Prior to this past year, not many people could name Lewis and Clark County s health officer, but it was not long into the global health pandemic that Drenda Niemann became a household name locally.
Niemann s leadership throughout the COVID-19 outbreak has netted her Helena YWCA s Woman of the Year award to be presented at the annual Salute to Women Awards Luncheon on Thursday at noon.
Also set to receive awards are former Lewis and Clark County Commissioner Susan Good Geise; single mother and nursing student Michelle Bright; local philanthropist and former Capital High School Valedictorian Nikki MacMillan; and Helena High School graduate Emma Niederstadt.