[Archived] The Alexandria Commission for Women honored 10 women at the Commission’s annual Salute to Women Awards Banquet

City Press Release


	City of Alexandria, Virginia Office of the City Manager Alexandria City Hall 301 King Street, Suite 3500 Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3211 www.alexandriava.gov Telephone: 703.838.4300 Fax : 703.838.6343

City of Alexandria, Virginia

Office of the City Manager
Alexandria City Hall, 301 King Street, Suite 3500
Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3211

MEDIA ADVISORY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 2001
CONTACT: Lisa Oviatt, Director, Office on Women, (703) 838-5030

The Alexandria Commission for Women honored 10 women
at the Commission’s annual Salute to Women Awards Banquet

On Monday night the Alexandria Commission for Women honored 10 women at the Commission’s annual Salute to Women Awards Banquet held at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites in Alexandria. The Commission received 30 nominations, more than in any previous year.

Susan Lowell Butler, chair of the Alexandria Commission for Women, began the evening by welcoming the more than 350 attendees, saying, "As always--and in particular this year-this special evening is a time for celebration, as we honor women in our community who have made our community a better place to live." Ms. Butler introduced Mayor Donley who spoke about the "extraordinary honor" that had been bestowed upon the City by the Ladies Home Journal, naming Alexandria as the Best City in America for Women.

Ms. Butler announced that the Commission will be taking a look at Alexandria’s "...growing, increasingly diverse community, beginning in 2001, and for the next several years." The Commission will be conducting this needs assessment for services to women by topic and the first focus will be on employment and the economy. To start this new effort, the Commission highlighted three community programs that directly relate to employment for women: Alexandria Resource Mothers Project which trains adult mentors to work with pregnant teens to have healthy babies, to stay in school, to raise children well and to defer having a second child; Alive! Brighter Future for Families also trains mentors to help people leave the welfare rolls and successfully enter the workforce; and an Alexandria Small Business Development Center client who started a new business, with the help of the Center, called Mom Ease, Baby-Ease with the help of the Center to work with health care agencies, profit and non-profit groups to prepare a new mother for her life by providing information (e.g., on nutrition and immunization) and generally easing the mother through pregnancy. The spokespersons for these programs were introduced by Councilwoman Redella S. "Del" Pepper, Councilwoman Claire Eberwein and Councilwoman Joyce Woodson.

This year the Commission had two new awards: the Vola Lawson Award in honor of the former City Manager’s countless and valuable contributions to Alexandria, including starting the Commission for Women, to be given to a City employee who has helped to further the status of Women in Alexandria, and the Rising Star Award recognizing an Alexandria woman with less than five years of volunteer experience in Alexandria who has made a significant contribution to the well-being of women in our City.

This year’s Salute to Women Awards Banquet also celebrated the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Office on Women, the 20th Anniversary of the Domestic Violence Program, the 25th anniversary of the SARA (Sexual Assault Response and Awareness ) Program, and the 10th anniversary of Project STEPOUT/Project MANHOOD, a teen mentoring program. The proceeds from the banquet will help support the work of these very important programs.

The awards were given by State Senator Patsy Ticer and State Delegate Marian Van Landingham and Vola Lawson gave the award named after her.

Mollie Abraham received the Marguerite Payez Leadership Award, the highest honor of the Commission for Women’s Salute to Women Award for her life-long dedication to leading, advocating and helping women and others needing representation. The Payez award is named in honor of one of Alexandria’s prominent community leaders, and is given for lifetime achievement of a woman who has been a volunteer leader, and trained other women to assume leadership roles. From the days of racial segregation to the equal rights amendment, Mollie Abraham was at the front of the line. She was instrumental in founding the Alexandria NOW chapter, and in starting the Office on Women in Alexandria. She served three terms as Chair of the Commission for Women, more than any other woman to date. She advocated pay equity and retirement benefits for part-time employees and actively encouraged the expansion of services for the underprivileged and disenfranchised through the Office on Women. She has served on several PTAs and started the Crew Boosters Club at TC Williams High School. She is active in her faith community. Her conviction for fairness and equality played a strong role in the long hours she dedicated to Call to Community as a member of its steering committee. She is active in the annual Walk to Fight Breast Cancer, now herself a survivor.

