Finding your Voice at the California Women’s Conference

By Wendy Steele, Keys  CEO

So what happens when over 20,000 women convene at a special conference in Long Beach CA hosted by The People’s Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger and California First Lady Maria Shriver?   Well, we are about to find out!  Keys is excited to participate in the CA Women’s Conference events on Monday October 26 and Tuesday October 27.  During the event, Keys is exhibiting with one of its LA based retail partners Lavender Natural Beauty.   If you are in Long Beach, please visit with us on site at the conference in Booth 846.

I am struck by the great potential for thousands of women who I believe will be inspired by what they hear, see and feel in the next 2 days.  Perhaps the greatest gift is listening to others passionately share about the defining moments in their lives.  Recognizing defining moments, on the job, with their health and at times of great loss and great celebration is a monumental step to helping women to find their voices.  During the next several days,  I look forward  to hearing from thousands of women, individually, as they share their own defining moments and speak out about what is most important to them to fully live their lives.

More later  from the Night at the Village Event and tomorrow’s events!

Update Women’s Conference Post Thoughts.

California Dreaming?  No, this was for real!  Two full days in Long Beach at the CA Women’s Conference with over 20,000 women in attendance and I was sorry to see it end (and happily worn out)  when the event drew to a close.

What a super event for women (and a few good men) to share knowledge and information.  The Night of the Village was an amazing opportunity to connect with other women in a relaxed and celebrative environment.  My personal beliefs were fortified by the events at the conference.  I think that there is no limit to what women can accomplish when they are willing to share their personal experiences with others.  This is what I think is the essence of the CA Women’s Conference.  It is personal, it is relevant, it is inspirational.  I think the event exemplified to women how very real and productive each of us, as human beings, can be as agents of change.  When women act as if they are advocates and agents of change- then it is true.  And they rock the world.

I am an advocate for skin cancer awareness and early detection of Melanoma Skin Cancer.  Over the course of 2 days, I was able to share my story about surviving Melanoma with over 500 women.  When I was diagnosed over 10 years ago, it was a defining moment for me.  I know for sure that by sharing my story it is possible for me to save someone else’s life through early detection of melanoma.  Stories are powerful, because they impart meaning.  And because they spring from (and to) life, stories can be recounted many times with impact.  There were lots of compelling stories shared at the conference and I was thrilled to be a part of it!

Also, I experienced just how hungry women are for useful knowledge and information.  An example was witnessing the very large number of women who clamored to listen to Dr. Mehmet Oz talk.  By shining the spotlight on some simple areas for women to focus on to live healthier lives, Dr. Oz made a difference.

At the Lavender Natural Beauty booth, where Keys products were featured, we tirelessly educated hundreds of women about the Dirty Dozen Chemicals and specifically what toxic ingredients to avoid in their personal care and household products.  Providing women with a Dirty Dozen Card and a tear off wallet card to simply help them to learn how to read the labels on personal care products is always a good start.  And there is so much more work to be done to educate women on how to move toward skin health without synthetic chemicals.  WomenKnowledge is power and it makes a life-long difference!

I was inspired by the excitement, the enthusiasm and the energy of many passionate women that I met at the Women’s Conference.   And the good work will continue as we travel the US meeting and educating our retailers, our customers and future customers.

Final note:  Next year will be Maria Shriver’s last official year in office as First Lady of California.  No doubt the 2010 Conference will be another awesome event and I look forward to seeing you there!  I would love to see Maria Shriver continue with the Women’s Conference concept and bring it to the mid west and to the East Coast.   This year when journalists asked Maria Shiver if she would continue this type of event after she has completed her term as CA First Lady—her reply “ Yes, I might do that”.  As they say, stay tuned, film in 2011!