Four ‘remarkable women’ setting an example in how they lead every day

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – People from across the community spent weeks in late 2023 nominating women who they consider leaders – not just one day or month, but what they do to better the lives of others day in and day out. It’s part of an annual News 2 initiative to highlight the great contributions women have made right here where we live.

More than a hundred submissions were carefully reviewed by a team of judges and ranked by community impact, self-achievement, and how they exhibit being a leader. Those nominations were narrowed to four finalists and presented each Tuesday throughout March.

This year’s Remarkable Women winner will be revealed Tuesday during a special live event to air on News 2 beginning at 4:00 p.m. from inside The Peacock in downtown Charleston.

The Peacock is a female-owned live music and fine dining restaurant on East Bay Street.

Our four Remarkable Women finalists, JenVon Cherry, Anna Lonon, Dr. Janie Wilson, and Sharina Haynes will be there as we hear their stories and announce this year’s winner, who will receive a $1,000 donation to the charity of her choice and a trip to Los Angeles to meet other Remarkable Women winner from Nexstar television stations across the country.

MEET THE FINALISTS

FINALIST: JenVon Cherry

JenVon Cherry is founder of a local non-profit, “Epitome of Epilepsy.” 

Cherry says that “Epitome of Epilepsy” is an organization where she can translate her personal experience of living with epilepsy into advocacy work for a greater community. “I have had epilepsy in every stage of my life, just because you are 16, 10, 11, 12, doesn’t mean you can’t conquer the world, because you can,” she said.

Cherry was diagnosed with epilepsy at just six years old following an accident in the classroom that changed the course of the rest of her life. “I didn’t really see a lot of people that looked like me, dealing with epilepsy, and that is why I created Epitome of Epilepsy; I wanted to make sure that I was spreading awareness in my community, in the black and brown community- it is just so important,” she said.

Cherry said she felt the black and brown community in the Lowcountry lacked representation when it came to epilepsy, and so she felt called to support that community with a foundation that offers education, inspiration, and advocacy for people of all ages.

“I did an event a couple of weeks ago at a middle school and one of the girls knew someone who had epilepsy. She came up to my table, she was really so excited because she said I have never seen someone who looks like me talk about epilepsy. She gave me the biggest hug, she had tears in her eyes, that’s why I do it.” 

Speaking at schools and universities is one of the main ways that Cherry fulfills her advocacy mission. Cherry is still growing her brand, with new goals year after year, and is thrilled to be tapped as a “Remarkable Woman”.

“I think this is a remarkable opportunity to not just showcase my business but also to showcase other people in the community who are making names for themselves, really striving to bring the community together, because sometimes we lose sight of everything that is going on in the world. Just want to have a base of community, love, and affection, and it’s amazing that you guys are acknowledging women rocking it out,” she said.

As far as the next steps, Cherry wishes to continue to expand her reach by bringing her grassroots message to an even greater stage. “Living with epilepsy for 35 years, and not being able to work, I have graduated, but I have had so many things pent up against me, and I have just been able to persevere. So I really just want to inspire other people who are living with epilepsy- children, adults – that they can conquer the world, despite the diagnosis,” she said.  

World Epilepsy Day is happening at the end of the month on March 26th, and to commemorate the occasion Cherry is hosting the “Jewels of Epilepsy” walk on March 23rd in Hampton Park. If you are interested in participating or volunteering, you can find out more on their website: https://www.epitomeofepilepsy.org/

FINALIST: Anna Lonon

Anna Lonon is the founder of the Lonon Foundation, a nonprofit that helps children affected by a parent or caregiver’s cancer diagnosis. It’s a cause that she cares deeply about after facing loss and adversity throughout her life.

Lonon met her husband Mike at the University of South Carolina, and they moved to Charleston after he graduated. They bought a house and their careers were taking off as Mike was an engineer for a local company, and Anna taught at the College of Charleston.

But things came to a halt when Mike was diagnosed with head and neck cancer shortly after their son, Jack, turned one.

“He had stage three, and at that time we just had Jack,” Lonon recalled. “And he fought it at MUSC for three years and unfortunately he passed from it in 2014.”

Mike passed away just three months after the couple welcomed their daughter, Harper, and Anna she started noticing changes in Jack, who was four years old at the time.

“His father had been sick since he was born, so even if you have a healthy as possible environment and you’re doing all the things that you can do to make it safe and secure — children are so perceptive,” she explained.

Anna said she realized Jack needed support from people who could relate, and in 2016, she brought him to a summer camp for children going through similar situations.

