Hav-A-Sis Event Honors Community Women Who Make A Difference

By Nicole Matheson

Wednesday evening, local charity group Hav-A-Sis celebrated its Heroes in Heels event in Shugrue’s Bridgeview room. This special engagement was to honor women in our community who make a difference.

Among those honored were local business owner of Heart and Sole Fitness, Stephanie Lueras and Stacy Lee, co-president of the ECHO group Band of Brothers dedicated to the Veteran community.

“I feel extremely humbled by tonight’s honor,” Lueras said. “I have had service-oriented jobs my entire adult life and being of service in several capacities is ingrained in my DNA. I’m not used to being on the receiving end of accolades and it is so meaningful to be recognized.”

“Being honored by Hav-A-Sis is truly an honor because they support the ECHO group Band of Brothers all year long. It is they that should be recognized, not me,” Lee said. “For me, it’s not a personal award. What I do I cannot do alone. I am fortunate to have an amazing team behind me.”

Lee continued, “When we do the work that we do for others on a volunteer basis, it means a lot to be honored in this way as a thank you because it can be a very thankless job with a lot of expectations of one person. Compassion is what drives what we do, so no thanks are usually needed, but when they are pointed out it’s a very good feeling and keeps your soul uplifted to continue doing what you’re doing because it’s making a difference, changing lives and even saving them.”

Lueras said, “Hav-A-Sis means that you are never alone. There’s always someone you can reach out to, even if you don’t know an individual that well — they are always willing to show up, listen, and be a sisters in whatever way you need.”

Women that were honored Wednesday night is as follows: Stephanie Lueras, Stacy Lee, Merrilyn Thompson, Tabitha Fragoso, and Barbara Piekaar.

Hav-A-Sis is a nonprofit organization dedicated to random acts of kindness, supporting veterans and children, and forging a sisterhood in Lake Havasu City.

To learn more about Hav-A-Sis, visit their website https://havasis.org/

Here are some photos of the event courtesy Amber Kennedy.