Devyn Grzywa admitted that she thought she could wing it if she had to give an acceptance speech.

But when she was named the 2025 Athena Award recipient Thursday by the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce, she came up short.

“I’m speechless,” Grzywa said to the crowd. “I know.”

Grzywa is a community mortgage lender for First National Bank of Omaha, where she’s worked for almost 15 years. She was honored at the chamber’s 36th annual Athena Award reception at the Egyptian Theatre in DeKalb.

Grzywa thanked everyone who supported her nomination.

“You guys are all awesome,” she said. “I appreciate you so much, and your support is beyond words.”

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Devyn Grzywa reacts after hearing her name announced as this years recipient of the Athena Award Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, during the 35th annual Athena and Women of Accomplishment Award Reception at the Egyptian Theatre in DeKalb. (Mark Busch)

Grzywa has lived in the area all her life and is married with two children.

Grzywa’s friend, Amy Oster, heaped praise on her.

“Devyn is the definition of a girl’s girl,” Oster said. “I’m so very proud to call her my friend.”

Athena Award finalist nominations and letters of support are typically sent to other chambers of commerce within Illinois that have Athena programs to score and decide each year’s recipient.

When asked to describe Grzywa, Oster turned to sentiments shared by past Athena Award recipients, Cindy Green-Deutsch and LaCretia Konan, in their letters of support.

“She gravitated toward Devyn because they share some of the same qualities,” Oster said of Green-Deutsch’s letter. “They’re a little loud, a little goofy and love supporting DeKalb.”

“Devyn has a passion for seeing women win, and that inspires her in many ways,” Oster said, referencing Konan’s letter.

This year’s Athena Award finalists were Donna Larson, principal at DeKalb High School; Rylie Loucks-Kues, director of community programming and outreach at Family Service Agency of DeKalb County; and Linda Sherman, director of admissions at Oak Crest Area Retirement Center.

The Athena Award is an international award program that honors women who strive to serve as a mentor or role model for helping women reach their full leadership potential.

Women of Accomplishment was another program celebrated Thursday. The program honors retired local women who continue to be leaders and mentors within the community and exemplify the traits of Athena.

This year’s Woman of Accomplishment honorees were Kathy Dombek and Donna Willrett.

Dombek dedicated more than 30 years to serving as a high school counselor in DeKalb County. Since retiring, she has continued her commitment to youth development as a program coordinator at the University of Illinois Extension.

Willrett devoted 23 years to teaching science – from freshman science classes and human anatomy to chemistry. After, she pivoted to working as library support staff at two libraries for 10 years. Since retiring, she remains active in the community, serving as a chapter regent for the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Dombek and Willrett join a list of 72 women all recognized by the DeKalb chamber with the Woman of Accomplishment honor in the program’s history.

DeKalb chamber board chair LaCretia Konan said the program’s honorees are deserving of recognition.

“These incredible women, though retired from their professional careers, continue to embody the same excellence and leadership as our Athena finalists,” Konan said. “Throughout their lives, they have shown initiative in their fields, made lasting contributions to our community, and serve as inspiring role models. Retirement hasn’t slowed them down.”

DeKalb chamber Executive Director Matt Duffy gave kudos to the Athena Award finalists.

“As you can hear, each of them is a winner,” Duffy said. “The speakers and the stories they tell and the impact they made, that’s what makes this event great. That’s what makes this community great.”

This year’s program had more than 400 attendees, which Duffy said makes for the DeKalb chamber’s largest Athena Award reception ever.

“Whether you’re a finalist, whether you’re a past recipient, past woman of accomplishment, whether you’re a high school student, whether you’re anybody in this room or not in this room, we hope that this night motivates you to do amazing things going forward,” Duffy said. “Because that’s what really what this is about – celebrating the amazing things that have been done and motivating you to do amazing things going forward."