October 29, 2025 (Moscow, Idaho) — Upon the recommendation of the Moscow Human Rights Commission, Mayor Art Bettge has chosen Lee Anne Eareckson and Linda Pike to receive the prestigious Ismat Ara and Abdul Mannan Sheikh Community Unity Award.
A ceremony honoring the recipients will be held in the Moscow City Council Chambers on Thursday, November 6, at 7pm. The event will feature the official award presentation, the unveiling of the recipients’ names on a central plaque in City Hall, and a commemorative rock plaque in East City Park to honor the Sheikhs and previous award recipients.
About the Honorees
Lee Anne Eareckson has been teaching French and Biology at Moscow High School since 1987. She is the founder of Conservation Opportunities, Inc., a nonprofit organization that raises funds and recruits volunteers to support conservation-focused service projects for Moscow High School students that are feasible, inclusive, and affordable. Ms. Eareckson has also served on the Latah County Human Rights Task Force, the Philips Farm Board, and the Latah County Parks Board.
Linda Pike earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Idaho and practiced law in Moscow, later serving as a State of Idaho Administrative Tax Judge before retiring. She founded the non-profit Third Street Pedestrian Bridge Project, Inc., has participated in the League of Women Voters, and served on the Intermountain Fair Housing Council, the Family Promise Board, and Moscow’s Fair and Affordable Housing Commission. Ms. Pike has also volunteered with Habitat for Humanity.
About the Sheikh Community Unity Award
The Ismat Ara and Abdul Mannan Sheikh Community Unity Award is a biennial civic award established to highlight and honor the achievements of a Moscow citizen or group who has made outstanding commitments to community unity, diversity, and human rights in Moscow and the surrounding community.
The award honors the memory of two outstanding Moscow citizens, Ismat Ara Sheikh and her husband, Abdul Mannan Sheikh, who demonstrated the meaning of community unity in their personal lives and outreach to the Moscow community. This was marked in particular by their open invitation to anyone for the community Thanksgiving meals they hosted for many years in Moscow.
The event is hosted by the City of Moscow and the Human Rights Commission. The Moscow community is invited to attend.
###Story Contact: Karen Potter, Assistant to Chief of Police
Phone: (208) 883-7115
Email:Karen Potter
