A tribute to special moms

Eleven local women were honored May 7 as Clark County Mothers of the Year in a variety of categories.

Mayor Oscar Goodman presented the awards in a ceremony at the Gold Coast hotel-casino. Paula Francis, news anchor of KLAS-TV 8, was emcee. The event was hosted by Sandy Thompson, vice president/associate editor of the Sun, who is chairwoman of the Clark County Mother of the Year Awards.

The following honorees were chosen on the basis of letters of nomination from families, friends and colleagues:

Mary Allred

Clark County Community Service Mother of the Year

Mary Allred's four grown children and four grandchildren are the center of her life.

Her sister-in-law, Pat Sheldon, says Mary is the backbone of their family. Everyone can count on her to do whatever needs to be done.

Mary has lived in Las Vegas for 35 years. She was involved in her children's activities in Scouting, soccer, pee-wee football, beauty pageant, chaperone on school trips, seamstress, taxi driver for extra curricular activities, and as PTA member and president.

She never missed a school play, graduation, birthday party, game, talent show or any activity involving her children.

Mary is a member of the Governor's Silver-Haired Committee on Aging, and active in the Episcopal Church where she started and still runs the St. Matthew's thrift shop. She also has served on the board of directors for the University Christian Center and as president of the board of UNLV's Interfaith Student Center.

She has served on the Search Committee for the Episcopal Diocese of Nevada, the advisory boards of Chaparral High School and Bishop Gorman High School, and started the Knight of the Gael fund-raisers at Gorman.

Mary helps out the less fortunate in the community on an individual basis in a quiet way, never seeking recognition.

Pat says Mary never asks for anything in return from her family. Even though her children are grown, they stop by their mother's home several times a week.

Mary says that being involved in her children's lives is the best gift a parent can give.

Sandra Bennett

Clark County Nurturing Mother of the Year

Donna Bennett says her mother, Sandra Bennett, became independent early in life because she had to work to help support her five brothers and sisters.

Married in 1964, Sandra has two daughters and has three grandchildren. Donna says that growing up, the girls had everything they needed, most of all love. Sandra raised her daughters to be smart, polite, loving, respectable and with good morals.

Sandra and her husband worked for McDonald Douglas. She quit to become a full-time mom. In the late '70s, the Bennetts opened their own business of converting buses into motor homes.

In 1990, Sandra and her husband moved to Las Vegas, and Donna followed a year and a half later.

In 1996, when Donna and her sister were going through divorces, their mother was there to help out. Sandra took legal guardianship of Donna's two sons. She also cared for Donna's sister's son.

Donna says her parents are the most caring, honest and loyal people you could ever know. Her mother, she says, gives her all. Sandra has had to be tough and has overcome many obstacles, but she persevered, Donna says. She loves her children unconditionally.

Donna says Sandra has been the best Mom and friend anyone can be.

Ruth Ford

Clark County Humanitarian Mother of the Year

Terri Buhecker says of her mother, Ruth Ford: Every breath I breathe, every step I take I owe to my mother. She has been the wind beneath my wings and my best friend.

Born 70 years ago on a dairy farm in Lancaster County, Pa., Ruth worked the cows and helped care for her 11 brothers and sisters. Terri says her mother was the glue that held the family together. She did early-morning chores, went to school, came home and took care of the children and cooking, and studied late at night. Even today, her brothers and sisters call her when they are in need.

Ruth put herself through nursing school, never forgetting the lesson of hard work she learned on the farm.

Ruth has been married for 45 years and has two other daughters, Traci and Teddi. She met her husband, Roger, in a hospital while treating Roger's ailing father. They were married a year later.

Roger's job kept the family moving around the country. They lived in Colorado, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Massachusetts, Virginia and Nevada. Terri says that because her mother takes everything in stride, the moves were never as traumatic for the girls as you'd expect. Terri says that having her mother as a steady force in their lives has been like a beacon on a stormy night at sea.

When Terri was in the seventh grade, the family moved from Florida to Las Vegas, to New Jersey and back to Las Vegas in the same year. Terri says her father promised her mother in 1967 that they wouldn't move again. Since then, Las Vegas has been their home. They have lived in the same house in the same quiet northwest neighborhood for 33 years.

Ruth is her grandchildren's No. 1 fan at sports and music events. She and her husband have sponsored Little League teams for many years and are known as Grandma and Grandpa to all the players and their families.

