🗞️ Sharpen Your Aim: Local Archery Clinics Still Open for Registration

🗞️ From customer service to global marketer: Ashley Sutton's journey of empathy and ambition

🗞️ A first-year teacher, a principal, and a social worker: Three local standouts earn top honors

🗞️ Falcons Coach Sellers: 'It Should Be a Good Series' as NCLA Eyes State Title Run

If you've been thinking about trying archery, this weekend is your chance. The Kernersville Recreation & Event Center is hosting two archery clinics on Saturday, June 20, and there's still room to join.

You can choose between an introductory session or an intermediate-level class. All the equipment you'll need is provided, so you don't have to bring anything.

Just show up ready to learn. Personal bows and arrows won't be allowed, but that's fine because the instructors have everything set up for you.

It's a great way to try something new or sharpen your skills. To sign up or get more details, head over to the archery section on the KPRD linktree page³.

Ashley Sutton has built a career around connecting people with products that make a difference. As Global Senior Product Marketing Manager at Octave, she helps bring digital health solutions to a wider audience.

Her work focuses on making wellness tools accessible and understandable for everyday users. Sutton's path to Octave wasn't a straight line.

She started in customer service and gradually moved into marketing, learning how to bridge the gap between what a product does and why it matters. That experience taught her that empathy is just as important as strategy.

For the local community, Sutton's story offers a reminder that leadership can come from anywhere. She credits mentors and colleagues who encouraged her to take on bigger challenges.

Now she pays that forward by mentoring young women interested in tech and marketing. Octave, a company that offers mental health and wellness services, relies on Sutton's ability to translate complex ideas into clear messages.

Her job involves working with teams across the globe, but she stays grounded in her local roots. She often speaks at community events about career growth and the importance of representation in the workplace.

Sutton believes that success isn't just about individual achievement. It's about lifting others along the way.

That philosophy guides everything she does, from product launches to volunteer work.

Source¹

The ninth annual Core Awards from Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools brought some big wins for eastern Forsyth County. Several of this year's honorees come from Kernersville-area schools, including a standout first-year teacher, a middle school principal, and a social worker who's making a difference.

The Core Awards happen every spring to recognize employees and volunteers who live out the district's core values: equity, student-centeredness, accountability, integrity, high expectations, and collaboration. This year, the district added four new categories to the mix: Promise Awards for exceptional first-year teachers, plus Social Worker, Counselor, and Psychologist of the Year.

East Forsyth High School's Sydney Watson snagged one of the Promise Awards. She's among a handful of rookie teachers already earning praise for their work.

Meanwhile, Mónica Comer from Walkertown Middle School took home Principal of the Year honors. And Kernersville Middle School's Lisa May was named Social Worker of the Year in the very first year that the award existed.

The other winners spanned the district. Jalessia Patterson of Petree Elementary School earned Teacher of the Year.

Demetria Gaines from Kimberley Park Elementary was named Assistant Principal of the Year. Allison Kemper of Lewisville Elementary won Classified Employee of the Year.

Latisa Warner from Mineral Springs Middle received the Certified Instructional Support Person of the Year award. Fran Little of Smith Farm Elementary was honored as the Judy Mountjoy Volunteer of the Year.

Angela Smith from the Central Office became Psychologist of the Year, and Eva Bishop of Winston-Salem Preparatory Academy took Counselor of the Year. All winners received cash prizes thanks to sponsors from the WS/FCS Education Foundation and the Forsyth Educator Partnership.

Two anonymous donors also pitched in generously to make the event possible.²

The North Carolina Leadership Academy varsity baseball team is heading into a huge matchup this week. They'll face Chatham Charter in the Class 1A West regional finals, a best-of-three series that kicks off Tuesday.

The Falcons, who hold the top seed in the West Regional, boast an impressive 19-2 record. They'll host Game 1 against the second-seeded Knights, who are 22-4, at 6 p.m. Game 2 moves to Chatham Charter's field on Thursday, also at 6 p.m. If a third game is needed, it'll be back at NCLA on Saturday at 2 p.m. Both teams earned their spots with strong playoff runs.

Chatham Charter blew past Millennium Charter 22-0 in the first round, then scraped out a tight 2-1 win over Bethany Community. They followed that with a 10-0 rout of Andrews in the third round.

NCLA had its own dominant stretch. The Falcons shut out Hiwassee 14-0 in the opener, beat Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy 10-0 in the second round, and cruised past Chatham Central 13-2 in the third.

Head coach Brian Sellers has nothing but respect for the Knights. He noted that Chatham Charter has a standout pitcher lined up for Game 1, but NCLA will counter with its own ace, James Reynolds, who tossed a shutout in the second playoff game.

Sellers described the Knights as a deep team on the mound and said they don't rely on home runs but find ways to score. He expects a tight, competitive series.⁴

Let us know your thoughts on today’s issue