Announced at the October 30 Convention Center event will be recipients of the Navigator of Entrepreneurship Award, the Lightkeeper Award, the Stargazer Award, the Pearl of Promise Award and the ATHENA Award.

“As women we have a great capacity to offer ourselves through faith and service to our families and others around us,” says Laura Oakley, president and CEO of Professional Recruiting Services and winner of the 2008 ATHENA Award. “At work we are still the same person, yet somehow many of us get caught up in the awkwardness of office dynamics and politics.”

Oakley’s award last year acknowledged her success as a professional, her community service and, most of all, her assistance to women in achieving career goals and reaching their leadership potential. During her tenure as a manager with a healthcare insurance company Oakley helped a group of “single mom” employees earn more through education and soft-skill building. Oakley’s programs generated promotions and higher education degrees for several of the women.

Oakley says women are very close to outnumbering men in the workplace, and yet there is still an inequality in wages and an imbalance in leadership roles. “We just can’t be satisfied with this,” she says.

Lori Jenkins, who received the 2008 Lightkeeper Award, was also recognized for her efforts on behalf of improving the lot of women at the workplace, as well as serving as an often unsung pillar of the companies that have employed her. The director of sales for Country Inn and Suites encourages her staff to grow professionally, serves as co-chair of the Chattanooga Women’s Leadership Institute’s mentoring program and was founding member of an association to support women-owned businesses in the wedding industry. “It is our human responsibility to help others in general, but as women we are obligated to help other women,” she says.