My home town is Longview, Texas. I have lived here for 14 years.

I work at Pine Tree Elementary and I teach 1st and 2nd grade.

I am a volunteer for: The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.

I will walk 39 miles in 2 days to prepare. On a Saturday in October I walked a full marathon which is 26.2 miles and then on Sunday I walked 13 miles. I also had to raise $1800.00 in order to walk in this event.

I've volunteered for this organization for about a year. This is my first year to be a part of the Avon Breast Cancer Walk.

I've prepared for this by walking and walking and walking!!!! I walk 3 miles in the mornings with friends in my neighborhood. We meet at 5:00am and walk for 45 minutes to an hour. I also walk in the evenings around my neighborhood. If I hit every cul-de-sac and side street it is a little over 4 miles. I set aside Saturday mornings for my long walk and have walked up to 17 miles.

The reason I volunteer is to honor my mother, Dorothy Mann, who is a breast cancer survivor. I also wanted to challenge myself physically and make myself healthier because I don't want breast cancer and I don't want my daughters to get it either. I want to be a good example to them and make them aware of how important it is to be healthy and take good care of yourself.

I want to make others aware of the importance of taking care of themselves and to bring attention and awareness to help fight the horrible disease of breast cancer. I have been amazed at the impact this experience has had on others. I've seen several people begin walking and even walking further distances than they thought they could walk.

The encouragement and support that I have received from my family, friends and the teachers at Pine Tree Elementary has been overwhelming to me. I will carry each one in my heart when I walk. I know that I will feel their love and prayers when I walk - especially when it gets tough.

In addition to the Avon Walk, I have been a softball coach for the Longview Girls Softball Association for the past 2 years.

My family members are my husband Ben and daughters Hannah and Emily. My family has been a huge support for me because this walk has taken up a great amount of my time.


I'm trying to think of one memorable moment during this time I've prepared for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer but I can't think of just one. This has been such an incredible journey with several memorable moments…such as when I walked 15 miles one Saturday and felt so empowered and strong afterwards. Another great moment was when my 7 year old daughter donated her $1 to help me reach my fundraising goal. Lastly, the support and encouragement I have received from the staff at Pine Tree Elementary has been so overwhelming. They donated more than 75% of my total funds raised, surprised me with a wonderful "send-off" breakfast, gave me a sheet to wrap up in with encouraging words written on it so they could "be with me" in North Carolina, and have given so much love and support to me and this important cause. This walk started off to be a small thing that I wanted to do to honor my mother, get healthy, and do something I've never done before, however, it has turned into something bigger and better that I could have ever imagined. I'm amazed at the lives that have been touched and will continue to be touched.