Women's Council, an affiliate of the Rochester Business Alliance, is seeking nominations for its 25th annual ATHENA Award.

The prestigious ATHENA Award recognizes local women for their professional and personal contributions to the Rochester community. The recipient is chosen each year by a committee of business and community leaders who evaluate the nominees on the basis of their business and professional accomplishments, as well as community service and support for other professional women. All the finalists will be honored, and the recipient announced, at a special luncheon set for Jan. 20 at the Riverside Convention Center.

In honor of ATHENA's silver anniversary in Rochester, special tribute will also be paid to past recipients. Some of the past ATHENA recipients include Ursula Burns, CEO of Xerox Corp., Carolyn Portanova, CEO of Catholic Family Center, Patricia Malgieri, deputy mayor of Rochester, pediatrician Dr. Ruth Lawrence, Holly Hillberg, chief technology officer at Carestream Health, Inc., and Jennifer Leonard, CEO of the Rochester Area Community Foundation.

Nominations may be made online by logging on to www.GRWC.com to obtain the form. The site also contains instructions, some sample nominations and a list of frequently asked questions.

The deadline for nomination submissions is noon, Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010.