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The online reservations for the Iris Awards are now closed. Interested parties can purchase entry at the event.
Honoring women of achievement in Southwest Washington
Iris is the Greek word for rainbow. In Greek mythology, Iris was the goddess of the rainbow, the messenger of the Olympian gods.
Iris is represented either as a rainbow or as a young maiden with wings on her shoulders.
Her name contains a double meaning, being connected both with iris, “the rainbow,” and eiris, “messenger.”
Iris is also associated with communication and new endeavors, both of which are exemplified by women in their public and private roles throughout Southwest Washington and beyond. Additionally, women’s lives today “represent a rainbow of possibilities.”
The 2013 recipients of the Iris Award include:
Lisa Lowe, a local attorney and director and shareholder in the law firm of Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt
Lisa Lowe is a member of the Board of Directors and Partner in Charge in the Vancouver office of regional law firm Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt. She is a member of the Washington State Bar Association and is a current member and past secretary of the Southwest Washington Estate Planning Council.
Lowe currently serves as the first female chair of Identity Clark County and is an emeritus board member and past member of the executive committee of the Columbia River Economic Development Council. She has served as president of the Camas-Washougal Chamber Board of Directors, and on the Humane Society for Southwest Washington’s board of directors and as chair of its planned giving committee and co-chair of its annual auction committee. She served as president of the Clark County Bar Association in 2001.
Lowe has been highly involved in Leadership Clark County (LCC). A 2003 graduate of the program, Lowe has served as a board member and been a mentor to LCC project teams working to address community issues.
Jaynie Roberts, founder of the Magenta Theater Company and the Vancouver Area Theater Alliance
Under her leadership, Magenta’s audiences, performers and volunteers have increased dramatically during the past 10 years.
Roberts established the Vancouver Area Theater Alliance to foster cooperation and communications with other performing arts groups in the greater Vancouver area. She has served on Vancouver’s Cultural Arts Commission and has done volunteer work for the YWCA Clark County.
For the past five years, she has taught drama at after-school enrichment programs for the YMCA. Her nominator wrote, “She also teaches drama for home-schooled students, many of them young girls, and encourages them to follow their dreams.”
In 2010, Roberts received the Hermine Decker Award for outstanding and dedicated service to Clark County theater.
Roberts attended Chapman University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in communications, and in theater and film. She took graduate courses at the University of Houston, including theater and writing, and has attended schools in England, Japan and California.
Dianna Kretzschmar, Health Services Liaison at Ft Vancouver Convalescence Center
Kretzschmar has worked in Southwest Washington as a social worker and clinical case manager in long-term health care for 20 years. Kretzschmar is currently the Health Services Liaison for Fort Vancouver Convalescent Center, Caretique Memory Care and the Park Lido Assisted Living.
Kretzschmar is often called upon to speak at events across the region about elderly and vulnerable populations. Her nominator called her “an expert in the field of aging,” as well as “a force for good in Southwest Washington.”
Kretzschmar founded Friends of the Elder Justice Center and Pets of Older People (POOP), and has served as Community Outreach Coordinator for the Clark County Vulnerable Adult Task Force. She is a volunteer for organizations including the Southwest Washington Elder Abuse Prevention Coalition (SWEAP), the Children’s Center, and the Southwest Washington End of Life Coalition.
She previously served as the first program coordinator for the Clark County Elder Justice Center in the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Join the community as we recognize these women of achievement at a reception and presentation ceremony on Thursday March 7, 2013. The reception will be held at Clark College in Gaiser Hall auditorium from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM.
To view information about last year’s honorees click here.
If you are interested in sitting with or near another attendee, please use the comment box provided in checkout.
Admission by pre-registration.
