What is the Laura N. Dowsett Award?
In 1982, an award was created to honor a Sustainer who personified the ideals of the League. The annual award is given to a sustaining member who demonstrates the spirit of voluntarism, the value of specialized training, the effectiveness of advocacy, and the qualities of leadership developed in the League.
Although there were many outstanding members for whom the award could have been named, one woman seemed to be the logical and fitting choice. She was a founding member of the League, creator and first editor of the “Mynah Bird” (now the Halawai), and President of the League in 1933–1934. Her name was Laura Nott Dowsett.
Laura Dowsett’s community involvement did not slow down when she became a Sustainer – in fact, it accelerated. An interest in occupational therapy inspired her to return to school in an era when that was a rarity. Laura took her degree in O.T. and set up the occupational therapy program at Queen’s Hospital. She remained there for 16 years, while drawing the handsome salary of $1.00 a year.
Recipients of the Laura N. Dowsett Award:
| 1982 – Alice Anne Rice 1983 – Frances Brown 1984 – Mary Ho 1985 – Carol McNamee 1986 – Ann Simpson 1987 – Pat Schnack 1988 – Mary Helen Gay Styan 1989 – Jane Tatibouet 1990 – Barbara Dew 1991 – Alice Flanders Guild 1992 – Sally S. McDermott 1993 – Rhoda Hackler 1994 – Marilyn Goss 1995 – Cherye Pierce 1996 – E. Alison Kay 1997 – Mary Worrall 1998 – Belle Bernatowicz 1999 – Karen “Tookie” White 2000 – Betty Vitousek 2001 – Beadie Kanahele Dawson |
2002 – Violet Loo 2003 – Mary Moragne Cooke 2004 – Leburta Gates Atherton 2005 – Constance Frith Black 2006 – Jean E. Rolles 2007 – Lila Johnson 2008 – Barbara Marumoto 2009 – Margaret Armstrong 2010 – Lila Skonovd Johnson 2011 – Elisabeth Adams Chun 2012 – Jacqueline Ginn Jones 2013 – Cathy George 2014 – Cheryl Hetherinton 2015 – Allison Holland 2016 – Indru Watumull 2017 – Gerry W. Ching 2018 – Trudy Schandler-Wong 2019 – Pokey Watson Richardson 2020 – Elizabeth “Liz” Dreher Howard |