Five local businesswomen were recognized for outstanding achievements at the fifth annual Chattanooga Nautilus Awards Luncheon on Friday at the Convention Center.

The Chamber of Commerce event recognizes outstanding local businesswomen and the businesses and individuals that assist women in reaching their potential as entrepreneurs and corporate leaders.

The 2010 award recipients are Sheila Boyington, ATHENA Award; Eileen Mason, Navigator of Entrepreneurship Award; Jennifer Harper, Lightkeeper Award; Kris Boucher, Stargazer Award; and Joanna Grace Shaw, Pearl of Promise Award.

The ATHENA Award

The ATHENA Award is presented to an individual whose professional achievements, community service, and efforts to help women obtain career goals and leadership skills are outstanding.
Sheila Boyington, winner of the 2010 ATHENA Award, is president of Thinking Media, creator of the KeyTrain curriculum for WorkKeys® and workforce skills. Over the past 10 years the company has provided skills gap training nationwide to more than 2 million people.

Besides the women who have gained workplace skills through her curriculum, women in Ms. Boyington’s employ have advanced from support staff into office management and lucrative sales positions.

Ms. Boyington has been a role model and mentor for women inside and outside of Thinking Media. She encourages women to achieve a successful career and family balance, and she counsels women new to this country on how to integrate into American society and the business world.

As past board chair of Girls Inc., board member of Girls Preparatory School and the first chair of the Georgia Tech Parents Advisory Board, Ms. Boyington has encouraged girls to explore careers in math, science and technology fields.

She has won awards for her entrepreneurship from the Chattanooga Engineer’s Club and the Chattanooga Area Chamber.

A registered Professional Engineer, Ms. Boyington holds degrees from the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Florida.

ATHENA Award Finalists

Dr. Phyllis Miller, M.D., co-founder of The Women's Institute for Specialized Health, has been a trailblazer for women in medicine.

The obstetrician-gynecologist was the first woman elected president of the Chattanooga and Hamilton County Medical Society; the first female chief of staff at Erlanger Hospital, the first female physician from her native Polk County, and the first woman to be elected President of the Tennessee Medical Association.

Ms. Miller is president of the Medical Foundation of Chattanooga Board of Trustees and a Fellow of the American College of OB/GYN American Medical Association.

Her voluntary activities include service for the March of Dimes, Rape Crisis Center and Hospice of Chattanooga. She is a Project Access community health partnership volunteer and spent three weeks in Haiti after the January earthquake to provide healthcare. In Haiti she delivered a baby by flashlight; over the course of her 33-year career, she has delivered some 5,000 babies.

Ms. Miller has been honored as the Tennessee Medical Association Outstanding Physician, a 2010 Tennessee Woman of Distinction, and as recipient of the 2010 Baroness Foundation Distinguished Physician Award.

Ronna-Renee Jackson, assistant vice president of Application Development within Business Technology at Unum, is a role model for women of all ages.

She regularly works with professional women and students who seek out her skills in mentoring and leadership development. She supports young women as they emerge from school and begin to develop in their own careers.

Ms. Jackson contributed to the development of Unum’s “Tech Night,” which brings students with a technical aptitude to explore a variety of career options, and she personally mentors several professional young women struggling to find the balance between work and home.

Ms. Jackson bridges the technical work of Unum’s business technology department with the business needs of the company, and her skill in doing so makes her a valuable business partner and solution provider.

She is involved in several community organizations, teaching effective communication as a board trainer for the Junior League and the Big Brothers Big Sisters leadership academy. She is a member of the Chattanooga Women’s Leadership Institute, the advisory board for UTC’s College of Engineering and Computer Science and the Junior Achievement board.

Navigator of Entrepreneurship Award

The Navigator of Entrepreneurship Award is presented to a woman business owner who encourages work-family balance among employees, demonstrates a pioneering spirit of entrepreneurship and serves as a role model for other women.

This year’s Navigator of Entrepreneurship is Eileen Mason, co-owner of Chattz Coffee and the Chattanooga Coffee Company.

Ms. Mason assumes personal responsibility for training her staff. She is committed to investing in the skills and growth of employees not only for her own business operation, but for the future of the employee, and as a contribution to the community’s vibrant workforce.

She emphasizes cross-training in order to foster respect for each person’s role and build a team approach.

Ms. Mason and her business partner, Evelyn Wheeler, worked long hours marketing and manning their Market Street coffee shop, Chattz, until it grew and was able to sustain a support staff.

Ms. Mason inspires her customers and other business owners with her strong work ethic, her positive attitude and her personal support.

The Chattanooga Coffee Company donates coffee to community fundraisers around the region, including Bella Sera, Chickamauga Chase and the public library’s Club Lib.

