The Kerr County Lead honors 25 women and three groups at inaugural Women of Distinction celebration

About 210 guests filled Tucker Hall at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church on Friday night for The Kerr County Lead’s first-ever Women of Distinction Awards, a two-and-a-half-hour celebration of the women — and groups of women — who nominators said have shaped Kerr County, especially in the long recovery since the July 4, 2025 flood.

Lead founder Louis Amestoy and co-hosts Leslie Jones and Libbie Horton walked the room through 25 honors, drawing from a field of 70 nominated women represented by more than 90 written nominations.

“It was really impressive to see what we had as far as the number of people who took the time to write some of the things that we’re going to share tonight,” Amestoy told the crowd. “The sheer number of women that we had to kind of say no to initially — but the beauty of this is when I look around the room, I see a lot of women I know we’ll have the chance to honor in the years to come.”

He said the idea for the event traces back to a Tivy High School student who organized an effort years ago to make sure no girl on campus would be caught without supplies during a menstrual emergency. Amestoy interviewed the student, Lulu Stebbins, on The Lead Live at the time, and her initiative stuck with him. Stebbins, now a student at Texas Tech, was introduced first and honored as the inspiration for the evening.

Amestoy also paused to recognize two women not on the official list: Sally Avery, whom he credited with leading the effort to desegregate Tivy High School and Kerrville ISD in the 1960s, and Tara Bushnoe, the UGRA general manager who was unable to attend. Bushnoe, the first Kerr County official to testify before the Texas Legislature’s joint investigating committees after the flood, was honored in absentia. “She took it when they had their facts wrong, when they were out for blood against our community,” Amestoy said. “She’s a true woman of distinction.”

The evening also recognized three groups: the disaster case managers of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, the Hunt Preservation Society Community Allocation Committee, and the women of Peterson Hospice. Individual honorees recognized over the course of the night included Lora Walters, Bridget Symm, Kathleen Hudson, Mary Campana, Theresa Metcalf, Charvy Tork, Becky Etzler, Lucy Pearson, Kim Meismer, Kayte Graham, Mindy Wendele, Lt. Mary Krebs, Jayne Zirkel, Brenda Thompson, Tammy Prout and Luci Harmon, along with the evening’s closing group: the Fabulously Fierce Five.

Two community advocates, Jennifer Dascherl and Allison “Allie” Daschel also received a special recognition for their advocacy work in the community.

Peterson Hospice: “It says everything about the women”

Before the night’s final round of honors, Amestoy and his co-hosts sat down with Gretchen Rye to talk about Peterson Hospice, recognized as one of the evening’s three group honorees.

Amestoy noted that hospice workers are named, again and again, in local obituaries — families crediting them by name for the comfort they provided in a loved one’s final days. He asked Rye what that pattern says about her team.

“It says everything about the women at Peterson Hospice,” Rye said. “They give everything in themselves to the patients and their families so that they feel their love and comfort and peace at the most vulnerable time in their life.”

Rye asked the members of her team in the room to stand and be recognized, introducing hospice director Jennifer Chapman; bereavement coordinator, chaplain and social worker Janice Rodriguez; case manager Rebecca Rodriguez, frequently named in family obituaries; nurse case manager Jill; volunteer coordinators Alicia and Dell, who help oversee more than 60 hospice volunteers; chaplain Jamie Young; caregiver and grief support coordinator Brie; nurse aide representative Martha; office staff members Juliet and Kim; vice president of leadership Tracy Davis; and social worker and veteran services coordinator Cassandra.

“It is truly something — I know many people now, as I age, say to me that when hospice comes, it’s a relief,” Rye said. “And it’s such an important part of that as well.”

The Fabulously Fierce Five

The evening closed with five honorees the hosts dubbed the “Fabulously Fierce Five” — a phrase Amestoy admitted, more than once, he struggled to get out cleanly. “We had a lot of different names for this group,” he told the crowd. “This was tough, because all of these women are fab.”

Julie Davis, Kerrville Convention and Visitors Bureau

Davis was recognized for more than two decades leading Kerrville’s tourism efforts, work that took on new weight after the July 4, 2025 flood hit the city’s visitor economy. Nominators said she led the push to support local businesses and reassure visitors “with a smile despite constant criticism,” and that she “brings the light every day.”

On stage, Davis said she’s coming up on 25 years at the CVB. Asked about the state of tourism heading into the back half of the year, she said Kerrville hasn’t seen the dip some neighboring communities have felt this spring.

