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Hello, I'm Peter Noll.

Straight ahead on Tennessee is Talking, we are on location at the 72nd Annual Woman of the Year Award Ceremony taking place at the Jackson Rotary Club.

In just a few minutes, we'll find out who is named Woman of the Year in a very exciting ceremony.

We'll also speak to the winner to find out what it means to get this honor.

It's all coming up next on Tennessee is Talking on location at the 72nd Annual Woman of the Year Awards.

Stay tuned.

-We are rolling.

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Take 2.

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In three, two-- -West Tennessee PBS presents Tennessee is Talking on location.

Let the conversation begin.

-Thank you for joining the discussion.

Hello, I'm Peter Noll and this is Tennessee is Talking on location from the 72nd Annual Woman of the Year Award.

It is being presented by the Jackson Rotary Club.

For over seven decades, they have been giving this award to a woman in Jackson who represents dedication to her community, giving back to the people of Jackson.

The award is presented by the Jackson Rotary Club.

Joining us is Jackson City Councilor Frank McMeen, who's also a Rotarian.

Thank you for joining us.

-My pleasure.

-You have been involved with Wom.. for several years, but this is the 72nd Annual.

-Yes.

-That's a lot of years.

That's over seven decades.

How did it all begin?

-The Altrusa Club started the Woman of the Year 72 years ago, which is really remarkable at a time when women-- -Here in Jackson?

-Here in Jackson, and been doing it for years until their club, the membership got older.

There were less and less numbers of Altrusans.

They asked the Rotary Club if we would help them.

We helped the people there, helped them do all the things.

Then they finally said, "Would y'all just start making this award?"

We honor them every year that we give the Woman of the .. and thank them for providing 72 years of this rich tradition.

I think we had about four or five of them still here.

-The person winning, the woman winning, she doesn't know she's getting it.

It's a big surprise.

How do you pull that off?

-Well, we work very hard at that.

Some of us may be going to hell for lying because we tell all kinds of stories to make sure that some other reason that they're here.

Today, Marda was here under the pretense that Sherry Freeman was getting Woman of the Year.

I'm thinking, "I hope Sherry's going to be here so that Marda sees her and goes, "I can't wait to congratulate her," when it's the other way around.

-It's a little bait and switch.

-It is.

-Has somebody ever been tipped off or it's always a surprise?

-Not since we have been doing it.

Maybe there was a time when they had to go, "No, you need to be at this meeting."

While Vicki Lake and I have been co-chairing this, we've been able to pull it off to where the recipient was surprised.

-Tell us something that most people would be surprised to learn about the Woman of the Year Award.

-I think, number one, how long it has been awarded.

Later in March, we'll have Man of the Year.

To think that Woman of the Year at a time, 72 years ago, women were treated differently than they are today.

To have the Altrusa Club to say, "We need to do this," I think that was a step in the right direction to show that women have leadership and have always done that.

It was a way to honor those who were leading whatever way they were doing it.

-If people want to watch last year's Woman of the Year Award, we were there, and that's available on our website, on our app.

Judy Renshaw was the recipient last year, so you can watch t.. -Yes.

-When all is said and done with this award, what do you think is your feeling in your heart?

-Number one, that we pulled it off, that the person was surprised, and a person that is very worthy of the award gets that.

I feel like we had all of that.

We're surprised that we have the person here under some other false pretense and then they are really surprised.

When it's all over and we're taking the pictures, it's like, "Finally, we got this thing done."

-Well, let's take a look as we present this year's and find out who it is.

-Yes.

-Welcome to the 72nd Annual Presentation of Woman of the Year.

Both the Altrusa Club and the Jackson Rotary Club are deeply rooted in this community.

The Altrusa Club is celebrating their 76th anniversary this year.

The Jackson Rotary Club, which is Jackson's oldest service club, is celebrating 109 years of service to our community.

Let's celebrate and honor the legacy of these two organizations today.

[applause] -We are honored to have so many special guests with us today.

We first want to recognize the members of the Altrusa Club.

If y'all will raise your hands and just let us know where you are and where you're seated.

We're so glad to have you with us today.

[applause] -Next, we are honored to have so many of our previous Women of.. with us.

They're in no particular order.. so I'm just going to read you as you came in the door.

