What a fantastic and enlightening year this has been! I heartily thank all of the members of TIAW for providing me with the opportunity to serve as your President.
Having the chance to travel and meet so many of you in Chile, as well as recently in Atlanta, has been such a meaningful experience. Meeting new people is one of my favorite things in life, and this year has provided many venues for making friends, on a personal and professional level. As I said before, “Our Annual Conference in Santiago, Chile, in March of 2006 was terrific in all respects! The Universidad was an enthusiastic and valuable partner for the Conference. They provided space for 300 attendees, invaluable administrative help, and an elegant luncheon for the attendees. The wide range of speakers covered topics of interest for everyone at the conference. The smooth organization and success of the conference was the result of the hard work of TIAW’s Executive Director, Maxine Westaway, and her counterpart at the University.
The US Ambassador to Chile and his wife, at their lovely residence, hosted the Reception that was held the evening before the conference. We were educated with an extensive briefing on current aspects of Chilean business and cultural life. The briefing was followed by a wonderful reception on the terrace of their home, at which we were introduced to many of the conference speakers. It was a terrific opportunity to talk with a wide array of impressive Latin American women leaders.
We made many contacts, which will continue to be important to us, both personally and professionally.
The Micro Credit Program continues to thrive – with over 50 Village Banks throughout the World. Through her work with Micro Credit and that of her committee, Patricia Hinnen has made a real difference in the lives of many women. The recent news of a generous foundation grant in order to hire an Executive Director for the Micro Program through Capital Sisters is fantastic news for Patricia and the future of the Micro Credit Committee. This relieves Patricia of some of the Administrative burden and creates time for her to spread her enthusiasm for additional Village Banks to others who can support them.”
The TIAW Global Forum in Atlanta, which was co-chaired so fantastically by Sarah O’Brien of Executive Women of Goizeta (Emory University) and Myra McElhaney of Georgia Executive Women’s Network, was terrific! It encompassed a broad range of speakers on many, many topics. Sarah and Myra deserve kudos!
Again, it has been a remarkable year for TIAW – on many levels, and I thank you for providing the platform from which I could share it with you.
