how many women this week went to work cook food get school did homework came here look beautiful how many of y'all know Women Rock and I didn't even add Community meetings being an
advocate fighting for our community Women Rock in this time and we are so excited that Dr Lisa Mims has these beautiful events to highlight women in our community before she comes up the
first person we would like to have a few remarks is our mayor well he's not my mayor but he was my mayor let's give it up for mayor Andre SE let's have a rousing round of
applause for Melanie who I call fly she's in West Patterson that's what we call it right assembly woman not Woodland Park West Patterson you know it but we're here in Patterson in the newly
renovated city council chambers so that we could have celebrations like this one and I want to point out that women's history is being made every month but also every minute are there any Mothers here
mothers I want to raise and your your grandmother here to Dr Jasmine baitman is here you're a mother you made history the moment you gave birth when you delivered us into this world so that there could be more history makers and I
would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the woman who gave birth to my three children the first lady of the city of Patterson for hanaa right there she did all the work and she's still doing all the work actually wait a minute I picked up the children from school today they had a half day I was there at
12:30 but I want to point out one thing I see some of the honores I want to identify just a few just a few that I know very well like Maris Marquisha Guthrie right there Marquisha you know I met her she was playing football against the boys at
school 15 she had the pads the shoulder pads and the helmet and now Marquisha in about a month at hinchliff Stadium we are going to have the first all women's tackle football team play in the city of Patterson Marquisha you need to suit up
let's go I also want to point out young lady known as Rana Smith I call her or friends call her mooki assembly when you know this this goes back 20 years and I also want to acknowledge her mom Linda Smith who we
affectionately refer to as Mama Sarge and Mama SARS took it upon herself to adopt a park cob Park yes yes and what brings joy to my heart because councilwoman Mims councilwoman Dava and
the entire Council supported remodeling the playground that Mama Sarge took care of for so long so the park cob Park is getting a new playground along with Brin Avenue and 21st Avenue so Dr MIM Dr Mims I salute you for hosting this event so we can Elevate
the women here in our community that others could be encouraged others could be inspired and empowered by seeing Role Models here at the deis and I was thinking a little bit about our history as a country and there's things that we
should be ashamed of that happened in this country things that should have happened in this country women had to wait for the right to vote and work for the right to vote and ultimately in 1920 as a result of the 19th Amendment women could vote but that was a little over a hundred years ago and let's think about
education women were not encouraged to go to College in fact some people said A Woman's Place is in the house well now the Woman's Place is in the House of Representatives United States Senate that you get where I'm going that but as
city council that's right in this house that's true yes Governor I know where you're going with that one I saw what you did right there Melanie we're on the same team don't worry about that that's an inside joke but women couldn't get an educ or were discouraged from getting an
education Princeton University arguably the best institution of Higher Learning in New Jersey did not accept women until 1969 so we're talking about women didn't get the right to vote till 1920 couldn't go to Princeton till 1969 and it's now
2025 and we still have not had a woman in the white house now more than ever now more than but I don't want to go down that path or that rabba hole this is a celebration this is an elevation of what's best in
the city of Patterson West Patterson hden wherever it may be here we are here to thank God for the women that are making history not every month but every minute thank you very much congratulations to all the honores TR Ruffin I'm glad you got that squared
away let's give our May a mayor a round of applause right here now we will have Dr Jasmine which is Lisa ms's daughter who's going to do an introduction of her mother let's give it up women that
rock good evening good evening I am so happy to be here all the way from the state of Maryland I came because I got to see some of the names that was on the flyer and some of you I've never probably talked to or spoke to but I went I went on Facebook on Google and I
looked you up and you were definitely worth a trip you were worth a trip um so I just want to say congratulations to all of the ladies I know I'm supposed to be here to introduce my mom but I want you to know that you were definitely worth the screaming and hollering trip
that I had with my baby to get to get here um so I'm just going to do what I was asked to do and I am here to introduce my mother councilwoman Dr Lisa Mims um you know her as a lifelong president of Patterson New Jersey she cares for the people and more
importantly she cares for women she cares for women of all nationalities all race um all cultures um that is something that I know about my mom and I know what she's invested in her children and instilled and her children especially me being the oldest and the
only girl is that you rock and even when people tell you you can't you can and so she lives by that model that you rock and I remember when I was a little girl she would always say to me like no matter what you decide to do in life teacher you know she was telling me what
to do uh no matter what you decide to do in life that you can and so I just want to say to you Mom tonight even though you're not sitting on the panel you rock you rocking city council you rocking city council you
rock in the city of Patterson you rock in the state of New Jersey you rock you rock rock you rock and you're about to help other people Shine the Light on other rock stars that even if they haven't been shine so tonight we applaud you and we congratulate you and we thank
you for being a rock star that allow other women to rock so Dr Lisa Mims so good evening or good afternoon everybody I'm ready for the night something about nighttime with women right so I just want to say um for over
20 years God has blessed me to be able to honor women of all different cultures backgrounds ethnicities um and just because of the great work that they do whether it's in the city of Patterson
helden Woodland Park state of New Jersey and whatever you have done whether it's education whether it's with youth seniors your families some of you have saved so many people's lives you have touched and saved my life um we have
doctors here that really have saved people's lives and I just want to say to all of you women that are being honored today it was an honor and a privilege to be able to do this event once again and honor you as such amazing women and I
want to personally say to all of you you absolutely Rock let's give a shout out to all of our honores before we get started let me just acknowledge some of the great people that are in the room we have our councilman at large Marissa Dava who is
here we have the great councilwoman of the fourth W councilwoman Ruby cotton you already heard from our mayor Andre seya his wife lady fanana SE was here Corporation counsel aan abushi is
here our director of DPW Mr Billy Rodriguez is here assembly woman Alise Evans who is a mentor but she's one of my legislative AIDS is here councilman anad Sha of Prospect
Park is here we have one of the people that have been instrumental for making sure pay County section of the National Council of negro women has grown and has sustained and I want to give a shout out to none other than our past president
