The YWCA of Kitsap County will mark 75 years of service to the community while also honoring its annual class of Women of Achievement this week.
From its founding in 1948 in a small store front on downtown Bremerton’s Second Street, the YWCA has grown to an organization that serves more than 10,000 residents annually, focused on its mission of providing services to women and children who are survivors of trauma or domestic violence, now from its headquarters on Pacific Avenue.
The annual awards program, which has recognized more than 400 recipients since its inception, honors nominees for contributions in arts and culture, education, public service, the YWCA’s mission award for eliminating racism and empowering women, and confers a memorial award named for longtime director Linda Joyce, who died in 2005, that honors values like a commitment to justice, peace and dignity for all people.
The six honorees to be recognized Tuesday at the Kitsap Conference Center are:
Arts, culture, design award: Betty Pasco, a Suquamish tribal elder who preserves traditional arts and culture through mentoring programs with young women through the nonprofit Jayhawk Girls, in addition to being an artist herself with works on display at the Suquamish Museum, Burke Museum in Seattle, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, and more.
Education award: Dr. Alecia Nye, dean of the nursing and allied health programs at Olympic College, who has led efforts to expand opportunities and funding for health care education in Kitsap County.
Public Service Award: Jamie Jensen, a board member with the Kitsap Shop With A Cop program, who has led special fundraising efforts to raise support for children and families, including those at YWCA’s Alive Shelter.
YWCA Mission Award: Alexis Foster, an attorney in private practice and former city prosecutor in Poulsbo and with the Kitsap County Prosecutor’s Office, who was a founding member of the Kitsap Racial Equity and Empowerment Fund, a YWCA volunteer and president of the organization’s board.
Linda K. Joyce Award: Dr. Lillian Lockett-Robinson, executive director of the Marvin Williams Center, who has overseen the center’s initiave to host an array of health progams, including vaccine clinics, diabetes or colon health awareness, and community nutrition classes. She is also a director with the Olympic College Foundation board and a physician with St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Tacoma.
“I just think that we’ve picked some of the best honorees this year,” Harriette Bryant, interim director of the YWCA of Kitsap County, said. “Coming out of COVID, to focus on health, to focus on children, we’re just doing the right thing.”
Tuesday’s ceremony will also include a tribute to the history of the YWCA of Kitsap and celebrate its 75th anniversary, including pioneers and founding members Lillian Walker and Marie Greer.
“We have been doing this job, and we’ll continue to do this job,” Bryant said. “Serving the women and children than experience trauma or domestic violence is an honor.”