United Way of Midland County is excited to celebrate the 2025 ATHENA Award honoree, their very own Holly Miller.
The prestigious community, national and global ATHENA Leadership Award recognizes accomplished individuals who actively support women in attaining professional excellence and leadership skills. This award highlights what recipients have accomplished in addition to ways they have paved the path for future successes. ATHENA Leadership Award inspires others to achieve excellence by honoring exceptional leaders.
Nominees must meet the following criteria:
- Demonstrates The Eight Principles of Enlightened Leadership in all aspects of their life
- Demonstrates excellence, creativity and initiative in their business or profession
- Provides valuable service to improve the quality of life for others in their community
- Actively assists women in achieving their full leadership potential
“I can’t imagine anyone more deserving of this award,” shared Stacy Gannon, Community President, Wealth Advisor at Huntington Bank. “I am honored to call her a friend and have personally witnessed Holly’s care, compassion and commitment in all that she does. Her determination to make our community better for all is inspiring. She truly embodies everything the ATHENA award represents. We are lucky to have Holly as a leader in this community and I couldn’t have been more honored to present her with the award at the recent Midland Business Alliance annual meeting.”
During the annual meeting, Stacey presented Holly with the award. To make the presentation special, Stacey reached out to women in Holly’s life who have been positively impacted by Holly to share one word to describe her. They shared the following: unwavering, inspirational, transformational, daring, empowering, connector and encouraging. Holly embodies all of these qualities and so many more.
Stacey also asked the audience to reflect on the impact of Holly and United Way through a series of questions, asking audience members to stand if their answer was yes, including: Have you donated to United Way? Have you volunteered with United Way? Have you advocated for a neighbor? Has Holly made an impact on your life? By the end of the questions, all 300+ audience members were standing, showing how incredibly far Holly’s impact has reached.
“Holly pours so much love and care into the women in her life,” shared Bridgette Gransden, Midland County Administrator/Controller. “This award recognizes women in leadership who help shape the next generation of leaders. Holly is a mentor and friend to so many and it’s inspiring to see how the lives of those around her are impacted in a positive way. It’s leaders like Holly who make this community a place where all can thrive and we’re so grateful for the time, energy and commitment she dedicates to lifting up those around her.”
United Way staff and board members celebrated Holly at the annual meeting, sharing thoughtful notes on how she’s personally impacted their lives. Holly shared that she’ll keep these encouraging notes forever as a reminder of how truly blessed she is to be surrounded by so many thoughtful, caring, like-minded friends and leaders.
“On behalf of the United Way Board of Directors, I’d like to congratulate Holly for her outstanding leadership in our community,” shared Wally Mayton, United Way Board President. “I’ve known Holly for many years and it’s a true joy observing her lead with such conviction and determination. She does things for the right reason, always putting the well-being of those around her first. I am so proud of Holly and couldn’t be more honored to celebrate her as the 2025 ATHENA award recipient.”
United Way shared their congratulations for all the award recipients at the 2025 Midland Business Alliance Annual Meeting. They stated that it’s people like those recognized for their meaningful work that make this community such a special place to live, work and play.