miss bua Gaskins of the National Council of of negro women to my legislative aids to all of the people that are here and gathered um there are so many people and um every year um you know I think it's great that we reach out to you and say
we want to honor women oh and to our soon to be County Commissioner Christina schratz if she would please stand councilman Melo it's no that's not Melo no your Melo was always there I'm sorry
um oh director Joelle Ramirez is here director neeves School Board commissioner neeves is here and if I miss anyone just kind of Point them out and I'll make sure we acknowledge Him our officer in command Mr Robert Scott from the sheriff's
department and so I always have the privilege of putting together a list creating a wonderful Flyers so everyone gets to see all these amazing women but one of the great things that I love is I'm able to surprise a woman every year
somebody say surprise Sur and so this year I want to surprise this woman that works really hard uh she started off as one of my AIDS probably an intern then an aid and then an opportunity came where I was able to speak on her behalf
she became an executive assistant um a chief uh administrator for the mayor of Woodland Park and now she works directly for congresswoman Mikey cherl so I want to give this surprise Honor on tonight to our surprise first woman who rocked
none other than Melanie Holmes somebody say say surprise so I just want to share a little tip bit I had the awesome opportunity to be a delegate for um for uh former presidential candidate KLA
harson we shared a room and it was so much that happened in our room and all as we were going through this process I kept saying I gotta honor um Melanie and tonight and surprise her tonight and she kept calling like you got everything an ed I'm like you just be there she didn't even know that she was being honored so
surprise congratulations sometimes in life you think people don't see I thank you for honoring me it's an honor to be able to talk to you and serve with you and um I remember when I
moved to Patterson people were like you need to work with bisa Mims I'm like who is this Mims and then I end up being her Aid and the same way someone say well you need to work with Mikey Cheryl and I said who is this Mikey Cheryl and I I ended up
working with her so sometimes God works in so many mysterious ways and you don't have to be in the front it's very important to be in the back and serve the community in the capacity of administration and
organization because you see them but the real work is in the back absolutely it is so honor anybody that's your secretary your Aid that does your
scheduling because I'm very militant with it but it's because we as women should do everything in excellence we should serve our people in excellence and so I'm so you don't understand we'll talk about it later
Wings on me don't forget wings and wine I'm that girl so I just right so thank you guys thank you this is so a surprise cuz you know I'm nosy I'll be like what you want me to do so thank you each woman on tonight will get a
specially designed uniquely crafted plaque with their names imprinted they will also get citations from city council my office the city uh mayor's office county commissioner office uh County Clerk's Office the uh Senator's
office Congress person's office so they will get all of those citations and they will also get a purple rose hey sorce so our next Honore on tonight uh we will be honoring this
great woman who has been an advocate for children her voice is resounding if you watch the school board meetings you will hear her standing on the front line she's been doing it for a long time behind the scenes but now that I'm watching the Schoolboard meeting
meetings more frequently I'm so pleased when I hear her at the microphone because I know how hard she has advocated not just for her own children but so many children bear Trak park the work that has done been done in Bear Trak Park when we were walking around
and knocking on the doors and talking to the families and now we're about to have a a splash pad with some water and some leveling of the ground and some cameras over there it is because of women like miss Shay Brown who has pushed pushed
the needle and we appreciate you our next Honore is michay brown who is a woman who rocks I'm going to keep it brief um I um I have to thank God first I always put God first and I I know sometimes it
sounds cliche but I do um those are my children over there that's Cali my 14-year-old and that's kayen um hi baby yes also want to acknowledge my cousin Leslie and one of my closest confidence
and dear friends um lyd Powell um I am a mother first I'm a special education teacher second um I live and breathe when it comes to special education children with special abilities um I taught in Patterson for seven and a half
years and I'm now in Prospect Park and when I fight for children it is not my son has autism and in addition to that I don't just speak on behalf of him I speak on behalf of all children especially in Patterson um that it's key there are a
lot of families who don't necessarily know their rights that's where I come in so I make sure when I come up they may hear me talking about Kaden but I also let them know it's not just for Kaden it's for all the children so don't just make a decision cuz I'm speaking up it's
for everybody you know sometimes they'll say oh okay we'll take care of kayen no no no there's a whole bunch of children in pison that need to be taken care of especially when the it comes to special education so I thank you for this well I was shocked when she uh notified me and I don't do it for any clout I don't do
it for the front lines I it doesn't matter who sees me it matters that decisions are made and we make better choices for our children so thank you so much I appreciate it I want to acknowledge our councilmen of the Fifth Ward that just came in the
room councilman Louis bz we also have our assemblyman Al abdalaziz who is here we also have our councilman of the sixth World Mr Ibraham Omar who is
here we have uh his chief of staff khabib Kabir who is here as well and I see some members of the sheriff's department our next Honore is also another
advocate for children for women one of the things I I've noticed about this great woman that I'm going to acknowledge next she's always the same she's a woman of Peace she's a woman of
consistency and she's a a woman of love and I probably have never told her this but I want to say it openly she is a precious Jewel that sometimes could be overlooked if not ever introduced to but
I want you to say it to you openly which I've always felt about her privately Daisy Carolina Gonzalez you are a woman who rocks good evening everyone thank you councilwoman Dr Lily Simons for for
those beautiful words um and for this esteemed recognition it is an honor to be selected among such remarkable women who truly embody the spirit of empowerment and achievement as we celebrate women's history month it is
vital to reflect on the significant contributions women have made throughout history and continue to make today by honoring the achievements of women from diverse backgrounds we Inspire future generations to pursue their dreams and
break barriers wom History Month encourages to acknowledge the challenge women have faced and commit ourselves to creating a better Equitable Society together let's celebrate the
past recognize the present and empower the future I want to acknowledge my Village that's always behind me supporting me and every and everything which is my fiance Hector Nez my mom
marisou and my mother-in-law Elba my brother Roosevelt and of course I have to acknowledge my son Lucas who just turned one on Wednesday thank you everyone she's gonna need some help
congratulations I want to acknowledge two of our Board of adjustment Commissioners I see Karina manoro in the room commissioner Barbie Watkins School Board uh commissioner Vincent Arrington is here as well I'm trying to make sure I acknowledge
everybody School Board commissioner Dela Mcall is here our next honory CU I know this side is feeling kind of heavy and this side is feeling kind of low so I need to come here this is another woman who has been
