Five honored for work in community

The Girl Scouts of Otahki Council annual Women's Impact Awards breakfast was Saturday at Southeast Missouri State University's Dempster Hall. Five local women -- Charlotte Craig, Julia Jorgensen, Dolly Jewel, Cheryl Mothes and Marybeth Williams -- were honored for their effect on the community through professional and volunteer efforts. As women in leadership roles, they were selected for the difference they make as role models for all women and girls.

Keynote speaker Carrie Smith Padgett, a Cape Girardeau native and reading specialist for Metro Nashville public schools in Nashville, Tenn., talked about the effect children have made on her with their great attitudes and determination.

Significant achievements by women throughout history also were mentioned. From a personal survey, Padgett said, "Nine out of 10 people name their mothers as women who have the biggest impact on their lives."

Charlotte Craig, a Methodist Hospital School of Nursing graduate, is the director of the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center where she began working in 1975. She was instrumental in obtaining the mill tax to support the Public Health Center in 1986. Other "firsts" for the Public Health Department include providing a sexually transmitted disease screening clinic, integrating disaster and emergency planning as a core public health function, and offering primary care to the medically uninsured. Craig also helped write the grant that funded Crosstrails Medical Center.

Dolly Jewel is a retired educator whose students ranged from kindergartners to the university level. Her last three years in education were spent as a teacher of homebound children and coordinator of the drug-free program for Cape Girardeau public, parochial and private schools. Jewel has taught Sunday school for more than 50 years at the First General Baptist Church of Cape where she is involved in women's ministries, and currently serves as the president of the women'swomen denomination's board.

Julia Jorgensen, a Women's Impact Award recipient, is a librarian at Cape Central High School and helps coordinate the city-wide “United We Read” program.

Julia Jorgensen is the librarian at Central High School. Jorgensen has been instrumental in emphasizing citizenship education to her students. For 10 years, she helped students research and present a tribute to veterans. She also helps students host a program that incorporates the values of freedom and human dignity, instructs them in registering and the mechanics of voting, and schedules forums with candidates and elected officials. She is best known for her Cape Girardeau "United We Read" program, now in its sixth year. Jorgensen helps coordinate this citywide literacy program encouraging Cape residents to read and discuss the same book during the month of February.

Cheryl Mothes is a financial adviser for Edward Jones in Jackson. She is a member of the Jackson Rotary Club and chairwoman of its literacy committee. During her career with Edward Jones, she was named a field trainer, received the A.F. McKenzie Award, received the Jack Phelan Award in 2002 to 2005 and was selected as a regional leader for Edward Jones in 2006.

Marybeth Williams has been a member of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce since 1979 and the chamber's executive director since 2005. William's community involvement includes PEO (Philanthropic Educational Organization) membership since 1971; she will serve as Missouri State PEO president in 2010. She also is active in the American Business Women's Association, where she was Woman of the Year in 2001. Williams is a board member of the United Way of Southeast Missouri and the Jackson Community Outreach Board.

cpagano@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 133

Charlotte Craig, director of the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center, was instrumental in obtaining the mill tax to support the public health center in 1986 and helped write the grant that funded Crosstrails Medical Center.