Over a year ago I wrote about Bee movie and how bees may be small creatures but their contributions to our community make a huge impact. The film I saw with my children was the perfect metaphor to describe how important the contributions are that small businesses make in our economy. Today I had the great …
Eighteen pairs of eyes gazed at me as I explained the term entrepreneur. I gave a 45 minute lesson plan on business tips for second graders to Denise Moore’s class at Beulah Elementary School on April 6. I give presentations often for my employer, the Florida SBDC at UWF, but I was most nervous about …
Our family took its first real vacation in nearly a decade. We traveled to Sevierville, Tennessee (located near Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg) with another family–our very good friends. This spring break getaway was the the most relaxed my husband and I have felt in a year or longer. We rented a cabin in the Smoky …
I recently interviewed four women for an article I’m composing on the topic of female confidence. Each of the participants had thought-provoking insights about their assertiveness and outside factors that affect it. I’m not done writing it yet but the words of these empowering ladies are already burned into my mind. They are amazing and I can’t wait to …
Today I attended the University of West Florida Women in Leadership Conference. This inspiring event was put on by the College of Business. The theme was “Designing Your Future” and it indeed conveyed the message that we female leaders can create our own path to success. The conference included three main guest speakers. Two panels of female …
I gave this speech (below) in my Toastmasters group. Actually it was credited as two speeches from the Competent Communicator Manual – with emphasis on vocal variety and visual aids. The total time it took me to deliver this speech was almost fourteen minutes. I received such great feedback from the presentation and I had such …
I enjoyed a lunch meeting with three other ladies on Friday. We met for work purposes but the conversation later turned to personal endeavors and lastly, one of my favorite topics: creativity. I referenced how I recently read the book Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat, Pray, Love) to the group. That’s when I …
Today is Valentine’s day so I decided to write about love. I know, I know, what a cliche’. Maybe I should apply to work for Hallmark. (FYI, I applied there in my early twenties when I thought I wanted to be a greeting card writer…) Don’t vomit yet though. Most of what love means to …
The best compliment I ever remember receiving is when a roommate (or suite-mate like we called it) in college told me I was resourceful. Yes, resourceful. Not words like beautiful or sexy or kind or generous. But resourceful. Why was (and is) this such huge flattery? Well for one thing, this praise came sometime between …
Yesterday I served as a judge for the University of West Florida Marks Invitational which is a speech and debate (forensics) competition where students compete in a variety of categories. I volunteered to judge one or two panels. They placed me in the dramatic interpretation contest. Other events like impromptu, humorous, and other topics were taking …