Awards Committee
By Karen Hansen, NJAWBO-Mercer Awards Committee

Chapter President, Lisa Snyder, recognized the special contributions of five Mercer members when she presented the President’s Awards at the chapter dinner on June 17. The recipients were Linda Gardner, Sarah Miller, Allison Scharf, Karen Miller and Karen Hansen.

The Team Builder Award was presented to Linda Gardner of Linda R. Gardner, Esq. A Team Builder is someone who gets others involved and keeps them motivated. She inspires people to jump on the wagon before it starts to roll. She has the spirit that makes people want to be part of an endeavor, guiding them and sharing the credit as the team overcomes competition. She is exuberant, enthusiastic and a great promoter, recognizing the power of grassroots involvement and inspiring people to participate.

Linda serves as the VP of Membership for the chapter, and has overseen a 25% growth in membership. Lisa praised Linda for her attention to detail and for her ability to motivate her large, active committee.

Two members received the Unsung Hero Award: Sarah Miller of Set Now Solutions and Allison Scharf of Princeton Family Chiropractic. An unsung hero is essential to the growth and health of the organization, but may not be in a highly visible role. She helps others move up, supporting and empowering them, while leading from the middle. She is a stabilizer who can lead others through the rough spots. She gives back, works behind the scenes, and doesn’t look for credit. Others look to her for guidance and are comfortable approaching her.

Lisa cited Sarah’s outstanding contributions on the monthly email newsletter, which she said makes our chapter “shine.”

Lisa praised Allison’s willingness to step in as the chapter’s meeting planner, and for her role in making the monthly dinner meetings run smoothly by making arrangements, taking reservations, and greeting and checking in attendees.

Two members were presented with the Rookie of the Year Award: Karen Miller of KHM Designs and Karen Hansen of Karen Hansen Literary Services. This award recognizes a new member who jumps in feet first and becomes a visible, enthusiastic supporter of NJAWBO-Mercer. She typically participates in committee work soon after joining, attends all meetings and special functions, and promotes NJAWBO Mercer in other venues. She quickly becomes a resource.

Not only did Karen Miller design the new pin for the state’s Nancy C. Righter Award, she stepped in to fill the vacated VP of Marketing position, participated as a vendor at the December holiday party, and recently accepted a co-chair position running the chapter’s bimonthly breakfast meeting.

Immediately after joining NJAWBO, Karen Hansen began to get involved in all of the chapter’s events, and has continued to be an enthusiastic supporter of Mercer Chapter. She quickly accepted a position on the Member Services Committee as the Awards Coordinator, and participated in the State Chapter Leadership Training.

Congratulations to Linda, Sarah, Allison, Karen and Karen! A donation will be made to Womanspace in honor of the award winners.

If you would like to volunteer to be a member of the Awards Committee, please contact Karen Hansen at 732-398-9809 or khansen@aol.com.