News
GPS Women (and a Young Woman) of Distinction
A senior, a faculty member, and a retired GPS teacher were honored on Tuesday, May 2, by the American Lung Association as Women of Distinction.
A soon-to-graduate senior, a retiring History Department chair, and a former English teacher were celebrated on Tuesday, May 2, at the American Lung Association’s annual luncheon as Women of Distinction. Phoebe Warren, Linda Moss Mines, and Cathy Barker were feted by a supportive cast of family and GPS colleagues and Board members in attendance.
Senior Phoebe Warren was one of four local students honored as young women who are making a difference in their community. Academic excellence is a part of Phoebe’s résumé, and her success in 21 Honors and AP courses led to her standing as a National Merit Finalist and member of Cum Laude. As the president of the GPS Honor Council, her goal for her senior year has been to be the best she can be academically and take seriously the obligation to be a role model for the GPS mission to inspire each girl “to lead a life of integrity and purpose.” The vice president of Terpsichord, GPS’s contemporary dance company, Phoebe appreciates the opportunity at GPS to participate in all areas of the arts. In the community, she is founding member and current president of ReGenerate, an arts leadership group that raises funds for arts education in local elementary schools. As an intern for ArtsBuild, she researched the impact of the arts on student performance in school.
History teacher and department chair Linda Moss Mines was recognized as a Woman of Distinction.
Named a Tennessee Teacher of the Year for American History in 2009, Mines has also been awarded the Thatcher Award for Outstanding Educational Leadership and the DAR Historical Preservation Medal. In 2015, she was selected as Outstanding Humanities Educator by Humanities Tennessee. The official Hamilton County Historian, she is a past president of Habitat for Humanity and current member of the Hamilton County Hospital Authority Board of Directors. Mines has taught a variety of classes, ranging from AP U.S. History to Government and Constitutional Law. A strong advocate for active citizenship, she makes sure that GPS seniors register to vote when they turn 18.
Cathy Barker taught English at GPS for 22 years and was honored as a Distinguished Teacher by the faculty. No former student will forget her Poetry Project assignment! Barker was a longtime sponsor of the yearbook and the literary society, Areopagus. As a volunteer, she headed the Signal Mountain Library board and serves on the town’s Centennial Committee. An outspoken advocate for the American Lung Association, Barker, who has undergone treatment for lung cancer, joined a group in Washington, D.C. to speak with legislators about funding research, and the local ALA says she’s a “passionate lung force hero!”
