East Lansing resident Nell Kuhnmuench is photographed Wednesday in a conference room at Governmental Consultant Services Inc., 120 N. Washington Square, in Lansing.
When East Lansing resident Nell Kuhnmuench found out she was getting an award for her life’s work as a woman who’s made groundbreaking achievements, she was at a momentary loss for words.
“I told the president (of Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce) I was somewhat speechless — which doesn’t happen very often, because I talk for a living,” Kuhnmuench said.
Kuhnmuench, director of Governmental Consultant Services Inc. in Lansing, was honored with the ATHENA Award at the 2010 ATHENA Award Presentation, an event held Wednesday afternoon at the Lansing Center, 333 E. Michigan Ave., in Lansing.
The ATHENA Award is given to one high-achieving woman in Greater Lansing each year who has devoted time and energy to their community and has paved the way for women’s careers in the future, said Tim Daman, president and CEO of the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Daman said Kuhnmuench was chosen to receive the award because she was the first female chief of staff in the Michigan House of Representatives, the first woman principal in a major Michigan multi-client lobbying firm and was one of the founding members of Michigan’s White House Project, a nonprofit organization that promoting young women running for elective office, among other reasons.
Community always has been a part of Kuhnmuench’s life. Currently serving as a member of the East Lansing School Board, Kuhnmuench said actively being involved in the community is what makes it a good place both to live and thrive.
“The only way community really works is if there are individuals who are giving up themselves to make it work,” Kuhnmuench said.
She said the Lansing area also should be commended for being open to women’s involvement in the community.
“(Greater Lansing) is an area that is very supportive of opportunities for women and encourages creativity and entrepreneurship,” Kuhnmuench said. “It’s a very stimulating place to live.”
The ATHENA Award originated in 1982 in the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce, and since has become an international entity, with more than 6,000 ATHENA awards given in more than 500 communities around the world, Daman said. The awards presentation, which included a luncheon, was the first of its kind in Lansing and drew more than 250 guests, he said.
“For our first event of this nature, we couldn’t be more pleased,” Daman said. “It’s an opportunity for us to highlight and recognize the history and heritage (of women in the Lansing area).”
Nancy Moody, director of state government affairs at DTE Energy Corporation, nominated Kuhnmuench for the ATHENA award. Moody said she always has admired Kuhnmuench’s drive in her profession and said she was a perfect candidate for it.
“Nell has been working in a professional capacity since she was a young woman, and one of her top priorities has always been to open doors and promote other women,” Moody said. “She was the most deserving woman (of the award) I could think of in the entire area.”
Moody said Kuhnmuench’s impact on women in the community and the world undoubtedly will continue into the future.
“I believe her legacy will be thousands of young women that come behind her who won’t know her but who are able to achieve professionally because of things that Nell did before them,” Moody said.
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