Mrs. Robert Tiller, 2018, you want to raise your hand?

Ms.

Happy.

[applause] -[laughs] Vicki Lake, 1997.

[applause] -Jackie Utley, 2011.

[applause] -Judy Renshaw, 2023.

[applause] -Margaret Taylor, 2010.

[applause] -Marilyn Jackson, 1995.

[applause] -Mary Jane McWherter, 2016.

[applause] -Suzanne Allison, 2019.

[applause] -Elaine Christian, 2022.

[applause] -Virginia Conger, 2014.

[applause] -Anita Kay Archer, 2015.

[applause] -Jane Alderson, 2017.

[applause] -Did anybody come in or slip in and we missed you?

Please raise your hand.

We'd love to recognize you.

We honor these beautiful-- I'm sorry.

-Mavis Johnson.

-Mavis Joh.. [applause] -Oh 1996.

I did.

She was on there.

I'..

I missed that.

It was at the top of my list.

Last year, Judy Renshaw was named Woman of the Year, so let's give her a warm Rotary welcome as she joins us at the podium for a few comments.

[applause] -I'm looking through the crowd because I know that there is a lady sitting there who, like so many of us who have won this award before, doesn't have a clue that she is going to be named Woman of the Year.

What an honor and a privilege it has been this last year to have been named that.

It's very humbling, I will say, to say the least.

My parents were very instrumental in my service in the community.

Working at the Jackson Chamber also was one that made us very conscious of serving the community.

I am so appreciative of the visionary part of the Altrusa Club for thinking that we need to honor women in our community and for that legacy that they started and then for the Rotary Club to have picked up that legacy, knowing the importance of women in our community.

I just want to leave you with congratulations to our new 2024 Women of the Year.

I'm reminded of Winston Churchill, who once said that we make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.

Thank you so much for this honor that you have given me.

[applause] -Thank you, Judy.

We do appreciate everything you've done for our community.

You've just been an outstanding representative of this award and we thank you for being here today.

Now, the moment you've been waiting for.

I invite Rotarian and past president Melinda Reid to the podium for the announcement of the 2024 Woman of the Year.

[applause] -This is really exciting.

I can't believe it's been a full year.

Time really flies, doesn't it, Judy?

Like President Carolyn said, I'm Melinda Reid, past president of Jackson Rotary Club.

We are just so pleased to be a part of this club under President Carolyn's leadership.

It has been a fantastic year so far.

In 1952, the Altrusa Club of Jackson began an annual naming the Woman of the Year of Jackson.

Ms. Ruth Maynard was the first recipient of this award.

In 2016, the Jackson Rotary Club continued this tradition.

Past recipients have been community volunteers, radio and television personalities, small business owners, attorneys, judges, leaders of non-profit organizations, public organization leaders, public school teachers, university professors, and others.

All recipients have been dedicated to making our community a better place to live.

This is true for our 2024 Woman of the Year.

The Jackson Rotary Club received numerous letters of support of our 2024 Woman of the Year.

Letters used the following words to describe our recipient.

Tireless, dedicated, passionate, deeply committed, integrity, hardworking, honest, role model for other women, leads by example, servant leader, kind, and known for volunteerism.

One letter stated, "When our recipient engages in a project, she does so wholeheartedly.

She invests her resources, time, creativity, and passion to achieve successful outcome for everyone involved.

She has a unique ability to listen, make a person feel heard and valued.

Every decision she makes, she has pondered and studied every scenario.

She is a selfless change agent for good."

Our recipient worked 20 years as an executive account representative with the top legal reference material corporation where she received several organizational awards.

Our 2024 Woman of the Year is most known as Jackson City councilwoman representing District 7.

As a city councilwoman, she serves on the Industrial Development Board, Planning Commission, Historical Zoning Commission, Zoning Appeals, Audit Committee, and liaison to the Jackson-Madison County Library.

As a city councilwoman, she is known to be a tireless advocate for the community.

She consistently engages with those she serves, listens to concerns and collaborating with stakeholders to determine the best path forward.

Marda's dedication to making Jackson a better place to live goes way beyond serving on City Council.

She is past member of the Jackson Cotillion Club, where she served as chair of the horse show, treasurer, and president.

