The YWCA's mission is to empower women. It celebrates empowered women-and those who empower others-perhaps most publicly with the annual YWCA Leader Luncheon Awards, held this year on April 27 at the Hotel Pere Marquette. The awards honor seven women who've made outstanding contributions to the Peoria area community through diverse means. This year's keynote speaker was Helen Thomas, former White House Bureau Chief and known as the "First Lady of the Press."

The awards include:

Julia Proctor White Arts and Education Award-given to a woman who displays leadership in education or the arts.

Edythe A. Cohen Business and Industry Award-given to a woman who exhibits leadership in a local business, not-for-profit organization, or governmental body.

Lydia Moss Bradley Communications Award-given to a woman who's a leader in communications fields such as journalism, marketing, or public relations.

Eliza Pindell Community Service Award-given to a woman who displays leadership in civic, charitable, religious, and other community activities.

Valeska S. Hinton Human Rights Award-given to a woman who helps improve the quality of life in our community by advocating equal rights for all people.

Mother M. Frances Krasse Professions Award-given to a woman who excels as a lawyer, doctor, nurse, or other professional.

YMCA Young Woman's Community Service Award-given to a high school-aged woman who excels in the areas of leadership and community service.

In addition to these award winners, Rebekah Bourland was honored as the Legend Award Winner for 2005, an award that recognizes a past Leader Luncheon winner who continues to demonstrate outstanding accomplishments in her field and in service to the community.

Julia Proctor White Arts and Education Award

Judy Harris Helm is an educational consultant through her company, Best Practices, Inc., assisting schools in integrating research and new methods.

She began her career teaching first grade, later designing early childhood and primary programs and training teachers. Harris Helm was one of the founders of the Lakeview Museum Preschool and has co-authored four books. She said children's potential has kept her motivated to continue her work in education. "It's the idea of really being able to give all children the same opportunity to reach their potential-to even the playing field for children."

She said education today is moving in the wrong direction-toward more rote memorization and away from true thought. "In all levels of education, I think we need to pay attention to stimulating children to think, rather than just be robots. Our society requires us to be creative thinkers, to be technological thinkers, to be able to solve problems-not just simple problems, but social problems of peace, war, and cancer-problems that are confronting our society. We can't do that if we train children to only repeat what we tell them to learn. We need to really look at education as empowering and challenge children to think."

Harris Helm said parents are a large part of this equation and offered her advice. "Participate with your children, and share their lives with them. Turn off the TV, turn off the DVD in the van, and be part of their lives. Talk to them, pay attention to what they're interested in; help your children discover what they do well and what they care about, and do everything you can to support them in discovering that."
 

Edythe A. Cohen Business and Industry Award

Sister Judith Ann Duvall is president of OSF Healthcare System, a network of seven health care facilities, nine independent affiliate hospitals, and more than 225 primary care physicians and mid-level providers. She's served as the director of public relations, director of religious formation, and treasurer of her religious community. Duvall also was a nurse supervisor at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center prior to joining the corporate office staff.

In 1987-1988, Duvall developed the nation's first extensive ministry development program for lay leadership to instill in them the sisters' passion for mission, values, philosophy, and vision. Recognizing that laity in the OSF organization would far outpace the sisters in number, Duvall said they chose to impart the culture of the OSF family to employees through example.
"Nothing is closer to our Sisters' hearts than the Ministry Development Program. This program is how we can insure our people focus on and accomplish what God asks of us. There's no other purpose for our lives than to experience God's love, to return our love for love, and to passionately give love through our life of sacrifice and service."

She encouraged volunteerism as a way to enrich the giver's life, as well as the receiver. "People who don't volunteer don't know what they're missing. By sharing our gifts of time and talents, we can make a difference in our world; the lives one engages through volunteering will definitely be blessed, but many times it's the ones who volunteer who feel they're receiving more than they're actually giving."

Lydia Moss Bradley Communications Award

Amy Paul-Cassulo is the main WMBD-TV news anchor. She's received many awards, both for excellence in broadcasting and for her numerous volunteer endeavors. Some of the organizations she supports include the OSF Saint Francis Midwest Heart Institute, Easter Seals-UCP, Greater Illinois Multiple Sclerosis Society, Muscular Dystrophy Association, and Cancer Center for Healthy Living.

She said her career in broadcasting has allowed her to be the active volunteer she is. "It's really opened doors for me to help out the community. First, because people are always asking you, but it's also shown me parts of the community that needed help that maybe I wouldn't have known about."

Of her efforts, health-related organizations seem to top her list of priorities, which she said has always been the case. "When I started out in reporting and anchoring, health issues really got to me. But with Easter Seals, it's really the children and seeing how far they've come from when they first join Easter Seals. It's the same with Multiple Sclerosis. I've met a lot of people whose lives MS affects, and the appreciation they give you for the little bit that you do for them is amazing."

Paul-Cassulo said rather than being a "have-to," she looks forward to volunteering. "My community involvement is almost the social aspect of my life because I've met a lot of people through Easter Seals, MS, and all of the other charities I'm involved with. Sometimes things in my personal life go by the wayside, but I always make time to work out in the morning because if you aren't healthy, you aren't there to help others."

