Remarks by Betsy Smidinger, President, EWG Honoring Marylouise Uhlig, President Emerita
December 14, 2011
Willard Hotel, Washington, DC
Today, Executive Women in Government (EWG) is honoring one of its esteemed members, Marylouise Uhlig, by designating her President Emerita of EWG for her sustained and significant contributions to our organizational life--beginning with her membership in 1980, continuing with her service on its Board from 1990 to the present, and punctuated by her term as President in 2003.
Executive Women in Government was created in 1974. In its 38-year history, we have had the good fortune to attract talented and dedicated women leaders who have sustained EWG's mission, grown its membership, and carried the message of developing women leaders throughout the federal government. The list of past presidents is an illustrious one, and some have joined us here today. I extend a special welcome to:
The Honorable Jean Smoot (1988)
Virginia Robinson (1993);
The Honorable Jessica Parks (1994);
Dr. Donna Heivilin (1996);
Dr. Diane Gelburd (1999);
Lori Santamorena (2004)
Maria Parisi Vickers, Esquire (2005);
Katherine Gugulis (2008);
Margaret (Peg) Weir (2009);
Elizabeth Cotsworth (2010); and, of course, tonight’s honoree,
Marylouise Uhlig (2003).
All of us here have been impacted in one way or another by Marylouise’s work with EWG. Perhaps she recruited you to join EWG; or mentored you on a difficult issue; or inspired you with the many programs and speakers she brought to our forum. Whatever the connection, we all know that she has been a sustaining energy for everyone around her; she has been, and continues to be, indiscriminately generous with her time and talents--and we are all beneficiaries of that energy.
As many of you may know, Marylouise has been an EWG member since 1980, has served on the Board since 1990 and took over as President in 2003. Her term as President was transformational for EWG because she re-energized us by recruiting members with single-minded determination, by creating and producing an Annual Training Summit, and by emphasizing succession planning for our organization. Marylouise’s dedication to EWG and its mission didn't end with the conclusion of her term as President. She has continued to serve EWG as an active and creative Board Member whose talent in producing an increasingly better Training Summit each year ensured EWG's financial sustainability. She has also sustained the life of the organization by providing historical perspective, continuity and support for new Board Members, and for new Presidents.
Women Executives are very busy people, and while serving on EWG's Board allows a member time to learn about past activities which inform new issues as they arise, Marylouise’s long-term presence on the Board, her historical perspective, and her sustained interest in EWG have been indispensable to successive Board members and Presidents who have served since 2003.
Marylouise’s passion for mentoring and coaching future leaders inspired many federal women leaders to join EWG or serve on its Board. There is no doubt that Marylouise has single-handedly recruited more members than any other EWG member. There is no one who is more eloquent in making the case that women in the federal work force must come together to support each other and help each other advance to the highest leadership positions.
Marylouise’s brainchild, the Annual Training Summit, is now a cornerstone of EWG’s calendar of events. Marylouise has, for the past 8 years, built a training program that speaks to every aspect of a woman executive’s leadership needs--from the nuts and bolts of leadership core competencies, to understanding the policy consequences of decisions, to caring for ourselves so that we can care for others. The Training Summit is a day of networking and learning from each other and from the women policy-makers, newsmakers, artists and leaders that Marylouise somehow manages to gather for one inspirational day of lectures and dialogue. And notwithstanding the excellence of the first Training Summit, Marylouise has managed to enhance her performance each year for an always sold-out event. Frankly, I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us on March 8, 2012!
In addition to all this work, in the last two years, Marylouise has been instrumental in creating EWG's sponsorship program. With additional funds, the Board can be more creative in sponsoring events, can enhance management and webpage infrastructure, and can consider other ways in which EWG can be more relevant in developing federal women leaders.
Marylouise’s support, activities, and contributions to EWG during the past decade have been life-sustaining for our organization. Marylouise, your continued commitment to serve each new President and Board--by continuing to Chair the Annual Training Summit, continuing to recruit new members, and continuing to seek sponsorship opportunities--is an inspiration to each of us in this room to do more to advance EWG’s mission.
At this time I invite the following EWG past presidents - Virginia Robinson, Dr. Donna Heivilin and the Honorable Jessica Parks to provide their testimonials supporting this honor to Marylouise.
Marylouise, thank you for showing the way to so many women in the federal government community, thank you for making everyone--from interns, to middle managers, to federal executives, to policy makers--believe that each of us can do better every day to serve the American public. And now, I ask Marylouise and her family to join me at the podium. I thank Marylouise’s husband, Barry Uhlig, and their daughter Samantha for their support of Marylouise and all her activities and we are grateful that they have shared her with us.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that in light of her sustained and significant contributions to the organizational life of Executive Women in Government, her unparalleled service on its Board, her transformative leadership as President, her leadership in creating and chairing EWG's Annual Training Summit, her contribution to the creation of EWG's Sponsorship Program, and her unflagging support of all EWG sisters and leaders across the federal government, MARY LOUISE UHLIG is hereby designated as PRESIDENT EMERITA of Executive Women in Government.
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