Chattz Coffee has been honored with the BBB Torch Award for Business Place Ethics, the Chamber’s Small Business Award, and the Times Free Press “Best of the Best” Award.
Navigator of Entrepreneurship Finalists

Kim Buckner, owner and creative director of h2b creative, encourages a successful work-life balance among her company’s employees. As a full-time mother and business owner, Ms. Buckner understands the importance of putting family first and working hard to fit the rest into place.

She serves as a model of entrepreneurship through the courage and dedication she showed founding her own company and building it from the ground up. Today h2b creative supports 11 employees, 75% of whom are women.

Ms. Buckner inspires loyalty among her staff by creating a positive environment in which they can work and thrive. She is a leader who believes in her company and what it does for the community.

H2b creative provides supportive pro bono work for clients, including non-profits and schools. Additionally, Buckner advocates for the environment by distributing seed paper ornaments for Earth Day, purchasing recycled glass ornaments for Christmas gifts and reusing envelopes for mail-outs.

Ms. Buckner’s efforts on behalf of animals include support for the Chattanooga Humane Education Society. H2b creative’s largest pro bono project for 2009 was the new Humane Society website.

Terri Holley is the owner of Embellish, a boutique located in Warehouse Row.

All of Ms. Holley's employees are women. Over the past couple of years several employees have expanded their families. Holley has made an extraordinary effort to reduce work schedules to help the new mothers better balance work and home life.

Ms. Holley encourages employees to complete their degrees in order to broaden their career opportunities and realize their full potential.

Ms. Holley displays creativity and takes risks in bringing cutting-edge fashion ideas home to Chattanooga. Her entrepreneurial and managerial skills are evidenced by her ability to successfully navigate a retail establishment through a challenging economic environment.

Ms. Holley leads by example, balancing owning and operating a busy boutique, while raising two daughters and keeping up with the demands related to being married to a bank CEO.

Ms. Holley has donated numerous hours to local non-profits, serving on boards and chairing and/or coordinating fundraising events. She has volunteered for the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera Association, the Creative Discovery Museum and Siskin Children's Institute. She has been honored as a Chattanooga Woman of Distinction.

Lightkeeper Award

The Lightkeeper is an individual who has made significant contributions to issues affecting women and/or girls through grassroots efforts. The recipient is a person who keeps her/his company or organization operating smoothly and efficiently, oftentimes outside of the public spotlight.

The recipient of the 2010 Lightkeeper Award is Jennifer Harper.

Ms. Harper, a client advisor for SunTrust Private Wealth Management, has a passion for helping women increase their financial literacy.

She applied for and received a grant from the Avon Foundation to develop a financial literacy program geared towards teenage girls. Called Common Cents, the program has been implemented throughout the city.

Ms. Harper has used the program in her volunteer service at the Partnership for Families, Children and Adults Life Skills class, Girls, Inc. summer program and the UTC Mentoring program at Brown Academy. In addition, she has combined it with Junior Achievement’s National Endowment for Financial Education program while teaching and volunteering in JA classes.

Ms. Harper has been able to reach hundreds of girls and women with this program. Though it is designed for high school age girls, she has also used it with women of all ages, as the fundamental message of sound financial management applies to all.

Ms. Harper’s efforts to educate girls and women in basic budget planning, setting financial priorities, and understanding credit empowers them to take control of their financial future and become more independent.

Lightkeeper Award Finalists

Doris Ellis has set a wonderful example for her co-workers and employees for the past 43 years at WDEF-TV. Through numerous ownership and executive changes, she has remained upbeat, positive and forward-thinking.

Even with all the challenges the broadcast industry has faced, Ms. Ellis has always been the consummate cheerleader for her company and her profession.

Starting as an administrative aide in 1967 she worked her way up to WDEF's Program Director within a decade. A female holding such a position in the 1970's was almost unheard of in the TV industry. Few match her longevity in Chattanooga’s television industry.

Ms. Ellis’s tenure can be attributed to sterling qualities: she is steady, even-tempered, loyal, positive and always professional. Although she's never been an on-camera staffer, to many in the community she is the "face" of WDEF-TV.

Ms. Ellis’s volunteer work has included serving as president of the Chattanooga Advertising Federation and the American Women in Radio and Television, and she has lent her support to numerous boards. WDEF-TV is very involved in the community, and Doris Ellis is almost always the driving force behind that involvement.

As office coordinator at Bridge Refugee Services, Marina Pesterianu encourages refugee women to achieve self-sufficiency. While respecting the various cultures and belief systems these women embrace, she offers them opportunities to overcome "psychological barriers" in the area of self-worth and independence.

Most of the refugee women have never worked outside of the home and feel that they have no skills to offer. Ms. Pesterianu helps them see possibilities by seeking out special training utilizing their strengths. She encourages them to enroll in ESL or GED classes, obtain a driver's license, and make connections in their new community.

