JACKSON -- The fourth annual “Women in Rotary” celebration and awards luncheon was recently held at the Country Club of Jackson. The event coincided with the traditional March 8th International Women’s Day and showcased the thirty-year worldwide history of Women in Rotary.
The “Pat Fordice Award for Humanitarian and Community Service” was presented to Senator Lydia Chassaniol (R-Winona) is a member of the Winona Rotary Club, chair of the Senate Tourism Committee, vice chair of the Corrections Committee, a former small business owner and former teacher who spearheaded a dropout prevention program.
Chassaniol said she was “both thrilled and terrified” when she was notified that she received the award named for former Mississippi First Lady Pat Fordice.
“How on earth could I manage to qualify for such an honor, and what could I possibly say other than ‘thank you?’” Chassaniol told those in attendance at the luncheon. “Having had the privilege of working as an appointee of Governor KIrk Fordice on both the Mississippi Arts Commission and the Mississippi State Parole Board, I was a big fan of both of the Fordices and even served as Montgomery County chair for his election efforts. “
Chassaniol said she has enjoyed being a Rotarian over the years, and she has fond memories of reading to preschoolers, ringing the Salvation Army bell at Christmas, cooking enormous amounts of red beans and rice and gumbo, flipping pancakes and “otherwise practiced the Rotary motto of ‘Service Above Self.’”
Chassaniol said she was inspired to join the Winona Rotary Club by her brother, Bob Graves, a former District Governor and an active Rotarian for many years.
Chassaniol spoke about her various roles in life, from Senate member to restaurant owner to teacher to wife, mother, and grandmother.
“Some of those things were easier to do than others, but all of them have made me the person I am today,” Chassaniol said.
If she could give advice to young women making their way in the world, Chassaniol offered, “Don't be afraid to try something. When you do, give it your all. If you fail, get back up and try again. Be kind, be loyal, be grateful. We all have it better than we deserve. Don't take yourself too seriously, and develop a sense of humor if you don't already have one. And, every time you get the chance, encourage someone else. You never know when your encouragement will make all of the difference in another person's life.”
Chassaniol is married to Emmett Chassaniol, and the couple have two daughters, Mary Ray and Mimi Taylor, and three grandchildren. She has served in the Mississippi State Senate since 2007.
Chassaniol was surprised at the luncheon with a personal video message from Mississippi’s own country music singer Marty Stewart, with whom Chassaniol has worked with for several years promoting tourism in the state.
“You and I share a deep love for our state,” Stewart said. “We also share a deep desire to invite people from all over the world to come to the Magnolia State.”
Also honored at the luncheon were the 2019 “Champion of Change” award recipients, Mississippi University for Women President Nora Miller (Columbus Rotary Club), the first MUW alum to rise to that office, and Constance Slaughter-Harvey (Forest Rotary Club), the first African-American female to receive a law degree from the University of Mississippi and the state’s first African-American female judge. Both were honored for their outstanding history of community service and professional trail-blazing.
All three honorees are exceptional women who have taken personal and professional risk to make their lives and work better, more relevant and, as all Rotarians do, help build better communities and a better world.
