Published: June 24, 2009 09:09 pm         

Judy O’Bannon to speak at Women’s Equality Day Luncheon in Terre Haute

TERRE HAUTE — Judy O’Bannon, former first lady of Indiana, will be the keynote speaker at Girl Scouts of Central Indiana’s Women’s Equality Day Luncheon at noon Aug. 25 at the Girl Scout Service Center in Terre Haute. The annual luncheon celebrates the passage of the 19th Amendment, the Women’s Suffrage Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which gave U.S. women full voting rights in 1920.

“I had the pleasure of getting to know Judy O’Bannon when we traveled together to South Africa to support community building,” says Deborah Hearn Smith, chief executive officer of Girl Scouts of Central Indiana. “Judy is a natural choice to serve as the keynote speaker of the Women’s Equality Day Luncheon. She was a Girl Scout member as a girl, and has been a lifelong friend of our organization. Judy has a true commitment to Girl Scouts, a volunteer spirit and passion for human rights — I can’t wait to hear her speak.”

Tickets for the luncheon are $15. Reservations may be made by calling Becky Buse, service center director/director of advocacy, at 1-877-474-2248, ext. 6887.

O’Bannon has spent much of her life supporting and promoting efforts to strengthen communities in Indiana and around the world. She actively speaks and writes on issues facing society today and leads humanitarian missions abroad.

As host and producer of the WFYI-TV public television series Communities Building Community, O’Bannon brings attention to the many ways Hoosiers foster community life in Indiana. The series has won critical acclaim, including the Emmy award for public affairs programming in 2005 and 2007. Her new television series, “Judy O’Bannon’s Foreign Exchange,” looks at the commonality of community development efforts around the world.

As first lady of Indiana (1997-2003), O’Bannon used her role to promote civic engagement across Indiana. She created and led the Hoosier Millennium and Indiana 2016 initiatives with nearly 200 participating communities, encouraging Hoosiers to use the Millennium year and the state’s bicentennial as opportunities to spur community involvement in order to strengthen Indiana.

Girl Scouts of Central Indiana serves more than 42,000 girls in 35 counties across central Indiana. Founded in 1912, Girl Scouts of the USA is the pre-eminent leadership development organization for girls with 3 million girl and adult members.

For more information on Girl Scouts, visit www.girlscoutsindiana.org.