The Women’s Chamber of Commerce of Miami-Dade is almost sold out for their annual Thelma Gibson Awards Dinner to be held on September 19, at the Coral Gables Woman’ Club. Coral Gables Woman’s Club member and Chamber President Diane Superville expects a sellout crowd for this dinner whose honorees are impressive.
The first of the three to be honored is Thelma Campbell, of Girl Power. Thelma is also executive producer of the annual “It Takes A Village Conference” and executive board member of the Miami-Dade Youth Crime Task Force, a member of the Liberty City Community Action Agency and a member of the Sojourner Truth Book Club, to mention just a few of her list of accomplishments.
Another TGA honoree is Sony Ali, from Karachi, Pakistan where she was raised in a home of severe violence. At 12 years, she moved with her mother and younger brother to the U.S. At age 16, she moved to India to pursue a career in the Hindi film industry and 10 films later she returned to the United States in order to pursue a formal education earning a degree in Psychology. She created No More Tears, a 501 (c) 3 not-for-profit organization in 2007, with the mission of rescuing human trafficking and domestic violence victims from their abusers. For her work with NMT, Ali has received numerous awards including the American Heritage Award from the American Immigration Council, The Daily Point of Light Award by President George H. W. Bush and The National Domestic Violence Month Proclamation from President Barack Obama.
The final honoree for 2019 is Kathy Andersen, Executive Director of The Women’s Fund Miami-Dade. Kathy’s leadership in the non-profit and for profit industries over the years is massive. With a Master’s Degree from the Harvard University Kennedy School, Kathy’s Master-Class trained facilitators in Adaptive Leadership from Harvard Center for Public Leadership. Past positions have included Executive Director at The University of Miami Global Institute for Community Health & Development; Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Shake-A-Leg Miami; Group General Manager, Ford Motor Company; and Senior Corporate Strategy Consultant at Westpac Banking Corporation (Australia).
Speaking of great organizations, The General Federation of Women’s Clubs influence and positive impact on South Florida is evidenced by the lives they touch with their good work funded by multiple fundraisers at every turn. Many Pinecrest residents are members of the Coral Gables Woman’s Club who hold monthly Gringo Bingo games at Clutch Burger every month for numerous charitable organizations. Yet another active group of women belongs to the Coconut Grove Woman’s Club, a group of selfless volunteers also doing regular events to raise charitable dollars. Coming up next for that Coconut Grove club will be a Karaoke night on August 29. This promises to be a fun night and gives guests a chance to sing their hearts out and support the outreach efforts of this club located at 2985 South Bayshore Drive. The fun begins at 5:30 p.m. through 8 p.m. Admission is $10 and includes free snacks with a cash bar. The evening’s emcee will be vocalist and actress Von Henry. Von Henry is a well-recognized vocalist on the music scene in South Florida with her Von Henry Express. By the way, the Von Henry Express is a modern world music ensemble that combines the musical histories of its members, specifically jazz, r&b and dance. They use this mix to weave a mixture of acoustic and electronica that takes the audience along on their journey so you may want to see her that night is you have upcoming events.
Until next time, keep making each day count.