on the front line fighting for women for a very for children for a very very long time your voice your advocacy your heart your love your
consistency and your persistent to make sure all of our students succeed and get the the thorough and efficient education they deserve is to be admired thank you because your voice has not helped only my children but every
everybody's children in the great city of Patterson Wendy Wilson I admire you I respect you and our children every day they wake up they get a better education because of voices
like yourself you are a woman who Rock congratulations I'd like to thank everyone for um the support of all these beautiful ladies that are here I'd like to um thank you guys for um just being here thank you
guys for all the work that you guys do the love and the care that you have um I feel um just overwhelmed with joy um I would like to acknowledge my family I'd like to thank my kids for their support and riding along with
me um even when you don't want to it makes a difference so thank you I'm Carson Harmony I love you guys um I'd like to thank Melanie um so much for the encouragement for your prayers for your love that you have it has made a huge
impact in my life um I would like to also thank my friend Nicole for being here I thank you for your prayers they're always on time and also I'd like to thank my boyfriend Phil for being here
um so okay um so being here is a sign for all of us it is a sign how beautiful and strong Patterson is and this is also encouraging to me that do the thing that God tells you to
do even when other people say no even when people say don't go there don't do that that is a town that doesn't matter because it does even when people look at the things that aren't like you just look at the surface of it you you don't
see the beauty of it I want to go back to God and say how beautiful this places so that's what I do and that's what encourages me and um your gift will make room for you yes it will the gifts that God has given you
will make room for you it will give you spaces and places that you never imagined that you never thought possible continue to press through when you don't feel like even getting out of bed with all that you do do it with love
and faithfulness be compassionate and kind you don't know what people are going through smile a smile can save someone's life without you knowing it and I thank you guys love
we're so honored to honor these great great people so we have another Honore two honores that cannot make it on tonight but one is a woman who does scholarships um for young people's future she is a beautiful woman that has
been honoring you youth of many different schools different ages and when you go to her event every year the event is packed she couldn't be here tonight her name is Martha Ane and we are accepting this honor in her on be her behalf but
she will receive it if her flower dies we will get her another flower but Martha ancy you are a woman who rocks now these two women I had the honor them together because when you need help from one the
other helps we need help from the other the other one helps so when I see them both it's almost like they're twins even though they have different names they're two different people but anyone knows any thing about the Islamic County the
center of P County on DAV there are two people that really run the show that is the home and ra and so on tonight zaha could not be here because you know they're in the middle of Ramadan and I say Ramadan
mabarak to your great Community zaha could not be here so raana as I already said will hold it down for both of them raana you and Zuma I want to say thank you you've been a partner for our youth you've been a partner in our community
and I want to say this I remember one time 2013 first running for Schoolboard coming to meet Iman konani and I didn't know that you had to cover your head so I put a scarf on my head and I
went to sit in the meeting with the emam and I something was on my leg so I thought something was crawling and I didn't want to look down because I'm in this meeting and so I just kept talking and talking in the meeting and all of a
sudden I just felt a slide down my toes and it was the scarf that I hadn't properly put on my head but these two great women brought me a a bunch of scars showed me how to tie it taught me
how to wrap them and now I'm always prepared when I come into the mosque so I want to say thank you for allowing me to be covered and covering me when in moments as women we can feel uncovered
when're moments when we feel that no one has our back when we feel that we don't know where else to turn I know always that I can turn to ICPC the men and the women and I know that whatever the situations are it will be resolved now I would like to honor
zaha Hassan and ra saah Salam alaykum everyone it is such an honor and pleasure to be here today among a a group of women High achieving and and contributing to this society and
Community it is my honor to be here uh Dr Mims you are a role model to the women here I appreciate you I love you too and I appreciate every single woman in this room making a contribution in
our community and it is a role given to me by Allah subhana tala God and I take that as a trust and I take that with me every single day serving and making sure
that I'm doing it with love and peace je thank you thank you you love you I want to also acknowledge our County Commissioner Orlando Cruz and candidate for the assemblymen of the 35th District Welcome Orlando Cruz our
next honory if you want to make sure your paperwork is right you want to make sure you dot every eye and cross every T your know anything about the county you want to learn anything about the county you want to make sure you get on the Chairman's
schedule you want to make sure you get a flyer or information to the chairman you can't get it to him without this lady she is the one that makes it happen reaching out to her she said you
sure you want to honor me and so many other people I said yes I want to thank you for being an organizer and a woman that puts things into proper perspective you have been the same since
the very first day that I've met you it is such an honor that you lead us in the county by being the person that makes your administrative lead that we stay on task Rita I believe you should get your flowers while you can smell them thank
you for making sure I was on time in order and doing the right thing our next Honore is Pascal thank you so much thank thank you so much I want to first thank uh Dr Mims for an amazing event that she put together all the hard work and the
efforts that she did and including me as an Honore I'm very humbled and excited to be here um I want to conrat congratulate all the honores here tonight you are if you're sitting up here you've done something wonderful in your community and you should be
commended congratulations to all of you for those of you that don't know me I'm actually grew up in Patterson I lived across the street from school 15 I had a wonderful childhood growing up in Patterson the school districts were great it continues to be great and here
I am back to my roots accepting this award and I can't thank you enough I'm so humbled and grateful and God bless you all thank you our next Honore is someone else the same thing for the
county I knew her since she was young I call her mom's sister she's been a part of the young dims when campaigns are going she is getting it together making sure we are
task making sure we stay true to who we are and she's always working have you ever seen people that talk a lot and not work that is not to be said of this amazing amazing amazing woman and I'm
going to say it here your future is bright there are great things in store for you because of your humility your tenacity and and even in moments when you could say stuff and you did not God
is going to honor your faithfulness Marquisha Guthrie you are a woman who rocks thank you um thank you everyone thank you Dr Mims um I just want to First obviously thank thank God for
