The National Council of Negro Women, Inc. (NCNW) Gateway Metropolitan Section recently celebrated its 8th anniversary with a special recognition awards luncheon held at the St. Louis Airport Marriott. Twenty prestigious women were honored for “stepping up and stepping out” – this year’s theme – to make a difference in their communities.
“Our honoree’s contributions symbolize the highest level of professional and humanitarian achievement,” said Kelley Hoskins, NCNW Gateway Metropolitan Section president and Fox 2 news reporter.
Honorees included the NAACP St. Louis County President Esther Haywood, St. Louis County Councilwoman Hazel Erby, former 6th Ward Alderwoman Kacie Starr Triplett, state Rep. Rochelle Walton-Gray and nonprofit volunteer Linda Robinson.
Hoskins also awarded the section’s first-ever President’s Award to NCNW member Jacqueline Wayne-Moten, stating that she never misses a meeting and is always smiling.
Young men with the Gentlemen of Vision Rites of Passage step team escorted the women into the Grand Ballroom to the tune of Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman.” Gentlemen of Vision is a Riverview Gardens High School mentoring program founded in 2009 by Marlon Wharton.
The honorees made their way to the head tables, passing behind an easel displaying a poster-sized postage stamp of NCNW founder Mary McLeod Bethune. Splashes of purple, the organization’s signature color, were everywhere, from the overhead lighting to the runners and decorative center pieces.
County Executive Charlie A. Dooley gave opening remarks apologizing for his casual appearance, having rushed from a neighborhood clean-up in Spanish Lake. He told the crowd that this was “too important” of an event to miss.
“You’re the people that they don’t see on T.V.,” Dooley said of the honorees. “You’re the people they don’t read about in the newspapers. You’re the people that they don’t hear about on the radio. But, you’re making a difference every single day.”
Fox 2 News anchor and reporter Shirley Washington served as mistress of ceremonies. Before the awards presentation, Washington asked the honorees to oblige her by standing so that the audience could take a good look at them.
“Know their faces,” Washington said. “Know their stories. Know what they’re doing in the community, because what they’re doing is important.”
She said despite sometimes being tired and discouraged, these women never give up. Instead, she said, these women choose to “motivate, educate, and dedicate their lives to service.”
Her remarks resonated with one honoree.
“Shirley Washington got it right in describing the contributions and sacrifices of women who have to balance their personal lives while trying to make a difference,” Erby said.
Erby became the first African-American woman to serve on the St. Louis County Council when she was elected in 2004. She is currently serving her third consecutive term.
“It is indeed an honor to have received this prestigious award along with these magnificent women,” Erby said.
Before her acceptance speech on behalf of all the honorees, evangelist Gail Evans recited Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise.” The poem, Evans said, is representative of the African-American woman’s sacrifice, a common denominator shared by each honoree.
“We’ve made it our business to be obligated to sacrifice to make someone else’s life a little bit better,” Evans said.
Founded in 1935, NCNW is a council of national African-American women’s organizations and community-based sections. NCNW is a nonprofit organization with an outreach to nearly four million women with 39 national affiliates and more than 240 sections. The Gateway Metropolitan Section was organized by Kelley Hoskin’s mother, Lee Etta Hoskins.
Its mission is to lead, develop, and advocate for women of African descent as they support their families and communities. NCNW fulfills this purpose through research, advocacy, and national and community-based services and programs on issues of health, education, and economic empowerment in the United States and Africa.
Follow this reporter on Twitter: @BridjesONeil.
