Georgia Women of Achievement (GWA) celebrates thirty years of honoring trailblazing women who have left an indelible imprint on the State of Georgia and its citizens. More than 100 women have been inducted into their prestigious Hall of Fame, and this year GWA will induct the largest class of women in the history of the organization. The event will be Wednesday, March 9, 2022 at 11:00 AM at Pierce Chapel on the Wesleyan College campus in Macon, Georgia. The Georgia Women of Achievement Induction Ceremony is an annual free event held during Women’s History Month and is open to the public. The seated luncheon in the stately Anderson Dining Hall following the ceremony requires a reservation and a ticket purchased here: www.georgiawomen.org.
2022 Inductees:
Ruby Anderson (1893 - 1978)
Nationally English teacher at Athens High School
Mary Givens Bryan (1910 - 1964)
Lobbyist and achivist devoted to the preservation of the state’s historical record
Laura Pope Forester (1873 – 1953)
Outsider artist, civil activist and founder of Pope’s Museum
Allie Murray Smith (1905 – 2000)
International ambassador, mother to former First Lady Rosalynn Carter
Lurline Collier (1893 - 1986)
Leader, mentor, teacher
Josephine Sanders (1895 - 1975)
Civic leader, musician, educator
Hedy West (1938 – 2005)
Folksinger and songwriter
Josephine Wilkins (1893 – 1977)
American social activist, president of the Georgia State League of Women Voters
Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, a member of the GWA founding committee, said, “Women have been honored from fields such as the arts and humanities, business, education, government and politics, science, health, sports, journalism and more. The core mission of the organization has remained consistent: to honor the many influential women of Georgia, to uphold their legacies, to encourage others to follow their examples by using their own unique talents, and to educate Georgia’s youth about these outstanding role models.”
More than half a dozen of the inductees have been Wesleyan College alumnae including Sara Branham Matthews, Class of 1907; Louise Frederick Hays, Class of 1900; Viola Ross Napier, Class of 1901; Ella Gertrude Thomas, Class of 1851; Eliza Frances Andrews, honorary degree Class of 1882; Laura Askew Haygood, Class of 1864; Ellamae Ellis League, Class of 1920; and Hazel Raines, Class of 1936.