Nominees face off for Woman of Achievement award on Owatonna

OWATONNA — Tonight, the mystery will be revealed.
The Owatonna Business Women have been looking at five local candidates for their Women of Achievement Award. All five candidates have presented their autobiographies and have interviewed with the judges. The only thing left is for one to be announced the winner.
“It’s always amazing to me how this town turns out an amazing group of women,” said Paula Rue, an event committee member.
The Woman of Achievement Award has existed since the 1970s. It started out as the Woman of the Year, where women in what was then known as the Business and Professional Women’s club usually formed there own committee to nominate women and pick a winner.
A lot has changed since then. The nomination has been opened up to the public, the celebration has moved from a luncheon to an evening event, and the judges are brought in from other communities in southern Minnesota.
“The judges do not know any of the women. They’re not from our community,” said Holly Hull, this year’s Woman of Achievement chair.
Other changes have only happened this year. The club changed its name to Owatonna Business Club, because of a reshuffling on the national level, and the nomination committee had to impose a limit.
“The logistics just got to be too big, “ Rue said.
The number of nominations from the community has been on the rise for the last few years. The nominations committee started to get eight to nine a year — or more. To keep the numbers down, they only accepted the first five who were nominated and accepted the conditions. These candidates had to write a biography for the judges, attend interviews and be able to attend the night of the ceremony.
The club is trying out this system this year to see how it goes. They urge nominators to make their nomination again next year if their candidate didn’t get in the running this year.
“We rely on the public to bring these women to our attention, “ Rue said.
This years candidates are:
• Gege Abraham, membership specialist for the Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valley.
• Maralou Brose, family health supervisor for Steele County Public Health.
• Anne Lamb, business owner and physical therapist at In Touch Physical Therapy.
• Lois Nelson, business consultant and program administrator for Riverland Community College.
• Julie Rethemeier, director of public affairs for Federated Insurance.
“I have no idea how the judges make that decision. I know every one of these women and wasn’t at all surprised by their nomination,” Hull said.
The winner will be announced at the ceremony tonight. They will also recognize the scholarship winners Stephanie Kasper and Taryn Anderson, the continuing education scholarship winners Susan Freese and Jane Partridge, and the winner of the new Pioneer Award, Mary Jane Taylor. The Pioneer Award is new this year and honors women who have paved the way for other women.
“It’s something one of our members suggested. It recognizes who’s been there and done that while paving the way.
The event, to be held at the Owatonna Arts Center, will start at 6:15 p.m. and feature a social hour complete with wine and hors d’oeuvers, a silent auction and last year’s Woman of Achievement winner, Karen Duncan, as the keynote speaker. The tickets cost is $20 and can be purchased at the door.

Briana Gehring can be reached at 444-2378.

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