Awards will be presented to three Coles County residents next week as Eastern Illinois University brings its month-long celebration of women to a close. Women's History and Awareness Month activities will conclude with an awards reception, scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Sunday, March 26, at the Tarble Arts Center, located on the university campus.
Admission is free and open to the public.
Gail Mason, a professor in the speech communications department at Eastern, is a role model in her profession, to the university and to the community. She is widely known at Eastern as the first chair of the Women's Studies Minor, and has been recognized for many contributions to women's issues at both a local and national level. She is active in the community through the Coles County League of Women Voters, as a board member for the Charleston Community Day Care and as an assistant Brownie leader. She is dedicated to her family, students and colleagues, and to her community. Nancy Owen has made a huge contribution to the community as the first female state's attorney in Coles County.