“I also knew that there were other children out there that had gone through it and it’s just a matter of finding them,” she said.

Months later, Anna founded the Lonon Foundation. She organized the first fundraiser, the ‘Hike for Mike.’

“We raised just $5,000 and I met with a friend of mine — she was Mike’s social worker — his hospice social worker — she said why don’t you start monthly events or monthly meetings for children who have a parent with cancer — and so we did.”

With help from some students at the College of Charleston, Anna used the money they earned to create the foundation’s UPLIFT (Using Play, Love, Inspiration, and Friendship as Therapy) program, which helps children ages five to 17.

“These are things that are going to help the children now through this experience with their parent, but it’s also going to help them for the rest of their lives,” she said. “Learning those things like how to cope better, how to become resilient, how to use mindfulness to deal with those really heavy emotions like fear, anxiety and sadness.”

But as the foundation grew, life came to a screeching halt once again. Anna was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“I was angry,” she recalled. “And I think it’s okay for anyone — however you feel whenever you get a diagnosis is a normal experience.”

Luckily, they caught it early and Anna went through radiation and surgery. But, she said she wasn’t sure if she could continue the Lonon Foundation.

“Then I had this kind of epiphany — ‘if not me then who? — I have been through it as a caregiver.. and I’ve been through it now as a patient,” she explained.

That’s why Anna continues her work today with the Lonon Foundation, providing support to those who need it most and continuing to honor Mike.

“I was angry,” she recalled. “And I think it’s okay for anyone — however you feel whenever you get a diagnosis is a normal experience.”

Luckily, they caught it early and Anna went through radiation and surgery. But, she said she wasn’t sure if she could continue the Lonon Foundation.

“Then I had this kind of epiphany — ‘if not me then who? — I have been through it as a caregiver.. and I’ve been through it now as a patient,” she explained.

That’s why Anna continues her work today with the Lonon Foundation, providing support to those who need it most and continuing to honor Mike.

FINALIST: Dr. Janie Wilson

She is a woman who has received dozens of awards for community service, but what she is most proud of is listening to others and helping them find the power to grow despite difficult circumstances.

While Rev. Dr. Dallas Wilson and his wife, Dr. Janie Wilson, walked the aisles of historic Citadel Square Baptist Church, she recollects the foundation of her faith.

“My father was a minister…,” Dr. Wilson explained. “My father, as well as my mother, I saw the tenacity they had and the sticktuitiveness they had for ministry.”

Hand in hand, and always in step, the couple talked about sharing their ministry in a church that was established in 1854.

“It was founded as a safe place for cadets and people who were over at the Citadel,” explained Rev. Wilson.

Her Christian faith is the essence of her upbringing and her professional training. She is officially Dr. Janie Wilson, but, “I love when people address me as Sister Janie because we are all in this together,” she said.

Sister Janie said it was when she matured into her 30s that she began to ask herself existential questions.

“What am I here for… Why do I exist? What is the purpose of my life? Those are the questions that became very evident to me,” she said.

She made decisions that led her into counseling as a ministry.

“My life was gonna be a life that I would have to live for Christ. A life that had meaning, that had definition, that had purpose, and I wasn’t gonna be selfish,” she explained.

Offering an ear, a shoulder, and a Biblical doctrine to couples, families and people who need support.

“These conversations are intense, private, intimate and safe,” she said.

For decades – and primarily on the east side of Charleston – speaking, teaching, and reaching people wherever they are.

“When I talk to people, I sit down with them sometimes it’s more than just bringing a remedy to to their physical circumstance,” she said. “What about the other part of the person? The real person, that inner person, you need somebody to talk to? Let’s talk, let’s make some real changes.”

Her ministry also reaches the most vulnerable – children.

The Little Pink Bus was a school bus painted pink that was used to take dozens of young girls to museums, sporting events, recitals, parades, and programs.

“K5 through sixth grade, we kept these girls from the time they came into the programs every summer we would see them after school…,” she said.

Sister Janie said it was actually more than a bus—it was a bridge.

“For a little girl to realize that no matter what happened in your family last night, you have a place to come and there is someone there who’s willing to help you teach you talk to you provide for you if necessary, we became the surrogate kind of mother for these little girls”

Her consistent care and counseling earned her many awards and accolades, including the attention of state leaders in 2022 when she was bestowed South Carolina’s highest civilian honor.

“This is a copy of the Order of the Palmetto,” Sister Janie said.

