On February 21st, 2011 SI Music City Nashville recognized three wonderful women at our annual awards dinner held at Trevecca Nazerene Univerity.

Our signature award, The Women’s Opportunity Award, was presented to Gladyn Minzey. Ms. Minzey is a single mother of two who is working at Pizza Hut to put herself through college. Her perseverence through hard times and dedication to her family has inspired her to earn a degree in social services. We are honored to be able to support Gladyn in her dream of a better future for herself and daughters. In addition, Ms. Minzey was elected as our Southern Region winner and we wish her luck with her endeavors.

The Ruby Award was presented to Derri Smith of End Slavery in Tennessee and Beyond. The End Slavery in Tennessee mission is to foster slave-free communities through prevention, education and community engagement. End Slavery in Tennessee is a volunteer-powered project under the direction of International Teams leaders, Bill and Derri Smith.
Mrs. Smith is an enthusiastic supporter of Soroptimist and we are also honored to support her work to end human trafficking. Mrs. Smith was also elected the Southern Region award winner. To learn more about End Slavery in Tennessee and Beyond and how to volunteer, visit www.endslaverytn.org.

Ellie Ambrose was awarded our Violet Richardson scholarship. With the help of her family, she founded Ellie’s Run for Africa which raises funds for children in the Huruma and Githogoro slums of Nairobi, Kenya. Ellie’s Run for Africa focuses on helping children access the educational opportunities that foster the hope they need to get out of the slums. The run is a 5k race and family fun day held at Percy Warner Park. All funds collected at the event are donated through African Leadership which organizes ministry work in Africa. In the past 6 years, ERFA has donated over $250,000 and helped thousands of children attend school. To sign up for the May 21st race or help support Ellie’s cause visit .