New Young Professional Leadership Award will be presented in 2017
The ATHENA Leadership Award Breakfast, organized by the Harford Community College Foundation, will be held Friday, March 3, from 7:30 to 10 a.m. at the Richlin Ballroom, 1700 Van Bibber Road in Edgewood. Networking begins at 7:30 a.m., with the program starting at 8 a.m.
Suzanne Fischer-Huettner, group publisher for BridgeTower Media who provides leadership for three news operations (The Daily Record in Maryland and two publications in Rochester, N.Y.–The New York Daily Record and Rochester Business Journal), will be the keynote speaker.
Two awards will be presented at the breakfast.
The first, the ATHENA Leadership Award, will be presented to an exemplary leader who has achieved excellence in business or profession, served the community in a meaningful way and assisted women to achieve their full leadership potential. Carolyn Evans, a partner at Sengstacke and Evans, LLC, was the 2016 recipient.
The finalists for the ATHENA Leadership Award are Crystal Barney, senior associate, Booz Allen Hamilton; Laura Musser, enterprise vice president marketing, MNS Group; June Poole, vice president and treasurer, The Harford Mutual Insurance Companies; and Kathy Walsh, director of marketing, Fallston Group.
A new award will be presented at this year’s breakfast. The ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award will be presented for the first time to an emerging leader age 40 or under.
The finalists for the ATHENA Young Professional Award are Paige Boyle, director of marketing, Boyle Buick GMC; Kara Davis, associate, Booz Allen Hamilton; Sarah Karantonis, director of advancement, The Upper Chesapeake Health Foundation; and Meggin M’Gonigle-Reeder, vice president, senior small business banker, Bank of America.
Tickets to the breakfast cost $40 per person or $350 for a table of 10. Tickets should be purchased by February 17 by visiting harford.edu/ATHENA.
The ATHENA Award is part of ATHENA International, a nonprofit that seeks to support, develop and honor women leaders. The program inspires women to reach their full potential and strives to create balance in leadership worldwide. Since its founding in 1982, the award has been presented in more than 500 communities in eight countries.
Harford Community College Foundation is one of three organizations to present the award in Maryland.
Proceeds from the ATHENA Leadership Award Breakfast help to fund the ATHENA Leadership Scholarship. Valued at $1,000, the scholarship is awarded to a female adult returning to college who exemplifies professionalism and commitment to the community. The recipient must be a Harford County resident, enrolled at least half time (six-plus credits) with a minimum 3.0 GPA.
The scholarship was established after the 2016 ATHENA Leadership Award Breakfast, and the first recipient will be announced at the March event.
In addition, a donation of $500 is being made to the Maryland Center for the Arts in honor of last year’s recipient, Carolyn Evans. Each year a donation is made to a community nonprofit chosen by the previous recipient.
The Presenting Sponsor of the ATHENA Leadership Award Breakfast is The Daily Record. The Platinum Sponsors are Harford Community College and The Harford Mutual Insurance Companies. Gold Sponsors are Chesapeake Professional Women’s Network and MNS Group. Silver Sponsors are Express Employment Services and Bravura Information Technology Systems. Bronze Sponsors are A Better Answer, APG Federal Credit Union, The Arc Northern Chesapeake Region, Association of the U.S. Army, 1st Mariner Bank, Harford County Chamber of Commerce, Maryland Center for the Arts, MediaWise, Inc. , M & T Bank, Sengstacke & Evans, LLC and University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health. The In-Kind Sponsor is Boyle Buick GMC. Media Sponsors are Harford Cable Network and I95 Business.
For more information, visit harford.edu/ATHENA or call 443-412-2449.
