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Boone County Commissioner Karen Miller received the 2010 Debin Benish Outstanding Businesswoman Award at the Columbia Chamber of Commerce annual meeting.

Karen Miller has won the 2010 Debin Benish Outstanding Businesswoman Award

The award was presented by the 2009 winner, Rose Ditter, at the 2010 Columbia Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting & Awards Banquet.  With the support of Steve Powell, the current owner of Delta Systems, and Debin’s husband Dave Benish, Women’s Network continues the encouragement of Debin’s smile with this memorial award, an engraved picture frame, and $1,000 grant. This award is designed to honor a Columbia Business Woman who:

• Exhibits leadership in supporting small business
• Has a record of volunteering in the community
• Is a mentor to other business women, and
• Owns or is employed by a Chamber-member business, preferably a Women’s Network member

About The Award and Our Winner

Debin Benish started Delta Systems Group at a time when women were not encouraged to venture out on their own, not to mention in a technology field. During her 18 years in business, Debin and her staff trained thousands of people in Mid- Missouri on many different software programs and provided computer network support to hundreds of companies.

In addition to achieving great success in her company, Debin was actively involved in the Chamber and Women’s Network. She served on the Chamber Board of Directors, Accreditation Task Force, Business Conference and Showcase Committee, Government Affairs, Education, Leadership Columbia, Women’s Network Business Owners Committee, and Ambassadors.

Debin had a philanthropic heart. She and the Delta Systems staff quietly assisted many charities and non-profits with their technology needs, such as the Central Missouri Food Bank, as she served on countless technology committees and boards. Among the most noteworthy accomplishments is the revolutionizing of the registration process for the biannual MU blood drives by creating the system that is still used to this day to assist in minimizing donor wait times. For all these reasons and her corporate mantra of providing excellent customer service and caring for projects, the Chamber honored Debin and Delta Systems as the 1992 Small Business of the Year and again in 2005 as a Small Business of the Year Finalist.

To honor Debin’s memory of volunteering and supporting small businesses, the Women’s Network, in conjunction with Delta Systems Group, has selected Karen Miller as the 2010 Debin Benish Outstanding Businesswoman award recipient. Karen has proven her leadership abilities time and time again. She developed her leadership skills through her experience when she owned and operated “The Establishment,” a restaurant and bar. She not only ran a successful business but she also served on the Missouri Restaurant Association State Board for eight years.

Since 1992 when Karen entered the political circuit as District 1 Commissioner for Boone County she has continued to exemplify leadership. Karen has been instrumental in uniting the City of Columbia and Boone County on common issues that unite us. In 2003 she was elected to the esteemed position of President of the National Association of Counties. Prior to achieving this role, it had been held by men and occasionally by a woman from a metropolitan area. Karen was the first President from a small to medium size county and utilized a network of women from all across the country that admired her leadership skills and work ethic. She ensured these women were brought with her to appointments on committees where she knew they would be extremely beneficial. Karen used her position to promote concerns of rural America for health care, infrastructure development and education.

Karen has served on the Women’s Network Steering committee and is actively involved in the Columbia Chamber of Commerce. She assisted with political campaigns such as Roger B. Wilson’s bid for Lieutenant Governor and the late Donna Crockett who was elected as Columbia City Councilwoman. Karen is definitely a change agent! One example is her role each year volunteering for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. This organization promotes literacy from the time a child is born until they turn 5 years old. She didn’t just give it emotional support but went into action with the idea of hosting an annual Mother’s Day brunch with 100% of the proceeds benefitting the Imagination Library. For all of these reasons and many more, Karen Miller was honored as the 6th annual Debin Benish Outstanding Businesswoman Award recipient, at the Columbia Chamber of Commerce annual dinner on June 2, 2010.

– The story above will be in the July 2010 Chamber’s newsletter article about the award.

About the Columbia Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting & Awards Banquet

The Columbia Chamber of Commerce helds its 105th Annual Meeting & Awards Banquet the evening on June 2, 2010 at the Hilton Garden Inn Conference Center.

Karen Miller was recognized with the 2010 Debin Benish Outstanding Businesswoman Award, Tom Trabue received the Ambassador of the Year Award and the Outstanding Citizen Award was presented to Karen Taylor. 

You can also read the Chamber’s newsletter article about the award

Read more about the Columbia Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting in this Columbia Business Times story about the award.

