Triangle East ATHENA International Leadership Award Banquet

The Triangle East Chamber of Commerce is proud to celebrate professional leadership at their second annual ATHENA Leadership Award Banquet.  The Chamber Women's Business Network (CWBN) will host a dinner in their honor on Tuesday, October 29 at Hinnant Family Vineyards. Join us as we recognize our award nominees and present the 2019 award. 

2019 ATHENA Leadership Award Nominees

Annette Atkinson, Marketing Director, Huebner Family McDonald’s, Garner
Donna Bailey-Taylor, President & CEO, Johnston County Visitors Bureau, Smithfield
Samantha Bureau-Johnson, VP, Enterprise Process Solutions & PMO at Blue Cross NC, Durham
Shanna Capps, General Manager, Johnston Now magazine, Four Oaks
Jessica Davis, Chief Curator & Owner, Curated & Company, Smithfield
Tara Dunn, Owner, Memory Lane Frame Studio, Smithfield
Dr. Johna Lee Faulconer, Associate Professor, East Carolina University, Greenville
Kay Johnson, Executive Director, Harbor, Inc., Smithfield
Corina Knott, Account Executive, Interstate Outdoor, Inc., Selma
Sarah Elizabeth Lagasse, Sales Manager, Johnston County Visitors Bureau, Smithfield
Melissa Godwin Overton, Owner/Consultant, Medical Training.Me, Smithfield
Dr. Marilyn Pearson, Health Director, Johnston County Public Health Department, Smithfield
Lillian “Cookie” Pope, Commissioner, Johnston County Board of Commission, Smithfield
Pam Tripp, CEO, CommWell Health, Newton Grove
Kelly Wallace, Vice President & COO, Triangle East Chamber of Commerce, Smithfield
 

Keynote Speaker

Beth Wood, CPA
North Carolina State Auditor

Beth Wood is a Certified Public Accountant in her third term as North Carolina’s elected State Auditor. She is a long-time public servant with nearly 25 years of auditing experience, having worked in the Auditor’s Office for nearly 10 years before her election in 2008 and also in the State Treasurer’s Office.

Before that, she worked for several companies in the private sector. She is the first woman elected State Auditor in North Carolina.

Through her work as State Auditor, Beth has helped strengthen and improve state government. Audit teams across the state watch every area of state government for potential savings and smart use of taxpayer dollars. The office has focused particularly on healthcare spending and contracting practices that favored vendors at the expense of taxpayers. As a result, audits published by OSA during her tenure have identified millions of dollars of potential savings.

Additionally, the office is following up on prior audits, evaluating the use of best practices by state agencies, and working to attract and retain highly skilled auditors.