Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee
Women of Achievement 2011 STEADFASTNESS for a woman with a lifetime of achievement: Linda K. Miller In 1979, Linda Miller was attending her first parole hearing as a newly appointed member of the Tennessee Board of Parole. She quickly noticed something was missing. Not a single person in the room was speaking for victims. During …
Women of Achievement 2010 STEADFASTNESS for a woman with a lifetime of achievement: LaVerne Tolley Gurley LaVerne Gurley was a young mother when, shortly after World War II, her husband suffered the first of several brain hemorrhages. A product of her time, she had no marketable skills. Knowing that she needed to help support her …
Women of Achievement 2009 STEADFASTNESS for a woman with a lifetime of achievement: Gloria Kahn Gloria Kahn’s community leadership began with bandage rolling during World War II and continues in the highly technical and explosive push for embryonic stem cell research in 2009. In more than 60 years, she has advocated for people and ideas …
Women of Achievement 2008 STEADFASTNESS for a woman with a lifetime of achievement: Carolyn Gates Carolyn Gates grew up sewing for 4-H contests and pampering her pet cow in Geiger, Ala., population 72. When she was 59 and the comfortable wife of a successful businessman, she ran for mayor of Shelby County, population 830,000. She …
Women of Achievement 2007 STEADFASTNESS for a woman with a lifetime of achievement: Gertrude McClellan Purdue Born in Ohio in 1909, Gertrude Purdue came into this world serving others. Through six wars, the great depression, and the Civil Rights movement, she’s been, in her own words, a handmaiden to the Lord. Her energy and dedication …
Women of Achievement 2010 VISION for a woman whose sensitivity to women’s needs led her to tremendous achievements for women: Melvena Leake Always highly motivated, Melvena Leake taught school for 30 years, worked as a volunteer probation officer, and sold real estate on the side. She planned to travel when she retired but instead fate …
Women of Achievement 2006 VISION for a woman whose sensitivity to women’s needs led her to tremendous achievements for women: Perre MacFarland Magness Perre MacFarland Magness has used her passion for history and her skill as a writer to document the essential roles women have played in the life and times of Memphis and the …
Women of Achievement 2012 HEROISM for a woman whose heroic spirit was tested and shown as a model to all in Shelby County and beyond: Summer Owens Summer Owens’ childhood ended when she got pregnant on her 15th birthday. Rather than become a silent statistic of poverty and ignorance, though, she has become a voice …
Women of Achievement 2010 HEROISM for a woman whose heroic spirit was tested and shown as a model to all in Shelby County and beyond: Jasmine Gray Twenty-one-year-old Jasmine Gray knows what it’s like for a child to spend long weeks in the hospital. She knows that hospital gowns leave you cold and make you …
Women of Achievement 2008 HEROISM for a woman whose heroic spirit was tested and shown as a model to all in Shelby County and beyond: Ashley Michele Sanders Truly selfless, compassionate acts are rare indeed, but in an incident that occurred one afternoon in March 2007, so much human compassion was on display that one …