Molly Todd Award

League of Women Voters^®
of Nashville

2010. 2009. 2008. 2007. 2006. 2005. 2004. 2003. 2002. 2001.

MOLLY TODD AWARD RECIPIENTS League of Women Voters of Nashville
2010 Karen Weeks
2009 Margie Parsley
2008 Karen Edwards
2007 Phil Schoggen
2006 Mary Frances Lyle
2005 Marian Ott
2004 Berdelle Campbell
2003 Dikkie Schoggen
2002 JoAnn Bennett
2001 Silvine Hudson
2000 Brenda Wynn
1999 Susan Gutow
1998 Silvine Hudson
1997 Sally Levine
1996 Carole Bucy
1995 Jane Eskind
In 1995, as part of the 75th Anniversary Celebration of the League of Women Voters of the United States, the League of Women Voters of Nashville established the Molly Todd Award for service to the Voters of Nashville. The award is designed to recognize each year a member of the League who has followed in Molly Todd's footsteps, providing leadership and service to both the League and the voters of Nashville.
Who was Molly Todd? Molly Todd came to Nashville in the 1940s and immediately became an active member of the community. She helped establish the League of Women Voters in Nashville, and then translated League principles into action! She organized support for the change to a metropolitan form of government for Nashville. She was a plaintiff in the Baker v Carr case, a delegate to the 1970 Tennessee Constitutional Convention, and later ran for office. She was a frequent monitor at the state legislature on League issues, especially the income tax. Her presence was always noticed on the hill, and when she spoke, the legislators listened!
--Silvine Hudson, remarks made in introducing the award winner at the 2000 Annual Meeting.

2010 Molly Todd Award - Karen Weeks

Karen Weeks is the recipient of the 2010 Molly Todd Award. Karen inspires all who have been fortunate enough to work with her. She is passionate about public education and fair taxation. Her commitment to public schools results from her personal experience with her three children--Kris, Barton, and Kevin--and six grandchildren, Austin, Kate, Sydney, Ahna, Elle, and Gillie; and from her professional work as a researcher and policy analyst with the Tennessee Board of Education from 1985 through 2006. Her understanding of the needs of young and vulnerable children is also grounded in her work at the Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies in the early 1980s. Karen's lifelong interests in reading and history have made her a supporter and advocate for the Nashville Public Library and the mainstay of the book club named in her honor. A strong advocate for an equitable tax system and adequate funding for schools and essential services, she helps the League stay abreast of these issues through her role as a board member of Tennesseans for Fair Taxation.
Karen is a constant beacon of information for the League of Women Voters of Tennessee, keeping members informed about policy issues and League events through her work on the Voter newsletter. An excellent writer, she explains complex issues clearly and produces thoughtful analyses of proposed legislation. She also makes information accessible to members through email communications and the League website. A skillful planner, she always thinks ahead, linking League members with each other and helping committee chairs communicate with members. As chair of the State Action Committee, Karen organized weekly meetings with the League's lobbyist. She makes sure that members know what bills are moving through the General Assembly and how to contact legislators on behalf of the League.
Although Karen prefers working behind the scenes, her thoughtful consideration of issues big and small is critical to the League's success. She mentors new leaders and supports experienced leaders by being a sounding board, providing wise advice, and sharing insight from her own extensive experience. Whether the event is monitoring a poll or organizing hearings on the Metro budget, she is always a willing volunteer, steadfast in her attention and follow-through--she shows up, does the work, and makes sure the event is a success.
Perhaps most revealing of her character, Karen is always smiling. In an organization of strong women, she reminds us all that we can have fun being together and advocating for issues we care about with good humor and grace. Her daughter Kris says that when Karen's friends talk with her mother, they feel better and their blood pressure drops. She has a way of providing League members with calm encouragement and the support to make a difference--as a group and one woman at a time.

2009 Molly Todd Award - Margie Parsley

Margie Parsley was awarded the 2009 Molly Todd Award during the Nashville League's Annual Dinner Meeting. Margie Parsley is an understated miracle worker, whom Molly Todd would have been proud to claim as one of her protégés.
She has worked diligently advocating on behalf of League issues including one of special interest to Molly Todd--ensuring the rights of every citizen to vote and have their vote counted. It is worth noting that Molly Todd was one of the plaintiffs in Baker v. Carr, the landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court striking down the old imbalanced voting districts and affirming the principle, one-person, one-vote.
For many years Margie has served as state action chair. She was instrumental in persuading the League to hire a lobbyist. She also served as the Nashville League's President. In fact, she served twice first in 1998-2000 and later in 2006-08.
During much of this time she served simultaneously as action chair, helping legislators understand the importance of clean water, good schools, voting rights, open government, and an equitable system of taxation.
Margie grew up in West Virginia, where her mother had been a member of the League for 40 years. Her father was a research chemist, which explains her persistence, her interest in things scientific, and her ability to grasp the complexities of environmental issues. She is an avid reader, artist and gardener, a trait inherited from her father, who had his own greenhouse.
With an amazing capacity to do many things simultaneously, she will be Co-President of the League of Women Voters of Tennessee with Nancy Stewart of Knoxville during the two years 2009-2011.
She exemplifies the qualities that Molly Todd considered important, by providing leadership and service to both the League and the voters of Tennessee and in translating League principles into action.

