Chattanooga, Tennessee (May 17, 2019) – At Friday’s Leadership Luncheon honoring the 2019 class of Leadership Chattanooga, the Leadership Chattanooga Alumni Association (LCAA) presented Scottie Goodman Summerlin the Julie Baumgardner Leadership Award for her outstanding service in education and extensive support of Leadership Chattanooga.
“We admire Scottie for her courageous spirit and her heart for education,” said Rhey Houston, President of the Leadership Chattanooga Alumni Association. “She’s a true community-builder and we’re lucky to have her as a supporter of Leadership Chattanooga and lucky to have her as a member of our community who constantly goes above and beyond to help others.”
An experienced broadcaster and consultant, Summerlin discovered her passion for education and service to the community when her twin sons entered school.
Since then, she has served in several board positions in local PTAs, as well as Communications VP for Hamilton County PTA and Communications Council Chair for the Tennessee PTA. In 2012, she was chosen as Tennessee Delegate for Mom Congress. She volunteers as a Communications Consultant for Signal Mountain Middle/High School and the Mountain Education Foundation.
Outside of education, she has served on the boards of the Chattanooga Room in the Inn, American Lung Association and Youth Leadership Chattanooga. For years she has assisted Leadership Chattanooga in coordinating projects and identifying talented candidates for the program.
Recently, she received the Elise Chapin Moon Sustainer of the Year award from the Junior League of Chattanooga and is a Chattanooga Woman of Distinction honoree.
Summerlin lost her husband to cancer several years ago. In a Healthscope Magazine feature last year, she commented on that experience: “As a way to honor his legacy, I look for ways to help others.”
As part of that effort, she launched a group at her church for widows raising children, helping support more than 40 other women.
“Every change we face in life presents opportunities to connect with people in new ways and discover things about ourselves and others,” Summerlin said.
Summerlin is the third recipient of this prestigious award, established in 2017 in honor of Julie Baumgardner’s dedication to shaping Leadership Chattanooga’s curriculum. The award continues to honor nominees with an exemplary record of community leadership. Last year, Ronald Harris, co-founder of the BlueCross BlueShield Association Diversity Alliance, received the award.
Find more information about Leadership Chattanooga here, and more information about the Alumni Association here.
