Bloglander

Cheryl Strayed — reeling from divorce, heroin addiction and her mother’s death — once hiked the Pacific Crest Trail and then wrote a best-selling book about her experiences, which later became a film starring Reese Witherspoon. October 1, she comes to the YWCA’s Women of Achievement luncheon as the keynote speaker and to help celebrate the six winners of the YWCA Woman of Achievement Award, which has honored local women for 33 years.

Selected by committee from a slew of nominations from people in the community, the winners are all inspirational, high-achieving females in their respective fields.

And the 2015 Women of Achievement Awards go to:

• Arts & Culture, Louise Kodis — a nationally recognized artist, Kodis’ permanent art installations can be found all over Spokane

• Business & Industry, Janet Schmidlkofer — CEO of the Spokane Valley-based K&N Electric, which builds cranes for hydroelectric dams and repairs large industrial electric motors

• Carl J. Maxey Racial and Social Justice, Jo Ann Kauffman — President of Kauffman & Associates, a professional services firms that provides strategic assistance for organizations and government agencies that work with American Indian, Alaska Native and other diverse populations

• Community Enhancement, Marty Dickinson — Executive Vice President at Umpqua Bank and sits on the Umpqua Bank Charitable Foundation board

• Education, Asa Bradley — Physics Professors at Spokane Falls Community College and a published author who also holds a MFA in Creative Writing from Eastern Washington University

• Science, Technology, and Environment, Peg Currie — Chief Nursing Officer at Providence Health Care, overseeing six hospitals and 2,700 nurses

The event runs from 11:30 am-1:30 pm. Tickets are $125 for individuals – with proceeds benefiting the YWCA of Spokane, which among many things works to raise awareness of domestic abuse in the community. For an extra $15 you can purchase a personalized autography copy of Wild. 

Anyone wanting to catch up with Strayed's work before she arrives in town, should also check out her advice book Tiny Beautiful Things. It may just change you.