Talk show connects with Nevada women

After the death of her first husband, Carol Paz took a vacation to Switzerland. Although she'd hoped that her sister and friend could go along, their schedules prohibited it.

So she went alone, spending time at such luxurious destinations as Interlaken and Zurich.

"I was surrounded by awe-inspiring beauty," she recalled, "but it was the loneliest trip I've ever been on in my life."

But from her solitude sprang an epiphany. During her trip, she was befriended by a couple from India who invited her to accompany them on sightseeing trips and to dinner.

"It made such a difference in how I looked at my life," she said. "I came back from that trip realizing that if they could make such a difference in my life, what could I do? My bottom line is: We're happiest, we're most fulfilled, when we're sharing our lives with other people."

After retiring from a career teaching English and selling a successful business, it's a mantra that Paz, 69, still lives by.

In January, she began airing "Women to Women," a talk show featuring prominent Nevada women that airs on local cable television channels.

"This is a community program," she said. "It's geared toward all women of Nevada from all different backgrounds."

For her interviews, Paz selects women who have achieved success in their chosen fields to share the insights and lessons they learned along the way. Those she's interviewed include former Carson City School Superintendent Mary Pierczynski, founder of Web of Support PJ Degross and Carson Nugget General Manager Star Anderson, along with business owners and community leaders.

"Golden nuggets of wisdom come with their experience," she said. "The golden years are so rich with experience that needs to be passed on to this generation. Their lessons learned can be of great value."

Paz has her own experiences to share, as well.

A Midwestern girl, she married an Iranian man whom she met while studying at Ohio State University. She moved to his homeland, where she learned to speak Farsi and fell in love with his family and the culture.

"It was an entirely different way of life," she said. "When I came back to the States to visit, I realized I was changing. There was a lot more room inside me for more change, more understanding and especially more learning."

But violent revolution in 1979 drove the couple and their young son from the country, and they took refuge in Germany. Although they had expected to return when the country was stable, that stability never came.

They moved to Canada, then to New York, where Paz taught school.

Throughout her life, she's also lived in France and England and speaks French as well as Farsi.

Eight years after the death of her first husband, when she was 51 and he 58, she married Jose Noriega-Paz. The two moved to Carson City about two years ago.

His business, Carpa Nevada - distributor of exotic oils, spices and teas - is the TV program's main sponsor, along with Villa Basque, where the half-hour weekly show is filmed.

She has a small staff, working with Jim Gustafson and Phillip Davis of Nevada Multimedia Productions and Renee Plain as marketing strategist.

Paz receives no salary. Keeping control of the content, she said, has been more important to her than making money off the show.

"It's important to me that I contribute to the community I live in," she said. "There should be something in all of us that's willing to give back."