Remembering 70 years of Charlotte’s most inspirational women
Go back 70 years, back to the post-World War II years, when men in pinstripe suits began to ambitiously dream of — and build — a bigger, more influential Charlotte, and women quietly but forcefully pushed for a culturally rich and caring city.
The men in suits were recognized for their achievements. The women’s victories went largely unnoticed — some saw their “volunteer work” as pushy, aggressive.
But in 1955, WBT radio executive Bob Covington was taking notice, admiring the changes he saw local women making to brighten Charlotte’s social landscape. He persuaded the radio station to sponsor the first Charlotte Woman of the Year award. It went to Martha Evans, the first woman on Charlotte City Council and one of the first in the N.C. General Assembly.
Since then, 81 Charlotte women have received the yearly award (some years saw multiple winners). The group includes doctors, judges, bankers, faith leaders, broadcasters, politicians and civil and human rights warriors. For many, their causes became their life’s work — often at personal risk or sacrifice to their families.
Armed with charm, conviction and a refusal to fail, they were change agents, fighting for better education and health care for children, opening food and clothing cupboards for the poor and leading the march toward desegregated schools and equal rights. Without their work, Charlotte might well be without such institutions as the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, the Mint Museum, Discovery Place, Levine Museum of the New South, and ImaginOn.
In 1991, WBT ended its CWOY sponsorship, but previous winners decided to continue the award. In April, a committee of past winners named its 81st Woman of the Year: Dena Diorio, Mecklenburg County’s recently retired manager. She was honored Thursday during a program that celebrated the group’s 70 years and threw a nod to the future.
So on this milestone, it’s appropriate to take stock of the scope of CWOY’s achievements and how selfless service helped transform a city through a look back at some past winners.
Charlotte Women of the Year Award winners
1955: Martha Evans
1956: Dr. Bonnie Cone
1957: Louise Watkins
1958: Helen Hunter
1959: Beatrice Wallas
1960: Dr. Elizabeth Corkey
1961: Gladys Tillet
1962: Mae Lebby Rogers
1963: Lurlene Barnhardt
1964: Ruth Easterling
1965: Charlotte Kelly
1966: Ruth Wanzer
1967: Tempe Franklin
1968: Charlotte Watkins
1969: Dr. Jonnie McLeod
1970: Edyth Winningham
1971: Jacqueline Hairston
1972: Sarah Bryant
1973: Julia Mauldin
1974: Maggie Ray
1975: Elisabeth Hair
1976: Kathleen Crosby
1977: Ann Davis Thomas
1978: Elizabeth Randolph
1979: Dr. Mary Thomas Burke; Betty Chafin Rash
1980: Harriet Cuthbertson
1981: Freda Nicholson
1982: Louise Brennan
1983: Dolly Tate
1984: Susan Green
1985: Caroline Myers
1986: Carrie Winter
1987: Deborah Harris
1988: Cynthia Marshall; Sally Robinson
1989: Carla DuPuy
1990: Susan Hancock Sewell
1991: Dr. Ruth G. Shaw
1992: Sarah Stevenson
1993: Martha B. Alexander
1994: Sis Atlass Kaplan
1995: Mary Lou Babb ;Thereasea Elder
1996: Judy Rose
1997: Cyndee Patterson; Marcia Simon
1998: Sharon Decker; Shirley Fulton; Gloria Pace King; Velva Woollen
1999: Dianne English
2000: Jill Flynn
2001: Claire Tate
2002: Emily Zimmern
2003: Vi Alexander Lyles
2004: Molly Barker
2005: Patty Norman
2006: Cathy Bessant
2007: Peggy Culbertson; Joan Zimmerman
2008: Carol Hardison
2009: Pat Rodgers
2010: Dr. Ophelia Garmon-Brown
2011: Rabbi Judy Schindler
2012: Ann Clark; Anna Spangler Nelson
2013: Patsy Kinsey
2014: Jane McIntyre
2015: Jill Dinwiddie; Susan Patterson
2016: Dr. Joan Lorden
2017: Dr. Pamela Davies
2018: Octavia Seawell
2019: Valecia McDowell
2020: Tanya Stewart Blackmon
2021: Linda Lockman-Brooks
2022: Kathy Izard
2023: Laura Belcher; Dionne Nelson
2024: Dena Diorio