Staten Island Women of Achievement Awards This Year Includes PRHS Alumni, Pillars Of Local Community

From the Port Richmond High School Alumni Association newsletter:

Congratulations to our newest woman of achievement!

Recently Clara Sue Ogburn, ’61, was awarded the prestigious Staten Island Women of Achievement award before over 600 attendees at the induction ceremony held at the Staten Island Hilton Garden Inn.

She joins over 15 PRHS alumni who are members of the SI Women of Achievement. Clara Sue Ogburn is a community activist and advocate for civil rights.  She has helped her community in so many ways.  By means of petitions and working with the MTA, she helped to ensure proper bus service here on Staten Island.

Clara also helped to raise funds for scholarships with the Purple Hat Society and helped to foster artistic development in various neighborhoods with the Universal Temple of the Arts.

Ms Ogburn is still involved with many organizations such as The Urban League,  Sandy Ground, and Project Hospitality. She also heads the Usher Ministry etc at her church,  Fellowship Baptist.

At the presentation ceremony, Clara thanked her family, church, and co-workers in the organizations that supported her in her community work. Ms. Ogburn also thanked her “amazing teachers at  P.S.22, P.S.44, and Port Richmond High School who guided [her] along the way.”  In closing, she stated that her purpose in life was “to make change. and to teach people about love and unity.”  Congratulations Clara Sue Ogburn on a life well lived. PRHS is proud of you.

From the website of Staten Island Women, Inc., the newly formed charity helping to expand the reach of this event:

Meet the Class of 2025

Bryn Biren

Shaw-nae Dixon

Dr. Kerry Kelly

Lorraine Lettieri

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Clara Sue Ogburn

Barbara Joyce Yarbrough

Support the Staten Island Women, Inc. Scholarship Fund

The Women of Achievement program, sponsored by the Staten Island Advance for the past 60-plus years and now joined by Richmond University Medical Center, operates under the auspices of a new not-for-profit – Staten Island Women Inc.

We have broadened the mission of Women of Achievement. Part of that new mission is to introduce the value of volunteering to our youth. Women of Achievement who received the award in previous years will be called on to meet with Staten Island youth to share the importance of “going above and beyond” for their community.

Staten Island Women Inc. also provides scholarships to a number of women in Staten Island colleges who display traits shared by all Women of Achievement – a deep commitment to community.

You can donate to help fund those scholarships.

Any amount will help shape the next generation of volunteers, and Staten Island Women of Achievement.

https://e.givesmart.com/events/HWS/

According to the Staten Island Advance, the long term sponsor and founder of this event, the awardees stories are briefly below: 

“[Bryn]Biren has spent a lifetime worshipping at Temple Israel Reform Congregation, where she co-founded the Dr. Ronald Avis Foundation..

“Her service to the Staten Island community includes working for Project Hospitality, serving as a 28-year board of trustees member at the JCC of Staten Island and devoting years to the Hillel of the College of Staten Island

“Shaw-nae Dixon‘s restaurant, an intimate eatery on Van Duzer Street that serves what renowned reviewers have called the best soul food on the planet, has brought international recognition to Staten Island…

“And each night when her restaurant closes, she takes the leftovers to a community refrigerator in Mariners Harbor. ‘It goes a long way in ensuring that our most vulnerable population is fed.’ Lubin said…

“She also built a charity called The Lotus Bridge for the needy to address the root cause of poverty, and visits schools, civic groups, and churches.

“An extraordinarily dedicated family physician, [Kerry] Kelly was the first-ever female chief medical officer for the New York City Fire Department, a position she held for 24 years until her retirement in 2018. The work of Kelly with congressional leaders was crucial to securing federal funding and invaluable mental health awareness on behalf of 9/11 first responders, Lubin said…

“‘What she has done since that day, what she has done for first responders still suffering in the decades since Sept. 11, is nothing short of remarkable,’ Lubin said…

“In 1996, Lorraine Lettieri led the sports community on a mission to establish a state-of-the-art indoor track on Father Capodanno Boulevard in Ocean Breeze and co-founded the Staten Island Track Running and Community to do just that.”

“Haunted and motivated by the tragedy of Emmett Till, a young Black teen in Mississippi lynched because towns folk said he offended a white woman, Clara Sue Ogburn has lived a life of advocacy for civil rights, ‘a life as a peacemaker and community activist‚’ Laline said…

“She raises money for scholarships through the Purple Hat Society, and through the Universal Temple of the Arts, she fosters artistic development in underserved Black communities.

“‘Let me list just some of the organizations Clara Sue is actively involved with‚’’ Lubin said, listing the Arlington Civic Association, Peace Action of Staten Island, the Staten Island Democratic Association, the Urban League, the African American Political Association, the National Council of Negro Women, the NAACP, Black Heritage Day, Sandy Ground, and Project Hospitality as organizations she has worked to advance.

“[Barbara]  Joyce [Yarborough] received a valuable lesson from her mom early on,

“‘Your life has value,’ Mom told her‚he said. ‘Everything about you has value. Always act like you’re somebody.”’

“But perhaps the most important role she plays is that of superintendent of the Sunday School Department at St. Philips Baptist Church.

“That‘s where she shares her mom’s message,’’ Lubin said. ”Every child’s life has value. Everybody is somebody, and nobody is a nobody.”

Banner Image: Women of Achievement award honorees. Image Credit – Staten Island Women, Inc