Macedonia, OH – Girl Scouts of North East Ohio (GSNEO) held its Women of Distinction Awards event on September 22, 2020 entirely virtual. This year’s event looked different than years’ past, but with the technical assistance of Rock the House, GSNEO was still able to honor 10 Women of Distinction, 2 Advancing Women organizations, and 3 Leaders of Tomorrow scholarship recipients.
This year’s event raised over $68,000 for Girl Scout scholarships and financial aid! The virtual event recording can be found on GSNEO’s Youtube channel by clicking here.
The Women of Distinction Awards event was established to raise funds for Girl Scout scholarships and financial aid, while honoring women who go above and beyond to make our communities better places to live, work, and raise a family.
This year’s Women of Distinction honorees include:
Ramona Hood – FedEx Custom Critical
Nancy Kachmarik – Avient Corporation
Andrea Margida, MS – The Valentine Project & TechGrit
Sandra L. Reid – The Davey Tree Expert Company
Tari S. Rivera – Regency Construction Services, Inc.
Sara Shookman – wkyc studios
Ellen M. Stephens, SHRM-SCP – The Sherwin-Williams Company
Gina Vernaci – Playhouse Square
Elizabeth Walters – Summit County Council
Amy Zell – Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries & Oak Hill Collaborative
These women were recognized for their remarkable achievements as business, community, academic, and civic leaders dedicated to supporting opportunities for women and girls. The 10 nominees were selected by a committee of community members led by Women of Distinction Event Chair Kathy Moock, a 2019 Woman of Distinction, a member of the GSNEO Board of Directors, and a Gold Award Girl Scout.
This year’s Advancing Women Award was presented to Hyland and the Women’s Endowment Fund of Akron Community Foundation. This award is given to a company or organization that has been dedicated to the advancement of women in the workplace.
Three Girl Scouts received the Leaders of Tomorrow Scholarship Award:
Ava Kress, North Royalton High School
Megan Ward, McDonald High School
Olivia Johnson, Homeschool, North Canton
These Leaders of Tomorrow have a strong commitment to engaging in the Girl Scout Leadership Experience. They also demonstrate high scholastic achievement, creativity, initiative, and community outreach. Each girl embodies the council’s belief that young women with promise today will become tomorrow’s leaders. The three finalists each received a scholarship award.
The Women of Distinction Awards event was made possible by a number of generous sponsors: FirstEnergy Foundation; Cleveland Clinic; Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland; First National Bank; KeyBank; The Davey Tree Company; Metis Construction Services; Nordson; The Sherwin-Williams Company; The Lubrizol Corporation; Akron Children’s Hospital; Medical Mutual of Ohio; Avient Corporation; Dr. Vivian von Gruenigen; Andy and Kathy Moock; FedEx Custom Critical; Dominion Energy; Regency Construction Services, Inc.; Playhouse Square; Sikich; Sandy Rapp; State and Federal Communications, Inc.; and Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro’s Department of Job and Family Services. Additionally, GSNEO would like to thank Rock the House Entertainment Group, Ashdon Farms, Heidelberg Distributing, and Kendra Scott.
