Deby Gilley speaks to Wright County Retired School Personnel

Our regular monthly meeting was called to order by our president, Karen Sinning. Lea Bembry led us in the pledge. The prayer was offered by Janet Atchison.
Minutes were read and approved. The treasurer’s report was read and approved. Karen gave us information and forms for the MRTA Region 10 meeting to be held on Oct. 18 at the Methodist Church in Ava.
This is a fun event, and all should try to attend. Paulette Stewart, our Wright County Retired Teacher of the Year, will be honored at the meeting. Elaine Dewey reminded us to turn in our community service hours and money spent.
DyAnna Shaver invited all members of our unit to attend the Wright County Farm Bureau annual meeting on Sep. 16.
The dinner and meeting will be held in the Mountain Grove High School cafeteria beginning at 6 p.m.
We have 19 new retirees in the area. We hope all retired teachers and other retired school personnel will join us in our meetings! 
Our speaker this month was Deby Gilley, a well-known and respected artist from our community.
Deby not only spoke about how she creates her relief prints and the tools she uses, but she told us about her purpose and inspiration for her work.
For the last three years, Deby has focused on Scripture as she creates her pieces. She hopes that viewers will be led to read Scripture and become closer to God. She also draws on traditional hymns for her inspiration. 
Photographs often are the basis for her work, and each one speaks to her as she finds how it fits with Scripture and music.
Deby has published a book titled, “A Visual Voice in the Wilderness.”  Her hope is that the book will draw more people to the Lord.
All of the proceeds from the sale of the books will be donated to “490, A Hope for the Hurting.” This is a recovery program helping those suffering from addiction and other issues.  Thank you, Deby for your presentation!
Our next meeting will be Oct. 15. We meet at 10 a.m. at the Church of the Nazarene at 1301 N. Hovis St. in Mountain Grove. Our speaker will be Karen Miller, from the Missouri Retired Teachers Foundation.