Florida Women’s Hall of Fame Seeks Nominations Through July 15
By Space Coast Daily // July 14, 2015
10 nominees will be recommended to Gov. Scott
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA — Nominations for the 2016 Florida Women’s Hall of Fame are now being accepted through July 15 by the Florida Commission on the Status of Women.
Since its inception in 1982, the Hall of Fame has recognized and honored Florida women that, through their lives and works, have made significant contributions to the improvement of life for all citizens of the state.
The Commission accepts nominations to the Hall of Fame annually between April 1 and July 15. Following deliberations, the Commission will recommend 10 nominees to Governor Rick Scott, who will select up to three women for induction into the Hall in a January 2016 ceremony.
Last year’s inductees were Mary Lee Nunnally Farrior of Tampa , Evelyn C. Keiser of Fort Lauderdale, and Charlotte E. Maguire, M.D of Tallahassee. Farrior has been committed to improving the lives of Florida’s children for more than 55 years.
Her passion for helping children culminated in the founding of Mary Lee’s House, a child advocacy assessment and protection center which houses multiple services in one location.
Evelyn C. Keiser co-founded the Keiser School in 1977 with Dr. Arthur Keiser, which is now Keiser University. Evelyn Keiser is a remarkable pioneer in higher education and still actively serves her students at 91 years of age.
Charlotte E. Maguire, MD earned her medical degree from the University of Arkansas College of Medicine in 1944, when women were not just an anomaly in medicine – they were unwelcome.
In 2000, at 82 years old, she became a driving force in the creation of the College of Medicine at Florida State University in Tallahassee.
Prior inductees include former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, singer Gloria Estefan, internationally-honored tennis athletes Chris Evert and Althea Gibson; Pilot Betty Skelton Frankman; Bethune-Cookman College founder Mary McLeod Bethune; Congresswomen Ileana Ros-Lehtinen; Carrie Meek; Tillie Fowler; Ruth Bryan Owen; Florida Trend Publisher, Lynda Keever; and Everglades advocate and suffragist Marjory Stoneman Douglas.
The Commission accepts nominations for the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame from the public each year from April 1 – July 15. Additional information is available on the Commission’s website at FCSW.net, or by calling 850-414-3300.
