Its roots are in Zambia but over the course of a dozen years it has become a significant Calvert County celebration. On Saturday, March 15 the 12th annual Women of the World (WOW) Awards Luncheon was held at the College of Southern Maryland Prince Frederick campus.
The Calvert County Commission for Women and the Calvert County League of Women Voters (LWV) collaborated to present the event, which this year honored 12 individuals.
The honorees were: Naomi Watkins, selected by Calvert Collaborative for Children and Youth Inc.; Barbara Burnett, selected by Calvert County Hospice; Sheri Tardio, selected by Community Mediation Center of Calvert County; Robin Johnson, selected by Concerned Black Women of Calvert County Inc.; Roberta Safer, selected by LWV; and Yvonne Davis, selected by Nu Zeta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. Additionally, the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital honored Jessica Norwood and Deborah Jaeger. The Calvert County Commission for Women selected four women for honors in four categories: Randi Vogt (Advocacy), Diane Burr (Business), Lilian Lopez (Service) and Erin Dix (Woman of Tomorrow).
The event’s keynote address was presented by author and attorney Carol McCabe Booker, who regaled the audience with recollections from the Civil Rights and Women’s Rights movements. She recalled the early 1960s when she applied for a writer’s position with Newsweek and being told women were only hired for research or work in the mailroom.
“I wasn’t about to be some fact-checker for some guy,” said Booker, who instead went to work for Voice of America and also did freelance journalism for the Washington Post, Reader’s Digest, Ebony, Jet and Black Stars.
Booker is married to journalist Simeon Booker. The couple, who own a residence in Calvert County, wrote a history book entitled “Shocking the Conscience: A Reporter’s Account of the Civil Rights Movement.”
Booker reminded the audience there is still a discrepancy in the pay received by women as compared to men performing comparable work.
“Ordinary people do extraordinary things,” said Booker. “Our work isn’t over.”
The first WOW awards event in Calvert was held in 2002. Members of the local LWV participated in a Women’s Empowerment Exchange. Local LWV board member Anne Mychalus had observed a celebration while in Zambia and organized a similar event in Calvert. Eight organizations now participate in the event, which is held in March—Women’s History Month.
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com
