2018 Women of Tomorrow Awards Celebrate Harford County Young Women
Dedicated to Community Service, Academic Achievement
County Executive Barry Glassman and the Harford County Commission for Women celebrated the next generation of women leaders at the eighth annual Women of Tomorrow Awards on April 26 at Bel Air High School. These awards recognize young women who are dedicated to compassionate community service and superior academic achievement. This year’s ceremony also honored the late Hannah E. Smith Moore as the 2018 Woman of the Past. Keynote speaker, Kathy Walsh, was recognized as the Woman of the Present.
Award nominees for 2018 were Jasmine L. Alleyne of Edgewood High School; Lauren Caudill of Havre de Grace High School; Faith Guilbault of South Hampton Middle School; Kacey LeBrun of Joppatowne High School; Jennifer Patricia Little of Patterson Mill High School; Chloe Meyer of North Harford High School; Florish Okigweh of Harford Technical High School; Sarah Patrick of Aberdeen High School; Eliana Peyton of Patterson Mill Middle School; Khiyali Pillalamarri of Aberdeen High School; Abigail Renzulli of North Harford High School; Gabrielle Roeder of North Harford High School; Vanessa Sanders of Harford Technical High School; Tori Siler of Harford Technical High School; Bridget Tramontana of Havre de Grace High School; Lauren Westendorf of C. Milton Wright High School; and Jenna Zavoyna of Havre de Grace High School.
The 2018 Women of Tomorrow Award winners are Eliana Peyton for grades 7 – 8; Jenna Zavoyna for grades 9 – 10 and Jennifer Little for grades 11 – 12.
Eliana Peyton is an eighth grade student at Patterson Mill Middle School who volunteers at Welcome One homeless shelter preparing meals. Eliana has assisted with the summer reading program at the public library and co-founded “Fun with Reading” where she and her brother read books to toddlers and preschoolers at a local daycare center. Maintaining a 4.0 GPA, Eliana aspires to attend the Science and Math Academy in Aberdeen.
Jenna Zavoyna is a sophomore at Havre de Grace High School where she has started Best Buddies and raised money for the chapter there in support of students with special needs. She also participates in the Autism Speaks Walk, raising money and awareness for autism. Jenna maintains a 4.25 GPA and her passion for those with disabilities inspires her to one day become a special education teacher to help others reach their goals of success.
Jennifer Little is a senior at Patterson Mill High School who has organized the Amnesty International “Write for Rights” campaign at Patterson Mill and served as a crew leader for the Agape House, a home for men in recovery. She is also a part of the Harford County Teen Court and a reporter for “ABC2 Teen Perspective News.” Jennifer holds a 4.333 GPA and is a member of the National, Tri-M Music, Spanish, and International Thespian honor societies.
As winners in their categories, Jenna and Eliana each received a check for $300 and Jennifer received a check for $500 sponsored by the Harford County Public Library. All nominees received multiple citations from local and state elected officials.
At the ceremony, County Executive Barry Glassman honored the nominees, “On behalf of the citizens of Harford County, I commend each of you and wish you continued success as our Women of Tomorrow.”
He also thanked the members of the Harford County Commission for Women for their service adding, “Our commissioners are role models – volunteering their time and talent to support the economic, social, and political equality of women.”
Emcee Robin Walker of the Commission, provided inspirational guidance and encouragement to the nominees.
Jill Charlton, a fellow member of the Commission, recounted the life story and community presence of the late Hannah E. Smith Moore, this year’s Woman of the Past, who owned a general store on Bond Street that was one of the few African American-owned businesses at the time. Her savvy business acumen and accomplishments yielded profits that allowed Mrs. Moore to purchase and donate a parcel of land to the local school system. This became the Bel Air Colored High School, designed to further the educational options for African American children in Harford County.
The keynote speaker and this year’s Woman of the Present was Kathy Walsh, who oversees strategic marketing and communications, including media relations, for The John Carroll School. Prior to joining John Carroll, she served as director of marketing for Fallston Group and owned JigSaw Marketing Solutions, an MBE-certified marketing and public relations firm twice named a “Fastest Growing Woman-Owned Business” by the Baltimore Business Journal. Ms. Walsh told the nominees that research indicates the one trait U.S. Navy SEALs possess that makes them successful throughout their rigorous training is not exceptional strength, or intellect, but optimism. She said that a positive outlook would also help the nominees to obtain their goals.
The Commission would like to thank Bel Air High School for hosting this event and thank the event sponsors for their generosity: Harford County Public Library; Harford County Public Schools; Women in Defense, Mid-Atlantic Chapter; Jones Junction, Inc.; Klein’s ShopRite; Freedom Federal Credit Union; The John Carroll School; Harford Cable Network; Harford Technical High School and Dr. Mary Teddy Wray.
The Harford County Women’s Commission consists of 15 volunteer members appointed by the county executive and approved by the County Council. Their mission is to support the economic, social and political equality of women. For more information about the Commission for Women, please visit www.harfordcountymd.gov or contact 410-638-3389. Applications for the 2019 Harford County Women of Tomorrow Awards will be available in the fall of 2018.
