Next Thursday the GGRWHC will both show off new discoveries about local women's history (see the fact sheet below) and celebrate the end of Women's History Month. Support us with your tax deductible dues and get a free glass of wine! Reserve now at KSIrwin73@aol.com or 616-454-2425!
Thursday, March 31st, 2011
5:00-7:00 pm -- Hors d'oeuvres & wine ticket bar ($5/glass);
5:30 pm -- program
Women's City Club, Lower level auditorium, 254 Fulton Street
Free & Open to the Public
Women Leaders During Hard Times: The Kent County Commission
WGVU's Shelley Irwin will host a celebratory reception and brief program on the challenges to women leaders on the Commission during economic downturns, featuring current chairwoman Sandi Frost Parrish and the first female Commission chair Marge Byington Potter. We will honor all the women who have run for the Commission during the last hundred years, whether or not they were elected. Margaret E. Byington is a director of the Detroit River Tunnel Corporation and trustee of the Michigan Nature Conservancy, and served from 1978 to 1988 on the Kent County Commission, which she chaired from 1986-1988. Founder and president of a non-profit consulting business specializing in fundraising advice, Sandi Frost Parrish has served as chair of the Kent County Commission for the past two years. The WGVU Morning Show's Shelley Irwin is the recipient of five consecutive awards for Outstanding Individual Achievement and also PBS Community Affairs programs and serves on many community boards.
Hope to see you and your guests at the Women's History Month Finale on March 31st!
Reserve early at KSIrwin73@aol.com or 616-454-2425!
DID YOU KNOW:
1) that the very first woman to run for the Kent County Commission won? Grace Ames Van Hoesen served during the Great Depression from 1930-38 and was the only woman to survive a primary until 1972.
2) that until 1972 only five individual women had run for seats on the Commission? The most recent was Lillian Gill in 1962. She was the first African American woman to run; Candace Chivis was the first to win, in 2010.
3) that this year we celebrate the 35th anniversary of the elections of the second and third women elected to the Kent County Commission: Carol S. Landheer [Kooistra] and Aggie Kempker?
4) that among the eleven women starting in the 1978 primaries was Marge Byington, who served for ten years and became the first woman to chair the Commission (1986-88)?
6) that in the last 35 years the only other women to chair the Commission have been Katherine Kuhn and current chair Sandi Frost Parrish? Except for 2003-2004 women have consistently had a seat at the table since 1976, but not in appropriate numbers.
7) Currently, women represent one-fifth of the 2011 Board of Directors. Joining chair Sandi Frost Parrish are Candace Chivis, Carol Hennessy, and Shana Shroll.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
Head into the March finale with the WGVU Morning Show! On 88.5 and 95.3 FMMondaythrough Thursday next week Shelley Irwin will host guests from four local women's institutions to talk about how their histories link to current goals and activities. On Monday, March 28: St Cecilia Music Center; Tuesday, March 29: Womens City Club; Wednesday, March 30: Greater Grand Rapids Womens History Council; Thursday, March 31 Girl Scouts. The Wednesday program will be a preview of the GGRWHC finale event on March 31st. If you miss any programming, catch it later on the podcast: http://www.wgvu.org/wgvunews/index.cfm?id=tmsdetail&sty=10852
Contact: Shelley Irwin, irwinsh@gvsu.edu, 616-304-3565
Photo Essay of the Week: Virtual History from the Grand Rapids Historical Commission
Women in Science and Service: Mary Hefferan http://www.historygrandrapids.org/explore.php?cat=1&essay=12
After graduating from Central High School, Mary Hefferan attended Wellesley College then continued her education at the University of Chicago. In 1903 she completed a Ph.D. in bacteriology. Hefferan taught at the University of Chicago for seven years and was acting editor of its Botanical Gazette, not a small feat for a woman in science in the early 1900s.
See you Thursday!
