Hilton Head’s ‘woman of the year’ goes beyond her job to help others

Alex Joseph — assistant solicitor for the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office — won ‘Zonta woman of the year’ at the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce’s annual ball Saturday night.

Joseph serves on the membership Committee of the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association, is involved in Junior League of Savannah, tutors students at the Boys & Girls Club of Bluffton and serves as vice president of the board on National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Lowcountry, according to a chamber press release.

Joseph has been with the solicitor’s office for two years and previously was employed in the same position in Atlanta.

“I once asked Alex what made her get involved with NAMI and expected her to tell me that she had a close family member or friend who struggled with a mental illness,” Jill Dawson, Town of Hilton Head Island Municipal Court Assistant, said in the press release. “Instead, she tole me that she sees so much mental illness in her job that she knew she had to do even more to help people before they ended up with a case before her.”

The award is given by the Zonta Club of Hilton Head annually.

Other award winners include:

▪  Al Stokes — Alice Glenn Doughtie Good Citizenship Award

▪  Tom Reilley — John Curry Tourism Award

▪  Aunt Lauries — Small Business of the Year Award

▪  Emory Campbell — 2018 St. Patrick’s Day Parade Grand Marshal

▪  Second Helpings & Palmetto Breeze — Outstanding Organization of the Year Award

▪  Don Ryan Center for Innovation — Bluffton Regional Business Council Member of the Year Award

▪  Kate Clark — Educator of the Year Award

This story was originally published January 28, 2018 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Hilton Head’s ‘woman of the year’ goes beyond her job to help others."