Editorials, Opinion As Women’s History Month gets underway, an upcoming event will feature local residents who have had significant impacts on the communities of Camas and Washougal, as well as Clark County and the state of Washington.
The Camas-Washougal area’s own Nan Henriksen and Martha Martin will be part of a panel of distinguished female leaders. The event will be held Thursday, March 5, at 7 p.m. at the Clark County Historical Museum in Vancouver. They will join Ridgefield City Councilwoman Sandra Day, former Vancouver City Councilwoman Pat Jollota, and former Clark County Commissioner Connie Kearney.
Panelists will discuss the changes they have seen in Southwest Washington during their careers, and the legacy they leave for future generations. Henriksen and Martin, both longtime residents of the area, have rich backgrounds and experiences to draw from.
Henriksen was Camas’ first female mayor, a position she held from 1983 to 1992 — a time of great change and development in the city. She was later appointed to serve on the Washington Growth Management Hearings Board, and most recently was elected by voters in 2014 to serve as on the Clark County Board of Freeholders, who then appointed her to lead the process of developing a charter as chairwoman.
Martin, a Washougal native, has had a hand in political and social issues. To highlight a few of her endeavors, she is a current East County Fire and Rescue commissioner, and has been involved with the Parkersville Heritage Foundation, Concerned Citizens In Action political action group and the Clark County Arts Commission.
These two local women join others who are celebrated during Women’s History Month for their important contributions to issues at the local, state and national levels.
