Women Create Brevard Legacies
Beth Gitlin
As recently as the 1970s, women’s history was virtually an unknown topic in the K-12 curriculum. It wasn’t until 1987 that Congress declared March as Women’s History Month in perpetuity. The purpose of celebrating Women’s History Month is to honor women who have shaped America’s past, as well as its future. It is critical to share our stories, to recognize those among us who “dare greatly” to succeed on our own terms, to uplift our communities, as well as inspire others to do the same.
Our history is our strength and it is our duty to help ensure that women’s historic achievements are valued, honored, recognized and celebrated. To that end, let’s honor two Brevard County women who have been inducted into the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame.
JoAnn Hardin Morgan
JoAnn Hardin Morgan (Born 1940) is an American aerospace engineer who was a trailblazer in the United States space flight program as the first female engineer at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) John F. Kennedy Space Center and the first woman to serve as a senior executive at KSC.
She started working for the pre-NASA Army Ballistic Missile Agency immediately after graduating from Titusville High School in 1958. NASA formed four months later. She earned a BA in mathematics and an MS degree at Stanford University. Morgan was honored by U.S. President Bill Clinton as a Meritorious Executive in 1995 and 1998.
Her tireless advocacy for women in science and engineering spans nearly five decades and continues with philanthropic work. She started scholarships for women engineers at several universities, including the one named after her, the JoAnn Morgan Scholarship for Women Engineers, at Florida Tech.
“I’m trying to leave a legacy that women can do this,” JoAnn said from her Brevard beach cottage. “It’s fun and I never had a dull day. I loved my work, the people were interesting. I highly recommend it as a career… Our country needs the technical skills.”
Kathleen “Scotty” Culp
Kathleen “Scotty” Culp (1921-2013), a Satellite Beach resident for most of her life, enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was designated as one of the first seven WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) to enter naval service. She was designated a parachute rigger in 1942 and was sent to Corpus Christi, Texas.
Scotty, through persistence and determination, became the first female WAVE in the Navy to conduct a 2,000-foot freefall parachute jump from an R4D aircraft. In October 1944, she married CPO Leo Culp and they soon moved to Brevard.
Settling in Satellite Beach in the 1950s, she earned a remarkable reputation as a community leader and faithful volunteer. She was known as “the matriarch of Satellite Beach” and touched many lives through her dedication to service and volunteerism.
Scotty is forever memorialized in the renaming of the Satellite Beach Civic Center and City Hall to the Scotty Culp Municipal Complex.
It is my honor to share these stories in order to inspire and remind us all the power of including women in our historical narratives.
Beth Gitlin is principal and founder of BJG Global Consultants, which provides evidence-based interventions and solutions in business mentoring, leadership development, executive coaching and teamwork. She’s also founder/captain of the Heart and Soul Dragonboat Paddling Team, a local non-profit that supports health and wellness for over 70 breast cancer survivors and their supporters. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in industrial/organizational psychology at FIT, as well as an adjunct instructor in the College of Business.
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