Home-Tech, a leading appliance and service company serving Southwest Florida since 1981, is pleased to announce that C.F.O., Sonya Sawyer has received the 2014 Apex Award. The award celebrates women in Lee County who make a difference and for the first time in the awards’ nine year history, there was a tie. Sawyer shares the honors with Kathryn Kelly, the President and CEO of the Heights Foundation.
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13 Nominees – 2 Winners!
There were 13 nominees this year, which included a variety of business and community leaders. The announcement was made on July 9th at the Crown Plaza Hotel at the Greater Fort Myers Women in Business meeting as they saluted Lee County residents who excel in professional achievement, community service/philanthropy, mentoring and leadership. Several family members, as well as Home-Tech co-workers were there to cheer Sawyer on.
Sawyer and Kelly will be the guests of honor at a black-tie dinner on Sept. 20 at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort & Spa.
Sonya at Work
Sawyer graduated summa cum laude from Stetson University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, and a master’s degree in Accountancy. After earning the designation Certified Public Accountant (CPA), she worked for several years in the public accounting sector as an auditor. She then assumed the role of chief financial officer of Home-Tech of Fort Myers, an in-home service and sales company with 135 employees and three offices spanning Southwest Florida from Manatee to Collier counties.
Having achieved personal and professional success, Sonya is now mentoring several women within Home-Tech. She believes that acting as a role model for other women is a critical part of her life. She guides Home-Tech’s future leaders by exposing them to the cultures of giving back to the community and advocacy.
Sonya in the Community
Within the community Sonya is actively involved in charitable organizations, particularly those that assist women and children in need. She serves on the Board of the Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples; PACE Center for Girls of Lee County; and Chairs the SW Florida American Heart Association Board. Sonya co-chaired the 2010 Go Red for Women Luncheon, the 2013 Heart Ball, and the 2014 Boots and Boogie Event to benefit Friends of Foster Children. She is also on the Lee Memorial Foundation Board and the BB&T Advisory Council.
Sonya is a member of the American Institute and Florida Institute of CPAs. She has been instrumental in helping Home-Tech to achieve recognition as the Horizon Council’s Industry Appreciation Award recipient in 2009 and Philanthropist of the Year (selected by Gulfshore Life Magazine) in 2010. She has been selected as one of Southwest Florida’s “40 under 40” by Gulfshore Business Magazine, and was recognized as one of the “2013 Women of the Year” by Gulfshore Life Magazine. She enjoys competitive ballroom dancing and earned the distinction of crowd favorite as a celebrity dancer at the 2010 Red Cross Star Struck event.
Outside of business, Sonya is married to Brian L Sawyer, Detective with the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, and the mother of two young children Brandon (9) and Chloe (7).