Angie Hunt and Ann Fritz are winners.

Both women were awarded the 2008 Women’s Studies Women of Achievement award.

Hunt has worked at H.O.P.E, a local domestic violence agency that covers seven counties, for nine years.

Fritz is biology professor at Eastern.

Hunt, the housing program director for H.O.P.E. said she has held several positions with the organization.

“I started as shelter manager and moved to legal advocate and then moved to the housing program,” she said.

Hunt does not know why she won the award, but was extremely grateful she did.

“I was very surprised that I had even been nominated, it was very out of the blue for me,” Hunt said.

Hunt’s sister, Jenni Huckstep, the Ready to Learn coordinator at PBS through WEIU, nominated her for the award.

Hunt said she didn’t even know she had been nominated when she was told she won the award.

“Also, support letters were written by Bonnie Buckley, who is the Director of SACIS, and Suzanne Enck-Wanzer, a teacher here at EIU,” Hunt said.

Hunt has volunteered for SACIS before and is the president of their board.

Suzanne Enck-Wanzer is on the Board of both HOPE and SACIS.

She is also the coordinator of the women’s studies program at Eastern and an assistant professor in the communications sciences department.

“We choose two women of achievement each year, so it’s really empowering to be in the midst of such amazing, inspirational, and empowering women,” said Enck-Wanzer.

Enck-Wanzer said that there is a committee from the women’s studies department who decides based on the applications.

“Each candidate for the award was nominated by someone else who then solicited letters of support for the application,” Enck-Wanzer said. “The candidates didn’t know they were nominated until they were contacted by the chair of this committee, Jad Smith, professor of English, to tell them that they’d be selected as Women of Achievement.”

Someone close to the applicant had to fill out a nomination packet.

“Each winner received a plaque and recognition at the annual awards banquet,” Enck-Wanzer said.

Heather Holm can be reached at 581-7942 or at haholm@eiu.edu.