By Mandy Cole
Sometime during the middle of last year, I remember getting grumpy with my son when he asked what kind of birthday party was he going to have this year. I immediately thought of every important thing I was doing, every difficult decision I was making to ensure that my family, my coworkers and my friends were as safe as possible during this pandemic. And he was worried about a party? I’m pretty sure I rolled my eyes and told him to “read the room.” Then, in his typical, wise-beyond-his-years way, he dropped an incontrovertible truth — “Mom, we still get to celebrate good stuff.”
We still get to celebrate. In fact, we may have to celebrate. Celebrating may be the only real antidote to all the confusion and worry that we deal with every day. We are looking for work, tired at work, worried about work. We are scared for our parents and our children. We are tired of doom and gloom headlines, and yet we cannot stop reading them. But if we take a cue from our kids, the answer is fairly simple- — we celebrate what’s good.
So what’s good? At AWARE, we see what survivors are doing every day to heal and move forward. We see helpers working to bring a little more ease to our community. We see the magic of big hearts, smart brains and endless optimism for the future.
For 25 years, AWARE has been celebrating women in our community who bring this magic. Our Women of Distinction event honors the contributions of those who go above and beyond for individuals, for families, and for our communities. Last year, sadly, we canceled this event because of COVID. This year, AWARE’s Board of Directors carefully considered what it would mean to host the event in March 2022. In the end, we decided that celebrating the women of this community is exactly what we need right now.
I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to AWARE’s 2022 Women of Distinction event on March 19. This year’s honorees are Mariya Lovishchuk, Bunti Reed, Bridget Weiss and sisters Nancy Douglas and Kitty Eddy. We are full of “firsts” this year — we are honoring our first-ever sister nominees, so when each of the honorees shares with us what inspires them, we’ll also get to hear about the power of sisterhood. Another first: no fundraising silent auction this year. In our prioritizing safety and fun over fundraising, we will forego our traditional auction, and instead your presence guarantees your entry as we will be drawing prizes for attendees as part of the program. We are requiring proof of vaccination, and we are limiting the seating — no longer tables of 10 — to add a little more distance as we eat and talk and laugh and cry (the speeches from honorees are always heartfelt and beautiful and move me to tears). Women of Distinction has a long history in Juneau as an inspirational event, and we are working to distill that inspiration down to something special for the honorees and their families, and for you and your family, and for all our community — by highlighting the women in Women of Distinction, as we acknowledge the years and impacts of the pandemic. It may not look exactly like it has in previous years, but the essence of celebration and recognition of the remarkable contributions of women in this community will remain front and center. How can you reserve a seat? Tickets are available at www.awareak.org. I urge everyone who loves this event, and those of you who are considering attending for the first time, to celebrate Nancy and Kitty, Bridget, Bunti and Mariya by joining us on March 19 at Centennial Hall.
• Mandy Cole is executive director of AWARE. Columns, My Turns and Letters to the Editor represent the view of the author, not the view of the Juneau Empire. Have something to say? Here’s how to submit a My Turn or letter.
