This past May, the Barnstable County Board of Regional Commissioners officially endorsed Angelina Chilaka as the Mercy Otis Warren Cape Cod Woman of the Year following the selection process after endorsement by Karen Boujoukos. The Mercy Otis Warren Cape Cod Woman of the Year award has been given annually since 2002 and recognizes "community leadership and ideals of patriotism in Barnstable County." Angelina Chilaka is a resident of Harwich and a retired educator and coach, spending 45 years at Monomoy Regional High School (formerly Harwich High School).

            Chilaka is heavily involved with the volunteer work for the American Red Cross and Harwich Council on Aging and serves on the Outer Cape Health Services board of directors. She has impacted many of her students' lives in the classroom and in times of personal and economic hardship, collecting and providing supplies for students when needed. She has also been instrumental in promoting racial justice on the Cape, particularly through her work as a member of the MLK Action Team, a racial justice group of the Nauset Interfaith Association. Unsurprisingly, she is even further involved in the Cape Cod community as a producer of the Cape Verdean Heritage Oral History Project, a video series documenting stories of Cape Verdeans' history and stories as members of the Harwich and entire Cape Cod community. The award was presented to Ms.Chilaka on Flag Day, June 14, at the annual Flag Day community event. 

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For more information, check out Barnstable County's coverage here.