Soroptimist  International of Hays honored three area women with its highest recognition at an awards banquet  April 18 at  Fort Hays State University.

Reesa Sumaya, Oakley, was presented with a $1,000 Soroptimist Women’s Opportunity Award. She is a single mother of four children and a graduate student in the FHSU Master of Science in Counseling Program. The Women’s Opportunity Award is presented to a woman who has faced economic and personal hardships and is seeking to gain additional skills, training and education. The program helps women who serve as the primary wage earner for their families so that they may enter or return to the work force, or improve their employment status.

Alisha Brownell, a Big Brothers/Big Sisters case manager, received a $200 Soroptimist Ruby Award in her name with the BB/BS organization. She was recognized for her dedication above and beyond her job responsibilities in helping make matches for children and offering other assistance to their families. The Ruby Award for Women Helping Women honors women who have worked to improve the lives of women and girls through their professional and/or volunteer work.

Alyssa Reed, Hays High student, is the recipient of this year’s Soroptimist Violet Richardson Award in the amount of $200. She volunteers numerous hours to assisting with the Prairie Land Food distribution, Westview Children’s Church childcare, St. Joseph’s Food Pantry, the Community Assistance Center’s Trick or Treat So Others Can Eat, and Special Olympics of Kansas.  The Violet Richardson Award is a recognition program for young women ages 14-17 engaged in volunteer action within their communities or schools. The award is given to young women whose activities make the community and world a better place.

Soroptimist International of Hays is an organization of approximately 40 professional women whose mission is to improve the lives of women and girls. Its recent annual melodrama dinner theater raises money each year to fund these recognition awards and other charitable causes in the community.