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Month: October 2009

Honored Role Series (Part 2): Becky Kanis – Armed Service and Social Service

Published on October 29, 2009

This is the second installment in the weekly Honored Role Series.

As a junior high student in Franklin, Tennessee, Becky Kanis remembers the excitement and awe of fellow parishioners when they learned a young woman from St. Philip’s Catholic Church received an appointment to a service academy. Carol Anderson, a high school senior and St. Philip’s parishioner was entering West Point that summer.

Becky Kanis was in 8th grade when she first met Carol and learned of West Point, the military college in New York. As the eldest of seven children, Becky’s parents insisted on two things: she had to attend college, and she had to find a way to pay for it. West Point offered full scholarships in return for five years of active duty military service.

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Honored Role: A weekly series about role models

Published on October 23, 2009

Between 1980 and 2008, 3,245 women graduated from West Point and have served selflessly in the Nation’s armed forces. Most of them, whether or not they still wear the uniform, are ordinary women with extraordinary stories of perseverance and integrity. They are soldiers and wives, mothers and daughters. They are doctors, lawyers, teachers, clergy and entrepreneurs. They are athletes and artists, cancer survivors and coaches. And they are all volunteers.

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Be careful what you wish for

Published on October 14, 2009

How often have we heard the saying, “be careful what you wish for, it just might come true”?

Earlier this month when I learned that John Quinones, co-anchor of ABC News “Primetime” and author of Heroes Among Us: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Choices, was scheduled to speak at the Park City Friends of the Library Luncheon, I was excited to attend for two reasons. The first was to congratulate and thank him on his focus and commitment to finding and sharing stories of selflessness, strength, bravery and inspiration. We can never be exposed to enough stories about people who make difficult choices to help their fellow man. Such reminders reaffirm our faith in humanity. The second reason was a selfish one. I wanted to ask his consideration of lending his voice to my project of sharing stories of ordinary women who made extraordinary choices. Actually, it was to follow-up on a previous request.

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Leadership and mentoring in the news

Published on October 7, 2009

Akin to many women, I wear a myriad of “hats and coats”, including mom, wife, daughter, friend, writer, volunteer, and outdoor enthusiast. I am inspired often by the actions, involvement, excitement and stories of women I meet. Daily, I am reminded of the impact women make in other people’s lives. They bridge past, present and future into meaningful and shared experiences.

In the last few weeks various newsworthy and journalism personalities shined their media spotlight on girls and women, illuminating our gender as emerging and growing “bridge builders” and accelerants for change.

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