On March 8th, the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce (GNCC) and its Women in Niagara Council (WIN) will celebrate International Women’s Day at Club Italia in Niagara Falls. International Women’s Day is the date on which the world not only celebrates the achievements of women, but focuses on breaking down the barriers faced by women in business, in politics, and in leadership.
The GNCC and WIN are proud to welcome keynote speaker Betsy Myers to Niagara for this event. Ms. Myers was the Chief Operating Officer of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign and the founding director of the Center for Women and Business at Bentley University. Prior to these roles, she was also a senior adviser on women’s issues in former U.S. president Bill Clinton’s administration. A tireless advocate for women in business and female leaders, Ms. Myers will share some of the insights she has gained from an intense career spent focusing on developing leadership and helping women to seize opportunities and become leaders themselves.
Mary Ann Edwards, Director of the Rankin Cancer Run, will be honoured with an award for her creation of the Run and her achievements as its director, having raised over $7.5 million for cancer patients and survivors in Niagara. The award is richly deserved not just for Ms. Edwards incredible and tireless leadership, but also for the community spirit she has built and the generosity and giving she has guided.
The International Women’s Day event is co-sponsored by Performance Acura and PenFinancial Credit Union. The event will include a fundraiser for a bursary for an up-and-coming female leader in Niagara to attend the Leadership Niagara program. The theme for International Women’s Day this year is “press for progress.” There is a strong call to press for progress motivating & uniting friends, colleagues and whole communities to think, to act, and to be gender inclusive.
The International Women’s Day Luncheon will be held on Thursday March 8 at Club Italia. For more information and tickets please visit iwd.gncc.ca.
Quotes:
“This International Women’s Day, we wanted not only to showcase our achievers and our leaders like Betsy and Mary Ann, but to promote and enable the next generation of female leaders. We’re proud to be able to do both.”
— Mishka Balsom, President & CEO, Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce
“We’ve seen remarkable advancement for women and the prospects for women recently, but there is still so much further to go, so it’s appropriate that we focus not just on the achievements that women have made, but on how they can achieve even more. This International Women’s Day will do both and we are glad to bring this event and its speakers to Niagara.”
— Nicole Regehr, WIN Chair & Community Development and Public Relations Manager, Gillian’s Place
The Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce is the largest business organization in Niagara and the third-largest Chamber of Commerce in Ontario, with 1,600 members representing 50,000 employees. More information on the GNCC is available at gncc.ca.
