Students present program on women in history at Business and Professional Women's meeting

Ashland Business and Professional Women met March 4 at The Inn at Ashland Woods for the monthly dinner meeting.

The program featured three eighth grade girls who presented women in history.

Brooklyn Martin, daughter of Jonathan and Evelyn Martin, told about Anne Frank, who was born June 12, 1929, in Frankfurt, Germany. She was a Jewish victim of the Holocaust. Anne, her older sister, and parents were in hiding for two years to avoid Nazi persecution. On her 13th birthday, she received a diary, which she named Kitty. The diary was her imaginary friend in which she could confide and find comfort.

The family was betrayed and taken to a concentration camp. Anne died at age 15 of typhus fever in 1945. The Diary of Anne Frank was published in 1947. It was later made into a play and movie.

Sydney Spellman, daughter of Mike and Amanda Spellman, shared information about Princess Diana. She was born, July 1, 1961, in Norfolk, England, the youngest of five children. She was educated in England and Switzerland. She was employed as a babysitter and a teacher before her famous wedding to Prince Charles in 1981. She became well known for supporting over 100 charities, including helping the homeless and AIDS patients.

Princess Diana and Prince Charles were divorced in 1986. They had two children − William and Harry. Princess Diana died after a car accident in Paris in 1997.

Alexis Sheppard, the daughter of Scott Shepperd, presented on Helen Keller. She was the first deaf and blind person to obtain a college degree. She went to Harvard. Keller was born in 1880 and lost her sight and hearing after an illness when she was 19 months old. She attended an institute for the blind and then she was taught by Anne Sullivan. By age 7, Helen learned 60 hand signals. By age 9, she began to speak, which improved her quality of life.

Helen Keller was an author, disability rights advocate, a political activist and a lecturer. She worked for the woman’s right to vote. Helen Keller was born in 1880 in Alabama and died at age 87 in Westport Connecticut.

The three student are eighth graders in Carolyn Labay’s English class at the Ashland Middle School. The girls were given a certificate and gift bags.

During the business meeting, Rachael Yoder distributed flyers for the April 1 Equal Pay Day event at Ohio Fire. The public is invited to share in the UnHappy Happy Hour.

The group voted to award a $500 scholarship to Breena Plank, who will attend Bluffton College, and a $200 grant to Paige Green, who will attend Ashland County-West Holmes Vocational School.

The group will have a vendor table to sell BPW notepads and candy at the conference in May.

Special guest was Charisse Kellums, BPW/OHIO vice president. She is the state conference chair, and told highlights of the events planned for the conference May 17-19 at the Best Western Plus in Strongsville.

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Ashland eighth-graders present program on historical women