BY AMANDA ARNOLD
newsroom@newsandtribune.com
JEFFERSONVILLE —
This year, five women will be recognized during the second-annual Clark County Woman of the Year dinner, and one will walk away with the honorable award.
However, with such a group of women dedicated to helping others, selecting the winner will the toughest challenge because of all that they do.
Here is a look at the nominees, in alphabetical order, for the event sponsored by The Evening News and Kye’s:
DEBORAH A. BULLEIT
Jeffersonville resident Deborah A. Bulleit took a risk in order to help others who most people would normally avoid. Her humanitarian efforts take her into county jails and prisons throughout Southern Indiana and Kentucky, including Henryville Correctional Facility and the Madison Prison for Women.
While there, she tutors inmates who are studying for their GED, taking anger management courses and learning computer skills and art. In addition, she facilitates “Freedom 101: Dealing with Confinement,” which is a four-day workshop that helps inmates to reconnect with who they really are. The class guides the participants to confront what they did and accept responsibility for their actions.
“And once they understand that they did this to themselves, and on purpose, once they understand that, they know how powerful they really are, and they start setting goals, and then they start enrolling in other classes like Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous. A lot of times, getting into classes is hard because they lost all of their motivation, but we come in here and they get motivated,” said Bulleit, who modeled Freedom 101 after a similar workshop used in professional settings.
She said her family has a lot of respect for what she and the other facilitators are doing, but she admitted that some think it’s crazy and wonder why she doesn’t direct her energy elsewhere. She is indeed passionate about the environment, animal rights and organizations that benefit children, but she felt her talents were needed in correctional facilities. She felt that drive so strongly that she left her job at Indiana University Southeast, where she analyzed research, designed systems and taught computer classes.
“I was working around other jobs and sometimes they would get in the way. The time you can get into a jail is very limited and structured, and you have to be able to use it when you can, and working a structured job conflicted with it a lot. In the end, I was forced to choose, and I couldn’t not do this,” Bulleit said.
While working in the correctional facilities, she has met several inmates who took control of their lives and some who went on to Bliss House of Southern Indiana — which is the charity event sponsors The Evening News and Kye’s have chosen as the benefactor of this year’s dinner. Also, some of the graduates have found jobs, and may volunteer with Freedom 101. Bulleit is often on the lookout for people who are just the right volunteer.
“New people worry about doing it right, saying something stupid or getting it right. We just laugh at them because it doesn’t matter. What matters is getting in there and speaking the truth and being real,” Bulleit said.
ANNE CRISTIANI
Also nominated is Sellersburg resident Anne Cristiani, because of countless hours serving the youth through the Clark County 4-H Horse and Pony Club and serving on the board at Prosser School of Technology and Southern Indiana Junior Rodeo. Her nominator, Jaime Hartfield, said that while Cristiani bustles with volunteer work and at her company AC Equipment, she remembers what’s important and loves the people around her while keeping God in the center of her life.
“Integrity is very important. I want to be able to go home and sleep at night. Whatever is on that list that didn’t get done, I can do it tomorrow. I’m a very driven person, and always have been, and I work better under pressure,” Cristiani said.
She said she has always been very passionate about the 4-H Club, and she strives to make it possible for every kid to be involved; this year, there are 70 children in the Horse and Pony Club.
“We get into the schools, and it gives the kids an opportunity to see what the 4-H is. We think the kids who graduate from 4-H experience an amazing opportunity and I would hate to see what it [the community] would be like without 4-H, and the skills that are learned. They are able to be exposed to a basic knowledge through so many different areas and they can see what they might want to do in the future,” Cristiani said.
The 4-H Club members are able to learn a lot from a variety of activities and guest speakers from such areas as veterinarian science and the University of Louisville School of Business Equine program. Students also learn about working hard in order to play hard through chili suppers, wrapping presents at Bass Pro Shops and they volunteer at Kosair Children’s Hospital and Maple Manor.
“Coming from a family of 10 children, I learned to get along. I learned to take my turn, and how to treat people how I want to be treated. I stick to that, because I feel it’s incredibly important,” said Cristiani, who over the past year worked closely with three children who had the opportunity to enjoy horses, but had to work by cleaning the stalls and grooming in order to earn that privilege.