Eliza Pindell Community Service Award

Mary Ardapple is owner/operator of Apple's Bakery Northside Market and co-creator of Apple Valley Gourmet Meals and Treats. Her Leader Luncheon Award nomination said, "It would be quite difficult to mention a group throughout our community that wasn't touched in some manner by Mary Ardapple."

And based on the extensive list of her current and past activities, it seems like a valid statement: the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce, Peoria Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Heart of Illinois Restaurant Association, Civic Center Authority, PCCA Public Art Committee, Heartland Partnership, Peoria Area EDC, Peoria Public Library, and many more.

How does she narrow down which organizations she devotes her time to? Ardapple said it's all about the community. "If you look at what I've been involved in, it's all focused on how it makes our community stronger-whether it's the visitor industry, the business industry, the educational community-it's all what I view as the four spokes that make our community strong."

As for women who may think they're too busy to volunteer, this business owner and mother said, "Your life is never too busy; I think the term 'too busy' is a cop out answer. It's choosing to spend your time in a quality way and making a purposeful effort that you're going to contribute-not only for your family's wellbeing and your professional wellbeing, but you have to have a third component in there. The community must be healthy, and volunteerism is one of the formulas that help. You simply make it a priority."
 

Valeska S. Hinton Human Rights Award

Rita Ali is the first director of Diversity at Illinois Central College, where she helps identify the college's strengths and weaknesses and allocates resources to truly diversity the institution. "What we're hoping to achieve is more inclusiveness at the college. And that means diversity in all its dimensions, whether it's race and ethnicity, whether it's people with challenges in learning or physical ability, or whether it's people of all different ages. We're helping to create a campus that tolerates all people," she said.

Ali has dedicated her professional and personal efforts to helping promote and sustain a diverse culture. Particularly noteworthy was her tenure as director of Multicultural Student Services at Bradley University, her membership on the King Holiday Committee of Peoria Inc., and her role on the Peoria Citizens Committee for Economic Opportunity. Her advice to others making their way through an ever-diverse world is to "be aware of other-ness. Look beyond yourself; look at other people and try to value other people, as well as respect their beliefs. They may have different beliefs, but you can have respect for them as an individual."

She said knowing that her efforts now will make a difference later keeps her inspired in her volunteer work. "I've had several very memorable moments that have resulted from my work in the community. Those moments are when former welfare recipients or unemployed individuals say, 'Thank you; you've helped me make progress in my life.' They're moments when young people have indicated that I've had some positive impact on their life and when the real anchors of our community have said 'good job.' Those moments inspire and humble me to no end."
 

Mother M. Frances Krasse Professions Award

Maureen Drew Cluskey is an assistant professor in the Bradley University Department of Nursing, where she teaches a variety of health and nursing courses. She also is associate chairperson of the Department of Nursing, where she coordinates academic advisement and a student retention program. Of her lifelong passion for nursing and teaching nursing, she said, "Nursing has afforded me the opportunity to care for people, and teaching allows me to help others care for people. And what motivates me to keep at it is the young people at Bradley."

She also volunteers her valuable skills and knowledge through a variety of community endeavors. Drew Cluskey is a volunteer staff nurse at Heartland Community Clinic, mentors at-risk students and new faculty members, was a summer enrichment coordinator for the Department of Nursing, presented a health fair at Garfield Elementary School, hosted a diabetic health fair for Sam J. Stone B'Nai B'Brith Covenant Apartment, and staffed flu shot clinics for the Tazewell County Health Department, among many other activities. "Volunteering has always been my passion," she said. "I've been so blessed, so I feel the need to give back all that I've been given."

Drew Cluskey moved from a bedside nurse to volunteer nurse and professor after more than 20 years because she felt the "ripple effect" could be great. "I've touched many lives through my nursing, but through education, I can touch many more lives by sending more and more nurses out to help people in need."
 

YWCA Young Woman's Community Service Award

Tracie Lynne Machetti is a senior at Richwoods High School, where she maintains a 4.0 grade point average while enrolled in the prestigious International Baccalaureate Program at the school and balancing a full schedule of extra-curricular activities and volunteer work.

Her list of volunteer work reads like that of someone twice her age: a volunteer for Methodist, Proctor, and OSF; Lakeview Museum, Teens Encounter Christ, math tutor, Catholic Social Service, Community Foundation, Toys For Tots, and the Cinderella Project. "I started my volunteer work for a confirmation project, and I've kept up with it through the years. It was fun to do for me, and I know it really helped out a lot of the organizations," she said.

Machetti, a high honor roll member for seven semesters, member of the French National Honor Society, and a designated Illinois State Scholar and Sterling Merit Award winner, plans to attend the University of Iowa for speech pathology. She also plans to continue her volunteer work there.

Organizing her academic and volunteer schedule-not to mention extra-curricular activities such as cheerleading, Club International, chorus, and yearbook-is difficult, she admits, but possible. "You should put school first and then whatever activities you enjoy doing. Over the summer, it's really easy to go out and do volunteer work-and it gives you something to do instead of just sitting around. Being in Key Club in high school helps a lot too. It's given me a lot of different activities-Toys For Tots, bell ringing, and singing in nursing homes-that you normally wouldn't get the opportunity to do." TPW