Soroptimist honors six women with Women of Distinction awards

DOWNEY — Six women were honored at Soroptimist International of Downey’s Women of Distinction ceremony, held last Wednesday at The Arc.

Honorees included Rebecca Reyes, Karla Huffenbach, Heather Huffenbach, Ruth Valenzuela, Janet Suzuki and Danielle Storey.

Rebecca Reyes has been a dedicated member of Soroptimist for five years. She spent two years on the Soroptimist Village Board and two years as the Membership chair. In addition to running the club’s Instagram page, she is the incoming president.

Reyes has been involved with PTA for 13 years, serving in various positions including PTA President of Williams Elementary, West (now Stauffer) Middle, and Downey High Schools. She also served two terms as VP of Programs for Downey Council PTA.

Though she quit her full-time job with Enterprise Rent-a-Car to focus on her kids, she continued to work part-time in various professions, including as a substitute teacher in Downey Unified School District, getting her real estate appraisal license and appraising houses, selling handbags for Michael Kors, and working as a booking agent for an entertainment company, where she is today.

Karla Huffenbach has been involved with Girl Scouts since 1960, bridging from being a girl member into an adult volunteer serving as a leader, trainer, and administrative volunteer. She is currently a Co-Service Unit Manager for local Girl Scouts, a trainer for new leaders, and also volunteers for Food Help. Her daughter Heather and granddaughter Valerie are currently active Girl Scout members.

She has also been a volunteer for PTA, Job’s Daughters, and Boy scouts.

Heather Huffenbach has been a girl scout since the age of 4. She currently serves as a Girl Scout leader for her daughter, as well as Service Unit Team as Cookie Coordinator. As part of the Girl Scout leadership team, they plan and help carry out activities for 30+ troops.

She has also been a part of PTA, Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts as her children have grown, and currently volunteers with Food Helps.

Sgt. Ruth Valenzuela started her employment with the City of Downey as a sworn police officer in 2007 after graduating from the Orange County Sheriff’s Academy. She was promoted to the rank of corporal in 2015, and to Sergeant in July of 2022.

Valenzuela has worked many assignments including but not limited to school resource officer, special response team, narcotics detective, crisis negotiations team, and most recently administrative sergeant overseeing the department’s special enforcement team.

In 2023, she played a major role in implementing Downey PD’s first facility dog program, graduating with her partner Howdy, who provides comfort to victims and witnesses during interviews and court proceedings, helps victims process grief and loss, lowers tension and stress of community members and staff after traumatic events, and engages with the public during community events.

Janet Stauffer Suzuki was raised in Downey and graduated from Warren High School in 1968. She is the fourth of five children to Drs. Mary and Floyd Stauffer. She was involved in Girl Scouts, and later as a church sponsor was a Girl Scout Leader for many years.

She graduated from the School of Architecture at USC, later returning to earn her MBA. She married an architect, Masa, and they had two daughters.

As an architect, she successfully specialized in project management on industrial and commercial projects. She took a three-year break to live in Japan and join her husband in building Universal Studios Japan in Osaka.

She retired in 2016 to help her mother organize the Mary R. Stauffer Foundation to continue into perpetuity. She currently volunteers as the CEO of the Foundation, which has been serving Downey for over 30 years.

Danielle Storey received the Ruby Award, which is given on the merits of “making extraordinary efforts on behalf of other women.”

Storey, a lifelong resident of Downey, has devoted countless hours to the Downey Rose Float Association since she joined in 2000, serving on the board, chairing fundraisers, and serving as the Floral Chair.

She began teaching at Downey High School in 2001 as an ROP, and is now a CTE teacher instructing students with specific learning disabilities in essential employment, marketing, and life skills. Through her program, she places students in the community at businesses, providing them with opportunities to learn valuable skills.

In 2021, she started work towards starting an on-campus business; a coffee shop for Downey High staff, called Viking Brew. Storey applied for and received a Stauffer Foundation grant to purchase startup supplies in 2022.

Last Fall, she took on the role of female coach for the girls’ cross country and track team, and this summer is taking three students to the national level SkillsUSA competition.