2008 Atta Girl Award Winners
Held at the Nicolaysen Art Museum in Casper on April 25, 2008, the Atta Girl Award Winners were announced to a sell-out crowd attending the Spotlight on Wyoming Women event, co-hosted by The Equipoise Fund and Equality Initiatives. Our winners were presented with cash awards and a custom glass award created by Wilson, Wyoming artists Laurie Thal and Lia Kass. The evening was one to remember, as this was also the premiere for Equipoise Fund’s documentary film, Don’t Fence Me In, and the kick-off for Equality Initiatives’ public awareness campaign.
But let’s talk about the Atta Girls!
The Vision Award: presented to Linda Barton of Lander, for her passion in establishing the Wyoming Afterschool Alliance. She helped create quality afterschool care so that children are safe and well cared for while their mothers make a living. Additionally, she represents Wyoming at the National Afterschool alliance. Her efforts in the legislature, as a citizen on behalf of Wyoming’s youth, have made our state a better place to be a kid, and she strives to improve her own community by serving on the Lander City Council. Her long-term vision has a long-lasting multiplier effect that is positive for every Wyoming citizen.
The Voice Award: presented to Dona Playton (left) of Laramie and Linda Fleming (right) of Baggs, who shared the Voice Award for their efforts on behalf of Wyoming women. An advocate herself, Dona Playton also develops advocates through her work as director of the University of Wyoming Domestic Violence Legal Assistance Project. Dona has helped judges and the courts better understand the effects of domestic violence by authoring the "Wyoming Domestic Violence Benchbook." Linda Fleming is recognized for her breadth of experience as a teacher and role model, as a founding member of the Little Snake River Women's Empowerment Group and as a Carbon County Commissioner. Her students learn about Wyoming’s history and civic issues through active participation under her guidance.
The Visibility Award: presented to Dr. Ray Fleming Dinneen of Cheyenne, who was honored for improving the lives of Wyoming’s working single mothers through the nationally recognized CLIMB Wyoming Program, which she founded in 1986 and currently directs. Her efforts put women into non-traditional jobs they wouldn’t otherwise occupy, increasing the visibility of women in industries across Wyoming. CLIMB was recently profiled in the New York Times and continues to be a boon to women across the state of Wyoming.
Atta Boy Awards
2008 was the first year we also presented Atta Boy Awards. Through our ongoing work, we realized that we have some “champions of women” in this state, and we thought it appropriate to thank them for their generous support in improving the lives of Wyoming’s women and girls.
T. Chris Muirhead, Donald E. Chapin and William L. McDowell of the Tate Foundation were honored as our first Atta Boys and presented with a $500 grant from The Equipoise Fund to donate to a Wyoming non-profit of their choosing. And subsequently, the Atta Boys decided to donate their grant to the Wyoming Women’s Foundation. These three men saw great and early promise in the ideas that have become the cornerstones of Equality Initiatives, providing much needed funding early on. They truly understand the Equality Initiatives mission, that “What is good for Wyoming women is good for Wyoming communities.”
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