Most influential Edmond women

You are invited to the dedication of a new monument honoring 100 influential women in Edmond. The dedication is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, October 18, at the Festival Market Place at Edmond Road and Broadway in downtown Edmond.

Former Edmond Mayor and founder of the Edmond Women’s Club, Saundra Naifeh along with former EWC President Jeri Harris will be speaking at the dedication ceremony. The public was asked to submit names of Edmond women who have worked to make a difference in the city for its first 100 years. The result is a diverse group of women with one thing in common, all working toward the goal of a better Edmond community. Names of the selected women have been put on a carving at the Festival Market Place.

Oklahoma City Metro Literacy Coalition promotes literacy

The Oklahoma City Metro Literacy Coalition is offering free literacy tutor training for the general public. Come to the Oklahoma City Downtown Library on Oct. 27-29 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. There you will learn how to identify the needs of adult learners and their disabilities.

Dinner and resource materials will be provided. A gas card will be given to participants who attend each night. To register, visit www.okcliteracycoalition.org or call 830-2790.

Vote for Parents Helping Parents

Parents Helping Parents has been selected as a finalist by Element Fusion for a new Web design and one year Web services. The PHP website is an essential tool in reaching out to parents looking for help in navigating the road from addition to recovery. The contest is open to voting by the public. Voting closes Oct 17. To vote, visit www.elementfusion.com/2008-finalists.

Help save wildlife

WildCare Foundation’s Dollars for Freedom Raffle will allow an eagle to return to the wind and the winner of the raffle to be a part of the release.

The winner will actually open the enclosure door and let a once-injured bald eagle take her first flight back to freedom at 2 p.m. Nov 15 at Arcadia Lake. WildCare is inviting anyone who is interested in helping save Oklahoma wildlife to purchase a $25 raffle ticket. WildCare Foundation is a non-profit wildlife rehabilitation facility located in Noble. WildCare accepts 4,000 injured or orphaned wild animals a year and releases them back to the wild.

All entrants and donors are welcome to attend this event. Tickets must be purchased by Nov 11. All proceeds will go directly to helping save the wild animals at WildCare. To learn more about this event, contact Rondi Large at 872-9338 or e-mail RondiLarge@yahoo.com.

Edmond library temporarily closing

The Edmond Library, 10 S. Boulevard, will close temporarily from Oct. 20-29, library officials announced.

“We have some small but exciting changes in store,” said library manager Karen Bays, “including the installation of new carpeting, some fresh painting, and the delivery of a dozen new lounge chairs to replace some that are wearing out.”

The Edmond Library will be closed for 10 days. Edmond Library customers are encouraged to use any of the Metropolitan Library System’s other 16 locations while the work is being done.

University Community Director accepted into community leadership program

Edmond resident Stacy McNeiland, University of Central Oklahoma director of Community Outreach & Special Projects, recently learned of her acceptance into the Oklahoma Community Institute Citizens Academy, along with 25 other individuals.

Citizens Academy Chairman Jeff Johnson describes the academy as, “A hands-on learning experience that is designed to empower and equip the everyday citizen to initiate and enact positive change within their own community.”

The academy’s first session will take place Nov. 5-6 in Ponca City. The program runs from November to April, with one session per month in a different community of Oklahoma. Every session will focus on various topics including: community leadership, effective community teams, community assessment and planning, economic development and tourism, community renewal and state government.

“Whether dealing with issues such as economic prosperity, quality of life or countless other challenges that face many of today’s Oklahoma communities, our goal as an Academy is to educate motivated citizens by teaching them how to identify the strengths and weaknesses that exist within their communities,” Johnson said. “We want to introduce our participants to a vast assortment of resources that will assist them with creating positive change and model proven strategies for bringing this positive change to fruition.”

The Oklahoma Citizens Academy is sponsored by the Oklahoma Community Institute. Oklahoma Community Institute is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization that has been helping build leaders and their Oklahoma communities since 1995. OCI specializes in community-wide strategic planning, the Citizens Academy leadership program and the annual Conversations on Community Renewal Conference. A major contributor to the Citizens Academy is Oklahoma Natural Gas. In addition, the financial support from the Community Institute’s other corporate partner, OG&E;, has helped make this program a reality.

For more information about the Citizens Academy or the other programs offered by OCI, call Amy Draper at adraper@ocionline.org or 208-8882