Wonder Women Ywca Bestows Honors On Achievers

(From Society column, Sunday, November 19, 1995): Clarification: Margaret Ross Thrailkill, who was recently honored as a YWCA Woman of Achievement, is a retired teacher from Spokane Falls Community College. The school was not identified in last week’s column.

The stack of resumes and recommendations for this year’s YWCA Women of Achievement award-winners stands nearly an inch thick.

But the essence of each woman doesn’t always come through a list of glowing accomplishments. Who would know, for example, that the brilliant young violinist has a passion for seaweed? Or that the school board president is also the best shooter on the Hoopfest team?

Today, we bring you a sneak preview of award-winners. They’ll be honored at the YWCA Leader Lunch noon Thursday at the Crescent Court. Here’s our guide to the winners, seven women and one community project, each complete with a bonus Not-On-The-Resume Factor (NORF).:

Awards will be presented in the following categories:

Young Woman of Achievement:

Shayna Silverstein, a 4.0 student, National Merit semifinalist, and first-chair violinist at Lewis and Clark High School.

Resume highlights: Performed in recent Holocaust 50th anniversary commemoration; Theatre Ballet of Spokane; Chase Youth Commission Teen Advisory Council; plans to be a physician.

NORF: Shares passion for health food with best friend cellist Sarah Jenkins. Other kids joke their favorite food is bark. They know it’s really seaweed.

Arts and Culture:

Peggy Goodner Tan, artistic director of Ballet Arts Academy in Spokane.

Goodner Tan danced professionally with Connecticut Ballet, the Hamburg Opera Ballet in West Germany, and the National Ballet of Ireland.

Resume highlights: president of the Inland Northwest Dance Association, 1991-1993; rehearsal mistress for “The Nutcracker”; City of Spokane arts commissioner; co-founder Theatre Ballet of Spokane; highly respected mentor to hundreds of dance students.

NORF: Wears cool clothes (even teen dancers agree.) Lives disciplined life from a “quiet center.”

Business:

Bobbi Johnson, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of the Inland Northwest. She’s brought the organization from six retail stores to 12, from $2.7 to $7 million in revenue, and from 182 employees to 342.

Resume highlights: Spokane Chamber of Commerce Board of Trustees; chairperson of the Conference of Executives for Goodwill Industries International.

NORF: Fiery redhead. Great cook. Auctioned off a Mexican dinner for six, featuring her fabulous green chili burritos, last year at Goodwill benefit. It sold for $650.

Community Activism:

The entire Habitat for Humanity Women’s House Project. This project features hundreds of volunteers, many of whom donated $100 and a day’s labor.

The house, actually a duplex for two single-parent families, is under construction on the corner of Fourth and Haven in the East Central neighborhood.

NORF: “The cookie lady” visits site every morning.

Community Service:

Donna M. Hanson, secretary of social ministry for the Spokane Catholic Diocese. Hanson recently served as a delegate in Beijing to the United Nations Conference on Women. She asked Pope John Paul II and 3,000 clergy in 1987 to reach out to women, homosexuals, the divorced and people of color. The pope awarded her a lifetime achievement medal this year.

Resume highlights: Catholic Charities; Summit View Apartments for single-parent families; Catholic Relief Services in Africa; former Junior League president.

NORF: Known for remarkable inner sense of peace, which never prevents her from going crazy over Notre Dame football.

Education:

Margaret C. Ross Thrailkill, first woman board member at Washington Water Power.

Resume highlights: Taught business management at Community Colleges of Spokane; an organizer of the first Business Excellence Conference; Community Colleges of Spokane Foundation.

NORF: Shops garage sales every weekend for clothes to donate to local children’s groups. Zany humor.

Government: Nancy Fike, Spokane School Board president.

Resume highlights: management trainer/consultant; 1993 KIDSWEEK chairman; Leadership Spokane graduate; YMCA Board of Directors, 1986-1992; former director of physical therapy at Holy Family Hospital.

NORF: Best shooter on the Hot Flashes, easily the most fun, if not the most proficient team in the women’s 35-44 division of Hoopfest.

Health Care:

Dr. Joan Craig, medical director of Sacred Heart Cancer and Research Center.

Resume highlights: one of first female physicians in Spokane; former private practice in hematology and oncology; Board of Inland Northwest Blood Center, 1975-1994; Cancer Patient Care Board; started Yearly Cancer Symposium.

NORF: Hiked Himalayas through Bhutan. Excells at science and art. Wonderful laugh. Tickets for the YWCA Leader Lunch are $35. Call 326-1190 by Tuesday.

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