Anchorage chamber programs benefit and honor women: the ATHENA Award's luncheon will be held this month, and will honor a woman for achievement and excellence in business.

• Author: West, Gail

A cross America, nearly half of all privately held firms are owned by women--48 percent, according to the Center for Women's Business Research in Washington, D.C. The center also estimated that in 2004 there were 36,404 privately held, women-owned (50 percent or more) firms in Alaska, accounting for nearly 60 percent of all privately held firms in the state.

In Anchorage, many of those women and men who succeed in business are passing on their legacy of leadership and excellence to those who will follow them through the ATHENA Society, a program of the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce. The Anchorage chapter of a national ATHENA Society was formed in 1988 under the auspices of the Anchorage Chamber, and the first ATHENA Award was presented that year to Joyce Murphy, an Anchorage veterinarian and community activist.

ATHENA Award This Month

The ATHENA Award recognizes individuals for professional achievement, community service, and for actively and generously assisting women in their attainment of professional excellence.

After the award was presented to Murphy, the Anchorage ATHENA Society went into a hiatus-created when several supporters left the Anchorage Chamber board. It was resurrected again in 1995, and was presented to Eleanor Andrews, president and chief executive officer of The Andrews Group LLC.

As part of the award, Andrews was given a scholarship to the national convention. She attended, and returned to Alaska determined to reawaken and expand the local group.

"I realized what ATHENA was all about," said Andrews. "It's about promoting women to be successful; encouraging them to be visible in the business community."

The seed Andrews planted when she returned to Anchorage fell on fertile ground. With a core group of women she gathered together, including then-Anchorage Chamber president Carol Heyman, the Anchorage ATHENA Society was reinvigorated and began to grow.

"There was--and still is-a need for people who know how to succeed to step forward and volunteer," Andrews said. "We need those women to help other women."

Today's Anchorage ATHENA Society is a vibrant, expanding organization of both women and men--more than 150 strong--focused on encouraging women in business and entrepreneurship, and on recognizing those who have made an outstanding commitment to helping other women in the business world.

Anchorage ATHENA Award recipients constitute a who's who among women in the city. The 2004 recipient was Anchorage School District...