I’m impressed with the answers to yesterday’s question: they were very precise and very close. In fact, I was in the ballroom at the Mandarin Oriental, 80 Columbus Circle & W 60th Street, NYC. I walked by the Trump Tower on 5th Avenue on my way there, and I walked through Central Park before the appointed meeting time. I believe this is right next to the Lincoln Center.

I attended the Traditional Home Classic Woman Awards ceremony as a guest of Mary Beth Schewitz, one of the award winners, a critique partner, and friend.

Every year, Traditional Home magazine honors six Classic Women whose volunteer efforts make their communities and the world a better place to live. Mary Beth started the Max Shewitz Foundation after her son, Max, died from a sudden cardiac arrhythmia at age 20 in 2005. The Foundation has two missions:

• To support education, prevention, and research of sudden cardiac death in young people.
• To support environmental conservation, a lifelong interest of Max’s. Specifically to support through education and conservation fragile and threatened reptile ecosystems and species.

Mary Beth’s efforts over the past five years have amazed, exhausted, and inspired me. It’s exciting to have her efforts recognized by Traditional Home and nothing short of astonishing that I was able to attend the awards ceremony with her, her husband, Chrissie (another critique partner), Chrissie’s husband, and several more of Mary Beth’s friends.

The luncheon was elegant and delicious, as you would expect. Mariel Hemmingway and the Traditional Home Editor in Chief, Ann Omvig Maine, hosted the event, introducing the award winners and telling their stories. And, oh, what stories! Schools in Cambodia, Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, respite and end-of-life facility for children . . . I was riveted. Every table was equipped with a Traditional Home Classic Woman box of tissues–this wasn’t the first awards ceremony; they know what they’re doing. Mariel had a box all her own.

Half of our online critique group: me, Mary Beth, and Chrissie.

It was inspiring and educational to learn how each woman’s passion grew into a program that reaches and improves an entire community. In each case, there is enormous support from friends, family, professionals, community members, and businesses–like Traditional Home magazine. I walked away from the luncheon charged up and eager to contribute to a giant and important effort to make the world a better place.

Check out the November issue of Traditional Home or visit the website to read these wonderful stories, and let’s all do something, anything, to help.