Lillie Cannady is 67 years old and has been a member of the Divas for 12 years, since its inception in 2004. “When they asked me if I wanted to be a cheerleader, I thought it was a joke. I was the cart-wheeler, until my neck went out and I had to have a fusion. So I don’t cartwheel any more but I still do the pyramid. I’m not growing older, I’m just getting better. I refuse to grow old. What you see is what you get now, always.”
Betty Reid is 75 years old and has been a member of the Divas for 12 years, since its inception in 2004. “To grow old is a beautiful experience! I don’t have to wake up to my clock anymore since retirement, and I can remember my name!”
Frances Cagle is 78 years old and has been a member of the Divas for four years. “It feels really good when we get to come into other people’s lives and perform.”
Etheldreda Guion is 74 years old and has been a member of the Divas for 12 years, since its inception in 2004. “I’ve always been intrigued by the aging process because my grandfather lived to be 101, so I saw him as an active role model.”
Keith Williams is 71 years old and has been involved with the Divas n’ Dudes for 3 years. “There was another Dude before me, but he decided to leave. It’s fun. I enjoy the ladies. I do the same things they do, but sometimes I do it a little different. Age is nothing but a number, it’s only a state of mind. I don’t feel old.”
Burnette Smith is 73 years old and has been a member of the Divas for nine years. “I was a cheerleader in high school so it’s just natural for me. It definitely helps increase your mental status, and I think everyone should try to improve their mental status.”
Cynthia Ferebee is 68 years old and has been a member of the Divas for three years. “I guess I was a cheerleader all along, not in high school, a cheerleader in my spirit. I’ve always wanted to cheer people on. It’s challenging growing older, but it’s also fun, because I’m more free. I can do things and not really worry about what other people say, what other people think. I am free to follow my own path.”
Althea Williams is 65 years old and has been coaching the Divas for four years. “It’s challenging, growing old, it’s just a whole transition. I think it’s getting easier, like with the Divas, you have women that can get together and talk about it. My mother’s generation, they didn’t do that, it was just something that happened, that you go through and nobody talks about it.”
