(Sacramento) Assemblymember Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) proudly honored the Reverend Ann Gray Byrd during the state legislature's 18th annual "Woman of the Year" event.

"Reverend Gray Bird takes the "Golden Rule" to the next level," said Evans. "By her example, she has shown us how to build our community through helping others succeed in the opportunities that we seek for ourselves."

Reverend Gray Bird has lived in Sonoma County for over 50 years. An advocate for civil rights and equality, she is the Associate Minister at the Cotati Church of the Oaks, President of the local NAACP, on the Board of Directors for the ACLU and active member of the National Association of Negro Business & Professional Women's Clubs. She is also a certified law enforcement chaplain.

For more than 30 years, she supervised and/or directed the operations of administrative offices, such as the Carpenters Joint Apprenticeship and Training in Santa Rosa. More recently, she served seven years as the Executive Director of the Santa Rosa-based Gray Foundation, online at http://www.grayfoundation.org. She also served four years as the Assistant COO for the California Human Development Corporation, online at http://www.chdcorp.org.

Each member of the State Senate and Assembly honors the accomplishments of a woman whom they represent during the "Woman of the Year" event. These women are invited to the Capitol and honored during a formal ceremony on the floors of the Senate and Assembly.

Sponsored by the Women's Caucus each year, the Woman of the Year event was started in 1987 by Assemblymembers Bev Hansen (R) and Sally Tanner (D) as a way to celebrate the contributions made by remarkable women throughout California during Women's History Month.