It was a wonderful, hopeful night and I can't thank you enough for the honor, and for the fabulous experience.  I was amazed by the enormous contributions the women in our community make, and feel deeply honored to be considered worthy of their company."     
                                                                           2009 Women of Achievement Recipient 

The YWCA, Title Sponsor James E. Moore Insurance Agency, and over 300 guests honored and celebrated women and young leaders from Brunswick County, Columbus, New Hanover and Pender counties at the 25th Annual Women of Achievement Awards on May 22nd at historic Thalian Hall.

New YWCA Executive Director Suesan Sullivan began the evening with a quote from First Lady Michelle Obama’s speech given at the YWCA USA 150 Year Gala Celebration held in May, "You fought for job opportunities for women and bringing down barriers that were used to limit the ability of all women to achieve their full potential, and your rich legacy has touched generations of women - mothers, grandmothers and daughters. I want to personally thank you for supporting the President's call to service. In these challenging times, we all have something to contribute.”

Ms. Sullivan continued, “Now here we are, celebrating 25 years of honoring our women achievers — Our remarkable Women of Achievement nominees who are making an incredible difference in our corner of the world. The one quote that resonated and stayed with me is this: Being fearless is not about not having fear but about finding the passion that outweighs the fear.”

Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient, Lois Cook Steele has tirelessly supported the YWCA of the Lower Cape Fear and its mission. Over the past 30 years Ms. Steele has repeatedly, relentlessly even, stepped up to the plate to “Empower Women and Eliminate Racism,” as a volunteer, a Board Member, Board President, a YW employee and now again as a volunteer, at the local, regional, and currently at the national levels.

Arts Award Recipient, Dr. Amy Helene Kirschke is an Art History and African American Studies professor at UNCW. Before she came to UNCW, African American and African art had never been offered at the university, now they are regular offerings. She created the course “Women in Art” at UNCW, focusing on the achievements of women artists. This recipient has authored two books in African American art history, and has two more books under contract. To instill the impact of hands-on work, she took her daughter to West Africa this year to work with children in the Osu Children’s Home. She has served as the national chair of the Cultural Diversity Committee for the College Art Association, a faculty mentor for the Art Circle art club at UNCW, and on the advisory board of the Upperman African American Culture Center. She also serves annually on the MLK and Black History Month Advisory Boards.

Business Award Recipients, Lori Daley (Director of Parent/Providers Services) & Pam Palanza (President of Creative Child Care Solutions, Inc.) together have over 52 years of experience in early childcare and education. They created a website to serve parents, employers, and providers. They organized Provider Connection, an online, social network for early care educators where they can connect, share, and mentor each other via the internet. This team offers child care provider training on a monthly basis in addition to Director’s Lunch and Learns. For the past twelve years, the nominees have administered quality enhancement projects in nine counties in North and South Carolina. They offer enhanced child care resource and referral services to companies so their employees can do their job and not have to spend valuable time and resources trying to find childcare.

Communications Recipient, Judy Budd has been instrumental in growing the Greater Wilmington Business Journal and Wilma magazine into great community resources. As sales manager for both publications, it is her responsibility to ensure the advertising can support the editorial product they produce. She has been instrumental in helping create and securing sponsorship support for the Business Journal’s Power Breakfast series and the new Wilma Nights events. She has been involved with numerous community and volunteer organizations, including serving as Past President of Business and Professional Women, and as Past President of the Azalea Coast Executive Network.

Education Award Recipient, Richelle Dombroski has taught Social Studies in New Hanover County Schools for over 20 years and for the past 19 years has served as the Chair of the Social Studies Department at Laney High School. During the past ten years, she has also served as the Site Based Coordinator for Professional Development Systems for the Watson School of Education at UNCW. She implemented the first Teacher Cadet Program for New Hanover County Schools at Laney High School. The program has been so successful that it has been expanded to other high schools in New Hanover County. She has obtained over $15,000 in grants to support the Teacher Cadet Program at Laney. Her dedication and hard work continues outside of the classroom as well, through her volunteer work as a Rape Crisis volunteer, Eucharistic Minister, and member of the Cape Fear Optimist Club and Cape Fear Historical Society.