getting me through each and every day um protecting me from things known and unknown um to my mom who is a few semesters away from being a doctor herself uh to the amazing honores thank you all for setting the
example um I would be remiss if I didn't mention someone who I'm blessed to have as a leader who I learn from every day who I know I can call at any moment and pick her brain and she's doing a million things but she always makes time and that's my chief Katie Bonia who's also
one of the honores um I I will keep my remarks brief by just saying if you see my shirt it says just do it I'm a big sports fan um and I just want to mention Nike's campaign this year which was just do it
um if you want to win then win if you want to work then work and the point of it and the purpose of everything that we do is you can find a million reasons of why not challenge yourself to find the
why and just do it thank you yes you are so we announced her name earlier but I will say it again because now we have someone one of her beautiful represent Representatives that is coming to receive her honor this beautiful woman has done
scholarships for so many young people for years she started there's a song that said I started from the bottom now I'm here and that can definitely be said of our young people future founder Miss Martha ansy let's give it up for her her
recipient as she comes to receive her honor Beau good afternoon my name is m negro and I'm repres representing Mara Ani the president of young people of the future of New Jersey I'm one of her first
director and uh we're very happy and honor to ER honor all our Latino outstanding students in New Jersey thank you thank you Mar um Martha anyone um
that's here you can watch this uh live our next honorie and I have her bio she is the doctor of nursing practice and she's a family nurse practitioner she's a dedicated and highly skilled nurse practitioner with
the doctorate and nursing practice and over 13 years of experience in advanced clinical care she specializes in providing comprehensive Patient Care Health Care across the lifespan with a strong commitment to improving patient outcomes she earned her doctor of
nursing practice from the University of medicine and Dentistry where she developed expertise in clinical practice Health Care policy leadership and system Improvement Beyond her clinical practice she is a dedicated advocate for Health Care accessibility and quality improvement she holds board
certification as an adult nurse practitioner and is engaged member of the American Association of nurse practitioners and the American Nurses Association committed to lifelong she consistently su's professional development to say at the Forefront of
medical advancements outside of her PR professional life Dr Rob enjoy spending time with her new husband councilman sha and friends and remains passionate about making a meaningful impact in both the health care and the lives of her patient
I want to present to others and introduce to to some Dr rahana Rob asalam alaikum good evening everyone um my name is Dr RAB and I'm truly honored to receive this award and
to be included amongst these beautiful amazing inspiring woman um I enjoy I enjoy and love what I do taking care of patients I actually grew up in Patterson and I always wanted to come back and serve the community in some way and 20 years later I get to come back
and be in the middle of a huge diverse community and uh make a difference be their voices advocate for them and uh it's truly rewarding it's like a purpose in life I get to help and get their people's blessings and I feel like in
life I am where I am because of people's blessing because of my family um I want to thank my husband anad to be here and supporting me in every step of the way um he's my rock my uh he encourages me my father-in-law upai is here too he's also
a second father to me helps me every single day encourages me um he's an accountant so he always tells me always uh secure your future and uh you know save and invest especially in this economy so I'm really grateful and fortunate and blessed to have people like that people like my father-in-law
and my husband my life my parents couldn't be here because of Ramadan and um I wouldn't be where I am today because of them and their hard work they're immigrants from Bangladesh and they you know always made sure there was food on the table um always made sure I wasn't struggling um you know it gave me the
basic needs and I now I can get back to them from you know what I can do and help back the community so thank you and let's keep on rocking and support each other and lift each other up yes thank you probably found a new doctor you need a good doctor doctors in
the house our next Honore is I remember when she said I'm going to run for school board and I said you're going to win from the very first conversation you're going to
win when you touch the heart of people families and their their children you're always going to win she stood the test of time where her husband usband when the odds were stacked
against him and he won as the mayor of helden she's a phenomenal mother she's an amazing friend she is someone to be modeled after and she is a trailblazer and I want to say to this great woman
who rocks commissioner Lisa Johnson there are many women that have not said it to you there's many women that are yet to tell you but you are are absolutely a phenomenal woman let's celebrate
commissioner Lisha Johnson love you s thank you so much it's an honor and a privilege I didn't expect this um I just like to say I know the mayor mentioned 1920 um that shows you that that's a 100
years ago over a 100 years ago it shows the obstacles and the progress which tells you that we should keep fighting keep pushing forward and continue to be role models for everyone for our youth for our men be the backbone if if you
know they're down um thank you so much thank you to my family thank you Dr Mims my friends that sitting here Marquisha Katie thank you it's it's an honor to sit here next to you guys tonight too uh Norma I love you guys my husband is here thank
you so much my children we've been through a lot so you guys I want you to know no matter what you're going through you push forward don't give up you keep Integrity is everything that's another thing when people watch they
know they see what you do just keep doing the right thing and God will work it out amen somebody say dropping Jewels dropping Jewels dropping Jewels I want to acknowledge my great friend and brother
the mayor of helden New Jersey Mr Michael Johnson our next honory is I call her my niece she's a trailblade ER she's an
educator her team just won the championship she's known as Sports so I call this is what I call her a woman who is athletically Champion educated and
talented beautiful and compassionate but she's also my soror and I'm so excited to honor this great woman on tonight sometimes people don't tell you how much you're
appreciated sometimes families don't tell you when your mom is dropping off the packages to the students making sure they have their snacks and I'm on the phone with her she said I'm trying to get out the car with the stuff they don't understand that you came from some
good family jeans soror Candace cotton you are amazing you are extraordinary and you are a woman who rocks congratulations first I would like to
thank Dr Mims Sora Dr mim's Auntie for this honor I really really TR truly appreciate this I know I need to recognize my dad is very much happy
right now and watching down on me to see this the accomplishments that I have been accomplishing dur during this time my mom who's been everything and I've been her everything so I want to make
sure I have to recognize my mom for being by my side at all times thank you Mommy thank you thank you I have to recognize my sore sister friends that's here today Tama quick Tara Parker Carol
Linder big sis Nicollette I got to recognize this is my crew yes and we're always they're always there for me and been there through the hardest of my times and everyone knows that I was a daddy's girl so this right here has been
