Sally Rodgers Award for Lifelong Achievement 2005

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Sally Rodgers Award for Lifelong Achievement
Sally Rodgers Award for Lifelong Achievement 2005

2005 Whitman College Alumni Award Recipients
Sally Rodgers Award for Lifelong Achievement The Sally Rodgers Award for Lifelong Achievement was created in 1999 to honor Sally Rodgers, long time director of alumni relations. This award is given every other year by the Alumni Association to "an individual/or individuals who graduated from Whitman College over 50 years ago and whose life exemplifies the qualities of a liberal arts education." This award is presented at the 50-Plus Reunion. The two recipients for 2005 are: Adele Harris Goss '46 and Beadie Kanahele Dawson '51
Adele Harris Goss '46	2005 Sally Rodgers Award for Lifelong Achievement Recipient Appointed to a position in the Department of the Interior in 1971, Adele Harris Goss '46, worked for the Assistant Secretary for Management, where she strove to fulfill President Nixon's goal of hiring more women at the executive levels in government. In her nineteen years in the U.S. Government, she was the first woman in many of the positions she held. When Adele retired in 1989 and returned to her hometown of Walla Walla, it did not take her long to become involved in the life of the College and the community. She immediately became an active volunteer for the Alumni Association and her efforts were rewarded by an appointment to the Board of Directors, serving from 1990-1996. She volunteered for the Whitman Archive's Oral History Project, interviewing alumni and documenting their memories and impressions of the College. She also served as a class representative (twice) and co-chaired the Class of 1946 and V-12 Reunion in 1991.
But Adele's efforts have extended far beyond the campus. She has been a member of the board of directors of numerous organizations including the Walla Walla General Hospital Advisory Board, Downtown Walla Walla Foundation, Carnegie Art Center, Walla Walla Symphony Guild, St. Paul's Episcopal Church Vestry and the Walla Walla Chamber of Commerce. While involved with the Chamber, she served as chair of the Tourism and Ambassador's committees and on the Blue Ribbon Tourism Committee which oversaw the hiring of a consultant to promote tourism. She also served on the editorial board for the Chamber and is currently a member of the Annual Banquet committee. Back in the 1990s, Adele led the effort to rename the Walla Walla Veterans Hospital in honor of General Wainwright, a Medal of Honor winner who was born at Fort Walla Walla, and on Veterans Day November 11, 1996, the hospital's name was officially changed to the Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial Veterans Affairs Medial Center. Adele's other areas of service include successfully managing a bond issue for the construction of a juvenile detention facility in Walla Walla and chairing a successful campaign for a sales tax increase to increase community policing; serving as Walla Walla County State Committeewoman for the Republican Party and as a Walla Walla City Civil Service Commissioner, having served as vice chair and chair of that Commission. And her love of music led her to help found the Walla Walla Jazz Society. She is now involved with the Walla Walla Noon Rotary Club, serving on the Program Committee, the Annual Family Christmas program, and Valentine's Day celebration; she developed and managed the Rotary Veterans' interview program, having converted all the 25 interviews to CDs for the Rotary's archives. Because of Adele's high level of commitment to her alma mater and the community, the Whitman College Alumni Association is proud to name her a recipient of the 2005 Sally Rodgers Award for Lifelong Achievement.

2005 Sally Rodgers Award for
Lifelong Achievement Recipient

Twenty-five years after graduating from Whitman, and with her four active teen-agers and husband cheering, Beadie Kanahele Dawson '51, left her communications career, entered graduate school, and graduated with a Juris Doctor from the William S. Richardson School of Law.
Another twenty-five years later, when asked if she'd ever retire from the practice of law or as a business executive, Beadie replied: "I like who I am and what I do. Why would I ever get out of the saddle?" This tireless Honolulu resident has always welcomed challenges and today is widely recognized as a prominent attorney, business executive, community leader, Hawaiian activist and devoted family woman.

