By ASHLEY INGE
TheFlashToday.com
STEPHENVILLE (August 7, 2018) – Girl Scouts of Central Texas (GSCTX) is hosting the Stephenville Women of Distinction banquet at Twisted J on Aug. 30 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
According to gsctx.org, Girl Scouts of Central Texas celebrates women who have distinguished themselves as outstanding members of their community through individual excellence and high levels of achievement. Past recipients have included women honored for excellence in the areas of business, education, government, communications, healthcare, sports, volunteer services, multicultural activities and Girl Scouting.
Kelly Sult, former Girl Scout leader and current Girl Scout volunteer, explains more about what the Women of Distinction banquet is about.
“We honor local women. They are nominated by folks who know them. They’re basically just being nominated for their outstanding contributions to our community, so we put the word out back in the spring, asked for nominations, they came in, and then our nominating committee selected these five women based on some merits and all that they do for us which is really quite wonderful. So we have a banquet in their honor, say great things about them (and) each woman has a video that’s made about her (that has) basic information about her biography, her life, her personal life, kids, family, things like that and then they talk about some of the things that they’ve done either through work or volunteers,” Sult said.
During the banquet, five women will be recognized for their leadership, vision and service to others: Sherry Carroll, Metta Collier, JJ Hampton, Shelby Slawson and Barbara Terrell.
Sherry Carroll is a graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University and wife to Richard Ellis Carroll. Carroll currently serves as Director of Grace Place Ministries, the benevolence ministry of First Baptist Church Stephenville, providing food, clothing, and financial aid for people in need. She has multiple degrees, traveled as a missionary, served as a Girl Scout Leader, trainer and a Trainer of Trainers, and is a published author.
Metta Collier is a graduate of Texas Christian University, mother of three and wife to John B Collier IV. Collier is the Vice President of their ranching business, Collier Diamond C Ranch, and real estate operations. She also serves on the Bosque Adventure Committee, is a co-founder and active board member of Keep Stephenville Beautiful, and co-founder of Sundown on the Square which has raised over $100K for the Stephenville Historical House Museum.
JJ Hampton is a graduate of Tarleton State University, mother of one and wife of Ricky Prince. As a 17-time World Champion Breakaway Roper, Hampton’s first love has always been rodeo. Her real estate career has been just as successful. She thoroughly enjoys giving back to those in need and pays forward the support she has received from the Stephenville community by speaking in schools and encouraging young athletes.
Shleby Slawson is a graduate of the University of Texas, founder of Slawson Law, mother of 2 and wife to Joe Don Slawson. She is a local attorney and proud co-owner of Slawson Roofing Inc., Erath Rentals and StephenvilleForRent.com. With a passion for volunteering, she gives her time to the First Baptist Church Stephenville, Type B Economic Development Authority, Annexation Committee, Backpack Buddies and more.
Barbara Terrell is a graduate of the University of Texas, mother of 4 and wife of the late Dr. Jim Terrell. She is known for her involvement in church and community. She was the first woman Board Chair for the Stephenville Chamber of Commerce and owned two retail businesses on the downtown square for 20 years. As an active member in Girl Scouting, she was part of the construction of Stephenville’s first Scout house, Mistletoe Hut.
“They’re just really fabulous ladies and they’ve just done great things for our community and we just kind’ve wanted to find a way to honor them and point that out to everyone and say, ‘look how great they are,” Sult added.
Girl Scouts of Central Texas are also honoring a local business. GSCTX honors a business that has proven to be exemplary in efforts to support the upward mobility and professional development of women. The N at Hardway Ranch is being recognized as the Distinguished Workplace for Women. The N at Hardway Ranch opened in 2012 by Vicki Nivens and as a small organization, they pride themselves on using “Girl Power” for everything. They love collaborating with organizations that work directly with women and girls throughout the community.
Individual tickets are $50 each for seating at non-reserved seats or guests can reserve a table for up to eight people with varying costs depending on the type of advertisement the guests would like. Funds raised through Women of Distinction provide support to the local Girl Scouts who participate in the Girl Scout Leadership Experience. Registration is at 6 p.m.
This is the third banquet in Stephenville. The first banquet was in 2013 and the last banquet was in 2016. The evening banquet usually serves over 200 esteemed honorees and guests — mostly women — from the Stephenville community.
“This will be my third banquet to help organize,” Sult said. “It’s been really inspiring to be a part of this process of hearing what these women do in our community and kind’ve first-hand the impact that they made, and just knowing how well loved, honored and cherished they are amongst everyone and that’s been very exciting for me to be a part of. I really have enjoyed that. And some of the women have backgrounds in Girl Scouts, and some of them don’t — and they don’t have to have been a Girl Scout when they were younger to have been nominated or selected as one of our honorees — but some of them do have that connection and that’s exciting to see too because they definitely find a way to pay it forward into our program and that’s a really awesome thing.”
For more information about the banquet or to purchase tickets, visit www.gsctx.ejoinme.org/2018Stephenville.
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