The TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce has awarded a Montgomery County Community College employee as its REACH Woman of Influence and Empowerment.

The organization’s REACH committee selected Amy Auwaerter, Director of Pottstown Campus Operations, from its nominations and celebrated the award during its third annual REACH conference Thursday, Nov. 9.

“It’s very exciting,” said Auwaerter on the award. “I had no idea.”

The REACH Woman of Influence and Empowerment award recognizes a business professional who has a presence in the region and “leads by example with courage, confidence, commitment, and integrity to empower those around her, and makes an impact in her community,” according to the award’s nomination application.

Additionally, the recipient is an “advocate for women, who leads by example to make an impact in the lives of other women through her work.”

Auwaerter currently sits on the board of directors for the TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce. A separate committee chooses the REACH Woman of Influence and Empowerment award recipient from submitted nominations.

Auwaerter also volunteers on the Pottstown Go Fourth Festival board of directors. She previously served on the board of directors for the Green Valley Watershed Association.

A 2022 runner up for The Mary Bethune Education Award by the YWCA Tri-County Area, Auwaerter has been an employee at the college for seven years and worked previously in pharmaceutical sales for 23 years. Her philosophy in sales is the same one she has today on working in higher education.

At MCCC, Auwaerter been a driving force behind promoting and expanding the college’s food pantry. The goal was to expand the program to make it more available to a greater number of students.

“The food pantry has been a passion project for me,” she said previously. “When I first started to get involved with the food pantry it was in a cabinet. Now it’s gone well beyond that.”

The food pantry is now a feature of the Wellness Center, under the leadership of Dr. Nichole Kang, Wellness Center Director, with Auwaerter’s continued support.

Auwaerter also has witnessed many other recent improvements to Pottstown Campus including the Challenger Learning Center at Montco Pottstown and the renovations to South Hall.

Read more about Auwaerter’s accomplishments on Montgomery County Community College’s website.

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