Zonta Club to honor Kathryn Swan

Zonta Club of Cape Girardeau will honor Kathryn Swan with a Lifetime Achievement Award on Friday, Nov 17, at its Women of Achievement Luncheon and Expo 2023.

The luncheon and expo will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Drury Plaza Hotel Cape Girardeau Conference Center, 3351 Percy Drive in Cape Girardeau.

Zonta is an international service organization of business and professional women working together to empower women through service and advocacy at the local, state and international level. Chartered in 1976, the Zonta Club of Cape Girardeau provides financial support to not-for-profit organizations, and provides scholarships to Southeast Missouri State University and the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center.

Swan is a commissioner on the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission for the state of Missouri. She is the former president of Johnson Communication Services, a small wireless telecommunications company in Cape Girardeau. In addition, she has been employed in a variety of nursing positions at Saint Francis Healthcare System and Southeast Missouri State University. Swan represented House District 147 in the state House from 2013 to 2021

Jessica Hill, a member of Zonta Club and executive director of Safe House of Southeast Missouri, said Abbie Crites-Leoni, a magistrate judge with the U.S. District Court Eastern District of Missouri, will be the keynote speaker at the luncheon and Zonta will present her with its Celebration Award.

Zonta Club of Cape Girardeau's 2022 Women of Achievement award.Southeast Missourian file

Zonta Club of Cape Girardeau's 2022 Women of Achievement award.Southeast Missourian file

The 2023 Zonta Women of Achievement Award will be presented to one of the following nominees:

• Jennifer Bengtson, an anthropology professor at Southeast Missouri State University;
• MaKenya Owens, a Realtor with Ritter Real Estate in Cape Girardeau;
• Beth Keller, a health-plan account manager for Saint Francis Healthcare System;
• Kendra Eads, executive director of Southeast Missouri Network Against Sexual Violence;
• Casey Brunke, the Public Works director for the City of Cape Girardeau since 2010.

To purchase tickets for the Women of Achievement Luncheon, visit www.capezonta.org/fundraising/woa.