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Home , Annie Ackerman, Betty Castor, Carol Jenkins Barnett, Dottie Berger MacKinnon, Elaine Gordon, Frances Langford

FLORIDA WOMEN’S HALL OF FAME VIRTUAL INDUCTION CEREMONY

honoring 2020 inductees Alice Scott Abbott Alma Lee Loy E. Thelma Waters

Virtual INDUCTION 2020 CEREMONY

ORDER OF THE PROGRAM

WELCOME & INTRODUCTION Commissioner Rita M. Barreto ...... 2020 Chair, Commission on the Status of Women CONGRATULATORY REMARKS Jeanette Núñez ...... Florida Lieutenant ...... ...... Florida Chief Financial Officer ...... Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Charles T. Canady ...... Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice ABOUT WOMEN’S HALL OF FAME & KIOSK Commissioner Maruchi Azorin ...... Chair, Women’s Hall of Fame Committee 2020 FLORIDA WOMEN’S HALL OF FAME INDUCTIONS Commissioner Maruchi Azorin ...... Chair, Women’s Hall of Fame Committee HONORING: Alice Scott Abbott ...... Accepted by Kim Medley Alma Lee Loy ...... Accepted by Robyn Guy E. Thelma Waters ...... Accepted by E. Thelma Waters CLOSING REMARKS Commissioner Rita M. Barreto ...... 2020 Chair, Florida Commission on the Status of Women 2020 Commissioners

Maruchi Azorin, M.B.A., Tampa Rita M. Barreto, Palm Beach Gardens Melanie Parrish Bonanno, Dover Madelyn E. Butler, M.D., Tampa Jennifer Houghton Canady, Lakeland Anne Corcoran, Tampa Lori Day, St. Johns Denise Dell-Powell, Orlando Sophia Eccleston, Wellington Candace D. Falsetto, Coral Gables Rep. Heather Fitzenhagen, Ft. Myers Senator Gayle Harrell, Stuart Karin Hoffman, Lighthouse Point Carol Schubert Kuntz, Winter Park Wenda Lewis, Gainesville Roxey Nelson, St. Petersburg Rosie Paulsen, Tampa Cara C. Perry, Palm City Rep. Jenna Persons, Ft. Myers Rachel Saunders Plakon, Lake Mary Marilyn Stout, Cape Coral Lady Dhyana Ziegler, DCJ, Ph.D., Tallahassee Commission Staff

Kelly S. Sciba, APR, Executive Director Rebecca Lynn, Public Information and Events Coordinator Kimberly S. Mehr, Operations Coordinator About the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame By celebrating women’s historic achievements, we present an Each year, the Commission is charged with choosing just ten authentic view of history. The knowledge of women’s history nominees to forward to the governor, who then determines provides a more expansive vision of what women can do and the three inductees. While there will only be three women ecourages us all to think larger and bolder. chosen each year to be forever recognized in the Rotunda of the Florida Capitol, it is truly an honor to be nominated and be The Florida Women’s Hall of Fame was created by Florida among the ten finalists. Statute in 1982 to honor women who, through their lives and efforts, made significant contributions to the improvement The Florida Commission on the Status of Women is honored of life for women and all Florida citizens. They are pioneers to assist the governor in recognizing and honoring outstanding who have broken down barriers, created new opportunities, Florida women each year. and championed issues to better Florida and its people. These women are immortalized in a special display in the halls of the Florida Capitol. Florida Women’s Hall of Fame Kiosk For almost 50 years, the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame has honored and celebrated the extraordinary contributions and accomplishments of Florida women. Commemorated in the halls of Florida’s Capitol Rotunda, these pioneering women have broken down barriers, created new opportunities, and championed issues to better the lives of Florida citizens.