Her volunteerism continued as she was an active member of the Jackson Service League, where she was treasurer, new member coordinator, and president.

She has a special devotion to promoting heart health among women working tirelessly with American Heart Association.

Marda served as past chairman for the Go Red campaign and as inaugural chairwoman of the West Tennessee Women of Impact 2020.

Her service as co-chair for Women of Impact continued in 2021 and was the chair again in 2023 through 2024.

Marda has been an active member of Leadership Jackson Alumni Association, contributes time to the Jackson Symphony League, and was active in the 2022 Bicentennial Commission Board for Madison County and the city of Jackson.

Marda has served on the board for the Exchange Club-Carl Perkins Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse for many years.

She was on the board for the Cerebral Palsy Association for several years.

She has also been active with the Dream Center, Aspell Recovery Center, and Hands Up!

Preschool.

The city of Jackson recognized her in 2020 as one of Jackson's most influential women.

She was a recipient of the Sterling Award in 2023, recognizing the most influential women in West Tennessee from the Business and Professional Women.

Marda received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee at Martin.

She has been married to her husband, Bryan, for 36 years.

They have two children, Tyler and Will.

On behalf of the Jackson Rotary Club, Jackson and Madison County, I ask everyone to stand and join me in recognizing Marda Wallace as the Jackson Woman of the Year for 2024.

[applause] -Congratulations.

Your chin.

You look great.

[applause] -We have some wonderful keepsakes for Marda.

She gets this keepsake treasure booklet, including the wonderful letters of support that so many loved ones submitted on Marda's behalf.

She gets this to hold onto as well as a silver mint tulip cup and a wonderful bouquet from J. Kent Freeman.

Would you like to say a few words?

I can help you with a hand.

[laughter] -Yes, here we go.

-Thank you all so very much.

There's my husband.

[laughter] -Oh, and my son.

Oh.

Okay, all right.

My hands are a little clammy.

Let me just go ahead and do-- Thank you all so very much.

Rotary Club, thank you.

Whoever was responsible, those that supported this, thank you so very much.

I must thank my husband because as soon as we were married, he's been in every organization and club with me.

[laughter] -I believe Cotillion or Service League.

He's like, "When do I abstain or how do I get out of these clubs?"

I'm so thankful you're here because without his support all the time and he is so patient with me, and Tyler, they just are in any project I'm in.

They're right there.

I do want to say, I wish my parents were here because people say, "Gosh, you just--" but my dad said, "If you speak to one person, you speak to everybody."

I truly am appreciative that I think some of you all do see my heart and I do really mean that.

I'm just blown away for this honor and to come with these unbelievable women before me.

My heart is of service.

Hold me accountable to it because this is what I love is a charity work and working for our wonderful city and our community.

Thank you so much.

I just feel so honored and so blessed.

Thank you so much.

[applause] -We have another surprise for Marda.

The Paul Harris Fellowship is named for Paul Harris, who founded the Rotary with three business associates in Chicago in 1905.

The fellowship was established in his honor in 1957 to express appreciation for a contribution of $1,000 to the humanitarian and educational programs of the Rotary International.

Those programs include an array of projects that save and invigorate the lives of people around the world and enhance international friendship and understanding.

Rotary Foundation programs provide educational opportunities, food, potable water, health care, immunizations, and shelter for millions of people.

These activities are funded, implemented, and managed by Rotarians and Rotary clubs around the world.

Rotarians also designate a Paul Harris Fellow to recognize another person like Marda, whose life demonstrates a shared purpose with the objectives and mission of the Rotary Foundation to build a world understanding and peace.

We move closer today to a more peaceful world as Marda Wallace becomes a Paul Harris Fellow.

I'll try to make it through this.

Marda, you were selected to receive this recognition because the Jackson Rotary Club believes that your life exemplifies the humanitarian and educational objectives of the Rotary Foundation.

Therefore, it gives me great pleasure to present to you on behalf of the trustees of the Rotary Foundation, our club, and all those that love you, a Paul Harris Fellow pin.

-Please accept congratulations and sincere appreciation for your commitment to our common goals of world understanding and peace.

Ladies and gentlemen, please congratulate and recognize the newest Paul Harris Fellow and Woman of the Year, Marda Wallace.

