{"id":3370,"date":"2011-10-27T14:07:44","date_gmt":"2011-10-27T21:07:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.57.196.122\/~gdatwofo\/theavtimes\/?p=3370"},"modified":"2019-01-24T09:09:36","modified_gmt":"2019-01-24T17:09:36","slug":"phenomenal-women-8-nominees-announced-for-2011-athena-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2011\/10\/27\/phenomenal-women-8-nominees-announced-for-2011-athena-award\/","title":{"rendered":"Phenomenal women: 8 nominees announced for 2011 Athena Award"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
From left: Deana Ward, Patricia Shaw, Vickie Ryan, Bridget Razo, Sandra Johnson, Ann Hill and Sue Dell. Not present: Dayle DeBry.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LANCASTER – The Zonta Club of the Antelope Valley announced Thursday the nominees for the coveted 2011 Athena Award.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe award goes to an individual who excels in her profession, gives back to the community, and helps to rise up others in leadership, especially women,\u201d said Zonta Club President Elizabeth Weaver. \u201cSince the program was established, more than 6,000 awards have been presented in over 500 communities in the United States, Canada, Russia, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n

The Zonta Club AV held a press conference Thursday to present the nominees for this years Athena Award for the Antelope Valley. The organization will host a cocktail reception and dinner to announce the 2011 Athena recipient on Friday, November 18th<\/sup> at 5:30 p.m. at the Hellenic Center at 30th Street West and Avenue K-4 in Lancaster.\u00a0 Cost for attending the event is $75 per person.<\/p>\n

Introducing the nominees\u2026<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The nominees for the 2011 Athena Award are Dayle DeBry, Sue Dell, Ann Hill, Sandra Johnson, Bridget Razo, Vickie Ryan, Patricia Shaw, and Deana Ward. The following is background information on each nominee, as provided by the Zonta Club of the Antelope Valley.<\/p>\n

