Turtle Awards and Annual Meeting
Time: Noon to 1:15 pm
Venue: Maple Room at Inn at the Fifth
205 E Sixth
Eugene, Oregon
97401
Enter the Maple Room at Inn at the 5th near the north stairs to 5th Avenue. Details at https://cityclubofeugene.org/see-you-at-our-new-meeting-space/. An optional lunch from Cafe Yumm or Cafe Glendi may be purchased; please, no outside food. Park in the lot north of the railroad tracks on High or park west of Market Square on 5th.
Ask a question of the speakers! cityclubofeugene@gmail.com
Topic:
May 31 marks our Annual Meeting and one of the City’s most cherished programs: the awarding of the Turtle Awards to those who have “stuck their necks out” to serve others and make Eugene a better place.
This year we are proud to honor the following recipients: Margaret Hallock, Brittany Quick-Warner, and Nadia Telsey.
Sadly, Nadia Telsey died on February 28, mere weeks after the Turtle Committee bestowed its honors. Nadia’s award will be accepted by her partner, Diane DePaolis.
In addition, we are honored to bestow the Order of the Turtle Award, given posthumously for people who died since last May, to the following recipients:
Evelyn Anderton
Evelyn was a leader – with joy and kindness and caring – at everything she did in life. She was a local, statewide, and national leader on domestic violence, starting before addressing DV became well-known. She led the local DV shelter/program, Womenspace, for years, and founded the Domestic Violence Council that brought together DV advocates with the Lane County District Attorney and law enforcement. She was president of the statewide coalition and wrote, with Pearl Wolfe, a novel designed to educate people about DV, entitled “Walk Out the Door.” She served on the boards and as president for multiple organizations (Rape Crisis Network, Bring Recycling, First Christian Church, and Community Supported Shelter). And did we say “joyful?” During one of the old Eugene Celebration parades, as her obituary noted, “she boogeyed down the downtown streets with her Womenspace comrades belting ‘Stop in the Name of Love’ while twirling a corded phone around her head in perfect rhythm.”
Charmaine Coleman
As an educator, mother, and avid social critic, education and dignity were always paramount in the way she held herself. She led by example and mentored so many. She was part of the dynamic duo along with Dr. Ed that advocated for social justice and education equity as a community activist within the Black community; a true matriarchal figure who gave us a glimpse at successful living and service.
Priscilla Gould
Read the list of past honorees. Please join us to celebrate our 2024 honorees, and to welcome City Club’s new board members and hear about our plans for the next year.
Speakers
Title: PhD Economist
Organization: retired
Website:
Biography:
Biographies are provided by the panelists and edited for length/proofreading
Margaret Hallock came to Eugene to join the UO faculty in 1974 as a PhD economist. She later served as senior economist for the state forecasting office and then as chief economist for SEIU #503. She served as an advisor to Gov. Ted Kulongoski on labor, revenue, and workforce development issues, where she helped lead to a solution on the PERS funding crunch. Her research, teaching, and academic writing focused on workers’ rights and women’s issues. She led the Labor Education and Research Center at UO, including coordinating the Wayne Morse Chair of Law and Politics, which at the time held an annual lecture by visiting scholars. Teaming with then-UO President Dave Frohnmayer, she expanded and built on that to create the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics at UO, soliciting significant funding from a man who worked as a court reporter and became a close friend when Morse arbitrated a dispute between the Port of San Francisco and longshoremen in 1938. The Center established the Margaret Hallock Program for Women’s Rights when she retired in 2015. Since “retiring” from UO, she served – including as board president – on the boards of Planned Parenthood and Sponsors, a nonprofit that helps offenders transition from prison back into the community.came to Eugene to join the UO faculty in 1974 as a PhD economist. She later served as senior economist for the state forecasting office and then as chief economist for SEIU #503. She served as an advisor to Gov. Ted Kulongoski on labor, revenue, and workforce development issues, where she helped lead to a solution on the PERS funding crunch. Her research, teaching, and academic writing focused on workers’ rights and women’s issues. She led the Labor Education and Research Center at UO, including coordinating the Wayne Morse Chair of Law and Politics, which at the time held an annual lecture by visiting scholars. Teaming with then-UO President Dave Frohnmayer, she expanded and built on that to create the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics at UO, soliciting significant funding from a man who worked as a court reporter and became a close friend when Morse arbitrated a dispute between the Port of San Francisco and longshoremen in 1938. The Center established the Margaret Hallock Program for Women’s Rights when she retired in 2015. Since “retiring” from UO, she served – including as board president – on the boards of Planned Parenthood and Sponsors, a nonprofit that helps offenders transition from prison back into the community.
Title: CEO
Organization: Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce
Website:
Biography:
Biographies are provided by the panelists and edited for length/proofreading
Brittany Quick-Warner is the President and CEO of the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce. She joined the Chamber in 2013 as event coordinator and, later, as Director of Business Advocacy. Then in 2017, after the sudden medical leave and death of long-time (25 years) leader and mentor Dave Hauser, she was appointed CEO at the age of 30. Brittany has energized the Chamber, especially with younger business people, focusing on diversifying the membership and leadership, an approach which has spread to other Chambers on the West Coast and nationally. Her passions are public policy and planning as well as community outreach and engagement. Under her leadership, the Eugene Chamber has been a leader in seeking solutions to the affordable housing and homelessness crises, as well as addressing racial justice issues and transit, issues which she views as essential for community success at all levels. The Chamber also was active in helping businesses survive the pandemic. Finally, she and her husband Erik Quick publicly shared their 6-year struggle to become pregnant, culminating in the October 2023 birth of their son, Rowen.
Title: Community Justice Activist, Educator, Author
Organization:
Website:
Biography:
Biographies are provided by the panelists and edited for length/proofreading
Nadia Telsey, who died on February 28, 2024, was a long-time community justice activist, educator, and author. She served as the director of the Rape Crisis Center and co-founded the Springfield-Eugene chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice, among other things. Mostly she was known for teaching empowerment self-defense to women and members of the LGBTQ+ community at the UO and throughout the community. She tailored special self-defense sessions for differently-abled women who attend the annual conferences of Mobility International USA here in Eugene. And she “wrote the book,” in 1988, revised in 2023 and published by Random House as “Get Empowered: A Practical Guide to Thrive, Heal, and Embrace Your Confidence in a Sexist World,” with co-author Lauren Taylor.
