By Karen Goh, Executive Director, Garden Pathways

Garden Pathways will honor four outstanding “Women with a Heart for Bakersfield” at the eighth annual High Tea on Wednesday, June 9, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Seven Oaks Country Club. Honorees Kim Albers, Cathy Butler, Susan Hersberger, and Dayna Nichols have a proven record of exceptional community service and leadership that has made a positive and lasting impact in Bakersfield.

Mayor Harvey Hall and other dignitaries will present awards and resolutions to these women who inspire, mentor, and empower others to serve their community.

Proceeds from the event will provide mentoring and education services for youth and families who are seeking to overcome the challenges of poverty and at-risk conditions and are moving toward educational advancement and self-sufficiency. Participants served include youth and families impacted by gang violence, families transitioning from welfare-to-work and child protective services programs, emancipating and emancipated foster youth, pregnant and parenting youth, and other at-risk youth.  Attendees will hear how the power of mentoring has transformed lives from the inside out through hope and relationship.

The four honorees have shaped the life of the Bakersfield community and have served as mentors to many.

Kim Albers

Kim Albers is co-founder and director of Flood Bakersfield Ministries. She leads diverse initiatives to battle homelessness through long-term relationships that meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the deeply impoverished.

Alber’s passion for the hurting has mobilized hundreds of volunteers for weekly Saturday night outreaches that serve 300 to 400 guests, a 12-block graffiti wash program, and an emergency assistance program to prevent homelessness.

Albers is vice chair of the Kern County Homeless Collaborative and co-chair of community outreach for the 10-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness.

Cathy Butler

For more than 35 years, Cathy Butler has been an advocate and driving force in the development of downtown Bakersfield, serving as the secretary, then office manager, and, now, as the president of the Downtown Business Association.

Butler’s relentless efforts have improved the quality of life in the heart of Bakersfield  with the emerging arts district, the Downtown Street Faires, the Mill Creek project, and the restoration of the Fox Theater and the Padre Hotel.

Butler, dubbed “Queen of the Fox,” led the successful “Save the Fox” campaign. As president of the Arts Council of Kern, Butler continues to advance the arts.

Susan Hersberger

Susan Hersberger, public affairs director of Aera Energy, enriches Kern County through sustained engagement and leadership in a broad spectrum of civic affairs.

With a history of copious community involvement, Hersberger currently serves on the leadership team of Greater Bakersfield Vision 2020, and on the board of directors for both the Bakersfield Museum of Art and the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra. She also serves on the executive advisory council of California State University, Bakersfield’s School of Business and Public Administration.

She is an active member of the Rotary Club of Bakersfield.

Dayna Nichols

As owner and CEO of Castle Print & Publication, Dayna Nichols has established a company culture of giving back to family and community.

For 19 years, Nichols has served on the executive board of Options Unlimited Bakersfield Women’s Business Conference and the Bakersfield City School District Education Foundation.

She chairs Kern County Family Week, serves as director at large of the Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce, is active on the Women’s & Girls Fund Vision Committee, and assists many nonprofits.

Past honorees also will be recognized at the High Tea — Sheryl Barbich, Karen Brown, Izetta Camp, Irma Carson, Esther Chapman, Holly Culhane, Peggy Darling, Joan Dezember, Beckie Diltz, Annie Everly, Chris Frank, Susan Handy, Ann Hansen, Beverly Beasley Johnson, Virginia Kirschenman, Pauline Larwood, Judi McCarthy, Billie Jo Medders, Barbara Patrick, Christy Porter, Jeanette Richardson Parks, Rebecca Rivera, M.D., Sunny Scofield, Sandra Serrano, Mary K. Shell, Susie Small, Lueether Ward, Connie Wattenbarger, Wendy Wayne, and Betty Younger.

The public is invited to honor these outstanding women, as well as to invest in the community through mentoring and education. Individual tickets are $65. Host ($5,000), Gold ($2,500), Silver ($1,250) and Bronze ($500) sponsorships are available.

For more information about the High Tea or Garden Pathways, contact Executive Director Karen Goh at (661) 633-9133, www.gardenpathways.org.