an honor to stand still here and be here to represent him myself and be a woman who rocks and I appreciate this thank you special acknowledgement to the great women of Delta Sigma Theta SAR
Incorporated I see the brother from Omega scii in the building an next honorie as we go through I remember meeting and I don't know if I met her through uh the
political Trails or was it through Lizzy or through Underdog or through Melanie but from meeting her from the very first time your spirit is
electric I don't care who you're in the presence of you light up a room you light it up with laughter I love how you'll break out and cry in a heartbeat that just touches my heart cuz it tells me you're pure I love when you
laugh and your shoulders start moving cuz it really gets down in your spirit I think you're awesome for all the stuff that you do for so many people privately and or publicly that no one has ever told you thank you
and when I was uh praying about who to honor in my prayer God said this is one day that you will get to hear thank you thank you for being you thank you for being awesome thank you for being a
Class Act Alexandra toask you absolutely Rock I do cry often and very easily that is not a lie and I do laugh with my whole body um and I am so
humbled to be here all the glory to God always and thank you so much for everything I love you too to all the all the women and the allies and the men in the room um my strong mother uh decided to immigrate to the us
we fled War uh I actually lived in Patterson for a very long time I grew up in an attic on Mill Street and then we finally moved to an apartment complex where I had my own front door I was so excited to greet people at the door because I didn't have to go from the
attic down cuz people would knock on the little old lady's door and they'd be like can Ginga come out mountain and play and that was me and I'd go all the way down from the attic and then when we're on Liberty Street we had our own front door and I just remember my mother always saying not to take it for granted
that we had a front door but that we could open it for people and that we should always open it for everyone so in this room I just want to thank everybody for always being there to open the door for others thank you so much
and although you don't know it we're all readers girls we're all reader girls and so to Growing Up on East 24th Street there's a phrase that
says we don't look like what we've been through growing up on East 24th Street there were a lot lot of great people and at the time when we were growing up we didn't know that we would be great we just were growing
up but to the right of me we have an amazing guy who's now a doctor big executive at UPS and then to the left of me we have a great woman who's been an
entrepreneur for a very very long time for 31 years she's been licensed as a cosmetologist in the state of New Jersey she's been a certified educator for over 25 years she earned a license
of Eligibility which is the equivalent of a bachelor's degree in education she's been publicized in The Herald News Essence magazine hype here magazine trade magazine titled try it yourself she is currently the
cosmetology coordinator and educator at the newly space in Eide high school as well as remaining self-employed as Strand Salon Studios she has served this community she is known as someone who has
supported our police and our fire department our Public Schools local businesses Civic organizations all throughout pay County specifically Patterson and Prospect Park she is initiator of several food clothing and
school drives providing relief to the unhoused understanding that she cannot pour from an empty cup or that you can't give what you don't have she continues to be an active member of the House of prophecies and prayer in Norwalk Connecticut under the lead leadership of
prophet sad miles for 43 years that's commitment she is inspired by the example set by her pastor her Prophet s miles Pearl Lee and the former councilwoman Vera Ames to begin her
journey with love conquers all and lives it out each and every day her favorite scripture is Isaiah 58 and10 if you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed then your light will rise in the darkness and your night will become the
noon day join me and saluting our woman who Rock TR join a ruffen for shining her light in the great city of Patterson wow wow that was
interesting I want to thank God for being here today I want to thank God for all the strength that he has given me throughout my life to be in the city of patteron born and raised and I will never go anywhere everyone tried to
convince me to leave but I'm here forever that's right and um but it's a good thing I love my Patterson I love patteron I love it I want to thank God for my husband being here tonight yes I want to thank God for my son
Caleb I want to thank God for my sister-in-law Tama Wiggins my dad stand up Dad that's Clarence joining AKA Dy so I drive my dad crazy because in the city of Patterson he lives in
Patterson I have him cook fish hush puppies and cold slow for everybody in the community everybody in the community so I just want to thank God for my pastor instilling in me to call on the name of
Jesus I want to thank God that she showed her leadership she's 93 years old and she still keeps preaching teaching showing love and commitment and that is a
blessing I also want to thank my mom looking down from heaven who has taught us to pray no matter what keep praying keep giving even if you don't think people deserve it give love conquers all
and never dim your light never dim your light and I'm just so grateful thank you Lisa Mims Dr Mims 24th Street street and I want to thank and congratulate all the women here CU we all have put our Mark
somewhere and it is being shown tonight and I just thank everybody and my makeup artist and I really appreciate everyone that's here tonight I want to thank everyone for being here clients friends people that see me grow up this is just
an amazing honor and I just want to thank God for everything and everyone thank you congratulations to our next honorey when you talk about these are a lot of the
community uh honores I remember it's been years at this point meeting this great woman her Mom first and then meeting her her and then being a part of innerfaith
meeting all the people that had got blessed throughout the years and the great work that Council M cotton has been alongside of and I remember and I have to always talk about this Council MC cotton had an event in her
backyard and I remember sorise was like we going to get those crabs from Newark we got the bushels and we're going to bring them and you know I like crab legs but I don't like crabs cuz it's too much work for that little piece of
meat come on who's with me I I just don't understand that I don't I don't understand it but look sprinkle that stuff on my French fries and let me eat it that way
but we were in c m Cotton's backyard and I was sitting across from Mama Serge and she said you not eating I said no it's too much work for a little piece of meat not like a lot of meat and marar took the time to
crack all of my crabs for this little pound mound of meat like that and we laughed and talked and that was our joke every time I saw
her and even honoring her daughter today and not just today I think um it's is important that we honor us women and our men all the time not just on a special day that's designated but take the time to tell people how much
you love and admire and respect them all the time so it's easy when you do it this time and I want to say to rasana Elder the work you do and have done will never go
unnoticed your mom has engraved in you a legacy and an impression that will never leave Everything You Touch will turn to Gold no matter how small or mediumsized it appears it will always become much as
you put it in the Master's Hand I want to salute you and honor you and tell you better days are coming by and by our next honor none other than my friend and sister rasana
Elder W thank you thank you so much thank you so much Dr M let's give her a round of applause I'm so honored to be here to God be the glory I want to acknowledge my late Mom coming into the chambers uh what you see was what you got right
