Finalists named for the 40th ATHENA Leadership Award

Trio of local business leaders also to be honored at the Excellence in Business Leadership Awards Night

The Greater Wausau Chamber of Commerce will host the first Excellence in Business Leadership Awards Night presented by Imperial Industries at 6 p.m. on Thursday, October 9 at The Grand Theater in downtown Wausau. The evening will include four awards, including the 40th ATHENA Leadership Award. Debuting at the event are the James J. McIntyre Cornerstone Award and the Liz Tillisch Heart of the Chamber Award. The G. Lane Ware Innovator Award will also be presented at the program.

Doors will open for the event at 5 p.m. with the hour-long program followed in the Great Hall by a cocktail reception and appetizers.

“The greater Wausau business community has much to be proud of!” said Dave Eckmann, President and CEO of the Chamber. “It is through strong, passionate and dedicated leaders that our community thrives.”

The Greater Wausau Chamber of Commerce has one of the longest-running and most established ATHENA programs in the US and presents two different awards. The ATHENA Leadership Award is presented to women or men in recognition of their professional excellence, community service and for actively assisting women in their attainment of professional excellence and leadership skills.

The finalists for the 40th annual ATHENA Leadership Award are:

• Stephanie Daniels
• Claire Meney
• Laura Strek
• Tammy Szekeress
• Sherri Waid

The recipient of the 2025 James J. McIntyre Cornerstone Award, sponsored by the Greenheck Group, is Dr. Kristine Gilmore. The recipient of the G. Lane Ware Innovator Award, sponsored by Ruder Ware LLSC, is Ryan Gallagher. The recipient of the Liz Tillisch Heart of the Chamber Award is Paul LaPree.

The Excellence in Business Leadership Awards Night is presented by Imperial Industries. The sponsor of the ATHENA Leadership Award is O’Malley Cadillac Honda. The sponsor of the James J. McIntyre Cornerstone Award is the Greenheck Group. The sponsor of the G. Lane Ware Innovator Award is Ruder Ware LLSC. The platinum sponsors for the event are Nicolet National Bank and Northcentral Technical College, the gold sponsors are M3 Insurance and The Alliance, and the print media sponsor is The Business News. Several businesses are also corporate sponsors.

Sponsorships for the event are still available. For more information on sponsorships, contact Kaycee Packard at kpackard@wausauchamber.com or 715-848-5955.

Tickets are $75 and the event is open to the public. Registration will close on Thursday, September 25. For more information or to register, visit WausauChamber.com.