The Mathews-Dickey Boys’ & Girls’ Club


4245 N. Kingshighway Blvd. · St. Louis, MO 63115

For More Information:
Barbara A. Washington, (314) 382-5952, ext. 234 or (314) 308-7435

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                          May 5, 2010

 ‘THE SKY IS THE LIMIT’ SEEKS MENTORS FOR SWEET 16

The Mathews-Dickey Boys’ & Girls’ Club needs women mentors for its sweet 16 “The Sky is the Limit” luncheon.  A record number, 19 districts and 250+ girls, have signed up for the career-readiness event at 11:30 a.m., Friday, May 7, at the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark, One S. Broadway.  The high-flying momentum started with a workshop featuring a helicopter landing to prove that “The Sky is the Limit” and continues with the luncheon keynote address by Lambert St. Louis International Airport Director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge.  KTVI Fox 2’s Shirley Washington captains the program line-up.
Hamm-Niebruegge has logged 25 years in aviation management positions with American, Trans World and Ozark air lines.  As airport director, she manages up to 500 employees and average annual revenues of $165 million.  She will address her personal, educational and career journey, emphasizing aeronautics opportunities.
“The luncheon gives young women an opportunity to meet and network with successful female business owners and executives,” said Barbara A. Washington, vice president, public relations & special events, Mathews-Dickey.  “In the course of a lunch-time conversation, a volunteer can point a girl in the right direction and make a great investment in the future of our economy.”
Each professional woman sponsors lunch for a student and herself, for $100.  Geared for the busy schedules of today’s on-the-move businesswoman, the mentorship link is formed by a ceremonial business card exchange and future activities are voluntary.
 Prior to the luncheon, the Club  “helicoptered” in the positive message that “The Sky is the Limit” for young women from St. Louis and across the Misssissippi River in the metro East at the April 17, Women in Careers Workshop.  The event, held with the Club proper, showcased an array of accomplished women, from business executives to lawyers, models and even a pilot who arranged for a helicopter landing. 
Presentations included Welcome Remarks by JoAnn Hejna, executive director, The Saigh Foundation; Career Presentation by Jennie Runk, a professional model featured in Glamour magazine; the “Board Room Chic: Successful Career Styles” presentation by Pam Younger, fashion events expert, and Jessica Weinreis, area manager, Fashion Bug; and Closing Remarks by Jan McCall, pilot and equal opportunity officer, Missouri National Guard.  The festivities were emceed by KPLR 11 Anchor Christine Buck and Bonita Cornute, reporter, KTVI Fox 2.

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“The Sky is the Limit” — Add 1
Breakout session presenters included:

  1. The Communication Professional — Gloria Ross, owner, Okara Communications, and
  2. president elect, Press Club of Metropolitan St. Louis
  3. The Cost of Cool — Deborah Smith, production oversight supervisor, Citi
  • Engineering: A Successful Career Path — Teresa Price, transportation planning section manager, Jacobs Engineering Group
  • Hospitality Plus: The Meetings & Events Industry — Adrienne Lathan, assistant director of human resources, Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis
  • Keep Them Flying: A Career in Aircraft Training Systems — Christine Brumfield, supplier program manager, The Boeing Company
  • Money Talk: A Career Spreadsheet — Monica Gamblin, financial advisor, Edward Jones
  • Paging Doctor You — Jennifer Irvin, school/community health coordinator, BJC HealthCare
  • Beyond the Numbers: Accounting Careers — Kelly Lohmar, tax manager, Ernst & Young
  1. The Scientific Path: Imagination & Innovation — Dannette Ward, senior scientist, The Monsanto Co.
  • The Verdict: A View of the Legal Profession” — Michele Davis, attorney and senior associate, Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, with firm partner and Mathews-Dickey Development Committee member Vanessa Keith.

Participants hail from Clayton, East St. Louis, Fairview Heights, Ferguson-Florissant, Francis Howell, Hazelwood, Kirkwood, Ladue, Lindbergh, Mascoutah, Normandy, Parkway, Pattonville, Ritenour, Riverview Gardens, Rockwood, St. Louis Public Schools, University City and Webster Groves school districts, along with several parochial, private and charter schools.  Graduating seniors from each district and Mathews-Dickey members received $1,000 college scholarships based upon community service, extra-curricular participation and academic excellence.

“The Sky is the Limit” has awarded $350,000 in college scholarships and created 3,500 mentor-student pairings.  The honorary chairwomen are Barbara Brack, wife of Time Inc. chairman emeritus Reginald Brack, Jr.;Virginia Busch, partner, Busch & Conard; Debra Denham, vice president, community affairs, BJC HealthCare; Sue Engelhardt, philanthropist and community volunteer, Melanie DiLeo, Missouri state director, community relations, Citi’s Global Consumer Group; Delores Mars, retired United States Postal Service executive; Deborah Patterson, president, The Monsanto Fund and Dr. Anne Price, emeritus director, Mathews-Dickey.
             To sign-up, call Bill Fronczak at (314) 382-5952, ext. 228, or Washington at (314) 382-5952, ext. 234.

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