.

FeaturesThe Bully in the Hairdressing Salon Temma Ehrenfeld ..................................10

Love in a Bottle Ilona Elliot ........................................................26

In thIs IssueLetter from the Editor ...................................4

He’s So Original ...............................................9

Skirt of the Month .........................................29

Meet ..................................................................30

Product .............................................................13

february2015

In this, our Survival Issue, we’ve highlighted an impressive array of women.

Whether it’s Kari Viola, who listens to gut-wrenching accounts of abuse

firsthand from children, or Yvonne Gentry, who works day in and day out

to better position Augusta small businesses for success, these women

sacrifice to make other lives even a little bit better. For Amy McClure, her

sacrifices have been going on for more than a decade as a single mom

who headed back to school part-time while also holding down a job and

parenting two children. These women are survivors in their own right, but

they also help people in our community to survive their own struggles.

I know you know women just like them, and I believe we’re all survivors

in our own way. I hope you enjoy this issue as much

as we enjoyed making it, and I’d love for us all

to take time this month to think about what

we’ve survived, and celebrate what those

triumphs have given us.

Gracie Shepherd

[email protected]

SKIRT! THIS MONTH

april2015

Cover Art: If you’re an artist

and would like to submit your work, please send

a link or low res artwork to [email protected].

The SURVIVAL Issue

elizabeth edwards

She stood in the storm, and

when the wind did not blow her way,

she adjusted her sails.”

LIke to see your ad In skIrt! MagazIne? 706.823.3702





He’s So Original | Wes Zamzow

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april2015

At Georgia Regents University, Wes is director of special gifts within the Office of Advancement, connecting alumni and other donors to exciting

projects and goals within the university. Coming to Augusta from Texas as a college freshman, he fell in love with Georgia in general and Au-

gusta in particular and has not left since. “I really made a home here,” he says. Having graduated from GRU for both his bachelor’s and master’s

degrees, his love for his alma mater helps to keep him motivated about the work he and the entire office do for the university. Working with

donors of all kinds and amounts, he likes to remind alumni in particular that every gift connects them back to an institution they have benefitted

from. “There are no small donations,” he says. “It has an impact, no matter the size.”





february2015

Voluspa Apple & Blue Clover CandleThe Swank Co.

391 Highland Avenue, Augusta706.364.3421

Vera Bradley backpackCudos2u

400 Town Park Boulevard, Evans706.504.4500

April Loves

Vietri “Sara’s Bouquet” platesPlum Pudding Gourmet Kitchen Store

101 Laurens Street NW, Aiken803.644.4600

EMERGENCY FOOD STASHWe love these 18 Rabbits granola bars because

they make their granola from scratch, using real ingredients like fruit, nuts, seeds, coconut and cacao nibs.

Bonus: 18 Rabbits donates 1% of all of the bars they make to organizations that serve kids affected by food insecurity,

like Second Harvest and the San Francisco Food Bank. Available at Whole Foods Market.

april2015


make it a great day!

“YOU CAN BEAR YOUR

TROUBLES OR SHRUG THEM OFF. THEY’RE YOUR SHOULDERS.”

Robert Brault

26 GENIUS THOUGHTS from A-Z TO HELP YOU NAVIGATE

EVEN THE toughest OF DAYS.



Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries.

Without them humanity cannot survive.”

Dalai Lama

“You’ve only got three choices in life: Give up,

give in, or give it all you’ve got.”

Unknown

J“Judging a person does not define who they are. It defines who you are.”Unknown

D“Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will. ”Suzy Kassem

E“Each moment is a place you’ve never been.” Mark Strand

Ffresh air.

G“Go to where you are celebrated, not where you are tolerated.” Unknown

A“Always walk around like you have on an invisible tiara. ”Paris Hilton

B“Beauty is self- confidence applied directly to the face.”Unknown

C“Comparison is the thief of joy.” Theodore Roosevelt

H“Heroism consists of hanging on one minute longer.” Norwegian Proverb


keep your heels, head AND Standards

high.”Coco Chanel

“

keep your heels, head AND Standards

high.”Coco Chanel

“




ZEROTOLERANCEFOR NEGATIVEPEOPLE“YOU CANNOT HAVE A POSITIVE LIFE AND A NEGATIVE MIND.”Joyce Meyer

Z



Yvonne Gentry

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From construction to photography, the City of Augusta awards hundreds of contracts to businesses each year. Yvonne’s job as director of the Office of the

Disadvantaged Business Enterprise is to make sure local small business are aware of the opportunities they have within the city of Augusta, whether it’s bidding

on contracts or just informational services. “We know small business owners are the backbone of our economy, so we reach out to them,” she says. She’s been

heading up this effort for the past ten years, educating local businesses on marketing, bonding and financing opportunities, and ways to better position their

companies for new business. “When you’re a small business, you don’t have time to pursue procurement opportunities,” Yvonne says. Her favorite part of the

job is when all of the financing and marketing winds up helping a small business land new work. “It’s truly exciting when a company we’ve been working with

gets a government project.”

april2015


Amy McClure

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Having headed back to school in 1998 as a working single mom, Amy’s life is proof of her belief in the importance of education. She worked steadily through

2011 on her bachelor’s, master’s, specialist and doctorate degrees and is now the principal of Belvedere Elementary School in Aiken County. “We have the best

people,” she says. “It’s a family environment, and we really pull together when things happen.” Ever since she was a little girl forcing her brother to play school

with her, she’s known that education was her calling and that passion has only grown. “I get to help families,” she says. “I get to help with things that otherwise

I would never know about.” In addition to the students and families at Belvedere Elementary, Amy loves helping student teachers, interns and new teachers as

they grow in their careers. When she thinks back to herself in 1998 headed back to school, it doesn’t seem real how far she has come. “I don’t think I would

have believed it.”

april2015


Kari Viola

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Listening to children describe sexual and physical abuse they have undergone is something many people gladly go their entire lives without experiencing, but

for Kari it’s something she has done hundreds of times as forensic interviewer at Child Enrichment Inc. Kari’s role as interviewer is to interview and listen as

a child relates their statement about alleged abuse or neglect as a trained therapist, while representatives from local law enforcement and DFACS watch on

closed-circuit television in another room. This way, the child doesn’t have to give separate statements to each agency. “My goal is that this child’s voice is heard,”

Kari says. Although her job can be very difficult, she works hard to stay in a healthy state of mind so that she can keep doing it. “It takes a lot of self care,” she

says. “But I don’t think I could work anywhere else.”

april2015




Vignettes1415 Monte Sano AvenueAugusta706.550.5520

WHEREWill Your Skirt

take younext?

I dreamed I packed my skirt, my survival gear, my copy of One Hundred Years

of Solitude, and flew off to start my solo

adventures.


february2015

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Fight for those who can’t fight for themselves. Kiss slowly. Laugh often. Vinyl records are best. Wine is a food group.

apri

l

Kisha Burke

SIx OF mY FaVOrIte tHIngS:SIx WOrdS tHat deScrIBe me:

1. Local foodie

2. Poetry Lover

3. culture nerd

4. coffee Snob

5. Pinterest addict

6. Budding naturalist

1. reading

2. random adventures

3. Volunteering

4. Playing in the rain

5. Foreign films

6. Salsa dancing

2015

Skirt April 2015

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