For years, Ruth worked as a nurse in hospitals. Then, on one fateful day in 1975, she was brutally attacked and left for dead during a robbery at a hospital pharmacy. It would be days before the family would know whether she would recover. She did recover, but underwent many months of rehabilitation.

Terri says nursing is her mother's life. But after the incident, her family insisted she not work in a hospital and Ruth became a private duty nurse. Her most famous patient was the boxing legend Joe Louis.

At age 70, and with 50 years of nursing experience, Ruth is going strong with an energy to be envied, Terri says.

Rhonda Gordon

Clark County Encouraging Mother of the Year

A friend describes Rhonda Gordon as a source of inspiration.

Rhonda dropped out of school at 16, but went back to get her diploma at age 20 after having two children.

After leaving an abusive relationship, she was jobless and homeless. She found transitional housing and later permanent housing. She raised her two sons, now 15 and 14, as a single parent.

Rhonda's goals are: to take computer classes, put her sons through college, buy a house and get a pet.

She describes herself as an assertive and stern parent who instills morals in her children. She believes in respect for women, discussion, openness and honesty. She teaches her sons that they are responsible for their own well-being. Her sons are excellent students; one plays football, the other is a member of the Las Vegas Tennis Association. Rhonda says the things she likes best about herself are that she has a healthy lifestyle, is dedicated to her boys and has an outgoing, nutty personality. What her colleagues like best about her is that she is a loving, responsible, giving person who truly cares for those around her.

Rhonda recently was elected tenant leader of her apartment complex, and is a spokesman for media events for the Women's Development Center.

Her colleagues say Rhonda deserves recognition for her achievements in overcoming difficulties and for helping others find a way to accomplish the same tremendous feats that she has in her life.

Geraldine Leigh

Clark County Civic Service Mother of the Year

Geraldine Leigh, who last month celebrated her 57th wedding anniversary, has two children, five grandchildren and one great-grandson.

During her husband's 21-year military career, she oversaw 17 major household moves over three continents, culminating with their move to Nevada in 1985.

Her daughter, Karen Leigh, says that when she and her brother were growing up, Geraldine was there through Brownies, Girl Scouts, dance and singing recitals, cheerleading, musicals and modeling events.

After graduating from UCLA, Karen wanted to be an actress, but she became ill. She and her son lived with Geraldine, who nursed Karen back to health.

Geraldine then insisted that Karen's son continue to stay with her and her husband. He is a 1999 graduate of Green Valley High School and is one of four firefighter cadets with the Las Vegas Fire Department.

Karen says she admires her mother's strength and undying, unselfish love in caring for her and her son. Karen says her mother was always in pain, yet she held everything together.

Karen's brother Keith, who resides in Florida, graduated from Cal State Long Beach, served four years in the Army, and was an engineer for Lockheed for many years.

Geraldine has always been involved in the communities where she she lived. She was very active in community service and political causes in California. In Las Vegas, she has served as a past board member and political activity chairwoman of the Las Vegas NAACP branch, a 1999 delegate appointee to the county and state Democratic Convention, a charter and board member of the Northwest Las Vegas AARP Chapter 4395, a role model of the Professional Black Women's Alliance in 1992, and a member and chaplain of the Nevada Coalition of Concerned Women.

Mom is my friend, always there for me in times of joy and pain. Her spirit is unsinkable, Karen says. My mother taught me that you must have love in your heart before you can have hope.

Joyce McMillan

Clark County Motivational Mother of the Year

Vickie Johnson says her mother, Joyce McMillan, has managed to have a full-time career, be a wonderful mother, her best friend, confidante and supporter -- and most of all a guardian angel -- to Vickie and her brother, Steve.

Joyce taught her children to help others, love God, be responsible individuals and, most of all, how to love and be loved. The family never had a lot of material things, Vickie says, but the love that the three of them shared was so great that they didn't miss the extra things.

It was difficult leaving her mother when Vickie married and moved to Wichita, Kan., where she later joined the Kansas Air National Guard. During her five weeks of basic training, Vickie received letters every few days from her mother that were full of praise and encouragement. Vickie says she could not have made it without Joyce.

On May 31, 1988, Vickie's first child was born. She called her mother at 2 a.m. to tell her she was on the way to the hospital. Her mother took the next plane and was in Wichita by noon.

The following year, Vickie went through a divorce. Her mother visited her often, providing the loving support Vickie needed.

In 1990, Vickie and her son moved to Las Vegas to be with Joyce. It was hard being a single parent, Vickie says, but her mother was her strength. Vickie later remarried and had a second son.

