Local women gather to celebrate International Women’s Day

Edna Simmons, center, waves as she receives her Women In Education award from Manal Fakhoury, right, and Barbara Fitos, left, during the Ollin Women International 2022 International Women’s Day Celebration at The Webber Center at the College of Central Florida in Ocala on March 8. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

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Posted March 11, 2022 | By Ocala Gazette Staff

Ollin Women International opened its International Women’s Day luncheon celebration on Tuesday with Dr. Manal Fakhoury reading a quote attributed to the Dalai Lama:

“To promote greater compassion, we must pay special attention to the role of women.

Given that mothers carry the fetus for months within their own bodies, from a biological point of view women, in general, may possess greater sensitivity of heart and capacity for empathy.

My FIRST teacher of love and compassion was my own mother, who provided me with the maximum love…

The time has come for women to take more active roles in all domains of human society, in an age in which education and the capacities of the mind, not physical strength, define leadership. This could help create a more equitable and compassionate society.”

Held at the Webber Center at the College of Central Florida, 125 women attended the luncheon, all gathering to honor local women for their contributions in the area of education.

According to the International Women’s Day website, March 8 is “a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.” The day also marks “a call to action for accelerating gender parity,” where “significant activity is witnessed worldwide as groups come together to celebrate women’s achievements or rally for women’s equality.”

Event programming included a character performance by Dee Collier, who gave a historical reenactment of Anne Sullivan, who was Helen Keller’s teacher.

Marion County Public School’s chief woman in education, Superintendent Diana Gullet, told the crowd that educators appreciated the encouragement and engagement from the community and acknowledged educators cannot operate in a separate space from the community.

Barbara Fitos, who chaired the event committee, invited each honoree up to much applause, summarizing each woman’s considerable accomplishments.

Below are the names of the 13 honorees, as well as some excerpts from Fitos’ spoken introductions as each woman approached the stage:

Kim Burt

Burt began her career in public education in 2008 as a desktop support technician for the Marion County School Board. She has served as instructor in the Information Technology Academy at the Marion Technical Institute (MTI) since 2012. She has also instructed night classes at MTI since 2017. Fitos called Burt the “technology wizard extraordinaire.”

Simone Campbell

Campbell is a certified speech-language pathologist, as well as a licensed realtor. She is also an international professional speaker coach and distinguished toastmaster. Fitos said that Campbell has enhanced the quality of her clients’ life, educating children and parents alike with life affirming skills and techniques.

Loukeitha Daymon

Daymon has been involved in education for nearly 15 years—seven of which has been at College Park Elementary where she was named “Teacher of the Year” in 2017. She has also taught third and fourth grade at Madison Street Academy (Elementary Magnet) where she was “Rookie Teacher of the Year” for two consecutive years.

Ronda Fox

Fox has been teaching at Lake Weir High School since 2008, specializing in the subjects of World History, US History, Law & Government and Economics. She was an Academic Team coach for the International Baccalaureate program for the Hurricanes as well. Prior to teaching at Lake Weir, Fox served for eight years at Emory Riddle Aeronautical University as a support specialist, and later as a new enrollment advisor.

Roseann Fricks

Fricks, who formally retired in 2022, has been the chief executive officer of the Early Learning Coalition (ELC) for nearly 20 years. Prior to her tenure with ELC, Fricks worked for the United Way of Marion County, heading up the First Call for Help/211 Initiative. Friend and Colleague Laura Byrnes, director of communications at CareerSource Citrus Levy Marion, said, according to Fitos’, that Fricks “has been an indefatigable advocate for this community in every and any capacity she has served.”

Dr. Jennifer Fryns

Dr. Fryns is associate vice president of Career and Professional Programs at the College of Central Florida (CF), where she effectively works to connect students with the compatible industries in need of their requisite hard and soft skills. She has been in this role for the past six years—in a career at CF that has spanned nearly the last 15 years. Dr. Fryns holds a PhD. in Philosophy from Florida State University and is a Fulbright Scholar.

Mercie Dee Hagins

A retired educator with nearly 40 years experience, Hagins was the Golden Apple “Teacher of the Year” in 2000, joining a distinguished group of exceptional educators in Ocala/Marion County. Nowadays, she sometimes substitutes at Dunnellon Elementary, where she once taught first grade for over 30 years. Fitos said that Hagins’ advice to parents today after admitting that times have indeed changed was to continue to support teachers—they still need it.

Lourdes Manresa

Manresa has been an educator for over 30 years, proudly serving as principal at Hillcrest School for over 10 years. District winner for the 2017 Florida “Principal of the Year,” Manresa serves as a board member for the Transition Life Center at Hillcrest, serving ESE (Exceptional Student Education) students who “age out” of the public school system. Her daughter, Arielle, said of Manresa that she has had honor of sharing a “super woman” for a mom with thousands of students all across the county.

Ruth Reed

Teaching primarily fourth, and later, fifth grade, Reed was the first and only Black teacher hired at Shady Hill Elementary in the late-1980s. In a career that spanned nearly three decades, she retired from teaching in 1996, only to begin a second career as an environmental activist, lobbying City Council, the State Legislature and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to clean up the hazardous Royal Oak Charcoal Plant located in West Ocala. Her efforts would help see the plant closed in 2005 and ultimately demolished a few years later. Today, the site will be the future home of the Mary Sue Rich Community Center, located at Reed Place.

Julie Shealy

Shealy started her career as a science teacher before becoming assistant principal, then principal, at Belleview Elementary. She was also principal at Osceola Middle School, before retiring as a curriculum administrator for the district after 30-plus years in education. A lover of art, Shealy now pursues fine art fulltime in her retirement; she is currently board president for the Board of Fine Arts for Ocala (FAFO).

Julie Sieg

Sieg has been the library director for the Marion County Public Library System (MCPLS) for nearly 30 years, shepherding in three new branches in Downtown Ocala, Dunnellon and Belleview over her long tenure. After three decades, Fitos said that Sieg, as director, has faced legendary budget cuts, censorship challenges, demographic shifts, as well as the “all-encompassing digital revolution,” while always accomplishing the “overarching” goal of MCPLS—to “bring [the] love of learning to all our citizens.”

Edna G. Simmons

At 90 years old, Simmons taught in the Marion County Public Schools (MCPS) system for over 30 years. She was one of 16 charter members who founded and organized the Eta Tau Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. in February 1962. She is a Pearl Life Member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, with over 65 years of active service initiated at Bethune Cookman University.

Judi Zanetti

Retiring in 2021, Zanetti has been with the MCPS system for over 20 years, beginning her teaching career in 1990. In 2004, Zanetti was elected to the Marion County School Board, serving for eight years. In 2012, she was chosen to head the Public Education Foundation as its executive director. During her tenure, the foundation received national recognition for its signature programs, including the Golden Apple Awards, Take Stock in Children, Grants for Great Ideas and the successful Tools4Teaching.