Adrienne Kelly Lumpkin to be Inducted into YWCA Academy of Women

Released on = October 26, 2005, 11:11 am

Press Release Author = Diane Pettus/Pettus.Inc

Industry = -

Press Release Summary = Entrepreneur’s Career Embodies YWCA’s Mission of Eliminating Racism and Empowering Women

Press Release Body = Raleigh, NC -- Adrienne Kelly Lumpkin, President of Alternate Access®, has been selected for one of the most coveted and unique awards in the Triangle. For her entrepreneurial commitment to eliminating racism and empowering
women, she will be inducted into the YWCA Academy of Women on November 10 during the YWCA’s 23rd Annual Awards’ Ceremony. Adrienne will join eleven other women who have likewise been chosen for their singular achievements in a specific discipline.

The YWCA Academy of Women is an honorary society formed in 1983. Exceptional women who embody the organization’s mission to “Eliminate Racism and Empower Women” are recognized in the areas of Arts/Entertainment; Business; Community Service;
Education; Entrepreneur; Exercise and Sports Fitness; Government; Health and Human Services; Professions; Service and Technology; Teen Woman; and this year there is also a Special Recognition category. Adrienne is the 2005 Entrepreneur inductee.

Adrienne is the immediate past president, and the first African American president, of the Greater Raleigh Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO). Under her leadership, NAWBO-Raleigh’s membership saw significant growth as
did corporate sponsorships, and attendance at monthly meetings doubled. Among her many NAWBO achievements, she initiated a Women’s Leadership Breakfast which brought together, for the first time, leaders from 18 of the area women’s organizations to
network, discuss common ground, and architect ways to work together.

In a just completed term on the board of the Raleigh Little Theatre, Adrienne successfully realized her goal to bring more ethnic diversity to its audience, actors, and volunteers by designing theatre outings for African-American organizations and actor/audience interactions. For the past three years, Adrienne has also served on the Business Alliance Board at Ligon Middle School in Wake County. Working with other members of the Alliance, she established a very successful and meaningful dialogue among Ligon’s teachers on issues of race in the
school. Named Diversity Dialogues™, and inspired by the YWCA Racial Study Circle model, this workshop became a catalyst for an on-going Diversity Committee created by those teachers who participated in the program.

As a woman business owner, Adrienne has been recognized by Business Leader Magazine with a Women Extraordinaire Award and with a Women in Business Award from Triangle Business Journal. She was a finalist in the first Enterprising Women of the Year Awards given by Enterprising Women Magazine. And in 2004, she received a
Distinguished Alumni Award for Outstanding Business Achievement and Community Service from her alma mater, Wesleyan University, CT.

Adrienne is a lifetime member of the National Black MBA Association and has held leadership positions at the local and national board level, including National Secretary. She was voted MBA of the Year for her chapter in 1993 and 1997 and won the H. Naylor Fitzhugh Award of Relevance from the national association in 1999.

About her award, Adrienne reflects, “I am moved and humbled by this recognition because it goes beyond quantitative achievements of my business and acknowledges the work of the heart that is meaningful to me as a person. It multiplies the fulfillment I feel in connecting women and people of different hues and backgrounds. It is promising to know there are organizations and others who hold high the values
of empowering women and eliminating racism from our society.”

About Alternate Access
Alternate Access empowers service businesses to dramatically boost their productivity and customer service levels by delivering integrated, intuitive and indispensable business phone systems. Customers include real estate, construction, medical, staffing, florists, auto dealers and other service businesses. Alternate
Access quickly gets to the core of how your business works and combines the convenience of your telephone with the intelligence of your computer - for bottom line results. Converged Communications for Competitive Advantage. For more information, contact us at www.AlternateAccess.com or call toll free at 866-831-9273.

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Web Site = http://www.alternateaccess.com

Contact Details = MEDIA CONTACT:
Diane Pettus
Pettus.Inc
919-542-7463
dpettus@pettusinc.com