Oct 31, 2012 4 min read

The League of Women Voters of Washington County will recognize five citizens who have made significant contributions to the Washington County community. The public is invited to the 2012 LWVWC Awards Reception Nov. 8 at Julian’s, 78 E. Maiden St., Washington.Aleta Richmond is being honored for community service. A labor arbitrator with attorney Christopher E. Miles, she gives her time, energy and support to many community organizations. She is a member of the Claysville Business Association, secretary for the Claysville Area Preservation and Revitalization Initiative, member of the Brownlee Covered Bridge Festival Committee and is active in the Claysville United Methodist Church. A member of Women in the Outdoors, Aleta Richmond is a staunch supporter of the efforts to restore Dutch Fork Lake and volunteered for the Cooperative Habitat Improvement Program work. A member of the Washington Business and Professional Women and District 12 BPW since 1996, she has served as local treasurer, vice president and president. She currently is BPW state vice president and will be installed as state president in June 2013. One of her most significant contributions to the community is her work with the Sister to Sister Summit, an American Association of University Women program, which she has co-chaired for 12 years. This program provides an opportunity to promote self-esteem for area middle school-aged girls.The recipient of the Environment Award is Dr. Candy DeBerry, an associate professor at Washington & Jefferson College. Her areas of expertise include cell biology and biochemistry, and she strongly supports in-depth undergraduate research. She was instrumental in bringing the author of “Living Downstream,” Dr. Sarah Steingraber to W&J, which informed the Washington County community of the connection between environmental pollution and cancer.DeBerry is passionate about ecological gardening. Her garden is certified as a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation, a monarch waystation by Monarch Watch, and a bird habitat by the Audubon Society of Pennsylvania. This fall, she presented “Native Plants for Attracting Pollinators to Your Garden” at the renowned Mother Earth News Fair held at Seven Springs.The Education Award will go to Nancy Tsupros and Pamela Hupp, who in 1996 after careful research, started a project which they named Science Matters. Using nationally endorsed curriculum modules combined with teacher training, professional development and materials support, they planned a program that gave teachers the opportunity to improve science education in elementary schools. Starting in 18 classrooms in two Washington County school districts, Science Matters has now impacted the education of thousands of students and serves school districts in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties. Science Matters Inc. began as a nonprofit and became a program of Intermediate Unit 1. Partnering with W&J and the foundation community was instrumental to the success of Science Matters.From its warehouse at IU 1’s Clark School, Science Matters is sending out 1,400 modules this school year. Tsupros continues to oversee Science Matters and is project director of the IU 1 Center for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education. Hupp, who has developed and taught online courses through the Blackboard Program and Blended Schools, is now outreach Ccordinator for the Materials Research Society in Warrendale. She also is very active in the Boy Scouts of America.League member Joan Jessen will be honored as the recipient of the prestigious Jefferson Award for her decades of volunteerism. She has worked for the protection of the environment through the Chartiers Creek Watershed Association, where she currently writes grants and edits the group’s newsletter. She helped found the Washington County Watershed Alliance and serves now as its president. Jessen has served on numerous local government committees. She is a charter member of the League of Women Voters of Washington County, current vice president and former compiler of the Voters Guide. The reception will begin at 6:30 p.m. League members, guests and the public are invited to attend. The cost is $20. Reservations can be made to Nancy Speer by phone 724-941-4278 or email nancy@speerco.com by Monday. A check made to the LWVWC may be mailed to LWVWC c/o Nancy Speer, 30 Windy Hill Lane, Eighty Four, PA 15330. For more information, please call the Awards Committee at 724-484-7537.