"Women inspiring Innovation through Imagination"

"Women inspiring Innovation through Imagination"

Story and photos by: Staff Sgt. Norman Llamas, 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade Public Affairs

Team Bliss, in cooperation with 212th Fires Brigade and the 80th Civil Affairs Battalion held a Women's History Month ceremony at the Centennial Banquet and Conference Center, March 20.

The ceremony featured two guest speakers and was attended by many Soldiers, civilians, and family members.

To kick off the ceremony, Sgt. 1st. Class Regina M. Crum-Hadden, a Noncommissioned Officer with the 80th Civil Affairs Battalion recited a poem by Patricia Lynn Reilly titled "Imagine a Woman," a powerful and emotional poem.

Crum-Hadden was followed by Command Sgt. Maj. (Ret) Diane E. Williams, who spoke to the audience about women's accomplishments throughout history. Williams said that even though, we've come a long way, much more needs to be done to close the gap in the subject of equality amongst men and women in our society.

After graduating from the United States Army Sergeants Major Course, class No. 42, she became the first female Command Sergeant Major (CSM) of the 2nd Squadron, 6th Cavalry and in 1998; she became the first female CSM to serve as an Aviation Brigade CSM. Williams is a native of Port Arthur, Texas and served 30 years in the Army.

She continues to work countless hours in community activities as a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, The Links, INC, ORO Court No. 20, and the El Paso Sergeants Major Association.

Representative Emma Acosta, an El Paso City Representative was the keynote speaker for the ceremony. Acosta is a native of El Paso and was elected to serve as the District 3 City Council Representative for the city in June 2008.

Acosta began her presentation by sharing a humorous anecdote about how she came up with the theme of her speech for the ceremony; Women and technology was that theme. She shared her tribulations with a couple printers she has at home and how despite having two of them, she was unable to print to either of them because her son, inadvertently took her ink cartridge, simply because, "He needed it."

Acosta shared many stories of women who accomplished several "Firsts" in history and due to the unfortunate unequal view of women by our society in the past; they were never recognized for their accomplishments in those days.

Such ?"First" discoveries and inventions as that of "Kevlar," the material used in bullet proof vests and even in some cellular phones. Additionally, the invention of electronic signals "Frequency Hopping," used in countless electronic devices today, which happens to have been originally invented by a woman, a Hollywood actress.

It's because of instances such as those that Acosta encouraged everyone in the audience to support women and to encourage them to succeed and to dare to dream big.

Acosta maintains a deep commitment to the El Paso Community and volunteers her spare time assisting various local organizations. She was recognized by Former Governor Bush for setting up the First Private/Public Recycling Program; she also received the El Paso Pride Award, presented to her by Senator Eliot Shapleigh, and also received a special recognition by the El Paso Employees Pension Board for streamlining the criteria for disabilities.

At the end of the ceremony, Williams received a token of appreciation for her participation from Lt. Col. Robert K. Bertrand, Commander, 80th Civil Affairs Battalion and Command Sgt. Maj. Neil McKinley, CSM, 80th Civil Affairs Battalion.

Acosta received a token of appreciation for her participation in the ceremony from Col. David M. Hamilton, Commander, 212th Fires Brigade and Command Sgt. Maj. Jesus DeGracia, CSM, 212th Fires Brigade. -30-