CRESTVIEW — Women of Valor, a group of women dedicated to mentoring females of all ages, will have a conference at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 19 at the Crestview Community Center.
Sherrell Compton, Women of Valor founder, said, "Our goal is to both model and teach Biblical principles so that each generation will know Jesus Christ." Each year, the group hosts two different workshops for girls ages 4-12 and 13-20.
"We have different professionals come in from our community, and they share their life experiences in the form of workshops," covering topics such as beauty, etiquette, respect and more, Compton said. This is all to help the girls understand the importance of proper life choices and that true beauty comes from within.
Workshops for the females, referred to as Beautiful Ones, are held in June and July. "Once they complete those," Compton said, "then we have the older girls do community outreach programs." They prepare and deliver toiletries and needed things to local nursing homes and hospice patients.
This year's community outreach was a partnership with Covenant Hospice, wherein WV trainees helped fulfill the wishlist of a 5-year-old hospice patient. "They usually go out into the community and we prepare things to take to different patients at the different nursing homes," Compton said. This gave them the "experience to minister to a person that is young."
This is a final requirement for them to be crowned "Beautiful Ones" at the annual WV conference in September.
They share what they have learned over the summer with conference attendees and will be presented in a public forum and crowned by the reigning Miss Emerald Coast, Aisha Scott.
The conference includes guest speakers Robyn Helt and Jackie Colmon, both of Crestview, and music by Baker gospel group Gracefully Yours.
The program and conference are funded by local and surrounding communities through donations. Compton said, "We count it a privilege to be trusted with this endeavor each year."
For more information on the Women of Valor, visit www.thewomenofvalor.org.
Editor's Note: This story has been revised due to some incorrect information in the first article. Changes include the age range of older trainees and that all ages of women are mentored, as well as editing some wording for brevity and clarity.
Mattie Kelly Arts Center Galleries participating in The Smithsonian magazine's National Museum Day
NICEVILLE — Smithsonian magazine's Museum Day Live! is a one-day event on Sept. 26 highlighting the benefits of museum visits. On that day, with a ticket from the Smithsonian website, the public may visit participating venues free of charge.
The Mattie Kelly Arts Center Galleries at Northwest Florida State College, 100 College Blvd., Niceville is one of the Northwest Florida venues that are participating in the national project.
Artwork on display in the MKAC's Holzhauer Gallery includes items by Atlanta-based mixed media artist, Linda Mitchell. The McIlroy Gallery will feature a selection of New Guinea artifacts from the MKAC permanent collection.
In case people aren't sure of where we are, we're in the art section of NWFSC in Niceville. Our signs will be put to signify where we are and that we're open that particular Saturday. Feel free to use any additional information and pictures from our Facebook page.
To get a free Museum Day Live! ticket, visit http://bit.ly/1uWP9YA on the Smithsonian website.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Women of Valor conference planned in Crestview