BECKY HUTCHENS
Becky Hutchens spends her time connecting people in Jeffersonville with the idea to make the city a destination and better place for people to live, just as she has for 38 years. She nurtures connections as a consultant for Jeffersonville, contributing to the formation of Grow Jeff, the Jeffersonville 10th Street Area Business Association, Friends of the Greenway, and she would like to someday see Jeffersonville become a wedding district.
“I enjoy helping people, networking and trying to introduce people to someone else who might help them,” said Hutchens, who believes all connections are valuable and recently assisted with the hospitality arrangements for a tour bus from Milwaukee.
While Hutchens is indeed busy — after working in the medical field for 25 years and owning a catering business — she has learned to keep life in balance, but she believes anything is possible and subscribes to the mindset of “ask and you shall receive.”
“Well, I definitely ask. Don’t ever tell me that something isn’t possible, or I can’t, because I also believe that everything is possible,” said Hutchens, who when faced with obstacles says will keep going.
“I think I’m a good creator. I like to create and then move onto the next project. If I can get it started and get other people to keep it going, then that’s my favorite thing to do, and it creates a life of its own,” Hutchens said.
SARAH GOODWIN
At just 22, Sarah Goodwin may be the youngest nominee, but she understands the importance of helping others. Beginning when she was only 12, Goodwin became a member of Hearts in Motion, the liturgical dance group at Sellersburg United Methodist Church, and this past year she began volunteering with Sisterhood, which is a Christian-based performing arts program for girls at the Madison Juvenile Correctional Facility.
“Everyone deserves a chance to be known for who they are, maybe not what they did, but who they really are. I’m trying to give someone a chance to show who they really are,” said Goodwin, who has had a positive response from the girls who are thankful for Goodwin — and her nominator Nora Pritchett — for believing in them.
“When they first walk in, they have the ‘I’m tough’ attitude, and you see the expression melt into smiles, and they’ve been receptive and some cry. One girl told us she felt like everyone gave up on her, and had no hope at all, and we’ve changed that and she knew we cared about her and that God cared about her,” said Goodwin, who hopes to work with more positive programs for young people throughout the community.
She is involved with other activities at her church, but finds it challenging to motivate other young people to get out and help others, and the idea of no humanitarian efforts saddens her.
“I really don’t think it would be a community anymore. It would be a lot of people who live close to each other, but for it to be a community, we have to help our friends and neighbors,” Goodwin said.
BONNIE RYAN
Sellersburg resident Bonnie Ryan is a full-time volunteer for a variety of organizations, including the Center for Lay Ministries food pantry, New Albany Police Department, Red Cross and Clark Memorial Hospital.
Her nominator, Sandy McCauley, said Ryan always exercises an extra effort with compassion and “has applied her professional skills to promote efficiency and effectiveness in social service agencies that enhance our community as a whole.”
Ryan’s extra effort is a week-long endeavor, beginning Sunday at 7:30 a.m., when she travels to Kroger for the day-old bread that the Center for Lay Ministries will serve to its clients, and then she’s off to Eastside Christian Church. Then the rest of her week consists of more early mornings at the Center for Lay Ministries, and one morning at NAPD, where she volunteers by answering the phone and operating the switchboard.
“In my ignorance, I’d just see them [police officers] drive up and down the street, but you find out fast how much these [officers] do, and I love doing this. It’s very rewarding,” Ryan said.
In fact, volunteering is so important that even fracturing her hip last year didn’t stop her. As she was exiting her car to open the food pantry, she slipped on the ice and then had to spend six weeks at a rehabilitation center. While in the rehab center, she volunteered in the laundry and filled the sugar caddies.
“I did everything I could to get back to normal,” Ryan said.
Ryan began volunteering as a way to get out of the house in 2002, after her husband passed away in 2000, and she “hasn’t stopped since.”
Ryan has also volunteered with the American Red Cross, American Cancer Society and the Clark County Hospital. She also delivers goodies to the Center for Women and Families.
“A willing worker who brings a variety of talents to her endeavors, Bonnie is a great model of what a senior citizen can bring to society. No time to sit around or wait for someone to come to her, Bonnie sees a need and starts devising ways to make a difference,” McCauley said.
