Austin College and its Texoma Women Get Connected program will recognize two exemplary leaders from the Texoma region with the prestigious ATHENA Leadership Award® and the ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award at a noon luncheon on Thursday, April 28, 2016.
The event will be held at Austin College in Wright Campus Center’s Mabee Hall. The luncheon follows a morning Board Leadership Symposium co-sponsored by United Way of Grayson County and the Austin College Center for Community & Regional Development. Tickets to the ATHENA Awards luncheon are $25 each, while the symposium is free and open to the public. Registration for both events is available on the Austin College website at alumni.austincollege.edu/2016ATHENA, or by calling 903-813-2041. Deadline to register is April 25. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Social Entrepreneurship for Poverty Alleviation (SEPA) summer intern program of the College.
At the luncheon, six finalists will be recognized as honorees for the ATHENA Award distinction and two for the Young Professional Award, with the recipients of each award named at the luncheon’s conclusion. Nominations for exemplary leaders from Grayson, Fannin, and Cooke counties were solicited for the awards program.
Honorees for this year’s ATHENA Award are Melida Ailshire, owner of JTalk Services; Dr. Jeannine Hatt, pediatrician and humanitarian; Brenda Hayward, executive director of Child and Family Guidance Center of Texoma; Dorothy Nelson McKee, director of Grand Central Station-The Dining Car; Sarah Somers, director of Grayson County Office of Emergency Management; and Angie Tol, wellness coordinator at Texoma Medical Center.
For the Young Professional Award, two finalists will be recognized: Hillary Luckett Clark, attorney with The LeCrone Law Firm; and Casie Lovelace, owner of Lovelace & Co. Insurance.
Keynote speaker for the luncheon is Kathryn Engelhardt-Cronk, CEO of MissionBox, a nonprofit organization based in Austin, Texas, and founder of Community TechKnowledge. Ms. Engelhardt-Cronk’s career constitutes over 25 years of experience in executive management of large human service organizations-working with both funding organizations and service providers. She also served as Vice President of Community Resources of United Way Capital Area in Austin.
The ATHENA Leadership Award® is presented to individuals who have attained and embody the highest level of professional excellence in their business or profession, devote time and energy to improve the quality of life for others in the community, and actively assist women in realizing their full leadership potential.
ATHENA Young Professional Leadership nominees are emerging women leaders who demonstrate excellence, creativity, and initiative in their business or profession; provide valuable service to improve the quality of life for others in their community; and clearly serve as role models for young women both personally and professionally.
The ATHENA Award had been presented locally in the past by the Sherman and Denison Chambers of Commerce, but had not been awarded in several years until revived by Austin College in 2014. In 2014, the ATHENA Award honored Stacy Rake Murphy, owner and principal agent of Nationwide Insurance in Sherman. The ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award honored Michelle Lemming, president and CEP of Texoma Health Foundation. A list of all known local recipients is included on the Austin College Athena Award website.
The ATHENA Leadership Award Program is administered by ATHENA International, a non-profit women’s leadership organization, along with licensed host organizations and sponsors. Over 6,000 awards have been presented in the U.S. and around the world since the program’s inception in 1982. Recent recipients include Condoleezza Rice, Billie Jean King, Pat Summit, and Gabby Giffords.
Austin College, a private national liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas, has earned a reputation for excellence in academic preparation, international study, pre-professional foundations, leadership development, committed faculty, and hands-on, adventurous learning opportunities. One of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges That Change Lives, Austin College boasts a welcoming community that embraces diversity and individuality, with more than 36 percent of students representing ethnic minorities. A residential student body of 1,250 students and a faculty of more than 100 allow a 12:1 student-faculty ratio and personalized attention. The College is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and cultivates an inclusive atmosphere that supports students’ faith journeys regardless of religious tradition. Founded in 1849, the College is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter.