JOHNSTOWN — The YWCA of Greater Johnstown will honor seven area women for their contributions to the community during the 25th anniversary of Tribute to Women on May 26.

The event will be held from 5 to 9:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn, 250 Market St. in downtown Johnstown.

The categories include business, community service, professions, education, nonprofit and Lady Liberty.

Trish Corle of Upper Yoder Township is making a difference in the lives of others and has been chosen as the 2011 Yellow Rose honoree.

The Yellow Rose Award, chosen by the YWCA board of directors, is presented to a person who strives to create opportunities for women’s growth, leadership and power to promote peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all people.

Other honorees are nominated by their peers, who submit a biography about the nominee and her contributions.

A selection committee reviews the biographies with the names removed and makes selections based on the merits of the information provided.

Yellow Rose Award

Corle is executive director of external relations for Pennsylvania Highlands Community College, president and CEO of Corle Consulting, LLC, and a basketball commentator for Atlantic Broadband’s game of the week.

A graduate of Ferndale Area High School, Corle received a bachelor’s degree in criminology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

She worked for nine years with Appalachian Youth Service before becoming executive director of the Christian Home of Johnstown.

She earned a master’s degree in health and human services administration from Mount Aloysius College, Cresson.

She is treasurer of Professional Family Care’s Early Head Start policy council.

Corle also volunteers for United Way of the Laurel Highlands’ allocations panel, United Way of Indiana County’s allocations committee and Thunder in the Valley. She also is a member of YWCA of Greater Johnstown golf event committee.

Business Award

The Business Award will be presented to Mary Anne Rizzo of Upper Yoder Township, who is director of advertising sales for The Tribune-Democrat and Johnstown Magazine.

She is on the board of directors of the Bottle Works Ethnic Arts Center and serves as a committee member of Johnstown Area Heritage Association’s Heritage Preservation Awards, Roxbury Bandshell preservation and Celebration Johnstown.

She and her husband, Tom, have two children and a granddaughter.

Community Service Award

Mary B. Berge of Westmont is the honoree in the community service category.

Berge is a licensed psychologist with a private practice in Westmont and also is a contracted psychologist for SeniorLife and Alternative Community Resource Program, where she oversees the doctoral level psychologists in training.

She also is a trainer and public speaker.

Berge is a member on the Adelphoi Villages Inc. educational board and mentors adults, provides food to shut-in seniors, assists community centers and churches in feeding the hungry and assists at-risk youth.

She is involved in Rotary International and has served as past district governor.

Berge also is past president of the Rotary Club of Johnstown and serves in community service and leadership roles.

Berge has performed humanitarian work locally, nationally and internationally, having traveled to Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic to aid poverty-stricken children and families.

She and her husband, Ivar, have a 21-year-old stepson, who resides in Sweden.

Professions Award

Tammy Bernstein of Westmont, a Cambria County assistant district attorney,  is the honoree in the professions category.

Bernstein prosecutes all types of cases, including homicides, rapes, assaults and property crimes and many child sexual and physical abuse cases in the county.

Bernstein works to protect the community by seeking punitive sanctions and/or treatment for offenders. She assists police officers in the interview process of victims of sexual assault and preparation of criminal charges.

She mentors office interns and speaks to Grade 9 students in 14 Cambria County high schools about underage drinking, driving under the influence and making responsible choices.

Bernstein has been co-chairwoman of the Johnstown Area Heritage Association’s annual Heritage Awards dinner and serves as an American Red Cross Keystone Chapter board member.

As a member of the Johnstown Rotary Club, she and her family have hosted Rotary exchange students from across the world for seven of the past 10 years.

She and her husband, Howard, are the parents of three sons.

Education Award

The Education Award honoree is Kathy Keafer of Conemaugh Township, Somerset County.

She is the administrator of Johnstown Christian School and an adjunct professor at Liberty University and Regent University, where she teaches special education courses and supervises student teachers.

She is an instructor and member of the professional support team of the National Institute of Learning Development in Chesapeake, Va. 

She is a presenter for professional development workshops for the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) and a consultant and instructor for ACSI Asia in Indonesia, where she trains teachers to work with students who have special needs.

Keafer is a cell group leader at The Gathering in Jerome.

She and her husband, Adrian, are the parents of three children.

Lady Liberty

The Lady Liberty Award will be presented to Lt. Col. Janet Sawyer of  Summerhill, a nurse practitioner and chief of case management for the Pennsylvania Army National Guard medical detachment.

Sawyer works as a nurse practitioner and child-care coordinator for the Ryan White Clinic at Family Medical Center.

She also is the secretary for the Christian Home of Johnstown.

Sawyer is a member of South Fork Lions Club and First United Methodist Church in South Fork.

She and her husband, Dennis, are the parents of three children. There are six grandchildren.

Nonprofit Award

Eileen Fiorina of Ligonier is the recipient of the Nonprofit Award.

She is a registered dietitian, diabetic educator and instructor at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center, where she is involved in the Right Weigh anti-obesity program.

Fiorina is a member of the pharmacy and therapeutics, clinical steering and safety committees at Memorial.

She is an executive board member and member at-large of Greater Pittsburgh chapter, American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.

She also serves on the board of Memorial’s auxiliary.

Fiorina is a CCD teacher at Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church in Ligonier. Her work as a facilitator with Rainbows assists children dealing with a loss due to divorce or death.

She also provides nutrition counseling for individuals with anorexia, bulimia and yeast allergies.

She and her husband, Albert, are the parents of a son.

 

Click here to subscribe to The Tribune-Democrat print edition.

Click here to subscribe to The Tribune-Democrat e-edition.