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PHOTOS BY DOROTHY NELSON

DISTINGUISED. Honorees at Girl Scouts of Western Washington’s 17th annual fundraising luncheon are from left to right Lois Bernstein, senior vice president of community services for MultiCare Health System; Carolyn Shain, retired teacher and president emeritus of Washington Women’s Employment & Education; and Marcia Moe, grants consultant for Union Bank of California.

Local women honored at Girl Scout luncheon

By Karen Westeen

Girl Scouting works to build “Courage, confidence and character” and this was the theme of the 17th annual Pierce County Girl Scouts Women of Distinction luncheon held March 11 at Tacoma’s Bicentennial Pavilion. More than 500 guests were present to honor Lois Bernstein, Marcia Moe and Carolyn Shain, the 2008 Women of Distinction.

Bernstein is a senior vice president of community services for MultiCare Health System. Growing up in Detroit, her life was powerfully impacted by the death of her mother at the age of nine. She credits her father, now 96 and in attendance at the luncheon, for her Girl Scouting life. He signed her up and supported her during those difficult years. Her troop leaders became role models in her life. “I was vitally aware of the support I received from caring Girl Scouts,” Bernstein wrote in the program biography. This caring had much to do with her decision to choose a lifetime of community service activities.

While attending Michigan State University she served as a volunteer counselor in a drug education program. She continued in this area of work through jobs in community drug and alcohol programs while earning a master’s degree from San Diego State University in rehabilitation counseling.

Bernstein and her family moved to Tacoma in 1998, where she began working as vice president of marketing for MultiCare. Although by then she had moved on to work in more administrative positions she continued to volunteer in community clinics and recovery programs. “I have always been impressed by volunteering,” she said. She has served on the Red Cross board and currently is vice president and president-elect of the Point Defiance Zoological Society Board of Directors.

Moe has worked as a grants consultant for the Union Bank of California since 1994. Her Girl Scout “career” began as a Brownie.

Moe’s life was focused on ballet at an early age. When she was 15 she traveled to England to perform with London’s Royal Ballet. She also performed extensively throughout the United States, and was invited by Igor Stravinsky to appear as a soloist in the West Coast premiere of “L’Histoire du Soldat.” Moe served as resident choreographer for the first four years of the newly formed Seattle Opera following her graduation from University of Puget Sound in 1961.

Her other credits include helping to develop Centrum, the organization that provides arts programming at Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend, working with Washington State Arts Commission, and serving as development officer and assistant director on the staff of Pantages Theater beginning in 1984. She also was a co-founder of Tacoma Farmers Market and founder of Tacoma Civic Ballet.

Shain taught in Tacoma School District for 30 years. Growing up in Browns Point, she had fun as a Brownie and Girl Scout from elementary school through her sophomore year in high school. Through her Scouting activities she said she came to value women and the things women can do. Her joy at being involved with helping women carried over to both her career and her volunteer work. She is particularly proud of the accomplishments of Washington Women’s Employment and Education (WWEE). After serving on the WWEE board since 1986, she is now president emeritus of the organization.

Since her retirement in 1998, Shain continues to contribute to the community with her volunteering. She has chaired Junior League and Zoobilee, and helps with the Festival of Trees. She also volunteers with American Cancer Society and Breast Cancer Research Society. She loves sailing (a holdover from her Scouting days), golf, is active in her church and is on the planning committee for the upcoming 45th reunion at Wilson High School. She and her husband live in Gig Harbor.

KPLU’s Paige Hansen was master of ceremonies for the event, along with senior Girl Scout Rachel Rhodes. Nancy Wittenberg presented greetings from the local Girl Scout board, of which she is president. “Girl Scouting helps over 3,200 Girl Scouts throughout Pierce County develop skills to deal with an increasingly complex world,” she said. Girls from 5-17 are involved in such programs as Scouting Beyond Bars (for girls whose mothers are in prison), Fostering a Future (for girls in foster care) and Skills for Life (for girls in low-income areas).

The by-donation luncheon raised more than $51,000. This money will go to support these and other programs. Local council headquarters are located in DuPont. For further information on Girl Scouting call (253) 475-0307 or go online to www.girlscoutsww.org.

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