The ninth annual Clermont Chamber of Commerce’s Women’s Day event, held Oct. 6, 2015 at Receptions Inc. in Eastgate. Pictured, from left, Shawnna Dunaway, event committee member, Mary Curran Hackett, author and event presenter and Gail Koford, event chairman.

The ninth annual Clermont Chamber of Commerce’s Women’s Day event, held Oct. 6, 2015 at Receptions Inc. in Eastgate. Pictured, from left, Shawnna Dunaway, event committee member, Mary Curran Hackett, author and event presenter and Gail Koford, event chairman.
By Megan Alley
Sun staff

The ninth annual Clermont Chamber of Commerce’s Women’s Day event, held Oct. 6 at Receptions Inc. in Eastgate, has been declared a success.

This year’s event, which ran from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., was centered on the message of being bold, with a sense of confidence, integrity and joy, according to Gail Koford, event chairman.

“I think this really provided a lot of hope and opportunities for women to face challenges at work, home and even at play,” Koford said in an interview. “Our speakers just delivered an incredible message of fearlessness. That ‘yes,’ you can do it, but you also need to ask for help.”

Event speakers and presentations included Danise DiStasi of REALational Leadership, Vikki Glaug of the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati and Mary Curran Hackett, author of The Space Between; Calmly Bridging the Distance Between Your Fears and Dreams.

“People have said to me, ‘This one is the best conferences I’ve ever attended,’ and, ‘This was something I really can use based on the current challenges I’m facing,’” Koford said.

The compatibility of the speakers was one thing that stood out to Koford.

“Their stories, while separate, meshed so well together to express the message of the day,” she said.

Alisha White, credit manager for Lykins Energy Solutions, attended the event with four co-workers. While this was the first time she attended the event, she said she looks forward to attending next year.

“I think the event is really great. I’ve met some people that I worked with in past jobs, and I’ve met some new people,” White said. “It gives us a chance to network and see different trends within the businesses, which is great.”

White said that she really enjoyed the first part of the day and DiStasi’s presentation.

“She talked about men thinking like waffles, they compartmentalize things, and women thinking like spaghetti, where they think of many things all at once. And I can see that,” White said.

The event brought in 21 vendors and 150 attendees, which is a little more than last year, according to Cynthia Macke, director of member services for the chamber.

Macke said attendees loved the event layout, the lineup of speakers, the venue and the lunch.

“It was a fabulous event,” Macke said. “People really, really liked it.”