Principal Lewis, Student Decker 

Oneonta ‘Trailblazers’ For 2016

ONEONTA – The city Commission on Community Relations & Human Rights has named its Women’s Trailblazer honorees for 2016:

• In the “Over 25” category, Coleen Lewis, principal, Oneonta Middle School.  She was a founding member of 100 Women Who Care, which chooses a beneficiary a year and raises money for it, including $3,000 for St. James Food Pantry, $4,200 for Family Services Association, and $6,000 for Athelas Therapeutic Riding in Otego.  The nomination also said that, at the middle school, “she has changed the culture with her positive attitude.”

• In the “25 And Under” category, Rory Decker, an OHS senior, founded a new club, a chapter of Girl Up, a United Nations organization that raises money for girls living in places where it is hardest to be a girl, like Guatemala, India, Ethiopia, Liberia and Malawi.  She is also a member of the newly formed Rainbow Connection, which she considers a sister organization to Girl Up.

The two will be honored at a City Hall reception prior to Common Council’s 7 p.m. meeting on Tuesday, March 15.