MIDDLETOWN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
NEWS RELEASE
Steel Magnolia Honorees Named
NOVEMBER 12, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: T. DUANE GORDON 513-424-7369 (mobile 513-593-4860)
The Middletown Community Foundation and AK Steel will next week recognize two local women with the second annual Steel Magnolia Awards.
Elsa Croucher of Monroe and Barbara Condo of Fairfield have been selected for the awards, which honor women who have overcome obstacles to positively impact the community. The program is administered by the Middletown Community Foundation and funded by the AK Steel Foundation.
Nominations by essay were solicited in the spring from the public in each of the 10 communities where AK Steel operates a facility. Volunteer judges from the various communities reviewed the essays of those who agreed to be considered for the award, and one honoree in each community was selected based on the judges’ combined scores.
Based on their places of residence, Croucher was chosen to represent the women of the communities surrounding the Middletown Works facility and Condo for those surrounding the company’s West Chester corporate headquarters.
Croucher lost her daughter, Tina, to domestic violence in 1992, placing her and her husband, Jim, on the path to becoming the state’s preeminent domestic violence education advocates. They founded Citizens Against Domestic Violence (CADV) in 1996 focusing on educating school-aged young men and women about the dangers of dating violence. Eventually, their efforts resulted in passage of the Tina Croucher Act, which requires Ohio schools to include dating violence education in their health education curriculum.
“Elsa is an incredibly strong woman,” wrote her nominator, Linda Croucher. “It takes a lot of strength to continue to tell the painful story of her daughter, Tina. Elsa continues to tell Tina's story because she wants to make sure that others don't fall victim to the same fate. She wants to make sure that her community is one that is free of domestic violence.”
Condo, herself a victim of abuse and neglect as a child, including a period of homelessness in Cincinnati, used her own experience to create One Way Farm Children’s Home, a facility in Fairfield for abused and neglected children from surrounding communities. Over the past 32 years, she has assisted approximately 8,500 children.
“She is never too busy to stop, listen and comfort or advise a child in the role of a mother, teacher, mentor or friend,” noted her nominator, Teresa Casey.
Each recipient is able to designate an eligible charity of her choice to receive a $1,000 donation in honor of her selection. Croucher chose CADV, and Condo chose One Way Farm.
The Steel Magnolia Award honors women of all ages who face personal adversity and have shown exceptional strength, courage, compassion and leadership through their work in support of their communities. Nominees were required to live in the vicinity of an AK Steel facility. Nominators and nominees did not have to be associated in any way with employees of AK Steel.
The honorees will be presented their awards by James L. Wainscott, chairman, president and CEO of AK Steel, and Middletown Community Foundation Executive Director T. Duane Gordon at a ceremony at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 16, in the Garden Room of the Manchester Inn. The event is open to the public, but advanced reservations are required at 424-7369.
PHOTO: Barbara Condo, left, and Elsa Croucher, right, are the 2010 Steel Magnolia honorees from the West Chester area and Middletown area, respectively. The award is presented by the Middletown Community Foundation and funded by the AK Steel Foundation. It recognizes women who have overcome adversity to have positive impacts on each of the 10 communities where AK Steel maintains a presence.
T. Duane Gordon
Executive Director
Middletown Community Foundation
"Every Community Requires A Strong Foundation"
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