On May 23, Empower Missouri-St. Louis held our Annual Awards Dinner at Il Monastero at St. Louis University. The sold-out crowd was inspired by the words spoken by St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell during his keynote address, when he spoke of the long arc of justice and how important it is to work together in the fight for justice.
Next, Executive Director Jeanette Mott Oxford updated the attendees on the successes of this year’s Legislative Session, as well as the issues that will demand our attention next session. Empower Missouri, our supporters, and our partners saw some amazing successes involving proactive victories on criminal justice reform and defensive victories on protecting the safety net. See more on the State level report here.
The rest of the evening was spent honoring our 2019 awardees! This year, Empower Missouri- St. Louis honored four individuals:
Jo Mannies was given the Media Award, in honor of her life-long commitment to write in-depth and unbiased columns on the political and social issues impacting our community.
Christ Church UCC in Maplewood received the Organization Award, in honor of their history of putting their faith into action. We commended them for their dedication to speaking out and acting on issues of racial equity, immigration and poverty.
Bruce Franks, Jr. received the Elected Official Award in honor of his dedicated commitment to legislative and community leadership that promotes social and racial justice.
Cathy “Mama Cat” Daniels received the inaugural Fr. Bill Hutchison Servant of Justice Award in recognition of her life of service to others and to her tireless commitment to work for justice. We honor her for supporting and feeding those fighting for a better life and a better community.
Thursday night was a great evening of friendship and fellowship, honoring justice workers and celebrating Empower Missouri and its supporters. Thank you to everyone who came out for the evening.
If you missed our St. Louis dinner or live too far away, tickets are still available for Empower Missouri’s Annual Awards Brunch, happening Saturday, June 8th at the Kansas City Library – Central Branch.
Photos of the event can be found below
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