Women…the winners!

Congrats to Sonia (left), Melanie & Madi!

The local Soroptimist Club has the winners for this spring’s awards – here’s more from Barbara Sharp:

Soroptimists of Friday Harbor honored Sonia Nash, Melanie Kaegi, and Madison McPadden as exceptional women at the Soroptimist Club’s Notable Women’s Luncheon held on March 9 at the Mullis Center.  This event was also a celebration of International Women’s Day.

Madi McPadden, a Friday Harbor High School senior, received the Violet Richardson Award, which honors a young woman who is making a difference in her community. This past year, Madi served as manager of the girls’ soccer team; and under her leadership, the team members worked hard to raise awareness about breast cancer and to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation.  They wore pink socks and pink ribbons in their hair during games. They sold homemade, pink-decorated baked goods, pink ribbons and pins.  Campers attending their soccer camp for elementary school kids wore t-shirts saying “Kicks for the Cure.”  And by the way, the team finished the league season undefeated!   Madi’s award included $750.

Sonia Nash received the Ruby Award, including $750, for her inspirational commitment in helping abused women on the island to escape their abusers and start their lives over again. She has worked hard to connect abused women to needed services, such as counseling, ESL classes, medical help, jobs and housing.  She is often called, sometimes in the middle of the night, to help a woman in trouble. In the words of her nominator, “Sonia is a small woman with a big heart.”

Melanie Kaegi, the recipient of the Women’s Opportunity Award, will use her $5,000 award money to support her goal of to complete her undergraduate degree from Washington State University and then to seek her master’s degree in nursing at Seattle University.  A woman who has faced many obstacles and hardships in her life, Melanie is determined to make a better life for herself and for her children.  She intends to become a psychiatric nurse practitioner, using her educational background and personal experience to help women escape from the patterns of generational poverty.

For more information about the Soroptimists and their many services and activities, visit www.sifri.org.

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