Nine Spokane Women Honored For Outstanding Community Achievement
The Spokane YWCA will honor nine women at its annual Leader Lunch Thursday at the Riverfront Ballroom at Cavanaugh’s Inn at the Park.
The lunch, which costs $35 per person, starts at noon. For reservations, call 326-1190, ext. 133.
Along with Sandra Willis, the winner of the outstanding achievement in community service award, the following women will be honored:
Outstanding Young Woman of Achievement: Jamaica Vandolah, Rogers High School senior. Vandolah serves on the Chase Youth Commission, worked in the Summer Youth Employment Program, and completed 125 community service hours as a Girl Scout.
Outstanding Achievement in Art & Culture: Marjory Halvorson, founder and artistic director of Uptown Opera, and director of vocal studies at Whitworth College. A noted voice teacher, she was also co-founder of the Spokane Symphony Chorale. She has produced every Uptown Opera production since its founding 10 years ago.
Outstanding Achievement in Business: Nylah Chilton, human resources manager at Ag America, Farm Credit Banks. She recently served as president of the Spokane branch of the American Association of University Women. She’s active in Momentum and United Way.
Outstanding Achievement in Community Activism: Cheryl Steele, program coordinator for Spokane COPS. After two girls were abducted from the West Central neighborhood in 1991, Steele led the efforts to open Spokane’s first police substation. She served as chair of the Police Community Relations Committee.
Outstanding Achievement in Education: Terrie Beaudreau, president of the Spokane District 81 School Board. She is a former member of the district’s Citizens Advisory Committee and an advocate for the Spokane Area Professional-Technical Skills Center. She helped create the school district’s strategic plan.
Outstanding Achievement in Government: Kathleen O’Connor, Spokane Superior Court judge. O’Connor is vice chair of the Superior Court Judges Association’s legislative committee and a member of the Spokane County Domestic Violence Consortium’s Criminal Committee. She helped establish the consortium in 1992, and in 1994 she was appointed to the Governor’s Council on Youth, Family and Justice.
Outstanding Achievement in Health Care: Patricia Thompson, executive director of the Spokane Physician Hospital Community Organization. She promotes wellness and prevention through the Health Improvement Partnership.
Lifetime Achievement Award: Verna Eucker, a member of the YWCA board of trustees. She served on the YWCA board for six years in the 1960s and was board president from 1970 to 1971.
She helped develop YWCA youth programs and dances for teens in the 1970s. She also helped promote an alternative school for troubled youth and volunteered for the United Way.
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