May 12—Shocked and surprised were some of the words used by Cherell Butler to described how she felt after hearing the announcement that she was being honored as the 2023 Woman of the Year on Thursday during An Evening of Glitz and Glamour.

"I'm like, 'Who are they talking about? It can't be me,'" said Butler, who is the owner and director of Complete Care Counseling LLC.

"This is unbelievable," she added after receiving her award from the 2022 Women of the Year, Stephanie Franklin and Keyatta Priester.

Carmen Landy, the emcee for this year's event, described Butler as "a woman who has gone above and beyond for her community for years.

"Her servant's heart is evident in the way she chooses to live her life," Landy continued. "From her career to her volunteer efforts, she makes it a point to lift others up. ... She spent many years working in the school system helping young children build a foundation for successful learning."

In addition, Landy said Butler "has been and still is a mentor to other women through her involvement with her sorority and her church." And through Complete Care Counseling, Butler "spends her days helping others develop healthy methods for dealing with the stress of life," Landy told the audience.

Butler is a founding member of Women United, which along with the Young Philanthropists Society, organized An Evening of Glitz and Glamour.

Landy said Butler "has been a huge part" of Women United's success "and the positive impact it has had on the lives of women and children in our community."

An emotional Butler accepted the Woman of the Year honor with tears in her eyes.

"I'm just grateful," she said. "It's not that I do things to get awards. I do things because I want to serve people. I took over a big challenge by taking over the ownership of a counseling service, but it's all about helping people.

"And all I can say is to just thank God for using me as a servant and allowing me to serve other people who have mental challenges," she concluded. "It's about helping. It's about serving other people in need. All of these agencies here, most of them are agencies I work with or I volunteer in some way or some fashion."

An Evening of Glitz and Glamour was held at Newberry Hall in Aiken.

Also during the event, grants worth a total of $24,250 were awarded.

The Matthews Foundation received a $1,000 gift presented by the Young Philanthropists Society. The money will be used to provide homeless school children with clothing, toys or other gifts, and hygiene bags during Christmas break.

Mental Health America of Aiken County/Nurture Home received the $4,500 Harriet Jackson Memorial Grant. It will be used to match a gift from the Aiken Safe Communities Initiative to fund a creative arts program for middle and high school students.

Area Churches Together Serving received $5,000 to provide rental assistance for female clients with children under 18 years of age.

The Child Advocacy Center of Aiken County received $2,000 to purchase a refrigerator to store food pantry items and $2,500 to stock its pantry with food and hygiene products.

Helping Hands received $6,750 to expand its job readiness program so that 15 additional young people from families with low incomes can receive training and participate in a subsidized work experience.

The Salvation Army of Aiken received $2,500 to purchase new linens and pillows for the female dorm and four family rooms at its homeless shelter.

Dr. Deidre Martin was An Evening of Glitz and Glamour's keynote speaker. She retired as USC Aiken's vice chancellor of university advancement in 2015. She currently is the chief advancement officer at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Georgia.

Women United and the Young Philanthropists Society both are affiliated with the United Way of Aiken County.