Biographies of Presenters

Darlene Laughter began her government career with the Blue Ridge Parkway. In 1977, she transferred to the Asheville VA Medical Center to begin a career as a ward secretary and then as Assistant Chief, Ward Administration. She remained in that position until 1986 when she was selected as the Program Assistant to Voluntary Service. In 1989, she was selected to become the Interim Director and was appointed to her current position as Director, Voluntary Service in 1991. Darlene has served professionally in a variety of capacities: President of the local Directors of Volunteers in Agencies (DOVIA), Board Member for the North Carolina Association of Volunteer Administration (NCAVA); Education Committee member for the NC Society of Directors of Volunteers (NCSDVS) and American Society of Directors of Volunteers (ASDVS). She maintains her professional certification in volunteer management through the NC Associate of Volunteer Administration and the American Society of Directors of Volunteer Services. In addition, she serves on the Oteen VA Federal Credit Union Board of Directors; Greater Asheville Public Service Steering Committee (GAPS); Local Combined Federal Campaign, United Way, Women Veterans Advisory; EEO Advisory, and the Geriatric and Extended Council. Darlene is married to Don McNair, who has a private practice in counseling and they have three daughters. Just recently, she became a grandmother to John Royelle Clements.

Sandy Bendzen has been chapter coordinator for Project Linus of Western North Carolina for almost two years. She serves on the board of Chautauqua-AVE and The Learning Center, one of North Carolina's premier charter schools, and is a Guardian ad Litem for North Carolina's 30th judicial district.

Since 1986, Mary May has been the District Administrator for the Guardian ad Litem Program, a division of the Administrative Office of the Courts. She is responsible for all the children who have been removed from their homes due to neglect or physical or sexual abuse. She recruits, trains, and supervises Guardian ad Litem volunteers who are the trained, volunteer advocates for children as the children go through the North Carolina court system. The area she supervises if the 30th Judicial District, which included all seven counties west of Asheville, including the Qualla Reservation (the Cherokee Indian Reservation). Mary serves as: Chair of the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council A member of the Scholarship Board of Vermont College of Norwich University A member of the Board of Directors of The Learning Center Charter School A member of the Governor's Child Fatality Team Board in the 30th Judicial District A board member of the Steering Committee for New Bridges Children's Home A board member for the 30th Judicial District on the Community Child Protection Team A member of the Region A Planning Commission A member of the NC State Guardian ad Litem Executive Conference Committee A member of the Adoption Committee for the Department of Social Services A member of the Cherokee Historical Association Mary is the mother of three daughters, and a doting grandmother. Just drop by her office in Murphy, North Carolina, any time and see all the wonderful photographs of her own family, in addition to hundreds of photos of children who have benefited from the Guardian ad Litem program.

Michael Harney, a HIV/AIDS/STD/Hepatitis and Alcohol/Substance Abuse prevention educator in the Western North Carolina region since 1993, is employed full-time by the Western North Carolina AIDS Project (WNCAP) in Asheville. He is Coordinator of the Needle Exchange Program of Asheville (NEPA), Secretary of North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition, Inc., and teaches Spanish at both A-B Tech Community College and Blue Ridge Community College. Within the community, Michael is known as the "Rubberman" because he distributed the majority of the 132,000 condoms distributed last year in Asheville. His column, "What the Rubberman Wrote," can be found in the monthly Out In Asheville newspaper, or online at www.outinasheville.com Michael also assists in the weekly HIV testing program at the Buncombe County Dentention Center, a service provided by the Western North Carolina Community Health Services organization. His interest is in harm reduction and health betterment.

A child who loses a sibling is impacted in many ways. When Walker Miller learned that he was going to become a big brother, he began to plan all the things he could do with his new little brother. When baby Andrew died, Walker was left with all these plans and a huge emptiness. That was when Walker decided to celebrate his little brother's life by buying birthday and Christmas presents for Andrew and donating them to underpriviledged children. Walker celebrated his 9th birthday by holding an "Appalachian Angels" birthday party. He asked his friends to bring gifts to donate to this non-profit organization, run by the Guardian ad Litem program, that provides items for children in foster care. Walker is in the 4th grade in Covington, Georgia. His hobbies are archery, music, and computers. He loves animals, peanut butter and honey sandwiches, and camping.