Environmental Award Recipient, Rebecca Westbrooks has been a teacher and mentor since 1974 and is currently an instructor in Environmental Science Technology at Southeastern Community College. She spearheaded a campaign for preservation of the Green Swamp and pioneered the first Agricultural Biotechnology Program in the U.S. Economic growth has been impacted through her development of Environmental Science Technology and Invasive Species Management, the only program of its kind in the world. She helped develop a biodiesel program for economic development and to raise awareness of alternative fuels in the community. She has procured more than $1 million in grants to benefit students, the college, and the community. She is Board Chair of the Lake Waccamaw State Park, a board member of the NC Biotechnology Center, and a volunteer with the National Geographic Society.

Health & Wellness Recipient, Marlene Sigler works every day to make people understand that more women die from heart disease than any cancer. She is a Registered Nurse and Exercise Physiologist who has spent her 31-year medical career in cardiac programs. She is the manager of Noninvasive Cardiac Services at New Hanover Regional Medical Center and is completing her Masters of Science in Nursing through an online program. She has also worked with the WAC’s cardiac rehab exercise program, which moved to the NHRMC campus in 1996. Currently, more than 500 new cardiac rehab patients join the program each year, along with graduates who continue in the program. Under her leadership, the cardiac rehab department added a focus on prevention in 2002 by creating Weight Transitions, which helps people who are known to be at risk. This tireless worker led the group that was responsible for coordinating funding and placement of Automatic Electronic Defibrillators in schools. Because of her effort, every public school in New Hanover County now has a defibrillator.

Public Service Award Recipient, Roselle Margolis has worked in the legal services field for over 30 years. She has been employed by Legal Aid since 1977 and since January 2005, she has been a Certified Paralegal / Private Attorney Involvement Coordinator with Legal Aid of North Carolina, Inc. – Battered Immigrant Project. This is a statewide project which she staffs in Wilmington. She enables empowerment by imparting legal and non-legal resources and preventive information. While at Legal Aid, she created free family law clinics that utilize staff, volunteer attorneys, and others willing to share information with the public. She is Past President of the North Carolina Pro Bono Coordinators Association and has been a mentor to literally hundreds of professionals who serve indigent families. She serves on the North Carolina Bar Association Public Services Advisory Committee and is a board member of the FEMA New Hanover County Emergency Food and Shelter Program and Voces Latinas. She has also received the Governor’s Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service.

Volunteer Award Recipient, JoAnn McCachern Swart has volunteered her time for a variety of issues including adoption, domestic violence, mentoring women, eliminating racism, and rip current education. She has worked as a social worker for more than 40 years and has initiated and facilitated adoptive parent support groups. In 1990, she served as the YWCA’s first representative on the New Hanover County’s Human Relations Commission. During that time, she worked with a counselor in New Hanover County schools to organize and lead “Black and White Together: An Invitation to Talk.” In 2002, their oldest adopted daughter was caught in a rip current and drowned. JoAnn turned her grief into a mission to educate coastal residents and tourists about rip current safety. She worked with the NC Sea Grant to develop a free pamphlet on rip currents and in 2005 she was interviewed on the Today show. In 2005, the US Department of Commerce National Weather Service gave her a Public Service Award for “significant services rendered for her promotion of Rip Current Awareness.”

Brunswick County Young Leader Recipient Amanda Holland (South Brunswick High School) ranks in the top four percent in her class. She is editor of her school’s newspaper, has volunteered for the Brunswick County Food Pantry and worked as a volunteer community organizer for Barack Obama’s Presidential Campaign. In addition to the typical challenges a teenager faces, this teen is also a cancer survivor, diagnosed with leukemia in 2004. She participates in the Relay for Life each year and served as the Honorary Skipper for the 2006 Leukemia Cup Regatta.



