Luncheon applauds 'unstoppable' women

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Jun 10, 2007 | by LINDA NAVARRO THE GAZETTE

Mary Mashburn has been a nurturer of the arts in the Pikes Peak region for 30 years. The Southern belle, called the Fairy Godmother of the Arts, "sprinkles" everyone she meets with "fairy dust." And as she leaves a room she always wishes "sprinkles and hugs" for kids and adults alike.

"Mary is and continues to be completely unstoppable," said Pam Shockley-Zalabak, chancellor of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. With that, Zalabak named Mashburn the Unstoppable Woman of 2007.

There were cheers from the crowd of 260 at the UCCS Unstoppable Women's Luncheon on May 11.

In a Southern drawl that has never quite disappeared, Mashburn, eyes twinkling, told the group, "I adore men. I've never met a man I didn't like. But when I get ready to do something, I want women. Women working together truly change the world."

Mashburn had some words of advice, saying she has several "nevers" including: "Never think that you can't at least ask. Never underestimate the power of the words 'thank you.' Never, never, never hesitate to entertain at your own home."

One day later, Mary and her husband, Wayne, did exactly that, opening their home for friends to drop by and celebrate her birthday, "70 years sprinkled with warmth, wit and wisdom."

Mashburn's honor was part of a celebration of women, in particular the Karen Possehl Women's Endowment Scholars. Possehl and her husband, Jim, had personal congratulations for the three women who graduated this spring: Rachelle Ramirez Dworshak, Meriah Gille and Shannon McNiece. KPWE scholars are nontraditional students, some of them battered, many of them single mothers, who are mentored and supported. They have a 98 percent graduation rate.

Dworshak, a physically abused woman and a mother of two who is newly married, had a 3.8 grade-point average and graduated summa cum laude with a degree in accounting. After she is established in her field, she said she hopes to volunteer as an accountant with nonprofits to give back.

Gille, who had a 3.94 GPA in dietetics, graduated cum laude. The single mother of two said KPWE was her support system, and she wants to do the same for other women. KPWE allowed her to walk her "Choctaw red road" to success.

McNiece, a single mom who graduated cum laude and with honors in psychology, had a 3.9 GPA and is going after her master's degree. She said there were times in her abusive past when she didn't think she would be alive today.

Karen Possehl told Shockley-Zalabak she had brought along a check for the endowment to help it continue into the future. After opening the envelope, an incredulous chancellor told the audience, "She just handed me a check for $100,000!"

Featured speaker Suzanne Luff, a 2005 KPWE grad, told a tale of success that came after years of despair, abandonment, rape and pregnancy, homelessness and helping her disabled daughter through severe health issues. The KPWE program helped her with scholarship money, mentoring and child care. She said, "I know now I have a responsibility to help women so they can believe in themselves."

Luff told the audience she was proud to have been the first recipient of the Lou Gonzales Memorial Scholarship, which has joined the KPWE program this year. The scholarship was established for nontraditional UCCS students after the 2003 death at age 55 of the Gazette writer, who had Lou Gehrig's disease. Lucille "Lou Gonzales" Oller, whose daughters, sister and granddaughter were at the luncheon, grew up in Colorado Springs, was a military wife and mother, and spent years in civil service before taking college classes and following her love of writing. She joined The Gazette in 1994 and by 1999 was a columnist.

Co-chairwomen of the event in the Dusty Loo Bon Vivant Theatre were Sharon Berthrong, Lynne Fitzhugh, Jan McCauley, Kappy Stewart and Caryl Thomason. Berthrong, Fitzhugh and Thomason are members of the KPWE steering committee, as are luncheon committee members Dionisia DeLaCerda, Bregitta Hughes, Lee Ingalls Noble, Jaime Mc- Mullen Garcia, Vanessa Moorman and Janet Suthers.

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