A little more than five hours later, the future Hall of Famer took the field against the New York Yankees, but he played a different position when the dynamic speaker accepted her award.

Angels star Albert Pujols was the admiring husband in the crowd – smartphone raised to shoot video – as his wife, Deidre, closed the second annual Women of Coast luncheon Wednesday, April 24, with her powerful speech and a message about what everyone in attendance could do for the community.

“Our lives are valuable, and we’re all here to contribute in some way,” said the founder of anti-human trafficking programs that have spread to six countries and across Major League Baseball.

Pujols was one of seven Women of Coast honorees at the event held at South Coast Plaza’s Jewel Court, and her presenter spoke for the sold-out crowd of 250 about all the seven had accomplished.

“You’re making me feel like a really big slacker,” said Annette Walker, the president of City of Hope Orange County.

Fox 11 anchor Christine Devine and Coast Magazine executive editor Samantha Dunn emceed the event that was created to highlight what women, including some out of the regular spotlight, have done for Orange County.

Along with Pujols, the honorees were: Katie Kalvoda, the founder of G3 Ventures and the political action committee Asian American Rising; Debra Miller, founder of CureDuchenne; Judy Morr, executive vice president of Segerstrom Center for the Arts; Sheniece Smith, CHOC Children’s chief of staff and senior counsel to the CEO; Nicole Suydam, the president and CEO of Goodwill of Orange County; and Valarie Van Cleave, chairwoman of Oceana’s international board of directors and co-founder of its SeaChange Summer Party.

Suydam said the day was especially nice because it was her mother’s birthday, and Rita Thompson raised her as a single mother after her father left when Suydam was 5.

“She’s small but mighty,” Suydam said.

The women took different paths to prominence in Orange County, but they found some commonalities in the work that has gone into thriving in their myriad roles.

“We have a way of mastering it all and even making it look easy at times,” CHOC Children’s Smith said.