that's right right and um I'm so honored to live a life that she taught me of integrity and great character when I founded Interfaith Performing Art Center my first event I have to share this with Miss Evans no one showed up and I went
there and I started crying I said Mommy what's going on she said don't worry about let me get a lease on the telephone and she got uh but I just shared that uh it's so good to see you Miss Evans I love you thank you for believing in me before I believed in
myself thank you Council W coton so many great people in the city of Patterson my children are here my daughters the beautiful imman and Nia yes I'm so grateful for them to be here I'm grateful for I'm a new Grandma Miss
Evans and um my boy's Rock Noah Zach so thank you so much I love you Council woman Mims and let's just keep being great congratulations to all the honores I also want to announce our council president is here Alex
Mendes is here we have the president of the National Council negro women's Miss Shirley Alexander is is here as well our next Honore is another person who has a strong voice not just in a second ward
but all over the city I was just recently invited to one of their neighborhood uh neighborhood watch meetings and U we were in the meeting me and my AIDS were there we took notes and I just love your follow through and your
followup I love how you say okay you came to the meeting you say you g to get it done I'mma send you a text message to remind you or I'mma send I'mma call you just to make sure you're doing okay and I want to say to you Jamie Matari thank you for being a voice of
reason a voice that is sounding in the darkness when people don't know that people really care thank you for caring for the city of Patterson and thank you for being a woman who rocks all the time let's honor Miss Jamie matui
thank you so much Dr Lisa Mims thank you so much thank you for always thinking of me too and thank you for always acknowledging my phone call or texting and you're just you know such a great mentor and I appreciate it so much um thank you to my family thank you to my
bestie she's sitting right there Marissa I'm Thelma she's Louise she's always down for anything and even my crazy ideas but um I love serving the community and you know I don't expect anything you know in return I just do it because
somebody's got to do it and I love you know I love my neighborhood yes you do but thank you so much thank you congratulations to everyone almost almost getting there so to this honory she has been a part of the support and
action team for school number 21 for re Across America our Christmas toy drive our cult Drive our giveaways anytime we needed help I would text my fave Tex the
book and say I need some help and God bless chevro burtnik he would make sure that the community policing division of the sheriff pay County Sheriff's Department was there at any given moment
even at the last hour I remember when we did not have enough toys uh I think two years ago for all of our students at school 21 and it was towards the weekend sheriff bernik called the the
community uh policing Division and said whatever the balance that's left whatever they need go and get it they called me school was closed we had to call the custodian and they brought crates of toys to make sure all the
students at our school did not go without a toy during the Christmas holiday I want to salute and celebrate the first Latina chief of the Pate County Community Department of the sheriff's department miss Catherine
vanilia yeah well thank you so much thank you first and foremost Dr Mims I'm not much of a public speaker I have so many people to thank though God my family Sheriff Adamo yes who believes in me and
has believed in me enough to put me in this position family friends my squad yes my friends are my support system um I'm a strong woman because I came from a line of strong women and uh an even stronger woman
because of my two children Jaden and kayn although I gave birth to them I always tell everybody they gave me life um it's an honor to be here with such amazing women I feel like
so tiny next to Giants I'm just a little piece of the puzzle in this community that I absolutely love born and raised and Patterson so thank you so much for everybody um and strong women may we know them may we be them and may we
raise them oh I love that oh I love that that that might be my Facebook quote in a couple days I'm a little viral right now I'm went viral social media but in a couple days I will post that to our next um
honor I just want to say in our community I have um adopted and or have been adopted by many great women in this community and so before I announce this
hore I want all of my godmothers if you'll please stand all of my godmothers if you'll stand assembly woman Evans president Shirley Alexander Betty Simmons Vivien Matthews and then our
honor not Thomasina god mother to my godmother Miss May Bradley I want to say thank you for everything you do for our
grandparents raising grandchildren thank you for the amazing cards you sent out to us for our birthdays which are personalized if you are a grandmother raising your grandchild please join if it's nothing
but for the card because when I got the card in the mail I was sitting in my car and I literally cried because it was so detailed with different words it had your picture on it it was just so awesome and I just
want to say on behalf of all the grandparents they have a wonderful bouquet of roses for you but I want to say godmother thank you when I called you you said I'm going give you a name to honor I'm trying to honor her she
giving me somebody else name you don't know her I'm like yeah I know her but I'm calling to honor you but that's how humble she is is and to her son I wouldn't let her say no because I believe in giving people
their flowers while they can smell them godmother May Bradley I just want to say to you you are a woman who rock thank you for always praying for us encouraging us emailing us calling us and thank you so much for just being
concerned about all of us I love you thank you and you are a woman who rocks good evening everyone I am still perplexed that I am being
honored for something I didn't know I was doing anything what I have been doing is what my grandmother I am a 62 year old migrant raised by a
grandparent and um my grandmother left a legacy and on her lips she always there were these words were dripping off of her lips where there's a will there's a
way and in my 62 years of being in patteron New Jersey this is what I live by she was a disabled grandparent living in the
south in a home with 10 grandchildren who had no parents that were either had died or were divorced and during that time in the South our weekly income was $2.50 an
hour and from that $2.50 an hour we raised Seas of cabbage Corin salads sweet potatoes and
Etc in my early teens I came to patteron New Jersey and her words were always with me where there is a will there's a way and I am so
honored to be recognized tonight for my work with the grandparents they are a beautiful parent they are a beautiful group and our missions is always to nurture them and support them and do the
best we can for grandparents raising grandchildren in our group there are bragging grandparents ATM grandparents proud
grandparents longdistance grandparents so on and so on and they are here some of them here tonight to support me which they always do and I told
them when I got the notice whatever I'm doing I'm just I'm just doing what I always do and they said we're going to be there and many of them are here tonight and I thank them they're here some of the grandparents thank you for being here
and I thank Miss trise Watkins who's one of our volunteers with the grandparents for nominating me and I thank my loyal friends and supporters for being here Mr Kim I
haven't seen you in a long time miss my lawyer friends Dr Archer Rosia Vanessa Miss uh Felicia Wilson for being here and my son
