A new Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce initiative is designed to provide educational and network opportunities for professional women.
The Women in Business Council, the brainchild of the chamber’s executive director, Beth Stevens, is the first effort of its kind at the organization.
“We have a lot of women in business in our community,” Stevens said. “We have a lot of women business owners, a lot of women in positions within their businesses that are very influential. I thought this would be a good program for our chamber and for our business community.”
The new group’s planning committee had its first meeting last month, where about 10 women discussed ideas for potential events, educational seminars and future goals. Beth Williams, this year’s chamber president, said the chamber hopes to expand the planning committee and have rotating members every year.
Jacqueline Gibson Preastly, who attended the meeting, said she thought the Women in Business Council would be a good way to be involved with other professional women as well as a way to help and guide others. More women are on the rise to become leaders in the business and professional world, and they need to work together to maintain “our rightful place at the table” that has long been denominated by men, she said.
“I think this is an opportunity to highlight those women who are stepping up to the plate and breaking those barriers,” said Preastly, the vice president of student affairs and enrollment management at Mississippi Valley State University.
She said one of the topics discussed at the first meeting was developing a mentoring program for young women and “empowering women to lead in our community.”
Stevens said it was suggested that the group try to expose high school girls to career opportunities that they “may not know are available to them.”
She said it would be a business mentoring program that would show the female students how to achieve the career they want, and provide real-life examples of women in those fields.
The first networking social event for the Women in Business Council will be at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Greenwood Country Club.
Attendees will be able to participate in free putting and driving-range activities led by the club’s golf pro, John Pielemeier. The event will also have a cash bar and complimentary hors d’oeuvres. Williams said prior experience in golf is not necessary.
“We are hoping to get some women out and tell them about this new women’s council and get more people involved,” she said.
The goal will be to have at least one quarterly event, alternating between lunch hour and evening to accommodate those whose work schedules might preclude their participation.
For those interested in being a part of the Women in Business Council, contact the chamber at 453-4152.
• Contact Lauren Randall at 581-7239 or lrandall@gwcommonwealth.com.
