Businesswomen in the Verde Valley had a lot to be proud of at the National Association of Women Business Owners’ 13th annual Shining Stars award ceremony.

The event was held at Poco Diablo Resort on May 6 and brought in roughly 160 people to see who was named among the best women in business.

NAWBO president Laura Schappert got the ball rolling as a slideshow gave brief bios of each nominee for the categories of the awards. As lunch was served, the winners were presented their awards, often by a previous year’s winner.

Trailblazer

This award, according to a NAWBO brochure, honors “a business owner with an innovative business idea who found an original way to enter the marketplace.”

Linda Goldenstein won for her work at Goldenstein Gallery. She first said it was an honor to be among the other four nominees. She then pointed out the work the Sedona Chamber of Commerce does with NAWBO and said it had been an inspirational time for her.

Years ago, she said she won another NAWBO award, which had a profound effect on her. She said that first-time winners should look at this as a stepping stone to take their businesses to the next level.

“Opportunity is always out there,” she said.

She also noted that entrepreneurship runs strong in her family, as 28 of the 32 family members at a recent reunion were business owners.

Customer Service

This award was presented to Linda Haggard, owner of Sedona Integrative Medical Clinic and Sedona Medi-Spa, for “outstanding customer service and ongoing customer relations.”
Her staff had come out to support her, and she recognized their hard work, motioning to their table.
“We take care of people the way we want to be cared for,” she said.

Nonprofit

Next, the nonprofits got a chance to compete. The award went to Sedona Welcomers President Pat Foster, as she “successfully leads a nonprofit organization.”

Foster moved to Sedona 30 years ago and was invited to the Welcomers by a woman she met named Shirley. She said she has tried making the club’s motto a way of life: Please, make a new friend today.

The nonprofit, in addition to holding monthly meetings and featured speakers, also chooses charity organizations each year to donate to.

Foster thanked her fellow Welcomers for their support, particularly Gina Cassidy, who emcees the meetings.

Community Involvement

Kathy Cox, owner and Realtor at Your Team at RE/MAX, won for “exemplifying community involvement through philanthropy, supporting and strengthening our community.”

She said community service was something that was simply in her heart. “Everyone is put here to improve our world,” she said, the trick was finding out how.

Humanitarian

This award recognizes a businesswoman who “promotes human welfare and social reform working towards advancing the well-being of humanity.”

Sandy Brandvold won for her work as the founder of SedonaKind.

The group creates new jewelery out of old, donated pieces, and has gone so far as hiding messages of kindness throughout Sedona.

Brandvold recalled her time growing up in a German Mennonite community in Oregon and shared how even though it was a simple life, it was one without worry over necessities. She attributed her work ethic at SedonaKind to the lesson she learned there: Never put off to tomorrow what can be done today.

Furthermore, she said the charm bracelets have circulated worldwide, at 4,000 strong and that the response to them has been great.

Visionary Award

The winner of this award is selected from the total list of the 25 nominees from all categories. This year’s award went to Danette Wolpert, the founder and executive director of the Illuminate Film Festival.

“Women can thrive and lead business consciously,” in Sedona she said.

She credited a life-changing moment in Peru for getting the motivation to put on a film festival. An astrologer told her that she was afraid to step up. Indeed she admitted as much, saying she had always been content with the second-in-command position, where the buck didn’t quite stop.

“I stepped into my dream,” with the festival, she said.

Spirit Award

Janice Dahl was chosen for her exuberance in the club for the Mary Schnack Spirit of NAWBO Sisterhood Award.

She was honored to get the peer award, noting how she laughed, swore and drank wine with them in good times and bad. She said she has learned much from her peers in the world of business.

“I’m in amazing company,” she said.

Of course, behind every great woman is a great husband.

“He’s a magician,” she said, jokingly. “Every time something crashes and burns, he appears with a glass of wine.”

The day was an emotional one, with Dahl and others holding back tears of pride as they accepted their awards, but the day wasn’t quite done.

Scholarship

The $1,500 NAWBO Young Women Entrepreneur Scholarship went to Lezah Richardson.

According to NAWBO, Richardson was chosen, among several other accomplishments, because of her unweighted 4.0 GPA, her dual enrollment and Advanced Placement courses and her work with “Sedonalicious,” which raised more than $20,000 for Sedona Red Rock High School.

Richardson has been accepted to Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., where she plans to pursue business and biology.

She thanked her parents for their support and example — Sedona-Oak Creek Governing Board President Zachary Richardson and Jill Richardson.

Noting how her father built himself up from nothing, she said the two were her biggest inspiration, and, “not just because they’re sitting right over there.”

Richardson said the scholarship made it feel like all the hard work she had done in high school was beginning to pay off, and thanked everyone involved in the scholarship effort.

To learn more about NAWBO, visit its website or check the club listings in the Sedona Red Rock News.