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Active Girl Scouts of Oregon & SW Washington Will Honor “Women of Distinction”

Portland, OR. Girl Scouts of Oregon and Southwest Washington will recognize the outstanding leadership and community contributions of Rukaiyah Adams and DJ Wilson at the Marie Lamfrom Women of Distinction Luncheon. There are still tickets available for the September 26th luncheon at the Portland Hilton Hotel, located at 921 SW 6th Ave, with a reception at 11 a.m. and a luncheon at noon.

Here’s a link for tickets:

Here’s more about these distinguished honorees.

Rukaiyah Adams is the Chief Investment Officer at Meyer Memorial Trust. Under her leadership, Meyer invests in a diversified portfolio of global equities, fixed income, private equities, real estate, commodities and hedge funds. Before joining Meyer, she ran the $6.5 billion capital markets fund at The Standard. Adams is also the Chair of the Oregon Investment Council. Adams holds a BA with academic distinction from Carleton College, a JD from Stanford Law and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

DJ Wilson is president and general manager of the KGW Media Group in Portland, Oregon, a position she has held since July 2007. Wilson has held numerous community board positions over the last 20 years. She is currently the Board Chair of the Oregon Association of Broadcasters and The Classic Wines Auction, and the Chair Elect for the Portland Business Alliance. In 2012, Wilson was inducted into the Edward R. Murrow Hall of Achievement and was the recipient of the Portland Business Alliance “No Glass Ceiling” award. Wilson is also a past Portland Business Journal Women of Influence/Orchid Award recipient, recognizing top female leaders in the Portland region.

The Marie Lamfrom Women of Distinction Luncheon recognizes outstanding women leaders for their contributions to the community. Honorees exemplify the Girl Scout mission as women of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.

Luncheon proceeds allow GSOSW to provide the Girl Scout Leadership Experience (GSLE), enhance four priority program areas: Financial Literacy, Healthy Living, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), and Outdoor Leadership, and support various Girl Scout activities and programs for nearly 15,000 girls throughout Oregon and SW Washington.

Please contact Shannon Spencer at (503) 977-6843 or sspencer@girlscoutsosw.org for any questions.

For information on sponsoring the 2017 Marie Lamfrom Women of Distinction Luncheon, contact Shannon Spencer at (503) 977-6843 or sspencer@girlscoutsosw.org.

Here’s a look at some of the photos from last year’s event:

Marie Lamfrom’s Family: Sally Bany, Eva Labby, Gert Boyle and Rachael Bany Sneddon

Both Girl Scout Alumni, KGW Anchor/Emcee Laural Porter and KGW General Manager DJ Wilson

Laural Porter, KGW News Anchor and host of KGW’s current affairs show, emceed the event on September 19th with more than 560 Girl Scout alumnae and community supporters in attendance. The event raised over $160,000 to implement the Girl Scout Leadership Experience and enhance programs in financial literacy, healthy living, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and outdoor skills for more than 14,000 girls throughout Oregon and SW Washington.

Jyoti and Karina Shah, both Girl Scout Highest Award recipients. Karina was the 2016 Gold Award speaker at the luncheon sharing her project of providing technology training to older adults in retirement facilities.

Girl Scout Alumni Robyn Shuey and GSOSW Board Member Barbara Gibbs proudly display their uniform sash.

Honorees and – Judge Adrienne Nelson, 2015 Honoree, Peggy Maguire, 2015 Honoree, Dr. Judith A. Ramaley, 2016 Honoree, Sally Bany, 2016 Honoree, Governor Barbara Roberts, 2013 Honoree, Barbara Alberty, 2014 Honoree, and Mary Shaver, 2014 Honoree

A testament to the value of investing in girls’ leadership, Girl Scout Gold Award recipient Karina Shah shared her experience in the leadership program. “Looking back at my 12 years in Girl Scouts, it’s hard to think of what I would do and who I would be without this organization. Girl Scouts has taught me so many important life skills and values. It has shown me how to be a leader, to respect myself and others, to build healthy relationships, to advocate for myself and to think about other people. The experiences Girl Scouts has brought me are endless and I can’t thank enough the people who have made my Girl Scouting experience possible.”

The event’s success was bolstered by a $25,000 Challenge Grant generously given by Wells Fargo. The match was met and exceeded thanks to the incredible support of alumnae and community. The event’s Gold Sponsors included The Standard and Portlandia Club Inc. Silver sponsors are Brown and Brown, Ferguson Wellman, Cambia and Garrett Hemann Robertson P.C.

“You know what Bluebird would say… a Girl Scout can do anything,” honoree Sally Bany reflected on her grandmother, Marie Lamfrom who served as a troop leader for a special needs troop in Portland for 35 years. She served on the Girl Scout council’s board of directors and received the highest award a Girl Scout adult can receive, the Thanks Badge. Lamfrom co-founded the company that would become Columbia Sportswear.

For more information, or to express interest in sponsoring the 2017 Women of Distinction Luncheon, contact Shannon Spencer at sspencer@girlscoutsosw.org or call 503-977-6843.

About Girl Scouts of Oregon and Southwest Washington

Our council serves nearly 15,000 girl members in 37 counties with the help of over 10,000 adult members. The Girl Scout mission is to build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. Every opportunity in Girl Scouting develops these essential skills in an all-girl, inclusive, safe environment. Our century of success is demonstrated by the fact that 70 percent of female CEOs on the Fortune 500 list and 59 percent of women serving in the U.S. Congress are Girl Scout alumnae.

Elisa Klein

I’ve been a professional journalist and writer since 1987, (and long-time reporter for KOIN-TV.) As a nationally published reporter, with a Master’s Degree in Journalism, I love to report positive news and information. Journalism has also connected me with another non-profit where I served as a leader; the Northwest’s biggest writer’s organization: The Willamette Writers.