To honor Debin Benish’s (the founder of Delta Systems) memory of volunteering and supporting small businesses, the Women’s Network, in conjunction with Delta Systems Group, would like to select a businesswoman who has achieved great success in her business to receive the annual Debin Benish outstanding Businesswoman Award.

6th Annual Debin Beinsh Outstanding Businesswoman Award Nominees Sought

If you know a Columbia businesswoman who:

• exhibits leadership in supporting small business
• has a record of volunteering in the community
• is a mentor to other business women
• owns (or is employed by) a Chamber-member business, preferably a Women’s Network member

NOMINATE HER TODAY!

DEADLINE TO SUBMIT IS MAY 7, 2010
Mail or email nomination to:

Mail or e-mail nomination to:
Liz Glockhoff
300 S. Providence Road
P.O. Box 1016
Columbia, MO 65205-1016
(P) 573.874.1132
lglockhoff@ColumbiaMoChamber.com

The recipient of the Award will receive a $1,000 grant from Women’s Network and Delta Systems. The winner will be announced at the Annual Chamber Meeting in June.

The Debin Benish Outstanding Businesswoman Award is a business grant designed for Columbia-area businesswomen who have achieved excellence in leadership, mentoring and volunteerism. It is awarded annually at the Columbia Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting.

Previous winners include Lili Vianello (2005), Lynda Baumgartner (2006), and Melody Parry (2007)

In 2005, Delta Systems Group and Women’s Network established the award to honor Debin Benish – Delta Systems Group’s founder and former owner. Sadly, Debin lost her battle with cervical cancer on June 14th, 2005. This award will live on to celebrate her life and the distinguished efforts of women in business throughout Mid-Missouri.

Rose Ditter has won the 2009 Debin Benish Outstanding Businesswoman Award. The award was presented by the 2008 winner, Kim Trabue, at the 2009 Columbia Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting & Awards Banquet. The award comes as an engraved picture frame coupled with a $1,000 grant.

Rose Ditter Presented with Outstanding Businesswoman of the Year 2009 Award. Pictured left to right: Kim Trabue, Rose Ditter, Dave Benish, and Steve Powell. Photo by Wally Pfeffer.

You can see all of Wally Pfeffer’s photo from the event

Kim Trabue’s Presentation Speech

It is my honor to present the 5th Annual Debin Benish Outstanding Business Woman Award tonight. For me this award was a wonderful validation of my administrative management degree and the many years of juggling life issues of the “real world.”

Balancing work and home and service is no easy task, but Debin Benish showed everyone who met her that it is right and good to reach for that balance. Like a three-legged stool we need all of the parts to be complete. She started her own business, Delta Systems, at a time when women were not encouraged to venture out on their own, not to mention in a technology field. She taught many people in this community to embrace technology, integrate it into our businesses, have fun with it, and grow with it.

I had the great fortune to learn from Debin herself. She didn’t make fun of me when I started at PWA and my computer experience dated back to COBOL programming punch cards. She did encourage me to push further, try harder, and to keep learning. She made herself and her talents available through many networking outlets. She was always willing to answer a question, find an answer, or make up something that would work in the meantime. Debin taught me that it’s important to break down anything that seems overwhelming into smaller, manageable parts. And that sometimes a good laugh just helps put things into perspective. Like many people I miss her honest candor and fun attitude.
Debin Benish was a strong business owner and a generous community mentor. Willing to travel to Washington to give voice to independent businesses, she didn’t shy from big challenges either.

With the support of Steve Powell, the current owner of Delta Systems, and Debin’s husband Dave Benish, Women’s Network continues the encouragement of Debin’s smile with this memorial award and $1,000 grant. This award is designed to honor a Columbia Business Woman who:

• Exhibits leadership in supporting small business
• Has a record of volunteering in the community
• Is a mentor to other business women, and
• Owns or is employed by a Chamber-member business, preferably a Women’s Network member

As I was talking about Debin, I described someone willing to teach, willing to learn, willing to give, and very energetic. That description also applies to this year’s award recipient. In fact, her friend told me that she is the real Energizer Bunny, never running out of energy.

