Women's Summit 2023

The women's leadership Summit at The Pelican Golf Club was more than successful for its third year running. Being a sold out event, over 250 empowering women filled the seats to soak in all the knowledge and advice on how to be a successful female navigating the workforce.

Leading the summit was former Fox 13 Co-Anchor, Kelly Ring. Kelly took to the stage as the moderator and was joined for opening remarks with Jim Bunn, President of Global Equities and Investment Banking for Raymond James.

Following Bunn, three highly successful and decorated women joined Ring for The Women In Leadership panel discussion. Those three women included Elizabeth Dvorak, CEO of Workscapes; Kim Jenson, COO of Private Client Groups for Raymond James and finally Laura Blamer, President of Dealer Sales at Konica Minolta Solutions U.S.A.

Ring started out strong asking how do you guys create a balance? A balance with life, with work? “I woke up one day and thought the whole conversation around work, life balance is a myth,” Blackmer stated “balance is impossible… I decided that I was going to stop trying to make it work.” Dvorak laughed while adding “ Man I thought I could handle being both on the phone finishing up a deal and trying to take care of the kids…but I was doing a terrible time at both”.

Trying to be in the present was much more important to Blackmer, as she was raising children all while being the best employee that she could be. “I would be at a soccer game and on the phone listening but not watching and vice versa” Blackmer said “I decided that I was going to be in the present and this way I would keep my head on straight, but it's not easy… so im telling you to stop with the balance, erase the word from your vocabulary and live in the present.”

Jenson added to the discussion of balance by saying it was like a pie. As people we need to picture the slices which are what we have going on in our life. Work, family, health, religion etc. “Looking at the pieces of our pie, over the years we have to dedicate more time to some… being a single mom I wish I could have made my family slice bigger, but I had to focus on work to provide… there's a lot of guilt there but sometimes it's just what we have to do and later we can adjust it” said Jenson.

For many women the stigmatism to be perfect is nearly engraved within the brain. Needing to do everything ourselves and not ask for help nor make mistakes adds to that.

“I've got girls at home and I don't want them to be focused on perfection, it weighs heavy and will keep you up at night. We need to be kind to ourselves… because we all are learning and growing” said Jenson.

“I thought I had to know it all, I couldn't let people down” Said Dvorak “But you see we don't need to know all the answers, it's ok to say “I don't know but, i'll figure it out”... If I would have slowed down and accepted help, I could have celebrated my growth more.”

It's so important to note that there are other people in the same shoes. Offering to lend a hand whether as a friend, guidlight or a mentor is detrimental to helping grow the success for women in the workforce. “I still feel like this is the most important thing being retired now, that i can help people move forward, be a guidlight and be their support system” Ring said “A little pump up goes a long way… 60 or not just try is what I like to say”.

Blackmer, who lacked the confidence in herself to take on a higher paying role and job was more than thankful to those who helped push her and continue to believe in her. “It took one person to see something in me that I didn't see in myself” said Blackmer “ He saw leadership and hard work… I'll forever be grateful to him.”

Closing out the summit was Keynote speaker Heidi Ueberroth, Co-Chairman of Pebble Beach. Ueberroth joined Ring in talking about her legacy and how she got to where she is at. While having guidance from very successful parents, Ueberroth paved her own path finding a way to merge her two passions.

“I always would listen to my dad, but following his advice no. I didn't want to go into sports until later on… the egos were too big and there were too many rules” Said Ueberroth. “I did not like limits, I love possibilities.”

When looking at new opportunities Ueberroths father tried to persuade her to go a different route. Although, like Blackmer dabbled on it, it only takes one person to believe in you. For Ueberroth, she found an opportunity within the NBA and ran with it “I worked for the coolest company and I got to merge my international passion with television” said Uebrerroth “There was never a roadmap to go by but It was all instinct and I loved it.”

Concluding the summit, the big takeaways where that being human is realistic. There's no need to be perfect nor steer away from help. Following one's passion will lead to a lifetime of success and being a mentor to others around you is one way to help push people and grow the leadership from women.