THIBODAUX – The Louisiana Center for Women and Government, headquartered at Nicholls State University, will honor five Louisiana women for their outstanding public service on Saturday, April 24, during a luncheon at the New Orleans Hilton Riverside.
The hall of fame ceremony will feature the induction of Jean Armstrong of Baton Rouge; Betty Scott Cummins of Mangham; Faith Peperone of Metairie; and Leslie Robichaux Suazo of Houma.
Jean Armstrong is co-founder of the Louisiana Voting Rights Network and president of League of Women Voters. She is also director of the BREC Foundation and serves on the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame Board of Advisors. Armstrong was the first woman in the state to become a Certified Economic Developer.
Betty Scott Cummins is co-owner of two businesses and has served on the board of directors for both Winnsboro State Bank and Scott Companies. A philanthropist, she has also served on the boards of YWCA of Monroe, St. Francis Medical Center and the Thomas H. and Mayme P. Scott Foundation.
Faith Peperone is a founder of the Metropolitan Republican Women’s Club, a Cancer Crusader and an officer of the Republican Women’s Club of Jefferson Parish. An activist for women’s environmental and legislative issues, Peperone volunteers for numerous organizations including Heart Ambassadors and various high schools in her area.
An environmental activist, Leslie Suazo is the director of Coastal Restoration and Preservation for Terrebonne Parish and community relations coordinator for the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program. Active in politics for almost three decades, Suazo has served as legislative assistant for various state senators, field coordinator for Iowa’s Second Congressional District and regional finance director for the Republican National Committee.
The center will also present a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award to New Orleans native Anne Armstrong, who served in the administrations of four United States Presidents and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She was also the first woman inducted into the Court of St. James.
Jenna Bush Hager – author, contributing correspondent to NBC’s Today Show and reading coordinator in Baltimore, Md. – will serve as keynote speaker. Hager is the daughter of former U.S. President George W. Bush.
Nancy Parker, WVUE Fox News 8 anchor, will serve as mistress of ceremonies.
Tickets to the awards ceremony are $50 each and include a cash bar at 11 a.m., followed by the noon luncheon and awards ceremony. For reservations, contact the center at (985) 448-4770 by Wednesday, April 21.