This year’s recipient has owned, operated, and expanded an iconic Columbia business for over thirty years. She has served her national trade association as president, and she is picky about the quality of the delivery of her profession. She teaches classes at a national level, as well as meticulously training each of her own employees. Not only is her technical expertise appreciated, but her business acumen is well respected. She has adapted her business plan to stay current with changing trends, and her success led to a position on a local bank’s Advisory Board of Directors. The president of that bank said, “…she has demonstrated her ability to not only comprehend the banking business but to openly promote and attract clients to our bank through her leadership and broad-based community involvement and networking.”

Even as a busy business owner, she has stayed involved with community volunteering, especially as it relates to youth, through the Columbia Catholic Youth Organization, Columbia Senior All-Night parties, Boy Scouts, and Girl Scouts.

She enjoys time with family and friends through church activities, King’s Daughters, MIZZOU sports events, and camping. I’ve heard that she has wonderful children and grandchildren, and I hope she accepts that as what I believe to be the best compliment any woman can receive.

I’ve also heard that her personal passion is biking and that she has ridden a good way across her home state of Iowa.
In 1983 she received the Outstanding Young Business Person of the Year Award from the Columbia Jaycees. She must have been inspired because she has continually approached life and business with a giving spirit and has helped many people along the way.

In 2009 it is my honor to present the Debin Benish Outstanding Businesswoman Award to Rose Ditter.

About the Columbia Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting & Awards Banquet

The Columbia Chamber of Commerce helds its 104th Annual Meeting & Awards Banquet the evening on June 2, 2009 at the Reynolds Alumni Center in the heart of the Mizzou campus.

Rose Ditter was recognized with the 2009 Debin Benish Outstanding Businesswoman Award, Michele Spry received the Ambassador of the Year Award and the Outstanding Citizen Award was presented to Lynda Baumgartner. Lynda won the 2007 Debin Benish Outstanding Businesswoman Award.

You can also read the Chamber’s July 2009 newsletter article about the award

Delta Systems and Women’s Network are proud to announce the winner of the 2008 Debin Benish Outstanding Businesswoman Award: Ms. Kim Trabue!

The award was presented at the 2008 Columbia Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting & Awards Banquet held on the University of Missouri campus in the Stotler Lounge of the Memorial Union Building.

About Kim Trabue

This year’s recipient has given of herself professionally and personally.

She has supported many small business owners by volunteering her time as a FastTrac Columbia entrepreneurial class counselor for several years.

She is an MU Business School Graduate, and is a founding member of the Society for Design Administration Mid-Missouri Chapter. She is also a founding officer of Bruin Band Boosters and has been working to establish the Angel Food Ministries grocery distribution through her local church.

She has provided leadership for 17 years to Peckham & Wright Architects, and was elected to the company’s Board of Directors in 1998, where she serves as the corporate Secretary-Treasurer. In this role she has led PWA towards improved financial performance, setting new revenue and performance records for the past several years.

She has been the driving force behind Canstruction – a non-profit event that has raised more than 63 tons of food and thousands of dollars for the Central Missouri Food Bank. She has organized teams to design and build giant structures of cans, which are displayed as artistic sculptures for community enjoyment while bringing attention to the problem of hunger in our midst.

She does all this while providing support to her loving family.

If you’d like to congratulate Kim, feel free to contact her.

About the Award

The Debin Benish Outstanding Businesswoman Award is co-sponsored by Delta Systems and Women’s Network, which each year chooses a deserving business woman who exemplifies the values of leadership, volunteerism, community involvement, and mentoring. Nominations are taken from the public and from the selection committee with winners usually completely unaware that they have even been nominated. The winner receives a $1,000 grant from Delta Systems, Women’s Network, and an anonymous donor.

Started in 2005 to celebrate the contributions and life of Debin Benish, founder of Delta Systems and an extremely active participant in the Columbia Chamber of Commerce for almost 20 years, the annual award was presented in 2005 to Lili Vianello of Visionworks Marketing and Communication, was presented in 2006 to Lynda Baumgartner of Image Technologies of Missouri, and was presented in 2007 to Melody Parry of Outfront Communications.

If you know a Columbia businesswoman who:

• exhibits leadership in supporting small business
• has a record of volunteering in the community
• is a mentor to other business women
• owns (or is employed by) a Chamber-member business, preferably a Women’s Network member

NOMINATE HER TODAY!

