Thanks to you and our sponsors, Leader Lunch 31 was a resounding success! Congratulations to our newest members of the Academy of Leaders! We had more than 1,000 attendees and raised more than $400,000 to continue our work to empower women and eliminate racism in our community.
(St. Louis, Mo. Dec. 1) YWCA Metro St. Louis recognized on Thursday 11 area women leaders during its signature event, Leader Lunch, at the Millennium Hotel, in downtown St. Louis. Leader Lunch, in its 31st year, is St. Louis’ premier event for recognizing the contributions of women in the workplace and the community. The achievements of eight Leaders of Distinction, a Racial Justice Leader, Future Leader and a Lifetime Achievement Award recipient were celebrated.
“Women are contributing to businesses and to our communities in ways that make our society a better place to live and work. We pause to acknowledge their achievements at Leader Lunch,” said Ann Prenatt, luncheon chairwoman and vice chancellor for human resources for Washington University in St. Louis. “We applaud this exceptional group of women who are contributing to their companies and society on many different fronts.”
Since the inception of Leader Lunch, 328 honorees have been named to the Academy of Leaders based on their leadership in the workplace, efforts to promote racial justice and to positively influence colleagues, professional women and other community members. The list of Academy members includes such notables as: Blanche Touhill, Ph.D., former chancellor of the University of Missouri-St. Louis; the late Georgia Frontiere, owner of the St. Louis Rams football team; Brenda Newberry, founder of The Newberry Group, Inc.; Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill and the late Margaret Bush-Wilson, a civil rights attorney.
The special Lifetime Achievement award, previously the President’s Award for exceptional commitment to the YWCA, has only been awarded three other times. The award was presented this year to Joy Crawford Burns, the retired chief executive officer for YWCA Metro St. Louis.
The luncheon also provided an opportunity for St. Louis businesses to recognize individual women within their own companies who are making significant contributions as Leaders in the Workplace. More than 100 women representing more than 50 companies were recognized.
The YWCA Leaders of Distinction for 2011 are as follows:
Business/Corporate Management-Mary Frontczak, vice president and assistant general counsel, Peabody Energy; Wendy J. Henry, managing partner, St. Louis & Decatur, BKD, LLP; Mary Ann Lazarus, senior vice president, firmwide director of sustainable design, HOK Group, Inc.; Michelle D. Tucker, senior vice president, corporate social responsibility market manager-Missouri, Bank of America; and Ronda F. Williams, senior corporate counsel, SAVVIS, Inc.
Entrepreneur/Business Owner–Lydia Padilla, president, TRC Staffing Services
Arts–Barbara Harbach, professor of music, UMSL
Government–Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge, director of airport, Lambert-St. Louis International Airport
2011 YWCA Racial Justice Leader:
Jane Towater, associate national executive director, YWCA USA, retired
2011 YWCA Future Leader:
Emma Mutrux, senior, University City High School
Lifetime Achievement Award:
Joy Crawford Burns, chief executive officer, YWCA Metro St. Louis, retired
Lead Sponsors of the luncheon are Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc., Clear Channel, Emerson, Monsanto, Scottrade and Wells Fargo Advisors. For more information about Leader Lunch and the honorees, visit www.ywcastlouis.org or the YWCA YouTube Channel- http://www.youtube.com/ywcastl.
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About YWCA:
YWCA Metro St. Louis is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering women, developing youth and eliminating racism. It focuses on race equity issues and offers transitional housing, early learning, crisis intervention, life skills training, and youth and teen development. It is celebrating 106 years of service in St. Louis and is a proud United Way of Greater St. Louis member agency.
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