2003 Women Honoring Women

The second Women Honoring Women celebration, conducted by the Women's Economic Development Council (WEDC) Foundation, with Crestwood Medical Center as a partner was a significant success. The purpose of the event was to honor women in the community who are mentoring other women, providing leadership in their spheres of influence, and who have overcome significant obstacles during this process.

The celebration generated more than $30,000 in revenue, providing numerous scholarships for 2003 - 2004 scholarship recipients.

Sonja Farrell chaired and Beth Butler co-chaired the 2003 event. The 2002 WHW event was chaired by Linda Spalla and co-chaired by Tish Pegues. Past Honorary Chairs for the fundraising event: Jean Wessell Templeton, 2000; and Cindi Ludwig, 2001.

When a woman is defined by those around her, she becomes a wife, a mother, and a volunteer.

What happens when a woman is allowed to define herself?

The woman becomes an educator, a mayor, and an accomplished leader.

Though our next diamond did not object to the roles given to her by family and friends, she desired more. And she believed herself capable of achieving more.

A graduate of the University of Alabama, she put her dream of becoming a teacher on hold in order to care for her husband and children. Her love for her family did not stop her from contributing to her community…nor did it hinder her aspirations.

In 1977, she became the first woman to be appointed to the City of Huntsville Planning Commission by then Mayor Joe Davis. She was the first and only woman to serve as Chairman of the Commission, which she did for seven years. In 1979 she became the first woman elected as President of the Board of Directors for the Huntsville Boys Club - serving two consecutive terms.

Seeking out her next place in life was not an easy task. Although filled with firsts, her resume certainly did not mirror that of other business executives or government officials. A life of mothering, exposure to a family business, and years of service to numerous community boards and charitable endeavors must surely have been mere footnotes on the work history of others.

For this woman, those life experiences were her resume. And she quickly learned to appreciate their value. What may once have been considered obstacles soon became positive and fulfilling aspects of her life.

A culmination of more than 30 years of community service, family values, and a heart-felt belief in the power of education would ultimately prove to be the best possible preparation for the job and mission she has today: Mayor.

One of only eleven candidates during her first bid for election, she was also the only woman. Her efforts to seek help to build campaign funds were not met with much support. Forging ahead, she eventually won both the primary and runoff elections. Taking office in 1996 she is the city's first and only woman to serve as Mayor.

Today, she continues to run the corporation known as the City of Huntsville. She manages an annual budget of more than $100 million a year and employees close to 2,000 men and women. Her leadership on city projects has positively affected our area, its economy, and the nation's perception of the State of Alabama.

Throughout it all, she has continued to define herself and the office of Mayor on her own terms. When she's not leading recruitment efforts to attract new industry to the area, or when she's not working with city employees, or local business and community leaders to tackle the next challenge…you'll find the Mayor in our schools and our classrooms. You'll find her reading to students, having lunch with them, speaking to classes filled with children, and participating in special programs and celebrations.

When speaking, she delivers a clear message: "Invest in yourself by investing in your community. Find a cause, a campaign, or a mission you support and jump right in. Not only will you be helping others, but your will be building your future and your self-esteem."

It has been said:
For a woman of means, the world is her oyster.
For a woman filled with meaning, determination, and spirit - the world is opened up for all to enjoy and prosper.

Back to top

Our next Diamond has served as a leader, an innovator, and a pioneer in speech-language pathology.

A dedicated counselor, Roberta Pierce is recognized as one of the first individuals in the United States to open a practice for speech pathology outside an institutional environment. It is a practice that continued to thrive until one brief moment in November 1989. Without warning, she was caught in the path of a tornado as it roared down Airport Road, changing lives with every building hit. Ms. Pierce was no exception. Her office, her car, and 22 years of work were destroyed. But her life was spared. She didn't miss a beat. Moving to a new location, her practice was re-opened in just two weeks. Today it continues to operate from Huntsville's Hearing and Speech Clinic.

A skilled practitioner and willing leader, she has never hesitated to share her lessons-learned nor her extensive knowledge. Having held numerous leadership positions in the Speech and Hearing Association of Alabama, she has also served as the president of the International Association of Orofacial Myology. Currently she offers her talents as Editor of the International Journal or Orofacial Myology.

