Rotary Club of Dubois County seeks ATHENA award nominations
Dubois County residents had until May 1 to nominate a woman leader for the 2026 ATHENA Award. The September banquet will honor work that often happens out of view.
The Rotary Club of Dubois County accepted nominations through May 1 for its 2026 ATHENA Leadership Award, a local honor aimed at women whose leadership shows up in business, nonprofit work and community service long before it is publicly recognized.
The award is open to nominees from either the profit or nonprofit sector, with no age requirement. The Rotary Club says the selection is based on excellence, creativity, initiative, community service and active support for women’s leadership development, along with the ATHENA model’s emphasis on Authentic Self, Relationships, Giving Back, Collaboration, Courageous Acts, Learning, Fierce Advocacy, and Celebration & Joy.
That makes the nomination process especially relevant for Dubois County residents who know women making a measurable difference in schools, workplaces, civic groups and charities across the county. The club encouraged nominations for women who live and or work in Dubois County and whose impact often goes unnoticed because it is folded into daily responsibilities, volunteer work and local problem-solving rather than high-profile titles.
The 2026 ATHENA Leadership Awards banquet is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, at the Huntingburg Event Center. Indiana Chief Justice Loretta H. Rush will serve as keynote speaker, giving the annual celebration a strong public leadership connection at a time when the award itself is built around mentoring, service and leadership development.
The event also has a direct financial effect in the county. A portion of the proceeds will go to the ATHENA recipient’s chosen charity, and the rest will support the Rotary Club of Dubois County’s annual community grant program. In other words, the evening is designed to do more than honor one woman: it channels money back into local causes and future grants.
Laura Grammer was the 2025 ATHENA recipient, and her permanent exhibit was unveiled at the Dubois County Museum on Jan. 21, 2026, joining earlier honorees already displayed there. The 2025 banquet was held Sept. 17, 2025, also at the Huntingburg Event Center, underscoring how the award has become one of the county’s recurring celebrations of women whose work strengthens Dubois County year after year.
Know something we missed? Have a correction or additional information?
Submit a Tip
