Honorees
Christine Glenn
My name is Christine Glenn. I was born, raised and now lives in Temple, Georgia. I was diagnosed with Stage One breast canaer in April 2021 at the age of 62. I AM CANCER-FREE!! This journey has taught me true meaning of resilency. Every breath is a gift from God. I give all praises to my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
I have 5 sisters, 1 brother, 3 grandsons, 1 precious, fisty granddaughter, 1 son-in-law and 2 daughter-in laws. My family is special to me because when you are going through and your path is cloudy and you need an anchor. My family is my anchor!
I was blessed to retire May 2023 after 31 years teaching in Carroll County School System. Currently, I am continuing to be a beacon of light working in various positions in church. My outlook on the future is to brainstorm ways to help non readers in the elementary school become readers.
I have a caring and passioante heart for others. My greatest desire is to reach out to others who are going through roadblocks in their life.
My name is Deidra Cain. I live in Hot Springs, Arkansas with my amazing husband of 16 1/2 years and my precious kiddos. I have a daughter named Ella and a son named Fisher. Ella is in the 8th grade and Fisher is in the 4th grade. I have been an Educator for 23 years, 16 of those are as an Elementary school counselor. I’m starting my 3rd year at Lake Hamilton Elementary School as the 3rd grade school counselor. I am a member of the Praise and Worship team at Faithpointe Ministries in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
My Breast Cancer journey started on August 11th, 2022. After discovering a lump, I went in to have a biopsy done. I still remember the look on the doctor’s face when he saw the mass on the ultrasound screen. After having this biopsy, he told me that he was 95% sure it was Cancer, but he couldn’t give me a diagnosis until my results came back. He scheduled me for an appointment the following week. He told me to be prepared to hear the word, CANCER! He also told me to have some friends and family with me so that I wouldn’t be alone at my next appointment. I was so angry! I remember thinking, “This can’t be Cancer, I’ve got 2 children and a husband that need me, my family, and my school kiddos.. I had to be here for all of them!” It was only 24 hours until my worst nightmare was confirmed! I found out through an online portal that the biopsy test results confirmed that I had Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. I had two masses. One was in my breast, the other was in my sentinel lymph node located under my arm. I was completely devastated.
Deidra Cain
However, it’s when we are at our lowest, that God comes in, scoops us up, and carries us through! That’s exactly what He did for me. I remember seeing the words “Metastatic Breast Cancer” on my report. I immediately started crying out to God begging him to give me some hope. I said, “God, I just need some hope, Please give me some hope!” When I arrived at Genesis that day, this sweet girl called me to come back to the exam room. She said, “Hi, How are you today? My name is Hope!” This is just one of the ways that God has shown His faithfulness to me!
The weekend after I found out that I had Cancer, was the weekend that God completely changed my life! He began speaking to me in ways that I had never felt before. I had miracles happening all around and I wanted to share it with others so that they too could see God’s faithfulness! That weekend, I started a Facebook page called “Turning my Lemon into Lemonade.” I wanted to share everything that God was doing in my life in order to bring encouragement and share my journey with others. I refused to even call this Cancer, instead, I called it my lemon. I decided that Cancer was a scary word and I did not want to walk in fear. Lemons became my symbol. Everytime I see one, I am reminded of how God can take the scary, hard, and sad things in our lives and sweeten them with His Faithfulness. He helped me to make sweet lemonade by using the scariest things in my life. He turned these scary things around and used them for His glory and my good!
! I am a complete MIRACLE! Every appointment I have had has gotten better and better. Someone told me the other day that I was the first Cancer patient that he had ever seen where the reports just keep getting better and better! God has been with me through it all. He has sent me so many wonderful friends throughout this journey. It seemed that on my lowest and hardest days, I would always receive encouragement from others. Whether it was a phone call, text, card, food, or lemon gift in the mail, God always found ways to show me that I was never alone. The amount of support that I have received has been so amazing. I am so thankful and grateful that I had so many prayer warriors praying for me. The people I have had the privilege of meeting and praying for as well have been such a blessing to me. I have seen miracles happen in so many lives of the Cancer patients that we have been praying for throughout the past year. God has shown all of us that He is truly faithful and that He is still performing miracles today just like He did when Jesus walked the Earth.
I am so honored to be chosen as a honoree with the Pink Santa Hat Organization. This is such an AMAZING organization and I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of it. I hope that I will be able to continue to be a part of the celebrations honoring survivors in the years to come. From the very beginning of this whole journey, I decided that I was going to use this to show others how faithful God is!!!! I just want everyone to know that God is who He says He is and He can do what His word says He can do! If even one person decides to turn their life over to Him, this whole journey will have been worth it!!
Trinni Yarn
My name is Trinni Yarn and I am a social studies teacher at Morrow High School in Clayton County, Ga. In March of 2021, my life changed and I was about to face a difficult time. My relationships, faith, and will power were about to be tried and tested through the unforgettable journey of a Triple Negative Breast Cancer diagnosis (TNBC) like never before. I received the TNBC diagnosis when our world had just begun to be turned upside down with the devastation brought on by the COVID 19 virus. One of the first things that came to mind was not only, would I survive this, but also how would this affect my career as an educator. I can truly say, alongside many other educators, that teaching was/is a passion at the core of me.
