The crowd gasped in the ballroom of The Boca Raton when it was revealed that there would be not one, but two women being recognized at the Woman Volunteer of the Year luncheon on Nov. 1.
In its 37th year, Terry Fedele was selected for the honor, and Ambassador Nancy Brinker was given the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Fedele was nominated by the FAU Christian E. Lynn College of Nursing for her involvement with healthcare. When she moved to Boca Raton 16 years ago—her husband, Jerry, had taken the job as president and CEO of Boca Raton Regional Hospital—she “dove right in with all her might with both her feet,” said Maureen Mann, the vice president of the hospital’s Lynn Cancer Institute and Lynn Women’s Health and Wellness Institute.
Fedele is the chairperson of FAU’s College of Nursing, and in her tenure, she turned the White Coat Ceremony and the college’s 40th anniversary celebration into fundraisers, raising $190,000 in scholarships and $100,000, respectively. The Keep the Memories Alive walk also raised nearly $2 million under her leadership. In May, Boca magazine recognized Fedele and her husband as Hometown Heroes.
Brinker is the founder of the Susan G. Komen Foundation and was nominated for Woman Volunteer of the Year by the Promise Fund, another organization she founded. She turned her focus to the fund after raising $3 billion for Susan G. Komen, wanting to ensure access to treatments for anyone who needs it. Through the fund, 20 patient navigators work throughout South Florida to connect at-risk women to resources. Brinker was also the American ambassador to Hungary, a World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador, the winner of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the author of “Promise Me.”
The Woman Volunteer of the Year is the signature event for the Junior League of Boca Raton, celebrating the women in our community who give back. This year, 43 women were nominated by nonprofits in Palm Beach County and north Broward County. The nominations were received by Boca Raton Regional Hospital, and then an independent panel of judges reviewed the applications in search of the most deserving volunteer.
The event at The Boca Raton included a silent auction and social hour with bubbly before moving into the resort’s Grand Ballroom for lunch and a runway show with clothing from the resort’s Boca Chica and Mr. Pink.
This year’s event was co-chaired by Meryll Bangsil and Khrisna Kellerman; Kelly Woods Fleming served as honorary chair. Proceeds from the Woman Volunteer of the Year event benefit the Junior League of Boca Raton, going toward their child welfare and nonprofit support initiatives.
If you’re interested in learning more about joining the Junior League, please text JLBR to 66866.
To learn more about the Junior League of Boca Raton, click here.
Boca magazine is a proud sponsor of the Woman Volunteer of the Year.
