St. Petersburg, Fla. -- Ester Venouziou, founder of LocalShops1.com, was one of 10 finalists in the Tampa Bay Business Journal 2009 BusinessWoman of the Year awards, under-40 category. In total 52 women in eight categories were up for the BusinessWoman of the Year award, which took place Aug. 21, 2009, in Tampa.
The other finalists were:
Kim Francis, president of Kim Francis Communications Inc.; Jessica Kirkwood Alley, partner with Phelps Dunbar LLP; Melanie Lenz, VP of Development for the Tampa Bay Rays; Stephanie Narvades, CFO of Healthesystems; Michele Northrup, founder of Intensity Academy; Brooke Palmer, president of RSBP Events; Allison Renee Raver, CEO of Raver Medical LLC; Shelby Weir, director of Kforce Inc.; Laura Webb, president of Webb Insurance Group
These are the finalists in the other categories:
Business Services: Beverly F. Birkitt, president of Birkitt Environmental Services Inc.; Mary Forristall, president of Forristall Enterprises Inc.; Amy Ruth Maguire, managing partner of Southern Strategy Group Tampa Bay; Manitia L. Moultrie, managing associate, Tampa operations for Golder Associates Inc.; Mary Owens, managing partner, Black Diamond Associates LLC; Sandy Scheda, president/principal scientist, Scheda Ecological Associates Inc.; Rebecca J. Smith, president and founder of The A.D. Morgan Corp.; Lisa Smithson, founder, LS and Co.; Sheri' Taber, president/CEO, The Peak Performance Group Inc.; Jeanne Tate, managing partner of Jeanne T. Tate PA; Nancy Walker, president of Walker Brands
Education: Julie M. Janssen, superintendent of Pinellas County Schools; Lori Matway, school programs administrator for the city of St. Petersburg
Entrepreneur: Rose Averill, CEO of St. Francis Sleep Allergy & Lung Institute; Cate Baierlein, president of Change of Course; Cindy Dervech, owner/president, Breezin Entertainment; Charlene Ierna, VP (owner/operator) of Ierna’s Heating & Cooling Inc.; Melissa Stockman, owner/operator of Complete Care Placement Inc.; Jane Strong, CEO of Happy Feet Plus
Financial Services: Edna V. Broyles, VP-Investments for UBS Financial Services Inc.; Cherise Candlish, president of Foundations Mortage Lending; Christine B. Cooper, president of Cooper Financial Services; Cherie G. DiNoia, investment adviser for Shelby Financial Group; Stephanie Goforth, senior VP/director of Wealth Strategists for Northern Trust; Amy Samsal, certified mortgage planning specialist for Suncoast Mortgage Partners
Media: Joyce Cotton, director of Marketing & Community Partnerships for WEDU; Patty Cox managing editor/presentation for the St. Petersburg Times and tampabay.com; Laura Turner Fage, VP of Communications for WEDU; Lee Kercher, senior account executive for Viamedia; Shawna Vercher, CEO of VTi-Web
Nonprofit: Mary C. Dillon, executive director of Rural Social Services Partnership Inc.; Cynthia Gandee, executive director of Henry B. Plant Museum; Susan Jacobs, founder and CEO of Wheels of Success; Trisha Rothman, VP Marketing & Sales for Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo; Anna Trefethen, division VP Florida, Alabama & Georgia for American Red Cross Tampa Bay Chapter
Technology: Charlotte Baker, CEO and co-founder of Digital Hands; Deirdre Cavener, president & CEO of Kiss Marketing Inc.; Bridget Cline, president & CEO of Industrial Strength Inc. & Pilot House Audio Visual; Debra Curtiss, VP & GM of Peak 10 Tampa; Yvonne E. Murray, VP Marketing Services for PPi Technologies Global; Ilene Rosoff, president & CEO of The Launch Pad; Vicki Zambito, VP of Content Development for VectorLearning