Grace Lynch received the Vola Lawson Award for her work with the City’s Department of Aging and Adult Services since 1989. As Director of Elderly Assisted Living Programs, she worked to improve the living conditions of elderly residents at two senior high-rises. She helped form tenant committees to resolve problems, and sponsor educational, social and health-related programs for the residents. She was instrumental in starting a pilot program for breast cancer awareness and prevention for minority women in the two senior residences and two senior centers. She established the "Successful Aging" conference raising over $50,000 in corporate sponsorships to produce this highly successful quality of life conference attended by over 500 seniors. She has produced two more Successful Aging programs, the proceeds from which will enhance senior programming in the City for years to come. She assisted the employees at the Alexandria Residential Care Program-- a 10-bed assisted living facility--in upgrading their positions and receiving more education furthering their skills. As a result, four out of the five original staff members are still at the facility.

Anna Caulkins received the Rising Star Award for helping the most needy and at-risk children in Alexandria through SCAN (Stop Child Abuse Now) in the Alexandria Court Appointed Special Advocate program, known as CASA. For almost five years, she spent hundreds of hours advocating for children in the Alexandria Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, finding a safe and nurturing environment for each child she sees in an abuse, neglect or custody case. Her volunteer responsibilities include visiting with the family involved, a very sensitive situation. She researches each situation and opens the door to various community services for the family. Through her reports, she is able to bring the child’s story to life, and speaks with new CASA volunteers about her experiences and gives them tips on report-writing. She has also opened her home to children through the Volunteer Emergency Families for Children Shelter Care Program.

Carolyn Griffin received the Cultural Affairs Award as the producing artistic director of Metro Stage, and for her work to convert an old lumber warehouse to the new 150 seat Metro Stage Theater. She has served on the Chamber of Commerce’s Cultural Affairs committee and helped create the Alexandria Arts Forum. She was instrumental in organizing the task force that studied Alexandria’s Cultural Plan, which resulted in the organization of the Alexandria Commission for the Arts. She played a major role in developing Metro Stage’s program of using drama to help "at-risk" children and their families. Working with SCAN (Stop Child Abuse Now!), she is part of the award-winning initiative "Kids, Court and the Arts." For the last two years, she has brought professional actors, directors, and playwrights to Alexandria to work with youngsters in several recreation centers on acting and play writing programs. From this experience she has created Metro Teens, a program to teach drama to youngsters through their recreation centers.

Lillian Stanton Patterson received The Woman to Woman -- Making a Difference Award for being a role model for other women. She has mentored and tutored children, helped with Girl Scout troops, served on the Human Relations Council, on the advisory Board of Project Discovery, was legislative chair of the League of Women Voters during the turbulent 1960s and 1970s, served on the United Way Board of Directors and the Board of the Alexandria Civic Symphony. She helped found New Hope, a halfway house for people with mental disabilities. In the late 1980s, she joined the Alexandria Volunteer Bureau Board of Directors and today serves as its secretary, a post she has held since 1993. She has been a life-long member of the Shiloh Baptist Church. She has worked for the last eight years as a museum specialist at the City of Alexandria Black History Resource Center. Her newest initiative is an education kit on the role of northern Virginia's African American women. This kit educates students on the importance of women in their communities and gives them role models to look up to.

Susan Abramson received the Women's Health and Safety Advocate Award for her work in providing low-income families with quality health care. In 1996 she became the first executive director of the Alexandria Neighborhood Health Service Incorporated (Arlandria Health Clinic). This year alone, it is projected that the Health Clinic will serve over 2,100 patients with critical primary and preventive care, in both English and Spanish. She has created programs for the Clinic that include in-house counseling, found bilingual paid and volunteer medical personnel and expanded the Clinic’s physical facilities. Prior to coming to Arlandria, she worked for UNICEF, the World Bank and U.S.A.I.D. planning, implementing and evaluating maternal and child health, nutrition and family planning programs. She is fluent in Spanish and worked on health issues in Columbia, South America. For more than four years, she was the legislative assistant on health in US Representative Jim Moran’s office.

