8 minute read
Celebrating Women’s History Month
By Jeweliana Curtis
LAKE CIT Y • COLUMBIA C OUN T Y
Did you know that in 2020, despite the emerging global pandemic, over 40 percent of new businesses in the United States were founded by women? From a woman’s natural nurturing ability to her strong sense of self and con dent creativity, it may come as no surprise that women are able to reframe and pivot when needed, which is exactly what all business owners had to do in 2020 to stay a oat. As women continue to step up and ll in the gaps both locally and nationally, it’s clear to see that women hold a valuable space in our world, and that is worth celebrating. Read on to learn more about the Lake City-Columbia County Chamber of Commerce’s stance on creating a diverse community for women and men to thrive in.
joey@lakecitychamber.com
“When I rst came on as a chamber team member, my goal was to ll any gaps in services, which I quickly realized that at that time was programming speci cally for women,” Joey O’Hern, Chamber Director, shares. “At the time, the chamber did not do much for speci cally women in business, and as someone with three sisters, it was important to me to do something to bridge that gap.”
From this local need, the annual Celebration of Women was created in 2021. The celebration included three events: a kick-o Women’s Leadership Breakfast featuring a panel of four local women leaders, a virtual Women’s Leadcast and a Little Black Dress Mixer to conclude the series. This series was entirely executed using women-owned businesses, from catering companies to the sound technicians and everything in between.
The kick-o breakfast was designed to create an atmosphere for growth, with women learning from other women in similar stages of life. With that in mind, the 2021 panel included four women from di erent generations, all o ering a unique perspective and background on the questions asked. The panel featured Laurie Giebeig of The Skin Fix, Joy Lutz of Aligned CPA, Lauri Adams of Multi-Specialty Research Associates, and Jill Adams of the Lake City Medical Center, with Jill Adams serving as moderator of the event. With completely sold-out tickets, the attendees enjoyed dialoguing about all topics surrounding women in business, from balancing their workload to embracing creativity and adapting your business as times change.
The Women’s Leadercast, a mid-month event, featured speakers such as Abby Wambach, Randi Zuckerburg and Bonnie St. John. The chamber hired Bob Ganzak, a Dale Carnegie speaker, to facilitate the day. It o ered a great opportunity for the women involved to soak in valuable information from great leaders in the business world, then take those lessons and apply them directly to their businesses. Joey explains that in the future, this event will hopefully be held in person with a live speaker to continue to hone in on those skills and provide a great discussion for the attendees.
Lastly, the Little Black Dress Mixer concluded the celebration. This event o ered attendees the chance to get dressed up and enjoy an evening out with their girlfriends, all while supporting local women in business. The Florida Gateway Fairgrounds venue was transformed into a pop-up shop with goods ranging from skincare and beauty to fashion and treats. “This o ered an opportunity for the attendees to shop and support each other,
Missy Hartley Lake City Chamber of Commerce Director of Member Services
missy@lakecitychamber.com
and really allow that women supporting women message to come to life,” Missy Hartley, Director of Member Services, expresses. “And they did support each other! One of the new businesses with the chamber at the time shared that they had never done anything like this event before, so they really did not know what to expect, but they just decided to jump in. They sold out of almost everything they had!”
Aside from this annual celebration of women, the Lake City-Columbia County Chamber of Commerce is passionate about supporting women in business all year round. The sta makes an e ort to send helpful grant or policy information to the applicable members, and they are always brainstorming ways to bring businesses together for a common goal. From introducing business owners and facilitating a project or partnership with them to creating space for members to bring ideas to the table, the local chamber is committed to supporting its members.
“The Chamber only thrives when it is diverse, so that’s one thing that we are very passionate about: expanding and diversifying our membership,” Joey explains. “We want every business to know that we support them, whether it’s through an o cial chamber bene t, or even connecting them to other members and resources within the community. We make sure we do everything we can to support our members.”
