What is YWCA Grand Island Excellence in Action Honors?
Starting in 1986, YWCA Grand Island honored 37 individual women as Women of Distinction. These were women who have improved the lives of others through community service, professional achievement, integrity, leadership, and dedication to the well-being of others. In 2024, YWCA Grand Island saw many people doing the work of eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all, and wanted to recognize this work in a more mission-focused way. YWCA Grand Island Excellence in Action Honors will now replace Woman of Distinction. Instead of one overall recognition each year, YWCA Grand Island will be honoring 3 people who have made a difference in the community, specifically in the areas of YWCA’s mission work.
These honors are:
Changemaker – for work in Racial Justice and/or Civic Engagement in the Greater Grand Island Community
Empowerment – for work in Economic Empowerment of Women in the Greater Grand Island Community
Community Impact - for work in the area of Health and Safety of Women and Girls
Nomination Guidelines and Selection Information
□ The nominee is not a YWCA staff member, current board member, or committee member.
□ The person lives, works, or volunteers in Grand Island and/or surrounding communities.
□ There are no age or gender restrictions for nominations.
□ You may nominate a person for more than one honor. However, a person may only receive one honor.
Each recipient will be chosen by a panel of YWCA board members, past or present, and may include community members and past Woman of Distinction award recipients. If your nominee is selected, you and the award recipient will be notified upon completion of the review process. The recipients will be honored at the Excellence in Action Honors Event, at 5:30 pm on Thursday, October 23, 2025.
How to Nominate Someone for Excellence in Action Honors
Complete the nomination form(s) for the appropriate honor. Responses to each question have word count limits. Nominations may be submitted online, emailed to abennett@ywca-gi.org and must be submitted by 11:59 pm on July 6, 2025. Submissions may also be mailed to 211 E Fonner Park Road, Grand Island, NE 68801. All mailed nominations must be postmarked by July 6, 2025 .
Questions
For questions, contact Amy Bennett, YWCA Executive Director, at 308-384-9922 or abennett@ywca-gi.org.