Our April meeting will celebrate the 38th anniversary of the prestigious Athena Young Women of Promise awards.  YWP is named in honor of Dr. Sylvia Richardson, who championed this program which recognizes stellar models of young leadership. This year, as always, we will hear directly from each recipient about her accomplishments and passions. Although each is unique, they are all high achievers who care about their peers, families, communities and making the world a better place.  The 2019 awardees follow in the footsteps of 37 cohorts of YWP alumni who translate their core beliefs to action, a basic Athena value.

The new crop of YWP will surely make us proud.  By recognizing ten Young Women of Promise we are also acknowledging the tremendous contributions of all our high schools in preparing the best and the brightest.  Athenians should also be proud of our collective support for these young women. Our total contributions over the years is close to $186,000. Many thanks to Denise Jordan, Jane Peppard, and to the entire committee.  Final selections could not have been easy.

Speaking of difficult decisions…April will also usher in our new members. In the next few weeks our hard-working membership committee will have identified candidates from among a very, very competitive group of remarkable nominees.  No April Fools in this group! It becomes more and more of a challenge to select from the pool of extraordinary professionals. It is an unenviable task, indeed. We appreciate the membership committee, dedicated members who have embraced the awesome responsibility of determining who will be called an Athena sister.

Other activities will cap this busy year.  Career Assistance Grant nominees will be revealed at our May meeting.  On June 6th, our annual meeting and banquet will be held at a new venue, the University of Tampa.  And the summer retreat, in the very capable hands of Nancy Vaughn and her team, will be held July 19 – 21 at St. Petersburg’s historic Vinoy Hotel.  Get out your smartphones, save the dates and make your reservations for these upcoming meetings and events.

One last item… If you live in Tampa, don’t forget to vote.  On April 23rd we may very well elect our third female mayor – and an Athena sister, at that!

Thank you,

Betty