[Click here for a Noozhawk photo gallery from the event.]
More than 60 guests attended the annual holiday party at the Montecito Country Club for the Santa Barbara Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners to celebrate the installation of the charter’s new officers and board of directors for 2014.
The evening’s installing officer and award presenter, Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, spoke about the value of the organization for women and the local business community.
“You don’t have to tell women that we like to network. We like to get together. Earlier today I was having lunch with women in agriculture in Santa Ynez and I thought about that as we were driving here, that it’s almost like an instinct,” Capps said. “Women understand the value of sharing ideas, forming networks, forming bonds — because we can get more accomplished that way.”
Capps led an oath to swear in the NAWBO-SB officers and board of directors for the 2014 term, including president and treasurer Karen Mora of Accountability Plus.
Mora has been involved with the organization for six years and spoke with Noozhawk about the important role NAWBO-SB has had in her career and in the lives of young women starting their careers.
“It has been incredibly valuable for me because women in business need to collaborate with other women in business. We act differently, we think differently,” she said. “Having other women to collaborate with and to nurture and share and mentor with and get mentored by is something that I think is really important for young business women who have only been in an environment with business men.”
Established in 2007, NAWBO-SB is a nonprofit organization made up of a diverse group of women who own all or part of their businesses, and members are committed to helping other business owners network to expand their business, form alliances, create strategic alliances and work in unity to instill economic growth and strive to transform public policy.
The national organization is the only dues-based organization representing the interests of all women entrepreneurs across all industries and with more than 8,000 members and 80 chapters across the country.
Since founding in 1975, NAWBO has become a unified voice of America’s more than 10 million women-owned businesses, representing the fastest-growing segment of the economy.
Program chairwoman Julie McGloin was the winner of a 300-word essay contest among eight NAWBO-SB members for a $9,000 scholarship provided in partnership Antioch University for the Antioch Women and Leadership Certificate Program. The curriculum teaches the principles of values-based leadership during a 10-month, low-residency set of courses in Santa Barbara.
An excerpt from McGloin’s winning essay focused on the ongoing challenges and issues of awareness that many women face in their careers.
“Shifting the balance is an uphill struggle, which is proven even today, with women CEOs occupying a mere 4.2 percent of the Fortune 500 companies and earning less than 27 percent less in the same position held by male counterparts,” she wrote.
She also emphasized that the real challenge lies in education.
“For women to continue to grow and be recognized as leaders, old paradigms have to be replaced with a new awareness of women’s strengths,” McGloin wrote. “These include character, conflict resolution, nurturing and, above all, the ability to make sound decisions based on the best outcome for the greater good rather than the current situation.”
McGloin told Noozhawk that she hadn’t read her essay since applying for the scholarship, “but I still believe in it wholeheartedly,” and that she was excited about her role with NAWBO-SB and the upcoming slate of presenters scheduled for 2014.
“Being a relative newcomer to Santa Barbara, I’m delighted to be part of such a vibrant group,” McGloin said. “As program chair, it gives me great pleasure to have arranged a dynamic program of presenters for 2014. There’s something for everyone, and I guarantee that you and your businesses will thrive from the wisdom shared each month.”
Two public workshops scheduled for the new year include “The Happiness Choice” with Marilyn Tam on Jan. 22 and “The Work of Byron Katie” on Feb. 26, discussing her method of self-inquiry that she has brought to millions of people for over 25 years. Click here for membership and event details.
NAWBO-SB graciously thanks the following corporate partners for the success of the chapter: Heritage Oaks Bank, Accountabilty Plus, American Riviera Bank, AT&T, Bank of America, Buynak Fauver Archbald Spray, Big Speak, Citrix Online, Cox Media, Lynda.com, Marmalade Café, Media WLS, Newman Grace, Noozhawk, the Pacific Coast Business Times, Palius O’Kelley LLP, ParentClick.com and Vai Global.
— Noozhawk iSociety columnist Melissa Walker can be reached at mwalker@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkSociety, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Become a fan of Noozhawk on Facebook.
