On Wednesday, March 18, 2010, several Impact 100 members were honored to join our founder, Wendy Steele, who was nominated for the Annual Jefferson Award. The Jefferson Awards are a prestigious national recognition system honoring community and public service in America. The Jefferson Awards are presented on two levels: national and local. They began in 1972 to create a Nobel Prize for public service. Today, their primary purpose is to serve as a “Call to Action for Volunteers” in local communities. This luncheon to announce the nominees was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Cincinnati.
Pictured from left to right: Impact 100 members, Judy Schlather,
Luann Scherer, Jenny Berg, Founder, Wendy Steele, Yvonne Thomas
Elaine Suess and Annemarie Henkel
The categories in which a person is awarded are:
- Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official — U.S. Senator John Heinz Award
- Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen — The Roger Horchow Award
- Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged
- Greatest Public Service by an Individual 35 Years or Under — The Samuel S. Beard Award
- Outstanding Public Service Benefiting Local Communities — The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Award
Although Wendy did not prevail in having the opportunity to represent our national organization, she did so appreciate the efforts of Impact 100 Board member, Judy Schlather, for submitting the application. Wendy Steele was a finalist, but the honor went to Bob Edwards who established what has become know as the Freestore Foodbank’s most recognized event – the Rubber Duck Regatta. In June, Edwards will travel to Washington, D.C. for the National Jefferson Award Presentation.
Including Wendy, the other finalists were:
- Dr. William Barrett, for his work with the Barrett Center Prevention
- Ronald Dumas, for his work with Reaching Out for Kids, Inc. (Introducing economically disadvantaged kids to golf)
- Donna Speigel, for her work with the Conductive Learning Center of Greater Cincinnati.
In addition to the Rotary Club of Cincinnati, the local sponsors of the Award are The Cincinnati Enquirer, and the Business Courier.
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