In addition to editing, Ms. Pierce is also a noted writer. She has authored and co-authored numerous articles for professional journals and written three books, including the acclaimed SWALLOW RIGHT: An Exercise Program to Correct Swallowing Patterns - which has been translated into five languages.

Between giving time to her clients and authoring books, she teaches national clinics and workshops. One such presentation holding very personal meaning is the one entitled, "I've Walked a Mile in Their Shoes." Addressing doctors, nurses and therapists in workshops across the country, she uses this workshop to share what it is like to have a stroke - from the patient's and family's point of view. It also happens to be based on Ms. Pierce's personal struggle. She developed this special seminar after recovering from an aneurysm that ruptured deep in her brain, nearly taking her life on Valentine's Day of 1992.

Her recovery was a personal triumph and she took great joy in using the experience to help others overcome similar challenges and physical barriers. However, this would not be the last challenge Ms. Pierce found herself facing.

In July 2000, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Again, it did not stop her. Not only did she beat the cancer into full remission, she continued working with her clients all through the aggressive radiation treatments. Schedules and surgeries were always scheduled on Fridays so she could recuperate over the weekend and return to work on Monday.

Her dedication cannot be questioned. And her patients, peers, and community have continued to thank Ms. Pierce not only for her perseverance through personal challenges, but also for her 34 years of unwavering commitment and service to her profession.

We honor Ms. Roberta Pierce as a WEDC Foundation honoree in the field of health and human services.

Back to top

"Somebody said that it couldn't be done, but she, with a chuckle, replied, that maybe it couldn't, but she certainly wouldn't, say so 'til she had tried." This quote was a description of our next honoree when she was given the "Wagon Puller Award" by Teledyne Brown Engineering given to the individual who has done the most in making the company successful.

Our examination of the experiences of this diamond left no doubt as to why she was so described. Her determination to succeed led to her graduating as salutatorian of her class at Decatur High School. From there she attended Randolph-Macon and Birmingham-Southern Colleges, but left after two years to marry.

Further evidence of her determination and optimism is the fact that simultaneously, she served as family breadwinner and chief child rearer while studying for her baccalaureate degree in mathematics and accounting from Florence State College. She did not just graduate, she graduated with high honors and was immediately employed by the research laboratories of Brown Engineering. Instead of finding relief at this point, she found herself facing divorce and took on the new role of single parent.

These new responsibilities let her to seek more education. Initially she took more courses in math and accounting but later switched to journalism at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa and she completed the master's degree at the top of her class. She did not end her studies here. She took more graduate courses at UAH.

Her enhanced skills in writing and editing soon led to a career change. In addition to her involvement in myriad aspects of Teledyne Brown's operations including technical, administrative, financial, and business development, she added public relations to the list. She routinely worked 50 or more hours a week. Thus, it is difficult to see how she managed to give such extensive service to the Huntsville Community. She has volunteered with Christmas Charities, Harris Home for Children, Meals on Wheels and CASA. With each of them, she has been the "wind beneath the wings" of each effort.

Although she has chaired the United Way Campaign, been a driving force in the formation of technology assistance for special consumers, an activity to help persons with disabilities through high-tech ingenuity, her real passion has been the arts.

Her greatest efforts in support of the performing arts have been through her work with the Huntsville Community Chorus, Fantasy Playhouse, and the Renaissance Theatre. She has used her business and technical skills to initiate changes with these many organizations that resulted in cost-avoidance in excess of a million dollars.

Our diamond for the 2003 Women Honoring Women Arts and Humanities Award is Ms. Janet N. B

Back to top

Our first winner hails from Florence, AL. Although neither parent was a college graduate, they stressed the importance of education. She didn't know how she would pay for college, but she always knew that she would go. Thus, she studied hard to insure that she would earn good grades. It paid off. She was valedictorian of her high school class and earned a full scholarship to attend Hampton University in Virginia, a private historically black college with a reputation for high academic standards.