Blanche Mays Hutchinson won the Career Development and Education/Training Award for her dedication to unleashing a child's potential through education. She has been in public education for 35-years, from classroom teacher to administrative intern, from assistant principal to principal She is currently principal of Alexandria's first, and only arts, focus school -- Jefferson-Houston School for Arts and Academics. When the term focus school was still unknown, she researched the efforts at other schools that had incorporated the arts, and spent numerous hours of her own time developing the program, choosing staff and identifying the resources.. She led teams in reconfiguring the school and presenting the case to the school board. Parents praise her for her sensitivity to children, her belief that the learning process can be enjoyable for all children, and her vision for the focus school. Her staff at Jefferson-Houston say: "She is one of the most innovative, motivating and energetic administrators that we have worked for. Staff members develop professionally under her leadership....She gives her staff the "green light" to reach for the stars."

Karen Parker Thompson received the Youth Community Services Award (adult) for her work with youngsters in our community. She spearheaded the organization of the Alexandria Youth Council, as part of her work as a member of Alexandria’s Youth Policy Commission. In less than two short years, the Council has become a viable voice for youth in our community. Her initiatives have helped to bring a diverse group of youngsters together and helped them to grow, to share their talents and to learn the importance of responsible citizen involvement in government. The Alexandria Youth Council is assisting the City in its efforts to reduce the rate of teenage pregnancy in our community. To these youngsters she is an endless source of motivation, inspiration, enthusiasm and support.. She has also given her time to the Campagna Center, Alexandria NAACP, Head Start, and Alexandria’s local schools and PTAs.

Riley Ann McDonald received the Youth Community Service Award (youth) for her extraordinary volunteer work. A 17-year-old scholar athlete at T.C. Williams High School, she maintains a 4.0 grade point average, is a member of the National Honor Society and has been named as one of two National Merit Finalists at the school. She is also a member of the School’s national champion Girls Lightweight 8 Crew. She writes fictional stories and recently won first place in a Daughters of the American Revolution essay contest. For the past six years, she has provided childcare and tutoring to the many children staying at the ALIVE! House, a homeless shelter for women and families. She helps with homework and takes them on outings. She has recruited volunteers to help with special events like Art on the Avenue and the Fools Alive! Fundraiser. For the last four years, she has motivated 20-30 students to walk with her on behalf of Alive! in the Help the Homeless Walkathon sponsored by Fannie Mae. She has volunteered for Community Partners for Children, the Alexandria Scholarship Fund, the Alexandria Symphony, Network Preschool, Virginia AIDS ministry and the Alexandria Red Cross.

Pat Broussard received the Legislation and Public Policy Award for improving the provision of services and education though community action. A long-time resident of Alexandria, she began her career as an elementary school teacher. As a single parent, she found the time to put herself through law school, graduating with honors. Today she teaches law at Howard University Law School and provides no- and low-cost legal advice to those who can't afford more traditional legal assistance. As a volunteer, she served as PTA president, reaching out to traditionally uninvolved and underserved parents. She served on the Alexandria School Board, the Board of Head Start, the Alexandria PTA Council, and was President of the Parent Advisory Board of University of Virginia, her twins alma mater. She has used each of her volunteer activities to advance her objective to improve educational services and access. She has been a member of the Board of the Campagna Center, the Alexandria Inova Hospital and the Alexandria Forum. She is Chair of the Board of Directors of Project Discovery, a program funded by the Alexandria Department of Human Services. Project Discovery is a mentoring program for first generation college-bound students. The program helps students with applications and financial aid and organizes campus visits.

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