The Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce will honor 10 Dutchess businesswomen representing industries from health, public administration, law and engineering with its 2009 Athena Award at the Grandview in Poughkeepsie at noon Dec. 6.
This year”™s honorees include Eleanor Charwat, financial planner; Terri Egitto, Hudson Valley Center at St. Francis, LLC; Clara Lou Gould, former mayor of Beacon; Sandra Ludlum, Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union; Donna McAleer, Elant; Alexandra Laubacker, Integrated Enterprise Solutions, Inc.; Lisa Morris, The Chazen Companies; Janet Ready, Health Quest, Inc. ”“ Vassar Brothers Medical Center;?Andrea Reynolds, Community Foundation of Dutchess County; and Lillian Weigert, Gellert & Klein.?In addition to naming the honoree that will be traveling to the International Athena Leadership Summit in Chicago, the event”™s keynote speaker is Muriel Siebert, nicknamed “The First Woman of Finance.”?Siebert is the founder and president of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) brokerage firm Muriel Siebert & Co. Inc.
She established the firm in 1967 when she became the first woman member of the NYSE and transformed it into a discount brokerage house on May 1, 1975, the first day that NYSE members were permitted to negotiate commissions.
Siebert continues to oversee the firm’s day-to-day operations at its seven branches. The firm’s municipal affiliate, Siebert Brandford Shank & Co., LLC, is ranked in the top 15 public finance firms in the country. ?Tickets for the event are $75 per person and can be purchased by calling 454-1700, ext. 1000. Proceeds from the program benefit the chamber”™s scholarship foundation.
