27.01.2015 Views

2009 - Q2 Barton Award winners. Students at SJA and CHS join to ...

2009 - Q2 Barton Award winners. Students at SJA and CHS join to ...

2009 - Q2 Barton Award winners. Students at SJA and CHS join to ...

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

ways being greener, I would love <strong>to</strong> have talent in<br />

the visual arts. I am a musician by training <strong>and</strong> inclin<strong>at</strong>ion,<br />

but I truly envy those who can capture<br />

so much beauty <strong>and</strong> emotion in two <strong>and</strong> three<br />

dimensions.<br />

Wh<strong>at</strong> was your favorite subject in school <strong>and</strong><br />

why<br />

Music, of course. Need I explain why<br />

Wh<strong>at</strong> is your first memory of life<br />

Growing up on McKinley Street <strong>and</strong> singing in my<br />

backyard.<br />

Wh<strong>at</strong> is your perfect day in B<strong>at</strong>on Rouge<br />

Waking up <strong>to</strong> public radio, enjoying a cup of coffee<br />

<strong>at</strong> CC’s, a productive day <strong>at</strong> the office <strong>and</strong> an<br />

exciting arts event along with a gre<strong>at</strong> meal <strong>to</strong> share<br />

with family <strong>and</strong> friends. If time permits, preparing<br />

the meal would make it even more perfect.<br />

You are running in slow motion, winning the<br />

New York Mar<strong>at</strong>hon; wh<strong>at</strong> song—other than the<br />

theme from Chariots of Fire—is playing in your<br />

head<br />

Carly Simon singing “Let the River Run.”<br />

If you had $1 billion, how would you spend it<br />

<strong>to</strong> improve the region<br />

I would build a TND focused on the arts. A complete<br />

neighborhood environment th<strong>at</strong> celebr<strong>at</strong>ed<br />

cre<strong>at</strong>ivity, including housing <strong>and</strong> studio space for<br />

artists, performance, rehearsal <strong>and</strong> exhibition space<br />

<strong>and</strong> lots of access <strong>to</strong> public art <strong>and</strong> free <strong>and</strong> affordable<br />

performances. Gosh, does th<strong>at</strong> sound like<br />

an arts <strong>and</strong> entertainment district Well, can you<br />

blame me<br />

Ginger A. Hunt<br />

Executive Direc<strong>to</strong>r<br />

Primary Care Providers for a Healthy Feliciana<br />

She put her own money <strong>at</strong> risk <strong>to</strong> help others.<br />

Ginger Hunt used her line of credit <strong>to</strong> start two rural<br />

health clinics in 1999. Then, as a nurse practitioner,<br />

she worked full-time in B<strong>at</strong>on Rouge <strong>to</strong><br />

support the clinics.<br />

Ten years l<strong>at</strong>er, her nonprofit—Primary Care<br />

Providers for a Healthy Feliciana—oper<strong>at</strong>es three<br />

clinics <strong>to</strong> serve 9,000 p<strong>at</strong>ients each year.<br />

Uns<strong>to</strong>ppable, she has launched other projects.<br />

They include a program <strong>to</strong> fight obesity among<br />

children <strong>and</strong> collabor<strong>at</strong>ive agreements <strong>to</strong> provide<br />

counseling for schoolchildren <strong>and</strong> their families.<br />

Which moment was the most rewarding in your<br />

nonprofit career<br />

Every day <strong>and</strong> every event in my nonprofit career<br />

has been rewarding. I recall a day when a mother<br />

<strong>and</strong> her 4-year-old son, who was in gre<strong>at</strong> pain, left<br />

Texas <strong>and</strong> rode a bus 10 hours <strong>to</strong> get back <strong>to</strong>, as<br />

they called us, the “Ladies on the Hill.” The mother<br />

was quite certain th<strong>at</strong>, despite the fact th<strong>at</strong> no one<br />

had been able <strong>to</strong> identify the cause of the pain, we<br />

would be able <strong>to</strong> help her son. Upon examin<strong>at</strong>ion,<br />

he was found <strong>to</strong> have a large abdominal mass. We<br />

immedi<strong>at</strong>ely found a specialist for the child <strong>and</strong> admitted<br />

him <strong>to</strong> the B<strong>at</strong>on Rouge General Medical<br />

Center. The tumor, a rare form of cancer, was removed<br />

<strong>and</strong> chemotherapy was administered. The<br />

child is now free of pain <strong>and</strong> has been free of cancer<br />

for four years. More recently, shortly after the<br />

opening of the new West B<strong>at</strong>on Rouge Primary<br />

Care Clinic in Port Allen, the staff received an<br />

emergency call from the bank across the street.<br />

The clinical staff g<strong>at</strong>hered up emergency equipment<br />

<strong>and</strong> responded <strong>to</strong> the plea for help. The bank<br />

vice president was found unconscious. The clinic<br />

staff performed CPR on him until the ambulance<br />

27<br />

Currents <strong>Q2</strong> | <strong>2009</strong>

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!