Until 2020, each member of the Hall of Fame has been immor- talized with a plaque, etched with the stories of their lives and works, and hung on a wall in the Capitol Rotunda. This year, the Commission worked to bring these legacies to life in a digital 100 trailblazers who broke glass ceilings and fought to provide format through the introduction of two video kiosks, allowing a better future for Florida women and girls. The units allow visitors greater engaging interaction with history. searches by interest area to learn about civil rights leaders, athletes, entrepreneurs, artists and more. This has been a By visiting one of two kiosks in the Rotunda, guests can now year-long project that will be officially unveiled during the learn about the accomplishments and victories of more than 2020 Florida Women’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony. FLORIDA WOMEN’S HALL OF FAME 2019 Inductees 2008 Inductees 1995 Inductees Doris Mae Barnes Justice Barbara J. Pariente Evelyn Stocking Crosslin, M.D. JoAnn Har- Dr. Judith A. Bense Dr. Pallavi Patel din Morgan Mildred “Millie” Wilborn Gildersleeve Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Sarah ‘Aunt Frances’ Brooks Pryor

2018 Inductees 2007 Inductees 1994 Inductees Adela Hernandez Gonzmart The Honorable Peggy A. Quince Lee Bird Leavengood Maryly VanLeer Peck Betty Mae Jumper Janet E. Petro Gladys Nichols Milton 2006 Inductees 2017 Inductees Caridad Asensio 1993 Inductees Tillie Kidd Fowler Frankman Kathleen “Scotty” Culp Lucy W. Morgan Katherine Fernandez Rundle 2004/2005 Inductees 2016 Inductees Shirley D. Coletti 1992 Inductees Marion P. Hammer Helen Aguirre Ferré Judith Kersey Carrie P. Meek Elmira Louise Leto 2003 Inductees 2015 Inductees Sarah Ann Blocker 1986 Inductees Mary Lee Nunnally Farrior Evelyn C. Keiser Mary R. Grizzle Dr. Charlotte E. Maguire Gwendolyn Sawyer Cherry 2002 Inductees Dorothy Dodd 2014 Inductees Victoria Joyce Ely, R.N. Sheriff Susan Benton Senator Elsie Jones Hare Louise Jones Gopher Stuart Elizabeth McCullough Johnson Dottie Berger MacKinnon Frances Bartlett Kinne 2001 Inductees Arva Moore Parks 2013 Inductees Jessie Ball DuPont Clara C. Frye Lenore Carrero Nesbitt Florence Barbara Seibert Aleene Pridgen Kidd MacKenzie Lynda Keever Marilyn K. Smith Lillie Pierce Voss Eartha Mary Magdalene White 2000 Inductees 2012 Inductees 1984 Inductees Dr. Ruth H. Alexander Paula Fickes Hawkins Roxcy O’Neal Bolton Elizabeth “Budd” Bell MG Marianne Mathewson-Chapman, PhD Barbara Landstreet Frye Vicki Bryant Burke Lena B. Smithers Hughes 1999 Inductees 2011 Inductees Sybil Collins Mobley Mary Brennan Karl Dessie Smith Prescott Anna I. Rodriguez Gladys Pumariega Soler 1998 Inductees Julia DeForest Sturtevant Tuttle 2010 Inductees Helen Gordon Davis Dr. 1982 Inductees Claudine Dianne Ryce Christine Fulwylie-Bankston Mary McLeod Bethune Dara Grace Torres Helene S. Coleman 1997 Inductees 2009 Inductees Alicia Baro Wilhelmina Celeste Goehring Harvey Paula Louise H. Cortelis Carita Doggett Corse Mae Milton Senator M. Athalie Range Barbara Jo Palmer Betty Schlesinger Sembler 1996 Inductees Ivy Julia Cromartie Stranahan The FLORIDA COMMISSION on the STATUS of WOMEN

