Two Local Women to be Honored by Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands

SPARTANBURG, SC –  The Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands has just announced the names of the two women to be recognized at its second annual Boots & Pearls Women of Distinction Event.  They are Ruth L. Cate and Renée Buyck Romberger.  This recognition and fundraising event honors outstanding women from the Cherokee, Spartanburg, and Union areas for their service to others and impact on their community.

The celebration will be held on Thursday, October 9, 2014, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at Hub-Bub in downtown Spartanburg. One of the evening’s highlights will be a video presentation in which the two honorees have the opportunity to share the contributions they have made in improving the quality of life in our community and ways in which they exemplify women who demonstrate character qualities of courage, confidence, and character.

Ruth L. Cate was born in Nashville, Tennessee.  She was raised primarily in Aiken, South Carolina, and attended the University of South Carolina for both Undergraduate and Law School.  She graduated from college in 1974 at age 20 and from law school in December of 1976 at age 22.  While in college and law school she worked at the South Carolina House of Representatives and was the second female Page ever hired and then the first female Research Assistant. She was also Phi Beta Kappa.

She moved to Spartanburg in 1977 to begin practicing law.  She was sworn in that year at age 23 and was believed to be the youngest lawyer at that time sworn in to practice in South Carolina.  She practiced in Spartanburg for six years with the general law practice of Henderson, Lister, Couch, Brant and Cate. In 1995 she founded The Cate Law Firm which is a practice devoted to all areas of family law.

Ruth is married to Dr. Charles White and has two daughters, Evelyn Galletti and Dr. Frances Cate.  She has been highly involved in her community serving on a range of boards over the years. Ruth was involved with Girls Scouts for over 12 years, first through her daughters, then on the board of Girl Scouts of the Piedmont Area and, subsequently, with the realigned Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands’ council. Currently, she serves as the Chair for the Mary Black Foundation.  She contributes to her profession by serving on the board of the South Carolina Family Law Council. She has been recognized with an AV rating indicating the highest caliber of ethics and experience. Recently she was named as a Greenville Elite Attorney in the area of family law. She has also previously been acknowledged for her service with awards from the Red Cross, the Spartanburg Chamber and the Girl Scouts.

Renée Buyck Romberger is a seasoned healthcare professional with 25 years’ experience in hospital administration, including operations, marketing, business development, managed care, and community health. Five years ago, Renée returned to her Population Health roots after seeing first-hand the financial impact of delivering episodic care.  As VP of Community Health Policy and Strategy for Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, her work is focused on improving the health of the community and reducing the costs of care.  She works in partnership with many community organizations to assess community needs and identify solutions that focus on delivery system change, policy change and environmental change.

Renée holds a Master’s Degree in Health Science (Healthcare Administration) from the Medical University of South Carolina, a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts from the College of Charleston and she is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.  She serves on numerous community boards including the United Way of the Piedmont, Welvista, AccessHealth Spartanburg, and the Mary Black School of Nursing.  She is also on the board of the SC Chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives and she was elected to the Board of Trustees for the College of Charleston in 2013.  She is the 2010 recipient of the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control’s statewide Public Health Education Advocate Award, and she is a graduate of Leadership South Carolina and a Riley Institute Diversity Fellow.

Originally from St. Matthews, SC, Renée resides in Greenville with her husband Randy, administrator of Shriner’s Hospital for Children.  They have three children and three grandchildren.

For ticket information and sponsorship opportunities contact LaTanza Duncan, Chief Advancement Officer, Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands, 1-800-849-4475, ext. 3731, [email protected].

For more than 102 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 approximately 11,450 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.