The Sounds of Success Ring Clear at SHE HUSTLES
It’s important to step back and take a look at your surroundings once in a while. And that’s what we did at SHE HUSTLES on September 28th, our final SHE HUSTLES event of 2022.
For this fall’s conference, we teamed up with the amazing Savannah SCORE to bring together local women entrepreneurs and leaders. Over 75 women came out for educational workshops and a celebratory evening featuring ladies from different generations, industries, and backgrounds making great strides in their work.
Patty Tuner, Host of WSAV’s The Bridge, was the fall 2022 SHE HUSTLES emcee.
There’s something magical about putting together an event. And it’s not just watching it come together after days of planning. In a city that’s all about the sights, for us, it’s equally about the sounds.
They were the sounds of friends, both old and new, greeting each other as they walked into the Coastal Georgia Center for our afternoon educational workshops. Workshops covered business plans and startup advice, accounting expertise, automation for your business, and how to secure capital for your business. There were notes of encouragement and hope in the voices of our educational workshop leaders.
That continued throughout the night as we heard the tinkle of glass ring out throughout the Clyde Venue. The voices bouncing off the ceiling served as a reminder to us as to why we do what we do. It’s truly spectacular to watch our dream of a community coming together.
Before we keep going, can we talk about the food? Pretty Girl Cheffing Culinary Services SLAYED. From the creamy artichoke dip to the tender chicken skewers, the food was on point. Her spread helped us start the evening conference off right.
Sheri Butler, Regional District Manager and Vice President of Wells Fargo, spoke on behalf of the bank as a fall 2022 SHE HUSTLES sponsor.
We were fortunate to have the esteemed Patty Turner, host of WSAV’s The Bridge, emcee this fall’s event. She started off the evening session by introducing Savannah SCORE’s Executive Committee Vice-ChairJessica Belfry and The Creative Coast’s Execuvite Director Jen Bonnett. Both shared information about how to receive services form the organizations. Check out SCORE Savannah by visiting their website at https://savannah.score.org/. Learn more about our programming and Membership levels at www.thecreativecoast.org.
We owe a big thank you to the next speaker, Sheri Butler, who is the Regional District Manager and Vice President of Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo was a big sponsor for this fall’s event. Butler gave a speech about opportunities for small businesses at Wells Fargo.
Loretta Lepore, who is the Chief Communications Officer for the Georgia Ports Authority, was the featured keynote speaker. Lepore shared her journey in communications and how she made the pivotal decision to shift away from pursuing a career as a lawyer to focus on news media while she was a student at UVA. Lepore has an impressive resume, including her work as an anchor and field correspondent at CNN for 11 years, and now her work at the Ports Authority.
Loretta Lepore, Chief Communications Officer at the Georgia Ports Authority, shared her professional journey as the keynote speaker.
We’re always so happy to see Whitney Gilliard, who was this fall’s panel moderator.
Gilliard, who is the Founder & CEO of Gilliard & Co., offered questions that really cut to the bone and reminded us of where our success comes from. We caught up with her during the event and she reminded us of the power of being open to help.
“It’s just you as an individual leaning on others,” she said. “Perhaps that is the secret to success. Every single waking moment, there are things I do not know. And I started including people in the journey instead of just asking them and since then we’ve skyrocketed.”
The panel was filled with inspirational women from diverse industries. How spectacular it was to have Whitney Hall (Founder & President of HallofSneakz), Patt Gunn (Founder & CEO of Geechee Girl Productions & Underground Tours of Savannah), Marguerite Seckman (Owner of Fête Savannah, Co-owner of Starland Strange and Bazaar, and Co-owner of Superbloom) and Anna Litvinova (Flight Test Engineer and UNICEF NextGen and Global Shapers member) on the same stage at once.
L to R: Whitney Hall, Patt Gunn, Marguerite Seckman, Anna Litvinova, & Whitney Gilliard.
We’re so lucky to have so many people come together at SHE HUSTLES to celebrate entrepreneurship and women’s empowerment in the Savannah area. We can’t wait to see you all next year!
A special thank you to our year-long platinum sponsor, the Savannah Economic Development Authority, as well as this fall’s sponsors: Plug and Play, Savannah State University, the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Savannah State University, and Wells Fargo.
Interested in SHE HUSTLES, join our Facebook group to keep up with the latest.