My cancer treatment included 16 rounds of chemotherapy, surgery, eight weeks of radiation, and 6 months of oral chemotherapy. Treatment would sometimes cause mental and physical weakness that made dealing with cancer just that much more challenging. I should also acknowledge times in which God, himself, let me know I was not alone. My son, Joshua, friends and family have been amazing helping me in any way they could while I fought for my life. Words cannot express how grateful I am for each of them. To my Lord and Savior, Hallelujah!
My name is Dewana Kemp from Dublin, Georgia. I’m married to my humble husband McKinley and together we have 22 year old twins, MaKayla and McKinley. I’m also the bonus mom to Ramonica and Ken, with three grands Ayden, Trenton and Brooklyn. I enjoy traveling, reading, quiet nights at home, and spending time with my family. I’m a proud educator of 28 years. I’ve worn many hats as an educator but I’m currently a high school principal. I’m honored to break the glass ceiling as the first woman and African American principal at my school. God has been so good to me even through breast cancer. My breast cancer journey began in 2018. After feeling a lump in my right breast, I had a biopsy on January 10th and was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer on January 12th. I had a lumpectomy three days later on January 15th, Dr. Martin Luther King Day. MLK Day now holds an extra special place in my heart and is always a day of celebrating life one more year cancer free. I underwent a second surgery to clear the margins and was then ready for treatment. I underwent 6 months of chemotherapy and 3 months of radiation therapy. It was the most difficult time of my life. I had to constantly fight the doubt and fear of possibly not surviving cancer and not seeing my children grow up.
My faith in God and my family were instrumental in my recovery and maintaining peace of mind. I am so thankful for my support system… my family, work family, church family, and community made it possible for me to continue working during treatments and continue working on my doctoral degree which I was in the middle of completing at the time of diagnosis. The meals, gifts, and prayers were much needed and appreciated. If you’re going through breast cancer, just remember you were meant to go through it for a reason and a purpose. I’ve had the opportunity to share my testimony and answer questions for many people who are fighting this fight. I now know my “why” for the journey. Post cancer, I intentionally strive to be joyful and appreciative of the life God has given me by not taking a moment of life for granted.
Dewana Kemp
Meka Riggins
My name is Meka Riggins and in 2016 I was the mother of two beautiful children under
the age of 6, the wife of an amazing man and father who stood by me when I was at my
most vulnerable and I was surrounded by selfless friends and family who sustained me,
nurtured my family and carried us all through that battle. God’s grace and their prayers
lifted me when I didn’t have the energy, allowing me to work throughout the ordeal and
be present today.
I found the lump and after consulting with doctors in April 2016, it was confirmed that I
had Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC). The mastectomy in June 2016 further clarified
that it was stage 2A, and I completed my last chemo treatment 7 years ago in October.
By January of 2017, I was on my way to recovery and have been in great health since.
This does not mean that it was quick and easy. 2016 was one of the longest, toughest
years of my life. And this disease is the gift that keeps on giving. But my blessings far
outweigh my trials and trauma.
I acknowledge my battle with breast cancer but even during that tough battle I was
grateful for the many blessings bestowed upon me. Those blessings and the grace of
God have brought me to where I am today. Being an honoree and sharing space with so
many other women who have navigated or are navigating this challenging path is a
privilege. Thank you!
Dr. Valerie Moss joined the College and Career Academy- North Campus team as a work-based learning coordinator and later transitioned to being a college and career advisor after spending 24 years in education in the West Georgia area. Prior to teaching , she worked as a senior account manager at Southwire and later decided to take her real world experiences to the classroom. She worked as a business and computer science teacher at Carrollton High School and has taught numerous courses ranging from introduction to digital technology to entrepreneurship. During her time there, she was also instructional coordinator for the career technical department and teacher leader for the entire school. Dr. Moss was named teacher of the year in 2016 and has received over 15 honor teacher awards from distinguished academic students.
Dr. Moss is not married and has no children. However, she enjoys playing the favorite “auntie” for all her cousins’ and friends’ children. She can spoil them and promptly return them! Her favorite things to do are read and travel. She has spent time in places all over the world, but has taken any recent trips due to health issues. She is looking forward to taking trips again soon. She also loves trying out the latest and greatest piece of new technology and owns far too many tablets and computers for one person.
Dr. Valerie Moss
Evelyn Moss
Evelyn Moss is a retired educator with 46 years of experience working with students, teachers, parents, and leading educators.
Evelyn received her undergraduate degrees from University of West Georgia and her doctoral degree from Nova Southeastern University. She taught third through eighth grades and later became an administrator. Education is still an important part of her life: she says one should always be a lifelong learner.
Evelyn continues to be inspired daily by her husband and daughter, who is also an educator. In her free time, Evelyn likes traveling the world, reading, and enjoys being with family.