“We actually haven’t seen a dip in tourism compared to the other communities around us, and spring led into spring just as spring should,” Davis said. “People are spending less, but I can’t control that. I can only try to get them here — I cannot make them open their wallet.”

She was joined at her table by her husband, John; her mother’s partner, Roberto; her mother, Sheila; her daughters, Mary and Miranda; and son-in-law Ian, along with members of her CVB team.

Diane Green, Kerr Abstract and Title Company

Green bought Kerr Abstract and Title after first working there, and has now served as its president for more than 50 years. Nominators praised her for building a culture of responsive, community-minded service and for encouraging volunteerism among her staff — including her daughter, Kim, who now works alongside her.

Amestoy noted on stage that Green built her business in an era when women could still be denied a credit card or bank account without a husband’s signature. Green said she didn’t have to clear quite as many hoops to buy the business as some might expect.

“I bought it from somebody who I think wanted me to have it, so he kind of helped me,” Green said.

Asked about retirement, Green said she’s stepped back but stayed close. “Even though Kim is doing a great job, I’m there for support,” she said, calling her daughter “the hardest working person I know” and “a problem solver.” Green’s husband, Bob; daughter Kim; grandson Weston; and son Brandon all joined her at the event.

Amy Dozier, Kerrville Public Utility Board

Dozier, KPUB’s assistant general manager, was honored for her role advancing the utility’s power generation facility — a project nominators said will ensure long-term rate stability for KPUB customers for decades. The effort earned her the Texas Public Power Association’s 2025 Distinguished Service Award, and KPUB became the only municipal utility in the state to secure financing of its kind through the Texas Energy Fund.

Asked how complex the financing and permitting process was, on a scale of one to ten, Dozier didn’t hesitate. “It was a 10,” she said. “We are the only municipal entity that got this financing. We were the first ones to close our loan, and we’re the smallest project in the Texas Energy Fund.”

She also reflected on attending the groundbreaking at the plant site in Columbus, Texas. “It’s impressive, and it’s just something that’s going to serve our community,” Dozier said. Asked about KPUB’s future, she put it simply: “The future of KPUB is bright.”

Brenda Hughes, former Kerrville City Council member

Hughes was recognized for six years on the Kerrville City Council, four of them as mayor pro tem, guiding the city through the COVID-19 pandemic, Winter Storm Uri and the 2025 flood. She helped found Kerrville Pets Alive, helped pass the bond for the county’s new animal shelter, and has spent 15 years on the Hill Country CASA board. Nominators called her someone who “exemplifies the behavior and attitude you wish all public officials would exhibit.”

On stage, Hughes reflected on her recent loss in the race for Kerr County Commissioners Court Precinct 1, framing it with characteristic faith. “I said from the very beginning that if God wanted me there, he’d put me there,” she said. “But if he felt like he needed me somewhere else, that’s where he’ll put me.”

She also described a whirlwind rescue trip the week before the event: she and a fellow Kerrville Pets Alive volunteer drove nine dogs from Kerr County to Alabama and back in a single trip — roughly 17 hours each way, much of it in rain and highway construction. Hughes has four children, 14 grandchildren and, by her own account, not much free time. “There’s something going on all the time,” she said. “Football, soccer, cheerleading, you name it.”

Judy Eychner, former mayor of Kerrville

Eychner closed out the night’s honors. She has spent 37 years as a Kerrville resident, all of them in active community service, with stints on the City Council, two years as mayor, and board roles touching the Chamber of Commerce, Habitat for Humanity, the Dietert Center, the Doyle Center, KPUB, the Upper Guadalupe River Authority, Schreiner University and Kerr Together. “She does not seek these roles,” her nomination read. “Those who know her seek her for them.”

Asked for the highlight of her career, Eychner pointed to her two years as mayor. “The good, the bad, the ugly went along with that, but you put up with it,” she said, noting the city’s public safety building was completed during her single term. She was called into service again almost immediately after leaving office, helping stand up Kerr Together in the aftermath of the flood. “That was very rewarding,” Eychner said. “I wish I could have stayed longer, but family things just prevented me from being able to stay with it. But what that group has done is incredible.”

Asked what advice she’d give other women stepping into leadership, Eychner kept it simple: “Just having patience. Developing relationships is absolutely necessary. Just being yourself.”

Eychner was joined by her husband, George; son Brad; her daughter; grandson Emmett; daughter-in-law Janelle, an Air Force colonel; and longtime friends Mike and Barbara Norris.