The Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce held its eighth annual Women’s Leadership Conference virtually with over 120 attendees.
The 2021 theme was “A Year for Recovery & Discovery,” encouraging women to recognize the challenges over the last 14 months, to find the positives, and to find ways to move forward. The virtual program was unique this year as it hosted a breakout session for young women ages 12-17 to examine careers and make decisions about their future.
Master of Ceremonies Amy Woods, the Chief Nursing Officer at LewisGale Hospital Montgomery, led the program and announced the 2021 Women’s Leadership Awards recipients.
Lateffa Smith of Community Housing Partners received the Community Builder Award.
The Emerging Leader Award was presented to Tessa Wright of First Bank & Trust Company.
Receiving the Spirit Award was Rhonda Whaling of LewisGale Hospital Montgomery.
Nanci Hardwick of Meld Manufacturing Corporation was named the Woman Business Leader of the Year.
New River Health District Director Dr. Noelle Bissell was the chamber’s 2021 Woman of the Year.
“We encourage and support female leaders in our business, non-profits, civic and government leadership who make decisions affecting our business community,” said Chamber Board Chairman Henry Bass. “Since 2015, we have developed themes that reflect the professional development needs of our local leaders. We know through research that the pandemic than men has more adversely impacted women than men, and women of color have been affected even greater.”
Nneka Logan, Ph.D., an associate professor in the School of Communications in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech, was the keynote this year. She shared her insights as to what recovery looks like and how women can move forward with a plan of action aimed at discovering new approaches to work, family, and self-care.
Robyn Jones, Chamber board member and the Chief Operating Officer of Joba, noted, “We had ten outstanding local leaders who led breakout sessions and participated in panels to encourage and support attendees.”
Several other leading women in the community presented to the conference, including Danylle Kunkle, Ph.D., Associate Professor at Radford University; Sara Yun, Board Certified Hypnotherapist and Yoga Instructor, Neurolinguistic Programming Coach, Licensed Massage Therapist, and owner of Yun Yoga and Hypnotherapy; Amy Pruden, Ph.D., W. Thomas Rice Professor in Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering at VT and former Associate Dean of Interdisciplinary Graduate Education in the Graduate School; and Megan Atkinson, local educator and Leadership New River Valley graduate.
Marianne Washington of Movement Mortgage and a board member who served on the 2021 planning committee said, “Planning a conference during a pandemic is challenging. We waited until April in hopes that the COVID cases would be lower and vaccinations would be higher, allowing us to meet in person possibly. When this did not happen, we moved forward with our virtual plan with a goal of 120 attendees, and we met that goal.
Aaron Harris-Kirby, Past Chamber Board Chair, indicated she “believes the program will be in person in 2022, and we can exceed the 250 attendee mark.” The Chamber has contracted with author Amy Herman to be the keynote speaker.
Chamber Executive Director Sharon Scott said about the conference, “Our goal is to keep the cost of this vital program affordable. Lewis Gale Hospital Montgomery has been a huge supporter of this program with a sponsorship at the highest level. We are so appreciative of the local business community that recognizes the contributions of women and the value they add to our community.
In addition to LewisGale Hospital Montgomery, other companies sponsoring the conference were Pointe West Management, First Bank & Trust Company, The Orange Bandana, Carilion New River Valley Medical Center, Coldwell Banker Townside Realtors, English Meadows of Blacksburg, First & Main, Freedom First Credit Union, Hurt & Proffitt, National Bank of Blacksburg, Servpro of Montgomery and Pulaski counties, American National Bank & Trust company, Automation Creations, Inc., and Budget Blinds.
The Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce serves Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and all of Montgomery County. The chamber supports approximately 600 local businesses through marketing, educational, and network-building opportunities