Painter Girl

September NEWBO Dinner Meeting

For those of you who live in the Boston area, I would like to once again, give mention to New England Women Business Owners.  This is a wonderful organization comprised solely of women who own their own businesses.  It is a very nurturing and supportive organization of women in a variety of businesses.  If you would like to learn more about their sponsored events, please visit their website.

This year NEWBO is celebrating its 30th Anniversary Year.  To kick off the new season, last night's guest speaker was local MAGIC 106.7’s Candy O’Terry, creator and co-host of the award-winning weekly radio show Exceptional Women.  Candy shared her life stories, both very moving and humorous with all of us.  She also shared the stories of the many women she has interviewed for her Exceptional Women's radio show, inspiring us with the obstacles these women have been able to overcome.  Ms. O'Terry also treated us to snippets of a few songs, singing accappello with her lovely voice.  This woman is a dynamic speaker, a true inspiration, and an incredible role model for single mom's.  I have to say, she proved to be one of the most engaging and entertaining speakers I have had the pleasure to hear in quite a long time.  Thank you for a great evening, Candy!

Stencilers Convention

Over the weekend, I attended the 7th annual Convention for the Stencilers & Decorative Artists Guild (SDAG), in Providence, RI.

My only regret is that I could only attend for 1 of the days.  This is the 2nd convention for SDAG that I have attended.  The first one was 2 yrs ago, in NH.  After each  convention, I came away from the event feeling very honored to be a part of such a wonderful group of dedicated and talented stencil artists.  This group is for the hobbyist as well as the professional stenciler.  While many of the members, from all over this country, have known each other for years, I am a fairly new member.  What struck me at the first convention I attended, as well as this one, was how welcomed this group made me feel and how instantly at ease I am around them!  It's fun to hear what everyone is doing with their work as well as hearing from those who have retired from the business.  There is a wealth of history and information within this group!

The Providence Children's Museum was the lucky recipient of the Philanthropic project done by several SDAG members during the first few days of the convention.  A committee worked closely with the Museum to design some stenciled panels that relate to RI's environment.  I will try to get some pictures of the project and post at a later date.

SDAG has a relatively small membership, and is a very low keyed group.  They do produce a member written quarterly newsletter and host an annual convention.  I invite you to take a look at their website for more information.

April NEWBO Meeting

I did not have a chance to report about the April Dinner Meeting for NEWBO. Before too much more time passes I just want to tell you all how fantastic it was!  The April Dinner Meeting is always a special meeting, honoring a Woman of Distinction.  This year, Liz Walker was chosen.  Liz Walker, currently hosts and is Executive Producer of CBS 4's Sunday With Liz Walker.  She is also an ordained elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.  Ms. Walker is currently working on a documentary with Gloria White-Hammond.  This documentary is entitled "A Glory From God" and it chronicles Rev. White-Hammond's fight against genocide in Sudan.  For more information please visit Liz Walker Journey Productions. If you live in the Boston area, there will be a fundraising event at Pine Manor College in Chestnut Hill, May 9th.  This is "An Evening of Creativity" A Benefit for Liz Walker Journey Productions, Ending Genocide in Sudan.  Special guest will be Mia Farrow, MC will be Jimmy Tingle with perfomances by Patty Larkin and Donal Fox.  See Liz Walker Journey Productions for more information. 

I came away from this evening feeling empowered to help, even in a small way.  My previous thinking had been, 'how can I make a difference, especially in a situation that is so many miles away'?  After listening to Liz Walker speak, she made me realize that we are a collective of women, all over the world, who need to honor and support each other.  I am looking forward to the May 9th event.

Reconnecting with NEWBO

Last week, I happily reconnected with New England Women's Business Owners (NEWBO), a wonderful organization who's membership base consists largely of Boston area business owners.  I joined this organization when I first began my business, 11 years ago.  They were an invaluable source of help, camaraderie, and inspiration for a woman new to running her own business.  I stopped attending the monthly meetings about 5 years ago because of too many other business and family commitments.  You know how that goes... you can only be in one place at one time and you only have so much energy/time to give at the end of a long work day.  Lately, I've been feeling the need to reconnect with this group and decided I now have a little more free time to devout to being an active member in this organization.  I attended my first dinner meeting last week and instantly connected with some wonderful new and old members.  I am looking forward to future meetings with NEWBO and perhaps joining one of their many committees.  I highly recommend this organization to any woman who is just starting out with their business or who wants to grow their business. You can learn more about NEWBO at http://www.newbo.org