I've been thinking about this side of the story for about a month thinking about women in our community who really make a difference, or those who wield a lot of power.

It has been disappointing to discover that there are not nearly as many women to choose from, but I did manage to put together a great list of women. I did have a lot of help from several groups to make the final choices and rank them in order.

Here's part 1, the bottom 5 of my power list.

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    Jane Smith

    "General" Jane, as she is known is a longtime leader in the Bossier Parish education world.  Smith is a former member of the State House and also served on BESE. She was also Superintendent of Schools in Bossier Parish. She still has lots of connections in the education world and is very active in Republican politics.

     

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    9

    Shelly Ragle

    Ragle is Director of Shreveport Public Assembly and Recreation or SPAR. She has been managing one of the city's largest departments for several years. She's one of those "in the trenches" folks who gets the job done. If something is happening in Shreveport, Shelly probably knows about it and has a hand in it.

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    8

    Pam Glorioso

    Pam is another local leader who quietly works in the trenches and gets things done. She is currently city Project Coordinator/Film Commissioner. She's held that post since 1989. Glorioso is actively involved in the revitalization plan for old Bossier.

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    7

    Wanda Bennett

    Wanda is President of the Bossier Parish Police Jury. And as you may know Bossier Parish is the fastest growing region in our state. Bennett has led the effort to make way for this growth with few, if any, big skirmishes. She also served on the Bossier City Council and she was active in getting the Bossier Parish 9-1-1 system started. Wanda is a straight shooter and will find an answer for you if she doesn't have the answer.

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    6

    Gay Gaskins

    Lots of debate about which local Judge/Attorney should make our list and we finally decided Judge Gaskins is the one who probably has the most "juice". She served on the Shreveport City Court before her election to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals bench in 1995. She retired from the bench in 2012, but she now runs a private mediation firm.

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