The Quincy YWCA has honored outstanding area women who have excelled in personal and professional endeavors since 1992. Recipients embody the goals of the YWCA: The empowerment of women and the elimination of racism.

The 2010 winners will be recognized at a dinner on Saturday at the Holiday Inn in Quincy. Tickets are $40 and are available by calling the YWCA at 221-9922.

Nellie Daniels Schwab Award

Janis Chaney was described in a nominating letter as an "outstanding ambassador" for Quincy.

She also excels at addressing the hopes and concerns for the community whether in her role as senior director of physicians recruitment and retention for the Quincy Medical Group; her past role as president of the Adams County Board of the American Heart Association; leading the Public Affairs Committee for the Nauvoo Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; or her membership in Rotary.

Her caring spirit and commitment to community can also be seen in her work on the Planning Committee for the Quincy Hospitality House.

A graduate of Culver-Stockton College, Chaney served as director of alumni relations at the school for nearly a decade. After gaining sales and marketing skills in the hotel and airlines fields, she returned to Quincy and has grown to become one of the area's top business professionals and community leaders.

She is a past loaned executive for the United Way of Adams County and has been instrumental in attracting more than 200 health providers to Quincy.

Caren Kemner Award

Dr. Diana Franklin has a passion for helping people get well and stay well by following holistic principles and empowering individuals to take charge of their well-being and realize their full potential.

She is a natural health practitioner who utilizes holistic chiropractic care, clinical nutrition counseling, functional medicine, mind-body techniques and acupuncture principles to comprehensively treat her patients.

Franklin continually explores ways to improve patient health and regularly attends education and training conferences to bring health information and technology to her patients. She also has completed an advance fellowship in Anti-Aging, Regenerative and Functional Medicine and has introduced Retained Reflex Therapy.

Personally, Franklin survived a near-fatal brain aneurysm, only to later be seriously injured in an automobile accident. After having overcome these challenges, she continues to live her mission of creating pathways to well-being for all people. She serves on the board of directors of Quanada.

Sen. Lillian Schlagenhauf Award

Cristina Cray has spent nearly her entire professional life in public service, getting her first taste of the workings of government at her grandfather "Bus" Kuhlman's knee while he performed his duties as Quincy city clerk.

After graduating from Quincy University, where she served on the Judiciary Student Board, Cris went on to earn her master's degree in political science from Sangamon State (now University of Illinois-Springfield). While at UIS, she coordinated the Model Illinois Government Program for the state of Illinois.

Cray moved on to work for the Illinois House Republicans before joining the staff of the state's first female lieutenant governor, Corinne Wood, as her director of legislation. There she was instrumental in the "Check for a Cure" Breast Cancer Research check-off on the Illinois income tax form, which raised several million dollars, and the Illinois Main Street program.

Cray was later appointed to the Illinois State Board of Elections, where she now serves as director of legislation. She is a graduate of the Illinois Lincoln Excellence in Public Service Series and will be one of only two statewide officials to hold a professional certificate from The Election Center's Certified Election/Registration Administration program upon her graduation this summer.

She teaches at Illinois-Springfield and is a member of the board of trustees at Quincy University.

Ethel Fletcher Award

Bonnie Scranton, dean of enrollment services at John Wood Community College, combines a willingness to listen, an ability to consult and a sense of fairness with the energy to motivate, a vision and a sense of purpose.

A graduate of New Mexico State University with a bachelor's degree in education and a master's degree in educational administration, Scranton has also done doctoral coursework in adult and continuing education at Kansas State.

After nine years as an elementary/junior high school teacher and coach, she expanded her career into higher education, taking on progressively more challenging roles. Before joining the JWCC administration in 2003, she served as registrar and director of institutional research at Antioch College and also held administrative positions at Wayne State, Kansas State and El Paso Community College.

Scranton also has served on the United Way board, and is also active in her church. She received the JWCC President's Award in 2008 and the National Marrow Donor Program Zumwalt Community Award.

