Building a Polite World Together by Finding the Shero in Us: HerStory Awards

On Sep 3, 2022 the WFWP USA held the National HerStory Award ceremony which was virtual and was attended by 37 participants and emceed by Mrs Glenda Lambert, Arizona Global Women’s Peace Network (GWPN) Coordinator. The three HerStory awardees represented the medical field, social etiquette, and business coaching backgrounds. Mrs. Glenda Lambert welcomed all the participants and then proceeded to introduce WFWP USA President Mrs. Angelika Selle who shared an introductory video that highlighted the founding of WFWP and GWPN as well as its founders, and activities the organization has done. 

President Selle encouraged all the participants that WFWP’s founding purpose is one family whose common denominator is our God. She explained, “We are spiritual and social and we want to root into a culture of the heart coming from within so that we can create a new lifestyle for all of us that is conducive for peace.” 

Following this, each awardee was then introduced briefly with her bio as well as a personal sharing from the person who recommended her. President Selle virtually presented the award and each awardee was able to share her story with the participants. 

Read below for a snippet of their stories and lessons shared upon receiving the HerStory Award. 

To watch the whole HerStory Program Click Here.

The first speaker of the day was Ms. Gloria Petersen: Founder, Global Protocol Academy, Author, Speaker, Professional Etiquette & Protocol coach, and Events Adviser.

She shared that we all have moments in our lives when we are challenged and societies around the world are also experiencing challenges. What is needed for us to find the shero as they are all around us and they are the people we need to focus on because they are the examples we need to follow. 

“I have always considered myself very ordinary. I was raised in that kind of environment as a child, the oldest of six and I was just ordinary and then I was faced with these challenges and they taught me who I really was... Because without challenges, you will never know who you really are. Because who you are is how you handle them. I have learned to appreciate my grit and my determination which took me beyond feeling ordinary anymore…I am a cancer survivor.  Had no idea I was sick and ended up in the hospital one night although I was misdiagnosed about three times prior. I had a tumor that was on the verge of bursting and I had no idea, no warning. …It was a rare cancer. It is called carcinoid. I survived it because I got there just in time….What it taught me is what stress does to the body. They told me that the cancer in my body was about seven years old and I reflected back to what was going on in my life and I will tell you what was going on in my life. I was a victim of a senseless act of violence… I healed beyond expectations. When you have an accident or ill or whatever the case might be …You’ve got to have the right attitude. It takes grit, and determination, it takes a mental part of the healing process. Always look for the shero [She + Hero] in you because she is there.” 

To read Ms. Gloria Petersen bio and to see the full recording of her award and speech click here.

The second speaker was Dr. Marilou G. Tablang-Jimenez: Medical Director of the Addiction and Mental Health Center, MedStar Montgomery Medical Center.

She shared that growing up as the youngest of thirteen kids, she grew up surrounded by the love of her parents and siblings and did not expect the struggles of life. Unfortunately, her challenges began in 1986 during the People’s Power Revolution in the Philippines which led her young family to immigrate to the US. 

“We did not know then that the next 3-4 years of our arrival in the U.S. will be the most difficult years of our lives. Neither my husband nor I had a job and we did not have a home for our small family. Fortunately several of my siblings resided in the area and housed us until we found employment…My husband worked three jobs and I had one. With our very meager income and some help from my mother, we were able to purchase our first home…I set aside the goal to complete my medical training as I had to help my husband financially so we could provide for ourselves and our then 3-year-old daughter. About a year into our immigration, we were blessed with another daughter and we had to make a decision, whether to stay in this country or go back to the Philippines which had relatively stabilized…. We chose to stay….My personal story speaks of 3 traits that helped me. One is resilience, the ability to just be flexible and adapt to what is going on in your life…. The second is perseverance, not allowing bumps in the road to get in the way, ride it over and just continue working hard. And the third is faith. Faith in God, my husband and our partnership, and faith in my loving family. Especially my children…and I would like to especially mention Binda, because it was she who said, don't waste your talent, go on and pursue what you were trained to do.”

To read Dr. Marilou G. Tablang-Jimenez bio and to see the full recording of her award and speech click here.

The third speaker of the day was Ms. Donna Paige Riley: Founder of Paige’s Etiquette Seminars LLC, Etiquette Expert, Certified Professional Speaking Coach, Writer, Author, and Product Developer. 

She shared that her personal life mission is to make the world a polite place to live and to encourage and inspire. And that communication is very important and essential to her overall goal and mission. She mentioned that this world was created for all of us to enjoy and live peacefully and that diversity is so wonderful and that is what makes this world beautiful. 

“ My personal life mission is to make the world a polite place to live and to encourage and inspire…we need to understand that ugly conversation hurts..diversity is so so wonderful and that is the beauty of living in this world…diplomacy the art of dealing with people in a very sensitive and effective way…I was severely bullied from elementary school through high school, I was teased and I had very low self-esteem and I felt really bad about that. One experience comes to mind… We were in science class and we were studying bugs and I said to one of the girls in the class that I didn’t like bugs. It wasn’t that I didn’t like bugs, but I was afraid of bugs and I shared it with her. I actually shared that with the wrong person…Later that day at recess, she made it her business to find a spider… and put it in my face…. She was laughing and acted as though she was going to throw the spider on me so I ran and she ran after me with the spider. That is certainly bullying…

For the young people that are in your lives, check with them to see if they are being bullied and you also want to check to see if they are the bullies because bullying is at an all-time high. You know that bullying will rob you of your peace…We want to make sure that we are encouraging one another so that when people leave our presence, they are encouraged with kindness.” 

I usually like to end by saying: feel good about yourself, be considerate of others, and be the best you can be..”

To read Ms. Donna Paige Riley bio and to see the full recording of her award and speech click here.