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The Ohio River Valley Women’s Business Council (ORV-WBC) hosted its’ 7th annual Catch the Wave Conference which was held in Cleveland, Ohio from April 18th – 20th. The ORV-WBC was established in 2009 to provide Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) certification to woman-owned businesses in the states of Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. ORV-WBC operates under the Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio, Business Development & Entrepreneurship Department through a collaborative effort with WBENC. The objective of the conference is for women-owned businesses to access tools, resources and partnerships to drive business growth and opportunities. The conference theme was “Driving Principles of Success”. Executive Director, Sheila A. Mixon shared a favorite quote courtesy of Whitney M. Young, Jr., “It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared.”
Conference Focus and Format
Over 300 Women Business Enterprise (WBE), business and corporate partners attended the event. The conference format included a WBE Showcase where the region’s businesses introduced their products and services to other WBEs and corporations. Each day offered an opening session, panel discussions that also included a featured Pitch Contest, Meet the Buyer sessions and concurrent workshops. The conference included over 30 corporate members and honored Certified WBEs 10-15 plus years in business. The conference moderators, emcees and workshop presenters represented industry experts, leading multi-media journalist, WBEs and ORV-WBC staff.
Conference Highlights
Highlights of the conference included a presentation of the 2016 Trail Blazer award to Ms. Alexandria Johnson Boone, President/CEO, GAP Communications Group and Chairwoman/Founder, Women of Color Foundation. Ms. Johnson Boone made a special announcement and presentation to invest in the launch of a special scholarship in the name of Executive Director, Sheila A. Mixon to offer future emerging woman-owned businesses the opportunity to attend ORV-WBC events.
Another exciting feature was the keynote address by Ms. Robin Fisher Roffer, Founder and CEO of Big Fish Marketing. She is an A-list award winning creative and brand marketing firm that has been featured on CNN, The Food Network, MTV, Hallmark Channel, HBO and Sony. She presented an interactive workshop on how businesses can create their own storytelling aligned with their business mission and vision.
The concurrent workshops included subject matter experts discussing a range of topics such as, “Are you Certifiable”?, Leading A Growing Business, Joint Ventures & Teaming Agreements, Supplier Diversity and Women in Global Businesses.
The feedback from various WBE’s that attended is that the conference offered the ability to gain exposure to present their business brand, cultivate new partnerships and collaborations and a sense of empowerment to build strong individuals, families and communities.
The 2017 ORV-WBC conference will be held in Louisville, Kentucky.
