By Deedee Wright

I have been a reader of the Salisbury Post for many years and read the hard copy every day.  I know that the newspaper business is facing trying times with the electronic media and those who read the paper on line.

However, I thought that perhaps the Salisbury Post would have written something about this being the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote.  I know the actual date was August 1920, but given the leadership in our city and county today there should have been some mention of this auspicious occasion. If there was an article in the newspaper I missed it. I still think this it is something we need to celebrate in a bigger way.

The achievements of women in Salisbury and Rowan County should not go unnoticed; the achievements of women should be more visible in this centennial year.

This county is over 200 years old and we can count the number of women who have been in the leadership roles.

I think it’s important to say out loud that we have only had four women to serve on the county commission, four women to serve as mayor of Salisbury, two woman to serve as mayors in other towns in the county, one women to lead Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, one woman to lead the Rowan County Chamber of Commerce, two women to lead the Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education, one woman district attorney and one woman to edit the Salisbury Post. There may be others, but the point is that we need to celebrate these women who have impacted the city and county.

The women I’ve listed are just a small number I can identify. There are women leading in many other ways. Perhaps we need to tell their stories and how they have contributed to growth of this wonderful place we call home. There are women today who work the polls, register people to vote and take people to vote who should should be celebrated as well.

The fight for women’s right to vote was a long fight, and men have benefitted from the 19th Amendment as well. There are the women who take the notes, women who make the phone calls and the women who write the letters. Women have played a major role in making men successful. This is the year of the woman and it should be acknowledged!

Deedee Wright lives in Salisbury.