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Mothers of the Year announced

A 65 year old mother of six, ages 9 to “40’ish,” a mother and nurse who gives her all to the people she loves, and a young mother who makes nurtures a toddler and infant while taming horses and a household.

Fayette Woman magazine and The Citizen newspapers are pleased to honor these winners of our third annual Mother of the Year contest.

Mildred Talley, 65, raised two daughters to adulthood, and then turned around to raise four of her grandchildren, ages 9-21, adopting them as her own. Widowed, she is bringing the youngest two up alone.

“I can look in her face and tell that she is tired but she won’t stop,” her daughter, Marcie T. Williams, said in her nomination. “She just keeps on keeping on, and we love her to death for that.”

“She is mother of the year every year,” Williams said.

Mary Forestal, 54, is a walking definition of unconditional love, her daughter Jamie Forestal wrote.

Forestal was the swim team mom, Girl Scout leader, den mother, and nurse to her daughter who suffers from a rare connective tissue disease. As an adult, she returned to school after a 20 year break to become a registered nurse and is on the staff at Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital. She cares for her disabled sister, using her off days to help her get to appointments and refill prescriptions, and sends care packages weekly to a son who is serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq.

“My brother Jimmy and I can rely on her for anything no matter what, no matter where,” her daughter wrote.

“You can always count o her to make your day brighter with her smile and presence.”

Kristen Anne Thompson, 31, makes being mother an infant and toddler, while managing a small horse farm and day-to-day household tasks, look easy.

A former corporate accountant, Thompson left the professional world to focus on her family. She and husband, Bryan, moved to Fayetteville about three years ago, bringing the baby, three horses, a dog, a cat, and now a new infant to our county.

“Just the thought of it amazes me,” her husband wrote in his nomination of her for Mother of the Year. “She is an amazing lady and I would want no one else for a wife or the mother of my children.”

The contest began in March when readers of the magazine and The Citizen newspaper were asked to submit essays telling us why their mother should be named a “Mother of the Year.” Submissions were sought in three age divisions: 18-34; 35-54; and 55 and older. Winners are announced in this issue, with nominating essays featured on page C6-C7 along with photos and excerpts from nominating essays from finalists in the contests.

Fayette Woman magazine and The Citizen are joined by 13 local businesses in honoring these extraordinary moms by providing prizes for each winner. Gifts for the contest were donated by Atlanta Market finds, Champion Cleaning Systems, Ginza’s Steak & Sushi restaurant, Legacy Limousine Service, Mucklow’s Fine Jewelry, Mud Pies Baby & Kids, My Gym, Photographic Concepts, Salon Blu, Serendipity Baby & Co., Stay Beautiful, The Little Gym, & Virtu, Ltd.