Cynematik • Cyndi Greening

Last evening, (Thursday, March 6, 2008) Beth McDonald, Schumacher Mercedes and the folks at KEZ threw a celebratory dinner for the twelve Woman of the Year nominees. It was held at the Hyatt Gainey Ranch in North Scottsdale. The Hyatt is always wonderful. Great ambiance, great food, great service. The only thing that could make it better is if they held it in the mineral pool at Spa Avania. Just kidding, of course. I kept telling the other nominees that there would be a swimsuit competition later in the evening. Now, mind you, some of these women established orphanages in Afghanistan, escaped violence in Bosnia and faced personal danger on streets serving the homeless. But, mention a public viewing in a bathing suit and they tremble with (mock) fear. It was funny.

Nominees were allowed to bring three of their friends to the event. Most everyone seemed to have invited the person who nominated them for the honor (I, of course, invited my nominator, Pamela Jo). Each table had two nominees and their pals (MCC Media Arts professor Jeanette Roe and FilmZambia-supporter Tammy Fannin rounded out my party) AND two representatives of KEZ. We were joined by the delightful Smokey Rivers (former on-air personality and current programming director) and the gracious, gregarious Kevin Gossett. We ended up in a fun conversation about KILTS (yes, he used to wear a kilt) and the winds that whip off the Great Lakes. He grew up in Indiana, so I got more insight into Purdue University.

The event is sponsored by 99.9 FM and Schumacher Mercedes Benz. We received an evening and dinner at the Hyatt, a day at Spa Avania and (Alec’s and my favorite) a great Mercedes Benz model car built to 1/18 scale with working doors, hood and trunk. The model is a very durable and accurate metal Benz and, as it is no doubt intended, motivates me yearn for one of my very own. The Schumacher folks were at the table beside us. Mr. and Mrs. Werner Schumacher were in attendance and generously presented winner, Zema Kovac, with an oversize check for $2500. Everyone was teasing about wanting to go with her when she went to the ATM. Young Michael Schumacher was there with the folks. The other nominees were given (in addition to all of the other prizes), a crisp Ben Franklin. I was being silly and saying, “Look what I got for the night.” Michael teased back and said, “No, that’s for the whole year.” Funny. Nothing I love more than a great sense of humor. (In my internet search, I discovered there’s a Formula One driver by the name of Michael Schumacher who is considered the greatest driver alive. Not the same fellow, but interesting just the same.)

We had a great evening. Arizona Supreme Court Justice Ruth McGregor spoke about her path from entering college to get her teaching certificate to her current position on the Arizona Court. She shared funny stories about her college days and early days as a female attorney. I was fascinated with her story and thought, “Heck, someone should nominate her for woman of the year.” So, if you know a courageous woman that you think deserves the honor, go to KEZ to Nominate for the Beth McDonald Woman of the Year.