Douglas Garris who's a retired police officer from the city of Patterson thank all of you for being here tonight and thank all the honores and I congratulate all of you and thank you for always
who was that Mark Fisher thank you Mark yes thank you and thank again all the honor honores congratulate you congratulations to you and always remember where there's a will there's a
way and my favorite Biblical scripture is Here I Am Lord send me and I forgot to mention one one other person here tonight which is one of our church family members who's uh here to support me Mr Lis Evan from the historic calvia
Baptist Church thank you yes did I mention that my son is here thank you son we see him godmother and last but certainly not least
every for the last I believe four or five years and they can uh correct me um I would like to call up Bron te My Sister Janice and my birthday twin director of communications Miss Ley how for the last I believe four to five
years I've been doing this uh awards for the last 20 years but for the last four to five years I had a conversation with my brother Roshan Davis and I said it would be really nice if we partnered and pick and you picked
someone on behalf of Bron and we surprise and honor them at this celebration and so I'm super excited because we had two names he mentioned two names uh your name and someone else's name and then I text him because
he said well let me reach out to them and I text him and said who is your name because this honory is a partnered honory celebration before bronze heat speaks I want to say thank
you thank you for making sure that when we come to you for any recreational opportunities you do it with a spirit of Excellence you do it with a smile on your face no matter how many times they get upset roll their eyes whatever they
do you have always ra remains consistent thank you for taking care of my mother-in-law for being a daughter to her for taking her to doctor appointments and making sure she was in
the hospital rehab you were there for her all the stuff you've done will never go unnoticed I love you I appreciate you and even if I don't see you every day know that you have a sister for life that thank you for being you thank you
for being phenomenal thank you for being amazing and my nickname for you is Wonder Woman at this time Bron he will do a presentation for Miss Paulina G good evening everyone congratulations to all the honores you guys look
beautiful and continue to keep rocking on my name is Leticia how I'm from the Bron te organization at as well as Miss Janice Miller firefighter Janice Miller and Willie peterkin every year councilwoman at
large Dr Lissa Mims honors the wonderful women in our wonderful City in the very appropriately labeled event women who Rock the bronze Heat organization steps in to honor a woman of our very own and we thank councilwoman Ms for that women
who may work alongside of who may admire who we may admire directly or from a distance someone who does tremendously great work but we feel doesn't get the acknowledgement that she deserves so this year we would like to honor the
wonderful Paulina Gary Paulina I didn't finish uh Paulina Gary has been working for the p and Recreation Department for almost 10 years she's always been professional and honorable we appreciate
you for the work you do in our city and the community service and for the Brony organization as well as being a dedicated mother and friend so in conclusion we would like to present this award to no other than the wonderful Paulina G thank you so
I was not expecting this um it's an honor to be here today um thank you Dr Lis Mims Browns heat um thank god um thank my children I
have my daughter here I want her to experience um what it is to be surrounded by so many amazing women um I want to thank Senator also my director of recreation Benji wimbley my
director Billy Rodriguez for believing in me um I came to Patterson in 2013 um and I was welcomed um this became my new home and I will continue
to work and do everything that I need to do um to present myself and congratulations to all the honores it's an amazing pleasure to be surrounded by all of you thank you and so I want to say as we come to a
close I want to say thank you to my daughter Dr Jasmine B man for introducing me being a Trailblazer and a role
model and she's another surprise on tonight her surprise is that I will be sending her on a spa treatment for a full body and a full day without having my great my
grandbaby just so that she could relax on her own because not only has God blessed her to to achieve many things as a young girl was born and raised in the fourth ward of the great city of
Patterson to go on and matriculate from um Patterson public schools to Patterson Catholic on to receiving her doctoral degree with straight A having all the way up to her superintendent
certification being a um in a great role down in Maryland and about to become the principal of one of the largest schools down there I want to say thank you for allowing me to be your mother to blaze
trails and to sacrifice the time away from the family even at night when my phone is ringing off the hook I appreciate you and my my sons and my three grandbabies and my new one on the way
and so right before the treat I have a treat at the end I want to call up my Council colleagues cuz we're in the council chambers and I would be remissed um if I did not have my Council colleagues come and join me at the podium I don't know if they want to say
something or have the council president say something I don't know but it has to be quick because I want everybody to know that I allowed you to break fast and then if our assemblymen can join us assemblyman abdalaziz uh County Commissioner assembly
candidate Orlando Cruz if you can join us as well here at the podium I Retreat so and I want everyone to say Mims knows how to finish early I know how to finish early hour less than an hour you know assembly man
abdell aiz keeps track assembly woman if you'll join us as well yes Queen uh can our C uh Commissioners Dela join us uh Joelle and uh Hector NE Evis the vice president of the school
board I'm sorry director vice president so you want to let the women speak speak you want to let the two Council women speak or you want to speak absolutely okay okay it has to be very quick cuz I was surprised for everybody okay so I'mma put the mic here and I
don't know who gon to take it let me those M too W let's let's put our heads together for our great councilwoman Dr lelissa Min what an amazing event I just want to say congratulations to to all the honor you are the foundation of this
Society you are the backbone of this community and we're just here to say thank you and congratulation and it's an honor to work right here with my councilwoman at large but we have two other phenomenal and Powerful women and I just going to It's All About Women it's about recognizing our powerful
women and I'm going to pass the m to our former mayor councilwoman of the fourth world Ruby Kon thank you thank you council president thank you I want to say to councilwoman at large Dr Lisa Ms and you know I always
say for women for us it's not easy you know they expect us to do more than the men I'm going to put it out there and but we do do it and we get it done and I want to say that you know to all the
women that Council men recognize today I congratulate you I say because you know what we all got a story and we all got a different story but we all here to help each other we all here to do it from our heart and you must keep the faith to get
things done and if you keep that Faith things will get done with us as women counc woman MS congratulations and I remember she said before about sticking together we as women must do our best to
stick together to help each other to lift each other to enjoy each other cuz when you hurt I hurt when you have joy I have joy and let's continue to do that thank you councilwoman yep I'll give it
to councilwoman Marissa daver thank you so much for those that know me and I think there's a lot of people here who know who I am councilwoman at large Marissa Davila and I just want to thank you first I want to thank God I want to thank God that I'm able to be here today councilwoman coton sent us all an email
