Scantlin to head H.C. Women’s Fund
New director brings energy and innovation to the table

By Sherrie Norris

As the new director of the High Country Women’s Fund (HCWF), Catherine Scantlin is jumping in head-first to help changes lives – one woman at a time.

As director/coordinator of the two-year-old program for area women needing a hand up toward success, Scantlin will oversee the general activities of HCWF, serving as a spokesperson for women in the High Country through a variety of ways.

She will become known as the liaison between the HCWF Advisory Committee, Directors Circle, the media and the agencies the fund supports, as well as prepare and oversee the budget, grant requests and fundraising efforts.

Kim Kincaid, chair of the HCWF board of directors, said, “We are thrilled to have Catherine on board. Her enthusiasm and commitment will help us move forward so much more effectively. She has a wonderful grasp of our community, having worked with several of our local service agencies over the past few years. Catherine is an organizer, a hard worker and a team player —traits we value highly. She will enable the many volunteer hours women commit toward the High Country Women’s Fund to really count and to matter more to the women we desire to help. As we begin to plan for our next Power of the Purse luncheon (Sept. 12), Catherine will help tremendously in communicating our message to the public and in enlisting additional volunteers.

“As fundraising chair, I am especially looking forward to her ongoing support and creative ideas. We all are excited to have her in place — a great way to begin a new year.”

“We are also extremely grateful to the High Country United Way, which is not only funding her position this year, but continues to support our women’s fund in every way possible,” Kincaid said. “We were ‘birthed’ from United Way, and they are the perfect parent — providing credibility, guidance, encouragement and a generous ‘allowance,’ but giving us wings to fly and freedom to create our fund in the way we choose. We are truly appreciative of our positive association with them.”

After living “off the mountain” for four years, Scantlin said, “I couldn’t wait to get back up to this community.”

She now resides in Boone with husband, Brett, and their two “dog-children.”

Both physically active, they are cyclists and runners; Catherine teaches spin and water fitness at the Wellness Center, “kids’ yoga” at Neighborhood Yoga, and is on ski patrol at Ski Beech. “Obviously I like to stay outside and active, which is one of the many reasons I love living here,” she said.

As a volunteer for the HCWF, Scantlin said, “I am excited to be part of it on a more official basis. I like the grassroots nature of the organization — women helping women. While working on the ‘front line’ as a counselor at the Hospitality House, I saw how many obstacles people have on their journey to self-sufficiency. HCWF helps women on that journey overcome those obstacles.

“The efforts and generosity of the women of the HCWF make it possible to bridge the gap between crisis and recovery and to empower women and girls with the desire to become and stay self-sufficient. We are able to provide more flexible and creative funding to bridge the gaps left by local, state and federal funding sources.”
Scantlin has seen firsthand how the HCWF “creates hands-on opportunities for caring women to help women in need.”

“Members have a voice in how their gifts of money and service are used,” she said. “This is exciting to me because of the sense of community it creates. It supports the grassroots spirit of this fund that keeps women energized and involved.”

Scantlins says her goals include increasing the circle of women willing to donate their energy and resources.
“I believe there are many more women in Watauga and Avery counties that we can inspire with this cause. I hope to create ways to include women from broader age and socio-economic brackets in the joy of gathering together to help those in need. I’m looking forward to working with the chairs of our Power of the Purse fundraiser in September,” she said.

Regarding the “allocation side of our work,” Scantlin hopes to use her experience working with local agencies to reduce duplicity of services.

“The HCWF is now hosting monthly interagency meetings in order to give agencies the opportunity to share resources, ask for assistance, coordinate efforts, and support one another in the good work they do for our community. I also hope to encourage women in the community who have ideas for preventative measures, outreach, mentoring, and empowerment of young women to come forward and work with the HCWF to find ways to fund this important cause,” she said.

Scantlin grew up in Blowing Rock, the daughter of Mark Crumpler and Marianne Hall.

In 2006, she received her master of science degree in community counseling with a family focus at UNC Greensboro, having earlier completed her B.S. in health promotion, with a minor in psychology, from ASU in 2002.

Prior to returning to Boone, she was vice president and corporate consultant with

PGOA Associates in Raleigh, helping to create a consulting company, develop, design, organize and present workshops on self-leadership, in addition to performing marketing and administrative duties.

Before leaving Boone, she was a community counselor with Blue Mountain Center for the Healing Arts in Boone and outsourced counseling services to Hospice of Ashe, Alleghany and Watauga (bereavement counseling and grief groups), OASIS Crisis Shelter (children’s group), Hardin Park Elementary School (expressive arts group for students with disabilities) and Mabel Elementary School (talk, play and expressive arts therapy for students ages 5-14).

Working with Hospitality House, she helped develop onsite counseling services for residents of three homeless shelters, leading traditional and expressive arts group therapy sessions focused on self-awareness, increasing self-esteem, improving communication skills and conflict management, substance abuse relapse prevention and wellness and participated in staff meetings with shelter director, manager and service coordinators to coordinate services with other local agencies.

From 2002 to 2005, Scantlin was the physical performance site leader for the Transportation Security Administration in Washington, D.C., traveling across the U.S. to test candidates for passenger and baggage screeners for the government’s mission to federalize all U.S. airports and leading the physical performance assessment for each site, which included setting up the site, training a temporary staff, administering the physical performance tests, processing confidential documents and organization of the site.

She completed an internship at the White House Athletic Center in Washington, D.C., April –July 2002, where she participated in a wide range of health promotion activities, including group exercise instruction, fitness testing, program planning and implementation, fitness incentive development and personal training.

She developed and led a triathlon training and information series for interested members.

Scantlin was also the founder and race director of the OASIS Triathlon in Boone, an early fundraiser for OASIS (Opposing Abuse with Services, Information and Shelter) Inc., and has many other accomplishments under her belt.

Mary Jo Grubbs, grant allocations coordinator of HCWF, said, “We are so thrilled to have Catherine on board. Her experience in the field brings a terrific perspective bridging the gap between women that want to help and those who are in need. She knows the challenge of trying to find resources, either financial or physical, to meet the needs of women in the community. As we look towards reviewing grant requests in the future, Catherine will be so essential in our communication with the agencies. We are really fortunate that she decided to come home to the High Country.”

For more information on the HCWF, or to learn how you can become involved in the organization, contact Scantlin at P.O. Box 144 Boone, N.C. 28607; hcwf@bellsouth.net; phone (828) 264-4007; or fax (828) 264-4005