It was a packed house at the Radisson Cheyenne this afternoon, as the Wyoming Business Report honored ten women, one mentor and one best company to work for. This year's awards were the most hotly contested ever, with 83 nominations submitted for the twelve categories.
The finalists were determined by previous years' honorees, and the Wyoming Business Report staff helped make the final determinations if there was a tie.
Complete profiles of all of the honorees will be featured in the upcoming publication, Women of Wyoming, which was distributed at the event and will be included in the September, 2017 issue of the Wyoming Business Report.
The awards ceremony ended with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Previous winners of this award have included Ray Fleming Dinneen, Clarene Law, Linda Fabian and Lynne Birleffi.
Joining this august group of women this year as the 2017 Lifetime Achievement for Women of Influence honoree is Ann Redman, founder of the Wyoming Latina Youth Conference and a trustee for the Wyoming Women's Foundation.
Ann Esquibel Redman moved to Cheyenne with her family when she was a teen. She attended business college in Denver and worked for a Denver law firm before spending 20 years traveling with her husband Ralph during his career in the Air Force. When he retired, the couple returned to Cheyenne.
Once back in Cheyenne, she went to work for the state. Among other appointments, she spearheaded the state of Wyoming’s Centennial Celebration.
Her supervisor during the early years of the Herschler administration was a young Dave Freudenthal. When he ran for governor, she served on his campaign and worked in his transition office.
Redman is an original member of the Wyoming Latina/Latino Coalition; helped start the annual Cheyenne Hispanic Festival and is also the president of HOPE, the Hispanic Organization for Progress and Education.
She has served on multiple boards and has earned multiple awards for her service, including the 2016 Woman of Distinction Award, the SBA's 1996 Minority Advocate of the Year, the University of Wyoming's 2009 Woman of Distinction Award and the 2007 Cinco de Mayo award.
Her nominator said that Redman “has contributed selfless energy and has demonstrated exceptional passion and commitment to encouraging the recognition of Hispanic people and culture.”
The other Women of Influence honorees are:
Banking
Kay Jones, Chairman, First Western Trust
Business and Business Services
Jill Kline, State Director, Wyoming Small Business Development Center
Education
Peg Monteith, Director of Student Services, Park County Schools
