Leadership group creates space for women to learn, grow and connect
By HOLLY GASKILL
What started as a dream between a few women has blossomed into a thriving group serving a unique need within Wells County.
Wells County Women in Leadership falls under the umbrella of the Wells County Chamber of Commerce, meeting multiple times a year to connect with other women and talk through relevant topics of self-care and professional development.
The group is led by a steering committee, often spotted at events in their distinct purple blazers.
Erin Prible, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce, emphasized that while the group is self-titled “Women in Leadership,” it does not refer to workplace titles but all the ways women influence their respective spaces — coordinating their families as stay-at-home mothers, working in professional fields, serving in church ministries, and anything in between.
Wells County Women in Leadership held their first event, an all-day conference, in October 2022. Over 100 turned out for the event, which focused on “A Rest That Works.”
Oftentimes, Prible continued, women are leading in more than one of these spaces — wrangling children while also working full-time and helping in their communities. Considering this, Women in Leadership rallied under a theme of rest in 2023, focusing on ideas of self-care and finding balance. The hope has been, ultimately, that these sessions would “refuel” women to return to their areas of influence renewed and refreshed to make an impact.
“When you are a woman that is trying really, really hard to do great things, and you’re working so very hard, burnout is very easy … We have so much guilt we put on our shoulders all the time (when it comes to taking care of ourselves.),” Prible said. “This whole process has really changed my mindset.”
With 2023 being the group’s first full year, Prible has found that the group has really developed into a community of its own.
During the all-day conference last November, a panel of local women shared how they’ve implemented practices and the impact on their lives. Angie Topp, for example, explained how she began taking a daily walk as an act of self-care, and it had become an important part of pausing work, getting up and moving, and clearing her mind.
Julie Thompson echoed this sentiment. “Women in Leadership has shown me the importance of rest. Any of us think rest has to be kind of like a time out or time away … I have learned to take a short walk around the block and just enjoy being outside or maybe listening to some music while working on a project … This process has kept me grounded, stay focused and overall be a better person.”
The Women in Leadership group, Prible continued, has created a safe space for women to open up about many often-taboo feelings and experiences. She added, “The impact of that event (the 2023 conference) was just — it was like the Holy Spirit was just over the entire group. It was amazing.”
In hopes of better serving the community, several changes are coming this year to Wells County Women in Leadership.
Their singular meal-based events will now take place at the beginning of the day, 8-9:30 a.m. Prible explained that the group had received feedback that carving out time in the middle of the day was often difficult for their attendants’ schedules. She hopes that by having the workshops in the morning, it feels less like leaving work behind and more like starting the day with a professional development opportunity.
Additionally, Prible said they will also alternate between sessions on self-care with “Run Hard, Rest Well,” who have spoken at all events thus far, and other speakers.
The first of these workshops will be at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 13 as a “Galentine’s Day” event. The WEOC Women’s Business Center, a division of the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center, will present “Burnout: Detect, Prevent, and Pull Yourself Out of It.” The cost is $12, including breakfast. RVSP to the Chamber.
Other workshops will be held at 8 a.m. Wednesday, May 15, and Friday, Aug. 16, with the all-day conference on Tuesday, Nov. 12. Announcements and continued conversations are shared in the Facebook group, Wells County Women in Leadership.
holly@news-banner.com
