The fourth Sheikh Community Unity Award was presented this year to Linda Pall, clinical associate professor of business law and coordinator of business law for the college of business at Washington State University.
The Sheikh Community Unity Award is presented biannually by the mayor of Moscow and was founded to honor the public service works of Ismat Ara and Abdul Sheikh in 2007 and to recognize “extraordinary contributions to diversity, inclusion, human rights, and public service in Moscow and the surrounding area,” according to an October press release from the city of Moscow.
Pall received the award Nov. 17 in a surprise ceremony at the 1912 Center.
“It’s a surprise to the recipient,” Mayor Nancy Cheney said. “Although, we work behind the scenes to make sure they will be there. But with Linda you can’t (keep it a secret) because her fingerprints are so ingrained in the community.”
Pall said she was surprised to receive the award.
“I never for a moment, and I mean literally never, thought of myself as a person who would be honored this way because there are so many other people,” Pall said.
Pall joined the Moscow City Council in 1977 and served for 18 years. During her time on the council, and long after, she earned numerous awards including the Idaho State Bar Family Law Section Award of Distinction in 1990, the NLC Excellence in Leadership Award from National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials (NBC-LEO) in 1998 and the National League of Cities Distinguished Service Award from the NBC-LEO in 2000.
“The thing that was so warm, pleasant and charming that night is how many people, friends and associates I had worked with over the years were there. I saw these people standing up and saying, ‘Linda, you’ve done it,'” Pall said. “This was a huge atta girl for me.”
Pall was also instrumental in establishing the Moscow Human Rights Commission and the Finding the Center Human Rights Conference.
She was also honored by the Latah County Human Rights Task Force in 2002 with the Rosa Parks Human Rights Award, and in 2006 was named the Idaho Progressive Leader of the Year by United Vision.
“This award is tremendously important and I think Linda was very moved to be recognized,” Cheney said. “It had to do with recognizing that we are human beings and what we can do to help each other.”
The awardee is ultimately chosen by the mayor, but is based on nominations from the community. Anyone can nominate a community member, and once the period for submissions ends, the Human Rights Commission submits them to the mayor for consideration. The submission period ends the first week of October and Cheney said the decision takes weeks.
“We have tremendous competition going on here,” Cheney said. “We have uncommonly engaged citizens here.”
Pall received a plaque, her name was engraved alongside previous recipients on another plaque housed in City Hall and her name was placed on a commemorative stone in East City Park, according to the Moscow press release.
“We can thank the individual, but good can be contagious,” Cheney said. “It’s good for the community to reflect on the good things we have going on.”