Trailblazer Award Honoree 2026

What Is a Trailblazer?

A trailblazer is someone who goes first.

Someone who creates a path where there wasn’t one before.

Someone willing to step into uncertainty so others can walk forward with greater clarity, courage, and confidence.

A trailblazer doesn’t wait for perfect conditions.

She moves with faith.

She responds with integrity.

She turns challenges into wisdom and experience into service.

Receiving the Trailblazer Award 2026 from IAOTP is deeply meaningful to me — not because of a title, but because of what it represents.

For over two decades in the classroom, and now through my books, speaking, coaching, and the Live in the Moment message, I have felt called to help others:

• Take 100% Responsibility

• Shift from reaction to response (E + R = O)

• Live fully present

• Turn adversity into growth

• Lead with heart, faith, and courage

From raising a family on our Heritage farm…

To navigating the farm crisis years…

To supporting educators and students…

To walking through seasons of caregiving and complex life challenges…

Every step has required carving a path forward — sometimes through very uncharted territory.

If I blaze any trail, it is this:

That no matter what life brings, we can choose our response.

We can live in the moment.

We can rise with grace.

I am grateful to the International Association of Top Professionals for this recognition — and even more grateful for the opportunity to continue lighting the path for others.

The journey continues.

- Denise McCormick

#Trailblazer2026 #LiveInTheMoment #100PercentResponsibility #IAOTP