Town Crier: Grownup Stuff

Writer’s conference

Join Kingdom Creatives Literary Arts Affinity Group for the second, annual, 2-day event: Cabin Fever Writers’ Conference at River of Life Church! Friday, Feb. 23, 6—8 p.m., and Saturday, Feb. 24 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. Featuring guest speakers; time for networking; local author book signing; and authors Q&A panel. $75 entry fee includes Saturday’s lunch.

The Science Zone – AmeriCorps

Do you have a heart for service? Do you want to kick-start your career? Do you want to build your employment skills? Are you retired and have a desire to serve?

Members will have flexible scheduling options, flexible commitment levels and will be provided with training. Service commitments range from 300 hours to 1200 hours that can be served over the course of a few months to a full year. In addition to stipends and education awards, becoming part of the AmeriCorps community brings lifelong connections and benefits. Join us as an AmeriCorp member by going to thesciencezone.org or call us at (307) 473-9663 for more information.

River of Life events

Calling all visual artists! The Center for Kingdom Creatives is hosting our Affinity Group meetings for visual arts. Join us on the 4th Tuesday each month from 5 PM to 7 PM at Cascade Coffeeshop (2955 East 2nd Street). Our next meeting is 2/28. We’ll have activities, demonstrations, time for creating, and be planning upcoming events and art shows!

Calling all writers! The Center for Kingdom Creatives presents the Literary Art Affinity Group at Cascade Coffee Shop. Bring your work to share, work on, constructively critique, bring resources to share, and invite fellow writers to join the fun! We’ll also be planning future events, conferences, workshops, and more!

We meet every month on the third Thursday at 7 p.m. at 2955 East 2nd Street, Casper, WY 82609. Our next meeting is 2/16. Call (307) 369-5433 or contact , or go to www.riveroflife.family for more details.

The Science Zone – AmeriCorps

Do you have a heart for service? Do you want to kick-start your career? Do you want to build your employment skills? Are you retired and have a desire to serve?

You could help provide educational programming in classrooms in before and after school programs, community outreach activities, and summer camps. We have many ideas of how you could help us do outreach. Members will have flexible scheduling options, flexible commitment levels and will be provided with training. Service commitments range from 300 hours to 1200 hours that can be served over the course of a few months to a full year. In addition to stipends and education awards, becoming part of the AmeriCorps community brings lifelong connections and benefits. Join us as an AmeriCorp member by going to thesciencezone.org or call us at (307) 473-9663 for more information.

Woman honored for efforts to get families health insurance

A Wyoming woman earned national attention for her efforts to help families find affordable health insurance. Cynthia Nunley has worked more than a decade with Enroll Wyoming, a nonprofit that offers free help for people to explore health coverage options. She is one of 10 people in the country highlighted as a role model for health insurance assistance.

“We are on the frontline helping consumers who often have no other place to go,” Nunley said.

She received this honor from Beyond the Basics, a nonprofit policy organization whose work focuses on better understanding Medicaid, the Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and marketplace health coverage. It recognized 10 honorees as part of its 10th anniversary celebration of the Affordable Care Act.

Nunley is based in Casper but has traversed the state as a navigator answering questions that allow families to make informed decisions. At one point, Nunley was the only navigator serving Wyoming, noted fellow Navigator Festi Edwards, who nominated her for the recognition.

“Cynthia Nunley has been a beacon of hope since the beginning of the Affordable Care Act and is still going strong, saving lives 10 years later,” Edwards wrote. “She works selflessly, tirelessly, and with great passion to find, educate, and assist consumers, always going the extra mile to help.”

Nunley customizes her work based on an individual’s needs or priorities. This may include enrolling people in the health insurance marketplace, which is designed to make coverage more accessible and affordable. Nunley is quick to praise the impact of the health insurance marketplace. She said the very first person enrolled through the Enroll Wyoming grant needed a life-saving operation and was able to get it after qualifying for a health insurance plan with cost-sharing reductions. Without the procedure, the woman’s doctor predicted she would have died in months.

The marketplace open enrollment period is approaching. This window from Nov. 1 to Jan. 15 is when a majority of people sign up for or renew health coverage. Afterward, they must meet special criteria to sign up for health insurance.

When asked to share her experience with the Beyond the Basics audience, Nunley said she may not always be able to get people health insurance, but the support she provides should give consumers sufficient knowledge and empowerment to change their lives.

In addition to garnering accolades as an assister, Nunley is a retired teacher, plays in the Casper Municipal Band, and is an organizer/board member for the annual state Native American Education Conference.

To get in touch with Cynthia Nunley or another Enroll Wyoming navigator, visit enrollwyo.org or call 211.

Wyoming Counseling Association 2023 awards

The Garth Shanklin Exemplary Practices Award recognizes agencies and programs which best exemplify the mission of WCA. Wyoming Association of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers (WAMHSAC) has played a major role in the last few years in both supporting mental health efforts as well as expanding mental health access across Wyoming. Though they represent the state-contracted centers across the state, they have an instinctual understanding of the different mental health professions, and that collaboration across professions is vital towards addressing mental health in Wyoming. They supported both the telehealth parity bill as well as the recently passed Counseling Compact. We are grateful for their working relationship, and look forward to continuing that work as we advocate for mental health in the future. Executive Director Andi Summerville lives in Laramie, WY.

Diana Quealy-Berge, PhD, LPC, LAT, of Casper is the recipient of the Teresa Wallace Lifetime Professional Service Award. This award is given in memory of Teresa Wallace, LPC, LMFT (1960-2019) who worked with youth, special populations, and college students for 32 years, retiring as director of counseling at Casper College. She is best known for her work with resilience and positivity. This award recognizes individuals with more than 20 years of service to the counseling profession and who held significant leadership roles in the profession, local community, and state.

