Two local women to be honored as Women of Distinction by Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands
September 4, 2018
Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands will honor two Greenville-area women at its annual Women of Distinction Awards Dinner on Thursday, September 13, 2018 at the Hilton Greenville beginning at 6:00 p.m. The evening pays tribute to women who exemplify excellence in service, leadership, community visibility, and professionalism.
This year’s honorees are: Serita Acker, Director, Programs for Educational Enrichment and Retention (PEER) and Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) at Clemson University; and Jane Dyer, Airline Captain for FedEx.
Serita Acker earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Lander University and a Master of Education in Human Resources and Development from Clemson University. Before becoming the PEER/WISE Director in August 2015, Serita was Director of the Women in Science and Engineering program. Additionally, she has more than 25 years of experience in higher education in the areas of student support services, mentoring, and diversity programs. She is a certified Global Career Development Facilitator and Academic Coach. Serita sees the PEER/WISE main role as providing student success programs and services that can equip students with the resources they need to excel at Clemson University and achieve their educational goals so that they are prepared for success after graduation.
She has won several state and national awards: Clemson University Woman of the Year, Martin Luther King Jr. Award, Clemson University Board of Trustees Award, WEPAN Distinguished Service Award, Career Communications College Level Promotion of Education Award, Upstate Diversity Award Calder D. Elhmann Outstanding Individual.
She also serves as a MentorLinks Consultant for the American Association of Community Colleges in Washington, D.C. and sits on many state and national boards to promote STEM. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and traveling.
Jane Ballard Dyer has lived her whole life in a “man’s world.” She graduated from Clemson University in 1981 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, which at the time was extremely rare for a woman to do. While at Clemson, she was the first female Commander of the Air Force ROTC and was the first woman selected from Clemson to become a pilot in the Air Force. As one of the first female Air Force pilots, she flew an air refueling aircraft and was an Undergraduate Pilot Training Instructor Pilot.
After serving in the Air Force, she continued her flying career by becoming a captain at FedEx, flying the B727, A300, and the B777. She flew around the globe and amassed over 11,000 accident-free hours. In a career field that is still only around 5% female, she has been inducted into Smithsonian’s Air and Space Wall of Honor.
Jane is married to John Dyer, a highly-decorated combat pilot. They have four children, three grandchildren and a great-grandson. She now spends her time volunteering with the Rotary Club of Greenville, Clemson Corps, Greenville Women Giving, and her church.
7News, WSPA-TV, is the Media Sponsor for the September 13, 2018 Women of Distinction Awards Dinner.
For ticket and/or sponsorship information on this annual fundraising event, please contact Anne Smith, Director, Annual Fund Development at [email protected], call 1-800-849-GIRL (4475), or visit gssc-mm.org.
Girl Scouts of South Carolina-Mountains to Midlands
For more than 100 years, Girl Scouting has helped girls develop positive values and become active, responsible leaders in their communities. With emphasis on personal growth and leadership development through service to others, Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. Girl Scouts of South Carolina-Mountains to Midlands serves 11,500 girls, grades K5-12, and 4,700 adults in 22 counties of central and western South Carolina, including Abbeville, Aiken, Anderson, Cherokee, Chester, Edgefield, Fairfield, Greenville, Greenwood, Kershaw, Lancaster, Laurens, Lexington, McCormick, Newberry, Oconee, Pickens, Richland, Saluda, Spartanburg, Sumter, and Union.
