TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – The Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce will continue celebrating and honoring women in West Central Indiana with the Terre Haute Women’s Conference and “Women’s Excellence in Leadership Award,” sponsored by Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.
The 2021 conference is scheduled for Friday, April 23. It will be hosted virtually.
Nominations are now being accepted for the “Women’s Excellence in Leadership Award.” The award recognizes a woman who has distinguished herself in her profession, workplace and community.
“Part of the Chamber’s mission is to recognize and celebrate business, and that includes women business leaders,” says Chamber President Kristin Craig. “This year we have seen history being made with the first female Vice President of the United States. Our community is full of strong, intelligent, driven women and we are happy to honor that again this year.”
The award will be presented prior to the conference. Deadline for nominations is Monday, March 29, 2021. A short nomination form can be found online.
First Financial Bank General Counsel & Vice President Amy Hock was honored as the recipient of the inaugural award in September 2020. Original plans for the award announcement was to take place at the conference in March 2020, which was postponed due to COVID-19.
Members of the First Financial Bank staff, along with representatives from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and the Chamber gathered to surprise and honor Hock.
“It’s almost inexplicable how much it means to me because I do have two young daughters and a mother only wants the best for her children and if I’m being reflective, I’ve had a lot of wonderful opportunities,” Hock said at the time. “I got emotional because women have come so far and I really hope that we continue to move further along. Awards like this is an acknowledgement and a reality that women are doing great things and young women are going to have the opportunity to do even greater things.”
This is not the Chamber’s first time honoring women in business. Formally, the organization presented the nationally recognized ATHENA Leadership Award. Traditionally, this award was presented during the Chamber Annual Meeting in August.
ATHENA Leadership Award has previously honored several outstanding women in the community, including: Sister Barbara Doherty, Marilyn Pendergast, Beth Tevlin, Sydney Bell, Jeanette Winchester, Becky Buse, Marla Flowers, Claudia Tanoos, Patrece Dayton, Sara Smith, Carol Roesch, Dottie King, Sara Arnett, Rachel Leslie, Barbara “Boo” Lloyd, Bernice Helman, Cheri Bradley and Susan Decker. Amy Hock was the first honoree of the new “Women’s Excellence in Leadership Award.”
