by Erin McIndoo
editor@thenewsleaders.com
Geri Bechtold, a St. Joseph resident and vice president of operations for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota was recently honored with the 2022 ATHENA Award. Bechtold was nominated for this award because of her dedication to mentoring women and girls professionally as well as through personal mentorships and community partnerships.
“It’s a true honor, especially when I see who has received the award before me, I don’t know what got me to this level to be seen as that type of leader,” Bechtold said. “I want to thank the whole ATHENA team and Aimee Minnerath for feeling that I’m the person to honor and also the people I work with who are working alongside me everyday, and everyone I’ve worked with in the community.”
The mission of the ATHENA Award is to recognize and honor Central Minnesota women who have achieved excellence in their careers and who inspire others. Criteria for selection includes demonstrating excellence, creativity and initiative in her business or profession; providing valuable service by contributing time and energy to improve the lives of others in Central Minnesota; and actively assisting women in realizing their full leadership potential.
Aimee Minnerath, senior director of communications for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota, nominated Bechtold for the award. In a press release Minnerath said, “Geri truly is the heart and soul of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota… She had planned on going into education, but the Boys & Girls Club grabbed ahold of her heart and never let go.”
Bechtold has worked with the Boys & Girls Club for more than 30 years which started as a part time job at the St. Joseph location while she was in college. There she was able to work closely with the kids and felt like she was making a real difference.
“The opportunity that you can do something for the kids, it doesn’t feel like you’re working,” Bechtold said. “It felt like I had grown so much as a person.”
Since then Bechtold made this her career and oversees all operations for central Minnesota. She is able to work closely with locations and make sure they are giving kids good quality programs to help them become well-rounded individuals.
After receiving this award Bechtold plans to keep doing what she’s doing and hopefully implement a few new things to the organization. Due to this employment crisis she wants to use it as a teachable moment for kids in grades 6-12 and help them go out into the community and really find out what they want to do in the next stages of their lives and what path they want to take. She also is thinking about younger child care and also the importance of mental health within the children and her staff.