Moving forward, a large focus of the team at The Lake City-Columbia County Chamber of Commerce is to create projects to bene t emerging women in business, as well as mentorship programs to help raise the next generation of local leaders. The goal is to create a roadmap for current business leaders to o er grants to emerging leaders in our community. Additionally, the team is looking to the future and mapping out ways that business leaders can mentor students in our local high schools or college programs. This may be in the form of scholarships, one-on-one training or on-the-job experience.
“I would love to see angel programs emerge to really keep the cycle going,” Joey says. “Through a program like this, we would be keeping businessminded people in Columbia County, encouraging younger generations to pursue opportunities in Columbia County, and really continue to raise up the next generation of leaders in our area.”
Aside from the connection and mentoring aspect, the economic impact of a program like this would be in uential as well. If young people decide to start their careers locally, where they are already plugged in at a young age, the future of the area will be bright. “We absolutely want talented people to stay here and build here,” Missy shares. “If someone pioneers that, others will come behind them and take those opportunities as well.”
As our community continues to look to the future, it is imperative that the area continues to grow, ourish and evolve. This takes the e orts of businesses and individuals, with women playing an integral role in that change both in the home and in the business sphere. The Lake City-Columbia County Chamber of Commerce weighs in on this, expressing the need for diversity and representation in our community.
“My personal goal is that the chamber becomes re ective of the community that we live in, which is diverse and vibrant. We all work very hard to make sure that the chamber is diverse, and we hope that the change continues to happen,” Joey says. “We want a diverse melting pot of di erent nationalities, ethnicities, sexes, histories, generations and businesses.”
Missy adds, “That’s not just a goal we have to check a box. It’s a goal of ours because it’s a vehicle for change. There are lots of people in our community that are underrepresented and under-reached. Because they are part of our community, we want to have everyone take part in this vision for the future.”
Thomas Honey small business vendor at the Little Black Dress Mixer. Jill Adams of the Lake City Medical Center, Laurie Giebeig of The Skin Fix, Joy Lutz of Aligned CPA, and Lauri Adams of Multi-Specialty Research Associates during the 2021 Celebration of Women Breakfast.
Little Black Dress Mixer.
Though it was the rst year for the series, all of the events were well-received, and the Lake CityColumbia County Chamber of Commerce team is thrilled to bring it back for 2022 with some new and exciting additions. For more information about this event, stay tuned in on the Chamber of Commerce Facebook page. The Celebration of Women series is
scheduled to kick o on March 1, 2022. ■
Savory Winter Delight
A stoup is thicker than soup and thinner than stew and best of all, a one-pot meal!
Chicken Provencal “Stoup”
INGREDIENTS:
• 2 medium carrots, peeled • 2 cloves garlic, chopped • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan • 1 medium zucchini • 1 small to medium red bell pepper, seeded • 1 medium yellow skinned onion, peeled and halved • Salt and pepper • 1 tablespoon herbes de Provence, available on spice aisle or, 1 teaspoon each dried sage, rosemary and thyme • 1 1/2 pounds small red skinned potatoes • 1 cup dry white wine • 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes or coarsely ground tomatoes • 1 quart + 1 cup chicken stock • 1 pound chicken tenders, diced • 1 small jar black olive tapenade • 2 tablespoons chopped fl at-leaf parsley • Crusty bread, to pass at table
DIRECTIONS:
One medium soup pot preheated over medium high heat. While soup pot heats, chop carrots into 1/4-inch dice, then add garlic, and stir to coat in extra-virgin olive oil. Chop and drop in the zucchini, pepper and onion next, 1/2 inch dice. Season all the veggies with salt and pepper and herbes de Provence. Cook the veggies together 5 minutes. While they cook, cut potatoes into thin wedges. Add wine to vegetables and reduce a minute or so. Add the tomatoes, cut potatoes and stock to the pot, cover the pot and raise heat to high. Bring the stoup to a boil, then add cut chicken and simmer 8 to10 minutes until potatoes are just tender and chicken is cooked through. Serve stoup in shallow bowls and stir in a rounded spoonful of black olive tapenade at the table. Top soup with chopped parsley and pass crusty bread at the table for dipping and mopping.
Level: Easy Prep: 8 min. Cook: 20 min. Yield: 4 servings
