Page 22 - South Mississippi Living - December, 2016

COASTNOTES
Barnes & Noble Gulfport invites customers to give the gift of reading to children in need during the company’s annual Holiday Book Drive, taking place November 1 through January
1. The Holiday Book Drive provides customers the opportunity to donate books to locally designated non-profit organizations. Last year, Barnes & Noble customers and booksellers
provided more than 1.5 million
books to more than 650 local charitable
organizations that
provide services
to children across the country. This year, the Gulfport Barnes &
Noble will collect books for Gaston Point Elementary and CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Harrison County. Holiday Book Drive recipients throughout the country include schools, libraries, literacy organizations, family social service agencies and homeless centers.
“The Holiday Book Drive is a favorite program of booksellers and customers across the country,” said Sarah DiFrancesco, vice president of Barnes & Noble. “Customers often purchase and donate a personal childhood favorite as a way to pass on a holiday tradition to a child in their local community.”
Brenda Blount, B&N community development manager 228.832.8906
Medical Aesthetician Inga Ruth retiring
story by
Kelsey Sunderman-Foster
For Inga Ruth’s client’s, news of her retirement at the end of
the year is bittersweet. Throughout her career as a medical aesthetician and laser technician, most recently with Modern Dermatology in Gulfport, she has made an impact on the lives of so many of her patients. “I’m really going to miss everyone I’ve gotten to know over the years,” said Ruth. “Many of my clients have become friends and are like family to me.”
Ruth attended medical school in Germany, where she is originally from. After moving to the United States in 1990, she studied laser therapy treatments. Having built a successful career, she is ready for the next chapter of her life. “I’m looking forward to traveling, being able to return home for a while and visiting my friends in Europe,” she said.
For Ruth, retirement is a mixed blessing. “I will miss my career and the people I’ve met through it, but I’m excited to have the freedom to do all the things I didn’t have time to do before,” she said. “As an old German saying says, ‘one eye is smiling, but the other is crying’.”
Beginning in January, Amy Parker is the new aesthetician at Modern Dermatology.
22 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • December 2016
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story by Lynn Lofton