December 1, 2009                                                                                Contact: Alison Kiser, Board President

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                    Alison.Kiser@ppcentralnc.org

                                                                                                                          (919) 636-1728

June M. Kimmel to Receive Anne Mackie Award

Raleigh, NC – June Miller Kimmel, one of the founders of NC Women United, has been chosen to receive their second annual Anne Mackie Award. The Award recognizes a lifetime contribution to advocacy on behalf of women. “We are so pleased to give this award to June. She has been, and continues to be, a mentor and peer-counselor to women of all ages across our great state. Her professionalism and passion for justice represents the best in leadership in North Carolina,” said NCWU President Alison Kiser.

Ms. Kimmel served as Director of the Southwestern Region for the NC Council for Women for twenty-one years, from 1984 through 2005. Ms. Kimmel focused on the identification and prevention of domestic violence in local communities, but she went far beyond the scope of her job responsibilities. Ms. Kimmel was at the forefront of initiatives that significantly influenced and enhanced the lives of women and families in NC. Her research spanned a variety of issues including: pay equity, sexual assault, sexual harassment, women’s history, women and education, and women and politics.

The Anne Mackie Award was established in 2008 to recognize in a public forum the long-term commitment and work of Ms. Anne Mackie. Anne Mackie became involved with women's issues as President of the Wake County League of Women Voters during the ERA campaign in the late 1970's. She founded and became the first Executive Director of the North Carolina Women's Legislative Agenda in 1987, which was adopted by NC Equity, Inc. in 1990. She continued to direct the program at NC Equity until 1995. At its apex in 1994, over 1,800 women were involved in local Women's Agenda Assemblies in 37 locations around the state. Anne retired in 1995 to pursue an education in fine art photography at Savannah College of Art and Design, in Georgia and then returned to Cary in 1999 to work for the state Breast and Cervical Cancer Control program. In 2001 what had started as an informal group of highly committed women became North Carolina Women United, a formal organization with 501(c)(3) status. That same year Anne Mackie permanently retired. She served on the Board of NCWU as Chair of the Membership Committee and as a member of the Program Committee. Anne spends significant time as a teacher and leader of Re-evaluation Counseling, a method where people learn to assist one another recover from the impact of past distress in order to think more clearly about issues of oppression such as sexism and racism. Anne is also an active grandmother of 4 and is Chair of Social Ministries at Good Shepherd United Church of Christ in Cary. 

NC Women United (NCWU) is a coalition of progressive organizations and individuals working to achieve the full political, social, and economic equality of all women across North Carolina. NCWU works to build women's power through grassroots activism, community organizing, legislative advocacy, and engagement in the political process

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