JUNE 13, 2011

The Middletown Community Foundation has announced that nominations are now open for Middletown and West Chester area residents to be considered for the third annual Steel Magnolia Award.

Women who have overcome obstacles to positively impact the greater Middletown and West Chester communities have the opportunity to earn recognition as Steel Magnolia Award recipients in the program funded by the AK Steel Foundation. Up to 10 awards are given annually, limited to no more than one recipient per AK Steel U.S. location per year. Each recipient designates a $1,000 donation to an eligible charity of her choice.

The award honors women of all ages who have faced personal adversity and have shown exceptional strength, courage, compassion and leadership through their work in support of their communities.

“The courage and strength of the previous Steel Magnolia Award recipients are an inspiration. In honor and respect for women who have succeeded in spite of adversity, The AK Steel Foundation is proud to fund the Steel Magnolia Award,” said James L. Wainscott, chairman, president and CEO of AK Steel.

Middletown Community Foundation Executive Director T. Duane Gordon added: “Each year, we are humbled by the tremendous accomplishments and achievements of the nominated women. I sincerely wish we could honor them all.”

Last year’s Middletown-area honoree was Elsa Croucher of Monroe, who selected Citizens Against Domestic Violence (CADV) to receive the award’s $1,000 prize. Last year’s West Chester-area honoree was Barbara Condo of Fairfield, who chose One Way Farm for her prize.

Croucher lost her daughter, Tina, to domestic violence in 1992, placing Elsa and her husband, Jim, on the path to becoming the state’s preeminent domestic violence education advocates. They founded CADV in 1996 focusing on educating school-aged young men and women about the dangers of dating violence. Eventually, their efforts resulted in passage of the Tina Croucher Act, which requires Ohio schools to include dating violence education in their health education curriculum.

Condo, herself a victim of abuse and neglect as a child, including a period of homelessness in Cincinnati, used her own experience to create One Way Farm Children’s Home, a facility in Fairfield for abused and neglected children from surrounding communities. Over the past 32 years, she has assisted approximately 8,500 children.

Nominations, which should take the form of an essay of 500 words or less, must be submitted to the program administrator, the Middletown Community Foundation, no later than July 29. Nominees must live in the vicinity of an AK Steel facility. Association with AK Steel is not a requirement for nomination and will have no bearing on the nominee’s consideration.

For the Middletown and West Chester communities, nominations will be accepted from the greater Cincinnati-Dayton region. Other eligible communities are Ashland, Ky., Butler, Pa., Columbus and Rockport, Ind., and Coshocton, Mansfield, Walbridge and Zanesville, Ohio.

Visit www.mcfoundation.org/steelmagnolia to view complete requirements and obtain a nomination form. For more information, contact the Middletown Community Foundation at 513-424-7369.