Women of Distinction Awards

In Honor of Women's History Month U. S. Senator Robert Menendez PresentsThe Second Annual Women of Distinction Awards Ceremony

Monday, March 28, 2011 – Middlesex County College

To honor all New Jersey women, essential to the growth and progress of our great state, Senator Menendez has created the Women of Distinction Awards Ceremony, an annual event during Women's History Month in which six outstanding New Jerseyans are recognized for their contributions.

Senator Menendez created the Evangelina Menendez Trailblazer Award to pay tribute to his mother, a trailblazer who passed away after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. This year seven New Jersey women will be recognized with this award, all of them for their outstanding contributions to the Garden State.

This Year's Honorees are:

· Kathleen DiChiara, President/CEO Community FoodBank of NJ

· Major General Maria Falca-Dodson, Commander, NJ Air National Guard

· Zulima V. Farber, Member, Lowenstein Sandler PC

· Danielle Kovach, NJ State Teacher of the Year, 2011

· Jeannine LaRue, Senior Vice President, The Kaufman Zita Group

· Alice Stokes Paul, Women's Suffragist (1885-1977)

· Janet Sharma, Executive Director, Volunteer Center of Bergen County.

(pictured left to right: Kathleen Dichiara, Major General Maria Falca-Dodson, Zulima Farber, Danielle Kovach, Jeannine LaRue, Janet Sharma)

Previous honorees include: Sheila Oliver, Majority Leader, New Jersey State Assembly; Mary Jo Codey, New Jersey former First Lady; Noemi Velasquez, President of LUPE, Latinas United for Political Empowerment; Joan Verplank, New Jersey Chamber of Commerce President; Judy Hyde, New Jersey PTA President; MaryAnn Woods-Murphy, 2009-2010 Teacher of the Year.