By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce President Natalie Hawn has been named one of 10 Missouri Women of Achievement.
The award is presented annually by Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe to honor women of achievement in the state during Women’s History Month.
Hawn says the award caught her by surprise.
“I didn’t know I had been nominated,” Hawn tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “So, it was a surprise. I feel very humbled. There are a lot of amazing women in the state of Missouri who deserve to be recognized. So, it was quite the honor.”
Kehoe established the award in 2022 to recognize the diverse accomplishments of Missouri women during Women’s History Month.
Hawn not only runs the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce, she is involved in a number of community organizations. Hawn also is treasurer of the Hawthorn Foundation, a private statewide organization promoting the state’s economic interests. Hawn serves on the Air Mobility Command Leadership Academy representing the 139th Airlift Wing, based at Rosecrans Memorial Airport in St. Joseph.
Hawn says she feels a responsibility to be a role model for young girls and women, one reason she worked with others to create the Madam President’s Camp which will be held in July for junior high girls.
“Really that’s a very vulnerable time of dealing with self-confidence and aspiring for what you would like to do in the future,” Hawn says. “That 12, 13, 14-year-old timeframe is so critical, so critical for those students and for those young women to really have great mentors and aspire. And so, I try to get involved in programs like that so I can pay it forward, because somebody paid it forward for me.”
Hawn counts as her role models her mother as well as Rep. Brenda Shields of St. Joseph, who nominated her for the award.
Hawn will be honored as one of the 2024 Women of Achievement Award winners during a ceremony at the Missouri state Capitol on March 14th.
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