Four Locals to be Honored at Second Excellence in Business Leadership Awards

The Greater Wausau Chamber of Commerce will host the Excellence in Business Leadership Awards Night presented by Imperial Industries at 6 p.m. on Monday, November 16 at The Grand Theater in downtown Wausau. The evening will include four awards, including the James J. McIntyre Cornerstone Award, the G. Lane Ware Innovator Award, the Liz Tillisch Heart of the Chamber Award and the 41st ATHENA Leadership Award.

Doors will open for the event at 5 p.m. with an hour-long program beginning at 6 p.m. The Awards program will be followed in the Great Hall by a cocktail reception and appetizers.

“The Excellence in Business Leadership Awards program is one of my favorite nights of the year because it gives us an opportunity to celebrate the people who make our community stronger,” said Kaycee Packard, Director of Programs and Events. “These leaders show up for their employees, their customers and our region, and they deserve to be recognized for it.”

The recipient of the 2026 James J. McIntyre Cornerstone Award, sponsored by the Greenheck Group, is Mary Jo Johnson. Johnson is the CEO and owner of EO Johnson Business Technologies. Johnson moved back to the region in 1985 to work at her father’s company, EO Johnson Business Technologies. She moved into the top leadership role with the business in 1999 and helped to diversify the business into a leader in the information technology sector and growing to ten locations across three states.

The recipient of the G. Lane Ware Innovator Award, sponsored by Ruder Ware LLSC, is the Grebe’s family who have operated the Wausau business bearing their last name since 1946. Current owners, Steve and Suzi Richetto are both graduates of the University of Minnesota. In 1994, they returned to Wausau to join the family business. As Grebe’s celebrates its 80th year, the Richettos are excited for what the future holds and looking forward to passing the baton to the next generation.

The recipient of the Liz Tillisch Heart of the Chamber Award is Dean Dietrich. Dietrich is an attorney with Weld Riley in Wausau and is a former president of the State Bar of Wisconsin. Dietrich has served in a variety of roles for the Chamber and other non-profits. He was the first local male recipient of the ATHENA Award and was honored with the Charles L. Goldberg Distinguished Service Award of the Wisconsin Law Foundation. He is a shareholder with Weld Riley, S.C.

The Greater Wausau Chamber of Commerce has one of the longest-running and most established ATHENA programs in the US. 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 sponsor of the ATHENA Leadership Award for all 41 years of its existence in Wausau is O’Malley Cadillac Honda.

The finalists for the 41st annual ATHENA Leadership Award are:

• Samantha Diedrich
• JoAnn Draeger
• Nicole Gaiche
• Linda Koepke
• Erika Van De Yacht

Interviews with each of this year's ATHENA finalists, produced by On-Site Studios, are available on the Chamber's YouTube channel and on WausauChamber.com. A replay of the 2025 program is also available on these sites.

The Excellence in Business Leadership Awards Night is presented by Imperial Industries. The award sponsors are listed above. The platinum sponsors for the event are JP Morgan Chase Bank, Marathon Cheese Corp and The Dirks Group, the gold sponsors are Jim Kryshak Jewelers and Park City Credit Union. The print media sponsor is The Business News and the television sponsor is WAOW/WYOW Television.

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. For more information or to register, visit WausauChamber.com.