Our thanks to everyone who supported the Annual Women in Exhibitions Breakfast at EXHIBITORLIVE. It was a huge success! Attendance increased from 100 in 2018 to 150 in 2019.
Here’s what our members are saying:
“I attend the Women in Exhibition event each year at EXHIBITORLIVE and bring the women on my team for networking and education. At this event, we are able to connect with other women in our industry who have various roles and challenges within their organizations. The breakfast is professionally facilitated with a keynote speaker to allow for education at all levels.
“I started my business 26 years ago after the President of the company I worked for told me I would be great at what I did, if I were a man. This simple statement fueled years of passion in starting and growing my own business where women play a key role. Women supporting women is the right thing to do.” – Donna Shultz, President & CEO of Mirror Show Management
“Optima was proud to sponsor the WIE breakfast at ExhibitorLive 2019! Looking around the venue that morning, I was proud to be sitting amongst the best and brightest women in the industry. I think we all felt a sense of camaraderie.
“I walked away being reminded of the importance of mentoring and being mentored. Each of us can mentor and share our knowledge and experience with someone less tenured. Being mentored doesn’t stop, no matter what age or level we are in our career, we can always learn something from someone else, especially in this industry.” – Gina Porcaro, Account Executive at Optima Graphics, Inc.
Connecting and learning from each other is the basis for Women in Exhibitions, founded in 2002. The incredible women in our group have proven to be a valuable resource to each other. It has become critical to optimize our meeting time and location at EXHIBITORLIVE to bring more of us together. And how better to keep the connections growing and vital throughout the year than through a mentorship program?
Want to be a mentor or have a mentor? Start with this survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WIEmentorship
This year’s speaker Sandy Jones-Kaminski pointed out: “Mentorship is what you make of it. Set expectations, set goals. Each of us can learn from each other.” Sandy shared so much with us, not only about mentorships, but about networking and building a personal brand. Here is a link to her presentation if you missed it or just want to review: http://www.belladomain.com/exhibitorlive/
Both our financial and in-kind sponsors deserve so much credit: Exhibitor Media Group, Classic Exhibits, Optima Graphics, Exhibit Concepts, Access TCA, Live Marketing, Highmark Tech, Pinnacle Exhibits, ProExhibits, AFR Furniture Rental, Brumark, Skyline-Holt, Condit, Steelhead Productions, and Exhibit Expressions. An extra special thanks to Freeman who added their support to our cause as well!
Have questions? Want to get involved? Have a great idea to name of our mentorship program? E-mail us at WomenInExhibitions@gmail.com. We can’t wait to hear from you!
Katina Rigall Zipay, Creative Director @ Classic Exhibits (katina@classicexhibits.com)