The Valdosta branch of the American Association of University Women was recently named the first recipient of the AAUW of Georgia’s Presidents’ Award.
 
Yetta McMillan, co-president of the AAUW of Georgia, said that she created the Presidents’ Award “to highlight a branch that has gone above and beyond to touch [the] lives of young women and girls.” She added that the award is not an annual one. Rather, it is only given when a branch exceeds all expectations.
 
The Valdosta branch of the AAUW was recognized for its Sister-to-Sister Summit, an annual event that brings together diverse groups of adolescent girls to address issues that concern them. The 2017 event was held on March 4 and welcomed roughly 90 middle school girls from Lowndes and Brooks counties to the Valdosta State University campus for a full-day mentoring program. The theme was “I’m Possible.”
 
Beatriz Potter, president of the Valdosta branch of the AAUW, said that the focus of this year’s Sister-to-Sister Summit was on teaching the middle school girls that they have unlimited future choices when it comes to their personal, their academic, and their professional lives. Activities were designed to empower the girls to identify their options and opportunities, build and maintain positive self-esteem, and handle peer pressure, cyber bullying, and the limitations that society places on young women.  
 
“The AAUW of Georgia Presidents’ Award defines the combination of all the work that members have invested during the last 19 years to provide a life-changing experience through each Sister-to-Sister Summit,” Potter shared. “Now, we are looking forward to the planning of the 20th summit. Each year the summit energizes not only the girls attending but also all those who have participated in every aspect of the planning. The summit experience generates a positive charge in all the participants, which ignites new passion for creating the next year’s theme.”