The 2010 BC Women in Business Luncheon: Secrets of being highly productive and happy was an inspirational and heart warming event.  The moderator Rita Rogers had a lively stage presence that filled the room with her warm energy and humourous comments.  The panelists Linda Oglov, Nicole Byres, Sue Sinclair and Doris Cheng all added a unique perspective to the discussion. 

In front Linda Oglov , Nicole Byres, Doris Cheng and Sue Sinclair. In back moderator Rita Rogers.

Linda made me feel excited to be sixty, one day.  Prior to her speech I couldn’t imagine being older than thirty.  Her stories of travel, career changes and constant reinvention helped me realized that life gets more exciting as we get older.  Nicole’s fundamentals of confidence in yourself, eating well and exercise are great building blocks for well being and motivation that often times we forget in everyday life.  Sue’s touching personal stories, helped put life into perspective.  Her message of choice and accountability is definitely needed for self-awareness and self-management. Doris embraces life to the fullest and her message of leaving comfort zones and trying new things was very inspirational.  She was such a raw, real person who made me feel more comfortable just being myself. 

All four of the presenters and their different life experiences were a interesting mix to the panel.  Nothing was repeated and each speaker brought her own personality and experiences to the panel.  Many in the audience, less experienced and more experienced could relate to something from each panelist. The attendees at the event had great stories as well.  I had the opportunity to meet entrepreneurs, a photographer, a hotel manager and even a geologist.  The Women in Business Luncheon is definitely an event for women of all ages, careers and experiences. 

Shyla  was a participant in the 2009 WIL Mentorship program and is a volunteer on the social media team.  She is a passionate student and aspiring social entrepreneur.  She loves reading, writing and running.  

For more on the May 6th event see video produced by Cossette West.  BC Women in Business luncheon.

The room was filled with beautiful women, dressed to the nines in elegant formal wear, champagne was poured, heels clicked, and conversation was shared. Over all it initially appeared to be like most celebrations (albeit with a higher percentage of estrogen) however there was something distinctly different from this gathering. This congregation of ladies had one thing in common: the Women in Leadership foundation and their second annual Superwoman Gala. Assembled inside were mentors and mentees, mentors turned mentees and mentees turned mentors (try saying that 3 times)! There were also over 80 volunteers in the form of professionals and students alike, successful business women, and those in the pursuit of discovering how to be more successful in their own right. It seemed there was a woman in that room from every walk of life, in every sort of profession.

When I asked WIL founder Maya Kanigan what her what her ultimate outcome for the foundation with this event would be, I expected to hear to hear something along the lines of a great fundraising and awareness opportunity. I was moved and surprised when her eyes brimmed with tears and she responded, “For every woman to be entirely, unapologetically okay with who and how they are right now. Right at this moment.” This would prove to be the first time of many that night where I was stirred and inspired.

As we shuffled inside the gorgeous chandelier-lit dining room, decorated in WIL’s colors of chocolate brown and turquoise blue we sat down to a three course meal which proved to be only part of the nourishment for the evening ahead. Andrea Holmes; four time Canadian Paralympic Champion and 2010 Paralympic Hopeful was the keynote for the event and strutted up on stage to give a memorable speech that would kick off the night flawlessly. Andrea got the crowd’s attention immediately as she stated she is a superwoman because she was wearing 3 inch heels with one leg, and because received laser hair removal that day (insert empathetic sigh from crowd here).

Her message was that of believing in yourself no matter what (in her case even when her prosthetic leg, heavy with ski equipment flew ahead of her down a mountain and she had to chase after it). She shared sentiments of her struggles (being told she could not compete), her accomplishments (competing in Greece and holding the torch for Canada in the Beijing Olympics) and wise words (“when we wake up, we have two choices, chase your dreams, or keep dreaming”). Needless to say, Andrea has chased her dreams and continues to. By the end of the speech there was not a dry eye in the house and I was ready for the girl to tear off her shirt to reveal a Superwoman “S” underneath.

