As State Trainer, Green will work with American Cancer Society leadership to determine state training needs and develop a long-range schedule of trainings to ensure and promote volunteer education and participation. She will also be charged with conducting Train-the-Trainer Certification programs for LGFB Area Trainers, and conducting LGFB volunteer Certification and Update programs in locations where Area Trainers are not available. She will also conduct LGFB volunteer Certification, Information, and Update programs at NCA state association conventions, trade shows, educational events or other appropriate functions, with assistance from LGFB Area Trainers as needed.

Involved since hearing about the program in 1999, Green initially volunteered for Look Good…Feel Better, and then soon joined the National Cosmetology Association when she realized that her NCA membership would allow her to lead local patient sessions. When American Cancer Society staff recognized her enthusiasm for and commitment to the program, she was quickly recruited to become an Area Trainer as well as the Coordinator for the Florence area. During her six years with Look Good…Feel Better, Green has traveled extensively throughout South Carolina and has trained additional cosmetologists in the Sumter, Columbia, and Charleston areas as a trainer. As a local Coordinator, Green sets up and recruits fellow volunteers to assist with Look Good…Feel Better group sessions in Florence and surrounding areas.

In 2003, Green was recognized by the Southeast Division of the American Cancer Society with a Sunrise Award for work with LGFB. These prestigious volunteerism awards are offered at division and national levels for truly outstanding commitment and service to LGFB. Individuals are nominated by peers and selected by committee. When presenting Green with her award, Diane Klebanow of the American Cancer Society said, “Linda L. Green has established herself as one of the key LGFB volunteers in the state of South Carolina. She has proven herself as a natural leader who always goes above and beyond what is requested of her. Thinking of Linda makes me think of the quote by James Matthew Barrie: ‘Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.’ Green exemplified this when she once told a reporter, “When these women leave the seminar, they often can’t believe the transformation. They might come in with their heads down, but they leave with their heads held high and a smile on their face. That’s my reward for doing what I do.”

Since winning her award, cancer has impacted Green on a personal level, when she spent a significant part of 2004 supporting her brother, Russell Logan, who unfortunately succumbed to the cancer after a ten month battle. While mired in the midst of her own family crisis, however, Green remained a tireless advocate for the LGFB program, utilizing wait time in the local oncology offices and hospitals to inform nurses and female cancer patients alike about the Look Good…Feel Better program. Longtime operator of Creative Strands beauty salon in Florence, celebrating 10 years of service this year, Green is renovating her late brother Russell’s barber shop in Olanta and plans to open it as a second salon in the near future.

In September, Green traveled to Minneapolis, MN to attend a Look Good…Feel Better State Train-The-Trainer Class, joining eleven other state trainers from across the nation. All of the new trainers were asked to come prepared to the training and talk for three minutes on a topic of their choice related to the Look Good...Feel Better program. Green's presentation focused on public awareness of the Look Good…Feel Better program and she used two colorful magazine public service announcements (ads) released by the CTFA in 2001 and 2004. Using colorful props and having done extensive research on the public awareness campaigns, Green’s presentation was voted to be the best of the twelve examples.

The Look Good…Feel Better program is offered several times each year in Florence. It rotates between McLeod Regional Medical Center (Fitness Center) and Carolinas Hospital System. The patient sessions are open to any women currently undergoing cancer treatment. Carolinas Hospital System will host a session on Monday, October 31 from 3:00-5:00 pm. Now in its 16th year, the program has served over 360,000 women with cancer nationwide since 1989. The class is FREE, but pre-registration is required. To register, contact the American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345.

Additionally, many dedicated volunteers provide the remarkable insights, creativity, enthusiasm and dedication that make the Look Good…Feel Better program so meaningful to so many. Thousands of cosmetologists and other volunteers participate in LGFB group programs each year, and more dedicated volunteers are needed in the Pee Dee area. For more information on the Look Good…Feel Better program, call 1-800-395-LOOK or log on to www.lookgoodfeelbetter.org