Governor, First Lady Join PA Commission for Women to Celebrate Women’s History Month

HARRISBURG – Gov. Edward G. Rendell, First Lady Marjorie O. Rendell and Pennsylvania Commission for Women Executive Director Leslie Stiles honored the contributions of women during the agency’s annual celebration of Women’s History Month.

“It is an honor to stand here today to recognize women who unselfishly have given their time and skills to improve their community and positively touch the lives of hundreds of people,” Rendell said. “These women are only an example of the many Pennsylvania women who make a positive impact in our communities on a daily basis and provide motivation to younger generations.”

The theme for this year’s Women History Month celebration, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Commission for Women, is Generations of Women Moving History Forward.

“We are honoring seven extraordinary women who have that same motivation and passion for equality that our foremothers possessed,” said Judge Rendell, the First Lady, who also attended the ceremony. “These women not only address the needs of all women, but maintain a vested interest in our families, our neighborhoods and our communities – making certain that we all have a claim in the future of Pennsylvania.”

The following women were nominated by Pennsylvania Commission for Women commissioners for consistently helping their communities and affecting change across the state:
-Reverend Bonnie Camarda, director of church partnerships & program development specialist, The Salvation Army of Greater Philadelphia;
-Susan Kelly-Dreiss, executive director, Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence;
-Cynthia L. Franklin, chief hearing officer, Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, Family Division, Juvenile Section;
-Joan Martin Rall, founding director, Erie County Rape Crisis Center;
-Delilah Rumburg, executive director, Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape;
-Colina L. Jordan-Seeley, clinical social worker and activist; and
-Senator Connie Williams, state Senator, 17th District.

In keeping with the Generations of Women Moving History Forward theme, renown storyteller Charlotte Blake Alston offered a moving and interactive performance.

Also, Mechanicsburg Area High School students Corrin Krouch and Erin Hensel, winners of an essay contest sponsored by the Pennsylvania Commission for Women in partnership with the Mechanicsburg Area High School, read their essays about Pennsylvania women who have helped move women forward, specifically in the fight for equality.

“We stand on the shoulders of so many brave women,” said Stiles. “This program and this month are wonderful ways to honor those contributions and sacrifices and to pay tribute to the visionaries of today.”

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