GLOW Women’s March still on for Saturday in Batavia
2 long-time leaders in Genesee will serve as grand marshals
BATAVIA – The GLOW Women’s March is still planned for 10 a.m. on Saturday despite a forecast for a winter storm, beginning at 1 p.m.
The march will begin at 10 a.m. in Jackson Square with music provided by the Women’s Resistance Choir from the GLOW region. The march route has been shortened due to the weather and will go to City Centre where there will be eight speakers.
Participants will include Diana Kastenbaum, a Congressional candidate in 2016 and owner of a Batavia manufacturing company; members of Woke GCC; Debora McDell-Hernandez with Planned Parenthood of Batavia; Michelle Schoneman of East Aurora, founder of Citizens Against Collins; ChaRon Sattler-Leblanc with Moms Demand Action from Rochester and the Genesee region; Lauren Jimerson of Fairport, project manager of Iroquois White Corn Project; Tamara Leigh with Out Alliance of Rochester; Carly Fox with Worker Justice Center of New York; and Vanessa Glushefski, deputy comptroller for the City of Buffalo.
There will also be 21 organizations set up with tables at the Community Fair. There is plenty free parking in the Save-A-Lot parking lot which is across from Valle Jewelers at 21 Jackson Street, and space at the City Centre parking lot between Bank Street and Alva Place.
The march includes two grand marshals from Genesee County, Esther Leadley and Betsy Dexheimer.
“Both women are beloved in the community and role models for all of us,” Avery said.
Dexheimer has worked tirelessly to better the lives of so many people in the local community, Avery said.
Dexheimer was a special education teacher for students with multiple disabilities. She was a strong advocate for the children and their parents. She has served on the Office of the Aging’s advisory council for the Livable Community Vision Team. She also has volunteered for Meals on Wheels the past 10 years. She also volunteers with Friends of the Library at Richmond Memorial Library in Batavia.
She also helps at Saint James Episcopal Church, the Rape Crisis division of Planned Parenthood of Rochester, and Hospice. She also is an usher at UB and the Harvester Theater.
Leadley, a former Genesee County legislator for 15 years, graduated from Pavilion High School. Always focused on children and families, Leadley has volunteered with numerous organizations throughout the area including the Pavilion Library (where she served as director at one time), and the YWCA of Genesee County, where she helped start the Fabulous Females Committee and helped that effort to recognize local women leaders for 14 years.
After a bout with cancer, Leadley turned her experience into a positive. She became a chemo coach with the American Cancer Society, helping countless others deal with their treatment. Currently, she has been busy with Community Action of Orleans and Genesee, which runs a Head Start program.
