ATHENA_nominees_10_05
Ticket reservations are due by Friday, October 14. To reserve your tickets call (423) 763-4366 or email kfoster@chattanoogachamber.com for more information.
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Finalists for the 2005 ATHENA Award were honored during a recent Business After Hours reception. The ATHENA Award recipient will be announced during a luncheon on October 19, beginning at 11:30 a.m. in The Chattanoogan Hotel.
Sponsored by the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, the ATHENA Award recognizes the recipient’s professional achievements, community service and efforts to help women attain career goals and leadership skills.
Finalists are: Ruth Brinkley, Memorial Health Care System President and CEO; Rhonda Champion, Computerized Payroll Solutions President; Robin Derryberry, Ingram Group Managing Partner; Tammy Gray-Smith, Bechtel, Gray-Smith Counseling Center Minister and Family Counselor;
Terri Jeter-McAvoy, Henderson Hutcherson & McCullough Senior Manager; Dr. Margaret Kelley, former Vice Chancellor for Advancement at UTC; Jeff Olingy, Chattanooga State Program Developer/Consultant; and Ann Weeks, Ivan Allen Workspace General Manager.
Brinkley was nominated for her support and encouragement on behalf of women leaders at Memorial, for providing educational opportunities that advance staff and for instituting programs that motivate, recognize and reward employees. Under Brinkley’s leadership Memorial was named by Solucient as one of the Top 100 Hospitals in America, one of the nation’s 50 Exceptional Hospitals by Consumer’s Digest and one of the Top 5 Best Places to Work in Tennessee by Business Tennessee Magazine. She is chair of the UTC Chancellor’s Roundtable and a board member of the Chamber, SunTrust Bank, The Women’s Leadership Institute and the Women Business Leaders of the U.S. Health Care Industry Foundation.
Champion received her nomination for providing the opportunity for Computerized Payroll Solutions’ staff to participate in professional organization activities and for encouraging staff to assume civic or professional leadership roles. Champion, who established the Chattanooga Chapter of the American Payroll Association, has served on the Accounting Advisory committees for Chattanooga State and Southern Adventist University. She was named president of the Individual Payroll Providers Association for 2004-2005. Computerized Payroll Solutions was nominated for the Chamber’s Small Business of the Year Award in 2004.
During Derryberry’s service as Deputy Chief of Staff to U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, she led efforts to provide disaster relief for tornado victims, in support of the replacement of the Chickamauga Lock and Dam, and to offer assistance to the 1996 Whitewater Olympics. She has served as president of the Children’s Advocacy Center’s board and serves on the boards of the A.I.M. Center, Chattanooga Area Chamber, American Red Cross, United Way and Y-Me, the local chapter of a national effort to promote breast cancer awareness.
A cancer survivor, Gray-Smith was nominated for sharing her hope, enthusiasm and leadership skills with other professional women who have been diagnosed with cancer. She was cited for serving as a role model for spiritual, educational and physical development through her training programs and seminars for area businesses. Since 1993 Gray-Smith has acted as a mental health provider for the American Red Cross. She writes a monthly column for Woman’s Way and serves as a teacher at St. Elmo United Methodist Church.
Jeter-McAvoy received a nomination for helping other women realize their strength, intelligence and assertiveness and their opportunities to succeed both personally and professionally. She was also cited for helping homemakers transition back to the workplace, mentoring fellow members of the National Association of Women in Construction and for her advocacy for fellow CPAs as president of the local chapter of the Tennessee Society of CPAs. She has also served as role model for women during seminars and presentations to civic and professional groups. Recently Gov. Bredesen named her to the State Board of Accountancy and she was selected as one of 10 CPA Ambassador spokespersons for the TSCPA.
Kelley, who continues to raise major gifts for the university on a part-time basis, was nominated for serving as a role model and mentor for women. She was cited for her interpersonal skills, good humor, boldness and wisdom and for completing her doctorate after she was 60. During her tenure as vice chancellor of one of the university’s major divisions, the holdings of the UC Foundation doubled. A recipient of the Woman of Distinction Award, Kelley served on the boards of the UTC Children’s Center and Chattanooga Goodwill Industries, acted as the campus advisor to Mortar Board and serves on the Campus Landscaping Committee.
Olingy’s nomination notes that following a stellar career in banking and insurance, he left the corporate world to enter the not-for-profit sector. After he began volunteering at the Chamber, his talents for leadership and productivity resulted in his being asked to serve as Chamber COO, a position he agreed to hold for two years. Olingy was cited for encouraging and supporting women on his staff and women colleagues throughout his career and for presently mentoring two women-owned businesses. A former president of the Bethlehem Center board, Olingy received the Miriam A. Brock Award for fundraising development at the center. He serves on the board of Girls Inc.
Weeks was nominated for providing guidance and inspiration to her staff, other professional women and her two daughters. She was also cited for her service as the president of the South Broad Redevelopment Group and as vice chair of the UT College of Architecture and Design Advisory Board. Weeks, who has received awards from the American Lung Association, American Society of Interior Designers and the National Association of Women Business Owners, serves on the boards of Allied Arts, Cornerstones and the Chamber. She is a postulant to become an ordained Episcopal Deacon.
Cost of the ATHENA Award Luncheon is $35 for individual Chamber members, $40 for non-members. Corporate table for eight: members $375, non-members $400. For more information or reservations, please call 763-4366 or email kfoster@chattanoogachamber.com.
