Eight local women will be inducted—including two posthumously—into the Western New York Women's Hall of Fame on Thursday, March 14, 2002, at an 11:30 a.m. luncheon in their honor in the Grand Ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Hotel. They will join 45 women inducted in previous years.

The winners of the annual Western New York Women''s Hall of Fame Creative Contest open to high school students, and outstanding area high school girls will also be recognized at the annual event, sponsored by Project FLIGHT, Buffalo State College, KeyBank, Verizon and Business First. Ch. 2's Victoria Hong will emcee this year's luncheon, themed "America the Beautiful," in celebration of America. An honor guard, led by Specialist Jeffrey D. Cappella, a medic with the First Airborne Army Reserve, will open the event.

Established by the Western New York Women''s History Committee, the Western New York Women''s Hall of Fame recognizes women who have achieved high distinction and demonstrated commitment of service to the Western New York community.

Since 1994, the Women''s History Committee, chaired by Dr. Geraldine Bard, co-director of Project FLIGHT and professor of English at Buffalo State, has organized regional events during the month of March that focus on women''s issues. Gretchen Fierle will serve as chairwoman for this year''s luncheon; Penny Munschauer is her co-chair.

This year''s Western New York Women's Hall of Fame inductees are:

• Arlene Kaukus, President, United Way of Buffalo and Erie County
  
  As president of the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County, Arlene Kaukus touches the lives of everyone in the community. Her work with the organization for the past 22 years has been an extension of her commitment to the community. The programs she has developed and the guidance she has provided have empowered people inside the agency and thousands more in the communities served by the United Way. Her support of the Women in Board Governance and the Western New York Women''s Fund is the basis for the continuing promotion of women for which she is famous.
   
• Enice Asman Lewin, bilingual school social worker, Buffalo Board of Education
  
  She is a designated uncrowned queen, and to the hundreds of individuals whose lives have been touched by Eunice Lewin's passion for service and to the many institutions that have profited from her leadership, the title is most appropriate. For many newcomers to our community, hers was the friendliest and most welcoming voice. For others, in need of a helping hand, hers was the most willingly offered. A native of Cuba, she came here as an young adult, mastered a new language and culture, excelled in scholarship and has maintained a deep and abiding commitment to her faith, family and community. Through her work on the boards of the Buffalo Urban League and the Erie County Commission on the Status of Women, she is helping another generation achieve their hopes and dreams.

• Joan Male, founder, Parents Anonymous, United Foster Parents, Parent Help Line
  
  Joan Male spends her days taking care of other people's children. A foster parent, she provides a loving home to needy children; a child advocate, she has empowered others to do the same. She is a protector of abused and neglected children and a friend to adults who really want to be good parents but don't know how. The founder of United Foster Parents and Parents Anonymous has used her parenting skills, her organizational talents and her fund-raising genius to improve the lives of countless children and the adults who care for them. Her compassion and hard work have enabled hundreds of fragile families to survive.

• Nancy Naples, Erie County Comptroller
  
  Nancy Naples is a role model and inspiration to every woman. Serving her third term as Erie County Comptroller, she has distinguished herself in government service, displaying the same degree of excellence that identified her private sector career with leading financial institutions and a family business. Her compassion to assist others is exemplified by her volunteer service with the Roswell Park Foundation, Canisius College, and her alma maters—Nardin Academy and Marymount College—and numerous other Western New York institutions. She continues to further the interests of women through her work on the Executive Committee of the WNY Advisory Council for the New York State Division for Women.

• Margaret A. Pericak-Vance, Ph.D., Director, Duke University Center for Human Genetics
  
  An internationally known scientist, Margaret Pericak-Vance recently was named director of the Center for Human Genetics at Duke University where she has been a professor in the medical school for more than two decades. The Holy Angels Academy graduate has gone on to become one of the nation''s top research scientists in genetics working with teams in the discovery of genes linked to Alzheimer''s and research into Parkinson''s, multiple sclerosis and autism, among other diseases. She made Newsweek's list of 100 people to watch in this century. She makes our list as one of this country''s most outstanding role models for young women.

• Catharine M. Weiss, convener, Women's Action Coalition
  
  When there is a job to be done, Catharine Weiss is usually the first face you'll see. She is everywhere women want to be: The Erie County Commission on the Status of Women, a Girl Scout meeting, a women''s history celebration, a Hall of Fame luncheon. The convener of the Women's Action Coalition is a woman of action. In Amherst, they know her as a citizen adviser, a community worker and planner, a conscientious member of many boards. She is energized by the women and girls she works with and for, and in turn she empowers them and their organizations leaving her community a far richer place.

• Belva Bennett Lockwood, first woman to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court (Posthumous)
  
  In 1879, this Niagara County native became the first woman to argue a case before the United States Supreme Court. It took an act of Congress to get her in but then nothing had come easily to this early feminist. She learned about wage discrimination as a teacher in Lockport and overcame gender bias when she fought her way into law school. Her lobbying efforts persuaded Congress to pass an equal pay for equal work law in 1872 and as a candidate of the National Equal Rights Party in 1884, she became the first woman to run for president. She championed the rights of women, Blacks and the underprivileged.

• Mary E. Wood, first Black woman to head a metropolitan YWCA branch when she became executive director of the Buffalo YWCA in 1957 (Posthumous)
  
  Mary Wood and the Buffalo YWCA made a big decision in 1957. There would not be Black branches and white branches in their organization, there would be only women''s branches. When she became the first African American woman to head a major metropolitan YWCA, she set standards for all of us. She brought her mission for integration and racial justice from the Midwest and Southwest to Buffalo and then to Washington and the world. It was not an easy time to be a high profile Black woman, but with courage, dignity, and the power of her example, Mary Wood left her mark on the city and institution she served so well.

Tickets for the Western New York Women''s Hall of Fame luncheon are available for $35 per individual ticket and $400 for corporate tables of ten. Opportunities to underwrite students are available for $20.

For information, call 859-3273.