10 San Joaquin County women to be honored at annual Susan B. Anthony Awards

Ten women in San Joaquin County will be awarded the Susan B. Anthony Award on Thursday, Feb. 15.

The event is held each year on the birthday of Susan B. Anthony.

This year, San Joaquin County Commission on the Status of Women will celebrate the 48th award ceremony at the Hilton Stockton. The ceremony did not occur in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Record reported in 2022.

"The founder of the commission, Beverly Fitch McCarthy, was someone who saw the need for a recognition of women in the county," said Diane Oren, chairwoman for the event and one of this year's awardees. "Her idea was to give this award to a woman who has made a contribution, in some way, to the county."

Tillie Lewis was the first woman to receive the Susan B. Anthony Award in 1975. The first awards ceremony was at the University of the Pacific at the Raymond Great Hall, Oren said.

"There been over 400 women who have received this honor," Oren said. "The medal itself is a Susan B. Anthony dollar, and it's in a bezel and on a chain."

Susan B. Anthony was an American women's rights activist who fought for women's right to vote. Anthony, unfortunately, did not live to see that happen. She died in 1906. Women were granted the right to vote until 1920.

She is the woman on the "one-dollar coins in 1979."

There are 16 different categories in which women are awarded. Some of them include education, community service, government and politics, media, science, and women's rights.

Oren is among the 10 women receiving the award. This will be her first win.

While she is reluctant to accept the award because she is an organizer, Oren said being acknowledged was "really important" to her since she was a friend of McCarthy.

Oren was an educator for 51 years, starting in Los Angeles before moving to San Joaquin County.

"My particular recognition is in education," she said in late January.

Oren taught English at the high school and community college level. While teaching at San Joaquin Delta College, she was the men's basketball tutor — an unpaid service.

"I did it on my own time after my regular teaching load because there was a need," she added.

2024 Susan B. Anthony Awards honorees:

• Diane Vigil: was nominated by Georgette Hunefeld under the community service category. Vigil has served as executive director of the Dameron Hospital Foundation for more than three decades and does other volunteering.

• Diane Marek Oren: is a Lodi resident who was nominated by the Stockton Branch of the American Association of University Women under the category of education. Oren has worked on the revitalization of the San Joaquin County Commission on the Status of Women and has chaired the awards ceremony for the past four years.

• Dr. Mary Lomax Ghirarduzzi: was nominated by the University of the Pacific under the category of education. Ghirarduzzi is the inaugural vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) at UOP.

• Dr. Nancy Young: is a Tracy resident nominated by Carol Rogers under the category of government and politics. Young is currently the mayor of Tracy and is the first woman to be mayor of the city. She volunteers with several organizations.

• Elena Mangahas: is a Stockton resident who was nominated by Virginia Navarro under the category of community service. Mangahas is part of the governing boards for Little Manila Rising as well as the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS).

• Elise Forbes: is a Lodi resident who was nominated by the Lodi Branch of the American Association of University Women under the category of education. Forbes has initiated and implemented several programs in the Lodi Unified School District.

• Gina Valadez-Bracamonte: was nominated by Angela Phillips under the category of community service. Valadez-Bracamonte founded Bread of Life a nonprofit that provides grocery assistance for the community in need.

• Judy Ghio: is a Stockton resident who was nominated by the Hospice of San Joaquin under the category of community service. Ghio volunteers at the hospice during fundraisers.

• Kathryn Siddle: was nominated by the Breakthrough Project for Social Justice under the category of community service. Siddle is a social worker who also volunteers with projects in the community of Lodi.

• Rhodesia Ransom: is a Tracy resident who was nominated by Allyson Aranda under the category of government and politics. Ransom has 20 years of experience in local government, congressional district director, and community organizations in both the city of Tracy and San Joaquin County.

"It showcases how women are impacting people in their community and how important their jobs are," Oren said. "Even though they're not out feeding the homeless, they're doing something else that benefits the community."

Record reporter Angelaydet Rocha covers community news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at arocha@recordnet.com or on Twitter @AngelaydetRocha. To support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.

This article originally appeared on The Record: Susan B. Anthony Awards San Joaquin County