[applause] -Well, we are here to say congratulations, Marda Wallace, the 72nd Annual Woman of the Year.

There's been 71 other women that came before you.

How does it feel?

-Well, 71 much more deserving than I feel before me.

Unbelievable, the amount of work these women have done in our community, still do in our community.

For just people to think of me for this honor, I'm just really blown away, humbled, excited, but more right now just want to tremble and cry because it's such a big honor.

-You came here thinking what?

-Well, I come several times a year.

I have been needing to join the Rotary for some time because it's one more thing that I truly believe in.

If you get the picture of their principles, that's what I hope that I live by.

I come several, a couple of times a year.

Our mayor, since this was Woman of the Year, he asked all the lady councilwomen to come.

I thought, "Yes, I want to come," because I even wrote a letter for someone that I thought I was nominating.

I think a lot of Scott Conger and he asked me to come, our mayor, so I wanted to come and be here an.. -What did you think?

At what point did you think, "Oh, this is me.

They're talking about me"?

-Well, when they talked about the executive for how many years with a-- it was a Fortune 200 company, I thought, "Wow, who else?

Wow, who was that?"

I didn't know that.

Then when they started saying some of the things, I just-- Well, then they said my name, but I kept thinking, "No, it can't be."

I could feel my mouth kept dropping and dropping.

I thought, "Oh, my goodness."

When they said my name, I had to go, "Okay, I think they really mean it."

-You've been at other Women of the Year ceremonies.

-Oh yes, yes.

-Did you ever think, "One day, that's going to be me"?

-No, I didn't.

To me, that's just the cream of the crop.

Just look up to those ladies so much.

No, no, and no.

No, I just thought, "Oh, my admiration for them is so high."

No, I never thought.

The things I do, I do because I love it.

I want to help.

I want to serve.

I say all the time, "I don't have to be in this position in two years," or, "I don't have to be doing this later."

I'm doing it because I really want to serve and want to help and make a difference.

-Now, you grew up, you're from South Fulton.

-Yes.

-You went to the University of Tennessee in Martin.

-Yes, sir.

-Now, you live in Jackson.

You worked in Union City before that.

-Well, that was just a fun, little job to get me through college.

We're not spending money.

-Okay, what do you think about growing up here, those institutions, those schools, those communities instilled in you abo.. back to the community?

-Well, I must brag on Jackson too and the colleges that ..

If you really think about it, Jackson, this location, we are so fortunate to have the colleges that we do.

Lane, Union, Lambuth, all of these, University o.. Martin has-- so we are really, really blessed.

I would just say that I always tried to do my best.

Whatever I was doing, it meant a lot to me.

Even my brother told me I was doing something and he said, "Do you think that was your best?"

He's passed away about six months ago.

He said, "Don't do anything halfway."

He said, "If you're going to do it, do it your best."

I really always still think about that too and some of the things my mother and daddy and I watched and how they would love people and care about people.

My dad was always president of this and president of Rotary and was a big giver.

They both were.

Both my parents were.

-Well, again, congratulations from everyone at Channel 11.

We're just so excited for you.

-Thank you so much.

-Thank you for all your service to the.. and the entire community.

-Thank you so much.

You all keep covering Jackson.

-We will.

-Keep covering everything we're doing.

I've got to put a plug in for our city.

-We will.

-Keep covering it.

-Well, come visit us at our new facilities on Campbell.

-Okay, super.

-It's a work in progress, but we're getting there.

-We appreciate you being here and thank you.

Thank you so very much.

-Oh, you bet.

Congratulations, Marda.

-Thank you.

I appreciate that.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

It's very nice to meet you.

-You as well.

You as well.

Well, that does it for this very exciting episode of Tennessee is Talking on location from the Jackson Woman of the Year Award Ceremony.

We congratulate this year's winner, Marda Wallace.

We want to remind you that you can watch this program and all of our local programs on demand on our YouTube channel for WLJT, also on our website, westtnpbs.org.

Of course, you can do that on the PBS app.

Download that today.

It's all free to watch.

We want to thank you for joining us and we want to say keep the conversation going.

Follow WLJT on our social media platforms.

Until next time, I'm Peter Noll.

Remember to keep on talking, Tennessee.

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