The Vine News

This year’s program , “Women Business Owners – Empowered for Action and Winning the Race,” will feature Emmy-award-winning 9NEWS NOW anchor, Andrea Rhoane, as the evening’s keynote speaker.

Guests will be treated to an evening of gourmet fare, WBO’s exclusive “Empower Punch,” and live entertainment during the March 20 gala to be held at the Country Club at Woodmore in Mitchelville, MD.

Jazz guitarist, Darryl K. Brooks will provide soulful sounds, and D.C. native, all-female band, Be’La Donna will be in concert.

Proceeds from the event benefit the WBO grant program, which is designed to provide support, training, and education to qualified WBO members who wish to expand their businesses. This year the organization will award 10 people who have been champions for women business owners, as well as acknowledge participants of this year’s grant program.

The organization, now in its 24th year, has had a tremendous impact on women business owners, according to WBO president Dawn Jackson of Bowie, MD. She said when she came to the group, she was on the verge of giving up. But after meeting the women, she found a different perspective.

“I went and saw all these women who were successful and they were very similar to me.  As I talked to them, we shared the same struggles,” she said. “The things that I thought would end the business, no, this was just the cost of doing business. You get up and you keep going from that.  So, had I not had that, I may have ended my entrepreneurial career without giving myself a chance.”

The 70 member organization has come a long way in 24 years, when there were just a dozen women meeting to discuss how they could support other Prince George’s county women in business.

Barbara Miller, Executive Director of the County’s Commission for Women organized the first planning meeting on September 11, 1986, at the Greenbelt Marriott.

Founding member, Mary Jane Shearer, Program Director of Workforce Development at Prince George’s Community College, joined the WBO at the time that she started building the Business Owners Success Stories, (B.O.S.S), at the college. 
“It was a time … when you couldn’t use women in the title and get any funding from the county or the state government,” she remembered.

Today things are very different.
The office of the County Executive is a sponsor of this year’s gala, along with Selmat Design, McMillon Communications, The Elocen Group, The Coleman Group, Verizon, and Pepco among others.

In addition to the annual grants the organization provides, WBO partners with the D.C. based, Break the Cycle organization to provide Prince George’s county high schools with educational materials to prevent teen dating violence. WBO has also been involved in community service to the Family Crisis Center of Prince George’s County, Shepherd’s Cove in Capitol Heights and Katrina Kids holiday giving.

But the organization does not forget its main purpose is empowering women business owners.
WBO has sponsored everything from a“Getaway to Broadway” trip to NY for lunch, business networking teas, to spa events. It continues to have monthly events for women business owners to help them grow and develop.

“When I was looking for people to help me grow my business, I was able to draw from the WBO pool; like I got my accountant from there…I got a virtual assistant from there,” said four-year member Doris McMillon, who is also mistress of ceremonies for the gala. “And whatever other needs I might have, I can look within the organization and say hmm, who can I use from the WBO to help me help my business grow?”

The organization meets every third Tuesday. This month’s meeting on March 16 will focus  on “Our Marketing Madness – Everything You Want to Know About Marketing and How to Best Utilize It.”  April 10 will gather business representatives from around the region for the Business Resources meeting.   On May 10, new business startups and veteran business owners are encouraged to participate in their “It’s All About Me, Women, Business, and Wellness Conference.”

“I truly believe, we are our greatest strength,” said Jackson, president of Nudawn Marketing and now in her 5th year as WBO president. “You surround yourself with positive people, positive women, and you can’t go wrong especially when you are an independent business owner.”