Laura Grammer named 2025 Athenian
Laura Grammer was named the 2025 recipient of the ATHENA Leadership Award on Wednesday evening.
In accepting the award, Grammer pointed to all 77 women, including her own mother, who have been nominated in the 13 years the Rotary Club of Dubois County has been celebrating their exceptionality.
“I want to say there’s not one winner tonight,” Grammer said.
Pointing to the other 2025 finalists, Megan Durlauf, Diana Fischer, Clara Fromme, and Dr. Tara Rasche, she explained that in highlighting the achievements of all 77 finalists over the years, the only true winner was Dubois County.
“I am so proud to just be one of the 77,” Grammer said after the event.
A portion of the proceeds from this event benefits the Rotary Club of Dubois County’s Community Grants program and a local charity, as named by the ATHENA Award Recipient. Grammer chose to benefit the Rotary Club of Dubois County’s Endowment with the Dubois County Community Foundation.
“ATHENA is what drove me to be a Rotarian,” Grammer told the crowd.
It is due to the event and the impact the Rotary Club has in Dubois County that she decided to name the endowment as the recipient of a portion of the event’s proceeds.
“I have been involved with the Rotary for about ten years,” Grammer said after the event. “I know the good they do.”
She stated she wants to ensure that work and the ATHENA program continue.
“We were excited and honored to celebrate all five finalists, each of whom serves as an inspiring role model in Dubois County,” said Rotary Club of Dubois County ATHENA Event Chair, Manda Combs. “This year’s recipient, Laura Grammer, is a true innovator and problem-solver who leads with purpose and heart. She has spent years driving meaningful change in our community while mentoring and empowering the next generation of female leaders. Laura is an outstanding choice for the 2025 ATHENA Leadership Award.”
When announcing the finalists on Wednesday evening, Rotary Club President Deidra Church described Grammer as a dynamic leader, entrepreneur, and community force whose decades of professional excellence and tireless volunteerism have left a lasting imprint on Dubois County.
“From her earliest days helping wash trucks at her family’s business, Ackerman Oil, to leading a multi-location chain of convenience stores, Laura has built a career grounded in hard work, innovation, and empowering others—especially women,” she told the audience.
Laura’s impact stretches far beyond the workplace. She has led or helped launch numerous community initiatives—reintroducing German Flair back into the Jasper Strassenfest, helping establish the iconic Glockenspiel and Maypole, and leading strategic planning efforts for the Jasper German Club. She has coached youth sports, organized neighborhood Christmas caroling, served on the Vincennes University Foundation Board, and taught religion at St. Mary’s Church. A true builder of community spirit, she is also the creative mind behind engaging fundraisers, such as the JHS Band Burger Bash and a popcorn campaign featuring the Popcorn Colonel.
As a leader, Laura is known for her thoughtful planning, relentless drive, and signature blend of humor and grit. Whether supporting coworkers, mentoring young women, or stepping in to clean a bathroom or fry an egg at a store, Laura leads by example. Her hands-on approach and belief in the potential of others has helped individuals—and organizations—flourish.
Her most enduring legacy, however, may be her unwavering generosity behind the scenes: filling in for an employee so a mom can attend her child’s play, mentoring youth one-on-one, or caring for aging parents without fanfare.
“Authentic, strategic, and deeply committed to her community, Laura Grammer exemplifies the values of the ATHENA Leadership Award in every way,” Church said.
In her acceptance speech, Grammer credited her family and upbringing for her volunteerism and dedication to the community.
In addition to celebrating the five honorees, the nearly 350 event attendees enjoyed a keynote presentation from Olympian Lilly King.
King outlined how hard work and perseverance played key roles in her rise to become an Olympic gold medalist. She also spoke of the struggles she faced in those moments she viewed as failures. King told the audience that her Bronze finish in the 100-meter breaststroke in Japan was tough. “I swam the worst race of my career at the worst possible time on national television,” she explained. “I was rattled. I was really shook up.”
Coming off that race, King said she was attempting to leave it behind her as she prepared for the 200-meter breaststroke later that week. She said she decided to let go of what she saw as a loss and go all out in the upcoming race–to send it.
King went out strong, and in the race marked by the strangest moment of her career–she and South African swimmer Tatjana Schoenmaker made eye contact underwater during the turn at the 150-meter mark–she was able to win the silver.
Despite it being a silver medal finish, King said of all the gold medals she had won, “I think that’s the race I’m most proud of.”
She credited the win to mental strength. “I went from having the worst possible race of my life,” King said, “to three days later having the best possible race of my career, even though it didn’t end in a gold.”
“Don’t forget how powerful your mind is,” she told the crowd.
“We were thrilled to welcome Lilly King as the keynote speaker for this year’s ATHENA Awards Banquet,” said Chu rch. “Lilly is a powerful example of female strength, perseverance, and resilience—on and off the world stage. Her story continues to inspire women of all ages to chase their goals with confidence and determination.”
The Rotary Club of Dubois County would like to thank its 2025 ATHENA Awards Platinum Level Sponsors: Deaconess Memorial Medical Center, Dentons Bingham Greenebaum, German American Bank, Kimball International, and Old National Bank.
Nominations for the 2026 ATHENA Leadership Award will open soon, but community members are encouraged to start thinking now about who they believe deserves to be honored as a strong female leader of Dubois County.
Finalists are chosen by a rubric filled out individually by a committee of 12. Those scores that are given for an individual’s impact at work, in the community, for uplifting other women, and in other areas are tallied to determine who will be named the Athenian.