2008 Molly Todd Award - Karen Edwards

Karen Edwards exemplifies the qualities that Molly Todd considered important. In her quiet, reserved manner she worked tirelessly to promote the work of the League--the organization to which citizens first look for truth in government. As a League leader, she was adroit in recruiting others and involving them in League projects. She also was also a good listener, whether presiding over Board meetings or facilitating discussions in large public forums.
In analyzing current issues facing the Nashville community, she was able to draw upon past experiences as Assistant Professor of Psychology at Tennessee State University, Executive Director of the Tennessee Children's Services Commission, Executive Director of the Juvenile Justice Commission, Executive Director of the Select Committee on Children and Youth of the General Assembly, Deputy Director of the Child and Family Policy Center at Vanderbilt, member of the Chamber of Commerce Citizens' Panel for a Community Report Card on Metro Schools, and as an independent policy consultant.
She used that knowledge when advocating for day care, improved health care, and improvements in election commission processes. She developed the charge for the League's Voting Integrity Study and enlisted the help of a Metro Councilwoman (and League member) to get a resolution drafted recognizing the work of the League and requesting a report on implementation of its recommendations.
During her tenure as President of the Nashville League, she worked with chairpersons in organizing two well attended public forums on the Mayor's proposed budget, and helped in organizing forums on health care, education, TennCare, and the anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision--as well as numerous candidates forums.
Following her League presidency, she has worked to help shape League positions on issues such as health care and immigration, and has been an active participant on the State Action Committee, advocating for League issues pending before the General Assembly.
She has exemplified the qualities that Molly Todd considered important, by providing leadership and service to both the League and the voters of Nashville and in translating League principles into action--in her professional life and in public service.
Carrie Hudson Annual Meeting League of Women Voters of Nashville, May, 2008

2007 Molly Todd Award

Phil Schoggen was awarded the 2007 Molly Todd Award during the Nashville League's Annual Dinner Meeting.
Since returning to Nashville in 1991, Phil has been an active member, focusing on issues fundamental to the League. He has been a vigorous advocate for tax reform for many years, and currently serves on the Board of Tennesseans for Fair Taxation (of which the League is a founding member) working to reduce the sales tax on food while compensating for the loss of revenue by finding other revenue sources.
Most recently he has worked effectively with other League members to spearhead a grassroots group, Gathering to Save Our Democracy. The group and the League are educating the public and advocating legislation to ensure that every person's vote--including persons with disabilities--is counted as the voter intended by using a paper ballot that is verifiable and can be used in audits and recounts.
He and his wife, Dikkie, have represented the League, attending School Board meetings, where he was a supportive voice for children and the schools. While there were always critical voices, Phil could be counted upon to give reporters a reasoned view reflecting sound policy and common sense. He was a reading partner for students in several elementary public schools. He also served for several years as Chair of Common Cause, Tennessee, working for open and responsive government.
Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1923, Phil grew up living in Tulsa and Broken Arrow, a small town nearby. His college study was interrupted twice--when he served as Officer in Charge of a small landing craft in Okinawa--and when he served with the Navy in Korea.
After completing a BA at Park College and later a Ph.D. at the University of Kansas, Phil began an academic career in child, social and ecological psychology that included Wayne State University, the University of Kansas Medical School, University of Oregon, George Peabody College, York University in Toronto, Canada, and finally at Cornell University, where he retired in 1990. He is author or coauthor of several papers published in scientific journals and

