Girl Scouts Louisiana East hosted its sixth annual Juliette Gordon Low Leadership Luncheon on Oct. 20 at the Audubon Tea Room in New Orleans.
Honorees included Michelle Craig as Outstanding Woman, Michael Kelly as Outstanding Man, Ochsner Health as Outstanding Organization and Michelle Anderson as the Four Pillars Award recipient.
Craig is the managing partner of Transcendent Law Group. Kelly is assistant vice president and corporate banker at Hancock Whitney. Anderson is partner at Fisher Phillips. Ochsner Health was represented by Deborah Grimes, the organization’s chief diversity officer.
The event featured WDSU reporter Shay O’Connor as the emcee and a keynote address from former WWL-TV anchor Sally-Ann Roberts. Four Girl Scouts from the Council told about their experiences in Girl Scout programs and at camp.
Center hosts Women’s Health celebration
Advocates gathered Oct. 16 at the LSU Women’s Center to celebrate the establishment of the new Office on Women’s Health. Gov. John Bel Edwards signed Senate Bill 116, now ACT 676, on June 18 to establish the office within the Louisiana Department of Health.
Tonya Joiner, deputy secretary of health at the Louisiana Department of Health, delivered a greeting followed by a video presentation in commemoration of the 10-year journey that led to establishing the Office on Women’s Health and in recognition of Argarette Weatherspoon Collins, who has been vocal about the state’s maternal mortality and infant mortality rates following the loss of her daughter and grandson.
Advocates for women’s health engaged in a panel discussion, “Where We Go from Here,” now that the Office on Women’s Health is being created. The panel emphasized the importance of community and civic engagement and holding policymakers accountable for fulfilling the purpose of the office and ensuring the improvement of health outcomes for Louisiana women.
After the discussion, Alfreda Tillman Bester, special counsel for human services at Southern University Law Center, doubled down on the importance of accountability and delivered a powerful call to action further emphasizing civic engagement and voting.
Alma Stewart Allen was recognized for her leadership and activism in the Campaign to Establish the Louisiana Office on Women’s Health. U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, sponsor of the initial legislation prior to his election to Congress, state Rep. C. Denise Marcelle, sponsor of the bill in the House of Representatives and state Sen. Regina Barrow, author of the legislation that passed this year, were acknowledged as well.
Geeta Dave receives Crespo Fellowship
Geeta Dave officially received the Michael Crespo Visual Artist Fellowship at a gathering at the Cary Saurage Community Arts Center on Oct. 18. Created by the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge and funded by Cary Saurage to commemorate the life, work and dedication of the late internationally recognized painter and LSU professor, the $5,000 fellowship is intended to recognize the quality and breadth of work by a visual artist who has established their personal and professional lives as longtime contributing members of the Baton Rouge community.
Dave’s piece, “Power of Intuition,” was chosen as this year’s winner by Catherine and Laurie Saurage, who oversee the fellowship. Dave was out of the country when first announced as the 2021 recipient at the ACGBR annual meeting.
Dave, also a 1995 ACGBR Arts Ambassador Award recipient, is the daughter of one of India’s best-known artists, Balwant Joshi, and a respected art educator teaching at Glasgow Middle School.
