Delgado Wins WIMG Leadership Award
December 20, 2010
by Brenda Ramirez Deborah Denard Delgado, councilmember, Hattiesburg, Miss., is the proud recipient of this year’s Women in Municipal Government (WIMG) Leadership Award, which was presented at the recent Congress of Cities & Exposition in Denver. The leadership award recognizes and honors individual female achievement in local government and strives to promote and encourage more women to run for elected municipal office.
“The beauty of this awards program is that it highlights the truly amazing concepts women have put forward in order to make changes that are substantial and enduring in their communities,” said Delgado. “I am honored to be among this year’s nominees, and indescribably proud to have been named the winner. Needless to say, after receiving the award I came home invigorated, inspired, and ready to redouble my efforts.”
The leadership award was presented to Councilmember Delgado during the WIMG Membership Meeting and Leadership Award Luncheon on Friday, December 3. All six award finalists were present at the luncheon and each received a token of appreciation from WIMG for being model public servants.
The other finalists included: Nancy Carter, councilmember, Charlotte, N.C.; Carolyn L. Floyd, mayor, Kodiak, Alaska; Pauline Medrano, deputy mayor pro tem, Texas; Tzeitel Paras Caracci, mayor pro tem, Duarte, Calif.; and Lyndia Thomas, councilmember, Forest Hill, Texas. The sponsors of this year’s award program were NLC Corporate Partners Wells Fargo, ICMA-RC and Comcast.
Shirley Sherrod, civil rights activist and former U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) director of rural development for Georgia, delivered the luncheon’s keynote address.
Sherrod spoke candidly about the controversy with the USDA that occurred during her tenure and shared that although she currently is trying to figure out the next step in her career, one thing she knows for sure is that her commitment to the less-privileged remains strong.
“My work will never end,” she said. “My commitment is to the people. I love people and I love working with people in the communities and I will always do that.”
M. Jacqueline Nytes, chair of the National Performance Management Advisory Commission, and councilor, Indianapolis and Marion County, Ind., also spoke at the luncheon.
WIMG Immediate Past President Daisy W. Lynum, commissioner, Orlando, Fla., presided over the WIMG events at the conference and during the leadership award luncheon presented a donation on behalf of WIMG to the Susan Burgess Fellowship in Public Administration at the University of North Carolina Charlotte in memory of WIMG past president Susan Burgess, who was a councilmember in Charlotte, N.C. A tribute to Burgess also was made during the luncheon.
WIMG Elects New Leadership
WIMG membership also elected 2011 officers during the Congress of Cities. Adrienne Foster, mayor, Roeland Park, Kan., was elected president.
“I am very excited and humbled to be the new president of WIMG,” said Foster. “I accept the challenges that our new economy brings to big and small cities and look forward to finding innovative solutions. This is the time that leaders need to have all tools and resources available and that is why WIMG and NLC are more important in times like these.”
In addition to Foster, the new WIMG officers are: Kathy Maness, councilmember, Lexington, S.C., as first vice president; Mary Brown, councilmember, Gary, Ind., as second vice president; Mildred Crump, council president, Newark, N.J., as communications officer; and Lynum as immediate past president.
Details: For information about the WIMG Leadership Award, please contact Brenda Ramirez at (202) 626-3041 or by e-mail at ramirez@nlc.org. The 2011 nominations deadline is September 30. For more information about WIMG, contact NLC staff at (202) 626-3169.