2006 Molly Todd Award

Mary Frances Lyle was awarded the 2006 Molly Todd award during the Nashville League's Annual Breakfast Meeting
Mary France Lyle has been a League member for many years. As President of the League, she was an articulate advocate on women's issues and was skillful in mentoring and encouraging young League members. She is a member of the law firm of Bruce, Weathers, Corley & Lyle, PLLC, with a practice devoted solely to family law. After teaching the third grade for 10 years, she fulfilled a long held dream and entered Vanderbilt University Law School in 1976. Part of her reason for entering the field of law was to gain tools to use in working for the advancement of women in society. As a law student, she was a volunteer law clerk at Legal Services of Nashville. Following law school, she joined a law firm and in 1982 she became a lobbyist for the Women's Political Caucus.
On Capitol Hill, she and the League have worked together successfully on many issues. Over the years she has gained the support of legislators for shelters for victims of domestic violence; fairer distribution of property in divorce cases; dropout prevention and model child care programs in high schools; and reinstatement of the Tennessee Economic Council on Women. Working with legislators, she has truly followed in Molly Todd's footsteps.
She has worked tirelessly, both personally and professionally, to advance the interests of women. Women in Tennessee enjoy a more friendly business environment and greater legal protection as a result of her efforts. She has served on numerous professional and civic boards, including the Nashville Bar Association Board of Directors, Cumberland Valley Girl Scout Council, League of Women Voters of Nashville, Planned Parenthood and Tennessee Leadership, serving as president of the latter three

2005 Molly Todd Award

Marian Ott was awarded the 2005 Molly Todd Award during the Nashville League's Annual Breakfast Meeting
Marian Ott has been a board member since 1983 has been a board member and officer in the League of Women Voters of Nashville, including as treasurer, and as president, and served on the Board of the state League. She has had major responsibility for the League's Metro Blue Book, a unique and valuable resource to League members and to all voters in the community. She has coordinated or hosted numerous candidate forums, and she moderated a League sponsored forum on Metro's solid waste plan. She was instrumental in bringing the president of the League of Women Voters of the United States to Nashville to speak at Fisk University, a meeting attended by the President of Fisk University as well as a number of Fisk students as well as League members.
As a professional career woman when elected president of the Nashville League, she has enabled the League to work in an effective way with other groups in the community with similar interests. For example, the League has always had an interest in the issue of transportation; in her professional role, and by her service on the Metro Transit Authority Board as Chair, and on the Board of Cumberland Region Tomorrow, she has greatly strengthened the League in its study and efforts in that area. She also currently serves on the Board of Directors of St. Luke's Community Center, the advisory committee of Women United in Giving of the United Way and the Nashville State Community College Foundation. She has also been active in the Women's Political Caucus. She was nominated by the state League and appointed by the Governor to the State Registry of Election Finance, an area of particular interest to the League.

2004 Molly Todd Award

Berdelle Campbell was awarded the 2004 Molly Todd Award during the Nashville League's Annual Dinner Meeting.
Berdelle Campbell began her long association with the League in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where she served as President beginning in the early 1960s. In Nashville, she chairs the environment committee and serves as Vice President. She has led Smart Growth study sessions addressing issues such as transportation, land use, zoning and housing; promoted the development of Nashville's Greenways; served as Vice President of Recycle Nashville; and served on the Executive Board of the Cumberland River Compact.
She regularly attends Metro Council Meetings and frequently attends sessions of the Tennessee General Assembly--listening, learning and gently persuading. She was active in the establishment of the Tennessee Economic Council for Women.
Her career has had far reaching impact. Having received a Master of Science degree from the NC School of Public Health, she taught both at the secondary and higher education levels. As an educator for the Tennessee Department of Health, she provided instruction and mentoring services for literally thousands of professionals and students over her 21-year career. As a designee from Meharry Medical College, she traveled to Nigeria to assist in the development of curriculum for a new health science institute and in Kenya she participated in training African women health professionals in maternal health and family planning. She coordinated a teacher training exchange of Russian teachers and health workers coming to Tennessee and Tennesseans participating in a program in Moscow.
When she retired in 1997, Metro Parks and Beautification hosted a breakfast and "tree planting" ceremony in her honor at Morgan Park and Mayor Bredesen declared a Berdelle Campbell Day in Nashville.
Her civic involvement has been varied. She has served on the Board of Directors and Executive Board of the YMCA of Middle Tennessee, on the Board of Directors of National Planned Parenthood, and as a Delegate to the United Nations International Population conference in Amsterdam in 1989.
Berdelle has been a member of the Executive Board of the Historic Germantown Neighborhood Association and a member of the Nashville Neighborhood Alliance Advisory Committee. She and her husband, Ernest, are often referred to as the original "urban pioneers" having been instrumental in rejuvenating the inner-city historic Germantown neighborhood.