is honored to induct, into the

2020 Florida Women’s Hall of Fame

Alice Scott Abbott

Alma Lee Loy

E. Thelma Waters Born in in 1856, Alice Scott Abbott was “a woman of great ability”. She delivered the “first lecture on Votes For Women” at an 1893 state convention held in St. Augustine. A national and state organizer and lec- turer for the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), Mrs. Abbott brought her magnetism and enthusiasm with her as she made Bunnell her home in November 1913. Once she arrived in what she described as “the garden spot of the state”; she never stopped. She formed one of the most loyal WCTU at Bunnell’s historic First United Methodist Church. She was a “delegate-at-large”, at the WCTU convention in 1913. Alice Scott Abbott carried the national message of change: securing the vote to protect wages for women and girls, end the legal sale of liquor, enforce moral laws, and stop the trafficking of women and girls, to Grace M.E. Church in St. Augustine while attending the WCTU’s state convention. Within a year, she was appointed as “superintendent of this district” and traveled more than 17,000 miles to advance suffrage for women. Once the 19th Amendment was ratified, her efforts resulted in voter registration and education for nearly two hundred Flagler County women, fifty-two of whom were African American. She longed to be able to instruct the “blessed women” of Flagler; unfortunately, her health failed. She died days before the Nov. 2, 1920 election. Her suffrage leadership prompted two women in Flagler County, Susie McDaniel and Dora Joiner to seek elected office.

Alma Lee Loy, a native of Vero Beach, was a role model dedicated to wom- en’s achievements and success, and paved the way for women to succeed in male-dominated roles.

• Appointed in 1964 by Governor C. Farris Bryant as a charter member of the Florida Commission on the Status of Women; • Appointed by Governor Hayden Burns in 1965 to the Women’s Safety Leaders; • One of Florida’s first female sports column writers; • First woman elected to the Indian River County Commission and as their Chairman; • First woman elected as Chairman of the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce; • Coached and mentored younger generations to become community and state leaders.

There is no woman in Florida more deserving of induction into the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame than Alma Lee Loy. She was passionately involved and engaged in the affairs of local non-profits, politics, Indian River State College, numerous foundations, and civic endeavors that continue to make a difference. She never said no when the community called. Thelma Waters is a tireless advocate for women, children, migrant laborers, and her hometown of Indiantown. From her very first job, Thelma began a decades-long mission of caring and ad- vocating for others, particularly women and children. It is a pattern that played out again and again in the course of Thelma’s 81 years. She sees a need or encounters injustice; she acts and finds long-term solutions which allow her to focus her indomitable will on the next problem. She was the leading force in her community for civil rights, suitable farmworkers’ and affordable housing, medical care, early childhood education and quality daycare, access to a voting precinct, and political representation. In the 1960’s Thelma started a daycare center for farmworkers’ children. After having to pull worms out of a four-year-old’s body, she educated parents about health issues and ultimately, advocated so passionately for a health clinic that the Rural Improvement Council (later became FCHC) opened a satellite clinic within months of her presentation. She directed the East Coast Migrant Head Start Program after convincing the Agricultural Labor Program to fund a Title XX Program. An incorporated town until recently, Thelma served on Indiantown’s Neighborhood Advisory Council. She led boards and commit- tees involved with childcare, housing, and healthcare. In 2017, Thelma became one of the three signatories, founders, of the Articles of Incorporation for the Village of Indiantown, ensuring the ability of the residents of Indiantown to de- termine their own fate. Since then she has been referred to as the founder and unofficial “Mayor” of Indiantown. 2020 FLORIDA WOMEN’S HALL OF FAME COMMITTEE Maruchi Azorin, Chair Lori Day Sophia Eccleston Gayle Harrell Carol Kuntz Rachel Saunders Plakon Marilyn Stout Rita M. Barreto, Ex-Officio

Thank you! The Florida Commission on the Status of Women and Florida Women’s Hall of Fame extend their warmest gratitudes for the steadfast support of:

Governor Ron DeSantis First Lady Casey DeSantis Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Núñez Attorney General Ashley Moody Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried President of the Senate Speaker of the House Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles T. Canady

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