Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands Celebrated Six Local Women of Distinction

COLUMBIA, SC –  Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands honored six women at its 22^nd Annual Women of Distinction Awards Dinner on April 21.  Selected for their exemplary commitments to family, career and community, this year’s honorees are:  Jan C. Burt, Metro Columbia Retail Banking Manager and Senior Vice President, First Citizens Bank; Dr. Debra W. Hamm, Superintendent, Richland School District 2; Pamela P. Lackey, President – South Carolina, AT&T; Laurie Parks, Camden City Council; Dawndy Mercer Plank, Television Anchor, WIS-TV.  Posthumous recognition was given to Mary Kennemur, Distinguished Businesswoman.

More than 200 people attended the fundraising event that was held at the Medallion Conference Center in Columbia and the Gold Sponsor was BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina.

States Kim Hutzell, President/CEO, Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands, “In a state where nearly half of the publicly-traded companies headquartered in South Carolina do not have any women on their boards of directors, and only one female state senator, the leadership accomplishments of these women did not come without extraordinary perseverance. They are remarkable role models of courage, confidence, and character for today’s girls who will be tomorrow’s leaders.”

(l-r):  Girl Scout Women of Distinction honorees:  Laurie Parks, Jan C. Burt, Pamela P. Lackey, Dr. Debra Hamm, Dawndy Mercer Plank and, in memory, Mary Kennemur.

For over 103 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 4,70000 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.