Celebrating Strong Women
March 31, 2023
Soroptimist International of Napa Celebrates Strong Women
Annually, during Women’s history month in March, Soroptimist International of Napa hosts its Women’s Awards Banquet celebrating strong women, as was the case Tuesday evening, March 28th . Led by President-Elect, Nancy Giltner, women were honored for the Live Your Dream: Education and Training Award, the Violet Richardson Award for teenage volunteers and the Fellowship Award.
The Live Your Dream: Education and Training Award, goes to a woman who is Head-of-household, has financial need and is enrolled or accepted in college or a trade school. Applicants submit an application, write an essay, turn in letters of recommendation and are judged by a panel of judges that are not Soroptimist members. It a very impactful award.
This year, Kari Six was presented as the first-place awardee for the Live Your Dream Award by chair, Nancy Giltner. Kari received $2,000 from Soroptimist International of Napa to help her reach her goals and will advance to the District level of Soroptimist for judging where she could potentially win more money to achieve her dreams.` Currently Kari is working on her AS degree and planning to transfer into the Genetics and Genomics program at UC Davis, with plans to complete it in May 2024. Kari then hopes to pursue her masters in Pharmacology. She is a great example for her two young daughters!
The second-place winner for the Live Your Dream Award was Adriana Vega who is also enrolled at Napa Valley College. She is receiving $1,000 from Soroptimist International of Napa. Miss Vega is pursuing her AA in Early Childhood Development to be completed in June which will give her an Assistant Teachers Certification. Spanish is her first language, so to have completed all these courses in English is quite an accomplishment.
Next, the Violet Richardson Award (named for the first President of Soroptimist) was given to a very accomplished teenage girl for her volunteerism, Lily A. Andrews, by chair Ellen York. Lily among other things, volunteers for the Napa County Library and is also a teen representative for the Napa County Library Commission. She received $500 from Soroptimist International of Napa and $500 is donated to a charity of her choice in her name. Lily chose the Napa County Library. Lily is a junior at Vintage High, with a strong interest in STEM and a strong GPA. Her mother and grandmother, both in attendance, were extremely proud and rightfully so!
Finally, an internal award for Fellowship was awarded by Chair Teresa Zimny. Fellowship is a Founder Region cash award given to approximately 10 women each year who are in their final year of their Doctorate program. Each woman receives between $8,000 and $10,000. At the club level, Soroptimist International of Napa donates $1,000 to the Fellowship program in the name of someone in the club as an honor. This year’s award went to Laura Brasil! This is her 2nd Fellow, a great honor for all that she does for the Napa Club and Soroptimist!
Soroptimist International of Napa is part of a global volunteer organization that provides women and girls with access to education and training they need to achieve economic empowerment. The club meets the 2nd and 3rd Tuesdays of the month for lunch at noon at Embassy Suites and one evening for fun on the 4th Tuesday of the month. Contact Debbie Goodman, Membership chair to attend a meeting at 707-478-7630. Or email .
www.SoroptimistNapa.org
www.Facebook.com/SoroptimistIntlOfNapa
@soroptimistinternationalofnapa
www.FounderRegionFellowship.org
Tags: #EducatedWomenAreEmpoweredWomen #SoroptimistInternationalOfNapa #SoroptimistsAtWork