When asked about the challenges she has faced, she remembers them as more social than personal. This honoree grew up a black girl in the segregated south. In endless ways she was told that she should limit her aspirations, that she should be satisfied with less. Society sent the message that she and others who looked like her should not be expected to be as good as good as others. She refused to accept the boundaries set by society and pushed for the top.

Her challenge was to maintain her self-confidence and help those around her to understand that if given a chance she could compete with the best of the best. She had her first predominantly white educational experience as a graduate student. She used this as an opportunity to demonstrate that the little black girl from Florence was more than competitive. After the first exam, students asked the professor to scale (or curve) the grades "since everyone in the class had performed poorly." The professor explained that everyone had not performed poorly. One student had earned a 98. Who was it? None other than the one for whom they thought it couldn't be done. She went on to complete the master's and education specialist degrees in elementary education at the University of North Alabama with an outstanding record, a record so strong it gained her admission to the George Peabody College of Vanderbilt University where she earned the Ed. D. in Curriculum Leadership Personnel and Early Childhood Education.

Our honoree excelled as a teacher. She inspired her students, shared her knowledge, and helped them build confidence in their ability to reach the stars. After some years in the classroom, she realized that she could influence the education of more students as an administrator than as a classroom teacher. Thus, she made her first administrative application. She was told that they were looking for a man. She did not give up her aspiration for administration, nor did she give up her commitment to service. When she applied for and was offered the principal's position at Terry Heights Elementary School, she was asked why, with a doctorate from Vanderbilt, she would want that job-a school in a low-income predominantly black neighborhood. She explained that Terry Heights was where she was needed. She had achieved and she wanted to share her gifts those who needed her most. Under her leadership, test scores at Terry Heights improved significantly. She led the teachers and the students to believe that it could be done.

Our honoree offered her leadership to the entire school system. She was named Manager of Elementary Education for Huntsville City Schools and later Assistant Superintendent and then Deputy Superintendent. When she first applied for Superintendent for Huntsville City Schools, she was told that Huntsville was not ready for a woman or for a black in that position. The first time she applied, she was named a finalist, but was not selected. She did not give up and in June 2001, she became Superintendent of Huntsville City Schools. The little black girl from Florence, who did not know how she could pay for college, but who believed in herself and worked hard to achieved her goals became one of the only 12 percent of major school district superintendents who are female. Today, there are 22,500 children in Huntsville City Schools who are benefiting from her quiet, but determined leadership. She accomplished while a single mother of a wonderful daughter who is following in her footsteps as she prepares for a career in education.

Our honoree has received many awards, and is now honored as the 2003 Women Honoring Women Award in Education to Dr. Ann Roy Moore.

Back to top

Our next recipient, a native of Huntsville, knew as a teenager that there was a unique calling in her life even though she tried to ignore it. She entered college in the first full-time freshman class at UAH in 1964. She withdrew after three years shelving her plans to become an English teacher. In her search for the right career, she entered mortuary school and became a licensed embalmer.

Most of her work experience has involved a different type of service. She spent time with the Huntsville mental Health Center where she worked with patients who had been released from the protection of institutional care to their homes. Later, she served through her work with the TVA as an Energy Conservation Advisor, again working with low income families and the elderly to help them become more energy efficient. Still struggling for the right niche, she moved into public affairs with the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command writing speeches and accepting similar communications assignments.

Though she enjoyed her work, it was never quite the right fit. Writing speeches was OK, but what she really wanted to do was deliver her own ideas. Although she did some public speaking, she lacked confidence because she had a severe stutter. Here she was, a woman of deep religious conviction whose head was bursting with ideas she wanted to share but could not get the ideas to flow effortlessly from her lips. One of her jobs forced her work hard at eliminating the stutter that had been even severe as a child. She was a part-time radio disk jockey specializing in gospel music. She signed up for a formal program to improve her speech. Fortunately, the program worked. The stuttering improved. She even returned to school and completed the baccalaureate degree.

In spite of the career success and the improved speech, she continued to feel a void in her life. It was finally in 1992 that she announced to her home church, the Pine Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Harvest, that she had accepted the call to preach. Her father, a long-time deacon at Pine Grove, supported her decision. That support was needed in light of the anxieties felt by many in the congregation about women ministers.