Joyce retired in 1998 from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Force. She also served as secretary of the Civilian Employees Union for nine years. Since her retirement, Joyce has enjoyed traveling and spending time with her four grandchildren, and volunteers in Vickie's sons' classes.

As a member of Beta Sigma Phi sorority, Joyce has prepared gift baskets for families at Christmas, charity food drives and other activities serving needy children, seniors and the homeless.

Vickie says she has gone through some trying times, and has a long journey ahead of her, but she has the courage to travel it because of the undying love of her mother.

Evelyn Petersen

Clark County Supportive Mother of the Year

Evelyn Petersen is the first to volunteer in her daughters' classes, and goes the extra mile in suggesting projects she knows the children will enjoy.

She recently helped 35 students make their own unique sock puppets. For weeks, Evelyn went to class each day, hauling her sewing machine, hot glue gun, bags of fabric and yarn and other supplies. She worked with individual students to enable them to express their creativity. She took pictures of the students and their puppets and made a remembrance gift for each.

In addition to caring for her five children -- two of whom have ongoing medical needs -- Evelyn works full time at night, volunteers at school almost daily, participates in clogging with her daughters and makes cookies and candies for special occasions at school. She does it all with a smile on her face and infinite cheerfulness, friends say. She also cared for her nephew for a time.

Her mother, Marie Jones, says Evelyn She prepares meals and takes them to friends who have just given birth. She tends children of mothers who are in the hospital.

Evelyn's youngest child, her only son, had heart surgery when he was just 6 days old, and again at age 3 months. Her third daughter also experienced medical problems since she was a baby and will need surgery when she is older. Throughout the ordeal, Evelyn has helped her daughter to have a wonderful outlook.

Marie says Evelyn is a very special daughter and she is amazed at her ability to see a need and find a remedy for it. She is a quiet dedicated worker. Few people know of Evelyn's good deeds, Marie says.

Anna Peterson

Clark County Exemplary Mother of the Year

Candy Krausman cites a quote by Mother Teresa when describing her friend, Anna Peterson:

I am a pencil in God's hand. He is writing a love letter to the world through me.

Candy says Anna's life and service to her family and the community are an affirmation of that statement.

Raised in a family that valued education, Anna passed on an appreciation of reading and exploring different subjects to her six children and 22 grandchildren.

Anna is deeply religious and raised her children in an atmosphere of tolerance and understanding.

Despite a demanding career, she devoted herself to her family. For 15 years, Anna was administrator of the Eighth Judicial District Court. In that time, she worked for as many as 22 elected judges, which is the equivalent of having 22 bosses.

Supreme Court Justice Nancy Becker says Anna's attention to detail, communications skills and sense of humor allowed her to perform her job in outstanding fashion.

Anna introduced many innovative court programs, including revamping the jury system to ensure a larger, more diverse jury pool.

She worked tirelessly on, and was instrumental in, the formation of Family Court, developing concepts that emphasized non-adversarial methods of resolving domestic disputes, promoting self-help clinics for litigants and programs to aid victims of domestic violence.

Anna's son Brad says his mother taught life's lesson not by saying You HAVE to do this, but by saying You know what the right thing to do is.

He says his mother is like a beautiful work of granite.

Her son Clark says Anna made each of her six children feel special. She dedicated time to each of them every night.

Anna is a member of a weekly Great Books study group. As the group discussion leader, she has patience, wisdom, humility and humor, a friend says.

Anna has been active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, working with youths, as a seminary teacher and as a Stake Relief Society president.

Her son Lance says Anna has unmatched honesty and integrity, a deep spirituality and unconditional love.

When asked how she would like to be remembered in life, Anna told a friend:

That I was a good wife and mother. That I was a good teacher. That I did my part.

Samesha Ramadan

Clark County Professional Mother of the year

The oldest of six children, Samesha Ramadan took on the role of mother at an early age.

She took care of everything for her siblings, from dealing with bullies at school to making sure they finished their homework. She cooked and cleaned the house, and made sure everyone went to church on Sunday.

In 1972, Samesha graduated with honors from Valley High School. This was especially noteworthy because at the time she had a 1-year-old daughter and was married. Seven years later, she had her second daughter, Sumayah.

Sumayah says the bond with her mother grew before she was born. It was a difficult birth. Her mother was in labor for 17 hours. Mother and baby had to stay in the hospital for 30 days.

Sumayah says her mother came into the nursery every day, and they would have conversations through the baby window that only she and her mother could understand.

