““THE CHARLIITTE P< 1ST §=
.. j “77m? Voice Of The Black Community” 37*049*
Vpwwft 11, Number 9 ~ ~ — _____
-—--—E CHARLQTTE POST - Thursday, August 1, 1985 Pi-ir- in r wc
_
Wort Blvd.
.
To Bo Marvelows
£**hk* W
Mary Hollins Wins
"Churchworker Off The
Year" Grand Prise
Story On Page 12A
Ms. Hollins
PHYLLIS WALLS
...University of North Carolina senior
To “Branch Out And Be
h• • >• *« _. • . •
rtunities Arise”
The secret of success is con
•fancy ei purpose
tient with me because I’m the
youngest with a tendency to be
spoiled,” Phyllis confesses
With one sister, Angela, and two
brothers, Flemming O’Brien and
Andrew, this week’s beauty says,
“We do things together, like taking
vacations together. We’re a tightly
knit family. My mom and dad did
good.”
Phyllis describes her parents as
“the bridge” or support of her fa
mily. And special praise goes to her
father. “He’s worked hard for his
children to have everything he didn’t
have and more,” she points out.
Another influential person in
Phyllis’ life is Ms. Eunice Pharr, a
teacher at West Charlotte Senior
High. “She’s an inspiration,”
Phyllis states; “She taught me to set
goals and to try to achieve them and
don’t give up
"I’m determined, energetic, and
Stubborn,” Phyllis gives as a self
description. "And I possess an op
timistic attitude and J think posi
tively.”
Furthermore, Phyllis says, she
has learned to “think first." "That’s
the most important thing I’ve
learned," admits Phyllis “To think
first, because I'm outspoken. I have
to remember to think before I speak,
act or make any decision.”
One thing Phyllis gives some
thought to' these days is how there
needs to be more understanding
between people. “There needs to be
more negotiating with a positive
mind,” she explains. That way,
Phyllis concluded, a happy medium
can always be found
This attractive young lady at
tends the United House of Prayer
For All People on Beatties Ford
Rd , where everyone in her family is
very active
Cyndee Patterson Announces
r or City Council
By Audrey C. Lodato
Post Staff Writer
If the name Cyndee Patterson
sounds vaguely familiar but
you’re not sure why, rest assured
you’ll get to know her a whole lot
better in the weeks to come.
Patterson, co-founder of SpringFest,
campaign worker for Gantt and
Knox, and member or officer of
many of Charlotte’s civic organiza
tions, has just- announced her
candidacy for City Council.
Running as a Democrat, Patter
son explains what the perceives as a
great need for the city. “Over the
next four to six years, we’re going to
have to make many decisions that
will have long-term impact. We’ve
got to be looking way out, to be
visionary in designing a plan with
short-term, specific goals, but which
will fit into long-range goals."
She believes that tough decisions
will require bold leadership De
scribing the present Council lead
ership as "Conscientious, know
ledgeable. and struggling with some
tough problems,” Patterson would
like to see Council members work
ing together to educate the public
about the various issues confronting
the city. “We’re very biassed >i
Charlotte to have involved citipSns
. and neighborhood organizations.’’
she comments, "ff giveq enough
citizens will help you
1977, the
reel in
"Tharlotte is going,
my home,” dm re
put a lot into the city. I
ri more involved in Chdk
lotto’s direction for the future."
Although she’s never run for office
Herself -even in school-Patterson is
*
. Cyndee G. Patterson
.City Cpdnetl candidate
not new jo politics She worked
actively/1n the Knox and Gantt
campaigns in recent years. Her
prtrfnt strategy is “to literally
touch as many people as I can ” Her
campaign workers are new to the
political process and "their level of
enthusiasm is high."
A resident of Fourth Ward, Pat
terson is director of marketing for
Jenkins-Peer Architects "My Job is
to sell them." she explains "I put
their name in'front of municipal!
tiea, developers, corporate clients
It's a real challenge." Previow em
ployment has been as special events
director for Belk Store Services,
investment officer for funds man
agement at NCNB, and stbck
broker for J C. Bradford
In 1981, Patterson began working
with Koni Findlay to start Spring
Suttles Explains What
County Managers Do
Bv Audrey C. Lodato
Post Staff Writer
Since February, Sherry Suttles
has been Mecklenburg’s Assistant
County Manager for Administra
tion She comes to Charlotte with a
wealth of experience from positions
in California and Ohio
What does an assistant county
manager do’’ Suttles is one of three
assistant managers Her realm of
responsibility includes 13 depart
ments. She acts as liaison between
each department and the Board of
County Commissioners, helping
each get needed resources and an
swering to County Manager Gerald
G Fox
What made Suttles decide to leave
her job in Cleveland, Ohio, where
she was director of government
relations for the United Way? “I was
recruited for the position,” she ex-,
plains “I was attracted to the
community here The whole state of
North Carolina has interested me
from a professional point of view. It
has a reputation for good city and
_ ^ounty government. It’s one of the
few states in the country with lots of
fcity and county managers,” as
opposed to other forms of govern
ment, she continues
As an undergraduate at Barnard
College, Columbia University,
Suttles charted her career course. “I
decided on a local government
career because that's where the
action is. You’re more in touch with
the people you’re trying to serve
than in higher levels of govern
ment," she remarks. After grad
uate school (she has a masters from
the University of Michigan), she was
recruited by the International City
Management Association.
