Soroptimist International club honors members with scholarships, awards

PORT ANGELES — Soroptimist International of Port Angeles recognized several women with awards and scholarships at a luncheon at Joshua’s Restaurant.

Chardonney Porter, Bezuayehu “Zoey” Kromm and Kristal Holladay received the club’s Live Your Dream awards.

The award assists women who provide the primary source of financial support for their families with resources to help improve their education skills and employment prospects.

Eligible applicants must be enrolled in a technical skills training program or an undergraduate degree program and demonstrate financial need.

Porter, a deputy clerk in the Clallam County Juvenile Court, received a $2,000 award. The mother of two is a Peninsula College student pursuing an Associate in Applied Science degree in administrative office systems-legal.

Porter also plans to enroll in the college’s Bachelor of Applied Science program to pursue a career in a tribal court.

Kromm, who currently works as a cosmetologist, received a $1,000 award. She is enrolled in the addiction studies program at Peninsula College and plans a career in addiction counseling and therapy.

Holladay, who will complete the Peninsula College welding program in December, received a $1,000 award. She plans to pursue a career at the Bremerton Shipyard.

Patty Hannah and Beth Pratt both received the club’s Ruby awards.

The Ruby Award, for women helping women, honors Ruby Lee Minar, the first president of the Washington, D.C., Soroptimist Club.

Hannah is a longtime volunteer in Carrie Davis’ third-grade class, where she finds the support students need and gets their interest to help them.

As a Friend of the Port Angeles Library, Hannah works in the library gift shop weekly.

Hannah also volunteered at the Port Angeles Food Bank and Volunteers in Medicine during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pratt is the executive director for the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce and a violinist in the Sequim Community Orchestra. She also provides support to young people in strings education.

While she was the community relations director at Village Concepts’ Parkview Villas, she connected with the Port Angeles Senior Center and was an executive lead in the local Alzheimer’s Association.

Pratt has also been involved with Olympic Medical Center’s Festival of Trees, Red Set Go Luncheon and Duck Derby fundraisers.

Tamee Wood is the fifth recipient of the Soroptimist International of Port Angeles Nursing Scholarship.

The scholarship, which was established in 2019, honors former club members Helen Mangan and Rose Crumb.

Wood, a mother of two who supports her family by working as a certified nursing assistant at Olympic Medical Center, received the $1,000 scholarship.

Wood is enrolled in Peninsula College’s Nursing Program and plans to continue her career at OMC as a registered nurse in the Short Stay unit.

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