By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY
Staff Writer
The Soroptimist International Rim of the World “Making a Difference for Women Awards” luncheon was held on Sunday, June 1 at the Lake Arrowhead Country Club. The Soroptimists have been presenting their awards recognizing the efforts and achievement of women in the community since their chartering 49 years ago as Soroptimist International of Lake Arrowhead. Since then, they have chartered several other Soroptimist Clubs and now, after some club consolidations, they are Soroptimist International of Rim of the World (SIROW), which includes all the communities of the west end of the San Bernardino Mountains.
SIROW President Virgie Witte welcomed the honorees and their friends to the country club’s dining room overlooking the tranquil golf course. The luncheon was attended by those who came to honor these three women who have already accomplished so much and who have future plans to accomplish even more.
Soroptimists work through their actions to bring women into economic empowerment through education. The “Live Your Dream Award” was presented to honoree Nikole Perez to help her pursue her educational goals. This recognition and the $1,500 cash award will assist her in continuing her dream in education, which will increase her employment opportunities for the rest of her life.
Perez is the single mother of three boys; she is currently enrolled in college and will be receiving her Bachelor of Science degree in Human Resource Management in January 2027 from Grand Canyon University. She is seeking a management position with the San Bernardino City School District where she is already employed full time and is highly respected for her abilities. Presented by Soroptimist Deborah Fancett, the award can be used for any necessary expense connected to reaching her educational goal including childcare, books tuition and transportation.
Hailey Vargas (center), flanked by Deborah Fancett and Virgie Witte, was awarded the “Violet Richardson” award.
During the afternoon luncheon, Rim of the World High School student Hailey Vargas was honored with the “Violet Richardson Award.” This award is presented to a young woman between the ages of 14 and 17 who, through her volunteer work, has already made a difference in the community and worked to make the world a better place. Hailey is a 4.4 GPA student who holds a leadership position in the National Honor Society. She works part-time and also volunteers at the Mountain Skies Astronomy Village, teaching young visitors about the telescope equipment and the history of astronomy under the tutorship of MSAS director Dr. Lorann Parker. She has been accepted at UCLA where she plans to study and earn a PhD in astrophysics and to hopefully return to help run the MSAS Village in the future.
The printed program for the luncheon listed the winners of the various awards since the 1980s. The list of the Ruby Award winners read like a who’s who of mountain dignitaries who have made the mountain a better place to live. It is presented to strong, compassionate women who, through extraordinary efforts, have helped other women either through their professional or volunteer efforts and improved their community.
This year’s “Ruby Award” recipient is Sue Parks, who has spent the last 30 years supporting the volunteer efforts of Rebuilding Together Mountain Communities (RTMC). Rebuilding Day has made a significant difference in over 420 homes over the years by making homes warm, safe and dry for mountain homeowners, who otherwise would be unable to keep their homes secure, either due to finances, disability or age.
Parks has already been called a “gem” at Rebuilding Together because she is the backbone of the group, the one who coordinates, develops and keeps in contact with the homeowners through the process to repair their homes.
As she presented the award to Parks, Polly Sauer said, “The Ruby Award seems to be the exact definition of Sue Parks.” Terry Ebert, who nominated Parks, said, “Sue is the center of Rebuilding Together Mountain Communities. She is the glue who holds this diverse group of volunteers together. She is always seeking better ways for RTMC to help the community.”
Many of those in need are single women, often mothers who need some help to keep their homes for their children warm, dry and safe. More than 75 percent of those helped over the past 30 years have been women. “Sue is a true inspiration and great role model to all who know and work with her,” added Sauer.
The Ruby Award is named for the founder of Soroptimists, Ruby Lee Minar. It is presented to a non-Soroptimist who makes extraordinary efforts to benefit women through their professional positions or volunteerism.
Soroptimist International of Rim of the World raises their funds to support their projects – such as their middle school program “Every Girl Counts,” its “Saturday of Service,” mammogrants and scholarships – through the sales of their Dining Discount shopping cards, the sales of daffodils as a part of their efforts to cover the mountain with a million daffodils and their seasonal See’s Candy sales.
To learn more about SIROW and how to join this club, visit www.sirow.org.
0 Comments