SUE MENGERT, DEMOCRATIC WOMEN OF NORTH CAROLINA 2011 WOMAN OF THE YEAR

(l-r) Karen Savage, Sue Mengert, 2011 DWNC Woman of the Year and Nancy Rorie, 2010 DWNC Woman of the Year

Congratulations to Sue Mengert, who was named DWNC's 2011 Woman of the Year at the DWNC State Convention in Greenville on September 18, 2011. Sue is a long-time member of Democratic Women of Guilford County (DWGC). Nancy Rorie, the 2010 Woman of the Year, presented Sue with the award in recognition of her more than thirty years of continuous, active involvement in and support of Democratic Women and the Democratic Party on the local, regional and state levels. In recognizing Sue's outstanding contributions over the years, Nancy told Sue, "You inspire us all to become leaders who do not follow a path but blaze a trail."

Sue is both a strong, effective leader and an enthusiastic and hardworking team player. For over thirty years, if there was a job to be done for Democratic Women or the Democratic Party, Sue volunteered to do it, volunteered to help do it or recruited, encouraged and supported others in their effort to do so. Sue has been so actively involved in this organization and our Party, it is impossible to compile a full list of the offices she has held, the committees that she has chaired, and the services that she has provided to Democratic Women, the Democratic Party and our community. Sue has always been and continues to be an active, engaged, hardworking member of Democratic Women. The consistent depth and passion of Sue’s involvement in Democratic Women and the Democratic Party is reflected in the recognition of her contributions as early as 1983 and as most recently as 2011. In May, 1983, Sue received the DWGC Zoe Parks Barbee Award in recognition of her pioneering spirit and her service and commitment to DWGC. In October, 2000, she was named by the Guilford County Democratic Party as “Democrat of the Year” at the Party’s annual Unity Dinner. This is the highest and most prestigious honor that can be bestowed upon any Democrat in Guilford County by our county party. At the DWGC President’s Spring Banquet on June 15, 2011, Sue received the Dorothy Bardolph Award for her selfless dedication to DWGC. It is rare for an individual who is not an elected official to be so consistently involved in Democratic Women and the Democratic Party at so many levels for so many years.

Sue truly lives the Democratic principles and ideals that she supports so energetically. Her many community activities center around helping others, working to build bridges to encourage racial, ethnic and religious understanding and working to support causes that promote social justice. She is a past volunteer with Reading Connections and a current weekly volunteer at the Women’s Resource Center. She is a past member and past Chair of the Greensboro Human Relations Commission and a participant in “Other Voices,” a program that focuses on increasing racial, ethnic and religious understanding and empathy. Sue is also extremely active in her church, New Garden Friends Meeting, in the League of Women Voters and in the American Association of University Women at the local, state and national level. DWGC and DWNC are extremely fortunate to have this talented, gifted, generous, exceptional woman as a member of our organization and as our 2011 Woman of the Year.