NOW Celebrates Intrepid Women, 40th Anniversary at Annual Gala

By Lisa Bennett, Communications Director, and Gina Mittal, Communications Intern

September 14 was a night to remember, with friends and allies joining NOW and the NOW Foundation in honoring four inspiring women and commemorating 40 years of NOW and 20 years of NOW Foundation.

NOW's fourth annual Intrepid Awards Gala was a joyful celebration set in the elegant Columbia Room of Union Station in Washington, D.C. NOW chose the theme of "40 fearless years" to mark its anniversary, so it was no great coincidence that the women accepting Intrepid Awards that evening were all, by definition, resolutely courageous, fearless and bold.

Each awardee was given a combination plaque and framed print of the colorful painting "Phenomenal Women" by artist Margaret Warfield, continuing a tradition of presenting awardees with each event's signature print by a dynamic woman artist.

The event was hosted, as it has been from the beginning, by the fabulous Maureen Bunyan, seven-time Emmy-winning anchor of ABC 7 News. On the 11 o'clock newscast later that night, Bunyan noted to her co-anchors what a wonderful time she had hosting the event and how impressed she was by the awardees.

Emmy Award-winning journalist Maria Elena Salinas, recipient of the Intrepid Award, has co-anchored Univision's prime time news broadcast "Noticiero Univision" for nearly 20 years.

The four outstanding women honored this year were: Maria Elena Salinas, Louise Bourgeois, Brigadier General Wilma L. Vaught and Dr. Johnnetta Cole.

An Emmy Award-winning journalist, Maria Elena Salinas has co-anchored Univision's primetime news show "Noticiero Univision" for the last 20 years, and her reporting appears in more than twenty countries worldwide. She also writes a syndicated new column, and makes regular appearances on National Public Radio (NPR). Salinas has also hosted a television news magazine program.

NOW Executive Vice President Olga Vives, a Univision viewer herself, was proud to present the Intrepid Award to Salinas, who credited a strong foundation in helping her succeed: "Like so many Latina women, I was brought up with a set of values that I feel helped me, and also have helped several generations of women, to flourish in a role that is full of challenges and also to thrive in a society where the so-called 'weaker sex' can be, and is, the pillar of the home."

Action Vice President Melody Drnach presented the next award to world-renowned artist Louise Bourgeois. Over the past 60 years, Bourgeois has worked as a painter, sculptor and installation artist. Her works, which deal with gender, childhood and sexuality, are on display in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art and many other museums all around the world.

Unable to travel to Washington, D.C., from her home in New York, Bourgeois could not attend the gala, but sent a longtime associate and friend, Ira Lowe, to accept the award, as well as a short and fascinating film expressing her thanks.

In the film, Bourgeois reflected on the influences in her life and work: "My mother was a tapestry restorer. She employed about 20 girls, and this group of weavers had an influence on me as a woman and as an artist. My feminism expressed itself in an intense interest in what women do."

NOW's Membership Vice President Latifa Lyles presents the Intrepid award to Brigadier General Wilma L. Vaught at the Intrepid Awards Gala in September 2006.

The third award of the night was presented to Gen. Vaught by Membership Vice President Latifa Lyles. In 1985, Vaught retired from the U.S. Air Force as one of the most decorated women in military history. She has been a determined advocate for equal treatment of women in the military, and was the driving force behind the creation of the Women in Military Service to America Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.

In her speech, Vaught highlighted several servicewomen whose intrepid actions she admired, including a private in uniform who was arrested in North Carolina for refusing to sit in the back of the bus on her way to her post - one month before Rosa Parks. She also noted the military women serving in harm's way today and the casualties they are sustaining. Vaught ended with these words of wisdom: "Believe that you can make a difference. One person can make a tremendous difference if she will, if she will believe in herself, believe in others, and believe in what she is doing. And I will just close by saying, when all else fails, try common sense."

To close out the evening, President Kim Gandy introduced Dr. Johnnetta Cole, who had transfixed the audience at NOW's 1998 Women of Colors and Allies Summit.

As she accepts her award, Intrepid Award winner Dr. Johnnetta Cole gives an inspiring speech about teaching feminism at an early age.

Cole is the only person to have served as president of both of the Historically Black Colleges for women: Spelman College and Bennett College. A distinguished scholar, leader, author and activist, Cole's work has concentrated on the relationships between race, gender, and sexual orientation.

A captivating speaker, Cole had the audience spellbound with her words and cadence. Cole focused on the power of education in women's lives and, by extension, the world.

"I can feel intensely the truth in the saying that when you educate a man, you educate a man. When you educate a woman, you educate a nation," Cole said. "Were I given the possibility of doing only one thing to attack inequality, injustice, violence, poverty all over the world, I actually would call for the education of the girl child. Because it is in the education of the girl child in developing nations that we then get more attention to using clean water, more attention to planning parenthood, more opposition to violence against her."

Cole continued: "Certainly we all need to understand that while education certainly involves coming to better understand the world, that's only the first task. The second and the most important task is accepting one's responsibility to help to change the world."

Photos by Pam Risdon