DWWC  Announces 2009 STAR Award Winners
August 24, 2009
 

Democratic Women of North Carolina will honor STAR Democrats at the State Convention in Kitty Hawk September 25-27, 2009. A STAR Democrat is one whose hard work has contributed to the success of her county’s efforts.

The 2009 STARs will be recognized at the Saturday Evening Banquet. These hard-working Democrats will be given the recognition they deserve. A specially designed STAR pin will be presented along with a certificate of appreciation to each one of the STARs and they will be pictured in a commemorative program.

Democratic Women of Wake County are proud to announce our 2009 honorees: Mary Alice Simmons, Linda Gunter and Joanne Casey.  Short biographies of our Wake County STARs follow.

Mary Alice Simmons has served Democratic Women of Wake County as Assistant Treasurer for several terms and on numerous JJ Breakfast Committees. In 2008, she received the Mabel Claire Maddrey Award for Distinguished Service. She is currently Chair of the Volunteers Committee and a member of the Nominating Committee. Mary Alice has been active in the Wake County Democratic Party as President of the Senior Democrats and a dedicated Precinct Chair. She is a member of the Democratic Women of NC and the Resolutions Committee Co-Chair. In addition, she is a member of the State Executive Committee of the NC Democratic Party and serves on the NC Democratic Party Executive Council. She has been Vice-Chair of the 13^th Congressional District and now is the Chair of the District. She worked in Terry Sanford’s U.S. Senate Office in Raleigh and with the NC State Bar Association as assistant to the Executive Director. She has been an active Democrat for over 50 years.

Linda Gunter has been active with the Wake County Democratic Party since her first precinct meeting in 1978. For the past 31 years she has been either Chair or 1st Vice Chair of 5 different precincts. For 27 years, Linda has been a member of the State Democratic Executive Committee. In 1992, Linda was elected to the NC Senate, serving from 1993-1994 as the second woman State Senator from Wake County and the first practicing classroom teacher elected to the State Senate. She was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 2004 and 2008; and in 2008 was a Presidential Elector and selected to be the President of the NC Electoral College. Linda has served as 1^st Vice President, 2^nd Vice President and 3^rd Vice President of Democratic Women of Wake County and is currently President. Throughout her teaching career Linda was active with Wake NCAE serving as Vice President and Political Action Co-Chair. Since 2006, she has been employed as a lobbyist with NCAE in the Raleigh office

Joanne Casey is a member of Democratic Women of Wake County and has served as 3^rd Vice President in charge of Programs. She was Wake County Democratic Party Valentine Fundraiser Food Chair in 2005, 2006 and 2007 and Fundraiser Chair 2007-2009. She hosts fundraisers for Democratic candidates and Elected Officials and is a volunteer for the Raleigh City Council Democratic Campaign. Additionally, she has volunteered for the campaigns of U.S. Congressman Brad Miller and State House Representative for Grier Martin. She was a host for the Obama campaign in 2008, providing room and board for 10 campaign volunteers. She worked as a volunteer for Bev Perdue for Governor; coordinated a Meet and Greet for Kay Hagan for U.S. Senate; and a Meet and Greet for Judicial Candidates. She also coordinated a Judiciary Dinner program featuring NC Supreme Court Associate Justice Robin Hudson and a “Women of Power” Dinner Program featuring all female candidates for Council of State, U.S. Senate and Governor.