Tameka Randle, assistant director of educational access and outreach programs with Southeast Missouri State Universitys Academic Support Centers, has been named 573 Magazines Woman of the Year.
It is an honor to be selected as Woman of the Year by573 Magazineand to be recognized for my passionate, hard-working, innovative and positive contributions, Randle said.
573 Magazine devoted its January edition to its 573 People of the Year. In addition to celebrating Randle as 573 Woman of the Year, the publication highlighted Sara Steffens, director of the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri as its Arts 573 Person of the Year, and Dr. Patty Merkley, a pediatric dentist and founder of Camp Merkley Kids Dental, as Star Entrepreneur of the Year.
573 People of the Year are selected after the magazine staff reviews hundreds of people who the magazine staff has encountered in the past year and then selects those they feel are most deserving, according to an article in the publication by Publisher Denelle Smugala.
We ask ourselves, has this person made a positive contribution to the 573 that is worthy of recognition? Does the honoree personify the 573 Magazine: passionate, driven, honest, giving, hard-working, innovative, and unbiased? And lastly, is the honoree a nice person, Smugala wrote.
Choosing a few to be a 573 Person of the Year is very, very difficult, she wrote.
Randle joined Southeasts Academic Support Centers in January 2013, where she cultivates collaborative partnerships with companies, organizations and agencies to provide students with experiential learning and scholarship funding opportunities. At Southeast, she is responsible for enhancing the academic achievement and educational attainment of southeast Missouri students from pre-collegiate to undergraduate and graduate studies. For her efforts, she has been honored with the Civic Engagement Award for outstanding service and engagement in the University community. Additionally, she has launched leadership and professional development initiatives on the local and state levels, and recently was named the American College Testing (ACT) Postsecondary Champion for Missouri.
In 2016, she received Southeasts Civic Engagement Award for her outstanding service and engagement in the University community. In 2013, she received the Zonta Club of Cape Girardeaus Zonta Woman of Achievement Celebration Award for her leadership and service in making a significant impact on the lives of girls and women throughout the southeast Missouri region. Randle has also been recognized as one of the Southeast Missourians 40 under 40 for making a significant impact on her workplace and community.
573 Magazine also recognized Randle for her passion for philanthropy.
She is a member of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industrys Leadership Missouri Alumni Association and Southeasts Endowed Scholarship Committee. She is a graduate of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce Leadership Cape Program and has served as president of the board of directors of the Community Caring Council, former commissioner of the Missouri Community Service Commission and board vice president with the Gibson Center in Cape Girardeau.
She received her Bachelor of Science in teacher education from Eastern Michigan University and a Master of Public Administration from Southeast.
573 Magazine, published by Image Maker Marketing and headquartered in Farmington, Missouri, identifies itself as embodying the areas unique lifestyle by presenting the best of what the area has to offer.