Tomilea "Tomi" Allison (née Radosevich) (born March 28,1934) was the mayor of Bloomington,Indiana from 1983 to 1995 and served on the city council from 1977 to 1982. A native of Madera,California,she majored in sociology at Occidental College,where she received a bachelor's degree in 1955. From 1957 through 1959 she worked as a deputy probation officer for Fresno and San Bernardino counties. Her two daughters,Devon and Leigh,were born in Ann Arbor,Michigan,where her husband,James,was a graduate student in the University of Michigan Department of Psychology. The family moved to Bloomington in 1963,when he joined the psychology faculty at Indiana University.
She was the first woman to be elected,and second woman to serve as,mayor of Bloomington. [1] She started the Downtown Canopy of Lights. [2] and instigated the founding of the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County. [3] Her leadership produced a new master plan for the city. [4] She was a prime mover in the conversion of the 19th century Showers furniture factory into a modern facility to house the new city hall. Under her leadership Bloomington received its Tree City designation. Her support of the Parks and Recreation Department set the groundwork for the Thomson Community Park,the Twin Lakes Sports Complex,the Third Street Park,and the Kid City program of affordable summer day care for children.
She is a 2007 inductee into the Monroe County Hall of Fame. She was named "Sagamore of the Wabash" by two Indiana governors,Evan Bayh and Frank O'Bannon. Honors include:The Russell G. Lloyd Distinguished Service Award (Indiana Association of Cities and Towns);Special Recognition,U.S. Conference of Mayors (1993);Lifetime Achievement Award,Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce (1995);President,Indiana Association of Cities and Towns (1993–1994);Mayor of the Year,Murat Temple (1995);Citizen of the Year,National Association of Social Workers (1991);Kentucky Colonel (Governor Martha Layne Collins);and Lifetime Achievement Award,Women's History Month (2010). She founded the Commission for Bloomington Downtown. She co-founded,Community Development Conference,Bloomington;Citizens for Good Government,Monroe County;Bloomington Branch,Women's International League for Peace and Freedom;and Verify the Vote,Monroe County.
Gary is a city in Lake County,Indiana,United States. The population was 69,093 at the 2020 census,making it Indiana's eleventh-most populous city. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works,the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the southern shore of Lake Michigan about 25 miles (40 km) southeast of downtown Chicago. The city is the western gateway to the Indiana Dunes National Park,and is within the Chicago metropolitan area.
Monroe County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. In 1910 the US Census Bureau calculated the nation's mean population center to lie in Monroe County. The population was 139,718 at the 2020 United States Census. The county seat is Bloomington. Monroe County is part of the Bloomington,Indiana,Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County,Indiana,United States. The population was 79,168 at the 2020 census. It is the seventh-most populous city in Indiana and the fourth-most populous outside the Indianapolis metropolitan area. It is the home of Indiana University Bloomington,the flagship campus of the Indiana University system. Established in 1820,IU Bloomington enrolls over 45,000 students.
Bertha Ethel Knight Landes was the first female mayor of a major American city,serving as mayor of Seattle,Washington from 1926 to 1928. After years of civic activism,primarily with women's organizations,she was elected to the Seattle City Council in 1922 and became council president in 1924.
Roxanne Qualls is an American politician who served as the 66th mayor of Cincinnati,Ohio. She also served a two-year term on the Cincinnati City Council prior to her service as mayor,having been elected in 1993. On August 8,2007,the Charter Committee announced her appointment to fill the unexpired term of council member Jim Tarbell. Qualls was elected to a two-year term on Cincinnati City Council in November 2007,and again in 2009 and 2011. She served as Vice Mayor,the chair of the Budget and Finance Committee,chair of the Livable Communities Committee and chair of the Subcommittee on Major Transportation and Infrastructure Projects.
Rebecca S. Skillman is an American politician who served as the 49th Lieutenant Governor of Indiana,from 2005 to 2013. She is a member of the Republican Party.
Mary Burnett Talbert was an American orator,activist,suffragist and reformer. In 2005,Talbert was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.
Mary Lou Makepeace is an American politician who served as the mayor of Colorado Springs,Colorado from 1997 to 2003. She was the first woman to hold that position.
