# Phoiot by Lay la Fanner
Sonya Nicole Wagslaff holds her new book.
From Grief
to Glory
_ Local woman's heartbreak, faith backdrop for poetry book
by layla farmer
the chronk I I
Winston-Salem resident
Sonya Nicole Wagstatf has
witnessed the power the writ
ten word can yield over her
own life. Now. w ith the pub
lication of her book. "Sonya
Blade: Poems for Life."
Wagstaff, a two-time alumna
of Winston-Salem State
University, hopes to share the
inspiration and strength she
has garnered from writing -
and living - with the commu
nity.
"This book is a physical
and spiritual metamorphosis
of hurt, heroism and evolu
tion." she said. "...There s
something in it tor every
one."
Wagstaff has spent most
of her life reaching out to
others, in some way. shape. or
form. She has served as a
special education teacher in
the Winston-Salem / Forsyth
County School system and
currently works as personal
trainer and fitness instructor
at Winston Lake Family
YMCA and as teacher at Kid
Jam. Union Baptist Church s
Summer Enrichment Camp
for youth
"It's always been a niche
for me." she said of her pas
sion for youngsters. "It's so
easy to relate to children.
They're so inquisitive.
They're so smart and so real,
and so that connection is
easy."
"Poems for Life" is her
latest attempt to touch people
in a meaningful way,
Wagstaff said.
"It's a great project," she
declared. "Its sole purpose is
to heal the community."
Sonya Blade is
Wag staff's alter ego.
Wagstaff says she chose the
name to signify pain, but also
the healing that can come in
its wake.
"She's like a super hero
because she's addressing
evervbodv's situations, she
said of Blade. "She's rescu
ing people, so to speak, by
taking on all their (issues).
"Poems for Life" is more
than just a catchy title.
Wagstaff has seen more than
her share of the anguish that
life can bring. In the early
1990s, Wagstaff ^then a col
Leroy Baylock is also an author.
lege student at Old Dominion
University in Danville, Va..
suffered a string of tragedies
that brought her to her knees:
she lost both her parents and
her grandparents in a matter
of a few years
"It was a very dark and
hazy time in my life." she
said.
From her deathbed,
Wagstaff's mother, who died
of cancer, gave her daughter
these words of advice.
"Whatever you do, be inde
pendent."
Wagslaff took her words
to heart, vowing to overcome
the de\astation that racked
her soul.
"1 was determined, by
any means necessary, to
make it," related the
Portsmouth, Va. native.
"...I've had the most tumul
tuous situations. I could've
been a statistic, but I made
the decision to swim and not
sink."
Wagstaff, a former mem
ber of the Lady Rams basket
ball team who has spent time
as an actress and a model
over the course of her career,
took up writing as an outlet
for the immeasurable grief
that burdened her spirit. In
time, she began sharing her
work with others at poetry
gatherings.
"It was birthed from pain,
it was birthed from (traumat
ic) experiences," she said of
her writing, "but once I got
started. I felt the love. It was
such a release."
Wagstaff, an active mem
ber at Union Baptist, says she
has also relied heavily on her
faith throughout her journey.
"I just gave it up to God."
she said of her heartache.
"...(And) I'm using all those
experiences to in turn pay it
forward and give back to the
community."
Fellow Union Baptist
member Leroy Baylock
recently purchased "Poems
for Life." Baylock. who
spent most of his life in New
York City, says he was
impressed with what he read.
"I think she's very
insightful about life." he said
of Wagstaff. "I am a person
who never really appreciated
poetry much, but I noticed a
lot of thought goes into the
topics that she speaks of, and
she does it with so little
effort I admire that."
Baylock. who is currently
working on a bachelor's in
Social Work at WSSU. said
the book has inspired him to
work towards his dream of
obtaining his master's degree
someday.
"This made me think that
I can achieve more that I
originally thought about
myself; I can set the goal a
little higher." he related. "I
just think it's a wonderful
thing; I'm looking forward to
her next book."
"Sonyu Blade: Poems for
Life" is available on
www.amazon.com and
wwwAuthorhouse.com.
Have a
Story
Idea?
Let us Know
MS@
Rep. Larry Womble
NC House of Representatives
71st District
Tel (336) 784-9373
Fax (336) 784-1626
E-Mail: LWistm@aol.com
Home Address
1 294 Salem Lake Road
Winston-Salem. NC 27107
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News
Clips
Outback hosting Make A
Wish fundraisers
On Thursday, July 15,
the four Triad Outback
Steakhouses (Winston
Salem, High Point,
Greensboro-Four Seasons
and Westover Terrace) will
host a fund-raising lunch,
from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30
p.m. for the Make A Wish
Foundation of Central &
Western North Carolina.