Dr. Melinda Knapheide Germann Award

Becky Campbell always knew she wanted to help others and pursued degrees at Blessing College of Nursing and Culver-Stockton College. She then went on the receive certification from St. Louis University Medical Center in pediatric advance cardiac and trauma support, and a master's of science degree in nursing and pediatric nurse practitioner from the University of Iowa.

Campbell is a nurse practitioner at Quincy Medical Group.

As supervisor of pediatric patient care at Blessing Hospital, she was instrumental in developing guidelines for pain management for children. Her work in diabetes education includes developing an educational program that uses fun games to help children learn the important facts and information they need to protect their health. She also formed monthly diabetic support groups.

Her work in diabetes education and treatment continues at QMG, and she helps nurture many student interns pursuing careers as nurse practitioners. She is a past member of the Adams County Board of Health and current treasurer of the Blessing Hospital Alumni Association. Becky was a member of the Blessing-Rieman College of Nursing Honor Society and named Nurse of the Year in 2001 by Adams County Red Cross. In 2009 she was named Clinician of the Year and given the Clinical Excellence Award by Sigma Theta Tau.

Maggie Thomas Award

Whether she is working with a client on a new advertising campaign as an account executive with STARadio, managing Internet auctions for local charities, running her own scrapbooking business, or officiating volleyball games, Teresa Loos-Tedrow is always on the go.

Her energy and enthusiasm are more remarkable given she has beaten cancer twice in eight years.

A product of Payson Seymour schools, Loos-Tedrow understands area youth will become our future leaders. She developed the Shottenkirk Athlete of the Week campaign to call special attention to young athletes who also excelled academically.

She was instrumental in bringing the Balloon Festival to Quincy in 2008 and conceptualized the Backwater's Comedy Nights, which bring first rate comedic talent to Quincy once a month.

Teresa works behind the scenes for numerous charity groups, and helped most recently with the 2009 Breast Cancer Walk. The auction software she developed in 2007 with the help of local programmers was first utilized for the Great Quincy Auction and helped her launch her own business, gobidpro.com. She received her bachelor of science degree in finance from Quincy University is 1992.

Elizabeth Sinnock Award

Cheryl Kaiser-Spielbauer has devoted more than 30 years to her dance studio. A graduate of Quincy Notre Dame, she earned a degree from the Blessing Hospital School of Medical Technicians, but left the lab to follow her first dream -- dance.

In 1978 she bought the Harriet Musolino Dance Studio, renamed it the Cheryl Kaiser School of Dance, and has operated it since. She received a master's in dance education from the Chicago National Association of Dance Masters in 1986.

Kaiser-Spielbauer has choreographed more than 60 musicals for the Quincy Community Theatre and helped create the QCT Boot Camp for young artists to hone their skills in acting, singing and dancing. She regularly conducts workshops at the CNADM in Chicago and private studios. Cheryl has received an Illinois Arts Award for her choreography in the QCT production of "The Music Man", the QCT director's award, and the Enid Ireland award.

She has served on the board of director of the Chicago National Association of Dance Masters. She also is committed to serving area children with dance theatre performances in local schools and by producing "The Nutcracker" every other year.

Dr. Melinda Knapheide Germann Award

Shirley Longlett has been integral to the education of resident physicians at the Quincy Family Medicine program since 1982.

A licensed clinical professional counselor, she serves as an assistant professor of Family and Community Medicine at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. She is responsible for family medicine resident physicians' education in the behavioral sciences and community-oriented primary care.

Longlett has excelled in bringing together disparate groups to the common mission of improving and positively impacting the mental and physical health of area residents. Longlett was involved from its beginning with PATCH (Planned Approach to Community Health), which led to Access Health Adams County, an organization which delivers coordinated care to those who previously lacked health care access. She developed and is implementing a grant to coordinate care for at risk children's behavioral needs.

Longlett, a graduate of University of Missouri-Columbia with both undergraduate and master's degrees in counseling psychology, was actively involved in 4-H as a youth. As director of the Center for Rural Research and Education, she annually coordinates a Rural Farm Day, where the new residents at QFMP visit a farm and the Adams County Fair to develop an understanding of the rural lifestyle and rural health care risks.