2023 Women's Expo highlights strong women, leaders and risk-takers
Mar. 25—FAIRMONT — Women from North Central West Virginia were challenged to take risks Friday at the Marion County Chamber of Commerce's annual Women's Expo at the Robert H. Mollohan Research Center.
More than 60 women gathered to hear from two groups of panelists and two keynote speakers. The event is held to network, learn and celebrate women's accomplishments. Marion County Chamber of Commerce President Tina Shaw said the theme for this year was "Strong women, strong leaders," with an emphasis on local entrepreneurs that have taken risks and are running successful businesses because of it.
"I don't think women get enough credit. They are out there taking risks and chances every day. So, the idea behind our network is to empower them, to engage them and to educate them. We all need to prop up other women," Shaw said.
Beri Fox, owner and CEO of Paden City, West Virginia-based Marble King, was the main keynote speaker following lunch on Friday. Over a century old, Marble King produces more than one million marbles everyday. The small business is family-owned. Fox spoke about the importance of taking risks and how it helped her with career, which led her to be on "The Colbert Report" and "The Martha Stewart Show" to talk about her business and the importance of American-made products.
"I hope that everybody who walks away from here realizes that even if you're just a little girl from West Virginia, ... they have the confidence in themselves," Fox said. "When presented with an opportunity, even though there are many voices in your head that may say, 'You can't do that,' they have enough courage to say, 'Yes, I can at least give it a shot.' ... I think that we need this support group to realize you're not the only one, when you're feeling overwhelmed."
CEO and Founder of Platinum PR Sandy Dubay served as the morning keynote speaker. A "Breaking Barriers" Panel consisted of Tina Cunningham of Hometown Outfitters, Fairmont Mayor Anne Bolyard, Cheri Satterfield of Tuscan Sun Spa and Brandi Hines of EMCOR. The second panel was comprised of new and local business owners — Stefanie Warino of 310 Soap Company, Amanda Stevens of A&K Clothing, Chelsea McCormley of Country Roads Picnic Company, Taylor McCartney of The Groove Coffee Shop and Roberta Mauller of MonValley Vineyards.
Shelby Dillon, program manager at Main Street Fairmont, attended the Women's Expo for the first time and she said she really enjoyed hearing from panelists. She said she enjoyed how authentic the owners were, especially in sharing challenges they experienced.
"It was comforting to know that all of these successful women and business owners have second-guessed themselves, but they've overcome that. It was really great to hear," Dillon said.
Shaw said she hopes attendees left the event feeling empowered and know that they have a community that supports them.
"There are so many strong leaders that are sitting in this room today. I think Marion County has been very blessed with small business owners — the majority of them are women; the entrepreneurs are women. The risk-taker panelists that we had were heavy. They talked about why they took the leap of faith. I think if we don't prop each other up, nobody else will," Shaw said.
For more information on the Marion County Chamber of Commerce Women's Network, visit their website.
Reach me at sshriver@timeswv.com or 304-367-2549.
