When it rains it pours, or so the saying goes, and for former Colorado Springs Mayor Mary Lou Makepeace, 2007 is ending not with a sprinkle but with a virtual shower of honors.
In the past couple of weeks she has been named a 2008 inductee to the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame and one of the Women’s Foundation of Colorado’s 20 Be Bold award recipients. The director of the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado also received the 2007 Athena Award, the NEWSED Celebrate Culture Civil Rights Award, and the Bernie Valdez Corporate Award.
As a Women’s Hall of Fame inductee, Makepeace joins 101 other women of diverse backgrounds from throughout Colorado’s history who have made significant and enduring contributions, elevated the status of women, opened new frontiers for women, and inspired others.
Lindy Conter, Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame selection committee chair, said the induction ceremony will be part of a dinner planned for March 11 in the Donald R. Seawell Grand Ballroom. Others joining the Hall of Fame with Makepeace are rancher-philanthropist Sue Anschutz- Rodgers; nun and human rights activist Sister Alicia Cuaron; former school superintendent Evie Dennis; state Supreme Court Justice Jean Dubofsky; Navy Capt. Katherine Keating; Chinese Children Adoption International founder Lily Nie; Mercury 13 astronaut Rhea Woltman; and the late Ann Petteys, Eliza Routt and Mildred “Babe” Didrikson Zaharias.
In October, at the Bernie Valdez Awards Luncheon, Makepeace was recognized for her work on behalf of the Latino community by the Latin American Research and Service Agency. In August, NEWSED Community Development Corporation and the Santa Fe Drive Redevelopment Corporation gave her the Civil Rights Award at its Celebrate Culture Gala. The Athena Award, from the Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce, was given in April and represented her Woman of the Year status.
As the former mayor of Colorado Springs — she was the first woman to hold that office — Makepeace has a long history of serving her fellow Coloradans. Her ties to Colorado date back to the early 1970s when she was a child-abuse case worker and administrator for El Paso County’s Department of Social Services.
“Mary Lou’s reputation as a strong community leader, equal rights advocate, and savvy business person make her an exceptional person to work with and know. Mary Lou has made it her personal mission to stand up for what she believes in while championing the causes of her fellow Colorado community members,” says Marcie Moore-Gantz, deputy director of the Gay & Lesbian Fund.
Since its founding in 1996, the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado has provided $18 million and other resources to hundreds of nonprofit organizations that share the fund’s commitment to advancing equality and improving quality of life for people across Colorado. Areas of emphasis are arts and culture, civic leadership, healthy families and public broadcasting.
Society editor Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@ ; also, blogs
