Winners of the 2011 Feather Awards are announced

The third annual Feather Awards, in association with The Female Tribe and 1st for Women Insurance Brokers, took place on 26 May 2011 in Johannesburg.

This prominent event recognises the extraordinary women of South Africa and the meaningful contribution they have made across four categories including, Business Icon and Entrepreneur, Community Builder and Humanitarian, Arts, Culture and Heritage and Heroine.

The four winners from each category were announced at the Awards ceremony.

And the winners are:

Business Icon and Entrepreneur: Kim Meredith – Managing Director of Spectrum Solutions and Chief Executive Officer of The Dealmaker Programmes Company, businesswoman, writer, dealmaker and public speaker.

Arts, Culture and Heritage: Marina Coleman – Author of the book HIV & AIDS. The book is a best-seller and to date, has sold just over 100,000 copies in South Africa.

Community Builder and Humanitarian: Lindsay Ann Ziehl – a women’s advocate who runs the only shelter for Domestic Violence in Port Elizabeth. Lindsay has dedicated her life to her work, and is also the founder of the Reality skills training project that offers free empowerment training to adults in the Eastern Cape and has developed 4000 people in five years.

Heroine: Patricia Louise van der Merwe - one of the founding executives of Compassion World Farming (South Africa), the editor of Animal Voice, the Managing Trustee of The Humane Education Trust and the CEO of Humane Education Suppliers. For decades Patricia has worked tirelessly and selflessly to bring attention to the plight of animals in South Africa, and the impact that animal cruelty has on human beings, society and the environment.

The panel of judges included the managing director of 1st for Women, Robyn Farrell; Lisa Breedt, co-founder of Social Media IQ; Kate Emmerson, clutter expert and well known professional Lifestyle Coach; and Karen Kelly, Qualified Facilitator, Assessor, Moderator and Business Coach.

During the Awards ceremony, Ying-Shan Tseng, an eight-year-old pianist who was born blind, wowed the audience with her extraordinary talent. In addition, The Voice of Women Legacy Library was once again opened for guests to enter their messages of hope and encouragement for women of the next generation.

Tanya Magalhaes, Chief Oracle of the Female Tribe and founder of the Feather Awards said: “What the Feather Awards has taught me over the past three years is that it takes a pretty intense person to change the world. A person that is willing to go too far in order to find out just how far they can go. The Feather Awards 2011 was a day to remember. It was incredibly rewarding to see these worthy women celebrated and recognised. I am also sincerely grateful to every individual, sponsor and partner who has supported this initiative over the past three years.”

Robyn Farrell, managing director of 1st for Women concludes: “In 2008 we were approached with a vision to recognise South Africa’s unsung she-roes and the meaningful contributions they have made. We obviously jumped at the opportunity to sponsor this event because, quite frankly, women inspire us, amaze us, challenge us and continue to mould us into what we are today – South Africa’s number one female-only insurer. We believe that every woman has a story to tell – a story of adventure, of stamina and strength, of courage, acceptance and of triumph. There is a common thread that intertwines South African women however – persistence. Our women are a force to be reckoned with who will stop at nothing to achieve their dreams and goals.”