Welcome to April’s edition of The Beat, where you can hear the “pulse” of what’s happening with the Heart of Birmingham Chapter of ABWA!
In this month’s edition:
- April’s Speaker
- Heart of Birmingham Woman of the Year Celebration
- Alabama Conference
- ABWA Regional Conference
- May Meeting
April’s Speaker
Heart of Birmingham Chapter was very pleased to once again have Linda Reynolds speak to our chapter. Linda is an agent with Physicians Mutual Insurance Company, a company that has been specializing in insuring the Senior Market since 1965 when Medicare was created. She also does Medicare education by holding several seminars a year around the community in public libraries.
Medicare is a Federal health insurance program for seniors and other individuals with certain medical conditions and disabilities. Understanding Medicare is a presentation that simplifies complex issues such as the Medicare parts, how they work, enrolling and more. Hundreds age into Medicare each month in this area. It is a complex and confusing process for most individuals. This presentation shows you all your options so you can make an informed decision on what is best for you.
Heart of Birmingham Woman of the Year Celebration
The Heart of Birmingham Chapter hosted the joyous event where we celebrated Sheryl J. Walker, Heart of Birmingham’s Woman of the Year. A delicious luncheon was enjoyed by all at the Village Tavern located in The Summit. There was many, many smiles as Sheryl was the recipient of her award, flowers, and countless words of appreciation. To see many more photos of the celebration, please visit the event page by clicking here.
Remarks from Greensboro, ABWA District I & IV Regional Conference- Carol Skelton
Reading all the comments on WIN concerning the conference, you find words like excellent, enlightening, fabulous speakers and lots of fun! This conference was all of these and more. From the first session which focused on the changes in ABWA and updates on funding for Stephen Bufton Memorial Scholarship fund, this was definitely the place to gain insight from our National Board. Our presiding board members for the event were Vanessa Willis, ABWA National Vice President, Dr. Sonja Ogletree Satani, District I Vice President and Debra Yates, District IV Vice President. I found Vanessa and Debra to be very warm, engaging and definitively willing to answer questions. Dr. Sonja was already a friend and valuable league resource since she had visited our Al Council meetings in the past year and is serving our district vice president this year. The conference provided an opportunity to speak one on one with the National Officers and of course reconnect with friends from previous conferences. After all ABWA is more than just the local league, it is a sisterhood or resources. We tackled as a group the national issue of “member retention” and what steps could be implemented at the league level to insure that we are meeting new member needs. This was a very challenging and enlightening breakout session with collaboration and many great ideas presented that are simple, inexpensive and easy that can be implemented by the league. I brought home a list of ideas and will be sharing with the members.
Our two session speakers were phenomenal. Both were very knowledgeable and presented great techniques and tools. Pamela Jett presented the topic of “Giving and Receiving Feedback and Constructive Criticism.” Don’t let the title make you think this was a dull event. Her lively presentation, tips and humor left us begging for more. Feel free to ask me about “avoiding toxic people”, “. . .well, that’s interesting, tell me more” and “goat hiding.”
Fausta Britton spoke about “Handling Conflict and Confrontation.” As women we tend to be “nice”, so her tips and tool for practical workplace, family, and life issues can be learned and utilized to increase your ability to work through disagreements productively and handle confrontation professionally. Ask me about “not feeding carrots to stick people.” Both speakers were very engaging and receptive to answering questions. Where else can you receive information from nationally known trainers for such an economical price? ABWA Regional Conferences, of course!
I encourage you to make your plans now to attend next year’s regional conference for whichever region will meet your travel plans. It’s definitely worth the time, expense and provides ample opportunity to network with phenomenal women who will soon be sisters. Check WIN for additional information from the conference.
Alabama Council Meeting to be Hosted in Birmingham
The American Business Women’s Association Alabama Council will meet in Birmingham on May 14, 2016
at the Viva Café, located at 1550 Montgomery Highway in Hoover, Alabama 35226. For more information, including to register to attend, please contact Carol Skelton – Chair at carol.skelton@bbva.com. The keynote speaker will be Apryl Kelly.
Apryl Kelly is an entrepreneur, speaker, author, commercial banking mogul, and most of all a “Believer”. Her Faith in God has leaded her on a mission of education and service. She is sought after to speak and conduct workshops and seminars. Her passion is to educate the world with her gift of Financial Literacy. Recently she penned her first book “52 Weeks to Fall in Love with Your Money” a weekly guide to financial freedom.
Apryl has spent over 10 years in the corporate world of banking. She currently serves as Assistant Vice President of Commercial Lending at a top institution. She is the Founder of Girl Talk, a nonprofit organization which focuses on career development of young women. (www.girltalkbham.com) and she serves on several nonprofit boards. She is the owner of Ohh So Tasty Distributions (www.ohhsotasty.com) She has been featured in iPush Magazine with her articles on Small Business Quick Tips, Several radio stations including “Vital with Lady Woo” on 95.7 Jamz , The Joe Locket Show, and Michael and Joy in the Mornings based in Atlanta.
Apryl holds degrees in Finance and Accounting from Southern Methodist University. She’s a committed wife to Kamonte and mother of 3 children Amare, Amiyah, and Austin. They are the reason she hustles so hard!
May Meeting
The Heart of Birmingham Chapter of ABWA will meet next month, May 17, at 6:00 PM at the Tutwiler. Please set aside that evening and join us!
photo credit: Littmann Stethoscope via photopin (license)
We’ve been making some subtle, but hopefully helpful, changes in the information on our website. If you visit this link: Heart of Birmingham 2015-2016 Meetings, you can view the dates and locations for all scheduled meetings for the Heart of Birmingham Chapter of ABWA. Please visit this page to check for updates on planned activities and speakers, and to see examples of past meetings.