MUSKEGON , MI – The Honorable Sara Smolenski, Chief Judge of the 63rd District Court and the 2006 Grand Rapids ATHENA Recipient will be the keynote speaker for the Fifth Annual Lakeshore ATHENA Award luncheon to be held on Tuesday, October 6, 2009 at the Trillium Banquet and Conference Center , 17246 Van Wagoner Road , Spring Lake , Mich. Judge Smolenski, who was appointed as Chief Judge of the 63rd District Court, by the Michigan Supreme Court in 1996, symbolizes the ATHENA tenets both personally and professionally. She actively serves her community by participating on many boards and has received several distinguished awards.
The ATHENA Award event, a program of the Chamber Grand Haven, Spring Lake, Ferrysburg; the Holland Area Chamber of Commerce and the Muskegon Area Chamber of Commerce, is presented annually to recognize women who have demonstrated excellence in their business or profession, have provided valuable service by devoting time and energy to improve the quality of life for others in their community, assists women in reaching their full potential and who exhibits the spirit of regional collaboration. The ATHENA Award was first presented in 1982 in Lansing , Michigan and has since grown to include presentations to more than 5,000 individuals in hundreds of cities in the United States as well as in Canada , China , Russia and the United Kingdom .
The ATHENA Award is not a contest or competition but a celebration of excellence. The individual selected to receive the ATHENA Award is referred to as the “recipient” and never a “winner”. The honor of the ATHENA Award is in the nomination. This year we celebrate twenty-four Lakeshore ATHENA nominees, one of which will be announced at the luncheon as the 2009 ATHENA Recipient. This year’s nominees include:
Sherry Albertie Becker ~ Waddell & Reed
Heather D. Brolick ~ Community Shores Bank
Janie P. Brooks ~ Muskegon Community College
Leslie Brown ~ Metal Flow Corporation
Nancy R. DeBoer ~ Holland City Council
Barbara l. DeBruyn ~ SAF-Holland, Inc., Retired
Lisa Delass ~ Independent Bank
Renee Denslow ~ Bluebird Cancer Retreats
Becca Dernberger ~ Manpower, Inc.
Sharon Dryfhout ~ Central Wesleyan Church
Kathy Evans ~ West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission
Mary Fisher ~ Shoreline Vision
Susan Higgins ~ Macatawa Area Coordinating Council
Jeanette Hoyer ~ Pathways, MI
Kathy Jacobson ~ Baker College of Muskegon
Patricia Koeze ~ West Ottawa Public Schools
Gail Kraft ~ Love INC of Muskegon
Donaylle Rogers ~ Donaylle Nicole Hair Studio
Virginia S. Ryan, PH D. ~ U.S. Dept. of Human Services, Retired
Blanche Smith ~ Family Services Center
Cindy Timmerman ~ Coopersville Area Chamber of Commerce
Patti VanDort ~ Holland Hospital
Chris Frederick Willis ~ Media 1
Susan Harrison Wolffis ~ The Muskegon Chronicle, Retired
Luncheon Tickets for the event which will be held on Tuesday, October 6, 2009 at the Trillium Banquet and Conference Center , 17246 Van Wagoner Road , Spring Lake are $35 per person for Chamber members, $45 per person for non-members or $350 for corporate table of eight. A portion of all tickets goes toward the ATHENA Scholarship Program. Reservations can be made by calling the Chamber 616-842-4910 by September 28, 2009. Huntington Bank is the premier sponsor of the 2009 ATHENA® Program.
