Sheri Lynch

Her morning radio show is heard through more than 50 radio stations across the U.S., and Lynch has earned many honors, including the Gracie Allen Award, in recognition of her outstanding achievement in the realistic portrayal of women in media.

Listeners at the luncheon will also appreciate her realistic, yet humorous take on the trials and tribulations of parenthood. She is the author of two books about her parenting experiences – Hello, My Name is Mommy and Be Happy, Or I’ll Scream! – both published by St. Martin’s Press.

Publisher’s Weekly says of her latest, “Parents will love Lynch’s faux interview with toddler Olivia: ‘I don’t go to sleep; I pass out,’ the kid tells her. ‘And I try to take as many people down with me as I can.’ . . . cleverly captures the angst of child-rearing in this funny memoir.”

Another review says, “Sheri Lynch is a superb humorist of modern marriage, mores and motherhood.”

Lynch will speak at the Great Friend to Families luncheon held from noon to 2 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 27, at the High Country Home Builders’ Plaza. Tickets are on sale for $20 at www.goplayhouse.org, First Citizens Bank, Earth Fare, or The Children’s Playhouse, located at 400 Tracy Circle in Boone. For more information, call (828) 263-0011.

Presented by The Children’s Playhouse, The Great Friend to Families award recognizes sustained contributions by an individual to the well-being of young children and their families in the High Country area.

The nominees for the award are Cindy Brown Greer (physical therapist, Watauga County schools), Laurie Cimino (Health Department/WIC program nutritionist), Lindsay Cobb (children’s sports coach), Doug Galke (Children’s Developmental Services Agency), Kaaren Hayes (director of Parent to Parent/Family Support Network of the High Country), Karen James (community volunteer at Sugar Grove Developmental Day School and others), Natalie Lewis (founder, Two Rivers Community School), Karee Mackey (4-H), Todd Nolt (Mountain Alliance), Sherrie Norris (reporter, community volunteer), Jane Penley (community volunteer), Denise Presnell (school social worker), Jan Rienerth (co- founder of Western Youth Network), Robin Triplett (parent educator, Parents as Teachers), Mary Willis (preschool teacher, community volunteer), and Judith Winecoff (children’s librarian, Watauga County Library).

The Great Friend to Families award is sponsored by First Citizens Bank; Earth Fare; Mast General Store; Adult and Child Orthodontists and Pediatric Dentists Drs. Mayhew, Scheffler, Hardaway, and Conn; High Country Home Builders Association. Additional funding was provided by Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation.