Meet Norreen
a Star cheering on other Stars
Norreen Modery of Bethel Park, Pennyslvania, is our newest winner of Caption This Cartoon (Or Else) Contest! Her caption—You know, if you stand up and raise your arms, you’ll get a much more even tan—beat out some seriously funny competition.
Congratulations on on your win, Norreen!
Just shows that you’re never too old to win a contest.
Speaking of old, what’s your advice for aging gracefully?
Keep moving! Twice a week, I do Zumba Gold for the Active Senior and our gal definitely keeps us moving.
Have you ever won a contest before?
One of the other Steelerettes does this fundraising event, so I’ve played bingo and won on occassion.
What have you won?
Seriously?
Yes, we go deep here.
Let’s see … I won a cake decorating set and 20 dollars. My Steelerette friend won a dental whitening kit for her teeth. Oh, and I won a game table and chairs.
That makes you our biggest contest winner of all caption winners thus far. Maybe you should turn your magnet back over so I can give it to someone else.
But bingo isn’t a contest. I just got lucky numbers is all, so technically, I haven’t won a contest until now. My husband, Jim, on the other hand, is the real contest winner. He once entered a radio contest and won us an all expense weekend at Seven Springs Mountain Resort in the Laurel Highlands. It was an A.M. radio station, so it probably didn’t have lots of listeners, so we were lucky. And when Jim was a junior in high school, he won a medal, a slide rule, and 25 silver dollars from Buhl Planetarium for his refrigeration project. That same year, he also won five dollars and a certificate from California State College for his butterfly display.
Right now, our readers are probably thinking, “Hey, this gal seems familiar,” and it’s probably because they remember we dished with you on food and books and your time as a Steelerette with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
What didn’t we cover during that interview, that we probably should have?
My volunteer work. Here’s a picture of me and my best bud, Nathan:
I didn’t realize you were a furry. So you volunteer at furry conventions?
Noooo. This was taken at a Halloween party. However, I have been to a furry convention. One of my grandchildren, Alec, is into these conventions and I went once and walked around with a bunch of people dressed as large animals. So that was my one and only foray into the furry world.
So what is your volunteer work and how do you come to do it?
After my boss died and I lost my job, I was wondering how I could use my skills as a cheerleader and majorette now that was 80 years old. Around that time, I read in the paper that a special needs color guard group was starting up and needed volunteers. Because I danced, cheerleaded, and did baton, I thought I could help out. I’m now in my fourth year of volunteering with the South Hills Stars Special Needs Color Guard Group.
Tell us more about the South Hills Stars Special Needs Color Guard Group.
We work with a wide variety of individuals ranging from middle school kids up into their 30s. Our Stars do all kind of color guard activities designed to be accessible to anyone, regardless of abilities. They might have autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, or use a wheelchair. The one thing they have in common: they are all an amazing group of people.
For example, take Nathan. Not only is he a Star, he’s also in marching band at his high school. He holds a clarinet and does the band routines, marching on the field with his bandmates. He attributes his success to being with the Stars, in that it’s helped him follow directions. But really, his success is due to his own efforts, his parents, and his brothers. They are a great family. He’s also been in his school musicals. … He was a German soldier and most recently, he had three parts in one play, as a sailor, a fish and a turtle.
Like Nathan, other Stars have gone on to do other things. Their success in the South Hills Stars has led them to branch out and get involved in Special Olympics, bocce ball, and other sports. I also love seeing how they love seeing each other. It’s an opportunity for the school-age Stars to relate to each other on a different level outside of school.
We teach a routine every year and this year it’s flags and pom poms. Then we put on a show for parents and family members at the end of year. We also take our show on the road, performing at various places, like benefits for UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Memorial Day parades, during Duquense University’s women’s basketball halftime show, and at The [Washington] Wild Things, a professional baseball team in Washington, Pennsylvania.
If you’d like to see some of the Stars in action, here’s a short reel you can watch on the South Hills Star’s Facebook page.
Wow! Norreen is an inspiration to the rest of us.
A beautiful, genuine woman. Her life shows a life of loving and giving. So pleased you shared her with all of us.