(SitNews) Anchorage, Alaska – The Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame will induct 16 new members. Honorees have been selected by a panel of independent judges, and induction into the Hall commemorates National Women’s History Month. Two women from Juneau are among those slated for the Class of 2012: Connie Boochever and Rosita Worl.

Connie Boochever is being recognized for her contribution to the arts in Alaska. She was instrumental in the passage of legislation to create the Percent for Art Program that requires public funding for art in public buildings. In addition, Boochever – a 44-year resident of Juneau – was an originator of the Juneau Douglas Little Theater and chaired the “Save the Organ” committee that salvaged a historical theater organ that now graces the Alaska State office building. In 1973, the Juneau community recognized Boochever’s contributions by naming her Juneau’s Woman of the Year, and she was given the Governor’s Award for the Arts in 1982. Boochever died in 1999.

Rosita Worl, currently president of the Sealaska Heritage Institute; a board member of Sealaska Corp. and the Alaska Federation of Natives; and an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Alaska Southeast, has done extensive research throughout Alaska and the circumpolar Arctic. She is a founding member of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. She also served as a member of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History Arctic Committee. Worl has received many honors for her work, from national, statewide and local organizations, including the Museum of the Indian Smithsonian Institution Honor in 2006.

The Class of 2012 also includes:

• Audrey Aanes, recognized as an advocate for people who experience disabilities;
• Gretchen Bersch, a professor emeriti of the University of Alaska Anchorage, recognized for her contributions to adult and continuing education;
• Carolyn Floyd, recognized for her leadership in education and for creating the Kodiak Community College;
• Wilda Hudson,  recognized as a skillful leader on a succession of three of Anchorage’s governing bodies and for her contributions to the League of Women Voters;
• Carolyn Jones, recognized for making a difference through laws that make more opportunities for all Americans and for giving hope and change through Rotary;
• Louise Kellogg, recognized for her achievements in dairy farming, philanthropy and education;
• Ellen Paneok, recognized for becoming the first Alaska Native woman pilot then Bush and commercial pilot in Alaska;
• Sharon Richards, recognized as a leader in community, education and non-profit efforts;
• Irene Rowan, recognized as an activist and leader in Alaska Native affairs;
• Lisa Rudd, recognized for her advocacy for civil and women’s rights;
• Susan Ruddy, recognized as a leader in conservation and community development;
• Hannah Solomon, recognized for her leadership and mentorship in Alaska Native concerns;
• Pauline Utter, recognized for her political activism and women’s rights’ advocacy;
• Leonie von Zesch, recognized for her extraordinary efforts to provide dental services to Alaska Native people in northwestern Alaska in the 1920s.

The event will take place on Thursday, March 1, at the Anchorage Loussac Library Wilda Marston Theatre. Admission is free, doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. Refreshments will be served and donations to the Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame are welcome.

The Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame is a collaborative project of the Zonta Club of Anchorage, the Alaska Women’s Network, YWCA Anchorage, the Alaska Women for Political Action, the Anchorage Women’s Commission, the University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage Chamber of Commerce ATHENA Society and a large number of interested Alaska women. Together, they have created a place to remember and embrace the strong Alaska women who came before them and walk beside them today.

On the Web:

Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame
http://alaskawomenshalloffame.org

The mission of the Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame is to honor, in perpetuity, women whose contributions have influenced the direction of Alaska in any field, including, but not limited to the arts, athletics, business, community service, conservation, education, government, health, the humanities, Alaska Native affairs, philanthropy, politics, theology and science, among others.

Source of News: 

Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame
http://alaskawomenshalloffame.org

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