Women's Recognition Award winners honored

Women's recognition award winners, L-R: Peggy Strachan, Becky Chadwick, Jacqueline Lawson, Roxanne McDonald

The annual Women's Recognition Luncheon, hosted at HFC March 23, 2018, was a full house and included members of the HFC community and dignitaries from around the city, including the entire HFC Board of Trustees, U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, Dearborn Mayor John O'Reilly, and Dearborn City Councilwoman Leslie Herrick. A wonderful, elegant meal was provided by the students of the HFC Culinary Arts program. Many members of the HFC community donated baskets and items for auction.

At the luncheon, three outstanding women from HFC, along with our Community Role Model Award winner, were honored. Their award nominations are below.

Staff Award Winner: Peggy Strachan

Our first honoree is a member of the supportive staff at Henry Ford College. She began her career at the College in 1991. Her supervisor reports there was an ongoing problem that existed prior to our honoree’s employment at the college. Once our honoree was hired, the complaints turned to praise.

Our honoree has worked with over 100 student workers, serving as their primary day-to-day contact in the department. For many of these students she has also served as a counselor, mentor, and sometimes substitute mother. A number of former students stay in contact with our department because of her. She has also been active in her community, serving in community organizations that include the Dearborn Southwestern Outer Drive Neighborhood Association and the Food Bank of Our Lady of the Angels. Her attention to detail has also been valuable to Campus Security. One evening our honoree saw a person tampering with a student’s car and removing parts. She immediately reported it to Campus Safety, giving them a good description of the suspect, his car, AND the license number. The suspect was caught, and the stolen items were returned to the student within 24 hours of the report being made.

Her supervisor stated “The characteristic that I value most in [my nominee] is her sincere care and concern for other people.” This honoree is currently a senior mail clerk and her name is Peggy Strachan. Thank you Fred Steiner for nominating our support staff honoree Peggy Strachan.

Faculty Award Winner: Jacqueline Lawson

Our next honoree is a member of the faculty at Henry Ford College. She was nominated by a colleague who states, “She is the first to volunteer and help others without expecting anything in return.”

This honoree is genuinely concerned about Henry Ford College students and freely gives her time to them. For example, she does a workshop for the WINGS mentoring program each year. She shares tips on etiquette, professional dress, and much more. She has also become the face of the Women’s Recognition Luncheon. For the last few years, she has been the one consistent face you knew you were going to see at these luncheons. She is always well-prepared with entertaining observations and a quick smile.

She is currently a full-time instructor in the Business Department. Thank you, Bonnie Jobe for nominating our faculty honoree, Jacqueline Lawson.

Administrator Award Winner: Becky Chadwick

Our next honoree is a member of our Administration at Henry Ford College. She is a very special person. She is one of those people who will stop by your office and offer a kind word to lift you up. She is known for her humble, patient spirit, and the professional excellence she exhibits daily. She was also nominated by more than one person. One of her nominators said, “She is a very caring person and a great contributor to Henry Ford College.” Another nominator said “As a member of her staff, my life has been forever changed as a result of her influence, support, and encouragement.”

This honoree takes great pride in her work and takes on monumental projects with grace. The College has received a number of grants through the hard work of this honoree, as well as her various teams of proposal writers. This year, she also led the very labor-intensive presidential search process for the College.

She is not only dedicated to her work at Henry Ford College, she is also very active in her community. For example, she is very supportive of charities that help finance breast cancer research.

Thank you, Terrilyn Hagen and Bonnie Jobe for nominating our Administrative honoree, Ms. Becky Chadwick.

Gene L. Brazell Community Role Model Award: Roxanne McDonald

Roxanne McDonald has been a leader in the Dearborn community for many years. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for The Dearborn Goodfellows and The Dearborn Community Fund.

Roxanne has also served on The Dearborn Board of Education, Henry Ford College Board of Trustees, Michigan Association of School Boards, HFC Foundation Board, Wayne County Association of School Boards, Dearborn PTA Council Executive Board, and others.

Her passion for education inspired Roxanne to lead several parent rallies to Lansing to protest budget cuts and to promote child/student advocacy. She also spearheaded programs that gathered and delivered school supplies and business attire to needy students.

She was involved in the development of Dearborn’s Response to Bullying Behavior, an acclaimed community initiative, and presented the program to audiences both locally and nationally.

Roxanne graduated summa cum laude from Henry Ford Community College with dual Associate Degrees in hospitality and hotel/restaurant management before earning a BSBA from Lawrence Technological University, graduating magna cum laude. While a student at HFCC, she served as a founding executive board member of the Ice Carvers Club.

Roxanne and her husband, Chuck, have been together for more than 30 years, and they have three sons. One son works in the automotive industry, another is a disabled Army veteran, and another is currently in basic training for the U.S. Air Force. Influenced by the sacrifices of her sons, Roxanne has been an advocate for service members and is a member of the Michigan Military Moms and the American Legion Auxiliary.

Roxanne worked for years in hotel/restaurant management before finding her niche in community service. Her devotion to HFC continues as she serves on the Scholarship and Women’s Recognition Committees.