The United Way of Greater Greensboro has named Mona Edwards as the 2019 recipient of the organization’s “Gwendolyn and Dr. Alvin V. Blount Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award.”
Next month, Edwards will be presented with the award during the local United Way’s annual Community Speaker series.
According to a press release announcing the award, Edwards was selected because she has “dedicated her professional career and life to helping others achieve personal greatness.”
Edwards is the founder and owner of LIFT Coaching and Consulting. In that capacity, she provides leadership development guidance to people throughout the community.
Edwards has also shown a great deal of dedication in aiding area residents through both public and private sector work. She has served as the chief operating officer for the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro and as vice president and chief of staff at the Center for Creative Leadership. She has also been the Deputy/Assistant City Manager for the City of Greensboro.
Edwards will receive the Blount Lifetime Achievement Award at the United Way Community Speaker Series, on Monday, May 20.
The press release announcing the award addressed Edwards’ commitment to the local community.
“Throughout her professional career,” it stated, “Edwards has volunteered her time and talents with many local non-profits and community organizations, including United Way where she has served as a member of the Board of Directors, has chaired United Way’s Community Investment Council and been a previous member of Women United. Currently, Mona serves on United Way’s Governance Committee and is a member of the African American Leadership Affinity Group.”
The release goes on to state that she’s a member of the Virginia State Bar, the Triad Coaching Connection and the Women’s Professional Forum.
Edwards, a graduate of Leadership Greensboro and Other Voices, is also a board member for, and secretary of, the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
She’s also a board member of the Piedmont Triad Chapter of The National Conference for Community and Justice, and she currently chairs the Human Resources Committee.
The United Way’s Lifetime Achievement Award was first handed out in 2012 when Blount received the first one, which was then called the “Distinguished Service Lifetime Achievement Award.” The following year, the award was renamed for the Blounts. Now, every other year, when African American Leadership hosts United Way’s Community Speaker Series, the lifetime achievement award carries Dr. Blount’s name – since it goes to “someone who, like Dr. Blount, has demonstrated a lifetime of impact on our community.”
Over the years, recipients of the United Way’s Lifetime Achievement Award have included Tom and Linda Sloan, Dr. Preston Clark, David and Joann Grimes, James “Smitty” Smith, Royce and Jane Reynolds, Dr. Maya Angelou and Dr. Edward B. Fort.
