A local luncheon honored trailblazing female leaders and encouraged the empowerment of women and girls.
The City of Bloomington Commission on the Status of Women presented the Women’s History Month Luncheon on Wednesday at the Bloomington-Monroe County Convention Center.
The event honored female leaders in labor and business in Monroe County. It also recognized the woman of the year, Judith DeMuth, who is the superintendent of the Monroe County Community School Corporation.
DeMuth, who began as the MCCSC superintendent in 2011, has helped increase the number of women in leadership and administrative roles in MCCSC, lobbied for public education, and increased secretary salaries in schools.
She discussed her experience working in public education and thanked members of the community for their support of her leadership.
“I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to work with wonderful staff members everyday,” DeMuth said in her speech.
Retired AFL-CIO labor engagement director for United Way Worldwide Nancy McCormick was the keynote speaker for the event. She discussed her experience as a female leader within the organization and what it means to be a trailblazing woman.
As the labor engagement director, she worked with labor agencies across the country to recruit, train and mobilize union volunteers to help United Way and other organizations.
She said it is important to mentor other women, empower and encourage young women, and decide not to settle for what society decides women should do.
“Don’t be afraid to step up and become a trailblazer,” McCormick said. “A women’s job is any one she wants to do.”
She said women should engage in the community and pass the torch of leadership to others.
“Use your imagination to become the women of your dreams,” she said as she finished her speech.
Mayor John Hamilton introduced DeMuth before she received the 2017 Women of the Year Award.
Hamilton also recognized the achievements of women in Monroe County and throughout the country, saying DeMuth has worked hard for equity and fairness within local schools.
“Women make things work,” he said. “Women work things out for their family, workplace, communities and country.”
She has a deep commitment to equality whether it is pushing for fair pay for secretaries in schools or encouraging STEM opportunities for girls, he said.
Debby Herbenick, the City of Bloomington Commission on the Status of Women chair, honored the life of Toby Strout at the luncheon. Strout, who served as executive director of Middle Way House for 30 years, died in February.
During Strout’s leadership from 1987 to 2017, Middle Way grew from a small shelter to a 30-bed shelter with more than 10 programs, Herbenick said.
“She worked tirelessly throughout her career to end violence against women and children and to help them find safety and a fresh beginning,” she said. “There is no doubt that she touched the lives of people here, of some of your friends, of some of your family and some of my friends.”
Strout was nominated for the commission’s Lifetime Contribution Award last year, but she decided not to accept the nomination because she was a chair on the award selection committee.
After Strout’s death, the committee decided to rename the award in her honor. In the future, the commission will select women for the Toby Strout Lifetime Contribution Award. The Monroe County Board of Commissioners also decided to name March 22 Toby Strout Day in Monroe County.
Strout’s daughter, Anna Strout, said her mother would have been happy that the award was named for her.
The event featured many local organizations, including the Monroe County chapter of the National Organization for Women, a local Girl Scout chapter, the Democratic Women’s Caucus and Middle Way House.
“It’s a way to energize women about issues that matter to our community,” Democratic Women’s Caucus steering committee Vice Chair Jillian Kinzie said. “Women’s accomplishments don’t get recognized as much as they should.”