Sumayah says Samesha has been down, but cannot be kept down. Her mother's saying is verily with every difficulty there is relief. Samesha taught her daughters to count on God to listen to their troubles and wipe away their tears.

Sumayah describes her mother as talented, courageous and caring. In 1997 she received the Community Hero Award from the National Conference for Community and Justice, formally known as the National Conference of Christians and Jews.

Samesha is the founder of American Muslim Women of Nevada, Saving Children Makes Sense, and Saving Women and Children. She has helped establish two masjids in Las Vegas. She is principal director of Sister Clara Muhammad School and is a new camp counselor at Camp Any Town.

Samesha is a senior office assistant for the Las Vegas Valley Water District, where she has worked for 14 years. She has been active in United Way, and served on the Review and Selection Committee for three years.

Sumayah says her mother is a woman to be proud of in so many ways: In her relationship with her family, in the way she pursues her dreams and in the kindness she gives to the world.

Nannette White

Clark County Volunteer Mother of the Year

A friend says Nannette White embodies the type of mother that children need: She is a leader, a motivator, a nurturer and child advocate.

She is the mother of three daughters: 14-year-old Lyndsey, 11-year-old Leanna, and a 25-year-old stepdaughter, Tiffiny, whom she raised since age 7.

Tiffiny says Nannette taught her that it is more important to judge a person on the content of his character, and that no matter what you do in life or what material possessions you own, your character is the most important.

Nannette is very active in her church. For many years she was a vacation Bible School teacher. This year she began a junior and senior high school Bible study at church that discusses issues of growing up as a teenager today.

She has been active in Girl Scouts for 30 years, since she was a girl. She has been a Girl Scout troop leader for many years and is on the board of directors and is first vice president of the Frontier Girl Scout Council. She has been a mentor and counselor to Senior Girl Scouts.

As a member of the General Federation of Women's Clubs, Nannette began the Las Vegas Juniorette Club, an organization for girls age 12 to 18 that encourages community service. The club promoted a Yellow Ribbon program on suicide prevention to middle and high school students and church youth groups.

Nannette has held many leadership positions in the Junior Mesquite Club and has served on the General Federation of Women's Clubs International Board. In 1992, she and her committee won the state federation's Community Improvement Program competition for participation in the You Can Make a Difference conference, which focused on youth crisis issues.

Nannette has been such an outstanding member of the federation's state board and the international board that the state organization has endorsed her as a candidate for the office of International Junior Director-Elect. In that capacity she would oversee all Junior Clubs within the international organization.

Nannette also is active in her daughters' schools. She has served as the D.A.R.E. coordinator for four years at Cannon Middle School and as a room parent for nine years at French Elementary.

Her daughter Lyndsey says she can't remember how many thousands of times one of her friends has called Nannette Mom because she had done something to change their life for the better.

Colleen York

Clark County Inspirational Mother of the Year

A friend describes Colleen York as a breath of fresh air.

She says it's an inspiration to see Colleen ride waves of crises with faith, love and confidence. She faces challenges with compassion, dignity and strength.

Colleen has two daughters who have been seriously ill. The younger girl, Brittany, recently had a relapse of leukemia. The older daughter, Danielle, has a serious autoimmune disorder.

My mom always made sure my sister and I have all the attention we deserve and more, Danielle says.

Her parents divorced shortly after Danielle was born. Her mother raised the girls alone for nearly six years. During that time, they moved to Las Vegas, which was a difficult change, Danielle says.

Danielle says she and her sister have only good memories of their childhood. Her mother later remarried and provides a stable home life for her husband and daughters while balancing doctor appointments and a demanding job.

For the last 10 years, Colleen has been the social worker at St. Rose Dominican Hospital. She patiently listens to people, giving them her full attention no matter how busy she is. She has the gift to problem-solve and does so with sincerity, a colleague says.

A co-worker says this woman smiles and always offers a kind word, a hug or a reflection. One day, after learning her mother-in-law was diagnosed with cancer, Colleen remarked that God gives you only what you can handle. Then she added, He must think I'm pretty strong. Her mother-in-law died in February.

Her co-workers say they are in awe of Colleen's ability to remain calm and have faith under trying circumstances.

Colleen was named St. Rose Dominican Hospital's Employee of the Year in 1997. She participates in several of the hospital outreach committees and is a member of the Adrian Dominican Associate Program.

A co-worker says she is a role model and a gifted woman with strong family values. Another says Colleen inspires us all with her grace. By example, she encourages us to be better people.

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