State Senator Sue Rezin is one of the first winners of the Women in Politics Making a Difference Award presented by the Women’s Legislative Network of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).
The Women’s Legislative Network is the active, vibrant and respected organization dedicated to promoting the participation, empowerment, and leadership of women legislators. There are currently 1,809 women serving in state legislatures across the country. Every female legislator is a member of the network by virtue of her service, and the organization is governed by a bipartisan, regionally-balanced board of 15 directors.To celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of female legislators across the country, the network created the Women in Politics Making a Difference Awards. The network will recognize 16 women over the course of the next year. The honorees are women who are making a difference in ways large and small: championing a landmark bill in their states, or helping a constituent in a time of need. Women are important actors in the laboratories of democracy that are state legislatures, and this campaign will make women’s contributions more visible.
Senator Rezin was nominated for her leadership on energy issues and her role in establishing the Grundy County summer internship program. She advises young women who want to make a difference, “Do not create barriers in your mind. Embrace what you want to do and realize that a barrier is a learning experience. A potential failure or a door that is closed is an opportunity to learn from or to grow and be a much better person coming back stronger. Whatever you decide to do, you have to work very, very hard at it.”
The other women honored in the inaugural spring class of winners are State Representative Valencia Stovall (D-Ga.), State Representative Marcy Toepel (R-Pa.), and State Senator Sandra Williams (D-Ohio).