The Dubois County Museum is home to a new exhibit.
Jasper Rotary Club President, Laura Grammar, cut the ribbon and officially opened the ATHENA Award Exhibit on Thursday evening.
Grammar tells us the project didn’t just happen over a few weeks. It took months of hard work.
“So it has been a long process of planning and working hard to get it done. It’s all done with volunteer hours and volunteer dollars. So it is truly a labor of love,” Grammar says.
The president also tells us it was amazing to see such an immaculate idea come to life.
“You know it has been so exciting to see an idea from an 18-year-old student come to fruition in such grandeur,” Grammar says.
The brains behind the project is recent Jasper High School graduate, Grace Truesdale.
Truesdale explains how the idea came about.
“You know, it happened I broke up with my boyfriend and I need something else to fill the time. Then my Spanish teacher asked who wants to lead this project and my hand was shot up and that was two almost three years ago, and then we’re just now finished with it,” she says.
The student says she hopes the exhibit will honor the women of Dubois County and recognize them for their accomplishments in years to come.
“I mean, I’m a huge fan of our city Jasper. So I would love to kind of just leave my footprint here somewhere. If I don’t, I have always wanted to travel the world and come back and always do something for our community. And to have these women represent us and really showcase them really means a lot to me,” she says.
Grammar says giving the women in the community this spotlight is incredibly important.
“You know, I think having women finally have a spot that is theirs. Not just you know one day on one night and an Athena Awards Banquet. And now people will know that there are women in Dubois County who did amazing things and accomplish amazing things for our community,” Grammar says.
The ATHENA Leadership Award for Women recognizes Dubois County recipients who excel professionally, enhance our communities, and encourage women leaders. The award is named after Athena-the Greek Goddess of Wisdom, War, and Peace.
To learn more about the ATHENA awards, head to aethenainternational.org.
To see a list of COVID-19 precautions and museum hours, visit duboiscountymuseum.org.