Annual Tri-Cities Tennessee Regional Women's Business Summit Announces Expert Speaker Line-Up
"One of our primary goals is to improve the limited state funding of the Tennessee Economic Council on Women by collaborating with other state agencies, community groups, women's advocates and others to provide research and/or programs that advance women's economic status. This project is a perfect fit."  --Jennifer Rawls, Executive Director of the Tennessee Economic Council on Women
Kingsport, TN – May 8, 2009 – The Tennessee Economic Council on Women (TECW) assesses Tennessee women’s economic status. It develops and advocates solutions to address women’s needs to help women achieve economic autonomy. In setting its priorities, the Council selects issues that are timely and likely to result in positive changes for women. Jennifer Rawls, Executive Director of the Tennessee Economic Council on Women, Nashville, Tenn., has allotted KOSBE a grant of $3,500 to organize a regional women's business event to take place before budgeted funds expire on June 30th. The event will be self-sustained beginning with 2010.  KOSBE, a partnership between the City of Kingsport and the Kingsport Area Chamber of Commerce, is working with several other regional Chambers of Commerce, including but not limited to Bristol and Johnson City, to put on the annual event entitled Tri-Cities Tennessee Regional Women's Business Summit. Â
The Summit will take place on Thursday, June 11, at Northeast State Technical Community College in Blountville, Tennessee from 7:30 am to 4:15 pm. The cost to attend the event is $59 ($79 after June 9) and includes a gourmet boxed lunch.
The sessions and speakers are:
“The Economic Impact of Women’s Political Participation in Tennessee”
by Jennifer Rawls, Executive Director
Tennessee Economic Council on Women
“Getting by with LESS Now So You can have MORE Later”
by Mary Pankiewicz
President of Clutter-Free & OrganizedÂ
 “Changing Your Situation with Effective Negotiation Strategies”
by Stephanie Lord
Director of Operations Protokraft, LLC
“Personal Brand Management Starts with You”
by Sara Diamond, Co-Anchor WJHL TV 11
“The Economics of Women’s Health”
by Dr. M. Melinda Pitts, Research Economist & Associate Policy Advisor
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
“Virtual Networking: Who Needs Real Friends?”
by Jose Castillo, President & CEO
www.thinkjose.com, and Johnson City Spark Plaza Co-Working Space
“Unlocking Capital for Your Business and Gaining Access to New Markets”
Co-presented by Margot Dorfman, Founder & CEOÂ
US Women’s Chamber of Commerce
& Finley Green, Director of Mountain State World Trade Center
Primarily, the Tri-Cities Tennessee Regional Women’s Business Summit  will provide a platform for the discussion of issues disproportionately impacting women business owners and entrepreneurs, career women, and professional women; and serve as a resource and starting point for satisfying the knowledge gaps and developing real solutions to overcome the constraints women in business often face. The secondary goal is to build a powerful new regional network for collaboration and mentorship. The Summit will inspire and unite women of all ages, ethnic groups, professions, managerial levels, and economic status. The day-long event will include interactive workshops and powerful panel discussions on a variety of topics, including Business and Management, Career Planning, Health, Business Ownership and Entrepreneurism, Marketing, Finance, and Law. This year's theme is 'Unlocking the Door to Economic Self-Sufficiency.'
"The Summit is a regional event that is intended to encompass the whole Northeast Tennessee region including Johnson City, Kingsport, Bristol, Elizabethton, Mountain City, Jonesborough, Erwin, Greeneville and surrounding rural areas, as well as draw participation from bordering neighbors in Virginia and North Carolina," said Aundrea Wilcox, Executive Director of KOSBE. "A project of this scale can never be accomplished operating as an autonomous organization working in a vacuum. It requires wide regional collaboration to maximize efforts and optimize resources, and an integrated planning approach which will benefit the entire area."
The Tri Cities Regional Women’s Business Summit is generously underwritten by the Tennessee Economic Council on Women, State of Tennessee Economic and Community Development, and Northeast State Technical Community College. Other sponsors of the event include: Eastman Chemical Company, the Business Journal of Tri-Cities Tennessee/Virginia, the University of Tennessee at the Kingsport Center for Higher Education, Voice Magazine for Women, WJHL News Channel 11, and a host of honorary founding sponsors.
Anyone interested can register online at www.tricitieswomeneconomicsummit.net, or call KOSBE at (423) 392-8811 for more information.
