 By Sharon Lint March 03, 2005
Wendy Gierard, coordinator of the event and Public Information Specialist at UAS Ketchikan says the women's conference this year is all about success. "This year we decided to focus more on success and how women obtain success, however they define that to be . . . [whether] in your family life, in your career, in your relationships with other people. . ." She primarily hopes the workshops being offered will provide the women who attend with the tools needed for achieving success in the current complicated and stressful world. However, the second objective is just as important - networking. Gierard believes that the two days will afford an exceptional occasion for women to meet and interact with others in the community. The cost for the event is $75. Lunch, refreshments and snacks will be provided at no additional expense throughout the conference. Two UAS Ketchikan scholarships are still available and several additional scholarships are available as well from the Ketchikan Indian Community for their members. Through workshop formats, those who attend will explore a spectrum of issues relevant to women and their struggle for success. Everything from networking to fitness and health, self-improvement, and personal development will be covered. It offers a unique opportunity for resident women to share information, encourage each other, develop communication and networking abilities, take control of finances, and identify goals. The conference will begin with a Keynote Speech by Cathy LeCompte, Assistant Director of UAS Ketchikan, which is intended to start participants off with a solid beginning toward success. Using fun assessment tools, Cathy hopes to help both Sourdough and Cheechako, first in identifying their objectives and then in planning the path to achieve them. At 7:30 on Saturday morning, early risers can join MJ Turek in an optional Morning Yoga class and learn how to stretch the soul as well as the body. The program, designed for all levels of fitness and experience, is sure to start the day off right. A Continental Breakfast is scheduled for 8:00 am. A Morning Keynote Speech will follow, given by Erin Hollowell, Program Director for the Ketchikan Area Arts and Humanities Council. "Journaling for Success & Successful Journaling" was offered at last year's Women's Conference and was the most popular session of all. She will discuss various methods available when journaling and how to use the journal to discover abilities, dreams, objectives and strategies needed to achieve whatever one desires. The first Breakout Sessions will begin at 9:30 am and will conclude at 11:00 am. "Making Your Finances Sparkle," "Successful Career Searches," "Being a Successful Friend" and "Assertive Communication" are the topics offered. Adjunct Professor Jennifer Naylor of UAS Ketchikan will teach "Making Your Finances Sparkle," and will focus on how to judge if you are in debt too deep and if so, how to improve your finances. Marty Miller and Melissa Cruise from the Ketchikan Job Center will present "Successful Career Searches." This session will help you identify which career may suit you best and will also provide information on how you might pursue it. Ways to make new friends, keep old friends, and how to accept friendship are the issues to be discussed in "Being a Successful Friend." Presented by Karen Polley, Campus Director of UAS Ketchikan, lessons learned here are sure to assist the listener time-and-time again. The seminar "Assertive Communication" will be offered by Patti Hauser, Licensed Certified Social Worker (LCSW) from Gateway Center for Human Services. Teaching that Assertive Behavior is not the same as Aggressive Behavior will be at the heart of Patti's workshop. At 11:15 Donna Smith, MD, will present a Pre-Lunch Keynote Speech entitled, "A Healthy You At Any Age - Keys to Women's Health Issues. Dr. Smith will lecture on how health concerns change at different times during womanhood, and on how to address those issues when they arise. Lunch will be provided at 12:00 pm and will be catered by Bar Harbor Restaurant. Following lunch, the second breakout session will begin. The workshops being offered are entitled "Exercising Your Dollars - Investing 101," "Starting A Business - One Woman's Perspective," "Successful Stress Reduction" and "Leadership for Success - Finding the Best Fit." Angela Salazar, owner of Diversified Investments, Inc. will present "Exercising Your Dollars - Investing 101." Whether you are planning to buy a home, finance an education, invest for the future, or become a business owner, this session will benefit your goals. "Starting A Business - One Woman's Perspective" will not focus on the nuts-and-bolts of it all, but instead will give you real world advise from a woman who has experienced first-hand the challenges a woman encounters on this path. Learning how to cope with stress is the topic of "Successful Stress Reduction" and Joann Flora, Certified Acupressurist and owner of Jin Shin Do Acupressure, will present the workshop. A much-needed skill for today's busy world, Joann will show participants ways to identify anxieties and discover the sources behind them, as well as teach techniques to reduce them and strategies that will allow you to live a stress-free life in the future. Dawn Allen Herron's presentation, "Leadership for Success" will give examples of different ways to lead and how to find out which one is right for you. She is an Episcopal Pastor, a swim coach and a member of several boards and committees. The success of her unconventional leadership style can be seen in how she helped steer southeast public radio stations through a financial crisis in the mid-1990s. The Final Keynote Speaker is Delores Churchill, a famous native weaver, daughter of Selina Harris Adams Peratrovich and a successful woman from anyone's perspective. She will share a highly personal account of her life and the methods she used in attaining her goals. The title of her speech is "Becoming a Weaver and Successful Woman." Cathy LeCompte will wrap up the conference at 3:00 by suggesting ways to put lessons learned though the day into practice. The two-day seminar promises to be a turning point for many women, teaching them that the sky's the limit and nothing is impossible. For more information, contact
the University of Alaska Southeast at 2500 Seventh Avenue. Their
phone number is 225-6177.
Contact Sharon at sharon(AT)sitnews.us Sharon Lint ©2005
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