Colusa County Sun-Herald - Three Women Honored for Their Service

News Article

By Rachel Rosenbaum

Congressman John Garamendi's Women of the Year honors have been awarded to three Colusa County women for their work in the third congressional district community.

Susan Barrett of Maxwell and Donna Critchfield and Terri Rivera of Colusa were awarded Women of the Year 2016. The awards ceremony, which will also feature a roundtable discussion on important women's issues, will take place Thursday at Woodland Community College.

According to a press release from Garamendi's office, the women "have demonstrated a clear committment to their community through their leadership and dedication to public service."

Critchfield said Tuesday that when she found out she won, she thought it was a mistake.

"I'm very happy, pleased and proud I was selected," Critchfield said, and "a little humbled," she added with a laugh.

Critchfield has been retired for just over a year but in the past served on the Colusa City Council for seven years and was mayor in 2009. She also helped establish the after school program for selected students at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Colusa, which has been active for 12 years.

"It's critical in a small town for the populous to be involved," Critchfield said. "And it makes you feel really good to be helping others."

Susan Barrett has also recently retired after teaching at Colusa High School since 1983, where she also served as adviser for the Future Business Leaders of America program. In a farewell article published in the Colusa Sun-Herald in May 2014, graduate Cynthia Padilla wrote, "Mrs. Barrett shows compassion for all of her students. She is someone who fosters a spirit of kindness and demonstrates what it means to be a true leader. She has impacted my life along with so many others and I don't think she truly understands what she means to all of us. It is an honor to have been her student and she means the world to me."

Terri Rivera founded the Eleanor Azevedo Memorial Fund Youth Empowerment Service in Colusa in 2010 to help children pay for sports and other activities. Rivera has also won the Delores Huerta Award in 2010. In a 2011 Appeal-Democrat "Know Your Neighbors" profile, Rivera said her biggest accomplishment is "being able to help over 70 kids participate in self-enrichment activities because of the funds my family and I raised for the (memorial fund service)."

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