Tretter named 2014 ATHENA International award recipient
Kathy Tretter made sure she had a few facts and figures about her chosen community outreach group, Crisis Connection, Inc., ready just in case, but she really thought it would simply be a nice evening with a nice dinner celebrating an extraordinary Dubois County woman.
It was a good call on her part as she was announced the winner of the 2014 ATHENA International Leadership award by the Rotary Club of Jasper.
Between a couple bouts of tears, Tretter explained that she was honored to be nominated and chosen for the award. “I am totally in shock,” she told the audience after being announced as the third ATHENA award winner. “I can’t tell you what an honor this is because all the women in this room that were nominated and those from the two previous years have been outstanding. I think Dubois County is so blessed to have a lot of leaders that are women.”
“And you men aren’t to shabby either,” she quickly added.
Tretter was one of eight nominees that included Juanita Boehm, Judi Brown, Jan Dougan, Sue Habig, Donna Oeding, Hannah Sitzman, and Brenda Sermersheim. Brenda Stallings, the 2013 Athena award-winner, announced Tretter as the winner after the award was unveiled with Tretter’s name engraved in it.
The final award winner is chosen using a score system provided by ATHENA International. Bob Bleemel announced at the ceremony that the scores for all the women were “amazingly close, which proves that any one of these women deserves this award.”
The ATHENA Leadership Award is presented to a woman who is honored for professional excellence, community service and for actively assisting women in their attainment of professional excellence and leadership skills.
Tretter’s dedication to her community is apparent through her service on the board of directors of the Jasper Contractual Library and Crisis Connection, Inc. She is also involved in the Dubois County and Ferdinand historical societies, where through her efforts the Wollenman House — a historic Swiss-chalet house built in 1903 in Ferdinand — was purchased and is currently being restored.
As editor and co-publisher of the Ferdinand News and the Spencer County Leader, Tretter has received numerous awards for excellence. More importantly, she has assisted and mentored women through her business, training two to become award-winning journalists.
It is difficult to find a day during the week that she isn’t rushing to cover a story for the newspapers or volunteering for the many groups she is a part of.
“It’s sweet to be recognized,” she said. “I believe women have to try a little harder to be recognized.”
She complimented the other nominees. “They are amazing and I know them all and that’s why I didn’t think I would be up here right now,” Tretter said.
Tretter’s husband, Richard, was joined by the couple’s two daughters, Megan Schipp and Molly Cummings, at the event held at the Huntingburg Event Center Thursday evening. The family teared up together after she was announced as the winner.
Tretter joins Brenda Stallings (2013) and Jane Chappell (2012) as the third recipient of the annual award started by the Rotary Club in 2012.
According to Kevin Bartley, who chaired this year’s event, the Rotary decided to sponsor the annual award as a fundraising event that honored women in Dubois County. The benefit has been an increased female membership in the club as well as increased exposure for the group; several hundred attended the event Thursday and attendance has grown each year since its inception.
Proceeds from the event will be donated to Tretter’s chosen philanthropic organization, Crisis Connection, Inc.
