My fellow EWPB members,

I am profoundly humbled by the privilege of having been installed as your next President.  I pledge to honor the 28-year heritage that has turned Executive Women of the Palm Beaches into a strong presence in our community.  The newly installed EWPB Board is committed to lead the organization in a way that validates our mission and reflects our shared core values.  It is our goal to provide our members with opportunities to grow personally and professionally.

We have chosen Sharing Our Wisdom as our theme for the year. Our members’ life experiences, years of challenges and successes, exposure to the multiple aspects of business, and so much more… have created a tapestry of wisdom that is there to be revealed in a sharing environment based on trust and concern for each other.  We have a unique opportunity under this theme to provide our fellow members with invaluable lessons we have learned, often times the hard way.

Although I was not a member when Executive Women of the Palm Beaches was first conceived by its founding members, I have often heard that their primary motivation was to help women earn a seat at the table.  See, twenty-eight years ago the business community in Palm Beach County was run primarily by men.  The good news is that 28 years later that is no longer the case, in part thanks to organizations like ours. 

The challenges women face today are somewhat different and organizations like Executive Women must be responsive to those changing needs.  They have more to do with finding balance in our lives, communicating more effectively, running our businesses more profitably, prioritizing our multiple activities, and giving of ourselves without sacrificing our own needs – just to name a few. 

We need answers to many questions such as…  how can I best strategize my marketing efforts, how does healthcare reform affect me and my business, how do I reconcile the demands on my time by my parents, my spouse, my children, my clients, my friends…  How do I structure my professional and personal life so that it is consistent with that which is important to me. 

The variety of these questions speaks loudly of the complexity in our lives.  We are business owners, employees, wives, mothers, sisters, friends, volunteers – we live full lives that reflect our desire to be engaged – and yet we often find ourselves wondering, is there a better way to do this?

Women have been sharing wisdom since the beginning of time.  In every culture, even the more primitive ones, we can find examples of women sharing their life lessons with others.  We have all been doing it as well, with our children and grandchildren, our friends, our employees.  As women, we have a strong desire to nurture others, to support them in their healthy pursuits, and to lend a helping hand at a time of need.

I recently learned that if we were to plant one stalk of corn it would grow small and weak.  Even if we plant one row of corn, most of it would barely make it.  The key to growing corn is to plant a whole field and then it thrives and grows in abundance.  I believe that it’s the same with us.  Alone, we may survive, but to reach our highest potential, we need others to support us, to mentor us, to share their wisdom with us.

I invite every one of you to be a part of this movement, Sharing Our Wisdom – to be open to participating in programs that will focus on you – to allow us to share in your wisdom.  At our Strategic Planning Retreat in mid August we will be exploring different ways of achieving this objective.  Our Programs Committee Chairs have already met and are discussing options to be presented at the retreat.  They are also looking to supplement our wonderful networking and social events with professional workshops aimed at making us better executives. 

Our Membership Committee will focus on retention of existing members as well as taking a strategic approach to attaining new ones – especially since under Virginia’s leadership we have reached our cap of 200 active members.  We intend to have a target list of women in our community who we would like to include in our membership and we will determine the best strategy to recruit them. 

I would like to take a moment to recognize Virginia Spencer’s exceptional leadership in the past year.  Her determination in achieving her objectives is matched only by her humility and her love for Executive Women.  Her tireless efforts in finding office space and the right association executive, her commitment to growing our membership, her strong participation in committee work, and so much more, have provided us with the foundation to take Executive Women of the Palm Beaches to the next level.

Thank you in advance for your support during the coming year.  We look forward to getting to know each of our members better so that the value of your membership exceeds your expectations.  See you at the retreat!

Fondly,

Regina