Matoska-Mentink to receive 2024 Susan B. Anthony – Women of Influence Lifetime Achievement Award

KENOSHA – Rebecca Matoska-Mentink will receive the Susan B. Anthony — Women of Influence Lifetime Achievement Award at an event set for Friday, March 22, 2024, at UW- Parkside’s De Simone Arena, 4130 Petrifying Springs Road, Kenosha.

Matoska-Mentink is the Kenosha County Clerk of Circuit Courts and is an active volunteer and board member, serving many community-based organizations. She currently serves as chairperson of the Gateway Technical College Board of Trustees. She serves on the board of the Kenosha Achievement Center, the Hope Council on Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse, and the Village of Pleasant Prairie Police and Fire Commission. She had previously been named Volunteer of the Year for the Kenosha Boys & Girls Club and the D.A.R.E. Patron of the Year. She is also vice- president of the Wisconsin Clerks of Circuit Court Association.

“Becky has, and continues to, make a selfless impact in our community and for that she is an inspiration,” said Amanda Blommel, chair of the Susan B. Anthony-Women of Influence Awards Committee.

In addition to Matoska-Mentink, Women of Influence Awards will be presented to:

• Nakeisha “Nikki” Dennard Payne, who serves on a number of boards, including United Way of Kenosha County, the NAACP and the Coalition for Dismantling Racism, in the category of Business/Government/Nonprofit;
• Rebecca Stevens, who has served on the Kenosha Unified School District Board for 16 years, in the category of Arts/Education; and
• Jenna Zeihen, founder of Soul Space Kenosha, and Miss Kenosha 2022, in the category of Woman to Watch (for women under 40).

The money raised at the event will be awarded to local nonprofit organizations serving girls and/or women and their families in Kenosha County as well as scholarships for nontraditional-aged female students.

Selected to receive the 2024 Scholarships are: Shannon Adamczyk, who is studying accounting at the College of Lake County, and Lisa Kurman, studying for her master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

The nonprofit organizations selected to receive funds in 2024 are:

• Boys & Girls Club for its SMART Girls program;
• ELCA Outreach Center for its Feminine Products project;
• Hope Council for its Loved Ones Group;
• KAFASI for its Power Her with Essentials program;
• Kenosha Literacy Council for its Lifting Women’s Voices project;
• Shalom Center for its Shelter Bus Tokens program;
• Sharing Center for its Hygiene Supplies program; and
• Society’s Assets for its Advocacy in Action program.

Matoska-Mentink was nominated for this award by her mother-in-law, Kathleen Mentink, who described her daughter-in-law as someone who “cares about her community and actively participates. She puts her money where her mouth is, and I consider her a real ‘boots on the ground’ person.”

Previous Susan B. Anthony – Women of Influence Lifetime Achievement Award winners include: Saundra Yelton-Stanley; Camille Thibaudeau-Meyers; Anne Bergo; Barbara Kluka, JD; Frieda Schurch; Jennifer Fostel, PhD; Rosanna Ranieri, MD; Eunice Boyer, PhD; Katherine Marks; Terry Potente; Kay Wikel; Beverly Jambois, JD; Joan Wilk, PhD; Joyce Erickson; Natalie Troha; Adelene Greene; Florence Hammelev; Kathy Barth; Jane Harrington-Heide; Patricia Johnson; Debra Hertzberg; Roseann Shales; Guida Brown; Earlene Jornt Girman; Michelle Serpe; Connie Ferwerda; Joanne Rattan; Honorable Mary Wagner; Ellen Brookhouse;  Betsy Brown; Gina Madrigrano Friebus; Mary Lou Mahone (posthumous); Terry Wruck; and Ardis Mahone-Mosley.

The Kenosha Women’s Network, AAUW-Kenosha (WI) Branch and Tempo Kenosha are three women’s organizations in Kenosha that collaborate to make the Susan B. Anthony – Women of Influence Awards possible.

Event sponsorship packages are: Elizabeth Cady Stanton Level, $2,500; Alice Paul Level, $1,750; Ida B. Wells Level, $1,000; and Olympia Brown Level, $500.

Reservations to attend the event, which often sells out, are now available at Eventbrite.com by searching “Susan B. Anthony Awards Dinner.” The reservation deadline is March 14, 2024. Early bird pricing, received no later than February 23, 2024, is $60 each, or a table of 8 for $455. After February 24, tickets will be $65 each, or a table of 8 for $505. For more information about tickets or sponsorships, contact Wendy Gauss at susanbdinner@gmail.com. People and businesses are also encouraged to support the event by advertising in the Dinner Program. For more information about advertising, please also contact Gauss.