- For a $20 donation,
patrons will dine on a great
meal (eat in or carry out),
including choice of one of
two signature entries, a
famous Bloomin' Onion,
choice salad and a soft
drink. Each $20 lunch
donation will help make a
wish come true.
"This is a perfect oppor
tunity to take that important
client to lunch, have a
"carry out" office party, or
meet friends and family for
a great lunch, and help
grant a wish at the same
time," said Don Timmons,
regional director for the
Make A Wish Foundation of
Central and Western NC.
"So, come out and enjoy a
great meal for a very special
cause!"
To make a special
"Make-A-Wish" reserva
tion, or carry out order, call
336-272-0220.
PTI launch^rnew site
The Piedmont Triad
Airport Authority (PTI)
launched its new
FlyFromPTl.com Web site -
flyfrompti.com - featuring
enhanced informational
resources to assist the
region's travelers.
The new site was devel
oped with the assistance of
the more than 10,000 sub
scribers to the airport's
weekly e-mail update who
provided suggestions on
how to improve the site and
the travel tools they wanted
to have available.
"This launch incorpo
rates a number of the latest
travel tools to provide our
region's travelers with easy
to-use. timely information
all in one location," says
Henry Isaacson, chairman
of the Piedmont Triad
Airport Authority Board of
Directors. "For those who
choose PTI for their air
travel, it is now simpler and
more convenient than ever
to find the information they
need to make the best travel
decisions."
Features of the new Web
site include low fare finder,
flight tracker, daily fare
deals, detailed airport infor
mation and links to travel
resources. The new site was
developed by Horn &
Stronach Advertising &
Digital Media in Winston
Salem.
Career Center students
take home golds
Three Career Center stu
dents were the only high
school gold-medal winners
from North Carolina in the
national SkillsUSA
Championships. June 21-25
in Kansas City, Mo.
SkillsUSA is an organi
zation of students, teachers
and industry leaders in
career and technical educa
tion.
Sarah Parker won a gold
medal in the advertising
design field: Marcus Cain
won a gold medal in the
internetworking field; and
Kaitlyn Garrett won a gold
medal in the photography
field. They were the nation
al winners in three of 96
events in the competition.
In addition, Robert
Avary of the Career Center
won a silver medal in the
residential wiring field.
The championships are a
showcase for the best career
and technical students in the
nation. Contests begin
locally and continue
through the state and
national levels. More than
5,600 students compete in
the events before 1,100
judges and contest organiz
ers from labor and manage
ment.
Bill Clinton
talk rescheduled
President Bill Clinton's
talk in Guilford College's
Bryan Series has been
rescheduled for Tuesday,
Nov. 30, at 6:30 p.m. at the
Greensboro Coliseum. The
original date was Thursday,
Nov. 18.
Single
event tick
ets for
President
Clinton's
talk on
Nov. 30 in
the Bryan
Series will
go on sale
Thursday,
Clinton
July 1 . The event will be in
the Greensboro Coliseum
arena, in a 4,200-seat con
figuration.
Approximately 1 .400
tickets for floor-level,
lower-level and upper-level
seating will be available
with tiered pricing. Order
online at Ticketmaster.com.
by phone at 1-800-745
3000 or at the Greensboro
Coliseum Advance Box
Office. Tickets in the lower
and upper levels for stu
dents of college age and
under will be half price at
all points of purchase.
President Clinton is the
third speaker in this year's
series. Availability of sin
gle-event tickets for the
other four programs will be
determined later this sum
mer. More than 1 ,800 sea
son subscriptions have been
purchased, and a limited
number remain.
E-mail Suianne Sullivan
at ssulliva@guilford.edu or
call 336-316-2852 with any
subscription or single-event
ticket questions.
Habitat
for Humanity*
of Forsyth County
339 Witt Street
Winston-Salem, NC 27103
336-765-8854, ext. 131
Web: wwwJiabitatforsythjorg
Do You Want to be a
Homeowner?
Attend an information session to learn if
you qualify!
Mondn). ,|iil\ 12.2010
6:30 p.m.
W instou I akv I ainih \ M( \
\N inslon-Salfin
Can't make it this time?
This session will be repeated on the following dates:
At the Winston Loke YMC A:
August 9,6:30 pjn.
At Habitat for Humanity Office:
July 26.6:30 pjn.
August 23,6:30 pjn.
Spanish translation available on these dates
We arc accepting
application* for new
Habitat hornet as w?0 m
existing homes renovated
by Habitat as part of the
federal Neighborhood
ifUPinmiiTW rru|Tiviii