(Alexandria, Va. – June 22, 2009) — The American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) will honor all past Distinguished Service Awardees, past and 2009 Leaders, and past and 2009 New Achievers at the Centennial Pacesetter Dinner on June 26th during the 100th Annual Conference & Expo at the Knoxville Convention Center in Knoxville, Tennessee.
The Distinguished Service Award (DSA), AAFCS’ highest honor for outstanding personal and professional achievement, was first presented posthumously to Irma H. Gross in 1980. The DSA recognizes exemplary members of AAFCS for achievements in family and consumer sciences, outstanding contributions to the profession, and sustained leadership within AAFCS at both affiliate and national levels. Award winners are nominated by an AAFCS affiliate or other group of members. The nomination is reviewed and approved by the Association’s board of directors. All past DSA recipients in attendance at the Centennial Pacesetter Dinner will be recognized.
Established at the association’s 75th anniversary observance in 1984, the AAFCS Leaders Award honors family and consumer sciences professionals who have made significant contributions to the profession through their national leadership in AAFCS.
The AAFCS 2009 Leaders are:
Kathy C. Croxall, CFCS
Assistant Professor
Western Kentucky University
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Sandria L. Godwin
Professor
Tennessee State University
Nashville, Tennessee
Vickie J. Hadley, CFCS
Consumer and Family Science Extension Educator
Purdue Cooperative Extension Service
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Initiated in 1984, the AAFCS New Achievers Award recognizes emerging professionals who are demonstrating through their innovative programs or curricula the potential for making significant contributions in family and consumer sciences. Award recipients are professionals with three-to-five years of service in the field.
The AAFCS 2009 New Achievers are:
Gussie Bowen
FCS Teacher
Miami Beach Senior High
Miami Beach, Florida
Amanda Gray, CFCS
4-H Extension Agent
UT Extension
Wilson County, Lebanon, Tennessee
Darby Thompson Sewell
Interim Dean of the School of Human Sciences & Assistant Professor of Family and Consumer Sciences
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
Tifton, Georgia
Brooke Weekes
FCS Department Chair/Teacher
Carmel High School
Carmel, Indiana
Founded in 1909 by Ellen Swallow Richards, the first woman graduate and professor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), AAFCS is the only national not-for-profit organization that provides leadership and support to FCS students and professionals across multiple practice settings. FCS professionals help individuals, families, and communities make informed decisions about their well-being, relationships, and resources to achieve optimal quality of life. AAFCS’ 6,000 members are elementary, secondary, and post-secondary educators, researchers, and administrators; Cooperative Extension educators; and other professionals in business and industry, not-for-profit organizations, and government. These professionals provide research and applied knowledge in the areas of personal finance, child development and parenting, consumer education, housing and environment, apparel and textiles, and health and nutrition. With national headquarters based in Alexandria, Va., AAFCS has 52 affiliates located across the United States and Puerto Rico.
For more information, contact Gwynn Mason at 703-706-4600, ext. 4621, 703-859-8235, or gmason@aafcs.org.