National Council of Negro Women award women

Staff report

Youngstown

Two women will be honored for their community service today by the Youngstown Chapter of the National Council of Negro Women.

The council will honor Delphine Baldwin-Casey and Mary Halfacre with the Bethune-Height Award at a “Women of Distinction” luncheon from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Holiday Inn in Boardman.

The award is presented to women who represent the values of their founder and longtime leader, Mary McLeod Bethune and Dorothy Height.

Baldwin-Casey retired from the Youngstown Police Department after 31 years. During that time, she faced adversity as both a woman and a minority on a predominantly white and male police staff.

“If I’ve done anything to make it better for young women and blacks now, then I probably have done my job,” she said.

Halfacre spent her career as a geriatric-certified nurse and licensed social worker. She works at the Area Agency on Aging 11 in Niles, an organization dedicated to assisting the elderly and disabled in Ashtabula, Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

“I’ve just always believed that service is our payment for the space on Earth that we take,” she said.