Peggy Wilton McKercher,is a Canadian conservationist and university administrator.
Eleanor Mary Josaitis was an American civil rights activist and the co-founder of Focus:HOPE,an organization fighting racism and poverty. Michigan governor Rick Snyder referred to her as a "tireless and devoted leader".
Carolene Mays is the executive director of the White River State Park (WRSP) Development Commission. She was appointed by Governor Eric Holcomb having first been appointed in 2016 by Governor Mike Pence. She is also co-host of Community Link on WISH-TV.
Judith "Judy" O'Bannon Willsey is the former First Lady of the State of Indiana,serving in that role from January 13,1997,to September 13,2003,during the administration of her husband Governor Frank O'Bannon. She has been a leader in community development and historic preservation throughout much of her life,including having helped launch and then serving as chair of the Indiana Main Street program,and serving on the boards of the Indiana Landmarks foundation,the Indiana State Museum and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. She is also an Emmy-winning host and producer of the WFYI-TV public television series Communities Building Community and Judy O'Bannon's Foreign Exchange as well as several one-time specials,and as the chair of O'Bannon Publishing Company,published two weekly newspapers,including the award-winning The Corydon Democrat.
Monroe County Public Library (MCPL) serves the 138,000 citizens of Monroe County,Indiana,through the Main Library in downtown Bloomington,the Ellettsville Branch,and the Bookmobile. The library’s special services include the Learn and Play Space,a preschool discovery center;VITAL,an adult literacy program;CATS,a five-channel community access television network;the Indiana Room,a local history and genealogy collection and grants center (part of the Foundation Center’s Cooperating Collections National Network);and service to inmates at the Monroe County Correctional Center.
Lucy G. Acosta was a Mexican-American activist with the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). She was a political appointee under various mayors of El Paso,Texas. She was elected to the Texas Women's Hall of Fame in 1987. The Lucy G. Acosta Humanitarian Awards were named in her honor,and have been presented every year since 1993.
Gertrude Haynes was an American news reporter. She became the nation's first African American TV weather reporter when she was hired by WXYZ-TV in Detroit in 1963. In 1965,she became the first African American TV news reporter for KYW-TV,in Philadelphia,where she continued until her retirement in 1999. Haynes,who received an Emmy Award as well as two Lifetime Achievement Awards during her 33-year tenure at KYW-TV,was hosting an online show called the "Trudy Haynes Show" at the time of her death.
Rosalynn Bliss is an American politician,social worker,and mayor of Grand Rapids,Michigan. The first woman to be elected mayor of Michigan's second-largest city,Bliss took office on January 1,2016. She has served on the Grand Rapids City Commission since 2006. Bliss is a member of the Democratic Party.
Agnes Ermina Wells,Ph.D. was an American educator and a women's equal rights movement activist. She was Dean of Women at Indiana University and professor of mathematics and astronomy there.
Dr. Rosa Slade Gragg was an American activist and politician. She founded the first black vocational school in Detroit,Michigan;and was the advisor to three United States presidents. She was inducted in 1987 into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame.
Lori M. Stone is an American politician and teacher currently serving as the mayor of Warren,Michigan. Stone previously served as a Democratic member of the Michigan House of Representatives who represented District 13.
John Chastain Zody is an American public servant,educator,and politician who served as the Chair of the Indiana Democratic Party from March 2013 to March 2021. Zody is also an adjunct instructor at the Indiana University O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs,teaching classes on electoral law and processes,as well as leadership and ethics. Zody was previously the Great Lakes-Mid Atlantic Political Director on the 2012 re-election campaign of President Barack Obama,and formerly served as Chief of Staff for U.S. Representative Baron Hill from Indiana's Ninth Congressional District from 2009 to 2011. On November 14,2019,Zody announced that he would be a 2020 Democratic candidate for Indiana State Senate in the 40th District,which includes most of Monroe County,Indiana. Since 2021,Zody has worked as a community development professional,serving as Director of Housing &Neighborhood Development for the City of Bloomington,Indiana until 2024 and is currently serving as the Executive Director of CDFI Friendly Bloomington,an organization that works to bring community development investment to Bloomington and Southern Indiana.