Richland Area Chamber ATHENA Leadership Award Nomination
Awarded at Chamber Annual Meeting – February 10th Sponsored by Park National Bank
The ATHENA Leadership Award is given nationally and internationally and is a well-known achievement that highlights a woman who is honored for professional excellence, community service, and for actively assisting women in attaining professional excellence and leadership skills.
• The selection committee is made up of previous Athena awardees.
• Past nominees who were not awarded do not automatically go through the process the following year - a new nomination must be submitted each year.
• Up to two letters of support from community members other than the nominator may accompany the application.
• Each nominee must live or work in north central Ohio.
• The deadline for application is October 2, 2026.
Previous Awardees:
1989 Jeanne Alexander
1990 JoAnn E. Dutton
1991 Gayle Gorman Green
1992 Lydia Reid
1993 Karen Moody Bierly
1994 Suzanne Davis
1995 Deborah M. Schenk
1996 Sandra Williams
1997 Pamela Siegenthaler
1998 Charma Behnke
1999 Donna Valentine
2000 Carol Payton
2001 Barbara Pore
2002 Vicki Kane
2003 Mary Ann Nore
2004 Inez Shepherd
2005 Pearl J. Peritalo
2006 Chriss Harris
2007 Carol Michaels
2008 Joan Day
2009 Diana Coon
2010 Deborah Adams
2011 Betty Wells
2012 Shirley Monica Preston
2013 Duana Patton
2014 Kathy Daniels
2015 Rebecca Toomey
2016 Melanie Riggleman
2017 Sally Gesouras
2018 Patti Kastelic
2019 Jodie A. Perry
2020 Zoi Romanchuk
2021 Deanna West-Torrence
2022 DeLee Powell
2023 Dr. Theresa Roth
2024 Kristine Lindeman
2025 Beth DeLaney
2026 Ann Downs
The ATHENA Leadership Award is given nationally and internationally and is a well-known achievement that highlights a woman who is honored for professional excellence, community service, and for actively assisting women in attaining professional excellence and leadership skills.
• The selection committee is made up of previous Athena awardees.
• Past nominees who were not awarded do not automatically go through the process the following year - a new nomination must be submitted each year.
• Up to two letters of support from community members other than the nominator may accompany the application.
• Each nominee must live or work in north central Ohio.
• The deadline for application is October 2, 2026.
Previous Awardees:
1989 Jeanne Alexander
1990 JoAnn E. Dutton
1991 Gayle Gorman Green
1992 Lydia Reid
1993 Karen Moody Bierly
1994 Suzanne Davis
1995 Deborah M. Schenk
1996 Sandra Williams
1997 Pamela Siegenthaler
1998 Charma Behnke
1999 Donna Valentine
2000 Carol Payton
2001 Barbara Pore
2002 Vicki Kane
2003 Mary Ann Nore
2004 Inez Shepherd
2005 Pearl J. Peritalo
2006 Chriss Harris
2007 Carol Michaels
2008 Joan Day
2009 Diana Coon
2010 Deborah Adams
2011 Betty Wells
2012 Shirley Monica Preston
2013 Duana Patton
2014 Kathy Daniels
2015 Rebecca Toomey
2016 Melanie Riggleman
2017 Sally Gesouras
2018 Patti Kastelic
2019 Jodie A. Perry
2020 Zoi Romanchuk
2021 Deanna West-Torrence
2022 DeLee Powell
2023 Dr. Theresa Roth
2024 Kristine Lindeman
2025 Beth DeLaney
2026 Ann Downs
