by Eboni Morris

Women in Municipal Government (WIMG) will announce the winner of its annual leadership award from among six finalists during the Congress of Cities and Exposition this week in Reno, Nev.

The finalists include: Pat Evans, mayor, Plano, Texas; Shirley Franklin, mayor, Atlanta; Ann O?Hara Michalski, city council member, Dubuque, Iowa; Becky Miller, mayor, Carrollton, Texas; Saundra Gragg Naifeh, mayor, Edmond, Okla.; and Elaine M. Scruggs, mayor, Glendale, Ariz.

The finalists will be honored and the winner will be named at the WIMG annual membership luncheon, ?A Taste of Reno,? on Friday, December 8, from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. The annual award honors the achievements of women in local leadership. The sponsors of the award are ICMA Retirement Corporation, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and Comcast Corporation.

Honorary chairs for the award program are former WIMG presidents Margaret C. Barrett?Simon, councilwoman, Jackson, Miss., and Marie Lopez Rogers, mayor, Avondale, Ariz. 

Guest judges include: Janet Corcoran, president, Common Good, New York; Karla Vining, deputy executive director, Texas Municipal League; Bret Perkins, vice president of government affairs, Comcast; Helen Kawagoe, city clerk, Carson, Calif., and WIMG board member; Preston V. Lee Jr., director, corporate relations and housing outreach, Freddie Mac; and Nancee R. Mueller, vice president, government and industry relations, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.

Catherine B. Reynolds, chairman and CEO of the Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation and the Loan to Learn program, will be the keynote speaker at this event.

Tickets for the luncheon may be purchased on-site at the NLC Congress of Cities registration desk.

Details: For information about WIMG and membership opportunities, contact NLC staff at (202) 626-3169.

For more information about WIMG and NLC?s other constituency groups, visit www.nlc.org.