| A Message from the President of NAWBO Delaware |
| by Carol E. Arnott, CFP, CDFA, ChFC |
The board of NAWBO Delaware has been busy creating programs and alliances to support women in our local and regional business communities. Our Women in Partnership networking event, jointly hosted last month with Wilmington Women in Business, the National Association of Women in Construction, and the Business Women's Network, brought 187 dynamic women together for an amazing evening. I would personally like to thank my committee co-hosts Kristen Shaw, Donna Myers and Ellyn Herbert, along with the NAWBO Delaware Program Chair Dolores Malek, for all the hard work that went into that evening. The success of this event proved beyond a doubt that there is power in numbers and together we can accomplish so much. Want to see what you missed? Visit www.herbertstudios.com, click on client login, enter username WIP, password 0308.
Our next alliance moves below the canal to partner with women from Kent and Sussex counties for our Spring Networking event at Dover Downs. If you are like many Delawareans you probably think that you'll fall off the edge of the planet if you travel more than 20 minutes but I promise you won't! Plan to join us on April 24th to meet women from all across the state to expand your business circle.
Recently a group of NAWBO members visited with staffers at Senator Biden and Senator Carper's offices to discuss public policy issues affecting small business owners here in Delaware. Based on responses to our recent survey we shared the concerns of high health care costs, taxation, and procurement issues for women business owners. We were warmly received, our voices heard, and it was agreed by all that the dialogue and alliance should continue.
On May 15th we will honor the 2008 NAWBO Delaware Business Woman of the Year at our annual awards dinner. Join us as we recognize her along with our Pioneer, Bridge Builder, Corporate Partners and our Media Partner of the Year at Harry's Savoy Grill. We will also install our new board and we still have some openings so get involved! This is a great opportunity to mingle with members and non-members alike so plan to attend and get to know us better!
Building Leaders. Building Businesses. NAWBO Delaware is here for you. |
| Calendar of Events |
|
Visit our Upcoming Events page at www.NAWBODelaware.org for more details:
Spring Networking Event - April 24th, 2008
Statewide networking for women from all three counties hosted at the beautiful Dover Downs Conference facility. Come meet your counterparts from Kent and Sussex counties.
Annual Dinner and Awards Celebration - May 15th, 2008
Join us as we celebrate the accomplishments of NAWBO Delaware and honor the 2008 Woman Business Owner of the Year along with other notable honorees. | |
|
Member Spotlight Colleen Estes |
 Starting ImageBuilders Web design in 2006 has provided Colleen Estes with a career in which she has been able to combine her loves of technology and graphic design with her desire for flexibility in her work.
Through being employed in the corporate world as a software developer and programmer for fourteen years, Colleen had gained a diverse base of technical experience. She had telecommuted for the company where she was employed since her older daughter was born in 1997 so that she could be home with her children. Once her daughters were in school all day, Colleen found herself yearning to be in a position where she could connect with colleagues and clients on a regular basis. She also wished she could somehow combine her technical expertise with her artistic ability that had gone unused since she left high school. Web design was a perfect fit for that combination.
Colleen has made it her goal from the start of her company that she would provide a superior customer service experience to her clients. She listens to the vision of each client and provides technical, marketing, and artistic input so that the resulting website is attractive, technically sound, and provides the maximum return on investment possible. She can provide her clients with advice about how to best use their website to generate leads and sales. She also knows the importance of optimizing the pages of her clients' websites so that they will be found by potential customers using search engines such as Google and Yahoo and has invested much time in learning the best practices for accomplishing this.
Colleen is a member of NAWBO Delaware, Business Womens Network, Chesapeake Professional Womens Network, and both the Cecil County, MD and North East, MD Chambers of Commerce. She is married to her husband of 14 years (a surveyor/ land planner) and has two wonderful daughters, ages 10 and 7. She enjoys Irish dancing, reading, attending her children's sporting events and competitions, drinking coffee, and eating chocolate.
ImageBuilders Web Design provides complete web design services for small businesses, including design and development of new websites, maintenance for existing websites, hosting services, domain registration, and search engine optimization. Because of Colleen's background in software development and programming, ImageBuilders also offers complete database design and web application development services for her clients.
Contact Colleen at (443) 309-2386 or [email protected], or visit her website at www.imagebuildersweb.com to learn more. | |
| Member Milestones |
|
If you have reached a particular milestone in your business or career we want to tell the world about it. Members should submit a brief description of their accomplishment to [email protected]. Note all submissions are subject to editing for space and clarity. |
|
| New Members Warmly welcoming our newest members: |
|
|
|
Maria Gunther, Project Manager, Trellist, Inc.
Maria is a Project Manager and Interactive Media Specialist at Trellist, Inc. in Wilmington. Marie can be reached at 302-442-6118 or [email protected]. Also visit www.trellist.com.
Kelly A. McKown, President, Incorporating Services, Ltd.
Incorporating Services, Ltd. is a service company providing incorporation, corporate filing, corporate document retrieval and registered agent services as well as UCC searches and filings in all 50 states. Kelly can be reached at 302-531-0855 x118 or [email protected]. Also visit www.INCserv.com and www.UCCserv.com.
Laura Anne Scanlan, Principal, Creative Cultural Strategies
As principal of Creative Cultural Strategies, Laura provides professional advisory services to nonprofits in the cultural sector. Her focus is on helping organizations achieve stability and growth through planning, strategic partnerships, program alignment, fund raising and developing strong leadership. Laura can be reached at 302-575-0290 (O), 302-545-3991 (C) or [email protected]. |
| NAWBO Delaware Needs You |
| Get Involved Today! |
NAWBO Delaware is looking for a few good women! Develop your leadership skills and contribute to the success of Delaware's women in business. Please join one of NAWBO Delaware's committees today. Remember, being active in the Chapter will help you get the most from your membership. Committees are: Marketing, Programs, Public Policy, Membership, and Economic Development. Visit www.NAWBODelaware.org to learn more and contact a committee chair if you are interested. | |
