Meet Alana Paluszewski, a Wyandotte Woman of the Year

Ten Wyandotte women are being honored as a Woman of the Year by , a nonprofit group that aims to empower women to excel.

The honorees will be recognized during at the .

Each day leading up to the event, Wyandotte Patch will introduce you to one of the honorees. Event organizers opted to share only a small portion of each woman's story, saying they wanted to reveal the rest at their gala.

Today, we introduce you to Alana Paluszewski:

Alana is a lifelong Wyandotte resident who has been volunteering for decades. As a senior at , she produced fairy tale plays for the district's summer Head Start programs. When her two children were in grade school, she served as PTO president at the former Taft Elementary School.

She later became involved at the high school, where she helped with the fundraising efforts of many clubs. Horticulture students relied on her advanced certification status as a master gardener. As a co-sponsor of the Geoaddicts Travel Club, she chaperoned students on eight separate trips to various European countries, Australia and New Zealand.

Serving as the unofficial historian for , she founded the Historical Archive Project that is housed at the high school. By collecting and organizing media, and purchasing books and related items, she has enabled students to research local history and learn more about their community. The book, The Pride of Wyandotte: The History of Roosevelt High School, is the result of Alana's efforts. It has sold more than 1,000 copies, with all profits going to the high school. In 2009, she was inducted into the Wyandotte Public Schools Distinguished Graduate Hall of Fame.

Alana's writing skills also have earned her national recognition. Her extensive research on local celebrity Ann Marston resulted in the publishing of Shooting Star: The Amazing Life of Ann Marston. The book was selected as a Top Ten Biography by ForeWord, an independent review journal. The Independent Publishers of America awarded Shooting Star a bronze medal for Best Regional Non-Fiction Book. Alana also has been published in a variety of publications, including Michigan History.

Meet the Other Honorees: