Women
Connect
at
Annual
Celebration
of
Working
Women
by
Barbara
Busey
 In
1928,
Amelia
Earhart
became
the
first
woman
to
fly
across
the
Atlantic
Ocean,
Halina
Knonpacka
was
the
first
woman
to
win
an
Olympic
Gold
Medal,
and
Lena
Madesin
Phillips,
president
of
National
Business
and
Professional
Women
(BPW),
kicked
off
the
first
annual
National
Business
Women
Week
(NBWW).
In
a
nationally
broadcast
speech,
she
stated
that
the
purpose
of
the
week
was
"to
focus
public
attention
upon
a
better
business
woman
for
a
better
business
world."
From
this
early
effort,
NBWW
has
grown
into
a
nationwide
salute
to
all
working
women.
The
week
is
celebrated
annually
throughout
the
United
States
during
the
month
of
October
In
1998,
a
group
of
Charlotte
area
business
and
professional
women
organized
the
first
NBWW
event
in
this
city.
What
started
as
a
modest
gathering
has
grown
into
a
grand
celebration
of
women’s
achievements.
The
phenomenal
growth
of
this
event
was
made
possible
by
the
NBWW
Alliance,
an
entity
made
up
of
Charlotte
business
and
professional
women
volunteers,
charged
with
designing,
planning
and
coordinating
the
local
NBWW
event
each
year
during
October.
The
2006
Alliance
is
planning
the
ultimate
lunch:
WomenConnect
2006—Unleashing
Your
Opportunities.
The
2006
Alliance
president
is
Dr.
Libby
Vagnoni
with
the
Cooperative
Education
Program
at
Central
Piedmont
Community
College.
“National
Business
Women’s
Week
is
a
time
to
recognize
all
Charlotte
Business
and
Professional
Women,”
said
Vagnoni,
“to
realize
our
collective
achievements,
and
that
women
connecting
unleashes
the
opportunities
for
all
women
to
achieve
personal
and
professional
success.”
President-elect
Beverly
Grant,
owner
of
Beverly’s
Jewels
and
founder
of
the
networking
support
group
Friends
of
Beverly,
believes
strongly
in
diversity.
“We
not
only
want
to
recognize
all
women,
but
we
want
to
make
sure
that
business
women
of
all
professions,
ages,
races,
and
ethnicities
are
invited,”
she
says.
“In
addition,
many
professional
women
have
shared
about
a
lack
of
support
and
mentoring
from
other
business
women;
so
not
only
do
we
want
to
make
sure
that
we
have
a
diverse
audience,
but
we
also
want
to
create
an
inclusive
and
supportive
environment
that
fosters
personal
and
professional
growth.”
Last
year,
approximately
350
women
representing
diverse
businesses
and
organizations
attended
the
luncheon.
This
year,
the
Alliance
is
taking
proactive
steps
to
ensure
that
diversity
will
be
represented
in
every
possible
way,
not
just
in
the
business
and
professions
represented,
but
in
the
races
and
ethnicities
of
the
attendees.
The
first
place
to
start,
they
realized,
was
in
the
nature
of
the
program.
So
instead
of
finding
one
speaker
to
relate
to
a
broad
spectrum
of
women,
they
decided
on
a
panel
of
diverse
female
leaders.
They’ve
lined
up
a
stellar
array
of
leading
lights
in
the
Charlotte
community,
women
who
come
from
a
cross
section
of
business
and
professions
and
who
represent
a
rainbow
of
races
and
ethnicities.
 Stephanie
Dawkins
is
senior
vice
president
of
The
Volvo
Group.
She
is
the
first
and
only
African-American,
male
or
female,
to
be
promoted
to
the
senior
executive
ranks
at
AB
Volvo.
Stephanie
has
also
been
featured
in
the
NC
Journal
for
Women. |
 Rai
Glover
is
the
senior
vice
president
and
market
development
manager
for
Bank
of
America’s
Global
Business
and
Financial
Services
Division.
An
African-American,
she
serves
as
liaison
between
the
community
and
the
bank |
 Ramona
Moore
Big
Eagle,
a
Native
American,
is
an
oral
historian
and
legend
keeper
of
the
Tuscarora
Nation.
She
travels
throughout
the
U.S.
and
Canada
as
a
motivational
speaker,
cultural
educator,
and
storyteller. |
 Elisa
Rodriguez
is
a
Latina
who
is
the
bilingual
division
manager
for
Allstate
Insurance
Company
and
is
extremely
active
in
the
Charlotte
community,
including
founding
the
Latin
American
Chamber
of
Commerce,
which
she
now
chairs. |
 Patricia
Shafer
is
president
and
founder
of
Compel
Organizational
Excellence
Alliance,
Ltd.,
where
she
provides
consulting,
coaching
and
personal
development
services
to
executives,
fast-track
middle
managers
and
public
officials
in
15
countries. |
 Anna
Xia
is
a
strategic
initiative
manager
in
the
eCommerce
Division
within
Wachovia
Bank.
She
is
very
passionate
about
her
Asian
heritage
and
actively
supports
the
efforts
of
Carolinas
Asian
American
Chamber
of
Commerce. |
The
program’s
agenda
is
also
unique.
Starting
at
10:00,
attendees
have
up
to
two
hours
for
registration,
networking
and
exhibit
browsing.
The
event
will
kick
off
at
noon,
when,
after
some
welcoming
remarks,
the
five
panelists
will
engage
in
conversation
about
maximizing
the
opportunities
for
personally
and
professionally
connecting
with
other
women.
This
will
not
be
“speechifying,”
but
rather
a
relaxed,
interactive
atmosphere
where
the
panelists
will
share
their
personal
reflections.
During
this
time,
lunch
will
be
served,
and
the
panelists
and
other
moderators
will
facilitate
an
interactive
dialogue
with
and
amongst
the
tables.
While
topics
will
vary,
all
of
the
topics
will
serve
as
a
catalyst
for
maximizing
the
opportunities
of
connecting
with
other
women.
There
will
also
be
chances
for
personal
reflections
from
participants
and
ideas
for
continuing
the
momentum
and
furthering
the
connections.
This
year,
the
NBWW
Alliance
is
anticipating
500
attendees
for
the
luncheon.
To
be
a
part
of
this
engaging
and
beneficial
program,
go
to
their
web
site
to
register:
http://www.nbwwcharlotte.org
NBWW
Charlotte
would
like
to
thank
the
NC
Journal
for
Women
for
its
support
of
the
WomenConnect!
2006
event.
|
Barbara
Busey
is
the
president
of
Presentation
Dynamics,
a
training
firm
that
specializes
in
the
dynamics
of
how
people
present
themselves.
She
has
16
years
of
experience
training,
speaking
and
writing
on
different
types
of
communication
skills.
Her
clients
include
Bank
of
America,
Belk,
The
Charlotte
Observer,
McColl
School
of
Business
at
Queens
University,
and
Transamerica
Reinsurance.
She
is
the
author
of
Stand
Out
When
You
Stand
Up—An
A
to
Z
Guide
to
Powerful
Presentations,
and
has
produced
an
audio
CD—The
Compelling
Speaker—and
a
DVD—How
to
be
a
More
Dynamic
SPEAKER.
