More than 100 people attended the Ladies Making History awards event at Safavieh Home Furnishings in Stamford recently, showing their support for women entrepreneurs who have taken risks in their businesses.
Keynote speaker and former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. Linda McMahon awarded five women $4,000 total for taking innovative approaches to grow their businesses.
- From left, Allyson Spellman, CEO and founder of Unleash Your Voice; Linda McMahon, co-founder and former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment; and Kathy McShane, managing director of Ladies Who Launch. Photos by Cynthia McIntyre and Crystal Kang.
The winners included Katherine Dickerson, CEO and founder of Gupta Films, a company that focuses on issues women face in the Latin community; Teri Gaberman, CEO and founder of Berni & Mercer Friends for Life, a nonprofit that comforts children with life-threatening illnesses; Andrea Greene, CEO and founder of Connecticut Cookie Company; and Linda Spevacek and Maureen Wolff, founders of Just Ordinary Moms, who collect stories from moms across the country and create books about them.
The event included sponsors such as Lisa Corrado Nutrition, Safavieh, First County Bank and Westfair Communications Inc., the parent company of the Fairfield County Business Journal, and welcomed guest panelists Allyson Spellman, founder of Unleash Your Voice, and Kathy McShane, managing director of Ladies Who Launch.
Spellman said one important lesson she learned by launching her own company was the importance of taking every opportunity to find a network of supportive women.
“As women, we forget there”™s help and guidance,” Spellman said. “It”™s nice to share challenges with each other, and the great thing is that with technology, it”™s so easy to be connected and show each other we”™re supportive.”
