The Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce (GIFCC) has announced its annual Distinguished Under 40 honorees. Distinguished Under 40 is an awards program exclusive to the eastern Idaho area that honors 10 young professionals who have gone above and beyond to accomplish great things in their careers, community and education. To be considered for the award, young professionals are nominated by co-workers, managers and business associates. Winners are selected by a panel of GIFCC past and present board members. Fifty nominations were received this year.
This Week's Spotlight: Leela Abrahamson
From childhood, Leela Abrahamson has traveled the Powwow Trail with her family, as they danced their way from reservation to reservation and city to city in the U.S. and Canada. Like her sisters, she started dancing at an early age and has enjoyed the cultural experience and closeness of traveling together.
Through a series of life changing challenges and opportunities, Leela has become a highlight of what the Shoshone-Bannock Casino Hotel Management Team is poised to unleash in the region.
From receiving a personal scholarship from a local Thoracic Surgeon, to study at Georgetown University, receiving an education scholarship from a local philanthropist, to representing the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes on a National stage, Leela Wastay-Wea Star Abrahamson has always conducted herself professionally.
In 2007, Leela appeared in the Teen Vogue Feature, “My Life” and became the first Native American model to appear in that publication. She was crowned Miss Shoshone-Bannock in 2008. Leela has also served on the Pocatello-Chubbuck Leadership Curriculum Committee, the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes Festival Committee, the National Gathering of Nations Horse Regalia Preservation Committee and a few others.