Published: September 30, 2009 10:45 pm      

Finalists announced for Clark Woman of the Year

Tickets on sale for Oct. 30 dinner

Five area women have been selected as finalists for recognition as the 2009 Clark County Woman of the Year, organized and sponsored by The Evening News and Kye’s.

The finalists — nominated for significant contributions in the community, workplace or school to further the interests of women or the community — will be honored Oct. 30 during a dinner event and reception at Kye’s, 500 Missouri Ave., Jeffersonville, where one woman will be named woman of the year.



The finalists are:

Ruthie Jackson, of Charlestown

• Jackson is the director of the North Clark Outreach Center in Charlestown, where she leads a staff in efforts to collect and distribute food to families in need throughout the community. She also serves as the assistant to Charlestown Mayor Bob Hall and is the coordinator for the city’s Neighborhood Block Watch program.



Jane Sarles, of Clarksville

• Sarles is the founding president of the Clarksville Historical Society and has authored two books on the history of the town of Clarksville. She is involved in historic preservation and also is a member of the Falls of the Ohio Foundation, vice chairman of the Ohio River Greenway Commission and a trustee for the Jeffersonville Township Public Library. Sarles is a retired librarian and former adjunct faculty member at Indiana University Southeast.



Joyce Dickson, of Henryville

• Dickson is a nearly 45-year 4-H volunteer. A graduate of Purdue University, Dickson works with area youth on entomology projects and other activities for competition at the state level. Dickson also participates with the Clark County Extension Homemakers on the state level.



Marine Walls, of Jeffersonville

• Walls, a regional parent coordinator for the Twenty First Century Scholars Program, is a community volunteer who devotes her time to organizations that focus on the betterment of the area’s youth. As a returning adult student, she obtained her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University Southeast in 2008. She is a volunteer for the Jeffersonville-Clark County NAACP Youth Council and the Jeffersonville Youth Commission. Walls also has been a foster parent to 16 children in the last nine years with Regional Youth Services Inc., where she also leads discussions and training for other foster parents.



Cathy Graninger, of Borden

• As the executive director of Communities In Schools of Clark County, Graninger works to bring the national organization’s focus on children and education to her own community. Through the organization, Graninger works to help students learn, stay in school and prepare for life by connecting them with community resources — including mentoring, tutoring, counseling services and life skills classes — that can help them set and successfully achieve their goals. Graninger is a retired teacher and principal, a founding member of the Southern Indiana Suicide Prevention Coalition and a member of the Prevent Child Abuse Council.



Tickets for the event are $50 per person. Cocktail hour will begin at 6 p.m., with dinner to follow at

7 p.m. Awards will follow the dinner. Proceeds benefit the Center for Women and Families.

Tickets are available at The Evening News, 221 Spring St. in Jeffersonville, and at Kye’s. For more information, call The Evening News at 812-283-6636 or e-mail Joann Galligan at joann.galligan@newsandtribune.com or Nina Fulda-Portman at nina.fulda-port

man@newsandtribune.com