The night continued with multiple fashion shows, a silent auction including diamonds bid right off Maya herself and dessert (naturally). As the evening wrapped up I was reminded of what I think we already know, but forget to remind ourselves: we are exactly where we should be right at this moment and entirely perfect as we are. The “S” in Superwoman is the strength in each woman, whether they see it or not, it is there, and such a night had each woman dusting off their cape to be reminded of just that.

 Azita Ardakani is a social media enthusiast, relentless inspiration junkie and advocate of change. You can find her tweeting away and consulting on new media strategies for organizations, companies and super women alike.  www.twitter.com/lovesocial

They say you learn something new every day. 

And then there are days when you learn so many new things and feel so very inspired that your hand cramps from all the notes you’re taking.

Inspiration for me came in the form of the Women in Leadership Foundation’s Ontario Women in Business Luncheon, held on Thursday, October 29^th, at the Design Exchange in Toronto’s downtown core.

I attended the event alone, and was feeling nervous about the prospect of networking. (I’m a freelance writer and author and spend most of my time working alone at my laptop; I’ve just finished my first novel and am working on my second, so spend much of my time on a fictional plane – when I get out into the real world, sometimes I feel a little lost.)

But I had nothing to fear – I only stood alone for a moment before women began to approach me. Lovely, likeminded women nurturing hopes, dreams, and accomplishments, just like I am. Hopes, dreams, and accomplishments that are business-related, but also life, love, and happiness -related. It was my kind of scene.

The room was full of passion, the kind of passion that – no offence to men; I really do love men and the special brand of passion they bring to their life and work – only women possess. Dare I call it Girl Power?  Okay, no, I won’t. But there was something truly special and empowering in the air.

In my mind, I started calling the event the Passionately Managing Change & Sustainability luncheon.

Here’s why:

The first speaker on the five-woman discussion panel – moderated by CBC’s Dianne Buckner, who is so fabulous and pretty in person I could hardly stand it – was Kelly Drennan, Fashion Takes Action founder. (www.fashiontakesaction.com)

The first thing I learned from the stylish and dynamic Drennan is that I am not alone in this world in terms of my fashionista sensibilities battling it out with the side of me that wants to hug trees and sing Kumbaya. I also learned that green can be sexy, and green really is the new black.

Drennan had me from the moment she stepped out from behind the podium, showcased her snazzy Little Black Dress, and said, “It’s organic cotton and organic wool.” I felt like I’d encountered a kindred spirit when she talked about her “inner hippie”, “a-ha moments”, and admirable desire to make the world a better place for her two daughters to inhabit – which is what led her to found FTA, and put on the Green Gala, an eco-couture fashion show, every year. (I also found I knew exactly what she meant when she shared with a room of people she’d never met the heartbreaking difficulties of trying to do and be it all: wife, mother, businesswoman, world saver. You can’t. And then you have a breakdown. After which point, you pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back to the tasks at hand; except that now you’ve taken up yoga.)

Drennan’s contribution to the panel was profound – she is, I believe, a quintessential modern woman. She’s fashionable and savvy, but she’s also passionate about the planet, and not just because it’s trendy right now to be eco-minded.

Next up was Judith Lipp, a woman who made my fashionista sensibilities want to hide at the back of the room and pretend to be wearing Birkenstocks. Lipp is so humble and self-deprecating, and yet behind it all is a woman who is so intelligent and thoughtful and deep that saying I admire her is like saying I think handbags are nifty. Lipp is the executive director of the Toronto Renewable Energy Co-Operative (Trec.on.ca) Among other things, the organization is behind the giant wind turbine on Toronto’s waterfront, a project that is community-owned – one of the many new things I learned at the luncheon. (You can also tour the turbine with your family, an outing I plan to make in the near future, my two toddlers in tow. Wish me luck.)

Lipp taught me that being green takes hard work, not just words. At the beginning of the event, when I was standing in a corner pretending to be super-absorbed in the luncheon’s program because I was too nervous to talk to anyone, I read that in addition to what Lipp does for the environment on a daily basis, she –and I quote the program directly here -  “in her free time, initiated, managed, and led the construction of a cooperatively built straw-bale, off-grid cottage in rural Nova Scotia, which is available to its members on a time-share basis.”

