Women of Distinction awards announced
Eight area women were recently recognized with the 26th Annual Waukesha County Women of Distinction awards. The awards recognize women living or working in Waukesha County who have demonstrated qualities of outstanding leadership and excellence in their professional endeavors and or their community involvement. Honored this year were Karen Dalessandro of New Berlin, Linda Kons of Menomonee Falls and Brenda Ness Marineau of Waukesha. Marian Etzel and her daughters, Diane Harley and Janet Kenny of Menomonee Falls, and granddaughter, Kathleen Farvour of Germantown, were named the Family of Women of Distinction. Stacey Lynn Bjorgaard from Kettle Moraine High School was named the Young Woman of Tomorrow.
As part of the awards, The Women and Girls Fund of Waukesha County also awarded grants totaling $42,000 to the following organizations for their programming: Waukesha-based Association for the Rights of Citizens with handicaps, Milwaukee-based Children’s Service Society, Family Service of Waukesha County, Healthy Families of Waukesha County, Waukesha-based Interfaith Senior Programs, Lake Area Free Clinic in Oconomowoc, Waukesha-based Parents Place, Pregnancy Support Connection of Waukesha. WCTC Foundation in Pewaukee, and The Women’s Center of Waukesha. The Women of Distinction award winners were also able to award $5,000 to a charitable organization of their choice. Those organizations included: Menomonee Falls Scholarship Foundation, in honor of Linda Kons, Scholastic Fund for Students of Hispanic Descent, in honor of Brenda Ness Marineau, Wisconsin Breast Cancer Coalition, in honor of Karen Dalessandro, Kettle Moraine Education Foundation/KM Fine Arts Fund Endowment, in honor of Stacey Lynn Bjorgaard and the Menomonee Falls Food Pantry, in honor of the Etzel Family.
Bubbler Executive of the Week
Name: Emily Penner
Title: Vice President of Marketing & Communication
Company: Patient Care
Company address: 633 W Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 1310, Milwaukee, WI 53203
Company web site: www.patientcare4u.com
Industry: Health care advocacy
Family: Married to husband Charlie; 3 dogs
Hobbies and Interests: Travel, music, and I’m an active member at the Woman’s Club of Wisconsin
Favorite movie: “Harold & Maude”
Favorite musician/band: “Just about any jazz or classical music”
Favorite place to visit/vacation: “We take annual trips to Tucson and Seattle, but my favorite vacation spot is St. Remy-de-Provence, France.”
Favorite local restaurant: Coquette Café
Words to live by: “‘Smile a lot. It costs nothing and is beyond price.’ And ‘Accept that some days you’re the pigeon, and some days you’re the statue!'”
What is your core philosophy for doing business? “Be authentic. Do what you say you’re going to do.”
Who is your role model and why? “I have a lot of role models. I’ve been lucky enough to work with some amazing people in business.”
What was the funniest thing that has ever happened to you? “I always had a terrible fear of public speaking; really, more than the average person does. About 12 years ago my boss at the time was meeting me to give a presentation to a large group of employees in Racine. There was a mix-up with the materials, and he didn’t make it – leaving me to give the presentation. I’m convinced he did it on purpose, but it was the best thing that could have happened to me. It forced me to learn how to speak in front of a group, and I’ve been doing it ever since. To this day people don’t believe me when I tell them I’m an introvert by nature!”
