Veteran Feminists of America Honors NOW Activists, President Kim Gandy

National NOW Foundation Times >> Fall 2007 >> Veteran Feminists of America Honors Activists, Gandy

By Johanna Ettin, Oral History Project Director

NOW archive photo

Former NOW President Eliie Smeal (1977-1982 and 1985-1987) was honored by VFA for her work in the women's movement. Smeal now heads the Feminist Majority Foundation and publishes Ms. Magazine.

The Veteran Feminists of America (VFA) awarded a medal to NOW President Kim Gandy for her early -- and continuing -- contributions to the women's movement at a gala event at the Sewall-Belmont House in Washington on Oct. 30, 2007. Gandy joined NOW in 1973 when she was a teenager in New Orleans and has participated in and shaped some of the most important events of NOW's history.

After receiving her medal, Gandy joined former U.S. Representative Pat Schroeder (D-Colo.), Feminist Majority President Eleanor Smeal, and Heather Booth, founder of Jane, the Chicago abortion network, in presenting awards to 150 Washington-area women who are among those featured in Barbara Love's directory, Feminists Who Changed America 1963-1975.

Organized by VFA officers--including its president Jacqui Ceballos, former president of NOW-NYC, and board chair Muriel Fox, the first chair of NOW's national board--the event at the Sewall-Belmont House, historic home of ERA author Alice Paul, echoed with the voices of women reuniting with old friends and reminiscing about struggles and victories.

The reception was filled with women who have spent at least part of their feminist careers as NOW activists or staff members, including former national Vice President Mary Jean Collins, former NOW political director Alice Cohan, former board member Virginia Watkins, former staff fundraiser Boden Sandsstrom, California NOW leader Zoe Nicholson, and many more who continue to support and advance women's rights.