Ontario County ATHENA recipients announced

CANANDAIGUA — One of the award recipients is senior vice president, chief human resources officer at Canandaigua National Bank & Trust. The other is vice president and Canandaigua branch manager at Lyons National Bank. 

Together, Michelle Pedzich and Tara Rago embody the eight tenets of the ATHENA Leadership model: learning, collaboration, relationships, fierce advocacy, authentic self, giving back, courageous acts, and celebration and joy.   

Pedzich and Rago received the Ontario County ATHENA Leadership and Young Professional Leadership Awards, respectively, during a gathering Nov. 18 attended by some 300 guests at Finger Lakes Community College. 

Pedzich, who has a daughter in college and dedicates much of her professional and personal effort to advancing the rights and opportunities of women, started a mentorship program at CNB. She also led the Leadership Ontario Steering Committee in the development and launch of Leadership Ontario and served on the Board of Education for the Canandaigua City School District for 10 years. 

"I would not be standing here today if not for certain individuals who saw something in me and pushed me out of my comfort zone to learn, stretch, and grow. If you don't have a mentor, find the courage to reach out to someone you admire,” Pedzich said in her acceptance speech. She also thanked her CNB colleagues, "I could not think of a better place to work and a better group of people to work with. I am hashtag CNB Proud."  

Rago, who is a lifelong resident of the Finger Lakes and mother of two, has been a member of the LNB team since 2006, and before her promotion to vice president and branch manager at the Canandaigua office, she served as assistant vice president and branch manager of LNB’s Geneva office. She is an active member of the community, serving on several boards and committees across the county. 

This year’s nominees represent the public and private sectors, corporate and entrepreneurial roles, for-profit and not-for-profit missions and three generations of professional excellence and mindful development of other professional women. 

Pedzich was one of eight nominees who include: Ontario County Public Health Director Mary Beer; Alyssa Belasco, executive director, New York Kitchen; Tracey Dello Stritto, executive director, Partnership for Ontario County; Diane Hayton, director of nursing for long-term care, UR Medicine Thompson Health; Pamela Rhodes, officer and pastor, The Salvation Army, Canandaigua; Kimberly Sandic, program manager, national sales operations, Marsh McLennan Agency; and Suzanne B. Underhill, executive director, Light Hill-Canandaigua Comfort Care Home. 

Rago was one of three nominees who include: Andrea Brown, assistant director of student life, Finger Lakes Community College; and Caroline Wenzel Chapman, director of communications and advisement, Canandaigua City School District. 

The ATHENA Awards were first brought to Canandaigua in 1985 by founding sponsor Randall Farnsworth Auto Group. The Ontario County ATHENA is a collaboration between the Ontario County Chamber of Commerce and Professional Women of the Finger Lakes.  

To learn more about the Ontario County ATHENA Leadership Awards and the 2022 nominees, the program’s 37 years of honorees and this year’s sponsors, visit OntarioCountyATHENA.com. A recap of this year’s program will be streamed online and broadcast later this season on Finger Lakes Television.