Four compete for Woman of the Year
Published 11:00 am Sunday, May 13, 2012
- Eliza McCall
Four women are vying for the coveted title of Woman of the Year in the annual contest sponsored by Valdosta Junior Woman’s Club.
The women and the organizations which nominated them are Sharah Denton, National Council of Negro Women; Diane Howard, The Pines Family Campus; Eliza McCall, Leadership Lowndes; and Suzan Griner Prince, Valdosta Junior Service League.
The winner will be announced following a 10 a.m. brunch at Stone Creek Golf Club.
Following is biographical information on the nominees supplied by the VJWC:
Sharah Denton
Sharah Denton participated in the Valdosta City Government 101 Class “which allowed her to understand what she and others could do to make the community continually grow and prosper.” Participating in that class, getting the National Council of Negro Women off the ground and being selected for Leadership Lowndes were the highlights of her achievements in 2011. She said she has met women from all over the community “who are wonderful leaders and examples of mentorship and encouragement,” and these women have inspired her to help others.
Diane Howard
An active volunteer in the Valdosta area, Diane Wilder Howard serves as chair of the Healthy Living Task Force, a Lowndes County Partnership for Health (LCPFH) program. She has successfully written grant proposals to the ConAgra Food Foundation two consecutive years for $25,000 and $20,000 for projects such as the LCPFH’s Youth Action Project.
The project is a health and nutrition program which promotes improving children and their families’ quality of health through increasing physical activity and gaining access to healthy food and food facts.
Youth sites participating in the project include five Valdosta Boys and Girls Club units in Lowndes and Brooks County, QUOLA, Georgia Sheriffs’ Boys Ranch, and All4KidsFuture, Inc. The six programs in the project include Gardens in the Community; Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Activities; Partnership Adventure; Kitchen Capers; South Georgia Healthy Living Youth Leadership Team; and Lunch and Learn events.
Eliza McCall
Actively involved in LAMP, Eliza McCall’s other places of service in the community include the Center for the Arts Guild, South Georgia Walk to Emmaus, and the First United Methodist Church of Valdosta.
Working from an idea pitched by one of the LAMP staff members, McCall developed the concept for the IGIVE2012 campaign, a grassroots effort to build awareness and raise money for LAMP.
As president of the Center for the Arts Guild, McCall is active in all aspects of the organization’s work in support of the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts.
In addition, McCall helped with the marketing efforts in support of Destination Brooks, the non-profit volunteer organization established to promote economic development in Brooks County through tourism, highlighting the county’s historical, cultural, architectural, and agricultural assets.
This organization was able to establish and promote the county’s signature event, the Brooks County Skillet Festival.
Suzan Griner Prince
An active member of the Valdosta Junior Service League, Suzan Prince serves her community in many different capacities. She was named to the South Georgia Medical Center Foundation Board of Trustees as the Annual Gifts Chair in 2011. Her committee was responsible for the most successful annual fund drive in the history of the foundation, raising more than $65,000 during a one-month period and adding 104 new Cornerstone Club memberships.
In addition, she is the president of Tennis Valdosta Community Tennis Association, and has been a driving force to partner with the USTA to implement QuickStart Tennis, for kids age 10 and under in Valdosta.
In 2011, the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners appointed her to serve as a member of the Valdosta Lowndes Parks and Recreation Authority Board. Prince volunteers as a soccer coach at Vallotton Park and a QuickStart tennis instructor at McKey Park.