Ruthie Hillsman

Ruthie Hillsman is President of the National Council of Negro Women, Inc. for the Champaign County Section. She became the sixth president and among many other activities, began the annual Gala, Mother’s Day Bruch, and bus excursions to Black Expo in Indianapolis. She has held office since 1995 and has also been instrumental in various fund raisers for the community. Under her auspices as Executive Officer, she has assisted in raising funds for the Martin Luther King Scholarship Fund, Women's Safe House, Concerned Citizens for a Better Neighborhood and Sister Mary Gabriel Curby Fund at The Provena Covenant Medical Center.

Ruthie is the sixth child of the late Ada Ray and Albert Williams. She was born, raised and educated in Paducah, Kentucky. She and her family moved to Champaign in the late 1950s and she became active in the community right away. She was a member of the Champaign County Assistance Association, served on the Board of A Woman's Fund and the Women's Safe House, and is an active member of Gamma Upsilon Society.