Greetings BPW/FL Members and Friends-   

It is hard to believe but I am almost one-third of the way through my one-year term. Much of these first four months has been spent organizing and getting caught up to what last year's leaders had done. 

However, your  board of directors has been very busy as we energize the BPW/FL organization for the future. Florida Business Woman provides an update on how we are doing against the 2021 strategic plan recommended tasks. Two tasks have been completed: an annual program calendar with guidance on how best to succeed with local programming and a BPW/FL Resource Manual, which serves as a reference manual for state and Local Organization (LO) leaders and will be used in LO leadership training. These documents can be found in the members only area of the BPW/FL website and have been provided to all board members, which includes all LO presidents.

BPW/FL's next virtual event will be on October 17 during National Business Women's Week (the third full week in October--see below for details).  Other events this year will include an in-person trip to Tallahassee at the beginning of 2023, a virtual event on Equal Pay Day (which should be in March or April), and of course our annual state conference.

We hope that you can join us on October 17 but if you are unable to attend due to work or personal commitments, be advised that it will be recorded but you would not have the opportunity to ask questions of our panelists then. 

The monthly BPW/FL Newsletter is being distributed on the 19th of each month in honor of the year BPW/FL was founded (1919) and the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which gave women the right to vote. 

Sheila
Sheila Barry-Oliver, Ed.D., BPW/FL 2022-2023 President

National Business Women’s Week® is celebrated every year during the third week of October. It provides a valuable opportunity to recognize and honor working women, and employers who support working women and their families. For nearly a century now, this celebration has helped to promote leadership roles for women and to increase opportunities for personal and professional growth.

National Business Women’s Week originated with Emma Dot Partridge, Executive Secretary of the National Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs and was first observed in 1928. President Herbert Hoover was the first president to issue a letter recognizing National Business Women’s Week® in 1932.

To this day, it is used to call attention to women entrepreneurs, facilitate discussions on the needs of working women, share information about workplace policies, and raise awareness of resources.

The forces creating transitions for working women are:

• Life-cycle induced transitions are the result of the changing expectations and responsibilities adults experience as they move through their life-cycle such as becoming a parent, taking care of an elderly or ill relative, becoming divorced or widowed, or achieving a personal growth goal
• Career-focused transitions occur as individuals move along the continuum of their career—requiring and/or wanting new skills and experiences that can enhance their careers and employability
• Market or workplace-induced transitions are precipitated by changes in the market or in the workplace and put pressure on both employers and employees to adapt, such as organizations moving or downsizing or closing

This year BPW/FL will be celebrating National Business Women’s Week with a panel discussion on successfully negotiating career-focused transitions, with four BPW/FL members who have experienced different transitions sharing their experiences and wisdom:
 

Tiki Bates, BPW/Gold Coast, owner of Community Cremations, navigated the male-dominated landscape of funeral homes before setting up her own business and becoming certified as a funeral director.

 

Amanda Cummins, Esquire, BPW/St. Petersburg-Pinellas, attorney at law, navigated the male-dominated US Marine Corps before transitioning to the civilian work environment.

 

Patricia Milian, BPW/Upper Keys, Vice President of Product Development and Brand Strategy at ComplyRight, has held multiple positions in four different organizations and is now focused on coaching and mentoring future leaders as part of a corporate succession plan.
 

Ronnell Montgomery, BPW/St. Petersburg-Pinellas, Vice President, Economic Inclusion & Business Growth at the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce, has changed professional fields and leveraged volunteer activity to arrive where she is today.
 

The panel will be moderated by Sheila Barry-Oliver, Ed.D., BPW/FL President, BPW/St. Petersburg-Pinellas, who is retired from a career in information technology/ management consulting with four different professional services firms and in higher education.
 

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

According to US Census data from 2020, as many as 1 in 4 eligible Americans are not registered to vote. If that describes you or someone you know, I urge you to celebrate this year’s National Voter Registration Day by visiting VOTE411.org to register or check your registration status — and have all your friends and family do the same.

The BPW/FL Executive Committee has approved the dates and location of the 2023 Annual State Conference.  Conference will be held at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Ft. Lauderdale, 17th Street, on June 12-14.  Here are the details:

• Conference will run noon Monday through noon Wednesday
• All rooms are two-room suites at a price of $169 plus tax; this includes a free self-service buffet/made to order breakfast and a free daily cocktail happy hour (right now from 5:00-6:30); this room rate would also be available for one day before and one day after conference.
• The per room resort fee has been waived; wi-fi is complimentary.
• Self parking is at a reduced daily rate of $20.

The meeting rooms work very well. The hotel has an interior atrium, which is open for the full 12 floors. Everything would be in one building and parking is right next to the hotel. The Embassy Suites offers all that we need at a very reasonable rate.

We'll let you know once the Conference Committee has established conference rates and the hotel has set up a designated link for hotel reservations. If you would like to serve on the Conference Committee (there is still much to do), please contact Conference Chair Jerri Evans at jerri0679@gmail.com.