Southern Nevadans honored by Moms in Business Network

Angela Edgeworth of Henderson has been named National Working Mother of the Year by Moms in Business Network and the International Association of Working Mothers. She will be honored at 6 p.m. Saturday at the fourth annual Create Your Dreams Awards Gala at Lowes Resort in Lake Las Vegas.

Edgeworth, 35, is the first National Working Mother of the Year honoree from Nevada. She and her husband operate a shoe company for children called Pediped Footwear.

Along with Edgeworth, state honorees to be recognized at the gala include Valerie Murzl, vice president of human resources for Station Casinos, Working Mother of the Year; Heather Murren, chief executive officer of Nevada Cancer Institute, Create Your Dreams honoree; Renee Ryan-Thrailkill, CEO of Millennium Commercial Real Estate, Woman of Courage; Pat Davis, CEO of Passion Parties, Luminary; Nothing Bundt Cakes co-founders Debbie Shwetz and Dena Tripp, Company of the Year; and KVBC-TV, Channel 3, Working Mother Advocate.

"I am honored and deeply shocked. It gave me a lot of inspiration and inspires me to do better," Edgeworth says of the award. She has two daughters, Caroline, 4, and Lauren, 3.

Edgeworth notes she is among "a really nice crowd" of honorees and is looking to see "what can I do for the community, family and the business."

In an e-mail response, Gina Robison-Billups, CEO of the Moms in Business Network, says Edgeworth was selected because she "has had great impact on the national community and business while still being very dedicated to being the best mom she can be."

Robison-Billups, who says about 100 nominations were received for the national awards, adds that by having her children come to work with her, Edgeworth has "been able to have the best of both worlds by seeing the possibilities rather than the limitations."

To Edgeworth, the toughest part of being a working mother is finding a balance between her career and her family.

"I sometimes feel like a terrible employer or a terrible mom," she says. "We spend a lot of time with the children and there's a playroom in the office."

Edgeworth says the family travels "as a pack" when going on business trips.

"What's most important is the children, which is a large part of why we moved to Nevada," she says. "We have our office, home and daughter's school within a four-mile radius. It adds to the quality of life for us."

Edgeworth and her husband, Brian, who also owns a Fiberglas company, began Pediped Footwear in 2005 after being unable to find a soft shoe for their daughter.

"We looked for a soft, stylish shoe for indoors or outdoors and could only find rubber-sole shoes," says Angela Edgeworth. "So, we started designing shoes and decided we should bring some to market." Their Pediped Footwear line is for ages zero to 5 and has 85 styles.

"They are guinea pigs to this day," Edgeworth says with a laugh, and notes shoe modifications are made based on her daughters' complaints. "They test everything. My kids are particularly picky about their shoes."

Edgeworth, who says she and Brian have no plans to open their own store, sell their shoes through 2,700 retailers including Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and "medium to high-end children's boutiques." For more information on Pediped Footwear visit www.pediped.com.

Tickets to the gala are $175 and are available at mibn.org.

In other news:

American Mother Inc. Nevada Association has named Colleen Haycock, 76, the 2008 Nevada Mother of the Year and Theresa Huston, 30, the 2008 Nevada Young Mother. The women were scheduled to be honored Saturday at the annual Mother of the Year Brunch at Spanish Trail Country Club.

Haycock, mother to three children, 14 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren, and Huston, mother to four children, represented Nevada in the American Mothers Inc.'s national convention in Nebraska April 23-26.

If you know of a worthy candidate for this column, mail information to Newsmakers, Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125-0070, or send faxes to 383-4676.