Ramonda Smith Wertz

[2010] Spouse: John Wertz, Lives in Redmond, Washington, 2 daughters, 2 grandsons

Graduated from Purdue in 1964. I became a member of Alpha Omicrom Pi Sorority and continue to support the group charity the Arthritis Foundation. My first job was with Proctor and Gamble in Market Research requiring travel throughout the U.S. for assignments that changed sometimes weekly. In December of 1965, I married John Wertz, who was finishing his Doctorate at Purdue. From that time on, many of my life circumstances were determined by his employment as a corporate executive. We lived in Columbus, Indiana, until the early 80's, moved to Redmond, Washington (Seattle suburb) to be closer to our young grandsons.

Child rearing and household management were dominant activities in my early years. Because of limited career opportunities, I put my extra time and energy into volunteerism and community leadership. I focused on women's ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in Indiana through leadership of the statewide coalition. During the Bowen administration, I received the Governor's Voluntary Action Award in the Humanities for my work in this effort and also a personal letter from Senator Richard Lugar. It was also very gratifying to serve as President of the Indiana Library Trustee Association.

In Connecticut, I continued my political career and was my party nominee from the Connecticut General Assembly and served the Connecticut Library and Historical Board. The most difficult task I performed was to Chair a statewide committee appointed by the State Board of Public Instruction on the State Racial Imbalance Law and Regulations as the only non-minority in the group.

While living in the D.C. area, I was Vice President of the Women's National Democratic Club and created the group's first website, became involved in historic preservation of the House Museum and curated an exhibit on Jacqueline Kennedy. I served a Chair of the Arlington County Commission for Women and on the Board of the National Association of Commissions for Women representing the group on the Social Security Task Force of the National Association of Women's Organizations. Working as a leader of our neighborhood organization, I was responsible for saving an urban park from the ravages of invasive ivy.

Today, we are enjoying life in a Cascade foothills resort community - Trilogy at Redmond Ridge. I love it because I can drive the beautiful country roads, be close to a world class city, and enjoy the amenities of the suburb - home of Microsoft. I continue my support for libraries as President of the Friends of the Redmond Library. My hobbies include opera (attended Seattle Ring last year - fantastic), gardening and glass fusing. Through the years, I have enjoyed extensive foreign and domestic travel and have done more than eighty open water dives including a week long live aboard trip in the Coral Sea. This August, I am visiting Scotland for the first time.

Happy 50th! I'll be thinking of you.