ST. GEORGE — Thanks to the fundraising efforts of the American Association of University Women, 34 women will enroll in college next semester and many more will benefit next year.
The American Association of University Women, or AAUW, held its second annual St. George Gala Saturday evening at the Best Western’s Abbey Inn located at 1129 S Bluff Street in St George. Several hundred guests attended the sold out event that included dinner, live music by pianist Elise West and a solo by singer Jayden West. Open and silent auctions were held to fund the group’s 36th year of awarding academic scholarships to area women.
The fundraising gala started at 5:30 p.m. with drinks and appetizers, followed by a full course dinner and dessert. Hundreds mingled and viewed the items being auctioned off later in the evening, including weekend getaways, spa treatments, food and wine baskets and other items donated by businesses in the area. Proceeds from the event fund the organization’s scholarship program.
The scholarship program provides funding to local women and young ladies who are just entering college, or continuing their degrees, primarily serving those who are “outside the ‘usual’ realm of scholarship giving,” said Pat Dalpiaz, co-chair on the AAUW Scholarship Committee.
Terri Kane, CEO for Dixie Regional Medical Center and southwest region vice president of Intermountain Healthcare, said she attributed much of her success in business to her education and the doors that opened after furthering her academic career. Intermountain Healthcare supported the executive’s efforts while she completed her degree. The company supports continuing education and growth for women as part of its corporate philosophy, she said.
“That is one of the reasons why nearly 50 percent of my management team are women,” she added.
AAUW member and co-chair of the Fundraising Committe, Sandy Ghio, reviews the applications submitted and schedules interviews, in addition to supporting other programs within the organization.
“Depending on how much we raise tonight,” Ghio said, “that amount will determine the number of scholarships we can award next year, and the monies stay here in the local area.”
Patricia Jones, the event’s keynote speaker, addressed the importance of female leadership in building communities, in business and in the role women play in decision making.
“When women are advanced and have top level positions, regardless of whether it’s in politics, civics or in business, the employees are happier; there is balance and better decisions are made,” she said. “Our goal is to inspire women to step up and to take their place.”
Jones is the CEO of the Women’s Leadership Institute, co-founder and president of the state’s largest polling company, a member of the Utah Board of Regents and a Utah legislator for 14-years. She is currently serving as a governor of the Intermountain Healthcare Community Care Foundation, in addition to serving in other areas. The foundation’s mission statement reads as follows:
It is our mission to elevate the stature of women’s leadership in Utah by improving society’s understanding of the value of diversity in leadership roles, training women in leadership skills, and conveying the positive impact female leaders have on economic development, vitality, and the overall health of the state.
Kristy Ann Pike graduated from the University of Utah with a bachelor’s in English and has held many positions in the private sector. She stressed the value of education, both academic and what is learned through experience.
“The true education in life is so much more than what fits on a resume,” Kristy Pike said, “and it’s the filler that makes life fulfilled.”
Raising five children and working posed many challenges for Kristy Pike, but those challenges came with constant learning and growing, she said. A strong believer in education herself, she has instilled those same principles in her children with the help of her husband, St. George Mayor Jon Pike.
“We believe in education,” Jon Pike said. “Both of our parents were educators, so we were born into it.”
“The opportunity to get together and to know 180 strong, educated women that are all coming together and to provide that same thing for others is amazing,” nine-year AAUW member Dawn McLain said.
About AAUW
On November 28, 1881, Marion Talbot and Ellen Richards met in Boston with 15 alumna from eight different colleges to address the need for college-educated women. A few months later they organized the Association of Collegiate Alumnae. In 1921 it was renamed the American Association of University Women. With a nationwide membership of more than 170,000, the group has examined and taken positions on social, economic and political issues.
In 1986 the St. George Branch of the AAUW was organized with the goal of reaching those “outside the usual realm of scholarship giving.” Since the group’s inception the number of scholarships awarded has grown each year with 34 scholarships awarded this year.
In 2014 the organization formed a partnership with Dixie State University’s Women’s Resource Center implementing a mentoring program to cultivate relationships between students and businesswomen in the community whose role is to help students achieve success beyond their academic careers.
AAUW also offers eSMART Camps with as many as 80 participants. Camp sessions include workshops, team building exercises, art, physical activity and lectures from professional women and educators from the local area.
TechSavvy is a daylong STEM Career Conference designed to attract girls in sixth through ninth grade to fields in science, technology, engineering and math and to provide career information to families.
Scholarship applications will be accepted from January 1, 2017, through March 4. The scholarships are presented at a special awards luncheon in May.
For more information on the scholarship fund contact Pat Dalpiaz at 801 554-8029 or Sandy Gio at 858 395-2083.
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Event speaker Kristy Pike spoke of the importance of education, both academic and life learning, at the AAUW Fundraising Gala Saturday at Best Western's Abbey Inn, St. George, Utah, Nov. 5, 2016 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News The event included dinner and dessert served buffet style in the conference room of Best Western's Abbey Inn, St. George, Utah, Nov. 5, 2016 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News Hundreds attended the sold-out AAUW Fundraising Gala held on Saturday at Best Western's Abbey Inn, St. George, Utah, Nov. 5, 2016 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News Guests socializing at the bar in the lobby of the event venue, during the AAUW Fundraising Gala Saturday held at Best Western's Abbey Inn, St. George, Utah, Nov. 5, 2016 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News The Gala included a silent and live auction to raise funds for the Scholarship Program at the AAUW Fundraising Gala held Saturday at Best Western's Abbey Inn, St. George, Utah, Nov. 5, 2016 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News The event included dinner and dessert served buffet style in the conference room of Best Western's Abbey Inn, St. George, Utah, Nov. 5, 2016 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News The eveniing's entertainment was provided by Jayden Webster, seen here singing, and Elise West on the piano, not shown, at the AAUW Fundraising Gala Saturday held at Best Western's Abbey Inn, St. George, Utah, Nov. 5, 2016 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News Terri Kane of Intermountain Healthcare and Dixie Regional Medical Center spoke at the AAUW Fundraising Gala Saturday held at Best Western's Abbey Inn, St. George, Utah, Nov. 5, 2016 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News Kristy Pike and her husband, Mayor Jon Pike, at the AAUW Fundraising Gala Saturday held at Best Western's Abbey Inn, St. George, Utah, Nov. 5, 2016 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News Mayor Jon Pike introduced the second speaker of the evening, wife Krsty Pike, at the AAUW Fundraising Gala Saturday held at Best Western's Abbey Inn, St. George, Utah, Nov. 5, 2016 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News
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