Published: Saturday, Feb. 28, 2009

Updated: Saturday, Feb. 28, 2009

Three women honored as local role models

BRADENTON — Three remarkable women who have become role models for others were honored Friday with Women in Strength Awards from the Junior League of Manatee County during a luncheon at Bradenton County Club.

The room was packed as Valerie Wojciechowicz, Ruth Lyerly and Tristan Smith stepped up to the podium to tell their stories of how they turned major obstacles in their lives into opportunities to help others.

Dozens of students from PACE Center for Girls of Manatee County attended the event, which was a fundraiser for the school sponsored by the Junior League.

Shelly Stein, a local psychotherapist, nominated Wojciechowicz, a well-known HIV/AIDS educator, motivational speaker and personal trainer.

“Valerie has overcome many obstacles in her life, including addiction, obesity and HIV,” Stein wrote in her nomination. “She has used her experience in battling these conditions and related stigmas to become a stronger woman and to use that strength to help others.”

Stein used herself as an example.

“I was a confirmed couch potato three years ago when Valerie became my personal trainer,” she said.

“Today I am fit. Valerie has become a close friend. She is such a good role model because of the difficult choices she made in facing very difficult circumstances.”

In accepting her award, Wojciechowicz said bad times can lead to positive changes in life.

“Alcohol provided a false sense of security for me,” she said. “In January, I celebrated 22 years of sobriety by making good choices. Even seemingly bad things are good things in disguise if we choose to look for the good things.”

Being diagnosed with HIV changed Wojciechowicz’s focus in life. She speaks openly about the challenges of living with HIV and the importance of getting tested and HIV prevention.

She currently sits on the board of Project Smile and is a member of the Florida Statewide Consumer Advisory Group and the National Association of People with AIDS. She is a founding member of 4HIVHelp.com, an educational Web site.

Jayne Kocher nominated Lyerly, who serves as chairwoman of the Manatee County Substance Abuse Coalition and is co-founder of Families Against Addictive Drug Abuse.

Lyerly became a powerful spokeswoman against substance abuse four years ago after her son, Todd, who suffered from drug addiction, shot himself at age 18, just before his commencement at Manatee High School.

“I couldn’t leave my son’s death unanswered,” Lyerly said in accepting her award. “This is Todd’s legacy, the reason why I do all I do.”

“Ruth is a force to be reckoned with,” said Kocher. “That’s why I admire her so much. She is campaigning in Tallahassee for passage of a prescription drug monitoring bill that if passed will curtail pill mills and doctor shopping which is how these drugs are getting onto the streets and into our kids.”

Lyerly is also a registered nurse and volunteer extraordinaire helping victims of both Hurricane Charley and Hurricane Katrina, Kocher said.

Tristan Smith is a role model for all PACE students, said Amy Wick Mavis, the school’s executive director.

Once an average teenager, Smith’s life changed six years ago when she got in trouble at school, was expelled and then arrested later in the afternoon after she got into a fight with other teens.

“I will never forget that day,” said Smith. now 20. “It was Cinco de Mayo. My whole life changed, and I knew I had to start making some positive choices, beginning with the choice to attend PACE.”

The school for troubled girls, which provides intensive one-on-one tutoring, small classes and constant support helped Smith focus on academics, said Wick.

Upon graduation at 18, Smith’s life changed again when she learned she was pregnant. Smith was working as a waitress at a local restaurant at the time.

“My mother told me I better do something because I couldn’t raise a baby working as a waitress,” Smith said.

Smith enrolled at Manatee Technical Institute, earning her certification as a dental assistant. Today she is employed at Bayshore Dental Associates and has plans to continue her schooling to become a registered dental hygienist.

“I was able to be successful in school by working at my own pace,” Smith said. “My hope is for the day my daughter can attend PACE, not because she got into trouble, but because she deserves the love and support of PACE staff.”