More than 4oo women and a handful of men were part of the annual Women Achievers Conference, an event hosted by Business Life Magazine. The event took place last Friday at the Castaway restaurant in Burbank with hundreds of people waiting for the doors to the luncheon to open.
Greg Krikorian, president and chief executive of Glendale-based Business Life, got into the act. He stood front and center in front of the women getting pictures taken. His magazine was one of the first publications to recognize women three decades ago.
As lunch was served, each Woman Achiever crossed the stage to receive her award and the recognition she deserved. The women were Diana Abasta, Kandice Astamendi, Lina Badr, Mariana Bayramyan, Janet Braun, Brenda Burroughs, Aliya Coher, Marisol Espinoza, Kim Guard, Andra Hoffman, Mary Kavukchyan, Marina Khubesrian, Camille Levee, Paulette Malekian, Lisa Malm, Cory C. Moss, Sonia Nersissian, Carolyn Peroomian, Christine Ramos, Dianne Russell-Carter, Jo B. Solomonson, Peggy Taylor, Nora Tchaparian, Karen Volpei-Gussow, Debra Ward-Samad, Jill Welton, Martha Wilson, and Kerri Yoder-Hubbard.
Some notable wins included Christine Antonovich Hu, honored for lifetime achievement and, recognition for exemplary leadership went to commercial real estate agent and community volunteer Elizabeth Manasserian.
Since its inception in 2014, nine scholarships have been awarded. The 2019 scholarship went to Gabriela Borraez.
The late couple John and Elsie Krikorian were the founders and editors of Business Life magazine.