On Thursday, September 22nd, 2002, the Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce and their Women’s Biz Net group, along with nearly 70 guests, gathered to honor four Outstanding Women Leaders for Professional Excellence in our community, several of which have connections to BStrong Together. 

• Our own Kyle Kick, Executive Director of BStrong Together, received the OWL award for Mentorship and Education. 
• Betsy Wintringer, Executive Director of Barrington Youth & Family Services and former BStrong Together Board member, was the OWL recipient for Nonprofit Leadership.
• Jessica Green of Courageous Community and the new We Belong to Each Other initiative was the OWL recipient for Community Impact.
• Monica Gurgiolog of Kelleher & Holland, LLC, was the OWL recipient for Professional Excellence.

Kyle and Betsy join BStrong Together Founding Board President, Melissa Buckley, who was a 2019 recipient of the OWL Award.

At the luncheon, Kyle acknowledged that life is not always a straight line and that it is perfectly okay to change your mind, to take in new information and make different choices, to forge a new path.  She encouraged us to find places and spaces to make a difference in this world and with each other, as this is the most important thing we can do.  Betsy reinforced that message, too, when she expressed that one of her lessons learned has been that it truly takes a village to grow healthy young people.

As you know, Kyle works tirelessness to build a strong coalition, to coordinate resources, and to provide top quality programs that support mental health. She also co-leads our Crisis Response Team and curates and writes our weekly Tuesday Tips, Tools & Try This newsletter filled with resources, ideas, tips and tools to support parents, educators and others in our shared goal of raising healthy, happy, resilient and adaptable kids (and that’s, honestly, just the beginning…). 

We’re proud to attract giving individuals who want to work together to create a better Barrington.  If you think you’d like to contribute (e.g. Programming or Strategic Planning Committees) in any way you can, please let us know by clicking here.  We are indeed stronger together!

These women are excellent role models for those of us fortunate to work with them and share their passion to make our community a better place to live, work and raise a family.  Please congratulate them on their much-deserved recognition!