Above and beyond recognition

Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame inducts 11 new members

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On Thursday, 11 women will be inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame. This year’s collection of notable Michigan women includes an historic equestrian, a revolutionary biology researcher and a real mover and shaker. Well, not so much a shaker, but she is the founder of the country’s largest franchised moving company.

MaryLee Davis got her start in community service as a Girl Scout.

“The values and work of Girl Scouting helped shape who I am today,” she said. Davis, an MSU alumna, leads a number of state and national organizations and works in a variety of areas, including healthcare, education and community service.

Davis was the first woman to serve as a legislative liaison officer at a public university in Michigan and she was the first woman to serve as a secretary of the MSU Board of Trustees. Davis offered a few words of advice to young women.

“Dare to dream, believe in yourself and choose your friends wisely, because the people with whom you spend a lot of time will have a tremendous impact on your life,” she said.

Jeanne Findlater was the first woman to lead a major TV station in 1979 as vice president of ABC Television and general manager of WXYZ- TV in Detroit. She spends most of her time staying involved in civic organizations and leading WXYZ.

She oversees original content programs such as “Best of the Class,” which puts the spotlight on high school valedictorians.

“(We use) the reach and power of the station to perform a kind of magic,” Findlater said. She also created a literacy program for adults, called “Learn to Read.”

When Dorothy A. Johnson was in the third grade, she said her teacher asked everyone in the class to bring in 10 cents so they could buy a harmonica. Johnson knew 10 cents was too much for one of her classmates, so she asked everyone to chip in a penny so their classmate could have one too. At the time, she didn’t know the meaning of the word philanthropy, but even at a young age, Johnson displayed the heart of a leader who made it a priority to give to others.

“I always had a desire to do what I could do to help other people,” Johnson said. She served as a leader in a number of statewide nonprofit and community service organizations, and is president emeritus of the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University. Johnson is constantly improving philanthropy in the state of Michigan as she co-shares an initiative called “Learning to Give” where she works with K-12 students to teach young people how to give.

In 1979, Julie Krone won 20 horse races on the Michigan fair circuit. Quite an accomplishment for anyone, but Krone did it at 16, destroying the notion that jockeying was a man’s sport.

“People would think I was weak physically because I was a girl,” Krone said. “But I surprised them with my endurance, agility and the speed with which I could communicate them to a race horse.”

Krone, 51, was the first woman to win thoroughbred riding championships in the toughest competitions across the country, and is the only woman to win a Triple Crown race. She’s been acknowledged by the Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame, the National Women’s Hall of Fame, the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame and the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.

“This is a wonderful honor,” Krone said. “And it´s made even more special because my father still lives in Michigan and gets to attend the ceremonies.”

Barbara Roberts Mason served 24 years on the State Board of Education, promoting foreign language education, global studies and exchange programs. As an advocate for international understanding, Mason, 74, has done educational consulting and research in Germany, Japan and Korea.

“Like many women who were firsts, the greatest challenge I faced was men — and some women — thinking a woman should stay in her place,” Mason said. “The glass ceiling was and still is a reality and protected by the status quo.”

Mason is an active leader of the Democratic party; she has spoken at four National Democratic Conventions and seconded the nomination of vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro in 1984.

“I learned early that you should not try to change who you are,” she said. “It’s better to learn the system and work from the inside to open it up.”

Marylou Olivarez Mason was named Hispanic Woman of the Year in 2000. She was the first Hispanic woman on the Lansing Community College Board of Trustees, and she also started the Michigan Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, the Hispanic Student Summit and Legislative Advocacy Day at the Capitol.

Mason, 78, is also is the executive director of the Hispanic/Latino Commission of Michigan and has received recognition from the president of Mexico.

Andra M. Rush, 53, is chairwoman and CEO of the Rush Group Family of Companies, which consists of Rush Trucking, Dakkota Integrated Systems and Detroit Manufacturing Systems. The enterprise is one of the largest Native American-owned businesses in the country. Rush received personal acknowledgement from President Barack Obama at this year’s State of the Union Address for being a jobs creator.

Mary Ellen Sheets is the founder of Two Men and a Truck, the nation’s largest franchised moving company that celebrated its 5 millionth move earlier this year. Not bad for a $350 investment made in 1985.

Sheets used the company’s first $1,000 profit by distributing it among 10 local charities, and that spirit of giving back has been a hallmark of the company’s SOP: It still donates 10 cents from each move to the American Cancer Society, and has given more than $16 million to various causes in the last 29 years.

“To me its one of the most important things,” Sheets said. “It’s our home, it’s where we live. I have been so fortunate and lucky so why not help others?”

Sheets said she’s honored to be part of this year’s batch of inductees.

“The other ladies are very impressive,” she said. “I am kind of shy. No one wants to stand in front of a large group of people and talk about themselves.”

Elizabeth Lehman Belen (1886- 1975) was the second woman elected to the Michigan House of Representatives. She was the founder of the Eleanor Roosevelt League of Women, the League of Women Voters and the Lansing Visiting Nurses Association. Belen also established Willow Wood Manor (originally the Lansing Woman’s Home), an assisted living center on Lansing’s north side.

But while being successful in politics, education and healthcare, Belen still found time to stop and smell the roses — literally. She started Belen’s Flowers, a floral shop that has been in business in Lansing for more than seven decades.

As part of the Sisters of Mercy, Sister Mary Carmelita Manning (1888-1962) founded the first central school of nursing in Michigan and built and opened Mercy College of Detroit in 1941. She also helped with the administration of 25 hospitals in the Mercy system, the sixth largest Catholic healthcare structure in the U.S.

The national bird bounced back from the threat of extinction with some help from Lucille Farrier Stickel (1915-2007), the first woman to direct a major federal laboratory. Under Stickel’s direction, it was discovered that the pesticide DDT was causing the eggshells of bald eagles to become too thin, which was leading to the bird of prey’s dwindling population. Her research was the basis of the landmark 1962 book “Silent Spring,” which has been credited as brining environmental science and wildlife conservation to the mainstream. She was awarded the Federal Woman’s Award in 1968. Her research continues to influence pesticide regulations.

(Anne Abendroth, Beth Waldon and Krista Wilson contributed to this story)

MIchigan Women´s Hall of Fame Awards Dinner and Induction Ceremony
5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30
Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center
219 S. Harrison Road, East Lansing
$125
(517) 484-1880
michiganwomenshalloffame.org



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