DEADLINE TO SUBMIT IS MAY 2, 2008
Mail or email nomination to:

Michelle Earhart mearhart@columbiaMOchamber.com
300 S Providence Rd
PO Box 1016
Columbia, MO 65205-1016
Phone: 573-874-1132
Fax: 573-443-3986

The recipient of the Award will receive a $1,000 grant from Women’s Network and Delta Systems. The winner will be announced at the Annual Chamber Meeting in June 2008.

The Debin Benish Outstanding Businesswoman Award is a business grant designed for Columbia-area businesswomen who have achieved excellence in leadership, mentoring and volunteerism. It is awarded annually at the Columbia Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting.

Previous winners include Lili Vianello (2005), Lynda Baumgartner (2006), and Melody Parry (2007)

In 2005, Delta Systems Group and Women’s Network established the award to honor Debin Benish – Delta Systems Group’s founder and former owner. Sadly, Debin lost her battle with cervical cancer on June 14th, 2005. This award will live on to celebrate her life and the distinguished efforts of women in business throughout Mid-Missouri.

Delta Systems and Women’s Network are proud to announce the winner of the 2007 Debin Benish Outstanding Businesswoman Award: Ms. Melody Parry of Outfront Communications.

Chosen from a pile of outstanding nominees, Melody is currently assisting several charitable organizations, mentoring several other businesswomen, and is one of 3 hosts of The Woman Show, a talk show on KFRU radio.

The award was presented at the 2007 Columbia Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting & Awards Banquet held in the Lela Raney Wood Hall on the campus of Stephens College.

The Debin Benish Outstanding Businesswoman Award is co-sponsored by Delta Systems and Women’s Network, which each year chooses a deserving business woman who exemplifies the values of leadership, volunteerism, community involvement, and mentoring. Nominations are taken from the public, and usually nominees are not aware that they have even been nominated. To avoid nepotism, winners are chosen solely based on the content of the responses provided in the nomination forms. The winner receives a $1,000 grant from Delta Systems, Women’s Network, and an anonymous donor.

About the Award
Started in 2005 to celebrate the contributions and life of Debin Benish, founder of Delta Systems, the annual award was presented in 2005 to Lili Vianello of Visionworks Mareketing and Communication and was presented in 2006 to Lynda Baumgartner of Image Technologies of Missouri.

Delta Systems and Women’s Network are proud to announce the winner of the 2006 Debin Benish Outstanding Businesswoman Award: Ms. Lynda Baumgartner of Image Technologies of Missouri.

Chosen from a pile of outstanding nominees, Lynda is currently assisting over 15 charitable organizations, mentoring several other business women, and is one of 3 hosts of The Woman Show, a talk show on KFRU radio.

The award was presented on June 6, 2006 to a visibly surprised and moved Baumgartner at the 2006 Columbia Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting & Awards Banquet held in the recently refurbished Lela Raney Wood Hall on the campus of Stephens College.

The Debin Benish Outstanding Businesswoman Award is co-sponsored by Delta Systems and Women’s Network, which each year chooses a deserving business woman who exemplifies the values of leadership, volunteerism, community involvement, and mentoring. Nominations are taken from the public, and usually nominees are not aware that they have even been nominated. To avoid nepotism, winners are chosen solely based on the content of the responses provided in the nomination forms. The winner receives a $500 grant from Delta and Women’s Network.

Started in 2005 to celebrate the contributions and life of Debin Benish, founder of Delta Systems, the annual award was previously presented to Lili Vianello of Visionworks Marketing and Communications.

Both Baumgartner and Vianello have set the bar very high for future nominees.

Debin Benish Award Qualifications

The 2005 Debin Benish Outstanding Business Woman Award, a business grant designed for Columbia-area businesswomen who have achieved excellence in leadership, mentoring and volunteerism, was awarded to Lili Vianello at the Columbia Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting on June 9th,2005. Lili Vianello is the owner and president of Visionworks Marketing & Communications, a full-service marketing and image consulting firm offering award-winning works in advertising, graphic design, public relations, event coordination and media planning & placement. This award honors Lili’s extremely extensive list of volunteering efforts coupled with starting and successfully running Visionworks Marketing & Communications for a decade.

The award was spearheaded by Women’s Network and Delta Systems Group to honor Debin Benish, Delta Systems Group’s founder and former owner. Sadly, Debin lost her battle with cancer on June 14th, 2005 but this award will live on to continue to celebrate the distinguished efforts of women in business throughout Mid-Missouri.