By Nikki Beare

Three women were inducted into the Florida Women's Hall of Fame no Tuesday night in a ceremony honoring their career achievements.

Saluting the women were Gov. Charlie Crist, CFO Alex Sink and Attorney General William McCullum.

The event was held under a huge tent on the plaza between the old and new Capitols. The evening was filled with a crowd of supporters of the winners. The Boys Choir of Tallahassee sang a rousing rendition of "America the Beautiful."

The three inductees were: Supreme Court Justice Barbara J. Pariente, Dr. Pallavi Patel and U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

Pariente is the second woman appointed to the Florida Supreme Court. She served as Florida's Chief Justice from 2004-2006. She has spent much of her life advocating causes that improve the lives of women, children and families in Florida. Patel is a board-certified pediatrician and philanthropist who supports the advancement of the role of women in Florida and around the world. Born in India, she began her medical career in Zambia. She and her husband, Dr. Pallavi Patel, moved to Zambia and India and began building hospitals and schools, and worked together on disaster-relief programs. They later moved to the Tampa area. Patel and her husband recently contributed to the Dr. Pallavi Patel Performing Arts Conservatory with a $5 million dollar gift to the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.

Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami, remembers well her dash with her family for freedom from Cuba to Miami and their struggle to make a better life. She became a teacher, then became the first Hispanic woman to be elected to the Florida Legislature in 1982. She was elected to the Florida Senate in 1986 and then became the first Hispanic woman elected to the U.S. Congress in 1989.

Also on the program was famed Florida photographer Sherley Busch's special photographic display of "Florida's Women of Achievement" that includes some of the women who have been inducted into the Florida Hall of Fame, plus many others. It is located in the Cabinet Meeting Room and will remain on display there until April 18.

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