Berry recognized for initiative in building a career of service to the elderly — and bringing that mission home to Columbus
LA GRANGE — The League of Women Voters of South Central Texas (LWV) celebrated its fourth annual Women Making History event on March 8 - International Women's Day - at the Historic Casino Hall in La Grange. Among the honorees was Columbus resident Alice Berry, recognized in the category of Initiative for a lifetime of building her own path forward — and lifting others along the way.
Raised in Pennsylvania and Ohio, Berry built a 20-year career in elder care, earning her Gerontology degree from UC-San Bernardino and serving as an activity director at a 125-bed senior care center in Southern California. When she and her husband moved to Columbus in 2013, she became a certified ombudsman for the DHS Area Agency on Aging - visiting care centers, filing reports, and simply being present for residents who needed someone there.
In 2019, she founded Senior Smiles after asking a simple question: why stop at decorating nursing home doors when they could visit the residents themselves? Today the program brings about 16 volunteers monthly to all three local care centers. As fellow members put it: “Alice is the glue that holds us together.” Diagnosed with MS in her 20s, Berry has carried that quietly for decades - and has never stopped giving.
Berry's profile was read by Janice MacBride, a member of the Senior Smiles group in Columbus.
About the 2026 Women Making History Event
The 2026 Women Making History celebration honored six women selected from dozens of community nominations spanning Colorado, DeWitt, Fayette, Gonzales, and Lavaca counties.
Other honorees included: Heritage: Mary Bristow Willeford (Flatonia) — founding nurse of the Frontier Nursing Service and pioneer of nurse-midwifery education in the U.S.
Steadfastness: Dr. Mary Fanett Wheeler (Cuero) - world-renowned computational scientist elected to the National Academy of Engineering Courage: Connie Shortes (La Grange) - Braver Angels moderator bringing conservatives and progressives together across Fayette County Determination: Christi Opiela (Hallettsville) — builder of the award-winning Hallettsville Brahma News Network, the only scholastic journalism program in the five-county region Vision: Tammy Collins (Flatonia) — driving force behind Flatonia's downtown revitalization
Third Annual Student Writing Showcase
The afternoon also featured the league's Third Annual Student Writing Showcase, in which four area high school students presented original essays and poetry honoring heroic women from Texas history with ties to South Central Texas.
This year’s winners were:
Ellah Hill (12th grade, La Grange High School) - Essay on Annie Webb Blanton, La Grange, the first woman elected State Superintendent of Education in Texas; Mariel Arredondo (10th grade, Yoakum High School) - Essay on Clara Belle Drisdale Williams, Plum, who became the first African American graduate of what is now New Mexico State University; Audrey Green (10th grade, La Grange High School) - Essay on Mayor Jan Dockery, La Grange, the first African American mayor of La Grange; and, Vanessa Adams (12th grade, La Grange High School) - Poem on Mayor Jan Dockery, La Grange.
Arredondo's recognition marks her second consecutive Showcase win; in 2025 she was honored for her profile of Jovita Idar, the pioneering South Texas journalist and civil rights activist.
