The world is full of wonderful women. Wonderful moms, grandmothers, daughters, wives, sisters, cousins, friends, volunteers, philanthropists, leaders, animal lovers, teachers, writers, speakers, horse women, CEOs, multimillion dollar business owners, board presidents, political donors, world travelers ... And I am only talking about one woman, my friend, Patty DeDominic.

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On Tuesday, May 2, 2006, I had the great honor of sitting next to Patty when the Los Angeles Business Journal announced that Patty was the recipient of its 2006 “Women Making a Difference” Owner/CEO Award.

I flew in from Denver the day before, met with Junior Achievment about doing a Story Party with 8th Grade Students in Watts, and then successfully drove myself to downtown LA.

Driving is not one of my greatest skills, and it was only the second time I'd driven to downtown LA so I was feeling pretty proud of myself.

Then Patty walked in, and casually mentioned that she’d just flown in from Seattle where she'd been attending meetings of the board of the Jane Goodall Institute.

That’s Patty: a woman with enough energy to treat a plane trip like a drive on the freeway.

Patty sat down. She said that she’d been in Seattle with Jane Goodall’s team "brainstorming ways to make the world better for all living things.”

That's Patty: a woman who is passionately committed to a better world.

Patty told me that she and her husband, Gene Sinser, had taken some of their grandchildren with them to Seattle to meet Jane Goodall.

That’s Patty: a woman who loves her family and takes care to see that they are inspired by the heroes among us.

I don’t think that Patty flew back to Los Angeles thinking that she would win one of the top awards from the Los Angeles Business Journal. She flew back because she wanted to be there to honor "Women Making a Difference" in Los Angeles.

That’s Patty: a woman who knows how to show up for other women.

When I told Patty I was launching this Internet Magazine, she asked: “How can I help?” It was only the second time I’d ever met her.

That’s Patty: a woman who is open to new people and new ideas.

I asked her to be on the magazine Advisory Board. She said: “I’d be happy to.” Just like that.

That’s Patty: a woman who is ready to help.

In March, Patty announced a challenge grant of $1 Million to the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), Los Angeles Chapter, and its educational non-profit, the Enterprise Institute to help women business owners and entrepreneurs establish and grow their businesses.

"It's not a gift," she said. "It's an investment. They're going to have to work for it."

That’s Patty: A woman who knows that money is not an end, but a tool that can create value.

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When I was looking for photos of Patty she sent me one of herself and her step daughter Sabrina Burton with Senator Hilary Clinton.

Then she sent me another photo. This one was of her with President George W. Bush.

That’s Patty. Although she is affiliated with one political party, she’s able to work with members of the other party as well.

Everyone knows that Patty is one of the country’s most outstanding business leaders, but here are some things you may not know about her:

1. She is a horsewoman who owns three quarter horses and a mini horse.

Pictured at right: One of Patty's favorite horses, "Gambling Bonnet" aka "Bonnie."
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2. Patty also has chickens, cats, and dogs.

3. She opened her home in Santa Barbara so that girls from Southern California Junior Achievement could have a special spa day.

4. When she was only 28 years old, she founded her company: PDQ Careers.

5. PDQ and related divisions have placed more than 50,000 people into positions generating in excess of a quarter of a billion dollars.

6. She is the co-founder of the L.A. Donor Circle.

7. She has been married to Gene Sinser for 20 years.

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8. She has three grown sons, Eric, Christopher, and Nik DeDominic, and one of her sons, Eric, is the President of one of the PDQ companies.

9. She has five grandkids.

10. She led a delegation of US Business Women to the United Nation’s World Conference on Women in Beijing, and in June she’s going to China with the State Department.

To all you reading this:

I hope that you will be inspired by Patty’s energy, her openness, her decency, her ethics, her sense of fairness, her commitment, her wisdom, and her heart.

Ask yourself:

What do I care about?

What needs to be changed?

What can I do?

If any of you know someone who should be recognized as a Man or Woman of Distinction, please send their name, short bio, and contact information to me: bobbi@writeyourownbookclub.com.

Giving You A Voice Internet Magazine is a division of MDS, LLC,