Today (Thursday) YWCA Spokane honored seven ‘Women of Achievement’ during its annual luncheon ceremony at the Davenport Grand Hotel. Among those receiving awards this year are:
? artist and educator Gina Freuen for arts and culture;
? Wendle Motors owner Kristin Goff in the business and industry category;
? Patricia O’Connell Killen from Gonzaga University for education;
? and Heather Rosentrater from Avista in the science, technology and environment category.
The other three recipients are Ellen Robey (Lifetime Achievement Award), Mary DeLateur (Community Enhancement Award) and Julie Repp (Carl Maxey Racial and Social Justice Award).
Ellen Robey earned the Y’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her years of service to many causes, from the Civic Theater to the Spokane Art School. She was one of the leaders of the group Friends of the Davenport in the days when its future was in doubt. She and former mayor Sheri Barnard led the effort to save the grand old hotel while it was in limbo, before Walt and Karen Worthy remodeled and reopened it.
Julie Repp was awarded the agency’s Carl Maxey Award for racial and social justice. Repp is a Spokane attorney who specializes in tribal and federal law. She is a Nez Perce tribal member who practices in state, federal and tribal courts. She says she’s humbled by winning an award that bears Maxey’s name.
Mary DeLateur earned the Community Enhancement Award for her work with veterans. She recently retired from a career as a clinical social worker at the Spokane Vet Center. She worked with Vietnam Era veterans, but in her later years, she focused on two areas: families whose members died while serving in the line of duty, known as Gold Star families, and sexual assault victims.