Canandaigua National Bank & Trust (CNB) is pleased to announce that Michelle Pedzich, Chief Human Resources Officer, is the recipient of the 2022 ATHENA Leadership Award presented by the Ontario County Chamber of Commerce.

The 37th Annual ATHENA Leadership Awards banquet was held Friday, November 18th at Finger Lakes Community College. Eight nominees were honored as ATHENA Leadership candidates as well as three women in the ATHENA Young Professional Leadership category.

In her acceptance speech Michelle Pedzich reflected, "I would not be standing here today if not for certain individuals who saw something in me and pushed me out of my comfort zone to learn, stretch, and grow. If you don't have a mentor, find the courage to reach out someone you admire." She also thanked her CNB colleagues, "I could not think of a better place to work and a better group of people to work with. I am hashtag CNB Proud."

Pedzich started a mentorship program at CNB, led the Leadership Ontario Steering Committee in the development and launch of Leadership Ontario and served on the Board of Education for the Canandaigua City School District for 10 years.