Isle City of Alameda BPW's observance of National Business Women's Week

Isle City of Alameda Business and Professional Women presented awards to Bay Area women during its National Business Women's Week (NBWW) Awards Ceremony.

Isle City 's L.E.N.A. went to Melody Marr, CEO, Alameda Chamber of Commerce. Woman of Achievement in the Arts went to Natasha Miller, Jazz Singer. Woman of Achievement in Community Service went to Beverly Buhnerkempe. Woman of Achievement in the Sciences went to Charlotte Tlachac.

Representative Pete Stark attended and handed each awardee the Isle City Award, plus his own award certificate and ones from Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Assemblywoman Wilma Chan and Supervisor Alice Lai-Bitker.

Isle City 's L.E.N.A. Award, presented to Melody Marr, stand for leadership, education, networking and achievement. The Award was created to honor a BPW/USA and BPW International founder, Lena Madesin Phillips. Melody Marr brought to the Alameda Chamber an extensive experience in marketing, advertising, and web site development. She has over ten years experience working with local governments as a volunteer and as an appointed official. She currently serves her second term as Chair of the Board of Zoning Adjustments for the City of San Leandro . Her background includes six years as executive director of the Airport Area Business Association in Oakland . Ms. Marr is a resident of San Leandro .

Natasha Miller, Woman of Achievement in the Arts, is a jazz singer with spunk, sass, and soul. ."Natasha sings engaging material with sensitivity and insight, her cool musicality and clear articulation illuminating the unfamiliar pieces.” said-Don Heckman, Journalist, Los Angeles Times . Her first release in the jazz genre, Talk to Me Nice (Poignant Records), is an album of standards, and her current release, I Had a Feelin', “plumbs the depths of complicated emotion”.

Beverly Buhnerkempe, recipient of Woman of Achievement in Community Service, worked for many years for Girls, Inc in the office and as bookkeeper. Among those organizations for whom she has been a volunteer are the Alameda Food Bank, the BayView Women's Club, a swimming coach for the Alameda Swim Team, an activist in Alameda Swimming Pool Association, and a West End Alameda Skate Park organizer, the Alameda Point Collaborative and other organizations in West End to help youth and the neighborhood.

Dr. Charlotte Tlachac, Woman of Achievement in the Sciences, has her private practice, Island Eyecare, in Alameda , specializing in contact lenses. She is author of many articles in both the peer and lay press and a lecturer to optometrists in the U.S. and abroad. She is an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California , Berkeley School of Optometry in the Contact Lens Clinic. Dr. Tlachac has participated in a variety of FDS studies and has done clinical research in contact lenses and lens solutions for several companies. She has been active in local, state and national optometric organizations, holding several positions of leadership.

For over 75 years, Business and Professional Women/USA (BPW/USA) and the BPW Foundation have sponsored National Business Women's Week™ celebrations, giving its local organizations and the community an opportunity to acknowledge the accomplishments of talented women.

For further information on Isle City , e-mail isle_city@yahoo.com or phone 510 864-9005.

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