Greater Women's Business Council

LACE tickets close on Monday, October 28! You don't want to miss the most anticipated GWBC event of the year. Enjoy a black-tie event at the Georgia Aquarium to celebrate the incredible work of our WBEs and corporate partners. At this year's LACE Awards on November 1, there will be a silent auction with many fantastic prizes. One of those prizes is a Power Lunch with some of the top businesswomen in the Southeast. If you bid and win this item, you can choose from 2 of the fantastic women listed below to grab lunch and hear their wisdom and advice firsthand. These impressive candidates include Nicole Lipscomb, Chief Procurement Officer for Ally Financial, Betina Terry, President and CEO of Southern Linch & Southern Telecom, Inc, Kathryn Petralia, Co-Founder of Keep Financial, Pinky Cole founder of the Slutty Vegan franchise, Ayana Parsons, co-founder of the Fearless Fund and Ayesha Khanna, Managing Director of Care Enterprises. Make sure to register today. Tickets close on Monday! https://lnkd.in/ec943yAK

Our sponsor spotlight this month is on Emory University! This prestigious university was founded in 1836 and has continued its mission to create, preserve and apply knowledge to serve humanity. This is shown through its multiple partnerships, research grants and more to help those in need. In fact, Emory University partners with more than 700 diverse suppliers, which adds over $50M a year to our annual spending. Thank you to Emory for its many years of support:

Congratulations to our three Perfect Pitch winners—one representing each state—who will compete in the national pitch competition! The GWBC team congratulates Caeta Lash, CEO of PUFFCUFF, for winning the Georgia Perfect Pitch in September! She will be joined by April Kelly, Founder of Sure! from North Carolina, and Kitty Watson, Founder of Innolect Inc. from South Carolina, at the WBENC national pitch competition. This exciting event will take place on November 12-13, and we are thrilled to support them all! This is the first time GWBC has had a finalist from each state! Learn more about the national pitch competition here:

This month, the GWBC team is excited to shine the spotlight on Maria Balais, our Director of Programs! In her role, Maria develops and manages initiatives that empower and support women-owned businesses and our member corporations. She also plays a key role in our marketing and communication efforts. Before joining GWBC, Maria served as the Principal of The Balais Group and was the Executive Director of Leadership DeKalb. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Maria for her invaluable expertise and contributions! Learn more about Maria and the rest of our team here:

It's time for the 2024 annual LACE Awards with GWBC! Vince The Voice is ready to see you there! Vince The Voice, LLC has been the LACE Awards emcee for many years and he's looking forward to seeing you all at this year's black-tie event. Join us at the Georgia Aquarium on November 1 to honor the transformative things that our women-owned businesses and sponsors have achieved this year. Register today! https://lnkd.in/eKdeteBY

Throwback to last month's Georgia POP Event! If you've attended a GWBC event, you know our team puts on a great get-together and we want to see you at the next anticipated event - the upcoming LACE Awards: https://lnkd.in/ec943yAK

Launched in 2023, GWBC and the UPS Elevation Program celebrated the conclusion of its second cohort on Friday, October 4 at UPS Headquarters with a graduation ceremony and grants presentation to 19 women-owned businesses. In addition, the UPS Foundation generously provided small business grants to three of the women to support their businesses. The grant recipients were Dr. Patricia Morgan, Anne Shoemaker and Desiree Booker. Congratulations to the grant recipients and all the women entrepreneurs who completed the program. GWBC is grateful for our longstanding partnership with UPS and we look forward to Elevation 2025 during our 25th Anniversary Year!

Congratulations to the second cohort of the UPS Elevation Program! On October 4, GWBC and the UPS Elevation Program celebrated the conclusion of its second cohort at the UPS Headquarters with a graduation ceremony and grants presentation to 19 women-owned businesses. In addition, the UPS Foundation generously provided small business grants to three of the women—Dr. Patricia Morgan, Anne Shoemaker and Desiree Booker—to support their businesses. Congratulations to the grant recipients and all the women entrepreneurs who completed the program. GWBC is grateful for our longstanding partnership with UPS and we look forward to Elevation 2025 during our 25th Anniversary Year!

Are you stumped on how to create an effective RFP? Curious about the best way to develop a 60-second video introduction and a capabilities statement? Introducing the GWBC Contender Toolbox - a new educational program featuring both self-guided webinars and live feedback sessions to help you prepare your RFPs while enhancing your business presentation skills and sharpening your competitive edge. Our first live session features Melanie Rae, Chief Learning Designer at Plan with Peers, who will guide you through the essentials of presenting a capabilities statement. This is an opportunity you won't want to miss! Sign up today and elevate your skills!

Mark your calendars for an enchanting evening of sophistication and distinction at the 2024 GWBC LACE Awards! Hosted at the Georgia Aquarium on November 1, join the GWBC team for this black tie event honoring the remarkable accomplishments of our corporate partners and Women Business Enterprises (WBEs) who have excelled in championing women-owned businesses. We are thrilled to announce an exciting lineup of Power Lunches available for our silent auction. If you win this auction item, you'll have six amazing women business leaders to choose from for two power lunches. Among them are Pinky Cole Hayes, the visionary founder of Slutty Vegan, Ayesha Khanna, the managing director for CARE Enterprises Inc. and Ayana Parsons, the co-founder of Fearless Fun. These are just a few of the extraordinary women you could have the chance to meet, so be sure to secure your tickets today! Learn more about LACE here: https://lnkd.in/ec943yAK