2003 Molly Todd Award

Dikkie Schoggen was awarded the 2003 Molly Todd award during the Nashville League's Annual Dinner Meeting.
This year's recipient of the award has followed in the tradition of Molly Todd. Her service to the League has included sharing her home with visitors from Zimbabwe who were part of a League program empowering women to enhance democracy. She provided food and hospitality for meetings of the state League, innumerable meetings of the Nashville League's education committee, and events that included the entire membership.
She has been a Research Associate at the John F. Kennedy Center of Peabody College, with emphasis on issues of behavior and environment of children as related to early childhood development.
After several years out of Nashville, she returned here to "retire." But she quickly found ways to continue contributing to the lives of children. She volunteered one day a week at the Family Resource Center at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital for 12 years, using her research skills to review and locate materials to meet the needs of families and later maintaining the data base for the center. She has been on the Education Committee of the Nashville League, serving as chairperson or co-chair for several years. She and her husband, Phil, have regularly monitored the Metro School Board meetings. She and Jane Norris initiated the idea of having a mock voting booth for the annual back-to-school event started by Mayor Bill Purcell. For this endeavor, she arranged for real voting machines and provided a mock ballot for children and their parents to use for practice.
The author of a musical production about aging, she is part of a group singing about situations we all face as we grow older. The group has performed about once a month since 2002 at a variety of venues.

2002 Molly Todd Award

Jo Ann Bennett was awarded the 2002 Molly Todd Award during the Nashville League's Annual Meeting.
Below remarks are from the presentation of the Molly Todd Award to JoAnn Bennett from Silvine Hudson at the Annual Meeting of The League of Women Voters of Nashville, April 2002
Jo Ann Bennett is a longtime member of the League of Women Voters. She has served as president of the state League and on the local League board. She was a volunteer lobbyist for the League for many years, editing the Lobbying Handbook which has been used by other volunteer organizations.
She has worked tirelessly on a variety of issues, especially tax reform. JoAnn also has served as League liaison with several coalition organizations such as the Tennessee Environmental Council and Common Cause. Her networking ability has strengthened the efforts of the League and the organizations with which the League worked.
It has often been said that the mark of a true leader is the ability to bring along the next generation of leadership, leaving behind strong replacements. JoAnn mentored and advised many over the years. She gave the Nashville League and the state League a promising future by nurturing current leaders, recognizing potential ones, and aiding in their development for the future. Many League members learned about the issues of the day at League Unit meetings held at her home, and she has served as a resource for many.
JoAnn has led League action on a variety of issues, some of which were immediately successful and some of which have required amazing tenacity and perseverance. Along the way, she gained the respect of her allies and adversaries alike. JoAnn's phone calls to legislators get returned! The press conference she called as president of the state League was well-attended in Legislative Plaza. She supervised the League's first paid lobbyist, based on her own extensive experience as a volunteer lobbyist.
But perhaps the most impressive was her leadership in a successful redistricting suit (Kidd v. McCanless) before the Tennessee Supreme Court pertaining to the state Senate, for which she wrote an amicus curiae brief.
JoAnn has served on boards of the Tennessee Environmental Council and the Legal Aid society, and as chairman of the Nashville Chapter of Common Cause. Many in elected office and many more in civic affairs and "causes", have sought her advice and counsel.
Tonight we honor our friend, JoAnn Bennett, for her service to the League of Women Voters and to the citizens of Tennessee. She has made a career of civic involvement, and the citizens of Tennessee are the beneficiaries. She has participated in many groups that have improved the lives of Tennesseans and encouraged government to be responsive to the needs of all the state's citizens. Molly Todd would be proud to see one of her longtime friends and admirers receive this award in her name.

2001 Molly Todd Award

Silvine Hudson received the 2001 Molly Todd Award during the Nashville League's Annual Dinner Meeting.
Silvine Hudson has played an active role in the League of Women Voters since reaching voting age. In Nashville she served as chair of the Education and Metro Government Committees and on the Board of Directors and as President of the LWV Nashville. She also guided the LWV of Tennessee as its President and mentored many rising League leaders.
As a League leader, she was adroit in facilitating discussions and bringing members to consensus on important issues. As a League member, she lobbied government officials at the local, state and national level. In the halls of the state legislature she pushed for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment and for a tax system that is more elastic and is fairer for low and moderate income taxpayers, many of whom are women struggling to support their children on low wages.
Silvine raised money for and contributed to several League publications designed to ensure that women voters and the general public know how government works. These publications included Know Your Government Officials, the Metro Blue Book, and Lobbying and the Tennessee General Assembly.
Silvine began her career as a teacher. Her experience lobbying the Tennessee legislature for the League laid the groundwork for her later career as Assistant Director, Community and Government Relations, at Vanderbilt University. League contacts also gave Silvine the idea for developing Retirement Learning at Vanderbilt, a continuing education program for retirees.
In addition to her work with the League, Silvine served as an organizing member of the Nashville Family Shelter. She was also an early member of CABLE and supporter of the Council on Aging, Planned Parenthood, Save Our Cumberland Mountains, Nature Conservancy, Audubon Society, and Tennesseans for Fair Taxation.

Comments, suggestions, questions? Contact our webmaster. Last revised: July 28, 2010 07:45 PDT.