Friends of 2015 Woman of the Year Angie Bandy, in center holding flowers, gather in front of the Signal Mountain Golf and Country Club after last year’s Dogwood Luncheon.The Signal Mountain Community Guild is now accepting nominations for the 2016 Woman of the Year award, to be presented at the 47th annual Dogwood Luncheon at Signal Mountain Golf and Country Club April 20. The deadline for nominations is March 15.
The guild presented the first Woman of the Year with the award in 1969, and 51 women have been honored since, with two women being honored in the same year on four separate occasions.
“Specifically on Signal Mountain, it’s an area where we do so much good for our community, and I think it’s a good idea to recognize that,” said Woman of the Year Committee Chairwoman Lara Lee Buchheit as to why she believes the award is an important tradition for the guild to continue. “By honoring a woman who has done things for the community, I think it’s a way to encourage that.”
Nominees should be women who have benefited civic life, education or charities in the Signal Mountain community through their volunteer work or current career. Nominations are accepted only for women in the 37377 ZIP code, though nominees need not live within the town of Signal Mountain or be active members of the guild.
“We are looking for a woman who has volunteered her time not only in the greatest amount but also in a variety of ways,” Buchheit said.
Individuals or clubs are welcome to nominate more than one woman for the award, for which the winner is selected by the Woman of the Year Committee – not determined based on the number of nominations received for a particular woman.
During her four years as a member of the Woman of the Year Committee and three as chairwoman, Buchheit said the committee has received between eight and 20 applications per year.
“[Nominating someone] is a unique opportunity to look outside of ourselves and recognize the people we work with for what they’re doing,” she said. “The more we get, the easier it is to find someone who speaks to us; though for every woman who’s nominated, there’s typically good reason.”
Buchheit said she enjoys serving on the committee because it gives her the opportunity to get to know so many women in the community. Even with nominees she has worked with in the past, she said she was typically unaware of everything they did.
“It’s not surprising, considering the amount of work they do in making the community the place it is,” said Buchheit.
Those interested in submitting an application are asked to fill out the form available at signalmtnguild.com and facebook.com/SignalMountainGuild.
She said the committee introduced the form several years ago to make the nominees’ accomplishments easier to compare. The committee will not turn away nominations that do not follow the form, though short email nominations are discouraged.
Buchheit also stressed that people who nominated a woman in a previous year who did not win need to resubmit their nomination in order to be considered for the 2016 award.
Nomination forms can be emailed to msbookite@gmail.com or mailed to Lara Lee Buchheit, 127 Palisades Drive, Signal Mountain, Tenn., 37377. Contact Buchheit with further questions at 248-303-5025 or msbookite@gmail.com.
Email Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com.