AWEE honors Ambassador Barbara Barrett and Showcases Success Stories
By Tyler Butler
The AWEE Faces of Success Gala at SRP’s Pera Club brought a diverse group of more than 340 women and men together to celebrate the organization’s successes, raising $186,000. The event, which had previously been hosted as a luncheon for over two decades, was transitioned to an evening gala event due to its tremendous growth.
Guests were treated to a unique photo booth experience, allowing them to step in front of a giant backdrop of the great southwest and have a hard copy version of their images printed and delivered before the events end.
The highlight of the evening was the honorees — Ambassador Barbara Barrett was recognized with the inaugural Barbara Barrett AWEE Icon Award, which will be presented annually to an individual who has shown the courage, strength and character to move beyond challenges to make an impact on the world around them.
Ambassador Barrett also served as an honorary event chair along with event co-chairs Christina Worden of SRP and Gaby Cardenas of The Colibri Collection.
The Faces of Success were Ariel Acosta, who overcame a meth addiction and seven-year prison term to become assistant director at a Valley supermarket, managing more than 200 employees; Dianne Halloway, a young woman entrepreneur who quietly but successfully entered the male-dominated male footwear design business; Anastasia Plesco, a Moldavian native who came to the U.S. looking for opportunities and is on a career-path in the financial industry; and Shandra Purnell, who lost her job and her home when she had to take a week off to care for her sick child and is now working full-time in her dream career in the legal field.
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