Beadie Kanahele Dawson '51

In 1994, Beadie helped to form the Dawson Group, Inc., of which she is currently chief executive officer and general counsel, part of her efforts to address the issue of "quality growth" in Honolulu—developing Hawaii's economy and its community without "shooting ourselves in the foot." The Dawson Group, an environment, construction and information technology corporation, is a NHO-owned (Native Hawaiian Organization), woman-owned and authorized as a super 8a firm by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Its mission is to provide innovative remediation technology and related field services in Hawaii, nationally and internationally. "The world needs to begin thinking in Native Hawaiian terms: clean, restore and plan for tomorrow with the best and newest methods," she stated.

Honored by the Junior League of Honolulu in 2001 with the Laura Dowsett Award, Beadie was recognized for "demonstrating the spirit of volunteerism, the effectiveness of advocacy and the qualities of leadership." Specifically, she was recognized for her work as a spokeswoman for the state Department of Social Services and Housing from 1971-1978, as deputy attorney general from 1982-1996, and for her involvement in bringing a lawsuit against the Trustees of the powerful Bishop Estate/ Kamehameha Schools that led to the removal the Trustees by the court and the reformation of the Trust. The lawsuit charged that the Trustees mismanaged our nation's richest ($10 billion) educational trust that was created in 1884 by Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, who dedicated her wealth to the education of the children of Hawaii. Beadie represented the cashless group of students, parents and alumni in its challenge against the Bishop Estate Empire and its swarm of legal experts, doing much of the work on a pro bono basis.

Today, Beadie is working to help Native Hawaiians find their rightful place in the Islands. "After the illegal overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii and years of cultural suppression, land theft and forced assimilation, Native Hawaiians are gradually regaining their language, history, pride and identity. Sadly, Native Hawaiians, in too-large numbers, are still an at-risk people: seriously undereducated, overrepresented in prisons, overburdened by serious diseases and plagued with drug abuse and homelessness," she said in a recent article in The Honolulu Advertiser. "In November 2004, two seminal cases that challenge services and education programs for Native Hawaiians were argued before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. No matter how the court rules, the decisions are very likely to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and with or without the Akaka bill and federal recognition, Native Hawaiians will continue their pursuit of rebuilding their nation."

As busy as she is, Beadie has found time to serve on the boards of many organizations, including Cyberspace Entrepreneurs; Hawaii Public Radio; Friends of Iolani Palace, chair Palace Galleries Development; Friends of William S. Richardson School of Law, chair; Friends of the Medical School, chair; University of Hawaii Foundation, trustee; Mid-Pacific Institute; Queen Liliuokalani Children's Center; Rotary Club of Honolulu; Hawaiian Historical Society; Historic Hawaii Foundation and the YWCA, as well as others.

Beadie's professional and community endeavors continue to be recognized with awards by numerous organizations including the 2004 Distinguished University of Hawaii Alumni Award, 2003 Pacific Business News Kupuna Business Woman of the Year Award, 2001 Lifetime Achievement Award from Hawaii Women Lawyers, 1997 HWL Lawyer of the Year, 1997 Annual Salute to Women Leaders Award, and Legislative Resolution for 1991 Distinguished Woman of the Year for Outstanding Achievement. Regardless, Beadie considers her 15 years as a stay-at-home-mom as her greatest achievement.

As a frequent public speaker on business ethics, Hawaii's future, the Bishop Estate controversy, smart growth and conflict resolution, Beadie's many speaking engagements have included the 9th Circuit Court's Convention, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the Honolulu Society of Corporate Planners, numerous Rotary Clubs, and the U.S. Institute of Environmental Conflict Resolution. In 2003 she was the University of Hawaii's Commencement Speaker.

Because of her commitment to her community, her culture and the environment, the Whitman College Alumni Association proudly recognizes Beadie Kanahele Dawson as a recipient of the 2005 Sally Rodgers Award for Lifelong Achievement.