Tuesday, November 18, is the 38th Annual Women & Business Conference. This conference is filled with inspirational speakers and informative breakout sessions designed to honor and strengthen the place of women in the workplace.
The ATHENA and Pathfinder Awards are also announced at this great event. The ATHENA award is a prestigious national award presented annually to an active member of the Salt Lake Chamber. Athena Award winners demonstrate excellence, creativity and initiative in business by providing valuable service to improve the quality of life for others in the community and assists women in reaching their full leadership potential. This year’s recipient is Peggy Larsen of Worker’s Compensation Fund, a well-deserved honor.
Peggy is motivating force at WCF, but especially to the women she works with. She was the first female senior executive at WCF and since that time she has been instrumental in helping other women achieve higher levels of success within the company. Outside of WCF she serves on many boards and committees. She has served on the Economic Development Corp of Utah, Executive Women International, United Way of Salt Lake, Salt Lake Chamber committees, and chairs Utah Business Week. She is a graduate of the Chamber’s Leadership Utah and a past Pathfinder winner. Athena is the goddess of wisdom, strength and strategy.
Peggy continually demonstrates these qualities in her daily actions. She recognizes needs in our business operations and in the communities we work and live in. She doesn't settle for the status quo and is determined to change her environment for the better. Her influence at WCF has helped transform the culture and she has created lasting programs and product offerings that have helped make the company more profitable. She inspires the people she works with to be better and to go out and do something to change the life of someone else.
In addition to the ATHENA Award, four other women will receive the Pathfinder Award. The Pathfinder Awards are to community leaders who create new paths and promote the development and recognition of women in business. The 2014 recipients include Patrice Arent, Utah House of Representatives, Juanita Damon of American Express, Martha Eining of the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah and Denise Winslow from Wells Fargo.
Congratulations to these fantastic award recipients! Don’t miss this great event. The keynote speaker is Bridget McCarthy Ladda from Coca-Cola. Bridget McCarthy Lasda is the Vice President of National Retail Sales, leading the Target team. During her 11 years in the Coca-Cola System, Bridget has held several key operations, sales and category roles of increasing responsibility. Prior to this role, she was the Vice President of Category Commercialization, leading water, tea, coffee and venturing and emerging brands for the North America Group.
Stand up, speak out, and take a seat at the table is not just a catchy phrase, but a call to action. This is a call to action for women to let their voices be heard, go after what they want and join the conversation. Hear stories about women that have taken a challenge or a risk for something they wanted, been very clear on career paths to help them achieve their goals by letting their voice be heard, and finally, getting a seat at the table and why sitting at the back of the room should no longer be an option for them.
For more information visit slchamber.com. Join the conversation on Tuesday with #AthenaSLC.
