2005 Woman of the Year
Phyllis was born and raised in Floyd County on October 18, 1951 to the late Ray and Etha Akers. She has two sisters, Mary Lou and Betty Sue, and one brother, Julian. (Phyllis is the baby). She has one son, Raymond, born August 4, 1977.
She graduated from Floyd County High School in June 1970, enjoys sports: Football (Dallas Cowboys), Nascar (Bobby Labonte), Baseball (Chicago Cubs), etc. She also like to read and travel.
Phyllis has worked at Federal Mogul, Blacksburg, VA since 1979. This is the first place she has worked that was union. She had not been around union nor had any experience with them, so she did not join right away. Her thoughts were, "if you do your job and stay out of trouble, why would you need a union." Well, she learned!
Phyllis now serves in these positions:
- Secretary-Treasurer - Local Lodge
- Legislative Committee - Local Lodge
- Women's Committee - Local Lodge
- Trustee - New River Valley Central Labor Council
- Executive Board Member - Local CLUW (Also Photographer for last two years)
- Member of Floyd Democratic Committee
- Officer of Elections
"I enjoy my union activities. I like to Volunteer for different things, but sometimes I get drafted because no one else wants to do it." - Phyllis Butterworth