Service Spotlight: Diversity, Women & CommunityWomen's History Month, Junior Achievement and United Way!

3/30/2022 - By Allie Jackson

Diversity and Inclusion is important for us here at Saltmarsh. We know that equality is what sustains a firm, its people and pushes it to be better. To read more about our diversity and inclusion initiatives, read our pledge.

March was Women’s History Month, and to show our appreciation and continue to inspire equality in our communities and firm, we participated in a variety of events.

Women’s Empowerment Luncheon

This year, Saltmarsh was a sponsor for the annual Junior League of Pensacola Women’s Empowerment Luncheon! At this luncheon, which also landed on International Women’s Day, they celebrated and awarded the women who volunteer and dedicate their time to leading and helping the community. We are grateful to have such strong women leaders in the community, including our very own, senior accountant, Katherine Murphy, who is the president-elect of the Pensacola Junior League chapter.

Junior Achievement Volunteering

For the last seven weeks, eight of our Pensacola team members have been volunteering at West Florida High School to participate in Junior Achievement (JA) Career Success. JA Career is a program that equips students with the tools and skills required to earn and keep a job in high-growth career industries. They spoke to freshmen classes to prepare them to enter the workforce by helping to develop their interpersonal effectiveness, self-presentation and business insight. The different areas of discussion included:

Critical Thinking and Creativity
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
Collaboration
Strong Soft Skills
Know Your Work Priorities
Know Who’s Hiring
Know Your Personal Brand

Earlier this month, some of our Tampa team members also volunteered once again with Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay! Cristine Torrefranca, CPA, Chris Stennett, CFP®, Chris Biedal and Carolyn Raca coached students at Hillsborough High School as part of the 3DE education program case challenge.

Shareholder Andrew Kent, and President Lee Bell, will later be serving as judges of the top teams’ presentations about what they learned! We love serving as role models to these students, helping to positively impact their perceptions about the importance of education and critical life skills. Carolyn shared what she enjoyed about her volunteer experience: "I loved getting the opportunity to work with students on their case study as they develop critical thinking, presentation and leadership skills that they can use for the rest of their lives!"

Women United & Young Leaders' Society Volunteering

Last Friday, Ronnie Bennett, Mariana Sawh, CAFP and Allie Jackson participated in an event with United Way in Sulphur Springs to help make self-care kits for a group of young girls who are lacking basic necessities and needed an uplifting community. This group of young women was created to provide a safe space for the girls to come together in otherwise tough situations. It was a beautiful initiative to give the girls encouragement, advice and support.

Click the images in our gallery above to see our teams out in the community!

About the Author | Allie Jackson

Allie is a marketing assistant for Saltmarsh, Cleaveland & Gund. She assists with the coordination of firm marketing initiatives, branding and communications. Allie is also responsible for maintaining the firm’s social media presence, content programs and digital campaigns. Her strengths include communication, copywriting and graphic design. Prior to joining Saltmarsh, Allie was a marketing associate at a Fortune 500 financial services company.