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Celebrating women's lives -- filled with
courage, strength and determination -- is valuable for us all.
This belief was the motivation for the
Women of Achievement Celebration, which was founded by
Pat Watne, Director of Women's Programs at Clark College. Watne created an awards program that would commemorate National Women's History Month and International Women's Day in March.
It would also recognize and honor local women for their outstanding community contributions. |
2008 Women of Achievement Jean Lacey was congratulated by Vancouver Mayor Royce Pollard. |
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Starting in 1985 and continuing for the first few years of the event, women were honored at a small tea held on the Clark
College campus. In 1991, YWCA Clark County joined with Clark College
in sponsoring the Women of Achievement celebration. Over the years,
the event moved from the Clark College campus to the Red Lion at the Quay to the Hilton Vancouver Washington. During that time, it has evolved from a small tea into a luncheon that is Southwest Washington's largest
event honoring women.
In 2009, Clark College and YWCA Clark County hosted the 25th Women of Achievement celebration -- bringing to 200 the number of women honored over the years.
The
accomplishments of the Women of Achievement honorees are documented
each year in biographies which are displayed at the luncheon with each
woman's photograph. After the event, the biographies and photos are
filed at the Clark County Historical Museum, creating a living history
of the contributions of all of the Women of Achievement.
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| Above: Joy Imboden Overstreet (left) and Leilani Russell were honored as 2007 Women of Achievement. |
