The Chamber held its 6th annual Women of Worth Luncheon today and presented the ATHENA Award to Sue Coleman, Project Manager, with AREVA.
The ATHENA Award program was created in 1982 by Martha Mayhood Mertz and since that time, this international award program has awarded more than 6000 awards in over 500 communities in the United States, Canada, China, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and most recently the United Kingdom. By honoring exceptional leaders, the ATHENA Award® Program seeks to inspire others to achieve excellence in their professional and personal lives.
With today’s event, the Lynchburg Regional Chamber has honored 106 nominees, awarded six ATHENA Sculptures to recipients and with today’s attendance, over 1,200 women have come to be inspired and encouraged.
The Chamber began the ATHENA Award recognition in 2005 as a way to honor and celebrate the many amazing women in our community and the countless contributions they make every day to our community, our companies and other women. Each year, the Chamber requests nominations throughout the community requesting submissions for women who embody the ATHENA model.
ATHENA International defines the ATHENA woman as one who…..
- Assists women in reaching their full potential
- Demonstrates excellence, creativity and initiative in her business or profession
- Actively serves the community by contributing her time and energy
- Maintains overall positive spirit and leadership in all aspects of life
14 nominees we recognized at today’s luncheon for this prestigious award.
The 2011 Nominees were:
Bianca Allison, First National Bank
Johanna Calfee, Prototype Advertising
Sue Coleman, AREVA
Connie Kesler, Connie Kesler & Associates Insurance Group
Cathryn Mobley, Central Virginia Community College
Susie Owen, Employee Assistance of Central Virginia
Shauna Parsons, Evergreen Basement Systems
Patricia Preston, Re/Max 1st Olympic Realtors
Carol Riggins, Centra, Alan B. Pearson Regional Cancer Center
Tracie Robinson, First National Bank
Georgeann Snead, Electronic Design & Manufacturing
Cheryl Steele, Sweet Briar College
Catherine Varner, Genworth Financial
Shannon Watts, Key Fundraising
About the 2011 Recipient: 
Our 2011 ATHENA recipient is described by her nominator as humble, professional, kind and a mentor to many. One letter of support described her by saying “Leadership is not an artifact of her character, intermittently demonstrated when needed. Rather, investing time, energy and careful thought into serving the highest and best in others and her community is part of her fundamental character.”
Another supporter stated “I have watched her embody the principles of leadership and remain professional even when business issues escalated to urgent levels and involved controversy, difficult interpersonal dynamics and considerable risk.”
Professionally, she is a trailblazer for women in the male dominated nuclear engineering industry. Most recently she was the leader of the steam generator transport from France to Three Mile Island in Harrisburg PA. The team was comprised of eight women and one man. This was the most challenging delivery in her company’s history and the largest Superloads ever transported along Maryland and Pennsylvania roads. Preparation was years in the making requiring collaboration with local communities, state and federal agencies. Our recipient had to obtain 18 permits and coordinate approvals from over 150 agencies. The transport itself was slow and meticulous, moving at no more than three miles per hour! Communities along the route welcomed the crew and their precious cargo and although busy with the details, she even found time to talk to young girls along the way who wanted to talk to her and other women on the team about career possibilities.
This is just one of the many examples of professional excellence mentioned throughout her nomination.
Aside from her professional accolades, she finds time to give back to Lynchburg. She is active in Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, an advocate for Lynchburg Grows, local start- up businesses and the United Way of Central VA. She is the co-founder of AREVA’s Reading is Power program which engages middle schoolers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math activities. She also actively participates in the formal AREVA Women’s mentoring program. Things she does, not because of work, but because of her desire to see others succeed.
She has been involved with Big Brothers/Big Sisters for nine years. She and her “little sister” Nicole have been matched for eight of those nine years and Nicole has become part of her family. The two have traveled together and there’s talk of a trip to Europe soon. Many have said that they were inspired to get involved with Big Brothers/Big Sisters because of her example with Nicole.
