2006 Women of the Year Selected

2006 Women of the Year Selected

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 17, 2006

For More Information:
Jillian Kinzie, Commission on the Status of Women, 856-1430
Craig Brenner, Special Projects Coordinator, Community and Family Resources Dept., 349-3471

Bloomington, IN -- Cindy Kvale has been named Bloomington's Woman of the Year, LaVerta Terry has been named the recipient of the Lifetime Contribution Award, and three women have been chosen to receive Emerging Leader awards in separate categories: Julie Thomas, Community; Debra Vance, Professional; and Stacy Jones, Student.

The recipients were selected by members of the Annual Women's History Month Lunch committee organized by the City of Bloomington's Commission on the Status of Women. The Woman of the Year and Lifetime Contribution Award recipients will be honored at the lunch on Wednesday, March 8, at the Convention Center of Bloomington-Monroe County located at 302 S. College Ave.

The lunch serves as an opportunity to recognize individual and collective accomplishments of women in our community. The program includes a presentation by the Bloomington Storytellers Guild based on historical material compiled in support of the book Voices of A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn. In addition, organizations for women and women-owned businesses will exhibit at the luncheon.

Woman of the Year Cindy Kvale was nominated by Brian F. O'Donnell. Kvale is a science teacher at Bloomington High School South and the leader of several science programs that have received competitive awards at both the national and international levels. She has inspired many young women to pursue careers in science, mathematics and engineering, both as a role model and mentor.

Kvale is known locally for starting the Solar Racing Team, which has enjoyed tremendous success at the United States Annual competition every year since 1997 and has competed in the World Solar Bicycle Race in Japan. She also has mentored students in the Science Olympiad Competitions since 1994. Her teams have won many regional championships, have won the State Championship five times, and have participated in the National Championships five times.

In nominating Kvale, Brian O'Donnell wrote, "In a field which is known for a paucity of professional women, she has single handedly made an enormous impact on the developing and training young women in the sciences. She is an enormous asset, not just to Bloomington, but to the country."

Lifetime Contribution Award winner LaVerta Terry was the first African American hired by the Monroe County Community School Corporation in 1963. She first came to Bloomington in 1944 as a student with a four-year scholarship to the Indiana University School of Music. At that time she experienced racial discrimination and left Bloomington to finish her B.A. degree elsewhere.

Terry eventually returned to Bloomington with her husband and applied for a teaching position in the public schools but was not hired until 14 years later. As Assistant Director and Director of the Groups program at IU, she became a catalyst for change in the community and at the university. Senator Richard Lugar acknowledged her dedication and commitment in 1990, saying she had "motivated, inspired, challenged and encouraged" students until her retirement.

The Women's History Month Lunch begins at noon (doors open at 11:30 am) on March 8. The cost is $15.00 per lunch; tickets must be purchased in advance. Checks payable to "Women's History Month Lunch" along with name and return address may be sent to Women's History Month Lunch, Commission on the Status of Women, PO Box 100, Bloomington IN 47402. Tickets can also be purchased at the Community and Family Resources Department, Suite 260 at City Hall, 401 N. Morton Street. The deadline for purchasing tickets is March 3.

The three Emerging Leader Awards will be presented at a women's leadership workshop, Women on Board, on March 23 at the Monroe County Public Library.

For more information about the lunch or workshop, contact Jillian Kinzie at 856-1430.

# # #