Wow. I thought it was a big deal when, a few months ago, I gave up using plastic food storage baggies entirely. I can only imagine the challenges one might face when trying to build and manage a cottage made entirely of straw bales. I felt positively awed by Lipp’s commitment to exploring and finding solutions to sustainable energy issues, a commitment so effortless and second-nature to her that it was obvious we were in the presence of woman who had found her niche in the world – and who was, little by little, saving the world every day. (All the while being really, really modest about it.)

Even though Lipp did say that the environmental challenges this world faces are not ones that we have taken up, thus far, particularly well as a continent, she was also full of hope. “If you believe in what you’re doing, it’s not a sacrifice,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if you have a plan, as long as you’re passionate.”

Kimberly Marshall, the VP of Finance and Administration with the Ontario Power Authority, was the third woman to address the crowd. At this point – the halfway mark –  I was losing focus slightly – it happens when I haven’t had a coffee for a while –  and found myself eyeing the fabulous red patent leather pumps on a woman sitting near me. (That’s one of the benefits of going to a luncheon attended chiefly by women – forget people watching; I like to shoe watch.) But Marshall got my attention immediately. This woman is obviously a force to be reckoned with. She’s attractive and blonde, with a friendly smile; at first glance, you can’t imagine that she is, in her own words, a gal with a fiercely competitive streak, who likes to kick some serious you-know-what.

Marshall taught me with her you-know-what kicking speech, that green is the future. She talked about the Green Energy Act, and the task she and her organization has been given to create 50,000 green jobs within the next three years. As she spoke, it became quite obvious that we are in the midst of a green shift, and that there are people at the helm of this shift who are going to make it happen. As in, her.At the end of her speech, Marshall, too, mentioned passion. “Find your passion. Find what you love and do it.” (You see why I was beginning to believe managing sustainability wasn’t the only theme?)

Karen Clarke-Whistler, the Chief Environmental Officer for the TD Bank Financial Group, spoke next. Another beautiful woman, another inspirational story, and another lesson, one that I have been resisting to a certain extent. But here it is: Being green isn’t just about not exploiting resources. Businesses are going to exploit the many resources this country has, and their main challenge is going to be to do so in a sustainable way. Clarke-Whistler made me believe, or at least fervently hope, that this might be possible, that big business really can have a heart. TD has, after all, hired a Chief Environmental Officer. The entire concept fascinated me.

Clarke-Whistler also talked about the importance of being grateful for what we have – we live in a country, she said, that is so rich in resources it’s staggering. She’s been to places, she explained, where people are fighting and dying for what we have. And traveling, said Clarke-Whistler, is such an important way to truly understand the world, and perhaps the only way to really understand why we are so blessed in North America – and also why and how we can do so much better in terms of sustainability and eco-awareness. “Follow your passions,” were her final words of advice. “Focus on facts, not rhetoric. To be productive, focus on solutions, not problems.”

 Finally, Rose Gage, who is a WIL board member, spoke. She had to pull the microphone down because she, as she proclaimed gleefully, was the shortest speaker of the day. And she is a tiny woman – but what she lacks in stature she more than makes up for in personality and pizzazz. Gage is the VP of Business Development and Marketing for Schneider Electric, and she taught me that being green can be profitable. There’s the triple bottom line to think about, Gage said (agreeing with Drennan, who’d also mentioned the concept of profit, planet, and people being the new markers of corporate success). “Green is good,” Gage enthused. “It’s a good business platform.”

When I left the event, I found I was full of energy, hope, and, of course, passion. The discussion made me think that the future is in fact bright. Bright green, perhaps? I certainly hope so. As I go forward into the world, promoting my first novel and dedicating myself to my family, my work, and my world-saving sensibilities, I know everything I learned at the luncheon is going to stay with me, and I won’t soon forget these passionate women and their incredible accomplishments, or what they taught me about putting my heart into doing what I do.

 Marissa Stapley-Ponikowski is a Toronto-based freelance writer and author. Her first novel, Saving the World (in Sensible Shoes),  will be released in 2010. To learn more about her, visit www.marincommunications.com,  or www.savingtheworldinsensibleshoes.blogspot.com.