This year’s Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi Margaret Maddox Woman of the Year is Judy Bland of Marks, Mississippi.
Judy Bland is one of the earliest volunteers of the , a program dedicated to growing Quitman County, Mississippi by empowering its residents with the resources, education, and skills they need to thrive. Judy combines her deep understanding of the community as well as her untiring work ethic to help the organization and its focus on education, workforce training, and community well-being.
She has been instrumental in adapting several programs in Marks, some of which include Jumpstart, a national early childhood educational program dedicated to helping preschoolers develop language and literacy skills that will prepare them for school; ACT Boot Camp, a five-hour test preparation program for students of Quitman County High School; as well as the Quitman County Career Empowerment Center, which offers free and low-cost job training to the residents of Quitman County. Judy is also a retired Quitman County secondary English teacher.