Barbara Thomas, who had been president or co-president of the League of Women Voters of Saratoga County for 20 years, was honored with the Kathryn Starbuck Lifetime Achievement Award and recognized for a lifetime of activism on behalf of equality, the environment and other social justice issues. The Starbuck award is named for a prominent Saratoga Springs suffragist. Below are the remarks of Patricia Nugent, another past president of LWV Saratoga, introducing Barb at the awards luncheon on June 23, 2024..
Introduction of BarBara Thomas
Kathryn Starbuck Lifetime Achievement Award Ceremony
by Patricia Nugent
Gideon Putnam Hotel, Sunday, June 23, 2024
Thank you. It’s a true privilege and a pleasure to be introducing Barbara Thomas today. She’s always had my admiration, and I’m happy to publicly share the reasons for that. Thank you for the opportunity.
The timing of this event is good, even though a few of us arrived back from NYC around 11:00 last night. Our League of Women Voters took a busload to Broadway to attend the musical SUFFS about the courageous women who led the women’s equality movement in the early 1900s. The theater yesterday – and I hear this is true every day - was filled with sobbing women; women who are so tired of being marginalized and minimized as they continue to fight for equality in our current culture. So, celebrating Kathryn Starbuck’s legacy today is the perfect follow-up for remembering our own power. As is honoring my friend and colleague, Barb.
I’m going to take you way back - to the dark ages (no, that’s not when Barb was born) – take you to that dangerous era when we used to answer the telephone without knowing who was on the other end. (To remind you, phones also had cords that were attached to walls, not attached to people!) I can tell you from personal experience that there was nothing worse than saying “Hello” and hearing, “Oh, hi, Pat. It’s Barb Thomas.” (I worked on that imitation – I want you to appreciate that!) It was bad to hear her voice because Barb always had a knack for matching people’s interests with organizational needs. It’s not only hard to personally turn her down; it’s hard for chronic activists, like me, to decline the well-suited opportunity to make a difference that she offers others.
Because that’s what Barb has been known for in Saratoga County and beyond for more than half a century: Taking action on issues that impact the quality of life for every American. The League of Women Voters, with which much of Barb’s activism is closely associated, advocates and lobbies for fair and equal representation in our democracy, and now, even more so, protection of that democracy. We are a nonpartisan, yet political organization that studies issues, seeks consensus from diverse stakeholders, and then promotes a position – not a party or a candidate, but a position. For that reason, we’re in the unenviable position of offending either major political party at any given point in time. And we have. And we will. But in this hyper-partisan political climate, it gives the League the opportunity to come down on the side of how a representative democracy should always function no matter who’s in charge.
When Barb stepped down as our LWV president in 2011, after 20 consecutive years (who does that?), I had the terrifying honor of stepping into the role. To step into her little tiny shoes that were so huge to fill. I don’t know how she did it so well for so long - with a family, including four sons! I was exhausted after two years and, like LBJ, did not seek a second term. At various junctures, we’ve had as many as four people serving as a steering committee to do the job that Barb did single-handedly for 20 years! As a League president, you have many stakeholders who are passionate and not shy about expressing their views. I suspect this group knows a little something about that dynamic.
Part of why it’s hard for anyone to fill Barb’s shoes is that she not only carries passion for diverse social issues from climate change to gun safety, she also has the increasingly-rare tendency to speak in terms of facts and data. She can rattle off the reasons for League positions without notes. Some of us go on instinct as to what feels right; Barb remembers the nuts and bolts, and can clearly articulate them. She doesn’t mince words – she’s a straight talker. If she thinks you’re wrong, she’ll tell you. (Her kids can probably attest to that.) For these reasons and more, she’s also been a valuable League leader at the state level for decades. She is a treasured resource in many circles.
Barb is small but mighty. She puts her money where her mouth is. She walks the talk. She’s a generous donor to the League and beyond. She and her late husband Bob donated 13 acres of their personal property to Saratoga Plan to help preserve public access to Kayaderosseras Creek in West Milton and protect it from development. (Again, who does that?) She also self-funded an annual celebration of Roe to remind us of the importance of that victory to women’s lives. Little did we know the peril we’d be in today. I’m so glad Sasha will be speaking more about that shortly.
Barb’s current mission is to advocate for the right to die peacefully, without undue suffering. She lobbies the NYS Legislature to advance the legalization of medical aid in dying. I’m told everyone who passes her in the hall knows her by name.
I’ve said to her (somewhat seriously), “Barb, you can’t ever die!” to which she calmly replies, “Well, I have to someday.” I’m not convinced…she’s already conquered a couple serious diagnoses. But when that time comes, my world will be smaller and scarier. But certainly better because she was here.
When we recognized her on the bus yesterday for the honor you are bestowing today, she said, “The best way to honor me is to continue the work.” We must all continue the work.
So, I celebrate her today with all my heart. I’m grateful I have a Barbara Thomas in my life. And grateful to this committee for honoring her today. Thank you.
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See the Daily Gazette article on June 21, 2024 about Barbara Thomas’s 50 plus years of activism:
”Walking the walk: Community activist Barbara Thomas still striving toward equality: Schuylerville resident will be honored this weekend with the Kathryn Starbuck Lifetime Achievement Award “