a text message I want you're all invited please come on and I thought that it was really important I'm sorry Mims I'm sorry sorry for that so Council women Mims you know I want to thank you year after year for the past 20 years even before you were elected this is
something that you've been doing honoring great women of the city of Patterson and other municipalities as well because this is what we about so to all out there you see these three women right here okay God talks about the man
is the head but the women we're the backbone where that neck if a man doesn't have a good backbone guess what your head ain't going nowhere so these are the women that keep it together on the city council let us not allow anyone
anyone anyone to say that we are divided we work together we may not always see the eye to eye but our main denominator here our common denominator is the city of Patterson so councilwoman thank you to all the honores blessings to you all
thank you so much thank you thank you now very brief and quick 30 second each we have our councilman from the fifth War councilman Lis AES H I don't know why every time they had to mention the time but I always say
my short message will impact I just want to remember everyone that God created the most precious human being and that's the the female that's right it's and I want to remind every man out there that
we came out of a woman so they deserve better God bless all so we have councilman from the six War councilman Eevee good evening everybody if we could all just put our hands together for councilman Lisa Mims she put on a phenomenal program a great
program but I just want to congratulate each and every one of you you guys are all unique and empower in your your own way congratulations and I just want to say this the world will be lost without women but this Council will be lost without these three women right here and
that's a fact that's a fact we celebrate you so now we have he's not a councilman anymore he's an assemblyman now assembl Al good evening everyone um I want to call up assembly woman Evans she's always
always will be an assembly woman so on behalf of uh Senator Wimberly and uh Assembly women shoba Suter and myself we're very honored to be here and uh congratulations to all the honores each one of you here I definitely um have a
connection with Candace K skipped softball practice to be here don't worry I won't tell um but and and this truly means with that woman in our lives and I I mean it I was one of I'm six boys one girl um growing up
right my mom and my sister are the head of the household right they're the bosses and now in my household my wife and my baby girl 20 Monon year old uh tells me what to do but there is no greater love than a woman's love even
down in Trenton when I came on the council councilwoman k Council M Dava Council took me under their wing in Trenton it was the ladies that took me under their wing and they tell me what to do how to do it and you
want to get things done the right way listen to the ladies and now I learned that early on right assembly woman so on behalf of the ld35 team we congratulate all of you and God bless all of you and I want to give it to the dean right here
to close it out right close it out de to God be the glory to God be the glory thank you thank you a woman of God Dr Lisa Mims for remembering to
honor the women that's least expected remember when God made man he realized he realized that man would not make it without us that's right he
realized first of all you wouldn't have be on this Earth without us some of you better be glad you made it but every we won't repeat that grateful grateful grateful and I'm
saying thank you Patterson Community thank you for Sake County all these great women and it does my heart good to see the Young women coming up and getting involved get involved in your community make a difference you heard
all the variety of things that these ladies are doing that impacting everybody life and I had said with first lady from helon I said she had a career not just the wife of the of the mayor
not just a school board member she had her own career and raising her children and worked in the sheriff office for many years those are the things that we take a look and be grateful to God that our women are stepping up still holding
up the family still making the difference and we can still fr the bacon in the pan and take care of you God bless congratulations everybody and we we have our behalf of
the county and my running mate and ld35 commissioner Orlando Cruz thank you thank you thank you assemblymen uh everyone on behalf of the pay County Board of Commissioners it is an honor to be here to stand alongside all these powerful women and celebrate
the true diversity in our County so thank you councilwoman Mims for highlighting the powerful and emotional uh the uh these individuals that that have truly highlighted and left trailblazing uh message throughout all
all P County they always say that behind every strong man is an even stronger woman but but I I say that this day and age this women don't stand behind the men they stand right by beside them and in most cases in front of them so congratulations to all the honores God bless you all thank
you School Board vice president Joel Ramirez and Schoolboard commissioner Del Mall thank you Dr Mims on behalf of my colleagues on the Patterson School Board uh congratulations to all the honores Dr Mims you've celebrated women who Rock but you are the biggest rock so thank
you for having us thank you for making this possible thank you oh thank you first of all I want to say congratulations to all these beautiful women to our sisters that have actually been a part of this community
and you do rock it is just a blessing to be here representing the patteron Board of Education um I'm just glad and happy to know that I know that this city and this county is going to always be all right because we have people like you
and those of you that are in the audience that you didn't get honored today but I know you rock because you make sure that we do well here in Patterson and again I just want to say thank you Lisa Dr Lisa Mims I just want
to say that you are a blessing of blessings to always remember women this time of year and to our Council women here you know I love you both but you rock so in closing I have a surprise so you
stay here so I'm putting on on record since it's women's History Month our men will make sure on Tuesday that all the women will have flowers at the days that's right that's right uh well Tuesday at
the city council Mee and we will have flowers and some food in the back that's righty flower and food my cheap flowers that's right assembly man I also want to acknowledge um pay County African-American women will be
celebrating uh their Gala uh next uh Saturday the 22nd from 12: to 4: at maloos tickets are available at $110 if you're interested please see myself or Council M cotton we do have tickets also
mature sisters will'll be honoring myself and councilwoman cotton on the 29th that event starts at 5:00 those tickets are 100 $120 125 $125 at lenes if you would like to
get tickets for that event please see us um for those tickets as well I want to say in order to get the work done ready in order to get the work done every once in a while you got to flick a fan
out and say where those fans at because you can't get the work done until you put some boots on the ground look at your neighbor say where those fans
at come on get out of your seat as we close this program I got my boots on in order to be a real woman who rock or a man of Valor you have to put your boots on the ground get up out your seat come on we
going to close this out come on this side they making y'all look bad come on honores rolling rolling rolling rolling I want to say thank you thank you to everyone that joined us on tonight thank you thank you to everyone
that joined us wait all honores we're going to take a picture kicking up some n something kicking up some n wait a minut to find
find find give me one give me time