President's Message

A theme you will hear me repeat many times this year is that the value of your investment in NAWBO will be maximized by attending our luncheons, joining a committee and/or Mastermind group, and taking advantage of the tremendous resources offered by our chapter (www.nawbotx.org) and by the national organization (www.nawbo.org).  I hope the exciting initiatives and opportunities outlined in this letter will inspire you to get involved, or to get more involved!

We held our first chapter event of the year, the President's Barbecue, at Las Colinas Country Club.  Our special guest was Southwest Airlines, which generously donated peanuts, inflatable airplane hats and two round-trip tickets.

Another highlight of the evening was Class Act, an incredibly talented troupe of tap-dancing women who performed for us. (And yes, that was "yours truly" tap-dancing with the group during its last number- obviously, I'll do almost anything for NAWBO!). Attendees then packed the dance floor for a mini tap-dancing lesson. Class Act said NAWBO was the best group for which they had ever performed, because we were so enthusiastic and eager to learn something new- two important characteristics of successful women business owners.

Speaking of tap-dancing... after only a month as your President, we have so many great initiatives underway that I and your dynamic board are continually creating new and innovative steps to incorporate into the NAWBO dance. To get involved, just contact one of these board members:

• Cynthia Stine, Corporate Partner VP (and National Council rep), has developed comprehensive new benefit packages for our Corporate Partners and is also identifying additional companies to join us.
• Veronica Thomison, Membership VP, has initiated monthly breakfasts for new and prospective members, as well as a networking/recruitment event to be held the evening of August 26 at the Dallas Museum of Art- don't miss it!
• Cynthia Henson, Director of Outreach and Diversity, is revved up and rolling to strengthen our strategic alliances with other women's business organizations and to increase our chapter's overall diversity.
• Nancy Haney, Programs VP, is developing compelling, high-value programs that will provide us with information and tools to improve our businesses.
• Joan Voeller, Director of Member Services, is adding even more value to your NAWBO membership by expanding our Mastermind program and planning for our next membership directory.
• Suzi Berman, Marketing VP, continues to do an outstanding job with our Web site and overall chapter branding.
• Joy Wallace, Director of Education, has big plans to launch "NAWBO University," a rich and self-paced business education program.
• Jeanne Braniff Baker, Public Policy VP (and National Council rep) is "on fire" in this election year. She, Sallie Mullins Thompson, chair of our national Public Policy Council, and I recently met with Texas State Senator Florence Shapiro to discuss plans for the state Women's Business Caucus.
• Wendy Lopez, who is greatly enjoying her new title of Immediate Past President, is chairing our Golf Tournament, held in conjunction with the Women's Business Council Southwest and slated for October 25th at Brookhaven Country Club. Wendy is also our representative to the national Member Services Council.
• Belinda Hargrove, Secretary, is contributing her significant strategic thinking to all of our chapter initiatives, while also revising our bylaws and serving as parlimentarian.
• Cyndy Montgomery, Treasurer, is ensuring that our budget serves as an important chapter management tool that allows us to grow appropriately while also providing reserves for the Executive Director we hope to hire within the next two years.

And thank goodness for Dawn Brinson, President-Elect, who can fill in for me when necessary, is brimming with great ideas and is an invaluable "sounding board."  Dawn and I just returned from the annual NAWBO Southwest Regional Retreat, where we shared "best practices" with other chapter presidents and presidents-elect, and garnered some great new ideas for our chapter.

Perhaps our most important initiative this year will be to work with enthusiastic women business owners in the Denton and Fort Worth areas, to structure the best way to provide them with all the benefits of NAWBO membership while acknowledging and managing the challenges of geographic distance. In doing so successfully, the D/FW Chapter has the opportunity to build a model for the national organization to implement in other large urban areas.

On August 20th, the Dallas Business Journal will publish a special section, "Land of Opportunity," which will focus on women business owners in D/FW.  And of course NAWBO will be included!

We are indeed "Changing the Face of Business" in D/FW. Please help your Board in doing its great work by sharing the value of NAWBO with other women business owners and continuing to promote NAWBO as the organization for them to join.