On the Town:

In 1949, the Women’s Council of Burbank began honoring local women for their outstanding contributions to the betterment of Burbank. When the Women’s Council dissolved in the 1990s, the Zonta Club of Burbank took over the tradition.

The Zonta Club, whose mission is to improve the status of women through service and advocacy, gathered Saturday to bestow the 53rd annual Woman of the Year honors upon Barbara Howell, who serves as the executive director of the Burbank Temporary Aid Center.

“Barbara has proven her leadership skills in coordinating the daily efforts of meeting the most basic needs of the less fortunate,” Zonta President Sharon Cohen told those who assembled in the Mountain View Room of the Castaway Restaurant to honor the club’s 2009 recipient. “Her passion motivates people to pitch in and volunteer, as well as to dig a little deeper into their pockets to give.”

During these difficult financial times, the demand for BTAC’s services has soared while financial support has dipped. Despite these challenges, Howell has worked to educate the community about BTAC’s mission of offering a helping hand and hope to needy individuals and families. Since being named the organization’s director in 2004, Howell has been instrumental in developing new funding sources to pay for the renovation of the center’s Burbank Boulevard building.

She has also established herself has an integral part of the community through her work with the Burbank Noon Rotary Club, the Burbank Ministerial Assn., and as a Leadership Burbank board member.

Among the special guests honoring Howell at Saturday’s luncheon were her mother, Joyce Howell, who came in from Denver, Mayor Gary Bric, Vice Mayor Anja Reinke, Councilman Jess Talamantes, City Manager Mike Flad, BTAC Chairman Michael Walbrecht, Vice Chairman Will Rogers, board members Nancy Korb, Susan Borders, Darryl Forbes, Dan Linegar and Teri Suarez, former Zonta Woman of the Year honorees Penny Forbes, T.J. Baptie, Mary Alvord and Lucy Burghdorf. Also in attendance was Joan Patricia “J.P.” O’Connor, who represented her mother, Mary Alice O’Connor, the 2003 Woman of the Year.