Story, photos by Steve Nash / Special Contributor to BrownwoodNews.com
More than 200 women attended the Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce’s Women’s Summit Thursday at the Brownwood Event Center.
The chamber’s website described the summit as “a day dedicated to celebrating and empowering the women who shape our communities.”
This year’s theme was “Built By Her: Empowering Women, Building Communities,” and was intended to highlight the strength, leadership, and impact of women across every walk of life.
“I think it was a great success,” chamber director Wendy Lawson said after the summit ended mid-afternoon. “We really aimed this year to bring all the women in the county together … a chance to honor the women from the past history that we did in the slideshow, as well as to really encourage and empower everybody in the area.”
Lawson said she hoped attendees found encouragement in knowing they’re not alone and there are people who will help them.
The summit included morning talks by Ann Jones, owner of Ann Jones Realty, and Jill Evans, fundraising and development director for AccelHealth. Afternoon breakout sessions were led by Krista Baty, chief administrative officer at Hendrick Medical Center Brownwood, and Tammy Fisher of Balancing Act Small Business Services.
Jones began her talk by saying, “one of the things I’m going to talk about today is not letting other people intimidate you, and I’m just going to tell you right now I’m very intimidated, and nervous. It has been over 30 years since I have spoken to a group of this size, and to say I’m rusty is an understatement.”
Showing no sign of being “rusty,” Jones went on to use humor, empathy and reflection as she encouraged the women.
“Each and every one of you are smarter than you think you are,” Jones said. “Each and every one of you can accomplish more than you think you can. And each and every one of you have talents you have not explored that you don’t know you have. I promise you that. And that is my life story.”
Jones said she was a “sickly” child and at age 3, she was sent to live with her grandparents and aunt on a small farm in north Brownwood. Her older brother also lived there.
“ And so there were tough times with all of us living in a small, three-bedroom, one-bath home,” Jones said. “Then along the way, my uncle and his children moved in with us, too. So to say that life was challenging here again, we had our challenge, but we made it.”
Jones described herself as a tall, skinny high school student who did not go on dates. She went on to describe her first meeting with Jimmy Jones, the man she would marry.
After giving more details of her life with her husband, who died last September, Jones offered observations including:
• “ Maybe we all need to kind of do a personality check and see how we are reacting to people, and if we’re building them up.”
• “The enemy of success is not trying and the fear of failure. And remember, if a door (closes) to you, don’t let that stop you. There’s probably a bigger and better door waiting for you.
• “Don’t be afraid to try. You may have failures, but believe me, take that failure, don’t feel it’s a failure. Believe it’s something that you’re going to learn from that.”
“We need to help each other,” Jones said. “And we need more women leaders in our area. If you’re not already involved in the community, I encourage you to do so. Step out and make a difference. No matter what it might be, you can make a difference, whether it’s in your church or organization, volunteering or whatever.”
When it was Evans’ turn to talk, she also offered encouragement, saying,” as Anne was saying, you have to be willing. The doors will open. Don’t put up your roadblocks.”
Evans went on to describe three personality types: fearful, feisty and flexible.
“The key word today is ‘kindness,’ which makes this person say, ‘this person believes in me, they know I can do this,’” Evans said. Kindness is the master key that opens the door to understanding every personality. Kindness allows us to connect with each event in a way that builds trust rather than resistance.”
