Wednesday, March 24, 2004
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Wednesday, March 24, 2004 |
Women honored at Girl Scout fundraiser Friends of Girl Scouting in Fayette County will gather tomorrow to honor three local women in Girl Scouts of Pine Valley Council’s annual fundraiser. Judi Kubitz, activist, is the keynote speaker, and Nancy Price will emcee. Juliane Rossomme, a Senior Girl Scout in Peachtree City, will talk about the local program from a girl’s perspective. “We hold fund-raisers every year for the Girl Scouts,” said Emily Sewell, director of communications. “This year, the planning committee decided to begin a tradition of honoring outstanding women in the community.” During the dinner, titled “Celebrating Our Girl Scout Divas,” Betsy Getreu, Elizabeth Killebrew, MD, and Lee McKinney will be honored as women who built on their Girl Scout experiences to become successful and dedicated members of their communities, said Melissa Adams, director of fund development. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Wyndham Hotel in Peachtree City. Charitable donations of $125 per person, $250 per couple and $1,000 per table (eight people) are requested, Adams said. “All Girl Scout cookie boxes list certain strengths that Girl Scouting is based on,” she said. “Basically, we chose three categories and are honoring a local woman in each of those categories.” Getreu will receive the Strong Leadership Award. “Betsy Getreu epitomizes what Girl Scouting represents and teaches young woman,” Adams said. “She focuses her community efforts on education and uses her technical knowledge to assist local schools however possible.” A computer consultant for Tactical Solutions, Inc., Getreu supports both the faculty and students at several schools in Peachtree City. She is active in the Parent Teacher Student Organization at both McIntosh High School and Booth Middle School, and runs the Script Fundraising program at Booth Middle School. She and her husband give two laptop computers every year to deserving seniors who excel in math and the arts. Getreu was nominated by a group of women she works with on a regular basis at McIntosh High School. They are Karen Davis, Sonya Tucker,Linda Wilson, Susan Piribek, and Sally McWilliams. “Betsy is an intelligent woman who shares her knowledge and talents to help others. She is a leader in a prominently male-dominated field, setting the example that girls can accomplish what they set their minds to,” Davis said. “Betsy offers full-time technology support to several schools and comes to the aid of the educators on a moment’s notice. Betsy is positive, does not condescend, works tirelessly, and perseveres until she solves a problem. She is a role model to all of us.“ Killebrew will receive the Strong Values Award. An active volunteer in the community, Killebrew was nominated by her daughter, Sarah, a student at Landmark Christian School. Killebrew has worked on Habitat for Humanity homes and the YMCA play park. She has served at the Trinity Soup Kitchen and is a church youth leader. But her main interest has always been promoting women’s education and health. “She has given lectures at my school, our church, and her hospital on many different health topics, and she has organized several ‘Day for Women’ health seminars. She has given time and supplies to the YMCA and my Girl Scout troop,” Sarah Killebrew said. “My mom is an excellent role model for Girl Scouts.” “Mom has a lot of enthusiasm for projects and loves to camp. She says her love of camping came from her Girl Scout experiences in Missouri because her Girl Scout leader took them camping once a month.” “Dr. Killebrew learned self-confidence, strength and perseverance as a young girl through the principles of the Girl Scout program,” said Adams. “She conveys these traits and her strong spirit to her own children, the girls in her troop and the women she treats in her medical practice as an obstetrician/gynecologist.” “Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold,” Sarah said. “My mom gets so many Christmas cards from her girlfriends. She really has great buddies. Mom says close friends are more valuable than gold.” McKinney will receive the Strong Spirit Award. Amy Vassey, a life-long Girl Scout, nominated her. “Lee McKinney makes the world a better place and lives up to every word of the Girl Scout Promise and Law in her daily life,” Vassey said. “She is an active volunteer and serves her community tremendously.” McKinney’s many community activities include Wednesday night cooking for the First Presbyterian Church, leading the Agape Circle, planning church and school events, serving on the endowment committee for the Cultural Arts board, and supporting a Cub Scout pack. “Lee leads by example by cheerfully taking impossible tasks and accomplishing them, never complaining and keeping her enthusiasm for life. She has a strong network of friends, has a warm, caring manner,and shows respect to everyone she meets,” Vassey added. “We are thrilled to honor such extraordinary women in our community,” Brenda Strozier, CEO of Girl Scout of Pine Valley Council, said. “Girl Scouts are committed to helping girls become tomorrow’s leaders,” Adams said. “All these women have contributed to society and they developed strong core values when they were young. They show girls that they can grow up to do anything they want to.”
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