Nominees announced for YWCA Elgin awards

Submitted by YWCA Elgin

The YWCA Elgin will host its 30th annual Leader Luncheon Thursday, May 9, at The Seville in Streamwood.

The event honors women in the Elgin area that have made significant contributions in the arts, business and professions, communications/technology, education, public service, social service, volunteer/community service, racial justice and corporate awards.

Nominees for this year’s Leader Luncheon awards include:

Ÿ Margaret Hillis Award for the Arts — Rise Jones;

Ÿ Beatrice Dorsey Award for Business and Professions — Linda Deering, Becky Hardekopf, Toya Randall, Jan Schneider, Margaret Walter and Barb White;

Ÿ Marguerite Henry Award for Communications — Kim Gilmore, Janelle Walker and Margarita Mendoza;

Ÿ Harriet Gifford Award for Education — Dr. Carol Cowles, Alison Douglas, Carole Peto, and Wilma Valero;

Ÿ Myrtle Spiegler Gerberding Award for Public Service — Cyndy Fowler and Sue Harney;

Ÿ Marie Grolich Award for Social Services — Jennifer Benson, Dr. Felicia Chu, Lisa LaForge, Lynn O’Shea and Marlene Pokorny;

Ÿ Marjorie Leonard Award for Community Service — Mary Ledebuhr, Linda D. Campos-Moreira, Jean Rowe, Amy True and Deanna Young;

Ÿ Racial Justice — Karla Guzman, Kimberly Spagui, Eleanor MacKinney and Maria Christina “Tina” Viglucci;

Ÿ Corporate Award — Bear Family McDonald Restaurants were selected by the Corporate Committee for this honor.

This year’s keynote speaker is career Foreign Service Officer Catherine E. Kay. Kay joined the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff in August 2012, following service as the U.S. Consul General in Thessaloniki, Greece.

She currently focuses on Europe. Her previous Foreign Service assignments include the U.S. Embassies in Pretoria, Ljubljana, Ottawa, and Bucharest; the Executive Secretariat; the Bureau of European Affairs; and the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.

Kay received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her AM from the University of Chicago. She and her husband John Kay have two children.

Previous YWCA Leader Luncheon speakers include: First Lady Barbara Bush, Connie Payton of the Walter and Connie Payton Foundation and Emmy Award winner and world champion athlete Elizabeth Brackett.

For information on the 2013 YWCA Leader Luncheon awards, visit www.ywcaelgin.org or call the YWCA at (847) 742-7930.