ATHENA Award recipients thank community for uplifting them
The Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce and Bossier Chamber of Commerce presented the 2014 ATHENA award to Lea Desmarteau, of Shreveport, and Jan Elkins, of Bossier City, during the 24th annual ATHENA Awards Luncheon.
The ATHENA Award is presented internationally and given to individuals who excel in their professional life, serve their community and assist women in their attainment of professional excellence and leadership skills.
“It was a huge honor. I was so thrilled. It’s quite flattering,” Desmarteau said.
“It’s very humbling to be part of something that’s not just Shreveport- Bossier, or Louisiana, or the nation. It’s international,” Elkins said.
Desmarteau, a licensed sleep technologist, owns and runs Well Necessities for Life, a wellness company with locations in Shreveport and Austin. She moved to Shreveport from Kansas City in 1991 when the sleep diagnostic testing field was beginning. She was the 234th person in the United States to receive her license, and now there are over 6,000 registered sleep technologists in the country.
Starting her business in her house, she credits the Shreveport-Bossier City community for giving her a chance with relatively new technology. She started with sleep studies in the neonatal unit at Willis-Knighton; now she has contracts with hospitals throughout the area including Shreveport-Bossier City, Ruston and Natchitoches. After establishing her center for medical retail and sleep testing in 2006 at Ashley Ridge Point, she earned a consulting position with Johns Hopkins Hospital’s Sleep Division.
“It was just me and my little house, and now it’s this,” she said. She has now has over 80 employees.
“There’s been a log of trials and tribulations, but this community has been very opening and welcoming to this technology,” she said. Because of this support, Desmarteau said she never wants to leave Shreveport-Bossier City.
Elkins has worked at KTBS for over 30 years, now serving as the community project director. When the broadcast veteran first walked into the station, she said she would work for free until she could learn the job. She also didn’t grow up watching television, as there wasn’t a set in her family home.
“I majored in communications and felt like the media was a great way to help people,” she said. Beginning as a copy writer, she eventually worked as a reporter and later a news director.
“The media has an opportunity for good or bad. Our station has chosen to be an educator,” she said. She remembers covering the Oklahoma City bombings, as she followed a team of Shreveport Fire Department firefighters to the city. She said she was able to help in another state and show what her community could do and tell the firefighters’ stories as they returned after experiencing the tragedy.
Both women have contributed to the Shreveport-Bossier City community through service as well as in their career work. Desmarteau serves as the chairwoman of the Metropolitan Planning Commission Shreveport. She has previously worked as the chairwoman of the American Heart Association Go Red for Women, a Samaritan Counseling Center board member, Providence House board member, Girls on the Run board member. Desmarteau said she was under scrutiny for some of the decisions she made as chairwoman of the Metropolitan Planning Commission.
“I had to stand up to a lot of politicians, and I wanted to run. But, giving back has been a better part of my life,” she said.
Elkins has raised more than $27 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway. She serves on the McDade House board of directors and helped form The Phenomenal Women group.
“This community has played a pivotal role [in raising funds for St. Jude]. We’ve raised a lot of money, but we’ve loved a lot of children,” she said.
Both award recipients praised the community as a positive environment to foster leaders. Elkins said KTBS has done studies on Shreveport-Bossier City’s volunteer involvement, which is higher than many other places in the country.
“You don’t have too many awards for women who recognize leaders. We have numerous strong ladies in this community,” Desmarteau said.
“We are one of the most giving communities. The people at Barksdale say this community is more nurturing.”
Elkins said Shreveport-Bossier City is a community who honors people and helps each other.
She also said mentorship is key in fostering leaders, and past ATHENA winners have helped her in her journey. She said receiving a card or a phone call at the right time was the encouragement she needed.
“The camaraderie and mentorship has truly helped. It’s my responsibility to pass that on to someone else,” she said.
Desmarteau said the community offers a wealth of resources for aspiring women. The Shreveport and Bossier City Chambers of Commerce offer programs and grants to those in business, especially those starting out, she said.
Both Desmarteau and Elkins said ATHENA winners have a responsibility to continue to be leaders in their community, and the award inspires the two to contribute even more locally.
“I hope this network [of winners] will not only continue to be role models. I hope we can all come together and be inspired,” Desmarteau said.
“A true leader doesn’t set their sights on ATHENA; it’s just in our DNA,” Elkins said.
–Tara Bullock
