Carol Wolfe Konek

is honored with a Large Paver from Jill Docking

We need more women with the strength and conviction of Carol Konek. She is a terrific role model for women all over the world. She never hesitates to bring to our attention the past, present and future obstacles facing women. She has made it her business to be a champion of women offering encouragement and leadership. We know we are not alone with Carol on the job.

Carol grew up in Meade, Kansas and Southern California. Married to John Konek, she is mother to Jill, JD, Jana and Jeff, and grandmother to Dylan, Damon and Ian, sister to Tom and Linda, daughter to Fern Ford Wolfe, and niece and cousin to many, all of whom are sources of inspiration and courage.

Carol is Associate Dean of Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Associate Professor of Women's Studies at Wichita State University. Carol has spent her life telling, writing and gathering stories in and out of the classroom.

CAREER
Classes taught: Global Women's Issues; Leadership Techniques for Women; Literary Images of Women; Writing Family Narratives

Conferences: United Nations Conference on Women in Mexico City in 1975; United Nations Conference on Women in Nairobi in 1985; United Nations Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995; International Interdisciplinary Congress on Women in Dublin; International Interdisciplinary Congress on Women in San Jose; International Interdisciplinary Congress on Women in Adelaide; A delegation of women's studies activist/scholars traveling to Minsk, Moscow and St. Petersburg; The Peace Train, with 232 women from 45 countries, from Helsinki to Beijing.

Research: Women's History, including a period studying at the International Women's Archives in Amsterdam; Global Women's Movements; Women's Peace Movements; Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation.

Published books: I Hear My Sisters Saying, a co-edited anthology of poetry by women about women's lives, published by Crowell Publishing; The Source Book: An Inductive Approach to Composition, a co-authored text, published by Longman, Inc.; Daddyboy: A Family's Struggle with Alzheimer's, published by Graywolf Press; Women and Careers: Issues and Challenges, a co-edited and co-authored anthology, published by Sage Publishing.

Published essays, stories, and poems in journals including: Peace Review: A Transnational Journal; RE:AL: A Journal of Liberal Arts Kansas Quarterly; Hecate: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Women's Liberation; Affilia: A Journal of Women and Social Work; So To Speak: A Feminist Journal of Language and Art; Changes: For People in Recovery; Heresies: A Feminist Publication on Art and Politics; Mikrokosmos, Wichita State's own Literary Periodical

BOARDS AND COUNCILS
Carol has served Kansas, her local community and the Global community by serving on various administrative boards:
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.
YWCA.
Alzheimer's Association.
Lifeline.
Wichita/Sedgwick County Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention.
Women's Crisis Center.
Center for Women's Studies at Wichita State University, founding member.
Women's Equality Coalition, founding member.
Women's Alcohol Treatment Services, founding member.
Pathways for Children in Alcoholic Homes, founding member.

Submitted by Jill Docking

September 5, 1998
Mary grew up in the mining town of Jerome, Arizona. In 1987 she moved to Wichita, Kansas. During her time here she lost her 23 year old son to a senseless murder. Upon her leaving Wichita, she helped establish, through the Greater Wichita Community Foundation, an enrichment scholarship program to help "at risk" children in middle school. The Brian David Higby Fund is permanently endowed and the scholarships are awarded each May.

Although Mary has moved from Wichita to Santa Fe, she has left a lasting imprint on the community and the hearts and minds of Wichitans through her media presence and community service.

CAREER
She is the radio talk show host of Live Line America on Radio America Network.
Other radio positions include:
Station/Program Manager for KNSS in Wichita, Kansas.
Owner and Vice President of FEM-RAY for KKHG in Tucson, Arizona.
Talk Show Host, KNST, Tucson, Arizona.
Program Manager for WOKV in Jacksonville, Florida.

BOARDS AND COUNCILS
National Association of Radio Talk Show Hosts, President, in 1991 and 1992.
National Association of Radio Talk Show Hosts, Chair, from 1991-93.
Government Liaison of the Kansas Association of Broadcasters.
American Lung Association, Florida and Arizona.
Project Freedom Anti-Drug Coalition.
Parallax Inc, Drug Treatment Center.
YWCA of Wichita.
Charity Classic, St. Joseph Medical Center.
Emerald Ball, St. Joseph Medical Center.
Brian D. Higby Fund, President.
Sedgwick County Comprehensive Plan Committee.

HONORS AND AWARDS
First Place for Large Market Editorial Commentary from the Kansas Association of Broadcasters.
First Place for a Public Affairs Program from the Kansas Association of Broadcasters.
Alcohol & Drug Abuse Overall Campaign of the Kansas Association of Broadcasters.
Congressional Quarterly's Nation's Top Ten Talkmeisters.
Unity 1994 Broadcast Critic by the Radio and Television News Directors Federation.
National Association of Broadcasters "Crystal Award" as an Overall Community Service Radio Programming Finalist, and received a Red Ribbon for Outstanding Community Service to Effect Change in Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse.
Quality Improvement Certified by the Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University where she served on the Advisory Board of the Elliott School of Communications after having received their Golden Quill Award for Outstanding Education Reporting.
Outstanding Service Award from the American Heart Association.
Steve Yates Media Award.
Who's Who of Emerging Leaders in America.

WISDOM
Honor yourself first.

Submitted by Georgia Bradford

September 5, 1998