Welcome Letter

Welcome to NAWBO-GDC! And, to our chapter’s new website. We, the board, are excited about the changes and the opportunities this brings. Look around! We’ve tried to include a lot and admit there is still more to do. There is no lack of ideas, just lack of time, something business owners and women are always short on. Let me know what you think, [email protected].

I want to congratulate you for being a business owner in today’s turbulent economy and striving for continued success each day. It takes dedication, smart decision making, and hard work to keep our businesses moving forward. Women will change the economy with their ideas, their motivation, and the creation of employment opportunities.

NAWBO stands for: National Association of Women Business Owners.

GDC stands for: Greater Detroit Chapter

Being a part of this organization, locally and nationally, offers numerous benefits to help grow and build my/your business while cultivating relationships that will last a lifetime. One of the benefits of being a member is the association with so many women from all walks of life; all contributing to one’s growth in life and as a business professional. We collectively share a common bond in our stories and our struggles toward success.

There have been many women who have gone before us to fight for women’s rights and equalities:

• Harriett Tubman – Born a slave, helped hundreds of slaves find freedom. She is often referred to as “Moses” as she led so many people to better lives.

• Eleanor Roosevelt – Was the First lady being a President’s wife, but in her own right was a strong woman with a deep sense of social justice, a leader of both civil and women’s rights. Her influence was powerful and her opinions sought after. She was the first woman to speak before a national convention, to write a column syndicated through the country, to hold regular press conferences, and to be paid for a lecture.

• Florence Nightingale – Born to aristocracy and wealth she was drawn to nursing. She was a pioneer in nursing. Before her no one of any “social stature” would consider this profession. She was one of the first to recognize that death rates were always the highest where there was poor nutrition and non-sanitary living conditions. Her work made health officials pay attention to nutrition and sanitation.

• Judith A. Resnik – One of the first of five women to be hand-picked to become the first female astronauts in the United States. In 1984, she became the second woman in space.

• Florence Allen – Was not accepted at Western Reserve Law School because she was a woman. That didn’t stop her from her dream – she went to Chicago University Law School and then to New York University Law School and was the first woman to receive a law degree. She focused on women’s rights. She became Cuyahoga County’s first woman prosecutor. She became a Common Pleas Judge and went on to be the first woman elected to Ohio’s Supreme Court and in 1922 she was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals, a position she held for twenty-five years.

We are all great in our own way! What do you have to share, to learn, to become? NAWBO wants to help YOU build your legacy and we need you to lend a hand in helping others to grow and succeed.

I look forward to meeting, working, and growing with each of you this year because I believe as a team, we WILL DO great and awesome things.

Believing in success,

Carol Kirkland