This was not a career change, but a life change that brought on new challenges-a woman preacher in the Baptist church who had improved, but not completely overcome her stutter. Upon accepting the challenge, she began taking courses in religion and was licensed to preach. In 1993 she was ordained and accepted a full-time position as Staff Minister for Administration at First Missionary Baptist Church that required her to give up the security and higher pay from a government job. Her appointment with the recommendation of Rev Dr. Julius R. Scruggs received the unanimous approval of the 40-member male Deacon Board. She has recently promoted to Staff Minister for Christian Education and Discipleship Training.

Our award winner leads by example and is a household name in the Huntsville/Madison County religious community. She is highly respected by all who know her and will leave a legacy of service with compassion and depth. She sits on the Boards of the Christian Women's Job Corps, Alabama A&M University Foundation and is treasurer of the Greater Huntsville Interdenominational Ministerial Fellowship. She has completed terms of service on the Boards of the Girl Scouts of North Alabama and the Downtown Rescue Mission. The accomplishment of which she is most proud is that of the establishment of the SAPP Center for Women and Children, which provided, through the Rescue Mission, a place where homeless women and children can stay together.

This woman who heard the voice and answered the call is Reverend Earla Sue Lockhart, our 2003 Women Honoring Women from the "professions."

Back to top

Our next diamond is a woman well known for overcoming any obstacle that dares to get in her way. Those obstacles started when she was a child, but a strong positive attitude gave her the foundation to plough through them and convert them into opportunities…to build character and to become stronger.

The truth is, this diamond does not use words like "obstacle" and "problem," nor does she allow them to be used around her. She prefers "challenge" saying that "a challenge is something that can be overcome."

This honoree spent her early childhood in Juarez. Her family left their home in Mexico when her father decided that the U.S. was the land of opportunity for his seven children. It was here, as a shy little first grader that she met her first big challenge. She was in an American school, not understanding and not being understood, for she spoke no English. On a particularly unhappy day, she began to cry as she headed home. The teacher called her mother and said: "Bring her back." Her mother complied and this patient, caring teacher began a process that made a difference. Although the teacher spoke no Spanish, she stayed after school and gave our honoree English lessons. In just three short months, our diamond, developed a new glow, she was bilingual.

Her father's paycheck paid the bills and there was enough left for food, clothing and shelter for a family of nine, but little more. He told his children early on that they would have to find a way to pay for college. With scholarships, our honoree attended the school of her choice, Notre Dame, where like her first grade teacher she found time to help others. She became a tutor at a home for juvenile delinquents. She tutored young children in math and reading and she worked with adult literacy. She went on to graduate with honors, became a CPA and landed a wonderful position with an international accounting firm in her hometown, El Paso.

After marrying, her husband's military career brought them to Alabama. Although she gave up her job to become a military wife, she wanted more, so she accepted the challenge and returned to school at Troy State University, where she earned the MBA. Her thesis, which turned out to be more than an academic hurdle, explored minority business contracting opportunities with the Federal government. She used it to identify an opportunity, for she based plan for her business on the research done for that thesis.

Was she ready to start a technology business? What was she thinking? An accountant starting a technology firm? Well, why not? She could hire technology experts and she was wise enough to listen. She listened to those who knew the defense industry, the military, and the aerospace industry. She asked questions and she listened.

What was she thinking? A woman starting a technology firm? She knew the difference between obstacles and challenges. She knew that gender was a challenge, not an obstacle.

Our honoree considers her most important challenge to be balancing family and business demands. She quickly admits and many of us in the room agree, this is one of the greatest challenges for a woman. Though her family thinks that she has met the challenge, she readily admits that she is open to advice on this subject. She is ready to listen.

People who are the best listeners are most often the best people to listen to. Our Women Honoring Women honoree in the technology category is Ms. Irma Tuder, president and CEO of Analytical Services, Inc.

Back to top

Make a Donation
Your tax-deductible donation will go directly to helping women in our community improve their lives. Our vision is that our Scholarship Recipients will, with our awards and mentoring, accomplish great things and give back to our community, improving life for all of us.

Click here to make your donation now.

Back to top