Photo courtesy of Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama.
Dr. Donna J. Slovensky will receive the Women of Distinction Healthy Living award from the Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama.
Vestavia Hills resident Dr. Donna J. Slovensky will be recognized at the annual Women of Distinction Awards Luncheon.
The luncheon, hosted by the Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama, is March 11 at the Harbert Center in downtown Birmingham. Award winners are nominated based on their civic, academic or professional involvement and contributions to the community.
Slovensky, senior associate dean for academic and faculty affairs at UAB’s School of Health Professions, was selected for the Healthy Living category of the Women of Distinction awards.
Winners of the Women of the Distinction award provide a good example for Girl Scouts, said Hannah Wallace, director of communications and marketing for Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama. These girls are growing up in an online world, Wallace said, and it can be difficult to plug them in with real-world mentors.
“Our girls need role models,” Wallace said. “They need real inspiration, role models who lead by example in their specific community.”
Slovensky said she believes engagement and relationships with others is an important step to living a full life, and community service is a way to diversify those engagement opportunities and to learn more.
“Community service offers forums to meet and learn from individuals that we might not encounter in our routine daily lives at work, church and social activities,” she said. “The greatest lesson I’ve learned is to consider individual context and perspective instead of always operating from my own frame of reference.”
After women are nominated, the Women of Distinction Nomination Committee sorts through nominations and selects winners.
Local Girl Scouts will have the opportunity to interview the Women of Distinction award winners as part of a short video. The girls get to write questions for the winners, and the video will be shown at the award ceremony.
“They’ll really be able to see what makes these women tick, how hard they had to work to get there,” Wallace said.
Some women also remain involved with Girl Scouts by volunteering, participating in fundraisers and speaking with troops in the area.
At the luncheon, each woman will give a short speech regarding her award. Tickets are $60 for general admission and $45 for Girl Scout members. Proceeds from the luncheon support Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama.
“I think the greater importance is that you’re supporting Girl Scouts, and not just a national brand of Girl Scouts, but the [groups] right outside your door,” Wallace said.
For more information about reservations or sponsorships, contact Tonya Mines at 800-734-4541, ext. 1030, or tmines@girlscoutsnca.org.
Women of Distinction Awards Luncheon
- WHERE: Harbert Center, downtown Birmingham
- WHEN: Friday, March 11 at 11:30 a.m.
- COST: $60 general admission; $45 for Girl Scout members
