by James Parks, Jul 17, 2008

Linda Chavez-Thompson and her granddaughter Lydia Maria Garcia.

Resolutely courageous, fearless and bold. While those words describe all of the women being honored by the National Organization for Women (NOW) at the group’s annual Intrepid Awards Gala, they especially fit AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Emerita Linda Chavez-Thompson. 

Along with four other pioneering women, Chavez-Thompson will be recognized for her accomplishments at a gala Thursday in Washington, D.C.  Chavez-Thompson, the first person to hold the office of executive vice president and the first person of color to hold one of the top elected offices at the AFL-CIO, retired last September to return home to San Antonio and be with her family. She was elected in 1995 after serving in a series of leadership roles in AFSCME and on the AFL-CIO Executive Council.

Chavez-Thompson says the honor is not just for her, “but for all the labor movement.” 

I have spent many years fighting for women to be in whatever place they want to be and that’s what the NOW is about. It’s about the hopes that my daughter, and especially my granddaughter, can reach any goal they strive for. And it’s about the hope that they never have to face the obstacles that my generation and some generations after me have had to face to reach the top. 

In March, hundreds of people turned out to honor her at a dinner here in Washington, D.C., which also served as a fundraising event for the six AFL-CIO constituency groups.

Another of the Intrepid Award winners, Dr. Dorothy Height, chairwoman and president emerita of the National Council of Negro Women, speaks for all the honorees when she says: 

Greatness is not measured by what a man or woman accomplishes, but by the opposition he or she has overcome to reach his goals. Each Intrepid honoree has pushed through potentially overwhelming challenges in our lives. But the one thing we all have in common is an uncompromising unwillingness to let those challenges negate our passion to move forward. In the end, what’s most important is a steady progression in the direction of what is fair, what is just, what is right; and having the courage to maintain the pace, regardless of the circumstance. 

The other honorees include CBS news anchor Katie Couric, the first woman to solo-anchor a weekday network evening news broadcast; Janet Reno, the first woman  to serve as U.S. attorney general; and attorney Marna Tucker, the first woman president of the National Conference of Bar Presidents.

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