The Greater Waco Chamber is pleased to announce the 2024 ATHENA Leadership Award Finalists. These five women exemplify the qualities ATHENA International and the Leading Waco Women Series strive to highlight. Our finalists will be recognized during the upcoming Leading Waco Women Serving Summit on Thursday, Nov. 21 at the AC Hotel by Marriott Waco. They will participate in a panel and then one of the finalists will be recognized with the prestigious 2024 ATHENA Leadership Award.
The five finalists are:
- Nancy Goodnight, IRONMAN
- Julie Hays, KWTX TV
- Mosie Holley, Central National Bank
- Rachel Pate, Cen-Tex African American Chamber of Commerce
- Stephanie Peters, Cargill
The Serving Summit will conclude the 2024 Leading Waco Women Series. The program will also include a keynote presentation from Mary Thompson, CEO of BNI (Business Network International), the world’s largest and most successful business networking organization with more than 320,000+ Member-businesses participating on 11,000+ BNI Chapters in 76 countries.
Prior to stepping into her current CEO role at BNI, Thompson served as COO of Neighborly, the world’s largest home services company. There she oversaw the ongoing business operations at Neighborly, working with 30 brands as she leads the execution of company strategies. Prior to her appointment as COO, Mary served as executive vice president of Neighborly and president of Mr. Rooter® for nine years.
Prior to her career in franchising, Thompson served eight years in the U.S. Marine Corps as a logistics officer. Thompson graduated from the University of Texas in 1984 with a bachelor’s degree. In 2002, she completed the mini-MBA program in franchise management at the University of St. Thomas College of Business.
Leading Waco Women was created to celebrate, empower and develop female leaders in the Greater Waco area. For ticket information, call 254-757-5600 or visit WacoChamber.com.