Organizing a National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) section in Charles County has been a long-standing goal for many NCNW affiliate members and individuals residing in Charles County. In 2019, the vision for establishing a new NCNW section in Charles County began when the former President of the Southern Maryland Chapter of Top Ladies of Distinction Inc., Janet Simmons, asked TLOD member, Coletta Treakle, to begin researching how to organize a NCNW section in the Charles County. In June 2019, Ms. Treakle began researching how to organize a new section and took on the role as the Organizer. On August 11, 2019, six ladies from the Charles County area came together at the United Way Building in La Plata, Maryland to assess how an organization like NCNW could impact the lives of women of African descent and their families within the Charles County community. At that meeting, the vote was unanimous to move forward with planning and preparing to charter a new Charles County Section of NCNW.

To begin the organizing process, a temporary Executive Board had to be established. In September 2019, the Committee to Organize Executive Board elected three temporary officers: Coletta Treakle, Organizer/President; Tonya Allen-Shaw, Secretary; and Yvette Presley, Treasurer (Budget/Finance Committee Chair). On October 25, 2019, the Committee to Organize received permission from NCNW’s National Headquarters to begin the organizing process.

In December 2019, two other groups inquired with NCNW’s National Headquarters about chartering a new section in Charles County. NCNW’s National Headquarters encouraged the groups to work together. The Committee to Organize grew from six to twenty members. The members of the Committee to Organize brought unique skill sets and expertise. The additional Committee to Organize members were Nana Bailey-Thomas (Membership Committee Chair), Pamela Crenshaw-Johnson, Alicia Dawson (Public Relations Committee Chair), Ernestine Diggs (Nominations Committee Chair), Karleshia Dorsey, Michelle Dowleyne, Ursula Durrah-Williams, Melba Ford, Lavita Gardner (Programs Committee Chair), Monate Gillard Butler, Kelly Lytton (Chartering Committee Chair), Miriam “Cookie” Matthews, Lisa McFadden, Ashleigh Phillips, Rochelle Savoy, Janet Simmons, and Dyotha Sweat. Additionally, many of these women were also members of NCNW’s affiliate organizations. NCNW’s mantra of “we could do more together than apart” was the charge.

On August 10, 2020, the required paperwork was submitted to NCNW’s Headquarters in order to obtain approval to charter as the Charles County Section. On September 10, 2020, the Charles County Section was granted a charter by NCNW’s Board of Directors. Due to the tireless efforts and dedication of the Committee to Organize and with the support of sections across the NCNW National footprint, the Charles County Section of NCNW now has eighty-nine dynamic and dedicated charter members, ready to serve the Charles County community.