It is impossible to miss the closeness between Sister Janie and her husband, Rev. Dr. Dallas Wilson. Everyone calls him Brother Dallas.

He told us about learning that she was a ‘Remarkable Women’ finalist.

“I hate colloquialisms, but I was flabbergasted, and it took me back in the way that that I’ve become very thankful, knowing that the work that she was doing was finally going to be recognized,” he said.

Accomplished in his vocation and ministry, but humbly and joyfully celebrating her work.

“I’ve got one person standing next to me that’s remarkable. I’m just hanging on for dear life,” he said.

She is Dr. Janie Wilson: a wife, a counselor, and a friend. A remarkable woman helping others find their strength.

“I want my life to make a difference in somebody else’s life,” she said. “I take the opportunity to pour what I have learned into other people.”

FINALIST: Sharina Haynes

Sharina Haynes, is the youngest woman president of any NAACP adult chapter in South Carolina. She’s also a project manager at Boeing SC, and in leadership in a local chapter of the first Black Greek-lettered sorority.

For Haynes, the leadership gene is a proud family trait.

“I got involved with the NAACP through my mom. There was an incident in 2003 at a local high school. My mom felt like it was racially motivated, and along with a lot of other members of the community, we realized there was a need for a branch in Goose Creek, so my mom spear-headed chartering a branch,” said Haynes.

As president of the Goose Creek chapter of the NAACP, Haynes is the youngest woman president of any NAACP adult chapter in the state.

“My mom passed away in 2011. She passed away from cancer. It was a really sudden quick progression, but one of the things she always wanted my sister and I to do was make sure we’re active in the NAACP. She always wanted us to make sure her work was not in vain chartering this branch,” Haynes explained. “She wanted us to be in service to others in any kind of way, that we could be, so she’s definitely the guiding light for me and why I do what I do. I currently serve as president, so that’s a full circle moment.”

Membership has tripled during Haynes’ time as president.

“Civic engagement, voter registration, in the midst of the pandemic, we had COVID clinics and vaccination clinics, and we have also been very vocal about our school board, and the concern about eliminating history in schools, and different organizations bringing politics in schools,” she said. “I’m very proud of the work we’ve been able to accomplish so far, and I’m looking forward to us being able to continue that.”

The work includes preserving the history of the Casey community in Central Creek Park.

Haynes said, “The Casey community is one of the oldest communities in Goose Creek coming out of reconstruction. These were former slaves, and the only thing left of that community at this point is a cemetery. It was very important to us as a branch and a lot of concerned citizens in Goose Creek to make sure that history remained. So we worked with the city to ensure that Casey would be known for years to come, and with that the city named the indoor-outdoor pavilion which is a central key part a focal point of the park the Casey Pavilion. I’m proud of the Casey Pavilion.”

Haynes is also an IT Project Manager for Boeing. “I help with modernizing applications for the final assembly to help build airplanes. I work with Boeing Black Employee Association. I work a lot with STEM outreach and Dream Learners. At Boeing, one of the things we champion is community engagement, that’s incredibly important to me as someone in STEM. You don’t see a lot of African American women in higher positions. So, it’s very important to me to give that back. It’s very important to me to advocate to my community to apply for those positions.”

Again, following in her late mother Andrea Glover Matthews’ footsteps, she also has a leadership role in the Summerville chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.

“Always love being of service to all mankind, and with my sorority sisters, they always help me so much as a leader,” Haynes said.

Sharina Haynes has a long list of awards, including the Black Engineer of the Year Modern Day Technology award, her Alpha Kappa Alpha Soror of the Year award, and multiple awards for the Goose Creek NAACP branch under her leadership.

Haynes said to be president of the NAACP branch, her mother-chartered means everything.

“I’m a very shy person. So, I never thought I would be president of the branch. I felt there was a need for new leadership, and I thought about how can the NAACP remain relevant to my generation and generations behind me, so I do feel a sense of responsibility to the branch because it was founded by my mom, and feel a sense of obligation to the community, because I grew up in Goose Creek. I grew up in Berkeley County, and I just want other people to know they too can accomplish great things,” Haynes explained. “You don’t have to have a certain personality to do that; you just have to have a willingness to help others and a willingness to speak out for what you think is right. “

When asked how she feels about being nominated as a Remarkable Woman, Haynes said, “I’m incredibly honored. I’m almost kind of speechless about it. It was never my intent to be recognized in this way. I just want to be of service to others, be that person people can look up to and reach out to with help needed, so this recognition is totally unexpected, but I’m incredibly grateful.”