Ann Miller Woodford was born and raised in
Andrews, North Carolina. She attended the one-room, one-teacher, Andrews Colored/Negro
Elementary School through 8th grade. Due to segregation in Andrews, she
enrolled in a girls boarding school, Allen
High School in Asheville, North Carolina. There she was a member of the
National Honor Society and graduated with honors in 1965. Ann graduated cum laude in 1969,
with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio where she
was a member of Mortar Board honor society.
She is currently working on a Master of Arts Degree from Western
Carolina University in Cullowhee, North
Carolina and working for an AA Degree in Business from Tri-County Community College in Murphy, North Carolina. She was
the first African American to work in an office and the first to teach (art) in
the Cherokee County Schools. Her home church is Mt. Zion Baptist Church in
Andrews where she serves as Sunday School Treasurer and Youth Director.
Ann is the Founder of One Dozen Who Care, Inc. (ODWC). The African-American, women-led 501(c)3
community development corporation (CDC) has a vision to create leadership capacity and build
community unity in far western North Carolina through training, supporting
community, collaborating with other community groups, and organizing economic
development, social, cultural and educational activities. For 12 years, Ann was Executive Director of
ODWC, the first of its kind in far western North Carolina. She is also the Founder of Chautauqua
AVE! (Andrews Valley Experience!), a festival held
each spring and fall in Andrews that features local and national speakers. Before
founding ODWC, while serving as Executive Director at the Andrews Chamber of Commerce, Ann was honored with
the Rural Leader of the Year Award from the North Carolina Rural Economic Development
Center in Raleigh. In 2008, she received the honor of the Z. Smith Reynolds
Sabbatical and the coveted ODWC Emma Cline Moore Award for Community Service.
She is a professional fine artist who has
traveled extensively. As an artist/designer, she has created works of art and crafts that
have been marketed locally, nationally, and internationally. In the 1980s she
partnered with the actress, Esther Rolle who played
"Florida Evans" on the TV
series "Good Times. Their
company, E & A Global Enterprises in Los Angeles, California marketed Ann’s
artworks, Annie and Charlie Ragg® dolls and African American Heritage playing
cards.
Ann credits her high school English
teacher, Betty Sue Smith with her writing ability. This book comes from her
desire to record the lives of the African American people who labored under very difficult
conditions to make it possible for her and so many more to have enjoyed
all the unique and exciting experiences of life.
This blog is intended to help Ann gather more information about the very special people who blazed a trail for those who followed them as they founded churches and built communities in far western North Carolina.
