Local Women of Worth to be honored by the Gateway Voice of Mid-Life and Older Women (OWL)

The Gateway Voice of Mid-Life and Older Women, also known as OWL, a national grassroots membership organization that focuses  on improving the status and quality of life for the 58 million American women mid-life and older, will honor 13 women who have demonstrated their commitment with outstanding service to the community.

Four of these women, Jane Roodman Weiss, Alice Ludmer, and Judith Gall, either live or do business in the Ladue/Frontenac area. Gall will be receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Each week, Patch will profile one of these women who will receive their awards at the Annual WOW Awards dinner at the Missouri Athletic Club on October 31.                                     

Susan S. Block

Owner of the Designing Block, 7735 Clayton Rd., Susan S. Block said the best advice she ever received came from her mother and both grandmothers. “Always be kind, treat others with respect, use your manners, and say ‘please’ and ‘thank you.’”

Block practices that advice on a daily basis.“This was drilled into our heads from the time we were little,” she said. “I remember teaching my son to stand up, look the person in the eye and shake their hand. It doesn’t take two seconds to each a child how to give a firm handshake. It will give them self-confidence and make them know they’re worth something."

Volunteering for Block came at an early age, starting in grade school, “our classes always had to do some volunteer work,” and carried into college at Washington University when, she said, her volunteering started in earnest.

“I was a Pi Phi and we did a lot of volunteer service,” she said. “That’s when I joined the Junior League, which is great about training you to be an effective volunteer.

“Volunteering is fun and rewarding,” Block said. “I’m a people person. I love meeting different people. Some people stay within their box and only do what their friends are doing, but I love the diversity, and you meet the most interesting people from all areas, different types of jobs and careers. This makes life interesting.”

Block graduated from Washington Universitywith a BFA in fashion design. In 1996, she opened the Designing Block, an eclectic shop featuring home and fashion accessories.

Having her shop has enabled her to take her volunteer work to new heights.“I’ve probably made about 5,000 centerpieces,” she said.

“Through my shop, I can get things wholesale. For the St. Louis Effort for Aids,we had light-up martini glasses. People wanted more so I sold them here in the shop, and gave 100 percent of the proceeds to EFA.

“Some people say they will lose money by donating proceeds, but I say it gets people into my store, and that is business I wouldn’t have had,” she said.

Among the events Block has chaired are the Ballet Ball (Dance St. Louis), Zoo Ado, Carnival (St. Louis Effort for Aids), ARTrageous (Craft Alliance), Voices of Children Gala, and Old Bags for the Foster and Adoptive Care Coalition.   

 Block currently serves many boards including the Epworth Children and Family Services, St. Louis Zoo, Spirit of St. Louis Women’s Fund, St. Louis Art Museum, and Dance St. Louis.

She and her husband, Terry, have two children, Julie, who lives with her husband Gabe Fernandez and their two-year old son, Nick, in Mexico, and Britton, who resides here in St. Louis.

“It doesn’t cost a cent to be nice to people,” Block said. “You just don’t know what’s going on in their heads, and a smile means a lot.”                

OWL Recognizes Women Who Give Back

For 21 years, The Gateway Voice of Mid-life and Older Women has honored 13 women who have gone the extra mile in making life better for hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals in the St. Louis region.

Executive Director Barbara McQuitty said, “This began 21 years ago with naming one woman, Janet Shipman who had done an extreme amount of good in our community.

“They called it wonderful woman of worth, and as time went on over the years, we determined there were many more women of worth,” she said. “We began calling it the Women of Worth, with the one lifetime achievement award, and we did this annually.”

She described OWL as an advocacy organization for causes that benefit women from mid-life and older.

“We keep women apprised of what’s happening legislatively so they can contact their legislators with their views, and what might be coming down the pipe for them legislatively.” She said.

“We also do financial education. We work collaboratively with the UMSL extension with financial education series that we do every fall,” she said. “This addresses every facet of finance for older women who find themselves alone and maybe have never handled finance.

“We also have divorce education that we do quarterly,” she said. “We bring in attorneys and psychologists in to help women who might be thinking about divorce or are in the early stages to help them through the process.”

The women are nominated by the general community.

McQuitty said that anyone can nominate someone whom they feel qualifies.

“One of our recipients this year was nominated by her fellow working at St. Luke’s Hospital,” she said.

The women will be honored at the 21st Annual WOW Awards dinner, Missouri Athletic Club on Thursday, October 13, 2011. 

Honorary co-chairs for the event are Debbie Monterey, co-host of KMOX Radio Total Information AM and Thelma Cook, former director of Corporate Affairs for Anheuser-Busch, Inc., and community volunteer.  Barbara Washington, vice-president of public relations and special events for Mathews-Dickey Boys and Girls Club will be the featured speaker.

Tickets are $69. For more Information, call 314-989-0977.