Extraordinary Women to be celebrated at upcoming luncheon

The 9th annual Extraordinary Women of Clark County Celebration luncheon will return to an in-person event this year, with attendees invited to gather at Hollenbeck Bayley Creative Arts and Conference Center.

"The luncheon is a way to celebrate women doing extraordinary things in our community," says Sarah McPherson, the board chair of the Women's Partnership fund, which addresses ongoing barriers that women face when trying to achieve their full potential in the Springfield community. "We're really excited to be back in person to celebrate the exciting things these people are doing in our community."

It is challenging to pick only three women each year because there are always many strong nominees, says WPF board member Daragh Porter-Wobbe.

This year, the honorees who will be celebrated at the May 3 luncheon are:

• Dr. Jo Alice Blondin, Clark State College president
• Christina Conover, Clark County Combined Health District director of nursing
• Mary Moore, community advocate with a wide-ranging career and dedicated record of volunteerism

"The luncheon is a really inspiring event that brings a lot of people together," McPherson says. "The honored women fall in all different walks of life, and they're in all different professional fields. We really are focusing on the amazing work women do in Clark County."

This year's mistress of ceremonies will be Krissy Brown, the associate creative director of the Springfield Arts Council, and a table at the event will be dedicated for Youth Arts Ambassadors to attend.

Each honoree will receive a portrait taken by a student photographer through Project Jericho, McPherson says.

Porter-Wobbe says the annual honorees serve as great examples for younger generations to look up to.

"We have women who have made huge impacts on the community who started with very modest beginnings, and as a young girl, it can feel hard to be living on a more modest income. It can be hard to image going from where you are and things can look out of reach," she says. "But you get to know some of these women and where they came from and see all they have accomplished and what's possible."

When the Women's Partnership Fund (WPF) was first created, it formed an endowment to support non-profit organizations the help women and girls in the Springfield community, McPherson says.

One of the first organizations they supported was Girls on the Run - a running and empowerment group for elementary-aged girls. The WPF supported the organization for a number of years, until it was sustainable at every elementary school in Clark County, she says. 

This year, the WPF chose to focus on challenges women face with their mental health and the issues they have to overcome to stay both mentally and physically healthy. 

"We did our biggest grant yet to CitiLookout Counseling and Trauma Recovery Center, which provides trauma-informed care for women and part of their programming is focused on women," McPherson says.

At the luncheon, CitiLookout's Chief Operating Officer Steven Massey, and Melissa Massey, a CitiLookout crime victim advocate.

The luncheon will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 3. Tickets for the event are $40 and can be purchased online here through April 13.