|
 Rebecca
Messinger Moore (Winner)
Rebecca Messinger Moore (Winner) Concerned with Midway's
future, Rebecca helped organize the Midway Area Planning
Society (MAPS), a non-profit focused on smart growth,
community service and historic preservation. She was
elected for two terms to the Midway City Council and
then elected as first female Mayor of Midway twice. Both
assignments could be considered volunteer positions,
since the city council job paid $50 per month and the
mayor's job, not much more: only $100 per month! Her
inclusive and exceptional volunteer efforts have
benefited all socioeconomic levels in the community. She
and her husband, Dr. John Moore, facilitated the
development of land for a Midway city park, and she has
worked with others to create several local programs
including: Adopt-A-Highway; Midway Community Forum;
Francisco's Farm Art Festival and more. Active in
women's leadership at Midway College, she has also
engaged the community in becoming a Renaissance Kentucky
& Main Street Community. As mayor, she lowered water and
sewer bills, secured funding for low-income housing, and
upgraded the volunteer fire department with equipment
and a building.
Beretta R.
Casey, M.D. (Finalist)
A fifth-generation Pike Countian, Dr. Casey is Director
of the U.K. Center for Excellence in Rural Health (CRH)
in Hazard, Kentucky. CRH is composed of research and
academic programs, a community health center and a
community outreach engagement program. Casey secured her
medical degree as a non-traditional student, going back
to medical school in her 40’s while also responsible for
raising her two children. She established the first
“Women in Medicine” group as a student and founded and
chaired the Pike County Domestic Violence Board. She was
a volunteer at the Salvation Army Free Medical Clinic
and organized the first Diabetes Day Camp for Children
while a student herself. In addition to her MD degree,
Dr. Casey completed a master’s degree in Health Systems
Management. She is the second woman ever to serve as
president of the Kentucky Medical Association.
Judy Sizemore
(Finalist)
A resident of Eastern Kentucky, and a self-employed
freelance writer, Judy is also regional outreach
director of the Kentucky Arts Council and a Jackson
County community writer-in-residence. She has published
more than 100 articles, stories and poems and her first
collection of poetry, Asymmetry, is being published in
2007. In her position as outreach director, she works in
60 counties to mentor and develop arts workshops and
networks that benefit artists. She has worked with
communities to develop 15 local arts councils; developed
materials that promote cultural economic development and
cultural heritage tourism; and provided professional
development opportunities for educators to learn from
artists. She excels at bringing together groups of
artists, nurturing their development and helping them
develop the skills, resources and self-esteem they need.
|
