LAURINBURG — Women’s History Week will culminate with a local celebration in Scotland County on Thursday.
The event will be held 6 p.m. at the Storytelling and Arts Center and feature former County Commissioner Joyce McDow as the guest speaker.
Essie Davis, who helped organize the local event, said the 2016 theme for the celebration is “Working to Form a More Perfect Union: Honoring Women in Public Service and Government.”
“While we plan to honor women in government and public service at Thursday’s event, ” Davis said. “We ask community to recognize any women in their lives whether it is on the job, at church or at home.”
Davis added that McDow, who served on the county Board of Commissioners for seven years, was an excellent choice to address the group.
McDow, a former principal who holds a master of science degree in school counseling and public school administration from North Carolina A & T University. She has served as chair of the Scotland County Commission on Economic Development, chair of the Scotland County Memorial Library Advisory Board, and immediate past chair of the Scotland Memorial Health Care Foundation. She has also served on the Richmond Community College board of trustees.
President Jimmy Carter proclaimed the first national Women’s History Week for March 2-8, 1980. The Women’s National History Project lobbied for a longer observation, and Congress passed a proclamation in 1987 establishing Women’s History Month.
“Throughout history, women have driven humanity forward on the path to a more equal and just society, contributing in innumerable ways to our character and progress as a people,” President Barack Obama said in his proclamation. “In the face of discrimination and undue hardship, they have never given up on the promise of America: that with hard work and determination, nothing is out of reach.”
Those planning to attend, should RSVP by Monday by calling 910-361-6384.