A formerly homeless veteran who lost his hearing from an explosion in Vietnam, an ex-offender who chose drugs over her children and today counsels individuals in similar circumstances, and a Baltimore transplant who had to rely on the financial support of family when she couldn’t find a fulltime job despite a steady work history will tell their turnaround stories and be honored at the 18th annual Faces of Success Luncheon on Thursday, Nov. 15 at The Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa.
The annual fund-raising luncheon supports Arizona Women’s Education & Employment (AWEE), a workforce development organization using a diverse range of evidence-based training and support services to advance Arizona’s workforce and change the lives of women, men, young adults and special populations through the dignity of work.
Also at the luncheon, Michelle King Robson, who overcame life-threatening health issues to start the widely praised social health website EmpowHER.com for women will receive the Jeanne Lind Herberger Award.
More than 700 people are expected at the luncheon, which is presented by Bank of America. Registration and reception begin at 11 a.m. The highly entertaining, rapid-fire program of giveaways, raffles and remarkably moving stories of success will be co-hosted by television personality Tara Hitchcock and Alfredo J. Molina of Molina Fine Jewelers. Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton will make brief congratulatory remarks.
Molina also has donated a stunning pair of 18-karat white gold earrings with .39 carats of brilliant diamonds surrounding black onyx for a raffle. The earrings are valued at $4,990. Raffle tickets are $25 each or 6 for $100 and can be purchased at the event or online at www.awee.org.
Individual tickets for the Faces of Success Luncheon are $100 each and also can be purchased online or the day of the event. Sponsorships are still available.
The highlight of the annual luncheon comes midway through the program when the three Faces of Success take the audience through their personal journeys from rock bottom to steady employment and self sufficiency thanks to AWEE programs, services and support.
The 2012 Faces of Success are:
• Craig Leighton, a U.S. Marine Corp photographer whose life fell apart after returning from Vietnam in 1974 deaf and angry. Leighton eventually found himself battling alcohol and drug addiction, homeless and in jail. “I needed help,” he said. “Coming out of prison, you have a choice: Go back to your old behavior or start over. AWEE is what saved my life.”
• Vicki Rainey, the mother of two children who grew up in Phoenix living a “wonderful childhood” until the family moved to a new neighborhood. That’s when she started making a series of bad choices with alcohol, drugs and criminal behavior and wound up homeless and in and out of prison. Prison let her come out of the meth-induced fog she had lived in for months when she chose the drug over her kids. She learned about AWEE in prison workshops and classes, rebuilt her self-esteem and her life and is now the marketing manager at Recovery Opportunity Center. “The simple fact is, I wouldn’t be where I am today without AWEE.”
• Tanya Smith moved to Phoenix from Baltimore after her mother died. Smith wanted warmth and sunshine. Unfortunately, she couldn’t find permanent work and ran out of money between assignments through a temporary agency, needing help from family members. Surgery complicated matters. After getting on AHCCCS, she was referred to AWEE where resume writing and interview training keyed her turnaround. Today, she’s working fulltime in the Home Modification Division of the Arizona Department of Economic Security.
Jeanne Lind Herberger honoree Robson combines a successful track record as a businesswoman and entrepreneur with nearly two decades of civic and community leadership to lead one of the fastest-growing social health companies on the Web. She started EmpowHER following her own personal struggle with a debilitating health issue and the challenges she experienced in finding the health resources she needed. “I thought ‘If this happened to me, what is happening to women all over the world?’ At that moment, I decided I would dedicate my life to making sure no other woman would suffer as I had by creating the resources I wish I had when I was sick.”
Kathey Wagner, CEO, B-On The Obvious and Nicole Spracale, Senior Vice President, Jobing, are co-chairs of the 2012 Faces of Success Luncheon. Bank of America is the Presenting Sponsor with additional support from: The Herberger Foundation, Bruce T. Halle Familiy Foundation, APS, B-On The Obvious, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, Discover Financial Services, Jobing, EmpowHER.com, First Solar, Molina Fine Jewelers, SRP, State Farm, Lewis & Roca, MidFirst Bank, Wells Fargo, Avnet, Comerica Bank and University of Phoenix.
For sponsorship information, contact Chief Development Officer Jamie Craig Dove at jamiecraigdove@awee.org or by calling (602) 223-4333. For ticket information, visit www.awee.org.