Management exposes Suttles to
many different areas, which satis
fies her need for variety. In addi
tion, city-county management dif
fers from political office. "There’s a
big difference in my mind," Suttles
notes. ”1 didn’t aspire to run for
office I see myself behind the
scenes, helping elected officials ac
complish what they want to ac
complish .’’
Sherry Suttles
. .Assistant County Manager
inis approach to government is
not tied to elections, and although
those in positions such as Suttles'
serve “at the pleasure of" the Board
of Commissioners, "Charlotte
Mecklenburg is particularly good
about not turning over manage
ment" when elections bring a
change in power, she comments
In her job, ‘‘there is no typical
day," says Suttles One of her
assignments is economic develop
ment for the county Although
Charlotte has been working on it, the
county is just beginning to get
involved, the assistant manager
states “I would like to get the
county well-grounded in economic
development.” she comments about
her endeavors in this area
She also serves as a hearing ex
aminer when county employees file
personnel appeals She plans for
board meetings, resolves problems
that arise, attends meetings, and
makes site visits to the various
departments under her jurisdiction.
Suttles is gung-ho about her cho
sen profession "I'm a big propo
nent of this profession for women
and minorities, she claims, but
warns. “It’s a very competitive
field I encourage people to look into
See St TTI.KS On Page 1 \
Fest. The original idea was to have a
sidewalk arts and crafts show like
both women had seen in other cities
Patterson is presently Springfest’s
chairman of the board
She is also president-elect of
Friends of Fourth Ward, executive
vice president for Planned Parent
hood, vice chairman for the Citi
zens’ Advfsory Council to the
Charlotte Convention-Tourism Bu
i-«aO member of Friends of the
a, Women’s Political Caucus,
Young Democrats, and past
-her of the Spirit Square Au
xiliary and th? Citizens’ Advisory
Council for the Tryon Street Mall
This experience and background
would be invaluable as a Council
member, she believes "Because of
my business background and my
ability as demonstrated through
sPr'ngfest, j can bring differebt
people together toward a common
goal of ’what's best for Charlotte '
The Implications of that
are t for the city I want
Char ow with a plan.”
Pal tributes her success
in P* ._ )rs to the fact that "I
really like people, and I have lots of
people who care about me and
whom I care about-and that
•hows." She thinks that creative
problem solving "la really the thing
I do beat "
Although some have asked why
•he doesn’t run as a Republican,
Patterson is a firm belt ever in the
Democratic Party "We have a
history and a continuing concern for
individual rights, fairness in go
vernment, and equality for all peo
ple, and we have a track record,”
ahe asserts "If the Republicans
hav? those qualities, they're Just
developing them and have no track
k f -a
record "
She describes herself as fiscally
conservative and likes the idea that
local money remains locally rather
than returning by way of Washing
ton She adds, "In our community,
we have the best opportunity to
make a difference in people's lives ’’
What would the Council hopeful
like to be remembered for years
from now'1 "For having been a
contributor to Charlotte in many
different wavs," Patterson muses.
People could say, ‘Sh<* always gave
back to her community
Patterson is a graduate of Pur
due University. She is married to
Robert M Patterson vice presi
dent of office development for Fai
son Associates The Pattersons at
tend First United Methodist Church
Duke Study Looks At Influence
Of Fairly Stress On Htuhh
By Charles Blackburn
Duke Medical Center
Special To The Post
Durham A man with high blood
pressure is told by his doctor to lose
weight, but his children think his
diet cruel and sneak him cheese
burgers and pizza
When he visits his mother for
Sunday dinner, he cannot bear to see
the wounded look that will certainly
appear in her eyes if he refuses a
piece of the coconut cake she baked
especially for him
In planning meals, his wife is very
supportive of ht> diet, but when he
begins Jogging in the evening to bum
calories, she accuses him of be
coming a "health nut ”
These are examples of a factor in
the scheme of health care that ia
something of an unknown - the
influence of family stress A new
study at Duke University Medical
Center is aimed at evaluating that
influence
"We suspect that family stress is
an important factor in a wide range
of medical problems, but it has been
difficult to define its effect," ac
cording to Dr George R Parker
son Jr . associate professor and
acting chairman of community and
family medicine
"People can probably cope with
illness better and will tend to be
more compliant with medical'man
agement if they are at east in their
family or social environment,” he
said “In our study, we hope to
quantify the effect of stress, to
assign numerical values to certain
facets of family life, and see how
they add up in relation to health."
Parkerson and his colleagues hive
received a 1149,000 grant from the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
for the two and a half year study,
which will involve 240 adult n*!
tients
"We hope to be able to identify
factors that will predict problems
and patients who are moat likely to
benefit from Intervention to reduce
family stress," he said.
In addition to a routine medical
history, the patients in Um
be asked to complete
questionnaires