Debbie Ginocchio of Sweetwater Mission named Woman of the Year

Austell’s Sweetwater Mission development director, Debbie Ginocchio, was named the 2023 Woman of the Year at LiveSafe Resources’ 38th annual Tribute to Achievement on Friday.

Ginocchio and 14 other outstanding women from throughout metro Atlanta were honored by the Marietta-based domestic violence shelter and organization before a crowd of more than 450 at the Renaissance Waverly Hotel in Cumberland.

Cobb County Manager Jackie McMorris said, “Debbie is a humble servant-leader with a passion to serve those in need.”  McMorris won the award last year. “On behalf of LiveSafe Resources, I am so proud to present this award to her in recognition of not only her inspirational story of survival in the face of a life-threatening health crisis, but also her tireless work to support the people of south Cobb County who face hunger and homelessness.” 

An independent committee that reviewed each nominee without names or specific identifying information selected Ginocchio. As development director at Sweetwater Mission, Ginocchio leads fundraising events and works with donors and partners to oversee all aspects of

Sweetwater Mission’s food distribution system. Her efforts have grown the organization’s reach from serving 250 families per week in 2019 to more than 1,000 per week in 2022.

A total of 15 women representing the business, medical, education, government, and nonprofit sectors were selected to join the organization’s Academy of Women Leaders, a group of more than 600 past honorees.

This year’s honorees include:

♦ Rhonda Anderson, chief deputy, Cobb County Sheriff’s Office

♦ Maranie Brown, vice president, Data Platform & Solutions, BlackRock

♦ Sonja Brown, judge, Cobb County Superior Court

♦ Sheronica Burgess, CEO, The Barcliff Group

♦ Melissa Cantrell, president & CEO, CDH Partners

♦ Stacey Chapman, principal/sr. vice president, CROFT & Associates

♦ Joy Dyess, vice president, Bank South Mortgage

♦ Debbie Ginocchio, development director, Sweetwater Mission

♦ Holly Gotfredson, president, American Metalcraft

♦ Stacy Haubenschild, principal, chief operating officer, Henssler Financial

♦ Latonia Hines, senior assistant attorney, DeKalb County Attorney’s Office

♦ Schuyler Hoynes, attorney, Georgia National Guard

♦ Niki Lemeshka, program manager, Georgia Commission on Family Violence

♦ Rosan Petrillo, regional manager of Equity, Inclusion & Diversity, Kaiser Permanente

♦ Janet Arnold Savage, owner/operator, Jan’s Hair Boutique