Dayle DeBry, local historian and author, is the manager of Lancaster Cemetery District.\u00a0 She is a director with the nonprofit Friends of the Lancaster Cemetery and organizes events at the cemetery and other venues pertaining to the honoring of veterans and the pioneers of the Antelope Valley.\u00a0 The Wreaths Across America program to honor veterans during the holiday season was implemented by DeBry in conjunction with Arlington National Cemetery.\u00a0 DeBry serves as a director with the West Antelope Valley Historical Society; is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Los Angeles Conservancy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Sue Dell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sue Dell, Attorney-at-Law, is the founding Chair of the Tapestry Human Relations Commission for the City of Lancaster.\u00a0 Sue also serves on the Board of The OUTreach Center, which provides support services, community advocacy, and professional resources to the local Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered (LGBT) community.\u00a0 Sue has been a Dependency Court Attorney in Los Angeles County for over 15 years and has represented the legal needs of almost 1400 court-appointed AV residents.\u00a0 She is also a certified mediator and has finalized almost 100 child adoptions.\u00a0 Sue brings conscientious dedication to her efforts to end bullying and support equality in the Antelope Valley.\u00a0 Sue and wife Jo co-parent nine precious pets.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Ann Hill<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ann Hill is the Marketing and Community Relations Director for Antelope Valley Healthcare.\u00a0 Ann is a Division A Governor with Toastmaster\u2019s and a director for the Lancaster and Rosamond Chambers of Commerce.\u00a0 Since 2002, Ann has been on the board of directors of Penny Lane Centers, a foster care agency and in 2005 was elected Secretary-Treasurer.\u00a0 Her other volunteer affiliations include:\u00a0 Women in Management; Professionals Plus Networking Group; St. Mary\u2019s Church and the AV Literacy Coalition.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Sandra Johnson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sandra Johnson, CEO and co-founder of the University of Antelope Valley (UAV), immigrated to Lancaster from Santiago, Chile in 1970. \u00a0Since 1997, Sandra has overseen her company\u2019s transformation, from a small CPR startup company, into a nationally accredited educational institution. Today, the University of Antelope Valley graduates more than 1,000 students a year, with programs ranging from master\u2019s level to career-specific certificates. Sandra was recently appointed to Lancaster\u2019s City Council, where she plans to focus her efforts on such things as education, housing, and the arts\/entertainment.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Bridget Razo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bridget Razo is the Executive Director for Institutional Advancement and Foundation at Antelope Valley College.\u00a0 During her tenure, the AVC Foundation has increased its net assets in support of education from $400,000 to nearly $3 million. Razo is a member of the Board of Directors for the Network for California Community College Foundation, Antelope Valley Chapter of the Red Cross, the Lancaster Museum and Public Arts Foundation, and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education.\u00a0 She has served as a board member for the Leona Valley Improvement Association, an assistant coach for the Quartz Hill AYSO, and is currently a leader in the Girl Scouts.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Vickie Ryan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Vickie L. Ryan, a Realtor at Prudential Troth Realtors, has been with the company since 2001. She received the Community Service Award in 2007 from the Prudential Troth office and the Community Service Award from the Greater Antelope Valley Board of Realtors in 2009.\u00a0 Vickie has been involved in Rotary International since 1993, where she has held several positions on the board of directors. She is the current president of the AV Sunrise Rotary club for 2011-2012.\u00a0 Vickie is also involved in the Amigos, the MHA Advisory Committee, and the Palmdale Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Patricia Shaw<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Patricia Shaw, Planning Commissioner for the City of Palmdale, is a community advocate who serves as a driving force for many worthwhile projects, including the Fallen Heroes Memorial at the Antelope Valley Mall and the annual Kiwanis Rubber Duck Race in Palmdale. Her many accomplishments include serving as President of the Palmdale Woman\u2019s Club, Director of the Palmdale Sheriff\u2019s Boosters, President and Co-Founder of the League of Women Voters Antelope Valley and Director and Treasurer of the Antelope Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Deana Ward<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Deana Ward, a resident of Palmdale, is the owner of Deana\u2019s Equipment Rental. Deana has contributed countless hours to many community organizations including the Rodeo Queen committee, the American Cancer Society Relay for Life, Ducks Unlimited, the NRA committee, the Miss Antelope Valley committee, the California Dump Truck Owners group, and the Antelope Valley Fair Board. In her role as Chair for the Miss Antelope Valley committee in 2000, Deana personally established a scholarship program by soliciting $5,000 for the initial fund.\u00a0 Since its inception, this scholarship has awarded $195,000 to qualified young women and has continued to grow, with eight young women to date, ultimately obtaining their college degrees through this opportunity.<\/p>\n

About the Athena Award<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The Athena Award is presented to a woman who has attained and embodies the highest level of professional excellence in her business or profession, has devoted time and energy to improve the quality of life for others in the community and actively assists women in realizing their leadership potential.\u00a0 ATHENA is an international non-profit organization dedicated to supporting, developing and honoring women leaders. Its purpose is to inspire women to achieve their full potential \u2013 creating balance in leadership worldwide.\u00a0 This year, the National Athena Award recipient was Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords for her professionalism and passion in community service endeavors while overcoming great obstacles.<\/p>\n

Antelope Valley individuals that have won the honor in the past are:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • \u00a0Rosemary Dispenza – 1995<\/li>\n
  • Susan Hogrefe – 1996<\/li>\n
  • Sharon Tremain – 1997<\/li>\n
  • Janice Kimrey Anderson – 1998<\/li>\n
  • Anne Aldrich – 1999<\/li>\n
  • Alis Clausen – 2000<\/li>\n
  • Lou Bozigian – 2001<\/li>\n
  • Ingrid Chapman – 2002<\/li>\n
  • Judy Cooperberg – 2003<\/li>\n
  • Lea Butterfield Vanderstok – 2004<\/li>\n
  • Sherry Lasagna – 2005<\/li>\n
  • Vivian Komori – 2006<\/li>\n
  • Linda Jones – 2007<\/li>\n
  • Berna Mayer – 2009<\/li>\n
  • Jane Frye – 2010<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    LANCASTER – The Zonta Club of the Antelope Valley announced Thursday the nominees for the coveted 2011 Athena Award. \u201cThe award goes to an individual who excels in her profession, gives back to the community, and helps to rise up others in leadership, especially women,\u201d said Zonta Club President Elizabeth Weaver. \u201cSince the program was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3372,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,11,1491],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3370"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3370\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}