As founder and CEO of Villagers for Veterans, Marie Bogdonoff led efforts to raise more than $5 million to provide transitional housing, service dogs and mobility equipment for wounded veterans in the state.
Dr. Claudia Thomas was the first Black woman in the nation to become a certified orthopedic surgeon and the first woman to graduate from Yale’s orthopedic residency program.
Ruth Kussard served the Town of Lady Lake as a commissioner for 15 years and was chosen by her fellow commissioners to serve as mayor for three years.
And Angie Lomax served as chairwoman of the awards committee for the Ocala Racial Harmony Task Force and established the Ocala Unsung Hero Award.
March is Women’s History Month and today is International Women’s Day, both of which were created to celebrate women’s achievements. These are just some of the tri-county women who made impacts nationally and in their communities.
This year’s Women’s History Month theme, “Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future,” highlights women who champion sustainable solutions to challenges such as health care disparities, economic insecurities and veteran affairs.
Bogdonoff had those goals in mind when she created Villagers for Veterans in 2014. The nonprofit is nearly finished constructing Ashley’s House, a 4,000-square-foot group home for female veterans built from the ground up in Eustis. The home is named after 24-year-old 1st Lt. Ashley White-Stumpf, who lost her life on Oct. 22, 2011, in combat in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.
“We first purchased a house in Fruitland Park,” said Bogdonoff, of the Village of Pine Ridge. “That became Ashley’s Cottage, where we currently house women veterans who are having some transitioning issues. Ashley’s House in Eustis is going to house six women at a time. It’s a little bit more than three-fourths done. We are hoping to have it done by late summer.”
“I am really proud of our Ashley program,” she continued. “It’s truly an honor and a privilege to bring to the front burner all the challenges and issues that women veterans face. We are giving them a voice and bringing them out into the open so people learn about their work, sacrifice and influence on our military.”
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Thomas was a pioneer in her industry.
“I became the first woman to train at Yale and when I finished my five years, I learned I was the first Black woman in history to become an orthopedic surgeon,” said Thomas, of Lady Lake. “That was quite astonishing, because that was not my goal. My feeling was, ‘I may be the first, but I sure won’t be the last.’”
She is still inspiring others today.
“My goal became shouting out to the world, ‘You can do this, too,’” she said. “In fact, when I finished my training, I went back to Hopkins where I had been a medical student and joined the faculty. I helped increase the number of women — both African American and Caucasian.”
Bernadette Nuccio, a former patient of Thomas, said her story should be celebrated — especially as the nation celebrates Women’s History Month.
“I feel Dr. Thomas should be recognized as one of the leaders in the medical field,” said Nuccio, of the Village of Sanibel. “She is brilliant.”
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Kussard champions herself as a patron for the people.
Kussard, of the Village of La Reynalda, said her greatest accomplishment was communicating directly with the people of her ward and helping them however she could.
“They wanted someone they could talk to,” she said. “If there was a problem, they wanted a person. They didn’t want a telephone message for someone to call them back.”
Kussard, who moved to the area in 1998, helped Lady Lake grow into a good place to work, live and play.
“I probably voted on a lot of those things that are here today — commercial businesses and homes,” she said. “Of course, we developed Snooky Park, which now has live concerts three times during the summer time.”
Kussard encourages others not to be afraid to strive for their goals.
“I think that’s the problem with a lot of people right now, particularly young people,” she said. “They are afraid to try for fear of failure. If you’re interested, try and do the best you can. If you fail, try again. Not all of us succeed on the first time around, but if you keep trying, you can succeed. Just don’t give up.”
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Angie Lomax is passionate about celebrating those who are committed to positively impacting the community.
The Belleview resident served as chairwoman of the awards committee for the Ocala Racial Harmony Task Force and established the Ocala Unsung Hero Award.
She said it is important to realize that before you do anything, you must make sure you are a good person.
“Use your education to succeed and be a nice person,” Lomax said. “I was true to myself in whatever I was doing and whatever I got to do, I gave it my all. There are many people in the neighborhood who work really hard and people don’t know about it. It was very important for me to highlight unsung heroes, and I think it’s really good for people to know that there are a lot of unsung heroes here.”
Staff writer Brea Jones can be reached at 352-753-1119, ext. 5414, or brea.jones@thevillagesmedia.com.
