Cortney Helfrich of Wilber Group has been presented the 2023 Athena Leadership Award by the McLean County Chamber of Commerce. Helfrich serves as the companies Chief Personnel Officer. The award was presented on Thursday evening at the Epiphany Farms Estate in Downs.
Helfrich is responsible for the growth of Wilber’s leadership team as well as the organization’s cultural well being. Helfrich teaches and speaks on recovery management topics nationwide. She was granted a BA in Risk Management and a MBA from Illinois Wesleyan University.
“I thank Wilber group for challenging me,” Helfrich said in her acceptance speech then thanked the “Wilber Crew,” “for accepting me as the authentic, crazy, wild, self that I am.” She thanked her husband, “for allowing me to break stereotypes” and her family “that showed me what a strong woman can be.”
According to the evenings program, “The ATHENA Leadership Award is a prestigious international award given to individuals defined as role models who inspire and encourage the empowerment of women leaders.”
Hefrich is known for her “Elmo laugh” and her “Tigger like enthusiasm without coffee.”
“It has been a whirlwind the last 12 years here at Wilber Group,” Helfrich said after the program. “I started as a collector and I have had just the best support system, given opportunities, challenged at my job, given support from those around me and my family and more importantly at Wilbur Group.”
“They allowed me to grow,” said Helfrich. “I was just a kid out of college when I started and here I am, a young professional, receiving awards. So the development that I was given, the opportunity to grow as well as fail are really what helped get me here. I feel awesome and this is wonderful and I appreciate everyone who came out. The other two honorees are wonderful professionals. It was so great to hear about them too.”
Lynn Fulton and Angie Hedin were runners up to Helfrich for the award.
Notable names among past winners of the Athena award include Sonja Reece, Julie Dobski and Judy Buchanan.
Reece, who was in attendance, won the award 25 years ago.
“It was an exciting night,” said Reece. “There were several people that I knew that were also in the running for this. So I was very amazed that someway or the other I managed to walk away with it that night.”
