The Jackson Women’s History Council announced today that Jeanne’ Wickens and June Whedon are the 2016 Susan B. Anthony award recipients.
The recognition dinner honoring the recipients will be held at the Cascades Manor House on Sunday March 13th, starting with a reception at 4:00 PM.
The celebration is held in conjunction with March’s Women’s History Month and will highlight 40 years of the Susan B. Anthony awards ceremony with a performance of “The Way It Was – Forty Years Ago in Jackson”, featuring seven three-minute monologues. These will be stories about what it was like for women in 1975 and what significant changes have taken place since then. The awards ceremony is hosted by the Jackson Women’s History Council.
Jeanne’ Wickens has served on the Center for Family Health’s Board of Directors during a time of incredible growth and expansion. Her leadership roles have included being the Treasurer, and the Chair of the Executive Committee. Wickens was awarded the 2012 Distinguished Service Award from the Michigan Primary Care Associate. In addition to her regular duties as Senior Vice President and CFO at Allegiance Health, Jeanne’ has been a member of the Allegiance Foundation Board of Directors since its inception in 2009. She is also a member of the United Way of Jackson County Board of Directors.
Ken Toll, United Way CEO,nominated Wickens and said “Jeanne’s leadership skills and commitment to nonprofit human services have strengthened the United Way and helped it evolve and transition it into an even more relevant and powerful organization.”
Through her efforts to highlight women’s accomplishments through research and writing, teacher June Whedon provides role models for her students at Western High School according to nominator Ann Green. Whedon has been a long-time supporter of the Susan B. Anthony essay contest, assigning students in several English classes the task of researching and writing about women in history on the theme of National Women’s History month. With her guidance, students discover the history and achievements of women they may not have been familiar with or know at the level of detail necessary to write their essays. Because of her support, her students have received awards for their writings and have read their work at the Susan B. Anthony Awards ceremony.
The Council also sponsors an essay contest, with the theme “Writing Women Back into History”. First place winner is Kelsie Beckwith for “Congressman Turned Gun Violence Spokeswoman” about Gabrielle Giffords. Second place winner is Aaron Heath for “The Inspiring Maggie Gyllenhaal” and third place winner is Mikaylah Duffield for “Katie Couric”.
First, Second and Third Place Winners receive a cash prize and complimentary ticket to the SBA Award Celebration where they are invited to read their essays.
The annual celebration honors local women and men who share a commitment to equal opportunities and participation for women in our community. The criteria for the Susan B. Anthony award are
-Lifelong or long-term activity not solely in the field of one’s paid work or profession
-Promoting awareness of and political action for women’s issues
-Services to women in crisis
-Advancement of educational opportunities for women
-Development of grass roots leadership for the empowerment of women
Dinner cost is $40.00 and reservations are being accepted by Bev McGill at 517-787-2520 or by email at mcgillbev@hotmail.com.