Three hundred guests gathered at Hotel Canandaigua on Wednesday for a dinner to honor eleven ATHENA nominees; seven Professional Women and four Young Professional Women.
First brought to Canandaigua in 1985 by Founding Sponsor, Margaret & Randy Farnsworth now Presenting Sponsor Garber Randall, Ontario County ATHENA is hosted by the Ontario County Chamber of Commerce with silent auction proceeds benefiting the organization, Professional Women of the Finger Lakes.
This year’s nominees represent public and private sectors, corporate and entrepreneurial roles, for-profit and not-for-profit missions, and three generations of professional excellence and mindful development of other professional women. Each of this year’s nominees embodies the eight tenets of the ATHENA Leadership model: Learning, Collaboration, Relationships, Fierce Advocacy, Authentic Self, Giving Back, Courageous Acts, and Celebration and Joy.
This year’s recipient of the ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award, Elisha Everson. Operations Manager for Simco HR, Everson is the former Kiwanis Club of Canandaigua President as well as the program chair of the Finger Lakes Division of the New York District of Kiwanis International.
The 2023 recipient of the ATHENA Women’s Leadership Award: Kristen Harter, Event Coordinator for Nolan’s on Canandaigua Lake, Canandaigua Country Club. Harter worked during the COVID-19 Pandemic to create an online take-out program that helped keep their entire full-time salaried team employed. This program allowed her to connect with the local hospitals, nursing homes, the police department, and other essential workers to be sure they were fed and staying healthy to help keep members of our community safe.
