The Tryon area branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) will host the third annual

Porcelain, Poetry and Prose, a fundraising tea for the Eileen White Scholarship Fund, on Saturday, Oct.12, 2 p.m. at Sunnydale in Tryon.

Dr, Kirk Neely is the senior pastor of Morningside Baptist Church in Spartanburg, S.C. He broadcasts a Sunday morning worship service and the Morningside Pulpit and Family Matters programs weekly. He is a frequent speaker for corporate and private events and family programs throughout the Southeast. He has taught at Southern Seminary, University of South Carolina Upstate, Wofford College and the Divinity School of Gardner-Webb University and in the life-long learning division at Furman University.

A number of Dr. Neely’s books have been published as part of the Hub City Writers Project. In 2010, he was selected as a finalist for the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Award for the best in southern literature. His topic for the tea is “On Becoming a Southern Storyteller.”

NC Poet Laureate Joseph Bathanti, Greenville author and writing workshop conductor Mindy Friddle and Susan Snowden, journalist, novelist and editor, will also present at the tea.

The Tryon area branch AAUW Eileen White Scholarship Fund was established to provide financial support for women who are returning to the classroom. The annual scholarship benefit is dedicated this year to the memory of Nancy McPherson, former AAUW treasurer and organizer of the first tea. The event is by reservation only.  Seating is limited and early reservations are suggested.  For ticket information, call 828-817- 2443.

– article submitted by Audrey Ortiz