Women about towns

All respected in their chosen fields of work, these Filipinas have not only earned the respect of their peers but are admired by those whose lives they have touched in more ways than one.

They are the TOWNS awardees. Composed of talented individuals who have made their mark, they try to inspire others to be good mothers, sisters, excellent educators, leaders and workers. And they have banded together to form the TOWNS Foundation which will continue to recognize and support the outstanding contributions made by women.

In its 27th year, the foundation recently launched its Ninth Triennial Search for The Outstanding Women In The Nation’s Service (TOWNS) Awards which culminates on July 31.

This year’s theme is "Women Making A Difference."

To qualify, the TOWNS nominee must be between 21 and 45 years old and a Filipino citizen. Nomination forms are available from the TOWNS Secretariat, 20th floor, West Tower, Philippine Stock Exchange Building.

Started in 1974 by Lions International, the very first awardees included nine highly accomplished Filipinas, namely Medina Delmendo for agriculture; Boots Anson-Roa, arts; Editha Abella-Tan, economics; Mona Dumlao-Valisno, education; Leticia Shahani, foreign service; Rosa Rosal, humanities; Flerida Ruth Romero, law; Perla Santos-Ocampo, medicine; and Aida Eugenio, science.

To date, the TOWNS Award has been conferred on 106 women from all fields of endeavor. All awardees automatically become members of the TOWNS Foundation.

"Most of the awardees juggle marriage, child rearing and career," says Lorna Patajo-Kapunan, awardee for law in 1995.

In the press conference held to launch this year’s search, foundation president Zorayda "Mel" Alonzo, TOWNS awardee for government service in 1992, was optimistic that the foundation will draw quite a number of nominations.

Says Alonzo, "We in TOWNS will not forget to recognize the efforts of the women who have contributed so much to nation-building."

The TOWNS board of trustees meets every month to plan the direction and activities of the group. At the outset, TOWNS Foundation put up a scholarship program.

"The ’70s were interesting for us because then we tried to redirect young women to be interested in careers mostly dominated by men," recounts Mona Valisno. "Now, we have women who are marine biologists, physicists, pilots. We now have TOWNS awardees who are Cabinet secretaries and undersecretaries, like Dinky Soliman of DSWD, Patricia Sto. Tomas of Labor and Emilia Boncodin of Finance."

The other officers of TOWNS Foundation are Lorna Kapunan, vice president; Carmina Aquino, secretary; Evelyn Singson, treasurer; Mona Valisno, auditor; and Elsa Payumo, public relations officer.

For further information, call Ada Mabbayad at 637-42-61 or 637-42-62 local 30.