YWCA Event to Salute 6 Outstanding Women

Six outstanding Orange County women will be honored by the YWCA of North Orange County at its ninth annual recognition luncheon Thursday at the Anaheim Hilton Hotel and Towers.

The recipients, who will be awarded silver medallions for their achievements in six categories, are:

- Ruth Ding of Newport Beach for her contributions to the arts. A native of Canton, China, Ding taught music in Southern California for many years before turning to volunteer work for the Music Teachers Assn. and local opera and symphony organizations. As a member of the Founding Board for the Orange County Performing Arts Center, she solicited funding and support that helped make the Center a reality. She is founder of Opera Pacifica and organizer of the Opera Ball. She is also a founder and the first president of the Chinese Cultural Club of Orange County, which sponsored the development of the Southern California Chinese Folk Dancers. Ding is also actively involved in the Pacific Symphony.

- Betsy Sanders of Costa Mesa for business and industry. Sanders, who is vice president of the Southern California Division of Nordstrom, serves as chairwoman of the board for United Way of Orange County and is a member of the board of directors of the National Bank of Southern California, Carl Karcher Enterprises, Independent Colleges of Southern California and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.

- Barbara Giasone of Fullerton for the field of communications. Giasone is managing editor of the Daily Star Progress in La Habra and editor of Freedom Family, an in-house publication for the 29 newspapers and five television stations owned by Freedom Newspapers Inc. She writes and edits for several other publications and is active in several organizations including the Orange County Press Club, American Assn. of University Women, La Habra Children’s Museum and the La Habra Chamber of Commerce Citizenship committee.

- Carolyn E. Johnson of Fullerton for the category of professions. Johnson has been Fullerton’s city librarian for the past five years and has worked at the city library more than 40 years. During her 22 years as children’s librarian she developed the library’s collection of historic children’s books, which is considered one of the most significant collections of its kind. She is active in several library-related organizations and is vice chairman of the Third Pacific Rim Conference on Children’s Literature, a meeting of children’s literature specialists from the countries bordering the Pacific Ocean. She is a member of the American Assn. of University Women and the League of Women Voters.

- Gladys Markham of Fullerton for volunteer community service. An 89-year-old retired teacher, Markham is a volunteer for Fullerton Interfaith Emergency Services, the Fullerton Library and the Retired Senior Volunteer Program. She serves as a docent for Heritage House at Cal State Fullerton Arboretum, teaches English to non-English-speaking people and sings in two choirs. She also has worked with FISH, Meals on Wheels and the Foster Grandparent Program at Fairview Hospital.

- Miriam Kaywood of Anaheim for the field of public affairs. In 1974, Kaywood became the first woman elected to the Anaheim City Council in the city’s 117-year history. She also is chairwoman of the Orange County Subregional Planning Council and president of the Joint Powers Fire Training Authority. She currently is on the Salvation Army Advisory Board and the “Stop Gap” board of directors.

Luncheon tickets are $50 per person. For more information, call the YWCA at (714) 871-4488.