Quealy-Berge is a graduate of University of Wyoming who taught Addictionology at Casper College for ten years. She is a sought after presenter at state and local conferences and for UW at Casper MS Counseling cohorts. As a White Bison Firestarter, she has facilitated Red Road meetings for incarcerated inmates at CEC Therapeutic Community for many years. She hosts regular sweat lodge ceremonies and drumming circles for those in recovery.

Andrea McGrath, PhD, LIMHP, LPC, past president of the Wyoming Counseling Association, earned the Outstanding Service Award. A graduate of the University of Wyoming, McGrath is currently Assistant Professor of MA Counseling at Doane University – Lincoln (Nebraska) Campus. While at UW, McGrath served as Graduate Student Representative of the WCA, then Secretary and President. She has been the lead in organizing several conferences, including WCA’s first all Zoom conference during COVID-19.

Lindsay Siminoe, LPC, of Cheyenne achieved the Human Rights Award for her strong advocacy of LGBTQ+ rights and inclusion. In addition to her professional lobbying with the Wyoming Legislature, Siminoe maintains a private counseling practice. She earned an MA in Counseling from Denver Seminary in Littleton, CO.

April Petty, LPC, of Cheyenne received the Bob Porter Service Award. This award is in memory of Robert Carroll Porter, who was a teacher, coach and secondary school counselor in Wyoming from 1946 to 1982, and for service to Wyoming youth at the junior or senior high school level. Petty is the College & Career School Counselor at Cheyenne Central High School in Cheyenne, WY (Laramie County School District #1). Prior to this, she was an elementary school counselor in Douglas for 8 years. April is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and holds a Master of Science degree in Counseling/School Counseling from the University of Wyoming.

Aaron Temple, PPC, of Casper received the Richard R. Means Elementary /Middle School Counselor Award, which recognizes accomplishments at the K-9 level. Dick Means (1932-2023) started his career as a school counselor, then served as the Director of Testing at Casper College until his retirement. Temple is a school counselor at Dean Morgan Middle School in Natrona County School District (NCSD) in Casper. He previously served as a school counselor at Bar Nunn Elementary and Evansville Elementary Schools in NCSD. Prior to becoming a school counselor Aaron worked as a middle school social studies teacher for 13 years. Aaron has presented at local, state, and national conferences on a variety of counseling related topics. He is a Provisional Professional Counselor (PPC) who earned a Master of Science degree in Counseling/School Counseling from the University of Wyoming and a Master of Arts degree in History.

Eileen Gavagan, LPC, of Cheyenne received the Richard R. Means Elementary /Middle School Counselor Award, which recognizes accomplishments at the K-9 level. Dick Means (1932-2023) started his career as a school counselor, then served as the Director of Testing at Casper College until his retirement. Her nominator describes Gavagan as “an amazing children’s therapist. Eileen specializes in working with children and adolescents. Her work changes lives every day and those who know her love her. Three years ago her world crumbled as her granddaughter was killed maliciously. Eileen never stopped giving back as she continued seeing her clients through her own pain. Eileen has a gift and is able to connect with kids and help them feel safe and supported. Eileen is a wonderful person inside and out and absolutely deserves recognition in her efforts to help the community.”

Central Wyoming Hospice joins nonprofit collaboration

Central Wyoming Hospice and Transitions is excited to announce our new membership to the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI). NPHI is made up of more than 95 not-for-profit, community-integrated hospice and palliative care providers and is dedicated to ensuring patients and their families have access to high quality care at the last stages of life. Central Wyoming Hospice is the is the first NPHI member in Wyoming.

NPHI believes the end-of-life care patients and their families receive should reflect their individual goals, values, and preferences. Together, members across the country define the standards of hospice care and guide patients and families through that journey.

“We joined NHPI because we believe that non-profit, community-based hospice providers historically have been and continue to be the leaders and the innovators in end-of-life care,” said CWHT Executive Director Kilty Brown. ”Ultimately, NHPI’s mission and values align closely with the type of care we provide daily.”

NPHI members are committed to person-centered advanced illness care that ensures individuals can focus on quality and comfort at the last stage of life. Driven by patient and family needs – not profit – members work to fundamentally change how people and institutions view end-of-life care, and instead, help people live as well as possible until they die.

Women in Business Scholarship

The Zonta Club of Cheyenne is seeking applicants for its Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarship. The selected applicant – who should demonstrate outstanding potential in her field of study—will receive a $1,000 scholarship. The Cheyenne Club scholarship recipient will then compete (without any additional paperwork required) with other Zonta Club scholarship recipients for an additional $6,000.

This scholarship is open to women of any age who are pursuing a business degree (including accounting, economics, finance, business management, business technology, information technology, marketing, operations management, human resources management, international business, or entrepreneurship) at an accredited university, college, or institute. Students must be enrolled in at least the second year of an undergraduate program through the final year of a master’s program at the time the application is submitted. Applicants must not graduate before April 2024.

To receive the local Zonta Club of Cheyenne scholarship, the applicant must have graduated rom a Laramie County high school or have obtained a GED in Laramie County or currently be a student living in Laramie County. Those students interested in applying but without the tie to Laramie County may submit their application and it will be passed on to Zonta officials who will assure that it is considered for the appropriate regional/international scholarship.

Applications must be submitted no later than Aug. 1. It is preferred that the complete application be submitted at but they may also be sent to Zonta, P.O. Box 2135, Cheyenne, WY 82003. The application and additional details may be found at zonta.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/JMKApp lication2023.pdf

Questions or additional inquiries may be sent to .