For Olive M. Brown, the racism of her youth is decades removed but perhaps no less painful today as it was when she was a fifth-grader growing up in Sharon.

Mrs. Brown, of Farrell, told more than 200 guests Friday at the Mercer County Branch of the NAACP's 40th annual Freedom Fund Banquet in the Radisson Hotel, Shenango Township, about some of her still vivid memories of being discriminated against as a little girl.

"I could not go to the Girls' Buhl Club," she said moments after being honored by the organization as a Community Service Award winner for her volunteerism and dedication to the community. "We used to go there every year and I remember the beautiful hardwood floors. But because of racism in the Shenango Valley I had to go to the Carver Center."

Mrs. Brown, one of two honorees along with the Rev. Martha J. Sanders, went on to thank the NAACP for the difference the organization has made in the community over the years so children today don't have to face the same painful experiences she did.

"It is all about these children because we want a better Shenango Valley for our children," she said. "It's kind of over for some of us, but we have to work to do better for our children."

Mrs. Brown has worked for Sharon Regional Health System for 27 years and is the executive director of the Minority Health Center.