BPW Week co-chair Ellie McClelland (left) with Woman of the Year Georgia Lambert (right). Photo by Bruce Kropp.
The Centralia Business and Professional Women’s Club has named their Boss and Woman of the Year at a reception held Tuesday night at Heritage Woods in Centralia.
The Boss of the Year is Maria Pryor, who is in her fifth year as Principal at St. Mary’s Grade School in Centralia after serving as a teacher for 12 additional years. Pryor was honored for her dedication, mentorship, being a role model, and for doing the right thing.
“I have a great staff, truly the best staff,” Pryor said. “They make my job very easy. I came in right after the pandemic and like a lot of parochial schools in this area, our numbers were down, and they’ve just grown exponentially. I have to thank my staff for that. They are the ones that honored me with this award, and I’m just proud of them and proud to be part of their group.”
The nominees noted she works with staff, parents and students alike and knows all the students’ names and shares their milestones.
The Woman of the Year is St. Mary’s Critical Care Registered Nurse Georgia Lambert who has spent her lifetime as a nurse following in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother. She was honored for leading quietly and powerfully.
“I worked at St. Mary’s for 28 years,” Lambert said. I taught nursing at Rend Lake for 14 and I was a travel nurse for 6. I started at St. Mary’s as a CNA and I worked my way up into my RN, my BSN and my Master’s. Nursing has been my passion, and I always felt like a St. Mary’s girl. embody everything the St. Mary’s mission stands for.”
Lambert says there has been no highlight of her career as she has enjoyed all aspects of being a nurse.
Past Women and Bosses of the Year in attendance were also recognized. The Woman of the Year program began in 1971 and Boss of the Year in 1991.
Past BPW Women and Bosses of the Year. Photo by Bruce Kropp.
