Tina Cole-Mullins goes the extra mile

Tina Cole-Mullins organized Wake Up Stockbridge with the aim of shifting the conversation to one of calm discussion rather than name-calling and anger. Photo credit: Rose Collison

by Diane Rockall

As a young girl, Tina Cole-Mullins learned from her ordained minister father that it was more blessed to give than receive.

She definitely took that message to heart,  as she’s always been willing to give from whatever she has to help others. When asked for a comment on her few on life she thought for some time and came up with several wonderful answers.  The one I chose to represent her mood was, “You don’t have to have a lot to make a difference in another persons life, compassion and understanding are free.

Cole-Mullins was born and raised in the Stockbridge area. Her father, although a minister, spent most of his life farming in the area. She attended Dansville Schools from kindergarten through high school. She worked on the high school newspaper and later took courses from University of Toledo and Kaplan University, but received no degrees.

After completing her schooling, she spent time in home care with Wendell Abbott. Later she spent six years providing home care for his wife, Marjorie Abbott.  In the intervening years, she moved briefly to the Toledo, Ohio, area with her husband where she worked as a certified paraprofessional specializing in special education.

Health concerns of her own limited her working time.  The couple had two children, a girl and a boy, now grown adults. She also has two grandchildren, both girls, whom she cares for from time to time.

Cole-Mullins also wrote freelance pieces for the Sun Times.  She now has become a frequent contributor to the Stockbridge Community News, her first piece appearing in September 2017. The article about  Jenny’s first ride related the tale of a first motorcycle trip for a youthful local resident.

As a member of a one-car family and with her own health concerns, Cole-Mullins became active with Stockbridge online and its Facebook community.  She organized Wake Up Stockbridge with the aim of shifting the conversation to one of calm discussion rather than name-calling and anger. It grew out of the two earlier groups called Their Guardian, Their Voice and Munith/Stockbridge Pay it Forward.

In this month’s edition of the Stockbridge Community News, she wrote an article on the village of Stockbridge’s recent decision on marijuana sales in the village, as well as one on the social media groups.

For Cole-Mullins, caring for others and giving back to her community is a way of life. Despite her own hardships, she is always willing to try her best to find a way to help.