Company leaders and other professionals from the Twin Cities attended the "Women of Distinction" event hosted by the Girl Scouts of River Valleys. |
“I am honored to be able to connect Schwan’s with this great organization and to be a part of helping drive the mission of Girl Scouts,” said Gayle Hayhurst, vice president of human resources for Schwan’s Home Service. “Girl Scouts has a mission that is consistent with the Schwan’s Corporate Giving Foundation and our Schwan’s Women’s Network, which is committed to building our future leaders and creating an environment, experiences and opportunities to accelerate this.”
Schwan’s became involved with the event through Gayle, who also serves on the board of directors for Girl Scouts of River Valley, which serves more than 30,000 girls in more than 50 counties in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois. The Girl Scouts mission is to build girls of courage, confidence and character through a mix of experiences, mentorships and skill building.
During the event, three female leaders in their communities were honored as “Women of Distinction” based on their contributions to women and girls across their organizations they participate in. The honorees included:
- Linda Keene, who is a retired CEO of Girl Scouts and has worked countless hours to support programs that advance girls’ leadership abilities.
- Adrienne Diercks, who is the founder and executive director of Project Success, which is a youth-development organization that motivates and inspires young people to achieve their dreams for the future — specifically focusing on graduating high school with a plan for the future.
- Jenny Verner, who is an executive at Cargill and has championed and supported women’s leadership across multiple platforms that are focused on mentoring and building women leaders of all ages.
For the first time, two females received the “Young Women of Distinction” honor. The recipients, Sudi Adow and Rachelle Johnson, are Girl Scouts whose lives have been forever changed as being a part of the Girl Scouts.
“Both girls have excelled in school and are now poised to go to college and focus on making a positive difference in the world,” Gayle said. “They are inspiring young women leaders who are blazing a trail for others.”
Employees who attended the event included: Scott Peterson, Diane Cooke, Blake Herring, Julie De Ranitz, Joe Kirby, John Connell, Jessie Pederson, Doug Cain, Hugo Guerra, Luis Ferioli and Gayle.