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The Fifth Time Around: WIPL 2015

by Dalton

Where else could you have met the founder of the Veterans Portrait Project, been inspired by the first female president of a professional sports franchise, and rocked out with the Coastal Inspirational Ambassadors gospel choir and Gloria Gaynor to her 1978 smash hit “I Will Survive”?

At the fifth annual Women in Philanthropy and Leadership (WIPL) conference held on Thursday, Feb. 12, and Friday, Feb. 13, at the Sheraton Myrtle Beach Convention Center Hotel. Over 600 women (and a few men) from the South Carolina area and beyond participated in the conference, either by attending the Pre-Conference Workshops focused on entrepreneurship on Thursday or the WIPL Conference itself on Friday. The theme of the conference was once again “Lead the Change,” as accomplished and talented women shared their stories of overcoming obstacles in their personal and professional lives and attaining success, imparting strategies and wisdom to empower and encourage the attendees to strive to achieve their full potential, both as individuals and collectively.

Susan O’Malley, first female president of a professional sports franchise -- the Washington Wizards (formerly the Bullets) -- was a popular speaker at the WIPL Conference. Smart, funny and insightful, she captured the audience’s attention the moment she began to speak and kept it throughout her presentation. O’Malley assured the conference participants that “It’s OK to be who you want to be, and you can still play the game,” a game with rules such as “Outwork everybody and always be prepared; plan your work, and work your plan; when you mess up, make it right; and do the right thing, even when nobody is looking.” Overriding all of these, however, was the primary message – “In all success, people make the difference. Surround yourself with positive people.”

The conference began with Coastal Carolina University President David DeCenzo and WIPL Executive Director Terri DeCenzo welcoming the group, followed by an address by Lauren Leader-Chivee, founder and CEO of “All In Together,” a nonpartisan campaign to reignite the American women’s movement for the next generation. Her speech highlighted the idea that, in order to succeed in business, women need to seek out a sponsor or mentor, someone who is aware of their abilities and would nurture their progress. Chivee also said that women need to make sure that upper management realizes who they are and what they do. She pointed out that, in general, men have no problem pointing out their accomplishments, but women have a harder time claiming their achievements.

Following her remarks, student Hailey Olsen, single mother of three, was acknowledged as the first WIPL Endowed Scholarship recipient.

Author of the best-selling book, “An Invisible Thread,” Laura Schroff then took the stage to tell the audience about her transformative meeting with an underprivileged teen named Maurice. Their unexpected friendship has continued for over 25 years and has led Schroff to some life-changing realizations regarding the importance of family and of enjoying the moment, lessons she shared with the WIPL attendees.

Proceeding the morning speakers, conference participants attended their choice of breakout sessions, including award-winning American photojournalist and founder of the Veterans Portrait Project, Stacy Pearsall; the first woman elected as vice president of Rotary International and well-known educator, Anne Matthews; and STEM education advocate and environmentalist, Zelma Maine-Jackson.

After lunch, conference guests were treated to the moving story of Gloria Gaynor’s life, which she compared to a roller-coaster ride. Her feelings of unworthiness and fear of rejection engendered by molestation in her youth and abandonment by her father led her to “take whatever they [men in her life] dished out.” Music became her escape, and she rocketed to fame with her Grammy Award-winning song, “I Will Survive” – a song that both women and men have taken as a mantra when their lives proved difficult. The Coastal Inspirational Ambassadors, strategically placed within the audience, performed Gaynor’s trademark song both at her introduction and spontaneously at the conclusion of her talk. To the delight of the crowd, Gaynor joined in for a few verses.

To close the conference, the audience was treated to a speech by Emmy Award-winning television and radio host and author Leeza Gibbons, who has added healthcare and caregiving activist to the long list of roles she plays. Gibbons advised the listeners to develop flexibility, practice forgiveness and "do something you’re afraid of every day." She acknowledged that change is scary, and most people tend to hold on desperately to the status quo. However, the most positive growth occurs through change, so we must learn to embrace it.

Terri DeCenzo and WIPL President Marjorie Thompson closed the conference, thanking the participants for taking part and encouraging them to take the lessons learned throughout the day to Lead the Change in their own lives and to encourage others to do the same.

Also by Alexandra Morris

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