Women@Sun

Let it Shine, let it shine, let it shine!

On Dec 6, several women from Sun in the Boston area joined over 4500 women at the 2nd annual Massachusetts Conference for Women.   We had a great time and came back to work today uplifted and inspired to 'shine' and 'light a path' from our lights to help guide others.

Local women from Sun and I will blog about this experience over the next few days, because there is just so much to cover!  Today, I'll focus on the keynote sessions.  

Two other keynotes were Iman (also highlighted in a NECN video)

Iman is not just a supermodel, but also a philanthropist, founder of her own cosmetics company and a mother of two.   Her advice to us was to "know [y]our worth and don't settle for less."

Marian Heard, President and CEO of Oxen Hill Partners,  interviewed Iman and did a great job of asking the questions that audience really wanted to know, including, "What is it like to be married to David Bowie?"  Iman's response is that "it's cool, afterall, he is David Bowie."   (too funny!)   Also made me think -- Is her last name Bowie?

 
Gerry Laybourne  ,  founder of Nickelodeon and the Oxygen network shared her own stories of climbing the corporate ladder and talked about some Myths about women -- one of those myths are that "women don't help each other." (Sound like an interesting discussion for a future blog!) She talked about programming for an all women's network and some of the other projects of the network.  One worth exploring is Mentor Walk. 

Going back the Maya Angelou keynote which was during lunch (and after Iman and Gerry).

What struck me was that you could have heard a pin drop during her session -- it was serious and funny and inspiring and I think it touched every person at a very deep, personal level.  (I hate when a song is stuck in my head, but yesterday was different, I could hear her singing "This Little Light of Mine" until I went to bed last night.   If you want a song stuck in your head, I guess that's a good one to be hearing.)  

Throughout her talk,  she continued to sing this song, interspersed with her stories about the people she knew who have touched and inspired herself and others.  She told us to make sure the say "thank you", keep our sense of humor and "don't trust people who don't laugh."   She added,  "Thrive with passion and compassion, humor and some style."

So if you heard about a glow in New England last night, it was surely the 'lights' of 4500 women shining, lighting new paths to help one another. 

Posted at 12:11PM Dec 07, 2006 by sandyb in Of Note  |  Comments[1]