RESOLUTION FOR BOARD MEETING OF MARCH 5, 2015
Title
RESOLUTION sponsored by the Board of Commissioners recognizing the month of March 2015 as Women's History Month
Body
WHEREAS, Women's History Month is honored worldwide as a celebration of the contributions of women to history, in recognition that women's roles have often gone unrecorded in traditional history books; and
WHEREAS, in the United States, women's role in world history was first officially honored on the first International Women's Day in 1911; and
WHEREAS, Congress expanded the celebration to a month, officially declaring Women's History Month in 1987; and
WHEREAS, every year, the President of the United States issues a special Women's History Month Proclamation; and
WHEREAS, women of every race, class, and ethnic background have made historic contributions to the growth and strength of our nation in countless recorded and unrecorded ways; and
WHEREAS, women have played and continue to play a critical economic, cultural, and social role in every sphere of the life of the nation by constituting a significant portion of the labor force, both inside and outside of the home; and
WHEREAS, women have played a unique role throughout the history of the nation by providing the majority of the volunteer labor force and were particularly important in the establishment of early charitable, philanthropic, and cultural institutions in the United States; and
WHEREAS, women of every race, class, and ethnic background served as early leaders in the forefront of every major progressive social change movement in the history of the United States; and
WHEREAS, throughout history, women have been leaders, not only in securing their own rights of suffrage and equal opportunity, but also in the abolitionist movement, the emancipation movement, the industrial labor movement, the civil rights movement, and other movements; especially the peace movement, which have created a more fair and just society for all; and
WHEREAS, women have filled and continue to fill important posts at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago; and
WHEREAS, since the election in 1972 of Joanne H. Alter and Joan G. Anderson as the first women Commissioners of the MWRDGC, women have assumed positions of ever increasing responsibility at the District, from Department Heads to treatment plant operators, plumbers, electricians, master mechanics, pollution control officers, and a plethora of other positions; and
WHEREAS, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago recognizes and celebrates the important role women have played in the history of the world and the United States of America; and
WHEREAS, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago appreciates the contributions women have made and continue to make at the District, and will honor current female employees and retirees at a celebration on the evening of March 19th; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, on behalf of ourselves and staff, do hereby recognize the month of March 2015, as Women's History Month and urge our fellow citizens to take note of, and to participate in, the special activities arranged in observance of this event; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Resolution be spread upon the permanent Record of Proceedings of the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.
Dated: March 5, 2015
Approved: MARIYANA T. SPYROPOULOS, President; BARBARA J. MCGOWAN, Vice President; FRANK AVILA, Chairman, Committee on Finance; MICHAEL A. ALVAREZ; TIMOTHY BRADFORD; CYNTHIA M. SANTOS; DEBRA SHORE; KARI K. STEELE; PATRICK D. THOMPSON; Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
Approved as to Form and Legality: Ronald M. Hill, General Counsel