The keynote address was given by lifestyle blogger Hilary Phelps Eldridge of the Genuine Joy Blog. She spoke about the importance of seva and giving back to the community. The awards were presented after dinner; Carmen Orozco-Acosta, our Government Affairs Manager, presented the Advocacy Awards to Elle Potter, E-RYT 500, YACEP, and Andrea Fournet, E-RYT 500, RCYT, RPYT, YACEP. These two women were instrumental in our advocacy work and victories in Missouri and Arkansas, respectively.
Hilary Mughloo, our Foundation Manager, recognized the scholarship recipients from the 2016 Spring scholarships. “It was amazing to meet Foundation scholarship winners in the flesh and give them big hugs!” she said. “Having dinner with dozens of yogis who are committed to leadership and service was a beautiful thing! It was so fun to be able to honor them in this way.”
Earlier in 2016, we opened our first ever Community Service Awards. The four finalists were chosen by a panel of judges from our Advisory Group; the awards included the Giving Back Award, the Open Heart Award, the Warrior Award, and the Youth Development Award. Our Campaign and Project Manager, Heather Hingston, recognized the four recipients of these awards during the banquet and also announced the Community Choice Award, which was voted upon by hundreds of yogis from all over the world.
It was an honor for us to recognize such upstanding yogis in our community, and we can’t wait to do it again next year. View the full list of winners below and stay tuned for announcements about next year’s Community Service Awards by following us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn.