Three graduating seniors were also awarded scholarships from the club: Brentwood High’s Kendall Gilfillan and Maxine Whitney, and Christ Presbyterian’s Katie Bomar.

Woman of the Year Susan Leathers, second from left, is pictured with mother-in-law Marge, husband Larry and sister-in-law Linda. (Photos by Jodi Rall)

Scholarship award winners Maxine Whitney of Brentwood and Katie Bomar of Christ Presbyterian (unable to attend: Kendall Gilfillan of BHS).

Andi Allison and Amanda Derryberry won the Keep Williamson Beautiful video contest, receiving $250 each. Their BHS teacher will also get a cash prize.

Brentwood Woman's Club honored its members who have reached five years of service with the organization.

“Susan has contributed hundreds of hours a month well over a year now ensuring that people in Brentwood are informed and engaged in what’s happening in the community by publishing Brentwood Home Page,” said Brentwood Mayor Betsy Crossley, keynote speaker.

Leathers, who co-founded the BHP online newspaper website 1½ years ago, said she was used to writing about other people getting honors. She described it as “humbling” to accept an award herself. 

Leathers paid tribute to her business partner, Kelly Gilfillan. She said Gilfillan was as instrumental in the news site's success as she was.  “This really has been very much a collaborative effort, and I want to thank Kelly and I so wish she was here to share this with me,” Leathers said.

Gilfillan and her daughter and BWC scholarship recipient Kendall, were both in Washington, D.C., where Kendall was accepting another scholarship award for her volunteer work against modern-day slavery. 

Leathers, who had worked as an award-winning journalist in Tennessee, California, Alabama and  North Carolina, saw a need to fill the gap of media coverage about Brentwood following her layoff as Williamson A.M.'s community news editor in late 2008. A native of Richmond, Va., and a graduate of Emory & Henry College, Leathers has lived in Brentwood since 2000 after relocating from Santa Rosa, Calif. to become an assistant features editor at The Tennessean.

“She’s incredibly involved in the city of Brentwood,” noted Woman’s Club president-elect Liz Martin.

Leathers is a 2010 graduate of Leadership Brentwood and a past president of the United Methodist Women at Brentwood UMC.

BHP the vision and the mission 

The BHP editor also thanked her husband Larry and college-student sons Martin and Thomas for their support. She said she had raised “two great feminists.”

Leathers said the “hundreds of hours a month” the mayor mentioned often amounted to what seemed like “hundreds of hours a week.”

“I have not seen my husband for two years, and I’m so glad he’s here with me today,” she quipped.

The 30-year journalist also gave due to her sister-in-law, Linda Leathers, a founder of The Next  Door organization which helps women coming out of incarceration. Susan said Linda had helped her on her faith journey the last couple of years and helped her believe in miracles.

“God is so responsible with what has happened with Brentwood Home Page. Every time we’ve had a need, it’s been met somehow -- he’s brought us people, he’s brought us checks in the mail, he’s brought us our office,” she said.

Leathers also recognized some of BHP’s regular freelancers present including Wendy Hosse and Jodi Rall. She also noted BHP’s community columnists are unpaid. “They’re doing it because they love us and they love this community.”

“Brentwood Home Page is a vision, it’s a mission, it’s a ministry,” Leathers said, noting she also felt like it’s good journalism. “Our goals were to be independent, credible, timely and essential, and I think we have done that.”

Club awards scholarships, honors members

In presenting partial scholarships to the three senior girls, Becky Burke-Pair told a story about how she had gone out on her own at age 19 but decided to go back to school at Miami-Dade Junior College. She didn’t have the $250 needed to sign up for classes at the time, but was sent a stamped “Paid” punch card mistakenly – or so she thought.

A professor Burke-pair had met told her that her students were often overcharged and that she had an obligation to attend classes. Years later, she – and other students – realized the professor had paid their tuition.

Mary Phillips presents Sharon Kantanie with honorary BWC membership.

“That $250 was the most valuable $250 I received in my life,” Burke-Pair said. “… She made our dreams come true … We can’t offer you a full scholarship, but we hope these dollars help you get closer to your dreams.”

Crossley, whose speech was on service, challenged the students to give back to their community wherever it is and to continue learning throughout their lifetime. 

In club awards, Liz Allman was honored as member of the year, and Diane Wall was recognized as new member of the year.

The BWC also bestowed honorary membership on Sharon Kantanie, a Brentwood Academy and Vanderbilt graduate who is now helping the club with its website. Kantanie was diagnosed at age 6 with a rare disorder, FOP, that forms a second skeleton over existing bones and locks body parts in place.