Honoring Women on a Mission – The ATHENA Awards

While she was serving on the board of Lansing (MI) Regional Chamber of Commerce, Martha Mayhood Mertz, a successful real estate developer and owner of her own firm, saw something that concerned her: she was the only woman on the board.

She knew that didn’t match the reality of the business world; she knew many women who were successful business owners and executive directors. Women for whom the glass ceiling had already been breached. Women who were leaders in every sense of the word.

Why wasn’t this reflected in the boardroom. How has it remained such a boys’ club?

Martha became convinced it was ultimately about recognition. No one was truly celebrating the triumphs of women leaders in the same way they recognized me. If women’s strengths and contributions as leaders were publicly acknowledged, she reasoned, they could no longer be dismissed.

In 1982, she founded the ATHENA Awards in Lansing, naming it after the strong, enlightened Greek goddess. The award would honor not only those who had achieved the highest level of professional excellence, but had also contributed time and energy to improve the quality of life for others in the community and actively assisted others (particularly women) in realizing their full leadership potential.

In the past 35 years, more than 6,000 awards have been presented in 500 communities in the United States, Canada, China, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

As the program evolved, it has expanded its mission from just recognizing extraordinary women to cultivating them by developing leadership programs and creating networks so women can support each other.

There is a Women’s Leadership Day that encourages established women leaders to meet and coach emerging women leaders and an ATHENA Connections program that provides a curriculum to help college age women fulfill their potential. Another program pairs women-owned businesses with local professionals to provide assistance and guidance to meet specific needs of the business.

The guiding principal for all these programs are the “ATHENA Leadership Model,” eight distinct attributes that are reflective of women’s contributions to leadership:

• Living authentically
• Learning constantly
• Advocating fiercely
• Acting courageously
• Fostering collaboration
• Building relationships
• Giving back and
• Celebrating

And while ATHENA International looks to empower more women, its founder notes that these attributes are powerful for women and men.

“We work to achieve a balance in the voices of leadership,” Martha says on her website. “Time tested ‘women’s ways’ of leading have become the gold standard for both genders, and the building blocks for success in today’s global environment.”

I’ve had the distinct pleasure of being an ATHENA nominee twice in my career. And, much like the Oscars, it really is an honor just to be nominated. That’s particularly true in my hometown, where all the nominees are celebrated as part of the local Chamber of Commerce annual meeting with a magazine feature and a special video. All the nominees are celebrated, and that’s the part that I love the most.

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