Women Leaders Honored
Pinnacle Awards program turns 10
Videography by Live in Tallahassee/Silver Media Productions
For the 10th year, Rowland Publishing, Inc. and 850 Business Magazine celebrated contributions made by outstanding Northwest Florida women.
The 2024 Pinnacle Awards luncheon, presented by 850 Business Magazine, was held March 4 at the LakeHouse at the Watercolor Inn & Resort, a St. Joe Company property.
Rowland Publishing associate publisher McKenzie Burleigh served as master of ceremonies, discussed the genesis of the event initially suggested by the Gulf Power Co. and introduced a Pinnacle honoree from each of the program’s first nine years.
Year 10 honorees were introduced with videos produced by The Workmans of Tallahassee and featuring the persons who nominated the award winners for Pinnacle consideration.
Photo by The Workmans
Members of the latest class of Pinnacle sisterhood inductees represented diverse occupational fields and community connections and included:
DeeDee Davis, Pensacola
CEO and Managing Broker, NAI Pensacola Commercial Real Estate
Rhea Goff, Panama City Beach
Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, The St. Joe Company
Lori Kain, Pensacola
Director of Community and Government Relations, Global Connections to Employment
Leslie Powell-Boudreaux, Tallahassee
Executive Director, Legal Services of North Florida
Cissy Proctor, Tallahassee
Managing Partner, LSN Partners
Kelly Reeser, Panama City Beach
Managing Director, TechFarms Capital
Sharon Robinson, Tallahassee
Clinical Coordinator, Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare
Sue Semrau, Tallahassee
Head Women’s Basketball Coach, Retired, Florida State University
Susan Skelton, Tallahassee
Administrator, Triumph Gulf Coast
Jennifer Steele, Santa Rosa Beach
Executive Director, Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County
Chelsea Workman, Tallahassee
Founder and Storyteller, The Workmans
Heather Ruiz of Niceville, the marketing director at Bit-Wizards, a computer support and services business in Fort Walton Beach, received the Turnbull Award, reserved for a woman of demonstrated promise who is under the age of 40. The award is named for Marjorie Turnbull of Tallahassee, a longtime elected official and former executive director of Tallahassee Community College.
Aimee Nicole Sachs received posthumous Pinnacle recognition. A journalist and passionate baseball fan whose favorite place on Earth was a pressbox overlooking a field of play, Sachs died in Tallahassee on May 31, 2023, after suffering two strokes. The second one left her unable to move or communicate except by blinking her eyes. She was 38.
Photo by Mike Fender
Her father, Ron Sachs, the founder and chairman of Sachs Media in Tallahassee, paid tribute to his late daughter in remarks made at the awards luncheon. Movingly, he talked about Aimee’s decisions to decline life support and become an organ donor. The lives of three people were extended when they received much needed organ transplants that were selflessly donated by Aimee as her last wish.
Sachs encouraged members of the Pinnacle audience to join the more than 11 million Floridians who have signed up to be organ donors by doing so at donatelifeflorida.org.
Renee Johnson, the sales and events coordinator at Rowland Publishing, shouted out Florida Blue and additional luncheon sponsors and vendors:
Jennifer Albert (JA 30A Salon)
Emerald Coast Florals and Event Design
Steve Bornhoft, the executive editor of 850 Business Magazine, said the character and caliber of honorees have been the greatest factors in the success of the Pinnacle Awards program. He said that when the initiative was begun, Rowland Publishing had no idea how many deserving women it would find.
“Now, we recognize that the Pinnacle Awards program will be self-perpetuating,” he said. “Today’s honorees will inspire and bring about the next generation of women leaders.”
To view, download and share photos from the event, please click here to view photography from Mike Fender.*
*Photos are available to download for personal use only (please feel free to share on social media). Photos are not approved for reproduction or use in publication or professional settings without permission from Rowland Publishing, Inc.
