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 SARASOTA – National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) CEO Sheila Katz set the stage at Michael’s on East to empower Suncoast women.

“We must be stronger than our losses, louder than our adversaries, and greater than we ever dreamed,” Katz said.

Luncheon Co-Chair Jessica Rogers says the 38th annual event honors four Suncoast women who have made impacts not just locally, but globally.

“So this is our opportunity as an agency to honor women who mirror our own mission at NCJW,” Rogers said.

We introduced you to one of the honorees as ‘Someone on the Suncoast You Should Know,’ Award-Winning Journalist and Civil Rights Legend Charlayne Hunter-Gault.

“We learn from history that when you speak out, you can make a difference,” Hunter-Gault said.

She proves it, with a journalism career that spanned the globe, and her role in desegregating the University of Georgia. She says back then, a group of Jewish women inspired and supported her.

“They told me about the holocaust and how they had not been victims, but their parents and grandparents had. They had passed that onto them and given them armor, so they polished my armor with their story,” Hunter-Gault said.

Rogers is excited for 2020 and has nicknamed the 100th anniversary of the Equal Rights Amendment, ‘The Year of the Woman.’

“We have a real opportunity this year to kick off 2020 in a very special way and say, ‘Women’s voices need to be heard,'” Rogers said.

The proceeds from the luncheon go toward NCJW of Sarasota-Manatee scholarships.