Women are taking over the world...one community at a time

There were "soccermoms" even before the invention of the mini-van. Hauling your kids from one event or practice to another is just one small part of being a mom. It used to be that, once you got your kids there, your job was to continue to be mom. You cheered them on, provided snacks, band-aids, and moral support. These days, it goes a lot further than that. I have noticed lately that what used to be male dominated roles in the community, have become female occupied.

Take Little Dribblers basketball for instance, here in Oakwood, it is run by Traci Bynum, a beautiful, young, perky, petite, blond bundle of energy. She's not just making flyers and schedules, she running the whole program. She's on the court at practices and at the games too. If it's related to Little Dribblers, she's your "go to guy".

What about the leadership of our town? Throughout Oakwood's history, there have been women on the city council and that served as mayor. Did you know that the last four mayors have been women? Yep. That is right. Women. Ruby Johnson was mayor when Dorothy Bell was on the city council. After Bell had been on the council for two years, Johnson stepped down. Bell took over and was mayor for 11 years. She has been on the council now an additional five years and counting. Then, Theresa Brewer was mayor for a two year term. Currently, Vicki Stroud has been doing us proud for three years as the mayor of Oakwood. She has another year to go before her second term is up. Councilwoman Bobbye Bullock has been serving on the Oakwood city council since Bell came onto the council.

Women can be found at the schools in other than traditional rolls as well. Winnie Hodges has been a fixture on the Oakwood school board for nine years. Will she run again this year? She has decided to keep us in suspense for a little while longer. There have been many different women who have served on the school board over the years. We even had a female principal a few years ago.

The ladies EE Club (Education Extension League) is a busy, powerful group of women. Their determination to keep things running in Oakwood is amazing. They have city beautification projects in place and they have many classes throughout the year on everything from health to gardening issues. The ladies work hard to help the students of O.I.S.D. receive continuing education services as well.

Things have even changed in the world of Scouting. I hear it all the time from men and women who have grown children, "Can you even be a Cubmaster if you are a woman? Back in my day, all you could do is be a den mother." As a den mother, you were recruited to do arts and crafts, sing songs, and make snacks. Basically, you were asked to do all the stuff that was not, "manly". Well, I am here to tell you that yes a woman can be the Cubmaster. I have been for nearly five years now. I may take some flack for this but I sure do wish I had a man willing to step up and help me out with some of the more "manly" projects. Building bird houses, hiking through the woods, and playing sports, is not my thing. That does not mean I cannot do it. It is just a little more difficult for me than it might be for someone else. More than anything, I wish there were a male role model involved in this Scouting program for the boys to look up to.

That is part of the problem. Good male role models in the community can be difficult to find. In today's society, there is a scary lack of men stepping up to fill these positions. For some, the desire is there but the time is not. Your basic 9-5 day job, is almost a figment of our imagination these days. Then there seems to be an epidemic of children without fathers in their lives. Now, those community positions that used to have those good male influences to fill in the gaps, are dwindling fast.

You have heard it said, "Behind ever good man, is a good woman". Well, women are not standing behind the men anymore. They are stepping up, and stepping out in front. More and more women are doing what I always say we do, "You do whatever it is that you have to do, to get things done."