Oliver, a veteran of a 25-year career in nursing, recently retired as director of surgical nursing at Harris Regional Hospital. Trained in a profession where she had to be quick in solving problems, Oliver assuredly learned to believe in action.
"When I reported a property problem to my political leaders and government agencies, and looked for help with a solution... it infuriated me that no one listened to my complaints. I felt patronized," she said. "I began attending city council meetings, and as a result, felt that women did not have adequate representation in the city, or in the county. I set about doing something about it, and have now been in the mayor's office for seven years. And I am just stepping down as chairperson of the Southwestern Planning Commission. In its 33-year-history, no other woman has ever held that office."
Oliver said she believes in the process of government, open government to the public. She credits much of her education in government to the League of Women Voters.
"Make your views know," she said. "There are a lot of opportunities out there to give back to the community. Discover what level of involvement you are able to give and give back."
Mary Jane Queen was 79 years old when she received the 1993 N.C. Heritage Award for keeping the music of the mountains alive and passing it on down to her children.
"We have always made music... my dad and my husband's dad... all our family... it's in our blood!" she said. "I had watched my dad play the banjo and listened to him all my life, but I was somewhere around 13 before I finally got to play myself.
"My arm had to be long enough to reach the neck before I could pick anything. The banjo I have now is the first one I ever owned myself, my children bought it for me... all eight of them. All my children sing the old ballads; six of them play two or three instruments apiece. Would you believe, none of my children have ever had lessons in their lives. The Lord has been good to them, blessing them with the love of our traditional music of the mountains."
The Queen Family - Mary Jane and her eight children - received the 1999 Mountain Heritage Award at Western Carolina University.
Devotion to children, family, education and community - this is a common link winding its way through the previous stories of honorees. All of these attributes can also be directed to winner Martha Cabe Queen.
"I have been fortunate in areas where there were needs in the county and the region to help establish viable programs to bring about social change. Never did I do anything by myself... it was always a group effort," she said.
Martha Queen has chaired committees that have established REACH of Jackson County, a support resource for abused women and the first Council on the Status of Women. She has been instrumental in deriving the first dollars in establishing the Family Resource Center. She chaired the committee establishing Smart Start within the region, and developed an after-school program for the public years.
Recently retired from 21 years with the Jackson County Department of Social Service, she is the current chairperson of the Jackson County Board of Education.
"I really take pride in being elected to the school board," she said, "I have found that no matter what committee, group of political party I have worked with, when it comes to children, most people pay attention and usually vote alike on the issues... to improve the lives of children."
Dugan, the first female principal chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee, said she never in her wildest dreams had imagined a life of politics. She loved education and had spent 20 years in the Cherokee central school system as a teacher, federal programs director and superintendent.
Before the election, during the turbulent days of the impeachment of a former chief, friends suggested she make a bid.
"I was not considering it at all," she said, "until I began to listen to 'well, if you don't run, then I don't want to hear you complaining in a year.' I guess it was a sense of duty derived from my church and school service that finally guided me to accept the challenge. My election shocked everybody... and, no one was more surprised than I."
As principal chief, Dugan introduced many initiatives that brought positive economic and social growth to the tribe that had long been dependent on the federal government. This growth included a new centralized child care facility, which provided a program to preserve the Cherokee language, a bottled water enterprise, an urgent care clinic, a transit system, a youth center, a dialysis center, and accountability to, and stable programs for, the people on tribal governmental operations. Education of her people has always been utmost in her priorities.
"It gave me a lot of pride to walk into a meeting surrounded by my young, educated Indian people," she said.
Others honored will be Leni Sitnick, Marie Colton, Wilma Dykeman, Willie Vincent, Oralene Graves Simmons and Helen Moseley-Edington.
The conference continues with workshops on Saturday, concluding with a Peggy Seeger concert Saturday night. The cost is $10 for Friday night, or $35 for both days.
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