Awards

Outstanding Friend of the Fund

            1989    Sue Stout

            1990    Claudia Capurro

            1991    Sonja Pasa

            1992    Annie Munn

            1993    Dana Richardson

            1994    Shirley LeGoy

            1995    Cindy Cavallo                                                                                                  

            1996    Project Starfish                                                                                  

            1997    Quilistine Washington                                                                                        2007 Outstanding Friend of the Fund

            1998    Annette Bidart Casci                                                                                         Sandy Raffealli

            1999    Helen Collier                                                                                     

            2000    Eldorado Hotel Casino

                       Meadowood Mall

                       News Channel 8

            2001    Aztech Cyberspace, Inc.

            2002    Mark Henderson

            2004    Evelyn Auld

            2005    Rose/Glenn Group                                                                                      

            2006    Tim and Donna Maland                                                                               

            2007    Laurie Acton & St. Ives Florist

                       Sandy Raffealli & Bill Pearce Motors 

                                                                                                                                2007 Outstanding Friend of the Fund

                                                                                           Laurie Acton

Sweetheart Award

The Nevada Women’s Fund Sweetheart Award is a prestigious award given for exemplary contributions to the Nevada Women's Fund.  The Sweetheart Award has been given three times in NWF history.

1994:  Martha Jones 

Martha Jones exemplifies the essence of volunteerism and philanthropy with her strong support

for women and families.  She has lived in Reno most of her life, and has held numerous

 leadership positions on local, state, and national levels in the Methodist Church, Camp Fire

Girls, Eastern Star, and P.E.O., among others.  She was inducted into the NWF Hall of Fame

 in 1988 and currently serves on the NWF Honorary Council.

Martha and her late husband Clarence are well-known in the community for their support of

higher education.  The University of Nevada, Reno has recognized their generosity with

numerous awards; their names are found on many buildings and teaching laboratories

throughout the campus.  They have also been honored by the University of the Pacific

and the National Council of Juvenile Family Court Judges for their outstanding                            

support of educational projects. 

In 1987, Martha and Clarence established an endowment with the Nevada Women's Fund

for the Martha H. Jones Scholarships.  Since then, nine women have received more than

$56,000 from Martha H. Jones scholarships to pursue their academic goals.   Martha and her

daughters, Charlotte J. McConnell and Ann Carlson, take a personal interest in each scholarship                               Martha H. Jones & Moya Lear

recipient, communicating with them and encouraging them to reach their full potential. 

Martha has been an inspiration with her honesty, integrity, and personal philanthropy.

1999:  Moya Olsen Lear (1915-2001)

Moya Lear, one of Nevada’s great women, gave her time and financial support to many causes in our community.  Her life story is fascinating, and her accomplishments are legendary. She was awarded six honorary doctorates, as well as an impressive list of other honors, including induction into such halls of fame as the Women in Aviation Pioneers, the United States Achievement Academy, and Nevada Business Leaders.  She served on numerous task forces and boards of trustees, from local to international levels.

Over the years, Moya was one of the staunchest supporters of the Nevada Women's Fund and its mission.  She was inducted into the NWF Hall of Fame in 1989 for her efforts on behalf of women and families and for her business accomplishments.  She also served on the Fund’s Honorary Council.  In 1998, Moya established the Bill and Moya Lear Foundation Scholarship Fund.

2002:  Dorothy Lemelson

Dorothy’s generous contributions and belief in the communal spirit of women to help society

have made her one of Nevada’s community heroes.

At a time when most women stayed at home, Dorothy went to work as an interior designer to

support her husband, Jerry, and two sons.  Her tremendous love and encouragement helped

Jerry become one of history’s most prolific inventors.  He held more than 550 patents,

ranging from components for the bar code scan, fax machine, cordless phone, and toys

such as the crying baby doll and flexible race track.

In the 1980’s, as the couple began to reap the rewards of decades of hard work, they

established the Lemelson Foundation to encourage the creative spirit of invention in future

generations of Americans.  Through programs at institutions such as MIT, the Smithsonian,

and universities throughout the country, thousands of young people are being exposed to the

importance and excitement of invention. 

Since Jerry passed away in 1997, Dorothy has kept his legacy alive as chairwoman of the Lemelson

foundation.  She also developed the Lemelson Education and Assistance Program (LEAP), which

focuses on improving the lives of children primarily through education and supporting cultural

projects and programs.  She has provided nearly a million dollars in LEAP grants to the northern

Nevada community.

Dorothy has long been a champion of women and children in northern Nevada, and the Nevada Women's Fund

is proud to have her as a partner in our efforts to create a stronger community.

Golden Compass Award

The concept of the Golden Compass Award was born out of a discussion about direction and guidance – and the importance of recognizing those whose generous support of our organization helps us to set our course, and find our way.  This award recognizes the contributions of community individuals and entities that have demonstrated exceptional support for the Nevada Women's Fund.  Like the points of a compass, their generous gifts and guidance have helped to direct and focus our vision toward our shared goal of creating stronger northern Nevada families through educationally empowered women.  The Golden Compass Award is presented annually.

            2005:   International Game Technology

                        E.L. Cord Foundation

                        Senator John Ensign

2006:   First Independent Bank of Nevada

           Charles H. Stout Foundation

2007:   AT&T Nevada

President/Chairman Award

The Nevada Women's Fund President/Chairman Award has been presented only five times since the NWF was founded in 1982.  This very special award was instituted to recognize individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary efforts on behalf of the Fund.  Award recipients are chosen by the President and CEO of the Nevada Women's Fund and the chairman of the board of directors.

            1987:  *Rollan Melton

                        Columnist, Reno Gazette-Journal

            1989:  *Dollene Stillwagon

                        Community Activist and Philanthropist

            1991:  Jennifer Satre

                        Chair, University of Nevada, Reno Foundation

            1993:   May Shelton

                        Retired Director, Washoe County Social Services

            2000:   Sue Stout

                        Design and Production, Reno Printing

 *deceased                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Rollan Melton

Lifetime Achievement Award

In 2005 the Nevada Women's Fund presented the first Lifetime Achievement Award to outgoing NWF President & CEO Fritsi H. Ericson for her 21 years of service and dedication to improving the lives of women and families in our community.

Fritsi was a member of the 1983 NWF founding Board of Directors and became the chief administrator for NWF in 1984. She received her CFRE fund raising certification from the Association of Fund Raising Professionals (AFP) in 1996, and was recognized as the recipient of the William Williams Lifetime Achievement Award by the Sierra Chapter of AFP in 2005.  Other awards and recognitions include the prestigious President’s medal of the University of Nevada, Reno in 1998 for her commitment to higher education, and a 2004 Winners Award from Western Industrial Nevada (WIN).

 

Prior to joining NWF, Fritsi was an elementary school teacher and a congressional district aide for U.S. Representative James D. Santini. She is involved in a wide variety of community activities and has served on a number of non-profit boards and advisory councils in northern Nevada.