PORTLAND – The Maine Women’s Fund honored four women “for their extraordinary efforts to eliminate gender barriers” on Oct. 2 at the Holiday Inn by the Bay. The event, “Evening to Honor Maine Women and Girls,” was sponsored by the fund.

Two area women are among the recipients:

Lisa M. Daggett of Auburn is Women, Work and Community’s Lewiston Center coordinator. She facilitates numerous course offerings that help women find their voices and become leaders in their communities on personal and professional levels.

Daggett helped launch the Women’s Leadership Initiative of Androscoggin Valley to encourage the participation of women in civic leadership. She serves as a member of center’s Leadership Task Force.

Daggett said she is dedicated to advancing the mission of the fund’s New Girls’ Network, which was recently launched in Lewiston/Auburn. She is directing her $500 grant to her daughter’s Brownie troop.

Dr. Vivianne Holmes of Buckfield has worked with the University Maine Cooperative Extension in Lisbon Falls as an associate Extension educator since 1981.

Her work in support and celebration of women farmers in Maine and northern New England resulted in founding the Women in Agriculture Network. The network provides support for nearly 1,000 women farmers and serves as a model for aspiring women farmers and young women whose love of the land, belief in collaborative relationships among women, and passion for sustainable agricultural practices manifest a momentum toward social change. Holmes is directing her $500 grant to the network.

Both are members of the Women’s Leadership Initiative of Androscoggin Valley, which has a goal to encourage and empower women’s collaborative leadership roles and recognize their contributions in building social capital and community assets throughout Androscoggin Valley.

The Lewiston Center will host a community forum, “Advancing Women’s Voices,” from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29, open to the public. For more information and to reserve a space call 753-6622.

The forum will focus on creating awareness about the issues that affect women’s lives every day. The goal is to help policy- and decision-makers understand what women want and need to encourage positive change in their lives.