Utica –  Assemblywoman for the New York State Assembly 119th District, Marianne Buttenschon held her annual Women of Distinction event on Friday to honor local women and students who make our Mohawk Valley communities stronger.

In honor of March being Women’s History Month, Assemblywoman Buttenschon has a local event to honor women in her Assembly District who effect positive change and go above and beyond to support their communities. She had people submit their nominations by mail and then invited these women and their nominators to the special event.

This year was different because Assemblywoman Buttenschon reached out to all local high school superintendents in her district to have their students participate in this event. The purpose was to expand the event to not only local women but also local high school students.

At the event, each nominee was given a merit and carnation in recognition of their contributions to their communities. All of the nominees were honored to have been nominated and recognized for their contributions.

Some of the attributes from the local women were business/law, volunteerism, visionary, humanitarian, community activist, organizer, law enforcement, education, church volunteers, caregiver, veteran advocate, historian.

Some of the attributes from the students were humble, polite, intelligent, caring, compassionate, humanitarian, volunteerism, self-motivation, leadership skills, positive attitude and real people.

Over the past several years, this event has expanded and become very popular in the Assembly District. Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon is very proud to hold this event because it exemplifies the people in her area who contribute so much unselfishly to the community and keep it growing.

“I look around the room and I am very proud of the women in my community who continue to inspire me to be a stronger woman,” Assemblywoman Buttenschon said, “A community is only as good as the people and certainly Women of Distinction exemplifies the quality and honor that is shown and demonstrated in my area.”

“We look forward to next year’s event to continue exemplifying the wonderful women in our fantastic area and how they have helped it grow, prosper and maintain life in the 119th Assembly District” said Assemblywoman Buttenschon, “Our area will go down in history as a wonderful place to live.”