New Hanover County Young Leader Award Recipient, Jaimie McGirt (Hoggard High School) is a member of the National Honor Society, Junior Beta Club, has served as co-chair of the Good Shepherd Homeless Shelter project and the Adopt-A-Grandparent program, and chair of Project H.O.P.E. (Helping Older People Everyday) and the Recycling Project. She chaired the Oyster Reef Rehabilitation Project for the North Carolina Coastal Federation. Through this project, she has increased student involvement in protecting North Carolina’s oyster reefs and marine habitats. Students participate in field projects in North Carolina’s estuaries and wetland regions, thus learning the local and global importance of their marine environment. She has built cinder block homes in Mexico, and attended a choir mission trip to the inner city of Philadelphia. In 2008, she was the first place Reflections Art Contest winner for photography at the school, district, and county levels.

Pender County Young Leader Recipient, Monet Hardison (Topsail High School) has earned the rank of 6th in her class and has a current grade point average of 4.53. She has served as a Student Council officer, a peer mediator, a tutor for younger students, and as volunteer Girl Scout Leader. She has participated in honors such as North Carolina Governor’s School, National Honor Society, and All County Band. This young leader has been active in her church, serving in various choirs, as a member of the youth group, and most recently was the Vacation Bible School Program Director. As Program Director, she was responsible for designing and implementing the curriculum and welcomed this opportunity as a way to allow her to gain valuable experience in her future profession of teaching.


Board President Deirdre McGlone-Webb ending the evening saying, “it is a privilege to hear about the lives of these young leaders and women and know that they encourage hope and promote peace for our future. We are fortunate to have these recipients and nominees in our community, making it a better place to live. We thank each of you for helping us continue this important event and for supporting our programs and services at the YWCA. I hope you leave tonight with a renewed spirit, motivated mind, and open heart.”

The YWCA Lower Cape Fear established the Cape Fear Women of Achievement Awards to recognize women and young leaders distinguished by notable achievements in their fields, exemplary service to their communities and schools and willingness to take leadership positions on issues that have an impact on the lives of people in southeastern North Carolina. This program demonstrates the YWCA’s vision of empowering women, assisting them in achieving their goals and reaching their greatest potential.
 

The YWCA gratefully acknowledges this year's Sponsors

Title Sponsor
James E. Moore Insurance Agency

Media Partners
WECT-TV6
Star News
Sunrise Broadcasting
Wilma
Greater Wilmington Business Journal

Young Leader Scholarship Sponsors
Wachovia
Wilmington Health Associates
Women Attorneys of Wilmington
Women of Achievement Alumnae Group

Award Sponsors
Linda Lavin and Steve Bakunas
New Hanover Regional Medical Center
Tot Spot Preschool and Kindergarten, LLC

Theatre Sponsors
Corning, Inc.
Deirdre McGlone-Webb
NHRMC Auxiliary
PPD
Lois Cook Steele
Women Physicians of Wilmington

Contributors
Crescent State Bank
Croaker
Southeastern Insurance

Supporters
Lois Cook Steele
In memory of Shirley Gilbert Farr
Bill & Emma Wilcox

Program Contributors
Nicki Bloomer for her creative
graphic designs for the
invitations and program
books
Category 5 for providing
sensational music
John W. Davis, III for serving
as the official photographer
Kingoff’s Jewelers for providing
the historic Old
Wilmington Cups
Larry’s Florist for providing
beautiful stage flowers
year after year
Moxie Floral Design Studio for
providing the wonderful
flowers for the lobby
Amber Milliken for her
volunteer service
Prime Thyme Catering
for magnificent
hors d’oeuvres
  

*A special thank you to Nicki Bloomer for creating this year's Women of Achievement logo and program booklet cover. Ms. Bloomer has created logos for the YWCA Women Leadership Initiative and the YWCA Mommiepreneurs. When she isn't busy being a mommy, you can find her designing Barbie, Polly and Kelly packaging for Mattel. Learn more>
 

For more information, contact Mary Martin at (910) 799-6820.