(Atlantic) Former Atlantic Fire Chief Mark McNees was awarded the Distinguished Service Award and Debbie Leistad received the 2019 ATHENA Leadership Award at the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce annual dinner on Saturday.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to reflect on what we’ve accomplished, look forward to what we will accomplish and most of all, highlight all of our Chamber Members and volunteers that have invested their time and money back into our organization and our community,” mentioned Smith.
Mark McNees was honored for his life serving others. Mark has been an active member of the Atlantic Elk’s Club for over 33 years. He’s volunteered at numerous community events like the Lighted Parade and, most recently, spending his entire summer planning the RAGBRAI Beer Gardens. But most notably, he has spent the last 29 ½ years selflessly serving on the Atlantic Volunteer Fire Department, 13 of those years as Chief. He has spent his life dedicating his time to helping others and serving Atlantic.
The Distinguished Service Award recognizes an individual, business or organization that has made the community a better place to live. They have rendered special services for the benefit of the community and have demonstrated an active leadership role for the betterment of the community through their involvement in business, civic and social service organizations. The Chamber has been giving this award out since 1986.
Debbie Leistad was honored the 2019 ATHENA Leadership Award, in partnership with Deter Motor Company for her dedicated service to helping women reach their leadership potential. She is an active member of Atlantic Business & Professional Women. Numerous members have attributed her encouragement and guidance to the reason they have found success in their own business. She has also been fundamental in increasing the Atlantic BPW local scholarships to $1,000. She follows up with scholarship recipients to support them through their educational pursuits. When she’s not doing volunteer work for BPW, you can find her volunteering at any other community function going on. She has been an active volunteer with Business & Professional Women, Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis Club, Atlantic Booster’s Club, Atlantic/Riverside Bowling Association, Family Crisis Support Network Fundraising, Iowa Coalition against Domestic Violence, Lighted Christmas Parade, AtlanticFest, Produce in the Park, Breast Cancer Awareness, Nine & Wine, and numerous other community events.
The ATHENA Leadership Award, developed through a grant from W.K. Kellogg Foundation, identifies eight distinct attributes that are reflective of women’s contributions to leadership: living authentically, learning constantly, advocating fiercely, acting courageously, fostering collaboration, building relationships, giving back and celebrating. These personal traits are more intuitive to women and combined with the strongest aspects of traditional leadership, prepare women to be successful leaders in the 21st century. Over 7,000 recipients around the world have been honored with the ATHENA Award, 18 of them in our own community. Presented to leaders, women, and men, across the professional sector, the ATHENA Leadership Award is one of the most prestigious leadership awards one can receive – and Atlantic is one of the few communities in Iowa with an active ATHENA Leadership group.
“I couldn’t think of two more deserving people than Mark and Debbie to receive these awards. They’re both so giving to the community, even though neither of them thinks they deserve this praise. Atlantic is a better place with them here and I look forward to continuing to work with them on future endeavors,” stated Smith.
Smith says the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce looks forward to a new year of business growth, community development and continued partnerships with the membership and community.
