ClubCorp Sponsors 2009 w2wlink Ascendancy Awards

Twenty Seven Winners Awarded for Corporate, Entrepreneur, Career Transition Achievements

DALLAS, June 23 /PRNewswire/ -- ClubCorp, The World Leader in Private Clubs(SM), was a key sponsor of the 2009 w2wlink Ascendancy Awards for businesswomen. w2wlink.com, the premier professional online community for women, presented the first-ever awards to recognize, reward, and inspire women to maximize their potential in their careers.

Candidates for the Award, also sponsored by American Airlines, were nominated from eight cities and at-large locations across the nation for achievement in Corporate, Entrepreneurial and Career Transition settings. Three national winners were selected among 27 total winners were recognized.

“ClubCorp and The Tower Club were honored to be not only a host but a sponsor of the first Ascendancy Awards, honoring these women nationwide for their accomplishments,” said Kathy O’Neal, ClubCorp’s senior vice president, business and sports clubs. O’Neal adds that it was an ideal sponsorship opportunity for ClubCorp, which supports professional women by providing non-discriminatory private club venues for networking, business development, and enhancement.

Corporate national winner Ambassador Frances Cook has established many firsts in her long-term career as ambassador to various global efforts. Since she began her career as a Special Assistant to the U.S. Ambassador in Paris, France, Ambassador Cook has been named the first female head of post in the Middle East for the U.S. and the first female worldwide named Ambassador to a GCC State in the Arab Gulf. She now resides in Washington D.C. working as an international business consultant with her own firm, The Ballard Group, LLC.

Entrepreneurial national winner Neale Godfrey is a New York Times’ Bestselling author working to empower women with the tools they need to break the glass ceiling, secure financial freedom and overcome obstacles within a career and home. Godfrey is a board member of UNIFEM, the United Nations Agency dedicated to ending physical and economical oppression against women. Godfrey says, “Always take the attitude of, ‘How hard could this possibly be?’ ‘No’ is just a paradigm. None of us were born knowing how to do anything. Say, ‘Yes,’ and design the life you want.”

Career Transition to Transformation national winner Connie Duckworth is the founder and president of Arzu, Inc. For Duckworth, mentoring is one of the responsibilities that comes with the territory of success, and because of her “serial” mentors throughout the years, she recognizes the impact one can make. “It's fun to help others succeed. Sort of like parenting, there is both pride and vicarious gratification when a mentee does a bang-up job on a project, when others spot her talent, or when she gets promoted.”

These women were recognized not only for their professional strides but also for ascending to the role of mentors to other women and finding time during their own careers to strengthen others’. The winners received a private business club membership for one year from ClubCorp, www.clubcorp.com, and a pair of round-trip tickets to any destination in the contiguous United States from American Airlines, www.aa.com/women.

The 27 award winners of the first Ascendancy Awards are:

    CORPORATE

    National Winner -- Washington D.C. - Ambassador Frances Cook, Corporate
    Director and Consultant, The Ballard Group, LLC.

    Boston - Natalie Corridan-Gregg, EMC Corporation
    Dallas/Fort Worth - Kim Stevenson, Hewlett-Packard Company
    Dallas/Fort Worth - Lesley Harris, Travelocity Business
    New York - Linda Descano, Women & Co./Citi
    San Francisco - Jacqueline Akerblom, Grant Thornton
    San Francisco - Sharon McCollam, Williams Sonoma Inc.
    Washington D.C. - Pamela Parizek, KPMG LLP

    ENTREPRENEURIAL

    National Winner -- At Large - Neale Godfrey, CEO and Chairman, Children's
    Financial Network

    Atlanta - Allison O’Kelly, Mom Corps
    Chicago - Gail Adinamis, Clinical Resource Network, LLC
    Dallas/Fort Worth - Nina Vaca, Pinnacle Technical Resources
    Dallas/Fort Worth - Adrienne Cornelsen, Insite Interactive
    New York - Heidi Messer, Linkshare Corporation
    San Francisco - Amy McCombs, Digital Media Leader and Entrepreneur
    San Francisco - Jory Des Jardins, Blogher
    At Large - Christine McInerney, Ruskin Moscou Faltischek, P.C.

    CAREER TRANSITION TO TRANSFORMATION

    National Winner -- Chicago - Connie Duckworth, President and Chairman
    Board, Arzu, Inc.

    Atlanta - Mary Madden, Board of Director
    Atlanta - Marjorie Singley-Hall, Ampersand Associates, Inc.
    Boston - Diane Danielson, Downtown Women's Club
    Dallas/Fort Worth - Lea Nesbit, Linqualcare, Inc. (acquired by 3M)
    Dallas/Fort Worth - Fritzi Woods, PrimeSource Foodservice Equipment
    Houston - Jenny Maxwell, Katy Rehabilitation Hospital
    New York - Susan Stautberg, PartnerCom Communications and Women Corporate
    Directors
    Washington D.C. - Mari Carmen, Hispanic Information and Telecommunications
    Network
    At Large - Cheryl Ladd, Ladd Research Group
     

Career highlights, in-depth stories and inspirational quotes from our award winners will be on w2wlink.com all year long at http://www.w2wlink.com/Articles/Ascendancy-Awards-Business-Women-artid346.aspx. Nominations and applications for the 2010 Ascendancy Awards will be available May 30, 2009.

Affiliated women business organizations that are supportive of our mission include: EWGA, NAWBO, Women Corporate Directors, Women’s Foodservice Forum, Women President’s Organization, The Women’s Museum. Sponsors who have been integral to our mission: ClubCorp and American Airlines, Cambria and Taylor Winfield and media partners PR Newswire and Pink Magazine.

w2wlink.com is the premier community dedicated to professional women, helping them get to where they’re going - faster. w2wlink provides expert knowledge, tools to meet challenges, and connection with others in online networking groups. w2wlink was named by MORE Magazine, along with Linked In and Facebook, as one of the top three online sites for networking.

About ClubCorp

Dallas-based ClubCorp is The World Leader in Private Clubs(SM). ClubCorp and its affiliates own or operate more than 150 golf courses, country clubs, private business and sports clubs and resorts. ClubCorp's Signature Gold membership level offers complimentary greens fees at more than 90 golf and country clubs and complimentary dining at more than 60 private business and sports clubs. In addition, members with Signature Gold benefits enjoy privileges at more than 200 facilities worldwide that includes exceptional deals at affiliate hotels and resorts (including KSL Resort properties in California, Colorado, Virginia and Texas), ticket and shopping services and more. Among ClubCorp’s nationally recognized golf properties are Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio (site of the World Golf Championships - Bridgestone Invitational) and Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California (home of the Kraft Nabisco Championship). The renowned collection of business and business sports clubs include the Columbia Tower Club in Seattle; Metropolitan Club in Chicago; and the City Club of Washington, D.C. More than 15,000 employees within the family of ClubCorp serve nearly 200,000 member households and more than one million guests who visit ClubCorp’s clubs each year. Visit www.clubcorp.com for additional company information.