2015 Calvert County Commission for Women Report
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2015 REPORT OF THE CALVERT COUNTY COMMISSION FOR WOMEN TO THE CALVERT COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS December 2015 Submitted by Margaret Dunkle, Chair INTRODUCTION 2015 was a year filled with both new initiatives and signature events to advance the five purposes of the Calvert County Commission for Women (CCCW). Purposes of the Commission for Women The end of 2015 launched the 40th anniversary of the • Promote women’s education and employment; founding of the Commission. • Recommend methods to overcome discrimination and to enhance the status of women and girls – be a voice for For the third year, the Commission developed a women and girls; Strategic Plan that identifies key activities, a lead • Give recognition to women and girls; Commissioner for each activity, and benchmarks to • Be a clearinghouse; and measure success. This 2015 Annual Report reflects • Provide information – identify and study relevant issues. CCCW’s 2015-16 Strategic Plan, which can be found at the end of this report and outlines three areas of activity: Two Cross-Cutting Areas to infuse across all activities: increasing the involvement of girls and young women, and celebrating the Commission for Women’s 40 years of service and advocacy for Calvert women and girls (1976-2016). 15 Programmatic Areas – from celebrating Title IX to addressing domestic violence, Outstanding Achievement Awards (Advocacy, Service, Business Leadership, and Woman of Tomorrow), Dutch networking events, honoring Harriet Elizabeth Brown, the now-annual Women’s Health Expo, the Dress-for- Success Clothes Closet, and the annual WOW (Women of the World) awards luncheon. 8 Operational Activities – the infrastructure that enables the Commission to function effectively – from communications and press, to accurate minutes and historical records, membership, coordinating involvement of Associate Members, finances, and the website and social media presence of CCCW. During 2015, Commission for Women officers were: Margaret Dunkle, Chair Jacqueline McCoy, Secretary Annette Funn, Vice Chair Inez Claggett, Treasurer Other Commission Members were: Belinda Battle, Gloria Della, Shelley Downie, Suzanne Haynes, Judy Hooker, Ariane Odom, Shirley Schreffler, Sara Shaffer, and Tracey Waskiewicz. The Commission for Women also had several Associate Commissioners. Associate Members are appointed by the Commission for Women (not the Board of County Commissioners), can vote only in committees, and have less rigorous participation requirements than those for full Commission Members. 2015 ACTIVITIES – AND A FORECAST OF FUTURE PLANS The following pages outline major activities of the Commission for Women during 2015 as well as future plans. The annual WOMEN OF THE WORLD (WOW) AWARDS LUNCHEON is always a highlight. Held on March 14, WOW 2015 had as its theme Reaching for Your Dreams. Commission Chair Margaret Dunkle co-chaired this 13th annual awards luncheon with Debora Harris of the League of Women Voters, in partnership with seven other Calvert County women’s and nonprofit organizations. Having moved to a larger, and quite lovely, facility at the College of Southern Maryland in 2014, WOW was again a sold-out success, giving 14 awards before a packed audience of 175 people and almost 100% of Calvert County’s elected officials. Fifteen percent of WOW 2015 attendees were 21 or younger! Rather than have a traditional keynote speech, Huntingtown High School tenth grader Dia Brown presented her award- winning History Fair dramatization of Calvert civil rights pioneer Harriet Elizabeth Brown and her NAACP lawyer, Thurgood Marshall, reenacting moments of this game-changing 1937 case. WOW evaluations were overwhelmingly positive. On a scale from 1 to 10, almost two-thirds (61%) rated the event a perfect 10, with another 32% giving a rating of 8 or 9. More than half of the attendees had never before attended a WOW awards luncheon. When asked what they liked most and for suggestions, top answers included: great organization and planning (44%), the excellent program/event (41%), celebrating and honoring Calvert women and girls (38%), the lunch (32%), Dia Brown’s keynote presentation (25%), networking (20%), and the diversity of the audience and awardees (15%). Press coverage was excellent. You can find downloadable photos by WOW photographer Sharyn Ogden at: https://sharynphotography.smugmug.com/WOW-2015/ Preparation is underway for WOW 2016, with the theme of Building Bridges to the Future, with Commissioner Inez Claggett stepping up to co-chair. To facilitate the transition and provide baseline information, Commissioner Dunkle provided the incoming WOW Co-Chairs with her detailed work plan, listing committees and tasks. The Commission for Women’s annual OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS reflect a core purpose of the Commission: to give recognition to women and girls. Every year the bar seems to be raised for these prestigious awards. The five 2015 honorees were: The Honorable Marjorie Clagett – Advocacy – for being a trailblazer and role model for women in the legal community, and setting a high standard for every member of the bar, female or male; Nancy Highsmith – Service – for being a lifelong effective advocate to ensure that Calvert County students learn, parents are engaged, and teachers are effective – first as a teacher, then as an administrator and principal, and, more recently, as Interim Superintendent; 2 Ella Ennis – Service – for being a born leader who instills in others the desire to work hard to achieve common goals and overcome obstacles to success, whether working on a community concern, charitable event, or political campaign; Jennifer Foxworthy – Business Leadership – for her second career as a motivational speaker, founding Inspirationally Speaking, LLC, and publishing her first book, Tomorrow My Sunshine Will Come: Memoirs of Women Who Survived Domestic Violence; and Morgan Lang – Woman of Tomorrow – a Senior at Northern High School, for exemplifying service, leadership, and effective advocacy to make the world a better place, including a campaign to stop use of the “R-word” for students with intellectual disabilities. Each of the Commission’s honorees received an individualized proclamation from the Board of County Commissioners and has her name engraved on the perpetual plaque that hangs in the Court House. Commissioner Dunkle led the outreach and selection process for these awards. The nomination and selection process is working very well, producing truly outstanding awardees. Commission Chair Margaret Dunkle will continue to lead this effort through WOW 2016. HARRIET ELIZABETH BROWN COMMEMORATION TASK FORCE The Commission for Women’s 2013 recommendation to the Calvert County Annapolis delegation – to find a way to recognize Ms. Brown’s important historical role at the state level – came full circle in 2015. With 100% support from Calvert legislators, the Maryland General Assembly unanimously passed House Bill 354, establishing the Harriet Elizabeth Brown Commemoration Task Force. In March, Commission Chair Margaret Dunkle testified in favor of this bill before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, and Environmental Affairs. The Harriet Elizabeth Brown Commemoration Act charged the Task Force with studying the issues, holding public hearings, and, by year end, making recommendations to commemorate Ms. Brown to the County Commissioners of Calvert County, the Governor, and the General Assembly. As specified in the statute, the Chair of the Commission for Women (Margaret Dunkle) chaired this blue-ribbon Task Force. Other members were Calvert County Commissioner Pat Nutter, school Superintendent Daniel Curry, Calvert County NAACP President Joyce Freeland, Calvert County Historical Society President Guffrie Smith, Delegate Michael Jackson, and Malcolm Funn as the designee of Senators Miller and Waugh. Between July 1 and the December 31, the Task Force met five times, held three public hearings, and produced a final report recommending three specific actions to honor Harriet Elizabeth Brown: Name the new community center in Prince Frederick the Harriet Elizabeth Brown Community Center; Name a stretch of Maryland Route 2 the Harriet Elizabeth Brown Memorial Highway; and Commission a portrait of Ms. Brown to hang in the Court House. By year end, the first recommendation (naming the community center) has been done. The expectation is that the other two recommendations will be implemented by the end of 2016. 3 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS activities were led in 2015 by Commissioner Ariane Odom. To combat domestic violence, the Commission partners with the Health Department’s Crisis Intervention Center, which was founded at the initiative of the Commission and works to eliminate family violence and sexual violence. Domestic violence – a persistent problem not just in Calvert County, but across the country – has long been a priority of the Commission for Women. The full plate of 2015 activities during Domestic Violence Awareness Month (October 2015) included: A Board of County Commissioners’ Proclamation for Domestic Violence Awareness Month; A candlelight vigil attended by 85 people to honor the victims and survivors of domestic violence; A recognition ceremony and event following the vigil; The Clothesline Project – tee shirts with positive affirmations by survivors of domestic violence – displayed at multiple locations across Calvert County, from the branches of Calvert Library to the Court House and the College of Southern Maryland; and (New this year) informational sessions in Calvert