Central New York women make our community strong, and we have the opportunity to celebrate their achievements in March with Women’s History Month. We kicked off those celebrations in the Assembly by commemorating the anniversary of Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s “Address to the Legislature” with a reading of the address which I was proud to take part in.

With the reading, I was able to represent our community which is rich with strong female leaders including Dr. Casey Crabill, president of Onondaga Community College; Dr. Linda Lemura, president of Lemoyne College; Dr. Danielle Laraque-Arena of SUNY Upstate; Sharon Owens, CEO of Syracuse Community Connections; Rita Paniagua, executive director of Spanish Action League; Laura Miller, general manager of Darco Manufacturing; MaryEllen Clausen, founder of Ophelia’s Place and Lucretia Hudzinski, executive director of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce. It is a privilege to be a voice for these and countless of other hardworking women of Central New York.

There are also many other strong women who make our community vibrant. You can help recognize them by submitting a nomination for this year’s Exceptional Women of Central New York and Mother of the Year awards. The nomination deadline is quickly approaching and it’s a great chance to thank these women for all they do. You can nominate a woman for her contributions to any field, including education, business, volunteerism and military service. There will also be an award for Mother of the Year.

Nominees must reside in the 128th Assembly District, which includes the towns of Dewitt, Onondaga and Salina, and the eastern and southern portions of the city of Syracuse. Nominations can be submitted online by Friday, Feb. 24, at tinyurl.com/ExceptionalWomenofCNY.

You can also join me in celebrating the award winners on Saturday, March 25, at 11:30 a.m. at Onondaga Community College, Academic II Building, Recital Hall Room P-100, located at 4585 W. Seneca Turnpike in Syracuse.

For more information about this or any other community matter, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 315-449-9536 or HunterP@nyassembly.gov.