News : Jorgensen One of Four Honorees to Iowa Women's Hall of Fame

Announcing the 2020 Iowa Women's Hall of Fame Inductees and Cristine Wilson Medal for Equality and Justice Recipient

In-person ceremony postponed

The Iowa Commission on the Status of Women (ICSW) is pleased to announce the 2020 Iowa Women's Hall of Fame inductees. Four remarkable women will be inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame and one individual will receive the Cristine Wilson Medal for Equality and Justice.   

The 2020 Iowa Women's Hall of Fame honorees are:

• Betty Jean Dillavou Durden (Des Moines, Iowa): one of the founders of the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women, lifetime member of the American Association of University Women, community volunteer, World War II veteran of the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service); author, mother, mentor and educator. Posthumous award. Died in 2018.

• V. Ann Fry Jorgensen (Garrison, Iowa): An agricultural trailblazer and pioneer; leader in business, government and higher education; over 50 years as an influential force for reshaping the lives of Iowa's women and girls; entrepreneur; author and public speaker; served two U.S. Presidential appointments and was Iowa's Outstanding Young Women (1976); Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame (1983); Iowa Master Farmer (2014) and Life Member of Farm Foundation (2016).

• Helen Naomi Miller (Fort Dodge/Des Moines, Iowa): Former Iowa State Representative for the 9th House District representing the Fort Dodge area of Iowa; over 30 years of leadership as an attorney, legislator, volunteer, arts educator, non-profit organizations' executive director and serves on the national board of Women in Government as the immediate past Chair. An inspiration for for all, Rep. Miller is noted for her leadership abilities to bring people together.

• Mary Elizabeth Young Bear (Tama, Iowa): Born with the Meskawki name of Bo na bi go, her contributions as an artist and art conservator, educator, cultural historian, civic leader and political activist, humanitarian, community leader and mentor inspire, empower, and motivate all those around her, especially young women and girls. Her pride is as a mother and grandmother with a family heritage of Iowa ancestry since the 1840s.

The 2020 recipient of the Cristine Wilson Medal for Equality and Justice is:

• The Honorable Chief Justice Mark Cady (Fort Dodge, Iowa): Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court 2011-2019; wrote the historical Varnum v. Brien opinion in 2009, legalizing same-sex marriage in Iowa; emphasized new ideas such as digital messaging for defendants and law enforcement; rotating Iowa Supreme Court hearings around the State of Iowa; received countless achievement and leadership awards from Drake University, Buena Vista University and many other recognitions from legal entities such as the Iowa State Bar Association, American Bar Association, Iowa Judges Association and Iowa Academy of Trial Lawyers, among many others. Chief Justice Mark Cady passed away unexpectedly in 2019. Posthumous award.

2020 in-person ceremony postponed to August 2021

Each year, the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame ceremony is held near the date that women won the right to vote in the United States in 1920-August 26. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we will not be hosting an in-person ceremony this year; instead, the in-person ceremony will be postponed to August 2021. We ask that for the safety of all of our honorees, families, friends and the general public that honorees from this year will join the 2021 honorees onstage in 2021 to accept their awards and be honored in person.

In lieu of an in-person ceremony this year, we would like to both honor the inductees digitally in 2020 and then host an in-person ceremony in August 2021. We will be putting together a video that we will release virtually in late August 2020.

To highlight women's heritage and recognize their important contributions to society, the ICSW established the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame in 1975. Each subsequent year, the ICSW and the Iowa Department of Human Rights welcome four women into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame, paying tribute to them and setting them forth as role models for others. The ICSW also awards the Cristine Wilson Medal for Equality and Justice to a recipient who has made a significant contribution to the state of Iowa in the area of equity and justice.

As of 2020, 184 women will have been inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame and the ICSW will have awarded the Cristine Wilson Medal for Equality and Justice to 33 recipients.

For more information about the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame, visit the Iowa Department of Human Rights' website on the Office on the Status of Women.