Seven Adventist women who are making significant contributions to their communities, professions, churches and families will be recognized and celebrated at the 22nd national conference of the Association of Adventist Women (AAW) at Andrews University Oct. 14–17.
Lynette Carrington Cox will receive the award for spiritual leadership. Carrington, born on the island of St. Vincent, has chosen New York City as her mission field. As the Harlem Hospital Center emergency department associate director, she ministers to the underserved who have medical needs. As a member of the Columbia University faculty, she ministers to the education elite and other staff. With all of these she freely shares her faith. In the process she has led many individuals to accept Jesus as their Savior.
Georgia Carter, the church life awardee, has spent her entire life in Bermuda, where she has become a legend as a Christian servant to her community. By opening her home as a hospice to AIDS patients, providing cooked meals for the homeless, creating a telephone and visitation ministry to cheer senior citizens and shut-ins, and conducting regular visits with inmates of the local prison, Carter has lived a life of selfless service and modeled the compassion of Jesus in her life.
Patricia J. Foster, AAW immediate past president and professional leader extraordinaire, is being honored for distinguished service. Foster is a Loma Linda University professor emeritus of nursing and former associate dean of Loma Linda University School of Nursing's undergraduate division. She has served in many leadership roles in nursing circles, both inside and outside Adventist institutions, has consulted for nursing schools in six countries, and has been a leader for many years at the Loma Linda University Church.
Jasmine Jacob, who will receive the award for outstanding achievement, is the co-founder of REACH (Render Effective Aid to Children) International, a not-for-profit organization serving 26,000 children in 24 countries. For 30 years, under her entrepreneurial leadership, REACH has established its own schools, hostels, orphanages and vocational centers for destitute children. REACH feeds, teaches and introduces these children to Jesus. As head of a global team of individuals, Jacob powerfully evidences the meaning of Christ-like leadership.
The professional life award will go to Andrea Luxton, General Conference education associate director. Luxton has blazed a trail for Adventist women teachers worldwide. A pioneer in women’s ministries, Luxton has published extensively on a variety of topics in church publications. In her present role as supervisor of accreditation for Adventist colleges and universities around the world, she gives special attention to four world divisions: North America, Trans-Europe, West-Central Africa and South Pacific.
Marilyn Kueffner Savedra, recipient of the lifetime achievement award, is recognized internationally for her pioneering work on measuring children’s pain. Savedra was a professor and widely published researcher for 19 years at the University of California, San Francisco. She was named a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 1990, and is now professor emeritus. A member of the Berkeley (Calif.) Church, Savedra takes a special interest in the many graduate students who come to the prestigious universities in the greater San Francisco area, provides active campus ministries, opens her home to them for Bible study, food and conversation, and becomes their friend and advisor.
The community life award will be conferred on Rhonda Whitney, Portland Adventist Community Services (PACS) executive director. (See full story in Oregon news section.)
For further information on the AAW conference, please visit the AAW Web site at www.aaw.cc.