As a dedicated advocate for her clients, Ms. Pesterianu works with the Chattanooga Office of Multicultural Affairs, faith-based communities, social services, the health department and other entities to meet her clients’ needs. She also partners with the Chattanooga Housing Authority, Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise and local employers on her clients’ behalf.

Ms. Pesterianu’s clients have obtained jobs in many Chattanooga industries. Their children have seen their parents learn and grow and thus the seeds are then planted for the next generation to succeed. Two of her clients - single mothers with several children - have built their own Habitat homes.

Stargazer Award

The Stargazer Award provides financial assistance to a non-traditional college student who intends to advance her career by furthering her education. This award salutes women who have made a decision to change their lives by pursuing their education and making the sacrifices necessary to achieve their goals. The honoree receives a $2,500 scholarship.

Kris Boucher, winner of this year’s Stargazer Award, is studying at Chattanooga State Technical Community College in preparation for a career as a substance abuse counselor.

At 42, she is in the process of starting all over after losing her job of 17 years two years ago. She says she views setbacks as opportunities and looks forward to a new career which will serve the community.

At Chattanooga State, Kris is a member of the human services club. Though the club, Kris is helping agencies in the community serve people in need. After graduating, she is eager to give back to the community both professionally and personally.

Stargazer Award Finalists

Charlotta Edwards is a daycare owner who wants to increase her skills as a business operator. After completing a two-year degree in business management at Miller-Motte Technical College, she enrolled in the business management program at Bethel University.

Ms. Edwards kept her business - Bundles of Joy Academy - operating, despite having to relocate after the landlord sold the building in which she leased space. She and her husband have also completed the adoption of two children after a long judicial process.

Through all the difficulties and financial challenges, she has maintained her status as a full-time student with a 4.0 average.

Tracey Freeman is an In-School Suspension Monitor at Lookout Valley Middle High School. Students may be assigned to her program in lieu of an out of school suspension, which interrupts instruction.

Ms. Freeman is known as Ms. Tracey and Momma Tracey and as a friend to whom students can discuss their problems. Many of their difficulties, she says, can fixed with a motherly hugs, kind words or the words, “You can do this!”

Ms. Freeman is taking online courses in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies with a minor in Christian studies. Her five-year goal is to become a Bible history teacher.

Pearl of Promise Award

The Pearl of Promise is presented to a female high school student with strong mathematics and science skills, a defined career goal and leadership abilities. The recipient receives a $2,500 scholarship.

Joanna Grace Shaw is a rising senior at Ooltewah High School with a GPA of 3.952 and a class rank of 20 out of 278.

Grace, who excels at science and math, is interested in the field of neuroscience and wants to either be a neurosurgeon, a neuroscientist or a neurologist.

She is also an exceptional artist who has won recognition for her artwork with a special showing at the Hunter Museum of Art. Grace will be spending 10 days studying art in Hamm, Germany this summer.

Grace is a leader who encourages other girls to find their own challenges and never just sit around and let someone else take all the chances.

Outspoken and articulate, Grace is not afraid to state her opinions or to take a stand for issues which she supports.

As a delegate to the Southeastern High School Model UN conference, Grace worked with other students developing ideas for a more peaceful world. She also used her debate skills at a Youth in Government Conference.

She is the daughter of Jim and Rebecca Shaw.

Pearl of Promise Finalists

Following college studies in marketing and entrepreneurship, Nisha Boyington, a rising senior at Girls Preparatory School, would like to own a technology-based business.

An outstanding science, math and economics student, Nisha was been named the top technology student in her class.

She was recently selected to represent Tennessee at Girls Nation this summer.

Nisha is currently attending the University of Florida’s Young Entrepreneurs for Leadership & Sustainability Program at the Warrington School of Business.

Nisha has distinguished herself in the Science Olympiad and Engineers Club Science Fair and as a member of the Girls Inc. Leadership Team and the YMCA Youth Leadership and Model UN.

Nisha developed and launched the first ever Global Youth Leadership Class for Chattanooga. Twenty students from 10 schools will participate in this program in the coming school year.

Nisha is the daughter of Dr. Dane and Sheila Boyington.

First in her class at East Hamilton High School, Brittany Munro will be taking all honors and Advanced Placement courses as a senior this fall.

Brittany would like to teach mathematics at the secondary school level. Her goal is to have a positive impact on the lives of young people while making math challenging and interesting in the classroom.

In preparation for a teaching career, Brittany attended the Tennessee Governor’s School for Prospective Teachers.

Brittany is active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Future Business Leaders of America. In 2009 she won first place in an FBLA math competition. While attending Ooltewah High School, Brittany was a class officer her freshman and sophomore years.

She is a captain of the varsity cheerleading team at East Hamilton High School. She has been cheering for six years during which time she received the Outstanding Leader and Scholar Athlete awards.

Brittany is the daughter of Scot and Luanne Munro.