Spirit of Women Awards Program2012 Spirit of Women Award Nominations
As a Spirit of Women hospital, we participate in the annual Spirit of Women Awards Program to recognize unsung heroes in our community. The awards celebrate women in our community who take action to make their communities healthier, safer and a more inspirational place to live.

Nominees are recognized in each of the three following categories:
Young Person Role Model (ages 14-20)
Community Hero (at least 21 years of age)
Healthcare Hero (clinical professional)

Nominate a woman you know for a 2012 Spirit of Women Award. Nominations are due by March 2, 2012.

You may use the online nomination form, or you may download a nomination form and mail it in upon completion.
Spirit of Women Award Online Nomination Form
Spirit of Women Award Nomination Form (Word document)
Spirit of Women Award Nomination Form (PDF)

Regional winners are selected by a regional selection committee coordinated by St. Cloud Hospital and CentraCare Health Foundation. In becoming a regional winner, the individuals also become nominees for the Spirit of Women National Awards. The national winners are chosen by a national selection committee coordinated by the Spirit of Women national office in Boca Raton, Florida.

All regional winners will receive recognition from CentraCare Health Foundation and St. Cloud Hospital, along with a $1,000 award to further their commitment to their community. In addition, national winners will receive national recognition courtesy of Spirit of Women.

Entries that do not contain the required information will not be accepted. Provide all appropriate contact information requested for both the nominator and nominee. Nominators and nominees also acknowledge and agree that the entries become the sole property of Spirit of Women and CentraCare Health Foundation, who thereby have the right to publish, display, edit, promote and use entries in an otherwise appropriate manner.

2011 Spirit of Women Awards
In 2011, the Spirit of Women Awards recognized:

• Briana Traut - Young Person Role Model (Ages 14-20)
• Brianda Cediel - Community Hero (At least 21 years of age)
• Marilyn Peitso - Healthcare Hero (Clinical professional)
  
  

Briana Traut, 17, is an athlete, a 4.0 student at Rocori High School and a volunteer. And she is diabetic. Briana was just 8 years old when she was diagnosed. However, this chronic illness has not stopped her from leading the life of a normal teenage girl. Briana models for her classmates and teammates a positive approach to living with a chronic condition that requires her checking her blood sugar four to 10 times a day. Briana is a star on the conference champions Rocori High School volleyball team, as well as on the Rocori track team, where she as an individual made it to the state meet the past two years. She enjoys school, particularly science courses such as anatomy, biology and physiology. Next year, Briana will attend the College of St. Benedict in nearby St. Joseph. Briana also enjoys volunteering.

Brianda Cediel, 54, is passionate about helping refugees and immigrants learn the skills they need to succeed in a new country. Her goal as co-founder and executive director of Hands Across the World (HAW) is to identify refugees’ and immigrants’ skills, make those skills transferrable to the American workforce, and help these individuals define new paths in St. Cloud. Since 2003, HAW has assisted 1,350 adults and 160 children. Brianda and her team of volunteers provide skills in English, computer use, mathematics and personal money management, basic child care, city transportation, health care and more. They instill confidence, with the majority of HAW’s students becoming independent enough to own their own businesses. When Brianda began HAW, more immigrants were arriving in Minnesota than in the previous 25 years.

Minnesota has the largest population of Somalis and the second highest population of Hmong in the U.S. St. Cloud is one of the top three Minnesota cities receiving refugees and immigrants, which has presented numerous challenges for a city of slightly more than 60,000 residents. However, Brianda’s work with agencies across the community and state has made HAW a highly effective first point of contact for refugees and immigrants coming to St. Cloud. Brianda, who was born in the United States and raised in Bogota, Colombia, is bilingual. She earned an Early Childhood degree in Colombia, and then traveled to Mexico to gain teaching experience and study Arts with Children. There, she earned a master’s degree. After moving to St. Cloud in 1999, Brianda earned English as a Second Language degree and now is working toward a master’s in Servant Leadership.

Marilyn Peitso, MD, 59, a board-certified pediatrician, says health care has changed a lot since those days when she, her parents and her seven siblings got their medical care from a local doctor in a small clinic in a little town in northeastern Minnesota. But she has made considerable headway toward getting that small-town feel back into the health care industry. She is a champion of a concept known as Medical Home or Health Care Home, which is a partnership between primary care providers, families and patients to improve health outcomes and quality of life for individuals with chronic health conditions and disabilities. Peitso is a Health Care Home leader in her clinic, in the state of Minnesota and in the nation.

Marilyn earned her medical degree from the University of Minnesota Medical School and completed her residency at the University of Iowa. She is a member of the Minnesota Medical Association.

Congratulations!
Dr. Peitso also was recognized as a national winner of the 2011 Spirit of Women Healthcare Hero award.

2010 Winners
Grace Balfanz - Young Person Role Model
Jacque French - Community Hero
Terri McCaffrey - Healthcare Hero – Terri went on to become the 2010 National Spirit of Women Healthcare Hero.

2009 Winners
Kelsey Krueger – Young Person Role Model
Sandi Schulzetenberg – Community Hero
Dani Jakubowski – Healthcare Hero – Dani went on to become the 2009 National Spirit of Women Healthcare Hero.

Call (320) 229-5139 to be added to our Spirit of Women mailing list.