Former Club Board Member Receives Women Making a Difference Award

OXNARD, Calif. - May 22, 2014 - PRLog -- Kathleen Booth has just been added to the list of Women Making a Difference in the greater Oxnard community. Soroptimist International of Oxnard presented Booth, a former Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme board member, with the Making a Difference Award at its annual Live Your Dream banquet on May 7.

The Soroptimist award is given to women who make a difference through their professional and personal efforts, who inspire and encourage other women through their actions and activities. In addition to public recognition, each awardee is presented with a donation of $20 for the organization of her choice and a $50 donation is sent to the Soroptimist International of the Americas scholarship fund.

“Kathleen is very deserving of this award. She went above and beyond the normal duties expected of a board member. She helped us find new community connections, helped our youth as a volunteer and donated her time as a speaker at our events. Her welcoming spirit and heartwarming smile engaged our youth and made her approachable and trustworthy,” said Tim Blaylock, BGCOP Chief Professional Officer.

Booth served eight years on the BGCOP board of directors. During her tenure, she was given many awards, including the “Helping Hands” award twice in appreciation of her efforts.

She also volunteered a lot of her time at the Club. Booth worked closely with teen youth preparing for the Youth of the Year program. She spent countless hours, working with staff, and listening, coaching, encouraging, preparing, and mentoring BGCOP Youth of the Year candidates to craft their stories into speeches for the final step in the program, the speech competition. The teens loved her, as she was not just a coach but also an adult who always made herself available to them, becoming their mentor and friend.

As a volunteer speaker at the Club’s Annual Young Women’s Symposium--Girls Conferences, Booth shared the values of “good customer service,” which included being, kind, attentive and helpful. Booth recently resigned from the Club’s board of directors to be able to spend more time on her business.

“To be successful in today’s world, Kathleen believes you need to be insatiably curious, a perpetual learner, comfortable with change at warp speed, willing to re-invent yourself, and passionate about what you do, what you create and what you give. The Club is privileged to have had someone like Kathleen take the time to help kids in our community have great futures,” Blaylock said.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme exists to inspire and enable all young people to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens. With three full-service clubs, 13 school program sites and one housing site, the organization is one of the largest of its kind in California, serving more than 9,000 members annually. The group is also the first Boys & Girls Club of its kind to open a site inside a Juvenile Justice Center in the state of California. Program areas offered to youth include character and leadership development, education and career development, health and life skills, the arts, technology and sports, fitness and recreation.