The Lawrence Association of Neighborhoods will honor two longtime neighborhood advocates at a special meeting today.

Betty Alderson and Betty Lichtwardt both will be honored for outstanding service to neighborhoods at LAN’s special meeting at 6 p.m. today at the Lawrence Visitor Information Center, 402 N. Second St.

“If it wasn’t for the two Bettys, the city would look much different and the neighborhoods wouldn’t have had such strong people fighting for them for many, many years,” said Gwen Klingenberg, president of LAN.

The meeting also will celebrate the 22nd anniversary of the founding of LAN.

Klingenberg said the organization will have several areas of emphasis in 2010, including working to persuade school board members to leave neighborhood schools open, lobbying for changes at City Hall that would require more extensive neighborhood notification about planning issues, and a continued emphasis on improving Lawrence’s sidewalks.

Tonight’s event is open to the public and free of charge.